An encouraging day! News from the Middle East.

This weekend Al and I attended the SAT-7 Christ in Crisis conference in Wichita.  SAT-7 provides Arabic language Christian satellite television to the Arabic world.  Anyone with a satellite dish can turn on SAT-7 and hear the Word of God in his or her language!

We heard first hand accounts of how God is at work so powerfully in the Middle East.  The speakers shared how children, refugees and the churches there are affected by the crisis and how God is working in the midst of it all.  And we heard personal testimonies from Arabic believers of how they came to faith in Christ.  It was so very encouraging since US media paints a very dismal picture that is so scary!

Dennis and Cindy are with SAT-7.  Here is a description from their web site:

Director of Church Connections

Before joining SAT-7 in 2003, Dennis and his wife Cindy served for over 20 years in the US, France, Mali, and Cote d'Ivoire in a variety of ministry roles — including Bible school education, field leadership, urban church planting, dorm parenting, guest house ministry, and media. Dennis grew up in West Africa as a TCK (Third Culture Kid) where his parents were international workers with the Mali, West Africa church. Dennis helped pioneer the FM radio project in Mali, using specially designed, solar-powered FM radio stations for church-based sustainable development.

Dennis and Cindy work as a team to apply their international experience and knowledge of cross-cultural ministry to the advancement of SAT-7, speaking and informing as they network with churches throughout the US.

------------------

Side note:

We were just at their home last month.  (You can click to see blogpost)

The conference was held at Eve Free where we used to attend when we lived in Wichita so many years ago.  Our 2 older kids were dedicated to the Lord there.  It was rather fun to run into old friends who were in our young married's Sunday School class and also ministry leaders from the past!  We recognized eachother even after 30 plus years!

-------------------------

On  Friday evening, we heard that there are over 90,000 believers in Iran today!  When Ayatollah Khomeini was in power, he vowed to destroy all the Christians.  But he didn't have that power. At that time, there were only about 300 Christians.   God is still at work!

With Brooke, Dennis and Cindy's daughter, and Ray Henain, one of the speakers at the conference, who is from Egypt but lived all over the Middle East and is now working with SAT-7.

We heard this story about a little girl whose family had to flee from ISIS.  We were told that ISIS captured many children from her village and put them in a cage and torched them!  Just awful!!  But listen to her story!

Just this past week a TV news station in Saudi Arabia aired this unedited clip.  May God use it to bring Him glory and further His kingdom!  Pray with her that we can forgive our enemies, that God would bring peace to Syria and to all the Middle East, and that God would open the eyes of the terrorists (we understand that some of the ISIS followers are having dreams and turning to Jesus in faith!)

This is Mr. Know who has a program called "Why Is That?"  Wouldn't it be fun to have a t-shirt like that?!

He has such energy and has such a way of connecting to children!!  I am absolutely astounded by the faith and the prayers of the little children.  We heard from 6 year olds to 12 year olds who prayed out loud on this show and it brought me to tears!

SAT-7 has women's programs.  Many of the women in the Middle East have no hope.  They are 2nd class citizens in many of the countries.  Here is the web site to see that.  You can even like their Facebook page.  Pray for the women in the Middle East!!  

What a joy to sing praises to Him in Arabic!  Well, we struggled a little with that language.....Ray told us that Arabic will be the language we speak in heaven because it will take an eternity to learn!

And here is a final video from a brother of 2 of the victims of ISIS.

Please join us in prayer for God to continue to work and to bring peace!  The following verse is coming to pass in this day.

Isaiah 19:23

In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, ‘Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.’