Successful mission to the Masai in Kenya

We have told you many remarkable stories about Pastor Mustafa, who coordinates Bibles for Mideast in Central Africa. During a recent prayer and fasting session, our pastor sensed a divine call from the Lord to go to Masai Mara in Kenya and share the gospel.

Masai Mara is a large national game reserve in Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti in Tanzania and about 140 miles from Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. The Masai tribe of around 50,000 people is one of the largest in Kenya. Polygamy and female genital mutilation are both traditional Masai practices.

Pastor Mustafa had visited the region several years ago, impacting one man and one of his wives in particular. The couple had been especially moved by the testimony of Lydia*—someone else we have shared a number of dramatic stories about—and were eager for the pastor to return.  

Lydia, the 14-year-old daughter of a missionary with Bibles for Mideast, had undergone forced and brutal female genital mutilation (FGM) back in 2017. Every girl between 10 and 14 years of age is forced to undergo the brutal practice, and many die—including Lydia—because of it.  

You can read the remarkable three-part account of her dying and being resurrected here:
URGENT CALL TO PRAYER for young Christian victim of female genital mutilation;
Doctors confirm death of young Lydia … BUT GOD!;
Jesus and Salvation in Lydia’s West African Town.]

When young Lydia heard of the planned mission trip, Holy Spirit prophesied through her that the team were to go courageously, for they would “face many mental and physical challenges from the people. But don’t get upset,” she continued, “several people will genuinely respond to the gospel message and be saved.” And she joined the five-member team!

Upon Pastor Mustafa and the team’s arrival in Masai Mara, the whole village was preparing for an FGM ceremony for several young women. Preparations involved evening gatherings for dance, singing and other cultural activities. Pastor Mustafa took advantage of their gathering to share the gospel and his own testimony of leaving Islam for the saving, freeing truth of Jesus Christ.

Lydia also shared her experience of FGM, death, and coming back to life by the touch of the Lord Jesus Christ (Doctors confirm death of young Lydia … BUT GOD!).

She explained graphically and effectively how they must leave the barbaric practice and turn to Jesus instead.  She then instructed them how to receive Jesus Christ as their own personal Lord and Savior.

The people listening--the young men especially—began shouting angrily at her to stop speaking about Jesus and against FGM. Grabbing thorny sticks from the nearby fence, they beat and sent the missionaries running. When the team finally found a safe place to rest, they spent the night in fervent prayer.

As night fell and the team prayed, Holy Spirit fell mightily on the whole village. No one could sleep;  many saw visions of Jesus Christ.

The villagers knew Pastor Mustafa and the team had to be praying somewhere not too far away, and once they located them, begged for forgiveness. Plans for the FGM ceremony were shut down and heaven opened wide as everyone accepted the Lord as their savior.

Pastor Mustafa and the team spent five more days with them, fellowshipping and instructing them further in the precious faith. Please pray for these villagers and the whole Masai tribe.
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*name changed for security reasons

Marvellous works of the Holy Spirit … in the hospital and beyond

As we reported earlier, the viciously-attacked church members in northern India have all been released from hospital and are completely well. Thanks to the witnessing and miraculous ultimate healing of Pastor Kumar, an even greater miracle happened. Practically every hospital staff member, doctor, nurse, and nursing student—over 500 people—made decisions to follow Jesus! [that story here]

Holding church without a building

So the challenge now of course is to lead and disciple so many new believers. Pastor Kumar has returned to his own small original home church, where already many Hindus had begun attending even before the salvations in the hospital. With no space available to hold the growing crowds, he has been holding outdoor services, hoping and praying to have a permanent place of worship in the near future.

The great ‘hospital church’ has begun now as well. Authorities granted Pastor Kumar and his team permission to conduct monthly bible classes and prayer meetings in the hospital auditorium, with the very first held this past Friday.

More than 1,200 people attended, including the hospital’s managing director and some of the doctors’ families. After the message, every single ‘new person’ in attendance accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, and all who had done so at the previous gathering (where Pastor Kumar shared his story of healing, witnessed to by the doctors, and shared the gospel) rededicated themselves to the Lord.

