Update -- August 31st
It now appears that our prayers have been answered! The hostages are now back home and are safe. At the same time, there are consequences to the negotiations that were made in order to secure their release. A missionary friend in Kazakhstan provides these insightful thoughts and questions:
August 31st, 2007
Dear Brothers & Sisters,
Good News…all have been released. PTL!
Keep praying though, this has made a major impact in various forms over the region of the Middle East
and Asia…some positive and negative.
I am not sure of my history, but this may be the first time in history that a Nation has forbid Christian Missionaries to leave their homeland and go to a foreign land. If so, this sets a major president for the future. (As of this event the Nation of Korea has promised the Taliban that they would not allow any Christian Missionaries to leave Korea and enter Afghanistan). Also ALL Christian workers have been issued an order to leave Afghanistan and return to Korea. You may not know that the Korean Churches have sent more workers to Afghanistan than any other nation, if not the largest… it is one of the largest.
You may think that many will welcome these hostages back home and indeed their families/their Churches are rejoicing. But in Korea, reports are spreading that discussions have emerged about the possible imprisonment of our Christian Brothers and Sisters. For the Korean government, this in many was has been a “loss of face”. Others are reporting that it also is having a negative impact among Churches
throughout the region, as you can see in the news report below that the War and Christian Missions are seen to go hand in hand, at least in the eyes of the Taliban…this is not unusual.
I am not making a political statement here…just giving the picture of what is happing so you can pray!
Keep praying that the Lord of the Harvest will send forth laborers into the Harvest. The Scripture is clear….
Go into ALL the world and make disciples…. It is clear now that not only will there be persecution, death, etc..but one of the battles we will face in bringing the Gospel to Millions of Muslims around the world is a misunderstanding or our purpose. May we be bold and full of the Love of Jesus as we continue to obey our Lords command…
Let us not forget our two brothers who have given their lives for the sake of the Gospel in Afghanistan in the last few weeks… Let us not forget our brothers in Turkey who have given their lives for the sake of the Gospel in Turkey in the last few weeks….
Dear Brothers & Sisters,
Good News…all have been released. PTL!
Keep praying though, this has made a major impact in various forms over the region of the Middle East
and Asia…some positive and negative.
I am not sure of my history, but this may be the first time in history that a Nation has forbid Christian Missionaries to leave their homeland and go to a foreign land. If so, this sets a major president for the future. (As of this event the Nation of Korea has promised the Taliban that they would not allow any Christian Missionaries to leave Korea and enter Afghanistan). Also ALL Christian workers have been issued an order to leave Afghanistan and return to Korea. You may not know that the Korean Churches have sent more workers to Afghanistan than any other nation, if not the largest… it is one of the largest.
You may think that many will welcome these hostages back home and indeed their families/their Churches are rejoicing. But in Korea, reports are spreading that discussions have emerged about the possible imprisonment of our Christian Brothers and Sisters. For the Korean government, this in many was has been a “loss of face”. Others are reporting that it also is having a negative impact among Churches
throughout the region, as you can see in the news report below that the War and Christian Missions are seen to go hand in hand, at least in the eyes of the Taliban…this is not unusual.
I am not making a political statement here…just giving the picture of what is happing so you can pray!
Keep praying that the Lord of the Harvest will send forth laborers into the Harvest. The Scripture is clear….
Go into ALL the world and make disciples…. It is clear now that not only will there be persecution, death, etc..but one of the battles we will face in bringing the Gospel to Millions of Muslims around the world is a misunderstanding or our purpose. May we be bold and full of the Love of Jesus as we continue to obey our Lords command…
Let us not forget our two brothers who have given their lives for the sake of the Gospel in Afghanistan in the last few weeks… Let us not forget our brothers in Turkey who have given their lives for the sake of the Gospel in Turkey in the last few weeks….
Until all Muslims have heard,
John B. Weed
John B. Weed
Update -- August 30
12 of the remaining hostages have been released. Nine are still in captivity. The price for the release of the hostages was a promise to withdraw their 200 non-combative troops (engineers and medical workers) from Afghanistan as well as making a national promise to halt all Christian missionary work in Afghanistan. A good choice? What do you think? Keep praying for the remaining nine...
Update -- August 28 -- According to US News and World Report…the Taliban have pledged today to free the hostages…pray that this really
happens as we have seen many deadlines, promises, etc…when they are on the plane back to Korea, then we will know.
