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Another Friday... Posted on 09/25/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

Another friday - remember I told you about that 'feel to fridays' in my country. Yes it feels like a Friday alright. It certainly sounds like one! All the mosques have their loud speakers on and there are sermons all around. It is a hot day so we have all collected in Daadi's room which is the coolest in the house. I, rubbing mustard oil into Amma's hair, Abby and Jonny laying on either side of Abba playing rough (believe it or not they are 23 and 18!) Daadi reading some Urdu digest or other- she reads all these funny interviews with Pakistani movie stars and singers from the 50s and 60s. Oh we have some fun listening to her declare great and wonderful bits of news about their old flames and love stories and who actually wrote which song. It is better than listening to the Mullahs from the 200 mosques around our house. It normally does not bother me, but of late, I have begun to really struggle with having to listen to them and their baseless sermons and reasons for what is going on. Its always the same, always the same anger and the same hatred toward all this is unislamic, always the same teaching that more and more Christians should be converting to Islam and blah blah blah... Sorry if I sound very non chalant today but really when we sit like this in the cool room, Abby and Jonny (my brothers) and ninu( my sister), Amma and Daadi and myself, we are able to just disconnect from all of that. We are able to pretend for a little while that none of it is real or happening and thank the Lord for the precious blessing that we are a happy family.

Daadi's memories of beauty NOT ashes Posted on 09/24/2008 01:30 PM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

Now that I have washed my hands and face and there is no smelly oil all over the place I can dare to touch my key board. Daadi has gone for her afternoon nap into her room. When I put my notes and newspaper down we talked for a long time about the past. Swat, a beautiful valley with clear, sweet water running through lined with semi precious stones (literally no word of a lie) and trees laden with apricots growing alongside. Everywhere you turned used to be a picnic spot. Dadi has some wonderful memories of wonderful people and times when she was a young girl and she and dada went there for their honeymoon. 'Your Dada and I went there for our honeymoon, thats where he got me that beige and brown shawl with karhai (embroidery) on it- the one I will give you when you get married. So sad, where we celebrated the beginning of our married life has become a grave yard. Another beautiful place destroyed. It's bad enough what they did to Afghanistan, Kabul used to be our Paris, now look at it. Those women were known for their beauty and resilience, but it was resilience to nature, snow, rugged terrain and all - not bombs, not gun powder, not hatred and anger. What have they done and where did they come from. God took Hamza Khan where He did to save him from the broken heart over his beloved Valley' Hamza Khan had been an old Army friend of Dada's from Swat. He had come to know Jesus in his years of friendship with Dada. Hamza Khan would come and visit Dada and they would talk about the Bible and about what God was doing in the Pakistani armed forces and how many were having visions of Jesus. That was a long time ago before all this fanaticism came into the picture. I remember Uncle Hamza, tall, grey eyed, handsome and straight backed, he always sent us sacks of hunza Apricots from his orchards in Swat. He died shortly after Dada died but was buried a Muslim because he was never able to tell his family he had converted because he was discipling too many soldiers. It was dangerous to expose them. Today at the sight of the beauty TO ashes story scene in his beloved valley his heart would have broken. 'There you meet God in the trickling water and the glistening snow topped mountains' he would say. I think of the heavenly Father's heart. At the very sight of his creation being destroyed and his created human beings being killed by other human beings, again He must be weeping. And yet His arms are still open wide to those who will come into them. You know everytime you get a packet of dried Hunza Apricots in your local Pakistani shop pray for the Swat Valley. A beautiful Valley with a sad reality today. Pray for those there who are Secret Believers. Pray that there would be no more of this beauty made into Ashes and in fact we would have Ashes turned into beauty with the touch of our Lord's love.

Beauty from Ashes not beauty to Ashes Posted on 09/24/2008 10:15 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