Pastor with some of the boxes of bibles delivered to the new ‘hospital church’

“It was a great blessing and the Holy Spirit was moving upon the meeting,” reports Pastor Peter Haneef, who heads up the Assembly of Loving God (umbrella organization for Bibles for Mideast).

Pastor Kumar and his team were able to provide 1,100 bibles to the new believers, thanks to the generous help of supporters. All who received them were thrilled to have their own copies of the written Word of God.

When the meeting wrapped up, the team gained permission to join the doctor-on-call for hospital rounds with a holy difference! They visited patients in their rooms, shared the gospel, and prayed for them. More requests for bibles came in as the patients heard, for the first time, the truth of Jesus. Since the supply had run out, they were promised them as soon as possible. Many of those ministered to also assured the team that even if discharged, they’d return to the hospital for the next prayer meeting!

Pastor Peter Haneef, President of the Assembly of Loving God, wants to especially thank all of our partners and supporters for their faithful and continuing support.

Bibles for Mideast churches, all under the Assembly of Loving God, have 432 pastors and missionaries working and establishing churches in Asia, Africa and Middle East. Most of them live and work in regions highly restricted for Christian outreach of any kind. They, with their families, face countless hardships and near-constant persecution.

“But our Lord protects them under His wings by your prayers,” says Pastor Peter.

“Our pastors and missionaries are all converted Christians from other religions,” he reminds us. “They do not have worldly blood relatives to wish them a Merry Christmas, or send them a gift.”

Can you imagine how strange a Christmas season that would be for any of us in rich first-world countries?

“If you consider them as your spiritual blood relatives in Jesus Christ,” he goes on, “would you consider sending them a gift as your token of love in this happy season?”

He speaks for all of us here at Bibles for Mideast and Assembly of Loving God in adding:

“We wish you a Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year, 2020. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forever. Amen.”

UPDATE on church members brutally attacked … and more former Muslims baptised

By Pastor Peter Haneef

I thank you for your prayers and support for Pastor Kumar and three of his church members who were brutally attacked by Hindu militants almost a month and a half ago. Pastor Kumar remains in hospital, and the other three were discharged recently.

They are all very poor, so other local church families have been helping their families and Pastor Kumar's family as well with their daily needs. They also did as much as they could to settle the hospital bills. With the help of our other churches and our generous partners, we have managed to cover the rest of the expenses.

By God's grace, Pastor Kumar continues to recover from his injuries and may be discharged from hospital by the end of this week. He has undergone two surgeries, one a major procedure on his back. Doctors were not certain he would be able to out of bed afterwards. But now, he has begun walking slowly with his wife’s assistance. The doctors themselves report this is a miracle! Of course we know it is because of your prayers that our Lord touched his backbone and healed him as a witness to His glory.

Please pray for him that our Lord may give him more courage and strength to labor in His Vineyard, witness for Him, and win more souls for His Kingdom. Pray also for his family and all the members of his church. 

Many of the local people who were against the church and ministry are now attending the prayer meetings and worship services. Please pray for them, and also for the conversion of the attackers. 

Ninety-four former Muslims were baptized in the Middle East last week. Pray for them and their families. So far this year, thousands of former Muslims have been baptized not only in the Middle East, but in our Asian and African churches as well.

Baptismal ceremony in the Indian Ocean by African ALG Church

This past Sunday, Pastor Mustafa baptized 22 former Muslims in Somalia in Africa. Others are also preparing for baptism there. Even more people are getting ready for baptismal services in Pakistan, which will probably happen next week. Please be in prayer for all of them.

ISIS fighter flees bombardment and inadvertently, into the hands of Jesus

With reporting from Bibles for Mideast and an Assembly of Loving God (ALG)  church in the Middle East

Shuhaib* grew up in a fanatically fundamentalist Muslim family who had been leaders in helping establish the Taliban in their native Afghanistan. They strongly believed the whole world should be ruled according to Islamic sharia law, and anyone not following sharia must die.

