Prayer

There are many things to cover, hopefully, I won't forget anything but chances are I will.

First off, On the 11th of September, we had a Gideons convention where all the Presidents of Gideons in Rhajastan came to EMS to meet. We also had all the Beawar pastors and family come. It was really awesome to see so many men of such great faith gathered together in one spot. Though, the number wasn't substancial, the amount of faith was.

Secondly, if you saw my old facebook status you'll know my new name is Ethan Bhaiyya, you probably have no idea what that means though. It translates to "Big Brother Ethan." This makes me really happy. All the orphans and Jeremiah and Tia call me it. Everytime they do, I can't help but smile.

Thirdly, school is going great. I still don't have a regular teaching schedule and am just kind of floating around filling in for teachers but it's still great. I'm getting the hang of it. I also am learning more Hindi each day. And have made the "head bobble" a habit (Indians "bobble" their head from side to side instead of nodding yes). The only thing I fear is coming back and annoying you all cause I can't stop bobbling my head! Haha anywayyyy

Fourthly, the purpose for the blog and reason this blog is simply titled prayer...
Praise the Lord that the Qur'an burning was cancelled, however, consequences still occured for even considering it. An Iranian news station that broadcasts in Kashmir (the northern part of India) reported a story that the Qur'an burning was carried out. Being a highly populated Muslim area, Kashmir's response was not good. Riots broke out in two larger cities, which resulted in: the burning of a cross inside one church, a Christian mission school being completely burned down, police vehicles being set fire to, and 88 deaths. The deaths were not Christians, to my knowledge, however, in order to stop the riots the police had to use force... 88 unspecified people died. A 24/7 curfew has been enforced in both cities but the anger still remains despite the fact that the citizens were informed the Qur'an was never burned. Now, before you start worrying about my well-being, I should tell you that there was no false report in Rhajastan, Veer is highly respected amongst his community, and all the violence has only taken place in those two cities (far north of here). However, prayer is still necessary. I ask you to pray for the Christians in Kashmir, for their safety and the preservation of their ministry. I also ask you to pray for the Christian presence in Iran and other Muslim countries... I do not know if they are in danger, or being persecuted, or anything... but it was an Iranian news channel that said the Qur'an was burned and it resulted in 88 deaths in India alone, so be praying for them. Pray that the violence has stopped for good and that there will be no more outbreaks. Pray for the school that was burned down, that they will find the money to rebuild and be able to continue their ministry without further persecution. Pray! Pray! PRAY!!!

In Him,
Ethan