It can only be the work of the devil when the human mind can take what is beautiful and use it for destruction. Not only is there hatred, anger and shock over what happened in Islamabad it is infused with the humidity & the long hungry hours of Ramadhan. No one on the roads seem too pleased with the next person, people are thinking several time before going out to crowded places and suddenly the Markets that were teaming with families out to do their Eid Shopping are empty. Normally by this point in Ramadhan, so close to the end, the roads are lined with vendors of brightly coloured glass bangles under bright light bulbs, lined up on string, greens, blues, red, vibrant colours declaring that the festivities of Eid and then the winter wedding season are around the corner. Of course during Ramadhan it is forbidden to marry so once Eid is over the spate of wedding season begins. Last year at the height of the wedding season there was the assasination of Ms Bhutto and that had really affected the festivities of the season. Today we see a similar dampening of spirits. The bright silks in the windows are untouched for three days now, the shop windows have not been rearranged and the stock seems unbought as with the glittery slipper shop and the jewelry shops. There is the odd sullen faced mother and daughter couple walking through the market but the sense of joy, the giggling kids, the ice cream vendor the gol guppa wala (thats a traditional light snack, round bubble with a savoury almost tangy syrup which just pops in the mouth). Such a sense of sadness. Everything beautiful is being twisted. My stomache churned as I read the papers this morning about the fighting in the North. I am sitting at Dadi's feet as she forcefully oils my hair with the potent - highly potent -mustard oil. So I must end this blog later because there is no way I can write my blog and have my head pulled by her skilled hands. So I will get back to you later.

Flames and Forgiveness Posted on 09/22/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

I did not blog yesterday because all that was coming out of me was a mirror of those flames in Islamabad. Not flames like the ones from pentecost, not even flames of love, but angry & furious. Flames, heat, all the things that mirrored what had happened in my beloved Pakistan. As I tossed & turned in bed over & again I thought of those who had lost family. To the family members of the 4 British guests staying at the Marriot Hotel in Islamabad, I am sorry for this, to the family members of the Czec Embassador & his country men, I am sorry for this, to families of the US Marines who were staying at the hotel. It is because of these people who died that this news even hit the papers. Most times when it's just the locals no one reports it for more than a day. Know that Christians in Pakistan are praying for your families & know that there are Muslims in Pakistan who are deeply sorry for what happened. But can I forget the local staff & Pakistani guests who died? For security reasons I can never mention to them that I am blogging on this. No one not even my brothers know I blog. I must keep them safe from this information. But what about the gardeners at the hotel, the cooks in the kitchens, the cleaners, the security guards, the people who made that hotel beautiful & clean and to some extent safe. Many of those would have been your brothers and sisters- Christians. It may be gone now but while it was there it was such an interesting place to be. Islamabad being the capitol city is where all the International Embassies & other offices are. People from all over the country flock to get their visas. While waiting The Marriot was the safest place to go. I often went & sat in the coffee shop waiting for them or with them. Their lobby saw the most unusual mix of people coming through the security check post! From US Marines to Pakistani Naval officers, looking most handsome indeed, to business women in skirt suits to business women in posh Hijabs and designer sun shades, from little children on holiday, to Cardinals & priests from the Vatican's representative council to mullahs & imams, to ample and toothless old grandmas from the village gawking at the strangeness of the mix & muttering prayers under their breath at the the horror of bare legged women walking into the restaurants & thinking 'Astakhfarullah (God forgive this unforgivable behaviour) I will never let my granddaughter go to America- may they not give her a visa' It was not only grandma's who sat there and muttered prayers and curses. In the midst of that mix, some of those women in Burkas, some of the men with beards were your brothers & sisters, secret believers, in Islambad, trying to hide, some were there to pray with other friends, many Christians would have said grace over their dinners & lunches in there, many I know shared the gospel as they waited in there. At a time like this we could be fueled as I was- by anger. But I ask you to pray that we will respond in love. That those who did this, planned this, put it together, would be met, met by Jesus. That the seeds of prayer that were planted while that hotel stood in all its splendor, may grow. That these people may have visitations by Jesus and may come to know Him and accept Him as Lord and Saviour. But also lets give thanks to the Lord for those who stayed there and were able to share the Gospel in that hotel and extend the Kingdom from that Hotel. And please pray for my country that no further attacks may happen.

Little but Loud, weak but powerful- Posted on 09/18/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

