The catalyst for this transformation is Crossroads Prison Ministries’ mentor program.

“We connect mentors from churches with our students in prisons, and they correspond back and forth with each other through letters and our Bible study lessons,” explains Brian Kamstra, Crossroads’ Director of International Ministries.

During a recent visit to Langata Women’s Prison, Kamstra and his team witnessed firsthand how the Holy Spirit is moving. “That was just a very, very touching time for us,” he shares. “We spent time worshiping with the women and learning some of their stories. A couple of students shared how going through the Crossroads lessons has transformed their lives.”

One moment stood out to Kamstra. “I looked down in front of me, and there was a Bible sitting on the chair. A woman had written on the pages of her Bible — the word ‘blessed.’ As I looked at that woman, we were in our time of worship and she was just singing at the top of her lungs.

“How ironic to see the word ‘blessed’ on her Bible when she’s locked up in this prison, but probably is more free than she has ever been through learning more about Jesus and the life transformation she has gone through.”

Jane from the Langata Women’s Prison in Kenya. (Photo courtesy of Crossroads Prison Ministries)

The reality of life in Kenyan prisons is sobering. Overcrowding is a massive issue, partly because more than half of incarcerated individuals are still awaiting trial — sometimes for over a year.

Kamstra says, “One of the reasons why women are going into prison is because of fighting or domestic violence issues.” He describes tragic situations where a woman, defending herself against an abusive partner, might unintentionally cause harm and find herself imprisoned.

Crossroads is a lifeline for many women at Langata. One inmate, Jane, shared how the lessons sustain her. “She said, ‘When you’re in prison, you have to forgive. I have to forgive my neighbor…because I have to live with that person.'”

Through Bible study, women are learning about their identity in Christ.

“Those are the things that our ministry is all about,” Kamstra says. “The Crossroads lessons have helped people understand forgiveness, understand that they’re a child of God, understand that they are loved, understand that a mentor cares for them, [and] understand that there are churches out there that want to be involved and engaged in prison ministry.”

Crossroads carries out ministry to prisons in Kenya and four other African countries. You can advance this critical Gospel outreach by supporting Crossroads at their website.

Header photo courtesy of Crossroads Prison Ministries.

In July of 2021, Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention, which intended to protect women from violence. Officials claimed the convention was incompatible with Turkish culture.

Joe Willey with SAT-7 USA says, “The COVID pandemic is a factor that brought about an increase in domestic violence. Now this is in many countries, not just in Turkey, but many women continue to be the subject of violence. Even [when] they follow legal steps, like getting a restraining order, many times the orders are not enforced.”

“So the violence escalates. And then in extreme cases, yes, there’s femicide.”

Through the program You Are Not Alone, SAT-7 TÜRK teaches that women are made in God’s image and equally valuable to men. Experts like psychologists, therapists, and sociologists appear on the show.

Willey says, “This program was created in 2020 to provide advice from experts on the struggles of going through the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly the threat of domestic violence toward women. It is a program that does promote the sanctity of life.”

Pray women across Turkey would hear about God’s love for them through this show.

People in North America can benefit from this message as much as anywhere else, Willey says. “Stresses like pandemic lockdowns will reveal problems hidden just under the surface. No country, whether the U.S., Turkey, or any other country in the Middle East and North Africa, is immune from the violence and conflict.”

Header photo courtesy of SAT-7 USA. 

But the issue remains: over 300 Turkish women were killed by partners or male relatives in 2020. Even more were found dead under suspicious circumstances. Read more here.

SAT-7’s response

SAT-7 has responded to the cultural attitudes that lead to this kind of violence. The SAT-7 TÜRK program, You Are Not Alone invited lawyers, psychologists, and other experts onto address the issue.

Joe Willey of SAT-7 USA talks about the show. “It’s about legal rights and organizations that can help someone in a crisis situation. With this exiting of this treaty, that has continued. And we are working to raise awareness so more women are protected.”

A different message

But it’s also about Jesus’ love and care for women, a truth every culture on Earth needs to hear. For instance, one Turkish proverb says, “A beating comes from heaven.” It tries to say men have a divine right to committing violence against women.

