Hope in Heartbreak 💔

Anil from Unnao district, Uttar Pradesh state, comes from a non-Christian family which practised tantra. People flocked to their house for healings. The family followed diligently all the rituals.

Anil is the second among five brothers. Their parents desired a girl baby, for which they did many rituals. They were blessed with a baby girl, but when she was 1 and a half years old, she fell sick and died.

This shattered the parents. His mother became mentally disturbed, and his father lost his vision, weeping all day long. After one and a half years, in 2002, one of his relatives invited them to church for Sunday worship. In the second week, the mother was healed and regained her senses; later, his father also got back his vision, and he could now read the Bible and narrate verses to his children. In 2012, his elder brother Rahul started serving the Lord as a full-time minister. They opened their house for prayer meetings.

Anil started working as a truck driver to support his family. At the age of 18 years, he was earning well and fell into various addictions. Parents were grieved, but they continued to pray for him. In 2014, the parents asked him to join them for a three-day prayer meeting. Young Anil was reluctant, but as he didn’t want to stay back and cook food, he went, thinking of smoking and chewing tobacco when he got the chance.

During the meeting, he did not get opportunity to smoke or chew. On the third day, he desperately asked the Lord, “What is your plan for my life ?” The power of the Holy Spirit fell upon him, and he started uttering in unknown tongues. He was lying on the floor speaking in tongues for hours. When he got up, he was a completely renewed person. Immediately, he decided to take water baptism. He went to Bible college to get deeper knowledge of the Word of God. After finishing the course, he joined his elder brother’s ministry. The family wanted him to do a job and suggested to him that he can later join the ministry at an older age; now is the time to earn. But Anil was determined to serve the Lord only. He knew the purpose of his life.

He started his ministry separately in 2016 with 6-7 people in the beginning. Within a year, his ministry grew as many people were healed from paralysis, AIDS, a 6-year-old girl who was dead was raised to life, etc. Signs and wonders followed as he ministered.

However, in 2017, when he had gone to pray in a sister’s house, her husband complained of conversion. The police arrested him. Persecution Relief intervened, and he was released within four hours.

In 2020, the neighbour complained against his mother and him of disturbing the peace under section 151. The mother got bail, but Pastor Anil was detained in the police station. Persecution Relief was informed about it; immediately calls were made, and he was released after 24 hours.

In 2024, during the Christmas service, the antisocial people came in large numbers, made videos and accused him of conversion. They broke all the instruments, entered their home, broke through the Almirah, and took away valuable things like passbooks, important documents, and jewellery. They beat him and his two younger brothers, aged 17 and 14 years, forcing them to chant slogans, but they did not utter a word.

A case of conversion was registered against all his family members, including him, his mother and four brothers. His father passed away in 2020. The mother could not bear and was hospitalised. Anil comforted her, saying, “We have not lost anything which the Lord cannot give us back.”

Persecution Relief supported them in all possible ways in these difficult times of trials.

Due to the continuous threat from the antisocial people, Pastor Anil had to leave his hometown for a different location along with his wife. He is strengthened by the early church, who went through extreme persecution yet remained faithful to their calling. He knows firmly that this ministry is given by the Lord, and He will sustain him till the end.

The depth of discouragement is not a full stop to end our calling- it is a comma to go forward in our higher calling. Shbu Thomas, Founder, Persecution Relief