15 August 2019

When Mohan lost everything, your help gave him hope

Mohan lost everything because of his faith in Jesus. Thanks to your support, Open Doors partners in India could provide prayer and encouragement – and resources to rebuild their lives.

Simon
Open Doors Team

Mohan lost everything because of his faith in Jesus. He and his family were forced to leave their home, community and livelihood. Thanks to your support, Open Doors partners in India could provide prayer and encouragement – and resources to rebuild their lives.

Mohan watched as the men ripped the tiles off his roof and pulled the door off its hinges. He couldn’t stop them as they pulled apart his home – all he could do was try to protect his younger brother and sister and his widowed mother. Mohan is only 21, but he already knows what it means to give up everything he has to follow Christ.

“Leave the church and this Jesus whom you follow.”

The leader of the village community elders had already issues three warnings to Mohan’s family. The message was always the same: “Leave the church and this Jesus whom you follow.” But they refused to do that. They had only heard about Jesus the year before, when a visitor to the village invited them to a nearby church.

Mohan and his mother went to a service, and the pastor prayed for them. It was an encounter with Jesus that would change the course of their lives. “My eyes were closed in prayer, and I saw a light coming towards me, and I felt that someone had opened my eyes,” remembers Mohan.

Through that church service, Mohan says he and his mother were both healed from illnesses that the village religion had not cured. On that day, they both gave their lives to Christ.

“After I accepted Jesus, people started opposing us,” Mohan says. But, having experienced God’s healing and love, Mohan knew that he couldn’t renounce his faith.

Thrown out of the village

“They destroyed our house just because we believe in Jesus Christ,” says Mohan. He didn’t know what to do, so he just kept praying. One of the men grabbed Mohan and told him he was a disgrace, hitting him in the face.

Every £30 could equip two Rapid Response teams for a month as they bring emergency aid to victims of violence.

Eventually, Mohan’s uncle was able to come and defend them, giving them enough time to leave their home and village before things escalated further. But they lost their home. Their community. Their friends. Their farm. Their livelihood.

Even after all this, the village leaders went to the police to report Mohan’s family. Rather than arresting the attackers and supporting Mohan, the police ordered him and his mother not to return to the village.

With few options, Mohan’s family could only build a small makeshift hut near their church for shelter. Without their home and their farm, they had no way of making a living.

Mohan

Your help gives new hope

When Open Doors partners in the field heard Mohan’s story, they met with him and his family to pray and encourage them in their faith. Thanks to your support and prayers, they were able to provide Mohan with goats, a tarp, rice and financial support to develop their small business.

“If the organisation had not helped us, we would have faced even more difficulties, and even more problems,” says Mohan. “Your support and money have given us a new start. I’ll raise the goats and, when they bear more goats, I will sell them to earn money.

“After getting your help, I feel strong and have hope in the future,” he adds.

“I’ve forgiven my attackers,” he says. “After forgiving them, I feel such peace in my heart.” Mohan is also delighted to share that three other families in the village have come to know Jesus through his family’s testimony.

The struggles for Mohan’s family are not over, but his joy in Christ still overflows. And he is adamant that he would make the same decisions again.

“Yes. It’s worth it to walk with Jesus.”

Many other Christians in India are making these same decisions every day. They know that it’s worth it to walk with Jesus – can you make that walk easier with your support and prayers?