{"id":20158,"date":"2024-11-04T16:34:28","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T16:34:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.opendoorsuk.org\/?post_type=news&p=20158"},"modified":"2024-11-04T16:39:20","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T16:39:20","slug":"srilanka-bible-torn","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/blog\/news\/latest-news\/srilanka-bible-torn\/","title":{"rendered":"Shanuka cried after his Bible was torn up by brother \u2013 now he has new one!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Shanuku with the Bible that was torn by his elder brother<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI cried a lot that day,\u201d says 16-year-old Shanuka* from Sri Lanka, recalling the awful moment when his elder brother tore his Bible into pieces and strewed it across the room. \u201cThe Bible is where I get my answers to all my problems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The siblings had been quarrelling about an unrelated issue when Shanuka\u2019s brother turned it into a religious confrontation, knowing that Shanuka hates it when the family criticise the Bible. \u201cIt is because of you and your Bible that we are having problems in our family,\u201d shouted the brother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhenever they speak against the Lord, I get angry,\u201d says Shanuka. He wanted to shout back, but instead he closed his eyes and prayed. \u201cGod reminded me of Romans 12:19: \u2018Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God\u2019s wrath, for it is written: \u201cIt is mine to avenge; I will repay,\u201d says the Lord.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\r\n
\r\n
Every \u00a320<\/div>\r\n\r\n
could give Bibles to ten children to help nurture their faith.<\/div>\r\n My gift<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\n\n\n

Beaten by teacher<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Shanuka became a Christian four years ago \u2013 a decision that had much to do with an answered prayer. When a friend first told him about Jesus, Shanuka was not interested, but at Christmas he wanted to see if God would answer his prayer. \u201cI asked the Lord for one of my needs,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI told my friend, if God gives it to me for this Christmas, I will be a true believer of the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prayer was answered and Shanuka kept to his word! He started praying, reading the Bible, and attending church, but keeping the promise had a big impact on his family. They remain devout Buddhists, expecting Shanuka to do Buddhist rituals, but whenever he refuses, it leads to arguments, with Shanuka often verbally abused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not just at home where Shanuka encounters hostility \u2013 it\u2019s also at school. \u201cI wanted to share about the goodness of God with my friends, but they made fun of me,\u201d he says. On one occasion, Shanuka was even beaten up by one of his schoolteachers after a child complained about him talking about his Christian faith with them.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new Bible!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With astonishing bravery, Shanuka has stayed faithful to Jesus, helped by a Christian teacher who disciples him and listens to him when he needs someone to talk to. When his Bible was torn up, the teacher was the first person he told, and it was at the teacher\u2019s home where Open Doors local partners met Shanuka and gave him a gift \u2013 a new Bible! \u201cI will protect this Bible always,\u201d he says with a beaming smile.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n

“I will protect this Bible always”<\/p> Shanuka<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