I keep thinking and praying for the Korean Hostages in Afghanistan. It is hard to find current information on the crisis there. Today is the 33rd day of captivity for the 19 remaining hostages. I have led many medical and relief teams to third world countries before, so this story really got my attention.
Christians today are the most persecuted religious group in the world. This may come as a surprise to some, but it is a well documented reality, particularly with the rise of extreme expressions of Islam. Learn more about this fact by visiting http://www.persecutedchurch.org/.
There is an excellent blog about the Korean Hostage crisis at this link:
Why is it that this story has dropped out of the news?
Current face to face negotiations between the Taliban and Korean officials have failed but a new deadline has been set for the lives of the captives. According to the purported spokesperson of the Taliban, their “Leadership Council” will determine the fate of the hostages.
I challenge you to prayerfully respond to the challenge of Hebrews 13:3:
12 of the remaining hostages have been released. Nine are still in captivity. The price for the release of the hostages was a promise to withdraw their 200 non-combative troops (engineers and medical workers) from Afghanistan as well as making a national promise to halt all Christian missionary work in Afghanistan. A good choice? What do you think? Keep praying for the remaining nine...
Update -- August 28 -- According to US News and World Report…the Taliban have pledged today to free the hostages…pray that this really
happens as we have seen many deadlines, promises, etc…when they are on the plane back to Korea, then we will know.
I keep thinking and praying for the Korean Hostages in Afghanistan. It is hard to find current information on the crisis there. Today is the 33rd day of captivity for the 19 remaining hostages. I have led many medical and relief teams to third world countries before, so this story really got my attention.
Christians today are the most persecuted religious group in the world. This may come as a surprise to some, but it is a well documented reality, particularly with the rise of extreme expressions of Islam. Learn more about this fact by visiting http://www.persecutedchurch.org/.
There is an excellent blog about the Korean Hostage crisis at this link:
Why is it that this story has dropped out of the news?
Current face to face negotiations between the Taliban and Korean officials have failed but a new deadline has been set for the lives of the captives. According to the purported spokesperson of the Taliban, their “Leadership Council” will determine the fate of the hostages.
I challenge you to prayerfully respond to the challenge of Hebrews 13:3:
Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
2 comments:
August 22, 2007
9:30 PM Almaty, Kazakhstan
We have heard no new news that we can count on as official…have found nothing on the Internet, and no news from our sister there in Kabul…but our local Russian News here in Kazakhstan is saying that the Taliban has made the decision to kill on hostage each day until they get what they want…we pray that this is not true…when we know something we will write;
WHEN was the last time you read Matthew 24:1-51?
Watch out that no one deceives you….
Will hear of wars, rumors of wars…Nation against nation…kingdom against Kingdom…
Famines, earthquaqes..storms (Dean the biggest in modern history)
Many will turn away from the faith, you will be handed over to be persecuted, and put to death…
Because of the increase in wickedness the love of many will grow cold (Internet Pornography is a main killer for Christian Men)
It came to mind yesterday morning just out of the blue…sure it was the Lord…
Do all of you get CNN International News? If you do be sure to watch the program called
“God’s Warriors” about Jews, Muslims and Christians…a very interesting documentary, and
it is already stirring up more tension…as this is one of the first times I have seen the media
take steps like this…
I want to add an email from a friend…how she wrote her email was very eye opening….
Hi John..
Thank You for your emails!
They have made me feel very connected to reality.
As you know the American media is quite selective in what they dish out to the
couch potatoes and dead heads!
I received a blessing from praying each time I’ve read your messages re: bad situations, etc.
and have felt God’s Spirit within encouraging and comforting me!...
A friend from Alabama
MAY WE ADD AN ADDITIONAL PRAYER REQUEST
Our orphanage in Tajikistan is not far from where the Korean believers are being held…just over the boarder…
our Orphanage is about 50 miles from the Afghanistan boarder. Things are going well there, but we have many needs..
I will write more in the next newsletter with a specific focus on the kids…but pray for them and our National Leaders there
they are all former Muslims and they are open about their faith…pray for the angels of the Lord to be with them…
Bless you all!
John Weed
According to US News and World Report…the Taliban have pledged today to free the hostages…pray that this really happens as we have seen many deadlines, promises, etc…when they are on the plane back to Korea, then we will know.
But, please not the promises the Korean Government has made…NO missions work allowed in Afghanistan…so we still have struggles ahead of us…Matthew 28:19-20 does not say ‘into all the world….where you are allowed”…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AFGHANISTAN?SITE=DCUSN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
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