Last January, we sent you a message about a strategic evangelistic need in the Middle East. (For a reminder, read the original article) Now, I want to share this update, which I received today at great peril.
A brief reminder of who the Murshid are and what they believe:
One of the doctrines of this sect is the belief that women don’t have souls. They believe that when a woman dies, she has no place to go; she just no longer exists. Through you, God helped us to carry out an evangelistic campaign in one of the Murshid villages. Imagine ladies and young girls believing they have no value, no future, no hope and exist only temporarily to fulfill the sexual needs of men, to wash, cook, clean, and raise the next generation of female servants, then hearing for the first time in their lives that the True and Living God does love them, value them, has a purpose for them and invites them to live – with Him — in His House — forever. How beautiful the Gospel must sound to such ears! It is, for them, an oasis in the barren desert that has been their life.
During the past twelve years of civil war and then the earthquake that hit our region, their villages were severely damaged. Now, their entire population has fallen to barely 400,000 souls. Most of their husbands and sons left to join the militias and have since been killed, having been used as mercenary cannon fodder on the front lines of battles.
Their religion teaches that women do not have souls; they are thought to be no better than animals — here for a purpose and afterwards discarded. There is no compassion for them, no more than for a goat or hen. They have been completely abandoned and left to starve. So, we asked you to give $49 so we could buy 500 food bags and a New Testament for each home in a particular village. But you gave more. Read the verse below and pay attention to the words I have highlighted. They apply!
Ephesians 3:20, 21 states; “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Your offerings provided not 500 but 1,500 bags of food and, of course, the gift of a New Testament with each food bag. Like our Father, you gave far more than we asked for or imagined, and because of His power working in you, the Church has gloried the name of His son, Jesus. How? For three months, a team of ten people from our church made weekly visits to this Murshid village, distributed bags of food, and presented the Gospel with the message of salvation.
This sect is considered part of Islam, so we must follow specific cultural arrangements when communicating with them. Despite cultural hindrances, our God has blessed us by redeeming one hundred sixty-seven women who came to know and publicly profess the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal savior. We have planted a church in this village with a pastoral team that cares for them.
Pray with us because we plan to reach another Murshid village in the next few months. Because of our combined efforts — yours and ours, the Murshid are no longer considered an “unreached people group.” Still, we will not stop until they are a Tribe saturated with the knowledge of the Gospel of Christ. Your prayers and funding, combined with the tireless dedication of our workers, make an unstoppable team. I look forward to hearing this tribe sing “Worthy is the Lamb” in Heaven, knowing they are there, partly because of what you and I did to make it so.
Now, we are training an army of Murshid ladies to go to other Murshid villages to reach their “sisters” for Christ. If you want to help us enlarge their Heavenly choir by reaching another village, please send any offering you desire. $49 will provide a much-needed food bag, a New Testament, and a personal gospel witness.