Thank you for praying for me. The Lord did not wave a magic wand, I still had to go to college, I still had to face Mrs Zia's very angry and stern stare across assembly this morning. Everyone was so lethargic and miserable because it is hot and humid and miserable by the afternoon. Today we will all go home early as Friday's are half days and its the Islamic Holy day when they have their special Jumaa Prayers. I am looking forward to going home early. In the mornings its all so much better. Its fresher and cleaner air and of course people are still pretty full from Seheri (the meal which Muslims have at sunrise before commencing their fast). Normally for those who can afford it, its a huge meal, with parathas (fried flat bread) with eggs and puris (a lighter puffed up fried flat bread) served with suji ka halwa (semolina pudding) and toast and whatever you fancied. But its a pretty filling meal and in essence does get one to sun down. But I think its the heat and the fact that they cannot drink water that makes it worse. I will tell you a little story which makes me smile and cry. Its sweet and sad. Poor little Mani last evening came home from school looking so tired. He is my cousin's son. Mani and his sister Esther go to the same school. They had games hour and Mani decided he wanted to run. Keeping in mind that he is 9 and had had no water to drink (his Muslim friends were fasting) he was not necessarily in running shape. Anyway he ran, he was so tired as he ran toward the finishing line and would have given up but then heard little Esther (she is 6) calling out to him, cheering him on. 'Go on Mani you can do it, don't forget Jesus is with you, He will help you get to the end keep going, He will give you strength and you will not feel thirsty you can do it- go...' Thats what got little Mani to the end of the race. But when he got back to say thank you to Esther she had been marched off to the Head Teacher's office. There 6 year old Esther was reprimanded and her teacher asked her why she was shouting out in such an uncouth way and had she been implying that God was not with the Muslim children while they fasted? Poor little Esther, she is such a fragile little thing I thought she would have run away, instead she cried and said, 'I was just feeling sad for my poor thristy brother and knew only Jesus could help him'. All this she told us at the top of her voice in the grocery shop. We kept shushing her but she kept talking. Eventually I picked little miss talk a lot and took her to the car and sat there with her while Rita (my cousin) paid for the groceries. Esther is a lovely little girl, she and Mani will not go to sleep without praying at night and Mani has decided when he grows up he wants be a pastor. He lives in the midst of some pretty difficult and hostile people and yet his friends cannot help but love him because of his lovely sweet nature. When I look at them I see myself some years ago. I see how I used to be and see how complicated I have become. I see how the discrimination over the years had hardened me. Sometimes I forget the little things like Jesus taking away our thirst on a hot day in Ramadan. Thats why He said we have to be like children! What a lesson. Pray for the Esthers and Manis of my world, pray they would not become complicated and they would befriend many and share Jesus through their crystal clear example of Him.

Do not stir your tea cup Posted on 09/17/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

It was horrendous today. I went quiety to the canteen and asked Hafiz the guy who runs it if I could go in and make a cup of tea without bothering anyone. In Ramadan I have to be careful. Last time I was in trouble for chewing gum. I think I told you that. Normally during Ramadan the canteen is closed but Hafiz still comes and there is still loose tea and hot water, sugar and Every day milk (dried milk powder) It was a hot day, the middle of Ramadan and we had a two hour lecture on UAE Politics. I was just plain tired and in spite of the heat and being a Christian I was not able to take water into class with me. I thought if I snuck out in the afternoon while everyone else was in the library I could have a quick cup of tea, moisten my throat and get some much needed caffine into me. Hafiz Bhai (brother) the guy who ran the canteen at college wore a longish beard but had the gentlest heart ever. Last year he would let me go into the kitchen while he stepped out and I would get a bar of kit kat into me with a mug of tea. My thoughts were on the lecture and Hafiz bhai with a little smile on his face let me into the kitchen and stepped out. I was so lost in my thoughts and my frustration over my project that I did not realise I was stirring my tea cup vigourously. I was looking around and realised that there was no chocolate in sight. I sighed loudly but the sound of the exhaust fan and the generator in the back of the building drowned the sound of the door opening and someone coming in. Then there was the explosion. The absolute anger at the fact that I was stirring a tea cup and distracting them making them think of food and tea when they were fasting. There in front of me was Mrs Zia a philosophy teacher who taught at the college. 'Maaria, you may not be fasting but please consider that we are also as hungry and that we are not allowed to eat till the sun goes down. At least you could also hold off. You will be going home in 2 hours and then you can eat all you want in your Christian home. We have to wait another 4 hours. Can you please respect that- you are making so much noise and the smell of food is not good for us'' I stared at her. Her eyes were blazing, sweat ran down her face and I felt torn. On one hand I knew it was hot and hard to not even be able to have a drink, but I had done my best not to offend anyone, I had been as careful as I could. But this was one frustrating battle after the other. I wanted to scream and shout and yell but dare I challenge her and say I had been careful and she should not be so difficult? Pray for me, I have to go back tomorrow and face her and I want to be gracious - after all that is all she knows. Pray for me and all the christian young people who have to cope with this. Oh dear...

