I have spoken much about our ministries in Morocco, Dearborn, Afghanistan, and Egypt, giving you a telescopic view of the work and purpose of these Gospel-preaching ministries. This month, I want to give you more of a microscopic view into some of our activities and show you how God is letting us influence lives for Christ.
For the last eight months, I have had the wonderful opportunity to preach weekly to a gathering of Afghani and Iranian students, most of whom are converts under our ministry. To help you better understand the amazing access streaming technology affords us, we are able to merge two independent streams of audio from multiple locations and connect them into a single live discussion forum. M___ is my Farsi-language translator, and each Tuesday, I get to preach and disciple them in real time, following up each service with Bible questions and prayer requests (some of which I will share at the end of this letter). They live in diverse locations—city apartments, farmhouses, and, a few, on the streets. Most do not have the bandwidth for streaming video, so God has allowed us to meet using apps that are well calibrated for the countries they are in.
Two days ago, one of my students, a Persian man named O___, shared a new calling that God had initiated in his life: the call to preach the Gospel to his own countrymen! Only a few months prior, O___ had left one of our studies in very vocal anger because I had preached against the modern tongues movement. Knowing that Charismatic teachings were becoming popular in parts of Iran, I diplomatically refuted it (“a soft answer turneth away wrath”), citing I Corinthians 14 and other Scriptures as references. Figuring I had trampled on a pet doctrine, I assumed I had burned my bridge with O___. Imagine my delight when he returned two weeks later to apologize for his “bad spirit” (his words) and ask my forgiveness. Using broken English, O___ told me he had been forced to read his Bible and study out the tongues issue—biblically. By “studying to show himself approved unto God,” God has placed a call on O___’s life. This has been the WHOLE PURPOSE of our efforts: to prove that God would not call us to “closed countries” if they were truly closed. Though we have learned firsthand that these borders are dangerously restricted, God has shown us how to obey Him in carrying out the message. Most of these people take their lives in their hands by meeting with us. Bravely, they consider the Gospel worth the risk!
PRAYER REQUESTS
• I will be traveling to Cairo, Egypt, to meet with one of our pastors soon. Please pray for God to profit our efforts and give us safety.
• We are working with some excellent translators to complete a Farsi version of an IFB college curriculum. Please pray for this endeavor.
• I am working with a pastor in a major city in Iraq. Please pray for God’s leading.
• Please pray for our fundraising efforts as God sustains this work.
Gratefully in His service,
Missionary #6505