Caroline Anderson

INDIA (BP) -- Young men and women gather in small groups at a shopping mall in India, deep in conversation. Curious passersby lean over the railing and listen to the conversations about gods and God between American and Indian students seated amid the mall's decorative palm trees.

SOUTHEAST ASIA (BP)--The Chinese man leans against the pier railing, pouring over the Bible he just received in a red packet.       He ignores his wife's entreaties to hurry. He slowly turns to the boat, reading as he walks, so engrossed that he misses his dinner boat cruise departure.

Although his family follows Hinduism, Tandon does not believe in any god. But every day for six weeks, Sheldon Catling*, a volunteer from Francis Marion University in Florence, S.C., played basketball with Tandon and other Indian university students, sharing his faith each time.

ORISSA, India (BP)--Persecution against Christians in India's Orissa state has a long history, but it escalated in August 2008 when Hindu extremists blamed Christians for the murder of a Hindu leader.

ORISSA, India (BP)--Christians in the Kandhamal district of India's Orissa state will not soon forget the atrocities of August 2008 when angry Hindu mobs made a bloodbath of their people and destroyed their homes, but today, thanks to Southern Baptist giving, these Christians are looking toward their future with hope.       Hindu extremists blamed Christians for the assassination of a Hindu leader on Aug. 23, 2008, in Orissa. Although Maoist rebels, an extreme Marxist political group, claimed responsibility for the assassination, Hindu extremists killed about 70 Christians and destroyed 4,640 houses, 252 churches and 13 educational institutions, according to news stories published by Baptist Press, Compass Direct News and local sources.       Christians fled from their villages, seeking refuge first in the jungle and then in displaced-person camps that the government opened for them. For a long time, Christians would not return to their homes because they feared further backlash from Hindu extremists.       "Some of the Kandhamal victims of the religious violence have enough courage that they are returning home," Southern Baptist humanitarian worker Cole Elbridge* said. "But their ravaged homes cannot be lived in ...

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh (BP)--Fish and chicken used to fill boys' plates only twice a week. Now, thanks to the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund, boys living in two hostels in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in southeastern Bangladesh have protein every day in their diet.

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh (BP)--Buddhist extremists detained eight Chakma Christians, members of a Baptist church in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, for four days in August.       The extremists held the men -- a pastor, church secretary, village leader and five church members -- captive in a Buddhist temple to attempt to force them to return to Buddhism, international Christians Grady and Josette Lindem* reported.       During their captivity, the Buddhist extremists forced the men to adopt a Buddhist lifestyle and worship. The Christian believers had to wear Buddhist robes, shave their heads, bow down before a statue of Buddha and clean the temple, the Lindems said. The extremists threatened the believers with severe beatings and even death if they tried to escape.       The men's wives had orders to bring food twice a day, the Lindems said. The extremists threatened the women with severe punishment or death if they refused to comply with their requirements of showing honor to Buddha. The women had to first bow down to a statue of Buddha, present food to the statue and give food to the Buddhist priests before they were allowed to give food to their husbands.

RICHMOND, Va. (BP)–Lorne James transitioned from living with 80 villagers in the Peruvian Amazon to living with thousands of campers at Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters Camp in Andrews, N.C. James went overseas as a recent college graduate to participate in the International Mission Board’s two-year journeyman missions experience, then opted to spend a year after that […]

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (BP)--She is a petite spitfire with a heart for missions. She teaches Sunday School at Hardware Baptist Church in Charlottesville, Va., where she encourages members to support missionaries who tell people about Jesus in other countries.

RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--"I'm down to Barbie Band-Aids. Sorry, dude," nurse Joe Thomas tells a future missionary in his mid-20s after giving him a shot.       Thomas and Katrina Otto are longtime volunteer nurses at immunization clinics at the International Learning Center (ILC) ...