Sos - prayer for our neighbours in India Posted on 09/09/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

Dear friends, I know I wrote you only yesterday but I feel so led to ask you to pray for our neighbouring India. Especially for Orissa where so many of our brothers and sisters are in danger and are being persecuted horribly by Hindu Extremists. The situation just seems to be out of hand. So many lives have been uprooted and affected, so many of our brothers and sisters are being chased into the jungle and then forced to convert to Hinduism. Many of us live with the fear of these things happening to us and in many cases it happens to people and no one even hears about it, but now the news is bringing the facts to us, and we as Christians, as members of the body of Christ have a responsibility to be on our knees and pray for them. To pray for those of our brethren who are in hiding in Orissa, those who have been wounded badly, those who have lost family and those who are lost and alone in the middle of this. Please do not forget to pray for those brothers and sisters who know Jesus and have been led by the Lord to go and work in the middle of this chaos and danger, to put their lives at risk in order to stand by their aching suffering christian family. Pray for them that God will be with them in a special way and use them, that He will protect and keep them and use them to minister His love and healing. As we prayed for them yesterday the Lord showed my friend something - I believe with all my heart it was a vision. She saw a child running through a jungle, his heart was beating hard and he was terrified of the hindu extremist who was chasing him deeper and deeper into the jungle. As they ran she heard the Lord say, 'pray that this little child, will remember me and my power and will be rid of fear, but pray that a fear and a mighty dread of my power and might and authority may fall on those who do not know me and do not believe in me and may he be unable to touch this child' I believe it was a word from the Lord. May we see the work of God as his children stand up in confidence for the one they love and those who are persecuting them may be filled with dread and repentence and through this many thousands may come to know Jesus and receive salvation. May through this tragedy the word of the Lord be manifest in the love and courage and faithfulness of Christians and in the crumbling of evil. God be with them.

Nothing is new under the sun! Posted on 09/08/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

Yes... not even our 'new' President. He has been on the scene for a while. Jonny, Abraham and I have our own view on this but as my little sister sat and complained about the political situation in our country this morning I was reminded of something: we have prayed for our nation, we have wept for her and have been on our knees for her as have many others as well and our God is a faithful God He will honour our concerns and worries, but He has not struck those in authority down and he has let this man come to power. Though our love and appreciation for President Musharraf will never die, we must recognise the need to accept that Zardari is our new leader, tomorrow he will be sworne in - we have to pray for him, ask our brethren around the world to pray for him, the prime minister and all the others in authority and pray that God will reveal himself to them, God will turn their hearts to the needs of the Christians and other vulnerable marginalised groups in Pakistan and will give them wisdom. Pray that God will release them from their ungodly agendas that do not help the Church or indirectly make it harder to live and function as Christians. Pray that Pakistan will be on a pathway that will take her forward. The poor are really suffering. The food crisis is really major - as we watched televison the other day there was a news clip about the lack of food and there was an image of a truck coming around with rations. Right along the road were men, women and children running with the buses and trying to grab the next sack of rice and flour. In the midst of those crowds Sharifa saw her niece running with her arms out stretched. Sharifa began to weep. My dad's older brother has some land outside the main city. He is able to put down crop each year and the family always has rice and flour for ourselves and for those who help us at home. That way Sharifa is always able to take home rice and flour for her family as well, its not much but it means she saves money on those items which have been exhorbatantly priced in the shops. But it ached her to see her niece running after a truck in the middle of a crowd of Muslim men to get food for her family. These are your sisters, though we cannot always provide peoples' physical needs, we can pray for them for strength and courage in these times. Times when marginalised Christian women must go out into the public domain and compete with men to feed their families. That really blurs the boundaries in our world. So pray for us and think of us to be Christ like in the midst of this.

Keep on keeping on God is at work Posted on 09/08/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

