(Photo courtesy of SAT-7 PARS via Facebook)
Middle East (SAT-7) — [EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an article posted as is from SAT-7, a Christian satellite television ministry to the Middle East and North Africa. To learn more about this organization, click here.]
When a man dies in Iran and Afghanistan, his wife loses much more than her husband. Unless he has special provisions in a will or prenuptial agreement, the legal custody of their children goes to his parents. In Afghanistan, the widow’s in-laws are especially likely to claim their grandchildren. Remarrying is legal for the widow but would ruin her reputation. Society largely views her as a second-hand woman. Suddenly, she feels she’s lost both her past and her future.
But she is not alone. Because of your support, she and other grieving women can find comfort in the SAT-7 PARS program called Life and Its Fullness (in Farsi, Zendegi va Poriye Aan). The program follows the life example of the widow Ruth in the Old Testament. It discusses why things happen to her and how her characteristics would be beneficial to our lives. It also talks about how life as a whole changes dramatically, has its ups and downs and how these changes affect us personally.
Ruth’s life did not end with her husband’s death. She maintained a close relationship with her mother-in-law and went on to work in wheat fields, where God led her to a new relationship with Boaz. God chose the right man for Ruth, a man with compassion and a good heart. Just as Ruth went on to experience the fullness of life, so can the women who watch SAT-7.
Everyone can learn from the series as it covers a variety of topics:
- Immigration
- Crisis management
- General women’s ministry
- God’s work amongst nations
- Christians as members of society
Nikoo Ordodary, Deputy Executive Director and Programming Manager for SAT-7 PARS, says: “These are themes we witness in the book of Ruth. We are told in the Book of Romans that ‘Everything is for the good of those who love God.’ Not just the good things in our lives, but everything.”
(Photo Courtesy of SAT-7)
The half-hour episodes are presented by Iranians Rev. Mansour Khajehpour and Rev. Annahita Parsan. Rev. Khajehpour holds a Masters of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and is the Executive Director of SAT-7 PARS. Rev. Parsan is one of the rare female Iranian pastors in Stockholm, Sweden, ordained by the Swedish Lutheran Church. She preaches a Swedish language service and a Farsi language service each week and works with SAT-7 PARS as a teacher. SAT-7 PARS produced the series in 2013 in partnership with Media Mission The Messengers in Finland and the Frank Mangs Center. It began airing in 2014. Pray that widows and others who watch this program will find Christ’s hope and experience the fullness of life as He intends.
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