Reading time 3 minutes.

Greetings!

Caution, some of the information disclosed is graphic in its descriptions.

Several weeks ago, four of our men were captured after smuggling a large shipment of Bibles. But, once again, they and their Bibles were all released from custody, without torture, before charges were officially brought against them. No Bibles were lost during this ordeal. Praise our Lord.

At the same time, and in another country, I notified you that we had a significant wound to our ministry. One of our men, not a pastor but a great leader, had disappeared, and we had difficulty finding him. By the grace of God, though he is accosted, he is being treated well, and though we don't know his location and have had no contact with him, we are assured of his safety. Please continue to pray for this great, great need. Ask our Lord to give him favor in the eyes of his captors and allow his release and restoration.

In another country, we have all seen constant news reports of demonstrations against Islamic oppression that crushes the spirit of the people and demands a rigid dress code. The demonstrations began because a 22-year-old lady was beaten to death for not wearing her head covering (hijab) correctly. She had it on loosely instead of the proper way, having it tightly wrapped around her head. Imagine the brutality and the prevailing fanaticism of "religious police" on the streets looking for such infractions and killing you for your scarf being too loose.

Several days ago, it happened again to one of our young ladies. Let me tell you her story.

This young lady, Fereshetah, also twenty-two years old, was a new convert. She had found Christ at the age of eighteen through the bold witness of a friend who was a member of one of our house churches. Her mother, too, had since become a follower of Christ but not her father. He lived with his principal wife; thus, Fereshetah rarely saw her dad. But, like most young people in her land who find salvation, she was eager to share her faith with her friends, and one of them, a young girl who happened to be eighteen years old, had begun going to church with her and studying God's Word. Both young ladies had received Bibles that our Smugglers ministry provided for them.

Several nights ago, after the service was over, the members began to take turns leaving. (They do not all leave at once, as such a crowd would attract unwelcome attention in the neighborhood.) Fereshetah offered to walk the younger one home because, with the demonstrations, it was dangerous. After arriving at the eighteen-year-old girl's home, they said goodnight, and Fereshetah left. Rather than take the most direct route home, where she would have to pass through the demonstration, she opted to take a longer, less direct route. Unfortunately, the route took her near the expanding demonstration, and the religious police accosted her."

Fereshetah immediately insisted that she was not a part of the demonstrations but knew that she could not reveal the underground church as her alibi. They first told her that her hajib was too loose, and she admitted that she had left in a hurry and should have been more careful. Then they began to search her and, upon doing so, found her Bible in a pocket inside her burqa (Islamic women's dress). They began to beat her, claiming that she was there to incite the crowd to deny Allah and follow Jesus, and insisted that she was trying to destroy their faith and country and was, therefore, a traitor to both.

After arriving at the prison, the beatings continued from eight to ten violent men. In time they grew weary of administering the torture and realized they could not get any information from her. By now, she was severely beaten and bleeding from multiple wounds, and passing in and out of consciousness. Her suffering was intensified by the humiliation of stripping her naked and molesting her. Finally, to finish their tortures and satisfy their rage, they told her they would make it impossible for her to carry her Bible again or walk away to distribute Bibles. Upon announcing their intention, they took a power saw and cut off her hands well above the wrists and then her legs, severing them halfway between the knees and her hip. As she began to bleed out quickly, they mocked her saying, get up now, and we will let you walk away. Those were the last words her mortal ears heard over the noise of the power saw.

Gathering her body parts, they drove to her house and left them on the front steps for her mother to find. After what seemed like an eternity of grieving, she contacted our people. They took her body, cleaned her, and gave her a burial befitting a Believer of her caliber. She is now and eternally among those "of whom the world is not worthy." The buzz of the power saw is now replaced by Heaven’s orchestra and the curses by ongoing praise to “the Lord of the cross.”

Now what?

Like so many before her, this young lady risked her life to follow Christ, to read the Bible, and to have one she could touch, hold, cherish, and share with others. We dare not forget her devotion and sacrifice. Before the events of this night, our leadership there had asked us to give them 100,000 more Bibles (at a cost of $600,000). Not to fill a warehouse, not to sit on shelves in a closet, but to give to Believers and those searching both to know Jesus and to know more about Him. So, here's what we will not do. We will not cower or sit in the corner licking our wounds. Instead, we will begin with this letter to fill the order for the 100,000 by printing and delivering the first installment of 25,000 Bibles. At $6 each, we need to raise a total of $150,000. Thankfully, $60,000 has been committed to this cause leaving a balance of $90,000.

We must attack the gates of hell now while demonic forces celebrate their victory over our young warrior, Fereshetah. We don't need to hide inside the belly of a wooden horse and sneak in. Our Master's battle plan is for us to attack the enemy head-on, in the daylight, and watch as He annihilates their defensive gates. They cannot withstand our attack. But defensive walls do not fall on their own; they fall when you bombard them. Our troops are on the ground and ready for spiritual battle, but they need copies of God's Word, the Sword of the Spirit, to fight with. We dare not send our Lord’s troops into the battle defenseless. I firmly believe that since He did not place you and me there for battle, then He placed us here to supply whatever is needed for this battle for men’s souls and our Lord’s glory.

So whether you choose to give a "Thanksgiving" gift, a "Christmas" gift, a “Memorial” gift to honor Fereshetah or just an "I want to help win this battle" gift. Please give, and please give now before the need and urgency are swept from your mind. You can give online, selecting "Smugglers", or mail in a check and designate it to "Smugglers"

Jon
[1200 Peachtree Street, Louisville, GA 30434]
[800-522-4324]