Project Updates — Page 6

Which is more critical in world evangelism, the message, the messenger, or the means of delivery? That is like asking a child what is more important on his bicycle, the rim, the spokes, or the tire? One without the others is useless. So, we too need “chariots” to do His bidding effectively.

We have a situation that has never occurred before. It is a severe and sincere need that is neither glamourous nor a tear-jerker. But this need has unseen importance that you will understand in the next two minutes as you read.

Our feeding ministry has grown so vast that we are now experiencing trouble delivering the food. And in addition, the vehicles that we use to evangelize and carry preachers and Timothies to far and remote areas are experiencing difficulties, hindering our expansion of the Gospel. Let me give some examples:

KENYA:

In Kenya, we have well over 500 national church platers supported, in addition, to probably 3,000 Timothies. Many now have bicycles or motorcycles, but most still rely on bus transportation or walking. We sometimes need a vehicle to transport teams to remote areas using PowerPacks to show the Jesus Film, resulting in a new church plant. Additionally, we have two feeding centers that require the weekly delivery of bulk foods. (Last week, some of you gave around $4,700 to pay the annual food budget for these two Touch a Life centers located in local churches.)

We could easily open 500 more centers if we had the funding. However, it takes money to deliver the food as well. Currently, we must use taxis, rent trucks, or hire Uber-type drivers, which is very expensive. We need to purchase a delivery truck for this purpose, and this week, a dear family in Florida gave us $30,000 for that cause. However, we feel that to get a reliable, second-hand Kia2700 delivery truck (the same model we use in Honduras), we need an additional $3745. This amount will cover the tax, title, delivery, etc., and a full tank of fuel. We had estimated a cost of $30,000, but since they are second-hand vehicles, we knew that our pick might have to be adjusted, affecting the possibility of exceeding the target amount. However, a delivery truck is barely half the price of a used pickup truck. It will easily carry food for multiple centers and 15-20 preachers who can be delivered and retrieved after a full day of evangelizing.

We are now only $3,745 from making the purchase. Can you help?

HONDURAS:

While on a Visionary Trip, many of you have ridden in our Ford van. However, we don’t use it whenever possible because it has an old engine that sucks up gasoline like me with a strawberry milkshake. To be frank, (I always wanted to be Frank) during our last Visionary Trips in 2019, using it was cost prohibitive as it gets less than 10 miles to a gallon. With the price of gasoline nearly doubling worldwide, using it is no longer an option. We have tried to sell it and use the funds to purchase a used diesel vehicle, but there have been no “takers”; in fact, there have been no “lookers” either. But this week, my son Daniel came up with a great idea … why not replace the old gasoline engine with a new diesel engine? (He got his looks from me but his brains from his mom.)

We investigated and found that we could do so for around $9,000. Diesel engines are preferred in Honduras, and you often must pay extra for a gasoline engine. (Generally, they are unwanted due to expensive gasoline and the shorter engine-life expectancy.) And though the price of diesel fuel has risen too, in Central America, it is much cheaper than gasoline (just the opposite of here in the USA), diesel engines give better mileage, and the engine will literally last longer than the body of the vehicle!

We also have some needed repairs for the Mitsubishi truck. We have taken good care of it, but it is fifteen years old now, and if you have been with me, you know the kind of roads we drive on and rivers we drive through. Ours is not typically a city ministry; it is a “highway and hedges” ministry. Those repair needs come to about $2,200.

If these were my vehicles, I would bear the cost and never mention it to you, but they don’t belong to me; they belong to Touch a Life. We have kept our sponsorships low so as not to burden the donors. Sponsorships in 2005 were $35 a month. Sponsorships in 2022 are still $35 a month. We have cut corners wherever possible, leaving nothing for vehicle purchases, repairs, or construction. And to be honest, in our 35+ years of ministry, I don’t recall a time when we have ever asked you to finance or repair any of our ministry vehicles. We have bought hundreds of cars, trucks, and motorcycles globally for the needs of others but not for our own. As a rule, we ask for others but not for ourselves. This is a first for us, and to be honest, I am a bit embarrassed to ask now, but the need requires me to swallow hard and do it.

So, I come to you with hat in hand, leaving me no covering for my bald head, and ask you to help us raise this combined total for a delivery truck in Kenya and an engine replacement, and needed repairs in Honduras -- all for $14,945.

