We spoke with Edwin Keshish-Abnous, executive director of Heart4Iran, a ministry spreading the Gospel in Iran through Christian programming and Bible distribution.

He says, “Even though the protest has quieted down, the people are still chanting out of their rooftops…and recently, the students have started protesting on their campuses and in the major cities.”

(Photo courtesy Heart4Iran)

Meanwhile, grief continues to hang like a cloud over Iran as families mourn the loss of loved ones killed since the protests erupted on December 28. In Iranian tradition, you mark the 40th day of someone’s death, and many of those commemorations took place this week.

According to Keshish-Abnous, the killing of protestors hasn’t stopped. “One crazy story that happened recently was a 13-year-old boy. He was injured [and] in the hospital. His brother goes over there to take care of him in the hospital; they come kill both that teenager and also the brother…. Later on, [the father] comes to collect the bodies, and they kill the father. So almost every family is affected somehow by losing someone.”

Iran’s exiled Crown Prince, Reza Pahlavi, has garnered support from many Iranians, but it hasn’t been enough so far to enact regime change.

From Keshish-Abnous’s perspective, “There is one major element that is necessary for revolution – defection from inside the government. If that does not happen…there’s a good chance that [revolution] won’t happen until there is a military and outside foreign intervention.”

Amid the conflict and fog of blocked communications, Christians and other minorities are under particular pressure.

(Photo, caption courtesy of Heart4Iran)

“We need to pay attention to the Christians inside the country because not only are they going through the same pain and the challenges and persecution, but also they add to that their faith because they are easily targeted,” says Keshish-Abnous. “The Iranian government has a perfect opportunity and excuse to label them as a enemy of the state and put them in jail. That happens regularly. We have lost some Christians during this latest revolution.

“But even though we’re afraid and worried about them, the reality is they’re continuing their mission.”

Heart4Iran knows of new Iranian believers getting baptized even in the last few weeks. God is still moving.

Keshish-Abnous asks for prayers “for the Church to stay strong – because when the challenges come, when the problems arise, the Church is the one entity that is sacrificial to step forward and help the rest of the world. That is where our humanitarian efforts, our charities, and love that we have towards other people will set us aside from the rest of the faiths, and will show and prove to them that Christianity is about love.”

Also, he asks, “Pray that this can be negotiated or something happens within the country…. And also, I want to pray for the economy not to be affected more than it is affected now, because at the end, the regular population [is] being affected and their livelihood is in danger. They’re really struggling to have a regular, safe life.”

Learn more about Heart4Iran’s critical ministry here.

Header photo: Iranian protest in Canada. (Photo courtesy of Sima Ghaffarzadeh via Pexels)

Hutchcraft Ministries partners with Native American Christians to reach Native youth with Gospel hope. Ron Hutchcraft of Hutchcraft Ministries shares a perspective often overlooked during this holiday.

Hutchcraft says, “If I am a Native American, I may have, at very best, mixed emotions about Thanksgiving in terms of the history that it was the first chapter of.”

Following this early chapter of shared gratitude, the history between Native Americans and European settlers turned tragic. Land was seized, treaties were broken, and generations of Native people suffered displacement, injustice, and grief.

“Now, as for the holiday, for most Native Americans, it is still a great family day,” says Hutchcraft. “It’s a day with food, [and] although there’s a lot of poverty, it’s great to enjoy the meal.”

Hutchcraft also highlights how the heart of Thanksgiving and spiritual gratitude are, in a way, inherent in Native culture.

“Long before the Pilgrims came, the spirit of Thanksgiving has been really part of their spirituality. So for them to come to a Thanksgiving feast that [was] like, ‘We are thankful to the Creator,’ it’s interesting that it was not a new concept at all.”

It opens Gospel doors to discuss the God of the Bible – the true Creator – and Jesus Christ who gave His life for the sins of all people.

Hutchcraft explains, “For believing Native Americans, they would see…that we today have so much to be thankful to our Creator for, to enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.”

As you give thanks today, take time to pray for Native Americans, asking God to reveal Himself and draw hearts to follow Christ.

Header photo courtesy of Element5 Digital/Unsplash.

The latest earthquake on Sunday left four people dead and over 150 injured. In addition to the previous three tremors, a total of over 2,000 people have been killed.