Friends, I want you to know I love you very much. This is not just a one way street with me sending prayer requests to your end. I know that in your world, in your contexts you have your own struggles. Some times I am able to hide in a corner with emails from you and have a quick read. I wish I could pour over them, but when I read them I need to delete them as soon as possible so no one is able to access them. I have to be so careful what I access on my computer because the internet server is located in a small shop down the road and I know that they have equipment which enables them to be able to see what their users are accessing. They primarily install this stuff to be able to download movies and music from peoples' computers but we have to take care and be careful what we save if unwittingly they find sensitive material about the Church. But I tell you when I do read your emails it is the most beautiful gift ever. To read messages and Scripture that encourage me and strengthen me to keep on keeping on in this place. Sometimes it is so dark and stifling like that night some weeks ago. Sometimes that is the spiritual environment we have to face in the work place and in offices and schools etc... But your words and your encouragment help me to be strong for my brothers and sisters and help to stand strong for them in the storm and be there for them. Every email you send, every word you type, every prayer you pray makes all the difference to our lives. That is why our brother Sajaad was able to say that his situation improved only hours after the blog about him went out on the 3rd. Now what a connection that is. Thats not all - we are all rejoicing about Hannah - but even that is not all - remember I asked you to pray about the next generation - well thank you to praying- are you ready - Sajaad's son who was very averse to the Gospel has come to the Lord after seeing his father's devotion to Jesus through his suffering! Now how amazing is that - and you prayed it into happening - your prayers released a miracle into one of the most closed parts of the world. Hallelujah!

Standing strong Posted on 09/08/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

Oh I just read one of the emails and you bet, I wish I could put out a blog and meet all of you for a Chai Latte. I sometimes wonder about you and your needs and some of you email me about them, jobs, house moves, the Church's struggles in the middle of all manner of political and social changes, your children.... all of these things I do take before our Lord and King - because we are a family and we do that - pray for one another. I pray for the health of the Body of Christ in the West. May you all always keep your eyes on Jesus. I ask that you would pray for myself and my family. My brother needs to start applying for jobs, he just finished his accountancy qualification and is looking for a bank job. We have just had a whole lot of Christians leave banking because it is becoming harder and harder. Abraham wants passionately to be a banker and be a light for Christ in a non Christian environment. He wants so much to take Jesus into the work place. He knows he is asking to be sent into the lion's den. We know so many people who have been treated so badly in their banks and offices. Just some of their problems include fasting during ramadan, not being allowed to even have a sip of water, being expected to fast with the others, being given a hard time for not going to say prayers 5 times a day, being told to bring their own mugs and water, crockery and cutlery. Now taking those things and keeping them at work is not the issue- the issue is that it is a declaration that we are defiled and need to keep our utensils seperately. One of our friends James was given such high work targets and the pressure of being the only Christian at work got to him so badly that he had a nervous breakdown and had to leave work. He is now teaching math at a local school. That hardly brings in the same kind of salary, he has a young family and he has had to take his two sons out of good private schools and put them in other cheaper schools where the education is not as good. Abraham sees this as a possibility for his future but is led to continue with this path set before him by the Lord. Will you pray for him that He will keep his eyes on the Lord and will not get so caught up that he has to make the compromising decisions with deadlines and work on Sundays instead of Church and even just keeping his head when the storm of work and discirmination comes together trying to bring him down. Let us pray for one another. Pray for Abraham and other Christians like him for strength and perserverance to stand strong in this storm.

Where do relationships start Posted on 09/08/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

With the damp season over (well almost) we can see the bubbles in the walls. It gets damp & the paint begins to bubble and peal on the walls. Last year my cousin was getting married & they were going to do a lot of the celebrations in our house using our garden so we needed to get the white washing done out of our normal routine. We did not wait for September which means that we practically painted the dampness into the walls! I walked into the house from college & the smell, the sounds & the commotion take me back to many many Septembers from my childhood. Whitewash means Imran was back in the house with his crew of folk. Imran is a little old man who does painting jobs with his sons. They have a simple uncomplicated set up comprising ladders, paint brushes and rollers, sand paper and all those paint things needed to paint peoples' houses. It's the smell though - I am not a glue sniffer nor do I sniff paint - please don't get me wrong, but it just evokes certain very strong memories, reminding me of my chidhood when we lived in Karachi & then Lahore for some time. In those days we lived in a rented house, that was almost 18 years ago. I remember the curtains being taken down, the sofas being moved into another room, my mother's afghan carpets being rolled away, the main carpets being covered with plastic to protect them from splotches of paint. With the huge windows being free of curtains there would be the brightest beautiful sunlight pouring into the house. Everything would be airy & beautiful & well lit. I used to love it but invariably it would mean we had to go & stay in another room till the workmen left. I am needed so I better run I will be back soon.