We currently have two Touch A Life feeding centers up and running over in Kenya, feeding over 100 children. Our Daily Bread program has supported these, and the results are amazing so far. Both are run out of local churches. The first one is out of Illula Baptist Church. The benefit of the program being run by the local church is that the children receive both physical nutrition as well as spiritual nutrition, hearing the Word with their meals. As a result, family members of the children who are coming to be fed show up to the church services and learn about the Lord. Illula Baptist Church has grown from an average attendance of 60 members to 80 members since the feeding program began there, a 33% increase.

The second location is out of a church run by one of our National Church planters. It has also seen an increase in members since the feeding program started, going from an average of 100 to 150, a 50% increase!
 
As you can see, the benefits of our daily bread program in setting up feeding centers out of our local churches has a tremendous impact. They are able to feed those children in need in the community, physically and spiritually, and also reach the adults with the Word while doing so.

Some of the fruits of the Touch A Life program at the second location. Pastor John Thumbi Kigwa seen here with a family. The children came when the program started, and now their parents have joined the church!

Now, we need your help! As mentioned above, we currently have two feeding centers operating in Kenya, but we have the potential to be able to operate many more due to the size of our national church planter group in that country. The only thing we need to move from potential to action is your commitment to help. To free up the daily bread funds being used for these two active feeding centers, we need you to support them. The total cost to run them together for the next 12 months is $4,645. We would love it if you could partner with us with a monthly commitment, but if you are only able to help one time for now, that would be a tremendous blessing and will allow us to open up the next feeding centers. Make your donation below, or by mailing in a check and designating it to “Kenya Daily Bread”.
 
May God bless you!
 
Michael

Thank you for your prayers; the Lord answered them remarkably. Even before leaving, we saw His protection as we barely missed being involved in an accident on the way to the Atlanta airport. And apart from difficulties trying to leave Pakistan, the trip was smooth as butter. (I should say silk, but I think more about food than clothing.)
 
In a week or so, I will have a video Debriefing available for you to watch, including photos and probably a little video. My heart was changed on my first trip to Thailand in 1986. God touched me in an unnatural way, and I have been faithful to His calling since then. When I returned, my wife Juanita asked me several days later, "Who are you? You are not the same man I married." The change in my life was radical. But not since then have I felt that touch, and I believe I have been changed again. (New heart but unfortunately the same stomach.) We saw the glory of God before our eyes. I can't wait to tell you all about it.
 
For now, I wanted to let you know that I am home, safe, and finally well, and eager to serve His servants worldwide. But before leaving, I saw a need that I think you will want to know about, which I will discuss more in the Debriefing.
 
Pastor Shaukat is perhaps the most remarkable preacher I have ever met. He was born the year Final Frontiers began and has produced scores of disciples doing ministry -- while training for ministry. Among them are leaders, some in their final year of study who have already helped him plant half a dozen churches, and others already serving full time, though without income. These men are each training others to do likewise. But they are hindered in their transportation and have no funds to travel to the desert churches. One of them, a young man of twenty-five, has polio and struggles to walk, but what a ministry he has. I feel they can benefit greatly from each receiving a motorcycle. They can travel and take one or two men with them or carry their wife and a box filled with Bibles. This tool would enhance their ministry incredibly.
 
The motorcycles (Honda) cost $1,300 each, so for five vehicles, we need to raise $6,500. Can you purchase one for them? If not, can you give an offering to help? Together we can provide the tools, they will provide the labor, and our great Lord will provide the harvest. What a team! Donate here or mail in a check and designate it to "Pakistan Motorcycles".
 
Thanks so much for your partnership with this and be looking for our Pakistani Video Debriefing. This is something you will want to share with your friends and church. Until then …
 
Jon

Spoken by one of our national pastors/church planters in the Middle East when he received some limited rations.

Attention readers: This story will take up to ten minutes to read. I know you are busy and would prefer short announcements. But this is one of those cases that I feel you need details to understand the need, so I have written it in segments for your benefit. So please give me ten minutes. Your understanding and knowledge will benefit from doing so.
 
Background:

Imagine how hungry you must be to eat garbage. This condition describes 55% of the population of Afghanistan alone, more than 23 million people. But it also describes the situation in a neighboring country. But what makes that so strange is -- that it is the same country that recently allowed thousands of fleeing Afghanis to enter, seeking refuge. So, let's not talk countries; let's talk regions.

