When Pastor Matish Junni and his family were attacked by Hindu radicals during the August 2008 anti-Christian rampage in Orissa, India, it was not the first time the Gospel for Asia–supported missionary had suffered at the hands of those who hate the Good News.

Pastor Junni, his wife and their three children were among the thousands who fled for their lives into the jungles of Orissa as violent mobs ransacked their villages, killing any Christians who could not escape. And when the mob entered his village, they laid waste to Pastor Junni’s house, totally destroying everything inside.

As Pastor Junni and his family hid for days with no food and only the clothes on their backs, he could not help but remember what had happened to them less than a year before.

Christmas Persecution
On the morning of December 23, 2007, Pastor Junni and his family were traveling by bus to one of the churches he pastors, where they were planning to stay for the Christmas and New Year’s celebrations.

At one stop, a man who was part of a plot against the pastor got on the bus. A short time later, the man ordered the driver to stop the bus and forcefully threw Pastor Junni out into the dirt. Waiting for him were about 30 Hindu radicals, armed with swords and other weapons.

The pastor’s wife and children watched helplessly as the gang attacked Junni, beating him into unconsciousness, blood seeping from his nose, ears and eyes.

The radicals then took their victim to a nearby town, where, in an act designed to humiliate the Christian pastor, they had his head shaved and dressed him in a Hindu priest’s robe. They also applied sindoor, a red powder that is an emblem of Hinduism, and paraded him through the town.

Ultimately, they dragged Pastor Junni to a local temple and tried to force him to bow before one of the Hindu gods. But the missionary stood firm in his faith.

“Just as he had refused their demands to stop his ministry when they had threatened him in the past, so he refused to bow down,” GFA President K.P. Yohannan recalled. “Instead, he boldly declared that he served the living God and would not bow down before anyone but Him.”

As his children cried out in horror, the extremists once again beat Pastor Junni and took all of his personal belongings, including his clothes, Bible and planner before finally leaving.

Seeking police protection, his wife took Junni and their children back to their own village, where the police took him to the hospital for treatment. But the Hindu radicals were not through. A few days later, they burned down Pastor Junni’s house, destroying all of the family’s material possessions. Then they razed his church building to the ground, demolishing the bricks and digging up the foundation.

Two other Christian homes in Junni’s village were destroyed during the attacks that December, and a Christian-owned business was also burned down.

Justice Delayed
The attacks of August 2008 were even worse, and two years later, justice is slow in coming.

“In the light of such horrible attacks, it is important to remember that Hindus are not our enemies,” Dr. Yohannan cautioned. “The vast majority of Hindus do not condone such terrible actions. God calls us to pray for those who committed these atrocities, that they will find the love of Jesus and turn from their wicked ways.

“But we must always remember that our true enemy is not flesh and blood, but the one who hates all of God’s people and all of His creation. We strive against Satan and his demons, not against people. Thank God we know that this enemy has already been defeated at the cross, even though he still prowls around like a roaring lion and deceives men into committing his acts of violence.

“Please continue to pray for God’s grace upon our missionaries and our believers, as well as for those who persecute them, that they will personally experience the love of Jesus.”