Trust and joy in the midst of trouble: is it possible?

As India and Bangladesh face increasingly dire situations in their battles against Covid-19, Pastor Peter Haneef* reports on behalf of our workers and churches in those countries. He thanks you for your prayers and support, and with your help was able to send Pastor Masood and his team in northern Bangladesh nearly all of the 10,000 Urdu language bibles they had requested [earlier story on Pastor Masood and his team here].

In spite of Covid restrictions and intense persecution by Muslim fanatics, nearly 1,000 former Muslims have so far been baptized into new life in Christ across the northern Bangladeshi region!

Covid however, now rages out of control after many super-spreader events and lackadaisical government efforts. Everyone has been or knows someone who has been affected; the hospitals, morgues and crematoriums are filled beyond capacity, and a number of our church families face starvation.   

Many Bibles for Mideast churches have declared a time of prayer and fasting against the crisis. Pastor Haneef reports they find strength and encouragement from the words in Habakkuk 3:

Trust and joy in the midst of trouble

17  Though the fig tree does not blossom,
    and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive fails,
    and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold,
    and there is no herd in the stalls,
18  yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
    I will exult in the God of my salvation.
19  God, the Lord, is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
    and makes me tread upon the heights.

May our Lord strengthen, protect and guide us all as we navigate these uncharted waters. If you feel led to help us in our work in many of the most restrictive regions of south Asia, the Middle East and Africa, please click here.

Most of all, we cherish your prayer support and know that you have ours as well.
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* Pastor Peter Haneef is President of The Assembly of Loving God (ALG) Church, umbrella organization for our family of Bibles for Mideast churches.