Recently, this region has faced a multi-year drought, resulting in fewer and fewer crops being produced. That, coupled with the Taliban's overthrow of the government, has caused 98% of the people to lack sufficient food to eat.

Such a scenario is easy to read about, then move on with your daily life, but what if it were you or your family? Suppose you are the father or mother who has nothing to feed your children. Winter is here, and you have no heating oil. You have lost your job, and besides, the markets are empty. You have had what you needed to survive all your life, perhaps even thrive. But this is your new reality; in 2021, a dog on the street ate better than your family does today. Your only hope is to survive until conditions improve.

Alexander the Great passed through this region on his way to India two and a half millennia ago. Later, when he began his return to Babylon, he recorded many sea-side villages which subsisted on fish alone. Other villages, further inland, ate rats and grass. They were almost entirely naked because they had nothing to produce or trade for clothing. Even his soldiers, wearied by years of travel and blood lust, carrying their meager possessions on their backs, commented on the poverty they saw. Those hardened soldiers wept and shared what they had with the people. Such conditions are now returning. But, I wonder, will his pagan legions have more compassion than the affluent legions of Christ?

   If ever there was a time when the gospel reached that land, it is lost in history. The closest witness we know of was Thomas, who evangelized in lower India, a thousand miles away. But today, we are harvesting our Lord's fields with great bounty.
   This region boasts no army has ever conquered it. And while that is not entirely correct, it has remained isolated to the rest of the world. Today, few armies would feel there is anything there worth conquering, other than the rare earth metals beneath the surface. The economy is devasted, health conditions are more severe than ever, and many say it is the worst winter in their lifetime. Food is more and more scarce. And now, the conditions are no better across the border where they recently sought relief.

Let me tell you a few of the stories I have heard this week.

A handicapped Brother:

One of our young men, now about twenty-two years of age, was arrested in the summer of 2020. During the torture, the beatings badly damaged nerves in his neck, and since that time, he has endured pain in his neck, back, and one of his legs. At times the pain renders him virtually paralyzed and unable to stand. This winter's chill, perhaps the worst on record, had debilitated him. He cannot work because he cannot walk or stand. His is not a permanent situation, but it is his current situation until warmth returns in the Spring. He is not unwilling to work; he is not lazy; he is disabled for his testimony for Christ. 

In this region, inflation has caused the currency to lose most of its value. As a result, prices on food and other essentials have risen so high they are unattainable to the average family. Most families there now have no money for heating oil or even firewood. These are the same families who welcomed our fleeing families from Afghanistan two months ago into their homes. Unfortunately, they can no longer provide for them because they can no longer feed their own families. Still, they are infant brothers in Christ, so they share what they have, though it is little to nothing. 

Two months ago, the funds to buy a loaf of bread, today buys only a slice; and it is hard, crusted, and moldy. I was told they soak the bread in water to soften it so so they can eat it. Others who can work for daily wages are hindered by the seasonal jobs, waiting for the harvest. Unfortunately, the cold has destroyed much of the crops leaving no income and no hope for future work. 

How then do they survive? 

Young men and ladies secretly offer their kidneys for sale to feed their families. In the past, you could sell your kidney for $10,000 to $15,000. Today they are only paid $3,000. No special care is given to those who sell their kidneys. There is often no pain medication and no post-op attention. After all, if they perish, the doctor won't have to pay for the kidney. Those who survive must walk home and recuperate without pain relief or medication for infections. 

Others have resorted to scavenging garbage on the streets and city dumps. When serving as a young pastor, I remember doing the same to feed my wife and two small children. I would catch a ride to the farmer's market because I had no income to buy food or fuel for my car. As a result, I couldn't purchase the vegetables they sold there. Still, I was allowed to sift through their piles of rotten tomatoes and potatoes, fifteen feet high, decomposing in the sun. I would pick out all I could find that were salvageable, then take them home where my wife and I would carve away the mold and eat what was left. I had never felt such shame, and thankfully, my situation soon changed.

The Lord used this circumstance in my life to give me a burden to help poor preachers worldwide and eventually gave birth to founding Final Frontiers and Touch a Life. I know what they are going through; only, for them, there is no farmer's market and no piles of discarded vegetables. They are hungry, and their only hope is that their Father will feed them.
 
