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Pakistan's election and Kumari's call. Posted on 05/13/2013 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (5)

Thank you for your prayers. What the future holds on the Lord knows but the winning party has promised to rescue Pakistan and had promised minorities they will be cared for. But then everyone makes that promise... Oh there are all sorts of rumours going around. It always happens. There is always the rumour of rigged polls but the truth is that almost 36 million new voters registered this year and if you are getting the public to vote : expect results! Amazingly many Christians voted and that is fantastic for those who did - but then to us it is a miracle thanks to Pervaiz Musharraf who made it pssible for us to vote for head of state. Prior to that we could only vote for a local minorities' rep. My candidate was dropped from the election run. So I, prayerfully decided who to vote for. This was very difficult because none of them have shown any interest in the Aasiya Bibi case or any compassion toward this woman alone and helpless in prison for a crime she is not guilty of. While everyone spoke out against Malala and Rimsha, Malala was owned whole heartedly as the daughter of our nation but Rimsha- she was the poor step child against whom a case has been re opened. Friends the days ahead are in the hands of the living God. I trust Him. I look to Him. We all do. My faith is not in the captain of a sports team who seeks to be leader of opposition or in a business man who will be our new Prime Minister. My hope and my faith is in the Lord who has Pakistan in His hands. A Lord who looks upon pakistan with love and has a purpose for this land. Friends I am also asking you to pray for my best friend. Her name, i cannot tell it to you. But she has been called by the Lord to embark on a journey. One that not everyone has the courage to take. She has sought the Lord and has stepped out in faith. She will be entering places that very few Christian women get to be in. She will be ministering the love of Jesus through just 'being there' in places of darkness and where the light of Christ is not known. Shall we call her 'Kumari' - meaning Princess- shall we say that a Princess of the Royal Priesthood will be entering into serving in my part of the world, taking the water Jesus has to offer to parched places. Kumari goes as an ambassador for Christ Jesus. I ask that you would pray for her safety and for the Lord Jesus to minister His peace and His strength to her in the days ahead. That when it seems dark she would be flooded by His light, when it feels alone, she will know Emmanuel's companionship, when it feels daunting she would know His all surpassing peace, when it seems unfamiliar she will be steady on the Rock and when she lies down to sleep only the Holy Spirit would minister to her and all other noise be silenced. Kumari is a missionary in my part of the world. Please be praying for her and for every life she touches that she leave Jesus' finger prints on those lives and His footprints in the sandy places He takes her to. Thank you for walking in prayer with us. Thank you for your love for South Asia and the Middle East. Thank you for caring for your family.

Make us a blessing. Posted on 05/09/2013 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (1)

Crazy times! I have tried for the last hour to compose this message. In that hour we have had three power cuts. But what is new? Even the interim government was unable to deliver on promises for uninterrupted power. Young people continue to cry out for Imran Khan, previously and otherwise known for being Captain of our cricket team in the 80s and 90s. Now he is the man calling for a 'New Pakistan'. Sadly two days ago he had a fall. Still the youth of Pakistan rise at the sound of his name and the policy and legacy of a new Pakistan. But why are so many people blind to his call for a 'Medina State' for more islamisation and for increased reliance on sharia. Why does no one see that he is in cahoots with Jamaat-e-Islami - a hard line Islamic track in the country that has made life ipossible for women and minorities. Who will we vote for? For western countries to vote is a matter of National Pride. For us - well we just wonder about this whole phenomenon of national pride. When will we ever understand about it? For me the questions are who will speak for Aasiya Bibi, my sister locked away in solitary confinement for a crime of blasphemy she is not guilty of. Who will make sure that the Blasphemy law and the Hadood Ordinances of this penal code are examined and repealed and women and minorities not suffocated by the rise of the 'beards'. FOr me the question is that if Amma and Baba find me a husband this year and we chose to live in Pakistan for the rest of our lives, will my children grow up able to breathe or will they be like the children of Afghanistan who never got to breathe the air of freedom and hope until very recently? I would have danced my way to the polling station were Musharraf still standing. but the only man who ever showed complete respect for minorities has been side lined. Now who? You know what my challenge is right now friends? My challenge is that I feel God has called me to cover each of these who stand for our rights in prayer. You know what I think when I look at Nawaz Sharif, the Mullahs, President Zardari or other candidates? I am surrounded by a culture if hatred. There is so little mercy and compassion for these men. Truly none of them really understand servant leadership, how could they, they are not submitted to the Servant King, my Jesus. But when I look at them my heart breaks for this nation. I see broken men and women, I see broken dreams and ambitions, I see a lot of good intentions, but I see a lot of burn out. Social media has never before guided or influences our voting decisions. We have been warned by anti state elements that polling stations will be blown up. We have already seen violence and anger against the elections. We have seen the loss of innocent lives. But for the first time I have seen my people rise and show hope. My prayer isthat God will guide them in their decisions and God will bring the right man to us, God will protect this land and shine on her and that Pakistan will become a land where hearts are humbled and God can heal her and that as she is healed Jesus is seen in this place. Lord Jesus into your hands we give this territory. May the man of your choosing rise to become our leader. May your Church be strengthened for the years that lie ahead. Make us a blessing and make us more like you regardless of who comes to power.