Story number 1 for 28 Sep 2000

We begin today in Afghanistan where there are reports that tens of thousands have fled the fighting and the deepening drought. The two crises are adding to the suffering of a country already affected by more than 20 years of conflict. The ensuing poverty and food shortages have claimed the eyesight of thousands of victims as well. Christian Blind Mission International’s Alan Harkey. “It’s harder for our missionary coworkers to do what they’ve been charged to do. When you have a drought, when you have wrenching poverty, when you have a lack of food, when it’s difficult to get medicine, that makes their work that much more difficult.” Harkey adds that this is a real spiritual battle. “There is a spiritual darkness that is oppressive. We need people praying en masse, that our missionary doctors will carry the light of the Gospel, and as they open physical eyes, they can touch some of these places for Christ.”