A child that perished -- this past Monday:

In another town, a family of four took two refugee children to stay with them. Having no beds, they would all sleep on the floor, huddled in the corner of the room, using their body warmth for heat. They have no beds as these are poor people. This week, the host family woke abruptly, hearing the scream of one of the children. There is an open window on the opposite side of the room from where they slept. It is open because the pane is missing, and there is no money available to replace it. For some reason, their eight-year-old daughter moved to sleep under the open window during the night. During the night, she froze to death. 

As the other three children began to awake, one of them went to wake this little girl and found her stiff, lifeless body.

When I heard this, I thought, "If only I had known, I could have given funds for food, a blanket, oil for a heater, or even replaced the windowpane." And I know hundreds of you reading this are thinking the same. If only we had known. Well, now we do.

In all these cases (and there are scores), they are Jewish Believers who have chosen to follow Jesus as their Messiah, or Muslims who have risked their lives to follow Him.

A Historical/Biblical Comparison:

Realize something, please. When Paul visited and wrote to the house churches in the New Testament, he instructed them to lay aside offerings every week, on the first day of the week. The purpose, in context, was not to support the local church (though that is necessary); because they met in a house, and all the pastors were most likely bi-vocational. Their tithes went to care for those in need, widows, orphans, the imprisoned, the poor, and yes, preachers and pastors. But the offerings he spoke about were to give food and relief to the Believers in Jerusalem – Jewish Believers. A coming famine had been prophesied, and Paul wanted the Gentile churches to set aside funds so he could take relief to them when it arrived. His reasoning was the gospel (spiritual food) came to the Gentiles through them (the Jews), so was it fitting for relief (physical food) to flow back from the Gentiles to them. He honored those who gave, and he rebuked those that did not. He praised those who gave abundantly despite their poverty and chided those who could give but did not and scolded those who promised to give much but gave only a little.

I am not a Paul, but I do try to be a Barnabas, one who brings comfort to the Believers in need. Elisha caught the mantel of Elijah and doubled the miracles he performed. And if there be any mantel for me to catch, I have long hoped it would be that of Barnabas. I want to help the brethren, and the fact that you are reading this, indicates you feel the same way. So here is another way, another opportunity for us to help.

Here's what we need to do:

We have 500 families living in four different cities/towns/villages under extreme circumstances. (Praise God our work has been so fruitful!) We don't know how long, but we expect them to find seasonal jobs and take care of themselves once the winter is over. So, we are probably looking at February and March. (There are others, of course, as our numbers of converted families are now in the thousands, but these 500 families are the most desperate.)

Our director has told me that a family can scrape by on $57 a month per family. (A family will range in size from seven to nine people, so we are looking to help up to 4,500 Believers at the cost of $57,000.

Though a large amount, it is only $6.33 per person per month or 21¢ per person per day.) This amount will provide them with food, some blankets, and the ability to buy heating oil if available and, if not, some firewood. Of course, it won't pay for gourmet foods, soft drinks, or candy, but it will give them essential and healthy foods, especially for their children. Who knows, they may even be able to enjoy a cup of hot tea or coffee before going to sleep.

Some good news (-- it's about time, huh):

We were thrilled by those who gave for the release of our two preachers with such generosity. That was a clear sign that you felt their pain, made it yours, and acted to free them as you would want others to do if it were you who had been captured. Yours was faith and works. That is the "pure and undefiled religion" that James encouraged us to practice. And for doing so, I honor you.

Because of your generosity, we ultimately received $14,557 more than that need required. I had hoped those funds might sit in the bank for a few weeks, indicating that there was no crisis to avert. Still, after learning of this need, we sent those funds to provide immediate relief to these 500 families suffering from hunger and cold.

Thus, since you have already provided $14,557 (26% of the need), we have an estimated need remaining of only $42,443. 

I want you to know that Nolin and I will also give for this need. What a marvelous opportunity to bless these brothers and sisters -- and their children. I hope you feel that way too.

Thank you for your time. I’ll write again with updates as the need is met.

Recently you gave to help us feed a village in the Middle East, where the governor was born and raised. Formerly a persecutor, after seeing the testimony of our light shining so brightly, he asked our pastors for help. (For more detail, click here to read the original request)

Of course, when I say “our shining light,” I am referring to the lives of our church members in that land. Where we once had one church, we now have more than a dozen, and that’s just in that land.