Mike* with Global Catalytic Ministries (GCM) says they are in touch with local ministry partners in Afghanistan. “I recently talked with one of our disciple-makers, and I was like, ‘What are you seeing in the ground? Are there any God stories that you can share?’

“The person was shaken and was like, ‘All I see is death and devastation.’ They sent me pictures of just rows of children dead because of the earthquakes.

(Photo, caption courtesy of Global Catalytic Ministries)

“So it’s heavy. This is a traumatizing situation. You have the Taliban, and you have earthquakes, you have famine, you have child trafficking, you have all these different things. It’s been a brutal season since the fall of Kabul and even before that, but it seems like it’s definitely ramped up.”

Afghan Christians in the region are being Jesus’s hands and feet, mourning with those who mourn.

Mike explains, “We make disciples in the darkest places and beyond, sharing the Gospel in a specific way and in a way that we can operate in these persecuted areas without being captured or identities revealed. We walk with people through their struggles.

“We really start with conversation, and once we go through a simple conversation into a serious and spiritual conversation, then their struggle is revealed. Their ‘God need’ is revealed. That’s really where we start.”

Pray for Gospel comfort in western Afghanistan’s quake-affected villages. Ask the Lord to use GCM to open Gospel doors in the midst of crisis and offer the eternal hope of Jesus Christ.

*First name only for security.

Header photo courtesy of Prayercast.

The death toll is rising at an agonizing pace. Just over 110 people are confirmed dead, but roughly 1,000 people are still missing according to Hawaii Governor Josh Green. Less than half the burned region has been searched so far.

In a community grappling with grief, Child Evangelism Fellowship is ready to support families with their booklet for kids called “Do You Wonder Why?”.

Do You Wonder Why?, booklet by CEF. (Photo courtesy of Child Evangelism Fellowship)

CEF’s Matt Walton says, “It’s specifically to help children who are going through natural disasters or traumatic events that have those questions about, ‘Where is God in this? Why did God allow my house to be destroyed or loved ones to lose their life?’ So it deals with very, very difficult topics from a biblical perspective, but it gives clear answers and hope for kids who are dealing with this stuff.”

At this time, Maui is discouraging too many organizations and volunteers from coming and overwhelming the island. Instead, CEF wants to empower local Maui believers to be the hands and feet of Christ with these booklets.

“What we’ve offered is to purchase and ship those [booklets] to individuals and churches that have the manpower or the ability to connect with people who are directly affected by this,” says Walton.

Please pray for the children of Maui – and all Hawaiians – to fix their eyes on Jesus for comfort and hope.

Walton asks, “Pray that God opens doors for hope conversations about the Gospel for those that don’t know about Jesus. For those in those communities that God put there long before this ever happened, give them opportunity to share the light and the hope that comes from only having a faith in Jesus Christ.”

You can support CEF’s ministry here and have an eternal impact in Maui.

Header photo courtesy of wildfire devastation in Maui. (Photo courtesy of Hawaii National Guard/Flick: https://rb.gy/miqwz)

We now know at least 100 people have died. Authorities expect that number to go up as crews go through the hardest-hit town, Lahaina. Over 1,300 people are still missing.

Hawaii, USA (Photo courtesy of Evan Brandt/Unsplash)

Mabel Todd, the widow of FMI founder Ed Todd, lives on the unaffected side of Maui. She says, “The horror of it is just overwhelming. There are a lot of stories of praise, of course, of people who were rescued. But there are so many more that didn’t make it. So it is really overwhelming and it just is making our island sad.”

Todd works at a local ministry school and says people are taking in displaced family and friends, showing Christ’s love in tragedy.

“Hawaiian people, Maui people are so generous and so giving. It wouldn’t matter how many had been displaced. They’ll make room for them in their homes, and that’s what’s happening even among our school families.”

Please pray for the Lord’s comfort for those grieving in Maui today.

“Prayer is the most important thing,” Todd says. “We’re praying for just the peace of God to come over this island and that somehow that anger will be repressed as people learn to trust in God’s grace and mercy.”