During the official reign of terror in Afghanistan (1996-2001), the Taliban murdered thousands of people and destroyed countless churches and temples. When US-led forces attacked Afghanistan in 2001, Shuhaib was only four years old.  Three of his brothers died in the assault, one of his older sisters went missing, and his mother died without getting proper treatment nor even a burial. Finally his father fled the home with nothing but his youngest son Shuhaib and little daughter Sameera, then seven. 

They hadn’t gotten far before being captured by armed forces in a military truck patrolling the streets. Shuhaib’s dad felt sure they would be killed but to his surprise, when the American soldiers saw the innocent youngsters, they actually helped the family escape. Driving them to a deserted area, they motioned for them to flee and many difficult days later, the young family ended up in a Middle Eastern Kingdom. The father eventually found work, and labored long and hard to support his growing children.

Whenever they thought about their deceased mother, murdered brothers, missing sister and other dead and missing relatives, their rage towards Christians grew. Like many Afghanis, they believed Christians were behind the invasion. So at 17, Shuhaib joined up with a militant group and from there was recruited by ISIS. He served as a faithful commander, but his father and sister never had any idea where he was.

ISIS militants, once on the march but now in retreat and disarray everywhere

About a year and a half ago the father died in a tragic accident, and as we reported in an earlier story, his sister Sameera, miraculously touched by the Lord Jesus about a year ago, accepted Him as her personal savior and even joined the ministry of Bibles for Mideast.

What we hadn’t reported is that six months ago, she married an ALG pastor in the Middle East. While no one knew for certain whether Shuhaib was even alive, his sister, her new husband and their whole church prayed fervently for his return, and that he would also join the Christian fold.  

Several days ago, a surgical strike by an anti-terrorist squad completely destroyed the base where Shuhaib and his forces had set up operations. All died except Shuhaib, who was catapulted from the camp like a football. Even though injured, he managed to flee the devastation, the sounds of bomb blasts continuing behind him. As he ran, he could feel someone holding his hand, helping him run even faster.  He also heard a voice from above.

"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life,” it declared. “No one can come to the Father without Me."  He neither understood the words nor had any idea where they came from.

As morning dawned, exhausted and parched Shuhaib had reached a village. He staggered to the door of a house on the outskirts and knocked. A young couple with two small boys by their side opened the door. Shuhaib asked for some water to drink. Inviting him inside, they gave him water as well as food, and bandaged his wounds. They questioned him about where he’d come from but Shuhaib, without the strength even to answer, fell asleep.

It turned out the family were members of a local ALG church, so naturally they began praying for the sleeping stranger. But before they even prayed, they’d received biblical verses they knew applied to him.

"I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by My name.” (Isaiah 65:1)

Then, “a bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not quench; He will faithfully bring forth justice” (Isaiah 42:3).

As they prayed for the battered young man, they felt God tell them he was someone plucked straight from the fire by the Lord Jesus Christ. They got in touch with their pastor, who, with two other church members, came immediately.

Since Shuhaib still slept when the pastor arrived, he talked the situation over with the couple. Meanwhile, their two youngsters took it upon themselves to wake the fellow up.

"Shall we tell you a holy verse we know by heart?" a little voice queried.

"Yes," groggy Shuhaib replied.

"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life,” the older boy replied. “No one can come to the Father without Me."

"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." the younger boy piped in.

Stunned, Shuhaib realized he’d been hearing the same words the older boy just recited the whole previous night as he’d been running to safety.

Seeing the visitor now awake, the others came over. Shuhaib asked them about that verse, and explained his own experience with it.

“Those are the words of Christ Jesus, our Savior,” the pastor replied.

At the name ‘Christ Jesus’, Shuhaib rose angrily.

"Are you Christians??” he demanded.

“Yes, we are Christians," the pastor replied politely.

"Well then, thank you for your hospitality. But I'm sorry, Christians have been my enemies since birth. So I’m leaving."

When he tried to, the pastor stopped him gently.