Our endeavor resulted in seventy-two adult Muslims coming to Christ, and a new house church was planted. Over the following weeks, the three-man team returned to evangelize more and teach the newborn Christians. As Paul wrote, as babes in Christ, they “desired” milk from the Word and were delighted to be instructed by the pastors as they read along with their own gifted, but illegal, Bibles.

We called the group leader Abraham, and though only twenty-nine years of age, he was already a veteran church planter and pastor. Years ago, we sent him to xxxxxxxxx, where we were beginning to evangelize and smuggle Bibles. The militia in that land caught him. They used sledgehammers to break the bones in one hand and one leg as part of the torture, wrongly assuming the pain, discouragement, and disability would silence him forever. We brought him home, hired medical professionals, and tended his wounds. As soon as he could, he picked up his Bible, walked out of the house, and went back to that country to continue his work. (How I wish I could tell you the countries so you would see where we are and rejoice that where Christ was once unknown, He is now embraced. First by one or two, then by dozens, then hundreds, followed by thousands and tens of thousands.)

After some time, we brought Abraham home to assist our upcoming leader. Metaphorically, our Moses was getting old, and Joshua was ready to lead the people. Still, just as Moses needs a Joshua, Joshua also needs a trusted, experienced, loyal, dedicated, and competent assistant. That man was Abraham. His life and ministry blessed everyone, and they enthusiasticlly watched as he did wonders for our Lord. Several years ago, the church was blessed to witness Abraham marry his bride, now twenty-four years of age. Together, they have a son who is eighteen months old.

On New Year’s Eve Day, Abraham and his team of two younger men, both dedicated to a life of service no matter the cost, entered a van with a bag containing sixteen Bibles. The plan was to return to the village, where the governor had promised us protection, and evangelize sixteen more households. But as they approached the village, the van stopped abruptly at an unexpected militia checkpoint. Everyone was forced to exit the van, and immediately our three men were accosted. They were, in fact, the purpose of the checkpoint. The militiamen abused the three with great anger, then knocked Abraham down to the ground, and the leader shot Abraham. The three bullets in his chest and one in his neck quickly ended his mortal life. Immediately, his bride was a widow and his son, an orphan. He was our last to fall in 2021, mere hours from the new year.

The militia then took the sixteen Bibles as well as the two men. Later that day, the church was able to buy back the body of their fallen pastor. The militia had intended to guard his body against rescue so dogs could eat it, and in this way, disgrace our Lord by shaming His servants. However, the thought of a few coins in their pockets persuaded them to sell his corpse so our brothers could wash it, make it presentable for his wife to view, and then take him out to our secret place and lay him to rest with his fallen comrades. When the ceremony was over, I received a call saying, “We took him to our place, kissed him goodbye, and put him in the ground.” The simple eloquence of that heartbroken sentence, from the mouth of the man who had won him to Christ and discipled him, brought me to tears.

A civil war has engulfed the land I speak of for more than fifteen years. In addition, it has hosted the armies of proxy wars of other half-dozens countries. There is no family that has not suffered loss or a community that has not been shelled. Over a million of its citizens have risked their lives and forsaken all they possess to flee to neighboring lands. And even more who have left their home but remain trapped within the borders. When General Sherman burned Georgia and secured the Union, his tactics were criticized. To that criticism, he replied, “War is Hell.” But the devastation this land and its people have endured makes Sherman look like a little boy playing with matches.

The reason these militiamen were so angry is this. As the war continues, every group tries to possess and control new territories. Battles are fought to conquer or protect territory. And the driving force in all this is the conflict between the two major denominations of Islam -- Shia and Sunni.

The Shia believe the headship of Islam is hereditary and passes from Mohammad to his blood relatives. They believe the Ayatollah is a descendant of Mohammad. Shia is the primary religion of Iran and comprises 15% of the world’s Muslims. The other and much larger denomination is Sunni. They believe that Islamic leadership is not hereditary but should be selected or elected to the position by their clerics. They rule in such lands as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, etc. 85% of all Muslims are Sunni. Other, smaller denominations align themselves with one of the two larger sects. One tiny sect speaks in tongues; another believes in reincarnation, while another, during worship, spins in circles until they enter a trance. Both the Shia and the Sunni consider non-aligned or wrongly aligned sects of Islam to be heretics and traitors to Islam and deserving annihilation.

