India (MNN) — Death has been threatened to yet another missionary in India.
Gospel for Asia missionary Daruka Abhi has been receiving threats since April. If he does not renounce Christianity and return to his former religion, he and his family will be killed, according to the messages. The threats are anonymous but have become more and more personal in an attempt to escalate panic.
Ahbi's vision to plant three more churches in the area has not diminished in the face of the threats. He still wants to reach the people of Maharashtra.
Ahbi is a pastor of a 150-person GFA-affiliated church and is no stranger to struggle and persecution. He grew up in a high-caste family. His mother suffered a brain hemorrhage which the family was able to treat because of their wealth. However, civil
unrest left his family without access to their money, and his mother passed away.
The situation left him hopeless, and he turned to drugs. After considering suicide, Ahbi visited his aunt who is a Christian. Though he had little respect for Christians, she shared the Gospel with him and invited him to church.
One day as missionaries were praying over Ahbi, he saw something. "I saw a vision, and the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to me personally and said, 'My child, do not fear. 'Til the end of the ages, I am with you. In My name you are going to have eternal life. Henceforth, you are not an orphan, you are My child. I set you free from all kinds of bondages and addiction.' This was a very unique experience and encounter with the Lord Jesus, and it transformed my life completely. I acknowledged and confessed my sin and
received the Lord Jesus as my Savior on the same day," Ahbi said.
He accepted the difficulties Christianity created in his life. He moved away from
his well-to-do family and got married to a fellow believer.
While preaching in an open-air meeting, anti-Christian extremists came and attacked Ahbi, his wife and child. It took three months for them to recover. Four months later, Ahbi met one of his attackers who was bringing his son into the hospital. Ahbi went and prayed for the child, and his attacker along with his family came to Christ.