Willey says, “There are certain attitudes that reflect a woman being seen as of less value than a man, secondary in the family and culture. SAT-7 programming provides a biblical response. It’s showing that both men and women are made in the image of God and are loved by their Creator.”

Pray this truth will change cultural attitudes in Turkey and throughout the world.

Header photo courtesy of SAT-7 USA. 

Turkey claims to have its own plan to hinder violence against women. But Denise Godwin of International Media Ministries says, “Female killings, either in family settings or because of shame or various things, haven’t decreased in Turkey; they’ve increased. Show me your actions, not your words.”

The way of Jesus

Many in Turkey’s leadership want to enshrine a strict version of Islam in the country’s laws. But Godwin says Jesus taught His followers a different way to treat women. “The incredible thing is the seven churches of Revelation and many of the places mentioned in the New Testament are actually places in Turkey. We today may forget that. But the early Church was significant and influential. You can go back to our original documents, like Acts and Romans, and you see that women were involved in the early Church. Jesus was moving things in a direction where women were affirmed.”

IMM explores the Christian heritage of the Middle East and North Africa through video. Learn more about IMM, their video projects, and how you can get involved here.

Header photo courtesy of International Media Ministries. 

Eric Mock with the Slavic Gospel Association says, “We support schools in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, in Central Asia, and Kazakhstan. We’re helping provide biblical counseling. We’re providing them [education], that they would know how to help couples understand what a biblical marriage looks like, to understand how to recover from domestic violence, and how to work through it.”

A Christian perspective on marriage

Christians have a unique perspective on what marriage is supposed to look like, based on Jesus’ teachings on the first chapters of Genesis.

Violence or manipulation is never part of that picture. Mock says, “We’re helping people understand what it looks like to have a biblical marriage. How important it is to respect the dignity of each human life and the value of men and women, equally valuable in God’s eyes.”

It’s important to train nationals to do this work, Mock says. COVID-19 and tense politics have kept Americans out of the region. “What’s exciting about this is that with even 50% of the training, its nationals training nationals. The training has gone on to such a point that only a few specialized Americans are coming over. And now the schools that are there are training and equipping the Church.”

Through this work, pray Christians in Slavic nations would become known for their love and grace.

(Header photo courtesy of Zoriana Stakhniv on Unsplash)

Vincent Michael of FMI explains why Turkey’s government would reverse course. “More recently, with shifts in the West, more conservative countries (and not just Turkey, conservative Christian countries like Poland) have grown leery of the convention. They see it as maybe a backdoor way to advocate for transgender [identities] or to advocate rights for LBGT communities inside their country.”

A persistent problem

This decision comes at a time when violence against women has surged around the world due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. Michael says it’s a similar story in Turkey. “It’s not a moot point. It is a very real issue. And as President Erdogan takes Turkey into a more Islamicist way of thinking, those things will probably continue to rise more sharply.”

Michael encourages listeners to pray for the Holy Spirit to change hearts in Turkey. “You clearly see through the Gospels the value that Jesus places on women. But also, Muslim men have mothers. They have daughters. They have sisters. Pray that God would move in the heart of Muslim men, even before they become Christians, that they would become more compassionate to the needs of the women in their lives. Laws are one thing that nations set up, but hearts are another thing. And God can change hearts even in spite of laws.”

The header photo shows Istanbul, Turkey, where the treaty was opened for signature. (Alexxx1979, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

Fighting for Change

Women continue to fight for equal rights and opportunities in the MENA region, and though progress has been made in some areas, many policies, perspectives, and beliefs still need to change. Large numbers of women suffer from everything from domestic abuse to sexual harassment, but many lack support and feel too afraid to come forward. Several SAT-7 programs target these issues. SAT-7’s Joe Willey says “Turning Point” is one such program.

“‘Turning Point’ [is] a weekly live show for young adults that targets important everyday issues. Viewers call in to offer their comments perspectives, and then there are four panelists who share their experiences, [and], most importantly, biblical wisdom,” he explains.

