Bangladesh             

Population: 138.3 million

Capital:    Dhaka

People Groups:  61

Main Religion:  Islam 86% All Christians:   0.7%

Christian humanitarian groups are gearing up to help flood victims in Bangladesh where more than 1,000 are dead and 10 million are homeless, says Beth Allen of Food for the Hungry. "This is some of the worst flooding that they've seen in 17 years," she said. "They estimate that two-thirds of the country is currently under water. We're moving forward with distributing food and health kits, including some water purification chemicals." Allen says the outreach is opening up many witnessing opportunities. "One of the things that we can do in a disaster is to encourage them to go out and serve their neighbors. People such as government officials begin to ask questions about their motivations, and we can answer those questions about Jesus Christ in a culturally appropriate manner." World Vision is also distributing relief supplies in three of its sponsorship communities in the Assam region. More than 6,000 families have received food, temporary shelter and medical care. World Vision plans to provide food and medical assistance to 20,000 families in the next month. Mission Network News / World Vision, July 2004

Mira is a believer from Mymensinh, Bangladesh. He knows the high cost of being a Christian in Bangladesh. It is a cost he has chosen to pay, more than once. He and his family have suffered beatings several times at the hands of Islamic extremists. One day, all 30 of the Christian families in Mira's village were called before the Imam and other Muslim leaders in from of the mosque. Five hundred people sat on each side of the group, accusing them. "You had better leave Christianity and become a Muslim again," the people yelled. "If you do, we will help you. If you don't, we will beat you." Every family, including wives and children, had to stand before the Imam for four hours while each family was questioned. When Mira's turn came, he addressed the Muslim leaders: "In your religion," he told them "there is no salvation, no hope for going to heaven. I have Jesus, and now I am whole. Now Jesus has forgiven my sins and I have hope for heaven." Following the hearing, all the families were denied access to the villages' well, and from then on had to walk and carry their water more than a mile every day. Some of the Christians were accursed of stealing water, and beaten by police. Mira was arrested on a charge of stealing water, and spent thirty days in jail, where he was tied to the back of another man. They were beaten for four days, then locked in a cell with 60 Muslim prisoners, who asked about their crimes. Mira told them, "We have become Christians." The Muslim prisoners were sympathetic. "It is better that your are Christians," they told Mira. "It is a good life. Muslims are not at peace, they are always fighting each other." More things happened to Mira but he is not bowed by the harsh treatment. "We give thanks to God," he says, "That these things cannot destroy our spirit. Jesus told us that we are only here for a few days. We have eternal life and will stay with Him in heaven. He will take care of all this." Pray that God will raise up laborers in Bangladesh.   The Voice of the Martyrs, Winter 1999

 

A gospel outreach to the Khiang and Chum tribes of Bangladesh is bearing fruit. Through the work of two evangelists supported by Gospel Outreach Fellowship, seven churches have been planted and 300 Khumi have received Christ.  AD2000 Unreached Peoples News, November 1998

Ten-year-old Mya did not wish to embarrass her parents at a funeral, but she would not bow to the idols. She felt she could not. Even when her mother beat her with a cane to force her to bow, Mya stood firm. "Why? Why would she not bow down? Mya obeys me in everything, except this one thing," Mya’s mother, Yon, lamented weeks later during a luncheon visit with her friend Susan Galvin. Susan, a missionary, knew why Mya would not bow. Mya and Susan’s son attend school together. Young David accepted Jesus as his Savior on Good Friday four years ago, and he immediately began sharing the gospel with Mya and other friends. “I was dumbstruck as to what to say. If I told Yon about Mya's decision and change of heart, then I would be bringing great risk to a tender 10-year-old girl,” Susan said. “But if I said nothing, I would lose a great opportunity to witness. So I kept quiet and let Yon go on and on about her daughter's stubbornness and refusal to submit to their Buddhist ways.” The day after David prayed in 2002 to receive Jesus as Savior, he helped his parents host an Easter party for his friends, including Mya and her brother. Six months later, David remained enthusiastic about making sure every one of his friends had an opportunity to hear about Jesus. “He said he had been thinking about telling his friends about God since he was in preschool," Susan said. "Now that he was in first grade, he decided it was time to tell them. I said I would commit to pray for him in my morning devotions, that God would give him the right words at the right time for his friends. I began asking family and friends to pray with us about this. “David shared with his Muslim and Buddhist friends their need to be Christians, so they could go to heaven. He said he now knew why God had brought him to Bangladesh -– to tell his friends about God.” Baptist Press News, May 2006