Let the little ones come upto me Posted on 09/05/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

I have cancelled my research trip for various reasons. I am still in my beloved Pakistan. I am going to do my assignment on a new topic as it will be too late if I travel next week. Its been frustrating this week trying to get things done before college starts and I think I have been more or less successful except I am still struggling to find an assignment topic. Anyway that will all happen in time. This morning I went to see Sharifa's daughter. Sharifa is the lady who blesses us with her amazing cooking. Remember I told you about her in a previous blog. Well her daughter Naina just had a baby. What a beautiful little princess lay on the char pai (woven bed/cot). Dark hair, beautiful smooth dark skin. When we got there Naina's mother in law was just laying Guria (meaning doll) down on the cot. She had been massaging the baby and had just finished putting Khol in her eyes. That is something that makes me cringe. Just the idea of that stuff going into a baby's eyes. I smile as I write this. If amma were to read this she would have something to say because every day she and my younger sister have an argument about the Khol she uses. Kajal or Khol is very popular with women in our part of the world. Most young women use it. Its applied using a long thin stick, placed just inside the inner eye lid, the eye closes over the stick which is then drawn along the eye. A beautiful dark line is drawn to define the eye. Now its all very attractive on young ladies but on little babies- it scares the living day lights of out of me. But it is suppose to be good for the baby's eyes (Old Wives' Tale). I looked at little Guria and said a little prayer for her. Naina was asleep. Probably exhausted and I just bent over her tired frame and kissed her forehead. I thought about our sister Hannah. 9 months from now she will have a baby and I will not even be able to see her or her baby. A feeling of sadness and anxiety washes over me. I know that Naina loves Jesus and she will bring little Guria up in the ways of the Lord but then they are a Christian family who belong to a Christian community and no one will question that Christian upbringing. However our siser Hannah belongs to a people group where not everyone approves of her clan having become Christians. She is a new Christian and it's harder for her family to attend Church as we know it. They meet in hiding and worship in hiding. How do you then bring your children up in the ways of Lord - in hiding? How do you identify yourself when you must hide a very important part of who you are? In 15 years will that child be a Christian or confused? Yes Hannah and her husband are bound to bring their child up as Christians but only if they and their Christian friends and family are alive and the child is not seperated from them in any way. Can you pray for them? I am so concerned. I have so many fears. I do not even know where to begin. Pray for Hannah and her husband that they would receive a special portion of grace and for all the other new Christians in Pakistan that they be filled with the Holy Spirit and be Christlike parents in their world.

A family weep together and rejoice together Posted on 09/03/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

This is a bitter sweet blog. Do you remember praying for our sister Hannah? I did a blog some time ago about the fact that the surgery and the kidney transplant had gone well. Her brother who knows Uncle Hameed well - has been through a gruelling time. He shared Jesus with some people and they did not take it well. It was only after they asked him to convert back to Islam. I only heard bits of this story through Uncle Hameed who is relying on whatever news is trickling through to him. He wept with us the other day. Not only has he got this huge concern for his beautiful daughter but now his closest friend is suffering from major injuries. Please pray for our brother Sajaad. He is suffering much bodily harm for refusing to become a Muslim and sharing why he accepted Jesus in the first place. It is a miracle Sajaad is still alive and we ask that our God the God of abundant life will be beside Him, protect Him and keep Him from danger using Imran's suffering for His glory. Sajaad loves Jesus and has always said he will even give His life for Jesus. But as his Christian family please let us pray for him for his body and soul and that his eyes will remain steadily fixed on Jesus and he will be empowered by the Holy Spirit. One thing Sajaad has asked is please do not think ill of his family & friends. They too love God but they need Jesus. Then our sister Hannah. Her kidney treatment was just one of the issues. She was married at 15 as is the custom of her people. In her people group men do not have intimate friendships with their wives. They are married and over the years some companionship and friendship may or may not develop, primarily the hope is that a male heir will come of the union. If not it is not unknown for the men to take another wife and try again. However this people group have more or less all come to know Jesus. Hannah and her husband have tried for 15 years to have a child but have failed. Much to her surprise not only did her husband honour her and his new faith in Jesus by not taking another wife but also by offering her his kidney as a sign of his love and his desire that she live. Well that did not quite work. She was taken care of though and guess what - Hannah is pregnant! Thank you for praying for her! Thank you so much. This is the first time she has become pregnant! But now we have 9 months of serious praying to do. That God will keep her and her baby healthy and that she will have an uncomplicated delivery. Truly we are a family, joined in times of weeping and laughter. Hannah must be all mixed up. Thrilled at being pregnant aching for her brother. Let us keep our brethren in prayer and let us pray without ceasing!