Header photo of fire spotting helicopter over the wildfires in Maui, Hawaii. (Photo courtesy of Kahunapule Michael Johnson/Flickr: https://rb.gy/s87vy)

On that fateful day, May 24, 2022, East Texas State Director for Child Evangelism Fellowship, Mimi Sellers, instantly had flashbacks to the 2018 high school shooting in Santa Fe. Comparing the two tragedies she says, “The best thing we did was keep the media out. Churches were strong, we were able to heal. When the media comes back to Uvalde on the anniversary of the shooting, we can expect protesting and possibly riots.”

The town already had a lot of challenges. Extreme poverty not only plagues the townspeople but prevents gathering enough taxes to help with civil government infrastructure. People who couldn’t afford to lose their jobs suffered such grief and turmoil that they didn’t go to work and lost employment. The ripple effect has caused the economy to suffer even more. People have spiraled down with grief, guilt, regret, and blame. The media goads people into venting about what hasn’t happened by way of improvements since the shooting. People wonder what happened to the donated money and the promises for better school security.

(Photo courtesy of Child Evangelism Fellowship)

The atmosphere in the town is one of volatility. Loud people are approaching others, even people in their cars, and intimidating them. People feel vulnerable and afraid—when they’re not feeling angry.

Sellers summarizes the complexity and hopelessness. “There has been an economic, emotional, and spiritual collapse. There is a need for someone to rise up and take the town and turn it around. We know that Jesus is the answer.” Sellers and her ministry colleagues are strategizing on two levels.

The first part of the strategy is a partnership with churches to reach children and their families through various community outreaches. The second part has to do with long-term sustainability for ministry.

After the shooting, CEF volunteers from around Texas and even from headquarters in Missouri came to Uvalde and did street ministry. They started by connecting with pastors who themselves were traumatized. They were with families as they went to the hospital and morgue, viewed unspeakable things, and some were touched even more personally. At one point, CEF workers and pastors met for a strategy meeting. “You are the first people to ask us how we are doing” they said.

Do You Wonder Why?, booklet by CEF. (Photo courtesy of Child Evangelism Fellowship)

CEF volunteers brought 19,000 copies of a gospel-centered trauma healing booklet by the title, Do You Wonder Why? for distribution. They walked the streets offering to pray with people and distributing both English and Spanish booklets. Representatives from the schools and library took thousands of copies each. Churches used the booklet that very Sunday. 10,000 more copies were sent in June.

One of the CEF staff who came to the town was Angela Carillo, the CEF Local Director for San Antonio. After seeing the spiritual openness of the Uvalde townspeople, she just couldn’t leave. God provided for her to stay in town for eight months. She was able to hold several trainings and establish a local CEF ministry, coordinated by Silvia Alvear, a woman with administrative and teaching skills. Alvear leads the children’s ministry at her church and has made inroads with a few others.

Most churches in town have not recovered. Families with children or families who lost children have seemingly lost faith and are not attending church. Most churches are aging, and the pastors are demoralized. However, there are two bright spots.

Templo Christiano, which holds services in both English and Spanish hosted a volunteer training by Carillo and Alvear. Ten volunteers from the church help at the library’s Good News Club and the church held a CEF Party Club booth at a recent Dia Los Ninos fair. In the past, the church passed out candy, toys, and did games. But with Alvear’s direction, they had multiple programs with a Bible story and led over a thousand children and parents in prayer to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The church pastor loved the improved format.

Silvia Alvear learned about a program called Camp Healing by the HEB Foundation in Virginia. She invited the foundation to come put on a program and learned how to incorporate art, discussion, and games in a way that helps children talk about the hard things in their lives. Now she leads her church in a quarterly Camp Healing. She added significant Bible teaching to the program, using her CEF training.

Uvalde, Texas (Photo courtesy of Child Evangelism Fellowship)

The public school after-school program coordinator has approved a Good News Club to begin meeting this fall in the area public schools. There are four schools so the team of 10 volunteers that Carillo and Alvear have trained will send 2 people to each school and the school program coordinator will assist with helpers. Alvear says, “We are encouraged that the Gospel is going out and desperate people are coming to the Lord. But there is much to be done.”