"Brother, the Lord Jesus just saved your life from a great tragedy. Jesus is not an enemy, but a friend of everyone. He rescued you, was with you on your way, and brought you right here. You can go if you want, but please allow us to have a few words of prayer with you before you do. God brought you here for that reason, we believe.”

Annoyed, Shuaib decided to do as they asked, and sat back down.

While the pastor prayed, Shuhaib again fell asleep.  He dreamt Jesus blessed him with nail-pieced hands, while behind Him stood a huge crowd of saintly-looking people. Multitudes of angels overshadowed the scene. Then, among the saintly ones, he clearly saw the bright, smiling face of his sister Sameera right on the front lines.

"I am the Light of Life, the Prince of Peace and the eternal Savior,” Jesus said to him. “I am the First and the Last. Follow me and glorify the Heavenly Father." He then disappeared.

Shuhaib suddenly opened his eyes wider than they’d ever been.

"I believe in you Lord Jesus!" he exclaimed.

Those standing around knew Jesus had visited him. Shuhaib then shared his whole story from the beginning. The pastor related his own testimony of how he had converted from Islam, and then outlined the message of the Gospel. Shuhaib readily accepted Jesus as his personal Savior and Lord.

As the pastor listened to Shuhaib’s story, he put the pieces together and realized he could be none other than Sameera’s brother. He knew Sameera to be married to a fellow Bibles for Mideast pastor and living in another country.

After discussing the situation with Pastor Paul, director of Bibles for Mideast, he contacted Sameera's husband and told him the wonderful news. Within days, the former terrorist joined his sister and her husband at their church, and was baptized there.

We also just learned from Sameera that at likely the same time as her brother met with Jesus in his dream, she’d had a vision of herself worshiping the Lord in Spirit and in Truth alongside her long-lost brother!

Please keep all of these precious people in your prayers.

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* Name changed for security reasons

Previous story on Sameera: Jesus heals and saves Afghani girl brought up by Taliban

Ministry leader attacked by radical Muslims released from hospital; his main attacker and family now Christians!

Pastor Peter Haneef, President of the ALG (Assembly of Loving God)* is now home, with medical orders for a month of bed rest. 

We had reported on his attack earlier (Brutal attack on ALG Church leader Pastor Peter Haneef and family in Bangladesh) as well as an astonishing update a week later (Boy’s dramatic dream of wounded lamb leads to salvation of his Islamic terrorist father).

The following is excerpted from Pastor Peter’s letter of thanks.

“Dear co-pastors and friends in our Lord:

“Glory to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am thankful to the Lord for you and all the prayer warriors of Bibles for Mideast and the ALG Church…. I did not even think of coming back to life, for the attack by radical Muslims was so brutal and I was about to die. My wife and children also suffered with me. I was prepared to meet my Lord at any time. But now I know it is His will that I should live on in the flesh some more time and make fruits for the Lord from my labour.

“Also I thank Pastor Paul, Pastor John, sister Susanna and all the fellow labourers of our Lord…. May our Lord reward you all for your spiritual and physical helps and for your kind blessings.

“I am now back from the hospital. Doctors advised me to take complete bed rest for a month. No doubt it is hard for me. But also I think it is good that I have been afflicted, that I may have more time to pray for the salvation of unsaved people and to learn the statutes of my Lord Jesus Christ. Once again I and my family surrender ourselves before the Lord and we decided to serve Him better till the end of our lives.

“Our Lord has saved the chief person of my attackers and his whole family from sin and death. But they are facing persecutions and were forcibly expelled from their house by the local Muslim community. The members of our  church have given them refuge and are helping them. He and his children have a great desire to become missionaries of our Lord among Muslims and are praying for that.  Offer your continuous prayers for them please.

“May the grace of our Father, the love of Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

With love and prayers,
Your fellow labourer in His service,
Pastor Peter H."

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*The ALG is the umbrella organization for all Bibles for Mideast churches.

PLEASE KEEP PRAYING FOR THE PROTECTION OF ALL MISSIONARIES AND WORKERS FOR JESUS IN THE RESTRICTED AREAS OF OUR WORLD