SRI LANKA: FORCED TO BURN HER GOSPELS

When Sasha’s (NAME CHANGED) dad found copies of the gospels in her bag he beat her and forced her to burn the booklets. Despite this opposition from her Hindu father, she continues to be a secret Christian, holding firmly to her faith in Jesus.

Coming to Faith 

Sasha is 18, but she became a Christian when she was 12 years old, after she experienced a miraculous healing with her sister and aunt.  

Sasha remembers, “I thought I would only come to church but remain Hindu.” It wasn’t until a week later when Sasha she was healed from a sickness after being prayed for that she knew that Jesus was the one true God. After this experience, she wanted to be a true believer.  

Their Hindu father was against them from the start. “He would say things like, ‘The church is like a hospital. Once you get healed, you come back home from there. You don’t have to go there always.’ and he’d say it sarcastically,” said Sasha. The situation at home only became worse.  

November 2024 

Things came to a head towards the end of last year, just after Sasha got home from college. Her mother and sister were not at home. She asked her Dad if he had eaten.

“No,” said her father. Immediately, Sasha went to the kitchen to serve him some food. As she was bringing the plate to her father, he demanded, “Bring me your bag!” Sasha did as she was told and within seconds, Sasha was hit by the back of his hand; he had seen gospels in her bag.  

Despite begging him to stop, the beating continued.

Eventually he stopped, issuing a stark warning; that he would kill her if he ever saw her near a church again.

Her father then grabbed the gospels out of the bag and forced her to burn them.  

“I cried and begged at his feet saying that I cannot burn them,” she said. The fear of being beaten again made her give in to his demands. Sasha wept as she burned the gospels one by one, and finally her father’s anger subsided.  

“I always had some gospel tracts in my bag. I hand them out whenever I get the chance to share the gospel with someone,” Sasha explained.  

Since then, her father checks her bag whenever she goes out of the house. “He always asks me where I’m going, to make sure I’m not going to church,” said Sasha. 

Faithful to the Lord 

Despite all this horrific abuse, Sasha remains resolute in her faith. “The day after the incident was a Sunday. I told dad that I was going to class, but I went to church instead,” said Sasha. 

“Since childhood, I didn’t feel loved by my parents. They never spent time with me. But when I accepted the Lord, I felt true love through Him. Going to church on Sunday gives me the strength to get through the rest of the week,” said Sasha. 

The opposition from the father continues; she must keep her faith hidden from him. However, she refuses to let that discourage her from following Jesus with all her heart.  

Local partners are supporting Sasha regularly, praying and encouraging her and letting her know that she is not alone. 

*Names changed for security reasons