(Photo courtesy of SAT-7 via Facebook)

Another relevant program, “Needle and New Thread,” addresses the issues and struggles women in the MENA region face.

“‘Needle and New Thread’ is a live talk show that offers support for women and addresses current social issues in Egyptian and Arab society,” Willey says. “It has a special focus on young women who are starting out their careers or their married lives.”

Built on the Bible

These programs have allowed SAT-7 to address women’s issues from a biblical perspective, as Scripture reveals God’s heart for the oppressed. Willey explains the importance of a biblical foundation for these programs.

“SAT-7 has acknowledged that women, as well as men, are made in the image of God, so both have God-given value. Women are not lesser value than men,” Willey says. “That is the type of foundational, biblical wisdom that’s reinforced on the programs.”

Willey also explains the programs offer more than just these crucial truths. They also find practical ways to address especially difficult situations some of their viewers face.

(Photo courtesy of SAT-7)

“SAT-7 considers a person’s physical as well as spiritual needs, [so] the programming provides resources to help those who may be in difficult or dangerous situations. Many women who were silent have been given a voice.”

While these issues have been relevant in the MENA region for years, Willey says the pandemic has worsened situations for many.

“There has been a rise of domestic violence in the Middle East and North Africa during the coronavirus pandemic, so for some these issues can be the difference between life and death,” he says.

Support SAT-7

You can help support SAT-7’s programs here. Willey also asks for prayer for these programs and the many others SAT-7 produces.

“Pray that SAT-7 would help people understand the intrinsic value of a person is given by God and that lives would be changed,” he says.

You can also find more ways to pray for SAT-7’s ministry on their website, including a monthly prayer calendar and newsletter.

Header image courtesy of Ben White via Unsplash

This ruling sparked a backlash in Russia, and many women are still vocally trying to find justice in the country today. But Eric Mock of Slavic Gospel Association says the problem isn’t just legal; the new laws stem from cultural attitudes in Russia and other Slavic nations that devalue women.

Damaging cultural attitudes

Mock shares a story from his ministry. “I was teaching out of Genesis and talking about . . . the equal value of men and women. One of the ladies stood up and said, ‘We were raised, thinking that it was beneficial for a husband to beat a wife so that the wife would learn how to be more godly.’”

SGA works with local churches to provide food through the Christ Over COVID program. (Photo courtesy of SGA on Facebook)

To make matter worse, police rarely respond to domestic violence cases. Mock says, “Women that come to the police department, they are basically put on a waiting list to have an officer respond to them. Time and time again, many of these women suffer in silence.”

Mock says only Jesus Christ can change these attitudes and awful cultural assumptions. “What we see is a tremendous transformation that occurs when men and women come to faith. We’re seeing relationships that are restored and the dignity of each life set as it should be.”

Natalya’s story

That is exactly what God is doing in Russia. Mock tells the story of Natalya and her children, who suffered heavily from domestic abuse. Local churches reached out to them through the Christ Over COVID campaign.

Mock says, “They continue to minister to this family. Natalya responded back and said that her husband, Stepan, had stopped beating her and stopped drinking. In fact, Stefan’s brother Sergei came to faith in the middle of this. So it’s pretty amazing to see how God is at work.”

Through the power of Christ and His resurrection, the cycle of domestic abuse has been broken in this family. Pray the same thing would happen all over Russia and the former Soviet Union.

The header image shows Natalya and her children. (Photo courtesy of SGA on Facebook)

Recently, You Are Not Alone addressed the problem of domestic violence in the Middle East. Joe Willey, Marketing and Communications Manager of SAT-7 USA, says, “Reports of abuse in the Middle East in North Africa (MENA) have surged during the pandemic. This specific caller, Fadia, spoke from Lebanon. In fact, she was on a Lebanese street to avoid being overheard at home.”

Fadia* was beaten daily by her husband, and so were her children. And the laws in Lebanon will not protect Fadia them. Her family knows about the abuse, but they cannot help.