These little bright spots can begin to turn the town around, but one more element is missing. East Texas State Director Mimi Sellers is looking for some outside support for this small town. “We need Hispanic men from strong churches in a hundred mile radius to come mentor key people in Uvalde. We also need financial support for two CEF workers so the work will be sustained. I’ve seen it many times, where passionate and skilled people have to leave a productive ministry to support themselves. They also have expenses associated with doing the ministry. They’ve stepped up in faith and now we need to keep them moving forward.” Sellers is talking to various churches in East Texas about those two needs, looking for who will receive the blessing by answering the call.

One year after the shooting and the wounds in Uvalde are still bleeding, requiring a spiritual doctor. Jesus said He came to bind up the wounds and heal the broken hearted and then He commissioned believers to be His hands and feet through the power of the Holy Spirit. Who will claim the words of Jesus and be the doctor?

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion — to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. ~ Isaiah 61:1-3

Header photo of Bible verses on a curb in Uvalde last year. (Photo courtesy of Child Evangelism Fellowship)

Responding police officers quickly made their way into the school and took out the shooter. The whole ordeal took just under 15 minutes. The shooter had been a former student at the elementary school.

Fred Pry, Assistant Vice President, USA Ministries for Child Evangelism Fellowship says they are in touch with local CEF staff in Nashville. “CEF is actually heartbroken by the events yesterday in Nashville, Tennessee and at The Covenant School. The Bible tells us to weep with those that are weeping, and they certainly are and we do as well.

“We reached out to [CEF staff] as soon as the news broke…and contacted our state director there. Of course, they’re heartbroken and they’re reaching out to the school and the community and the churches in the area to see if they can support them in some way.”

Representative photo of a school hallway. (Photo courtesy of Kyo Azuma via Unsplash)

In the wake of horrible tragedy in the Christian community of Nashville, grief-stricken believers are coming together.

CEF’s state director in Tennessee, Jeff Nichols, recently began a relationship with The Covenant School in Nashville. Nichols has reached out to his contacts at the elementary school to offer support from the ministry.

Pry says, “We want to serve the community. We want to serve the hurting.”

CEF offers biblical trauma resources for kids through their “Do You Wonder Why?” booklet. Sadly, this isn’t the first time this booklet has been distributed following a school shooting in the US.

“In fact, that booklet was used after the Uvalde school shooting that took place,” Pry says. “I personally had taken a vanload of booklets down there and we distributed them all in Uvalde, Texas to all the churches and God used that in a mighty way. That’s what we would like to do here in Nashville as well.”

Do You Wonder Why?, booklet by CEF. (Photo courtesy of Child Evangelism Fellowship)

If you want to give towards CEF’s Gospel ministry to kids, click here.

You can also contact CEF for information on other ways the ministry could use support as they serve the heartbroken Nashville community.

Pry reflects, “When these tragedies happen, it takes time for people just to get over the shock of it and then the question comes, ‘Well, what can we do to support the people that need support?’ Of course, people will come from all different areas. There will be counselors that are brought into the situation for the children, I’m sure, and pastors will get involved. That’s usually when we then have an open door to to provide these booklets because they’re meeting with people, they’re reaching out to people.”

In the meantime, Pry says, “We can’t minimize the value of prayer…. We had a time of prayer specifically praying for the folks, all the people that are involved — the school, the churches, the community, the families, and even the family of the shooter because we know that they are hurting as well today.”

Pray wisdom for CEF staff members serving as the hands and feet of Jesus in Nashville. Ask the Lord to be very near grieving families and kids, that they would sense His comfort.

Header photo courtesy of Mike Labrum via Unsplash.

The rest of the population is grappling now with trauma and even survivor’s guilt in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Rex Rogers at SAT-7 describes how their staff in Turkey have been affected. “Many of them have family and friends, some of them grew up in this area…. It’s not that far away for them. They are expressing feelings of helplessness, [feeling] angry, lonely, fearful, [and] one that really caught me off guard is they’re experiencing shame.

“What they meant was even for like being alive or enjoying their coffee, it’s a kind of survivor’s guilt.”

(Photo courtesy of Horizons International)

SAT-7 TURK provides Christian satellite television programming across Turkiye and to Turkish speakers in Europe and Central Asia. Amidst their own grief, they are broadcasting Christ’s hope to an entire region dealing with survivor’s guilt.