In this case, the militia was Iranian; and targeted this village to convert them to become Shia Muslims. They had sent as many as one hundred men there for nearly a year to preach the Shia faith and establish it as a stronghold. Yet they had failed. Then, only a few days after our men first went there, they returned, but few would come out to hear them this time. Wondering what was causing this unusual rejection, they began to question the community and learned that our men had been there, distributing food, clean water, medicines, blankets, and Bibles. Enraged that four of Christ’s men could do in four days what a hundred of theirs they could not do in a year, they set up a checkpoint beyond the village entrance to ambush our men.

As he promised, the governor did not prevent us, but neither did he protect us, and we are dealing with him over that issue. In the meantime, the government has dispatched men to remove the militia and protect the villagers, most of whom are now Christians! Still, we have two brothers in Christ held against their will in a secret location. The militia feels that these men broke the law of Islam but are willing to pardon them for a price. That price, for the two, is $8,000. Some would say this is a bribe, but we see it as a bond or a judiciary fine. To be sure, if not paid, they will not be released – alive.

Are there other options? Yes, we could let the authorities handle it in their own way, but be assured, our men would likely be the first to perish in the attempt. Therefore, we feel the best course of action is to redeem these men, remembering that the word redeem means to “buy back what was previously yours.” If Christ could and would do that for us, at the cost of His life, surely, I can do the same for His younger brothers, who are my brothers as well.

So, we need your help to raise $8,000 quickly for these two men to be released. If you are able and willing, please use the donation form on this page.

I hear some of you asking, what is there to keep this from happening again? I cannot tell you why that is not a concern. I don’t want to give away our secrets. But let me say that we have been doing this for nearly two decades in nearly a dozen lands, and that has never happened. Procuring release comes with conditions that have historically always been honored. I am confident that this will be the rule and not the exception.

By the way, at his tiny, makeshift funeral, several men pledged their lives publicly to take Abraham’s place, to preach and to smuggle Bibles. So we lost one, but we gained three in his place. Satan either does not know or does not care that the more of us he kills, the greater our numbers grow.

Now for some good news:

Abraham’s widow is/was in need. Like her husband, she too converted from an Islamic family. However, they are still Muslim, and culture demands that she return to her family and subject herself to her father and brothers. They have already begun making plans to bring her home. They will likely beat her for converting and publically shame her, believing Allah killed her husband for his and her blasphemy, and they will ensure that the boy is raised as a Muslim. Then, they will force her to marry a Muslim man of her father’s choice. She has no voice in these decisions. For this reason, sometimes the widow will arrange for a Christian family to take her children, then commit suicide rather than being forced to marry a Muslim and be forever separated from her fellow believers.

We have a commitment from and to all our men in the Middle East and the wives that upon their death, no matter the cost, we will ensure that their wife is secure from forced marriage and their children raised by Christians. Then, as they grow older, we reveal who their real mom and dad were and how they gave their lives for Christ.
Thus, the other option is for her to disappear for at least a year or more, causing the family to give up hope of finding her. Therefore, we will have to relocate her and take care of her to do this. During that period, we will have her acquire a skill and a trade to take care of herself, and hopefully, someday, she may want to marry one of our single men.

To accomplish this for her and the child, we estimate a need of $5,650.

I am happy to say that before I made this need known, I received a call from a family that had some funds they wanted to give to the Lord’s work. With the recommendation of their pastor, they contacted me. So, as I write this letter, I am blessed to report that they have fully paid the expense of the widow and child; thus, all we need is the $8,000 for the two men. What a blessing! What a Heavenly reward!

A final prayer request:

• Pray with us for the two young men. Though they had been tortured for nine days since negotiations began, the torture has ceased. They are being fed and are praying for release. From experience, they know that when the torture ends, we are negotiating. So one way or the other, the end is in sight. And they know how the story will end. Victoriously!
• Pray also that their testimony will shine for Christ and impact these men. Who knows, perhaps one will be a Paul. It wouldn’t be the first time we have seen that happen.
• Pray for the return of the sixteen Bibles. We have on several occasions had Bibles caught along with our men, but just as we have not lost a captured man in fifteen years, neither have we lost a single Bible. Their return has always been part of the negotiation.
• Join me in prayer for those who would give if they could, that their prayers will be the fuel that ignites this forest.