SAT-7 brings the hope of the Gospel to those struggling with domestic abuse. (Photo courtesy of SAT-7 on Facebook)

Thankfully, SAT-7 was able to connect Fadia with a local organization that can get her out of the situation. Willey says, “SAT-7 not only shares the Gospel and biblical guidance but also provides practical resources to help those in need. It is an opportunity that we relish to be the hands and feet of Jesus.”

SAT-7’s work in MENA

As the COVID-19 pandemic started spreading around the world and into the Middle East, SAT-7 created the program You Are Not Alone to connect with people in the MENA region.

Willey says, “The program’s purpose is to provide biblically-based spiritual encouragement to viewers struggling with loneliness, anxiety, and grief caused by the pandemic.” Read more about the program here. This program, along with many other SAT-7 programs, gives a platform to people that society would otherwise ignore.

Willey encourages Christians to pray for the work that SAT-7 is doing in the MENA region. “Pray that these programs will be effective in reaching people who either are continually struggling or have struggled in the past, specifically with domestic abuse. Pray that SAT-7 will be an agent in helping break down the social stigma that keeps victims trapped.”

Most of all, pray that through this compassionate work, many would see who Jesus is and be drawn to Him.

*Name changed for security purposes

The header image is courtesy of SAT-7 on Facebook.

Yesterday we reported about the spike in domestic abuse resulting from the worldwide COVID-19 lockdowns. We focused on spousal abuse, stemming from false cultural views of men and women in South Asia. But children suffer domestic violence just as often.

“I’ve been told the kids that are in the orphanages are the lucky kids,” says Eric Mock of Slavic Gospel Association, adding that only 30% of orphans in Russia are “true orphans.” Their parents may still be alive but they offer no help. If they don’t live in orphanages, many kids just live in the street.

Tajikistan from orbit. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia commons)

He relates two stories from the former Soviet Union. One girl saw her mother kill her father with an axe, while another hid behind the stove in the house for weeks, hiding from her mother’s boyfriend after trying to eat a crust of bread from the table.

Mock says, “When I was in Tajikistan I actually met an unbelieving mother who sold one of her three daughters at age 11 to human traffickers to feed the other two children. . . But this mother, who was an orphan herself, almost looked at me with surprise. If that’s what she needed to do to care for her other two kids, that’s what she would do.”

Hopelessness

What causes the home experience of these children to be so horrific? Often the parents struggle with drug and alcohol addictions. Most often, these families live shrouded in overwhelming hopelessness.

Children in rural areas of the former Soviet Union often face domestic violence. (Photo courtesy of SGA on Facebook)

They do not have access, Mock says, to the resources we do in the United States, either medical or economic. They do not live with the daily hope that they will be able to provide for their families.

And with the pandemic making inroads into Russia, their government will offer them no hope, Mock says. “In other countries, there is no support checks. There is no Congress working together to take care of their own country. It’s every person for themselves. And so these kids very clearly are at the end of the food chain.”

SGA’s response

SGA’s Orphans Reborn program works with orphans, and even keeps track of kids after they leave the orphanage. Mock says, “The children up until age 18 are really tracked as far as the government’s concerned, but after they leave the orphanage, many times the church  does its best to keep track of these children and minister to them.”

Pray that Christ will shine on children in the Former Soviet union. (Photo courtesy of SGA on Facebook)

That’s why Orphans Reborn works with local churches to provide aid to the kids, and even give them places to stay when they can’t safely stay at home. SGA shares the Gospel with these children, telling them of God who has not abandoned this bleak, hopeless world, but who is bringing hope and joy into it through Jesus Christ.

Christ over COVID-19

Mock says, “SGA soon is going to be putting out a 31 days of prayer,  Christ over COVID: Much Prayer Much Power. We want to set the focus on prayer.” Believers can pray that these orphans would be filled with the hope of Christ. Pray also that Christians working with the orphans and families would be able to minister well in safety.

Consider getting behind the Orphans Reborn program to help local churches in the Soviet Union minister to orphans and their families.

Pray most of all that the former Soviet Union would see the transformation of Christ and that light and hope would visit the land.

Map of lockdowns in Russia. The lighter areas are only partial lockdowns. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)