Rogers says, “It can reach all these television sets throughout Syria and throughout Turkey. It broadcasts spiritual encouragement in the midst of trauma and despair. It points to a sovereign God who has not forgotten these victims.

“They’re preparing some additional interactive programs with pastors [and] Christian leaders who can provide answers for all that fear and loneliness and helplessness — hope, in other words — and they’re looking to learn more about the ways they can actually help.”

SAT-7 TURK is also fielding calls from people asking hard questions about God and faith and where to find hope in tragedy.

“We have a means of communicating spiritual comfort to isolated believers, isolated communities, isolated non-Christians whose hearts are open,” says Rogers.

(Photo courtesy of Horizons International)

“Pray God will work, as He always does, but in and through this tragedy to open hearts to the Gospel and the hope that’s offered and guaranteed in the Christian faith.”

Rogers also asks specifically, “Pray for our staff of SAT-7 TURK there in Istanbul, that they’d have wisdom and grace in how they respond to the earthquake issues on air and online, and that they’re able to give testimony of God’s sovereign care and faithfulness, because that’s what people are calling in and asking about.”

If you would like to learn more about SAT-7 TURK, click here.

Header photo courtesy of Horizons International.

Flowers part of the memorial outside the school. (Photo courtesy of CEF)

The assailant was Panya Kamrab, a 34-year-old ex-policeman who was suspended earlier this year on drug possession charges.

He entered the daycare on Thursday allegedly looking for his two-year-old stepson. When he couldn’t find the child, he used his gun and a knife to murder staff members and at least 24 children.

Kamrab then went home and killed his wife and stepson before committing suicide.

It’s the deadliest massacre Thailand has seen of this kind.

Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) serves Gospel hope to kids around the world, including Thailand. Tony Villanueva, CEF’s Senior Associate Director of International Ministries, says they are grieving with the nation.

CEF Thailand leaders and church leaders standing outside together, they have partnered to bring the Gospel tracts to this community. (Caption, photo courtesy of CEF)

“Our sympathy and prayers go out to the community of Uthaisawan Na Klang, Thailand, following the horrific mass shooting tragedy that occurred at the Child Development Centre earlier today,” Villanueva says. “Our hearts break over the loss of these precious children and childcare workers.”

CEF of Thailand reports that the tragedy took place in a remote village with no church. CEF has reached out to the nearest church to offer help in distributing a Gospel trauma healing booklet to the community and make plans for more outreach.

“Do You Wonder Why?” is a booklet that CEF keeps printed in 54 languages and is already in stock in Thailand.

In the wake of unspeakable devastation, Villanueva calls on believers around the world to pray for mourning Thai communities.

“We continue to pray for their families, and especially, the children affected. CEF Thailand will mobilize to respond in the coming days, sharing the hope of salvation through Jesus Christ with the children in this community.

“Pray with us on behalf of the children, that every child in Thailand would hear the Good News and find comfort in the Savior.”

Header photo depicting juice boxes and snacks set up as a memorial for the children outside the school. Photo courtesy of CEF.

The children ranged from age 3 to 16.

SAT-7

The SAT-7 show You are Not Alone talked to local people as well as civil and church representatives. One neighbor told of rushing in to help, only to find triplets who had died. The son of the deceased church leader talked about his father’s leadership in the community.

Joe Willey with SAT-7 USA says, “I’m a parent. And I can’t imagine the grief. There were triplets, and all three died in the fire. I can’t imagine the darkened days. I think that’s the importance of these programs. Not to have a pat answer, but to offer hope.”

Some people suggested God allowed the fire in order to “take the children up to heaven.” But experts on the show say this is harmful to the parents who lost children. Willey says, “It reminded me of the book of Job. Often, silence is really what a person who is suffering needs at the moment.”

“God will not use evil purposes for his good plans.”

SAT-7 aired a special about the fire called In the Midst of the Darkness. It talked to experts who helped people deal with grief.

Additionally, Willey says, “It looked into the history of informally constructed churches in Egypt. Experts were speaking about fire codes and also fire safety for homes in Egypt. So that was, in a sense, a real public service announcement.”

Ask God to comfort the Egyptian Christian community after this tragedy. Pray their faith would reveal Jesus.

Header photo courtesy of SAT-7 USA.