The partners were unable to visit Shanuka at his home, because of the risks, but he told them about a collection of small figurines of Jesus that he proudly displays for others to see. He got them for Christmas one year. \u201cWhenever my friends come to meet me, they ask about them, and I get a chance to tell them about the Lord,\u201d he says.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such courage is seen in countless other Christian children worldwide, who choose to keep following Jesus amidst pressure and persecution \u2013 be that at school, at home or on the streets. Your prayers and support are crucial to this<\/a>, whilst also helping ensure the future of the church in places like Sri Lanka has much to look forward to. Thank you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*Name changed for security reasons<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shanuka from Sri Lanka is overjoyed after receiving a new Bible, replacing one that was ripped apart by his own brother. His story reflects the dangers facing many Christian children worldwide, but also how your gifts are showing them that they are not alone. Thank you! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":20159,"parent":8268,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[156],"class_list":["post-20158","news","type-news","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","tag-sri-lanka"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nShanuka cried after his Bible was torn up by brother \u2013 now he has new one! - Open Doors Ireland<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Shanuka from Sri Lanka is overjoyed after receiving a new Bible, replacing one that was ripped apart by his own brother. His story reflects the dangers facing many Christian children worldwide, but also how your gifts are showing them that they are not alone. Thank you!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shanuka cried after his Bible was torn up by brother \u2013 now he has new one! - Open Doors Ireland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Shanuka from Sri Lanka is overjoyed after receiving a new Bible, replacing one that was ripped apart by his own brother. His story reflects the dangers facing many Christian children worldwide, but also how your gifts are showing them that they are not alone. Thank you!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/news\/latest-news\/srilanka-bible-torn\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Open Doors Ireland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-11-04T16:39:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/11\/04.11.24-SLArtboard-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"930\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"399\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/news\\\/latest-news\\\/srilanka-bible-torn\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/news\\\/latest-news\\\/srilanka-bible-torn\\\/\",\"name\":\"Shanuka cried after his Bible was torn up by brother \u2013 now he has new one! - Open Doors Ireland\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/news\\\/latest-news\\\/srilanka-bible-torn\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/news\\\/latest-news\\\/srilanka-bible-torn\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/04.11.24-SLArtboard-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-04T16:34:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-04T16:39:20+00:00\",\"description\":\"Shanuka from Sri Lanka is overjoyed after receiving a new Bible, replacing one that was ripped apart by his own brother. His story reflects the dangers facing many Christian children worldwide, but also how your gifts are showing them that they are not alone. Thank you!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/news\\\/latest-news\\\/srilanka-bible-torn\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/news\\\/latest-news\\\/srilanka-bible-torn\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/news\\\/latest-news\\\/srilanka-bible-torn\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/04.11.24-SLArtboard-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/04.11.24-SLArtboard-1.jpg\",\"width\":930,\"height\":399},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/news\\\/latest-news\\\/srilanka-bible-torn\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Latest stories\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/news\\\/latest-news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Shanuka cried after his Bible was torn up by brother \u2013 now he has new one!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/\",\"name\":\"Open Doors Ireland\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\\\/ireland\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Shanuka cried after his Bible was torn up by brother \u2013 now he has new one! - Open Doors Ireland","description":"Shanuka from Sri Lanka is overjoyed after receiving a new Bible, replacing one that was ripped apart by his own brother. His story reflects the dangers facing many Christian children worldwide, but also how your gifts are showing them that they are not alone. Thank you!","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Shanuka cried after his Bible was torn up by brother \u2013 now he has new one! - Open Doors Ireland","og_description":"Shanuka from Sri Lanka is overjoyed after receiving a new Bible, replacing one that was ripped apart by his own brother. His story reflects the dangers facing many Christian children worldwide, but also how your gifts are showing them that they are not alone. Thank you!","og_url":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/news\/latest-news\/srilanka-bible-torn\/","og_site_name":"Open Doors Ireland","article_modified_time":"2024-11-04T16:39:20+00:00","og_image":[{"width":930,"height":399,"url":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/11\/04.11.24-SLArtboard-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/news\/latest-news\/srilanka-bible-torn\/","url":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/news\/latest-news\/srilanka-bible-torn\/","name":"Shanuka cried after his Bible was torn up by brother \u2013 now he has new one! - Open Doors Ireland","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/news\/latest-news\/srilanka-bible-torn\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/news\/latest-news\/srilanka-bible-torn\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/11\/04.11.24-SLArtboard-1.jpg","datePublished":"2024-11-04T16:34:28+00:00","dateModified":"2024-11-04T16:39:20+00:00","description":"Shanuka from Sri Lanka is overjoyed after receiving a new Bible, replacing one that was ripped apart by his own brother. His story reflects the dangers facing many Christian children worldwide, but also how your gifts are showing them that they are not alone. Thank you!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/news\/latest-news\/srilanka-bible-torn\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/news\/latest-news\/srilanka-bible-torn\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/news\/latest-news\/srilanka-bible-torn\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/11\/04.11.24-SLArtboard-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/11\/04.11.24-SLArtboard-1.jpg","width":930,"height":399},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/news\/latest-news\/srilanka-bible-torn\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Latest stories","item":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/news\/latest-news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Shanuka cried after his Bible was torn up by brother \u2013 now he has new one!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/#website","url":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/","name":"Open Doors Ireland","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"}]}},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/11\/04.11.24-SLArtboard-1.jpg",930,399,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/11\/04.11.24-SLArtboard-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/11\/04.11.24-SLArtboard-1-300x129.jpg",300,129,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/11\/04.11.24-SLArtboard-1-768x329.jpg",768,329,true],"large":["https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/11\/04.11.24-SLArtboard-1.jpg",930,399,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/11\/04.11.24-SLArtboard-1.jpg",930,399,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/11\/04.11.24-SLArtboard-1.jpg",930,399,false],"woocommerce_thumbnail":["https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/11\/04.11.24-SLArtboard-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"woocommerce_single":["https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/11\/04.11.24-SLArtboard-1-300x129.jpg",300,129,true],"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":["https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/11\/04.11.24-SLArtboard-1-100x100.jpg",100,100,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Tim","author_link":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/blog\/author\/timbopendoorsuk-org\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Shanuka from Sri Lanka is overjoyed after receiving a new Bible, replacing one that was ripped apart by his own brother. His story reflects the dangers facing many Christian children worldwide, but also how your gifts are showing them that they are not alone. Thank you!","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/20158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/8268"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwl.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}