Woman thrown over 'suicide point' cliff miraculously survives

Editor's note: The information for this story is provided by Bibles for Mideast, an underground ministry focusing on Bible distribution, evangelism and house-church planting in the Middle East, South Asia and parts of Africa.

A Christian ministry that operates throughout the Middle East, northern Africa and Asia is revealing the testimony of a woman who was thrown by a witch doctor over a "suicide point" cliff but survived.

Not only did Chotti, whose name was changed by the ministry to protect her, survive, so did her then-unborn son and her 3-year-old daughter.

The report comes from Pastor Paul of Bibles for Mideast, which hand-delivers Bibles to people in nations where the book is suppressed, ministers to individuals and sets up house churches.

The story of Chotti, and her husband Miniu, comes from among the Dalits of south Asia.

They are known as the "untouchables" in the Hindu caste system.

"Without education or access to much of what the world considers necessities, all in the village are illiterate, with simple survival their main goal," the ministry explains. "During the day, men head deeper into the jungle to hunt small prey; women venture out to collect forest foods and firewood. If they find honey or more food than needed for their families, they sell it to people living in nearby villages and towns. Some produce their own 'moonshine,' and overconsumption often results in drunken brawls and fights. Women must obey the men in their lives or face brutal beatings."

Sorcery is a big part of their belief system, with sorcerers holding much influence.

The story picks up with the birth of a daughter to Chotti and her husband. His family was furious because their local sorcerer said a girl would be a curse.

Chotti fought plans by her husband's family to destroy the infant. She succeeded, but the battle continued.

"Around the time the toddler reached three, Chotti conceived again. By then, a Bibles for Mideast missionary couple had begun ministering in a nearby jungle village. Renting a shed not far from Minju and Chotti's home, they went around to the villagers, inviting them to attend educational programs for both adults and children. They also of course shared the love of Jesus Christ wherever they went."

The sorcerer condemned the Christian activities and warned the family against the visitors.

But Chotti had become a Christian and secretly attended meetings with the Christians from Bibles for Mideast.

"When Chotti was five months along in her second pregnancy, the sorcerer and his wife declared this child also to be a girl. Further, they said, the coming girl would be the cause for the destruction of both the family and the whole jungle. They, along with Minju's family, ordered her to abort the child immediately."

She refused, and the sorcerer's attempt to ambush and force an abortion left her unconscious.

"When her breathing stopped, the sorcerer declared her dead. He instructed the men in the group to carry her body to a place in the jungle called 'suicide point' by the locals … a cliff deep in the jungle where desperate villagers would leap to their deaths," the report said.

Chotti's unconscious body was thrown over, as was her 3-year-old who had run after her mother.

The details are sketchy, because the only people present were Chotti and her 3-year-old, but she found herself at the home of the Christian missionaries.

They took her and the child to a house church in another state, and shortly after, Chotti's son was born.

Her husband and his family apparently believe her dead, but she still holds in her heart "the idea of having a faithful Christian life with him," Bibles for Mideast said.

The ministry seeks prayer for the family's future.