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Urgent Call to prayer Posted on 05/30/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (3)

Dear Friends, Having witnessed the last week, I want to ask you to please start going down on your knees for your brothers and sisters. I do not normally write to you on a Saturday but as I speak with you it is 9 pm (2100 hrs) in Pakistan on Saturday night. In the US on the East Coast it is 11 am, in the Europe, say in Britain it is 4 pm. in another 9 hours, Church goers in my country will begin to get ready or travel to Church, walk into Church, take their places, start their worship, preach, minister, sing, take communion and pray with their eyes closed. While they do this the potential for disaster is high. And so I ask that you remember your brothers and sisters in Pakistan today expecially in the more vulnerable bigger cities like Karachi, Peshawar, Lahore and Quetta. Not that the others arent but.... By the time you awaken on Sunday morning most of us will have returned from Church and will infact be getting ready for bed- God willing. Most Church services start at 8am Pakistan time. And then go on for the best part of the morning till about 1 pm and then some in the evening at about 5pm- 7pm. Please be praying for safety and security. That the believers would be safe, any untoward plans be thwarted and that Jesus be glorified by the millions of believers nationwide. We need your prayers. Normally when President Musharaf was in power we were given security. But that may change now. Who knows. But we know no matter who is in power, our God is definitely in supreme power and able to care for us and protect us. Pray for Sunday Schools, the children tend to be in other rooms sometimes apart from the grown ups so pray for safety for them and for priests and pastors. Thank you and know we appreciate your love and prayers.

More ashes, More beauty? Posted on 05/29/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (3)

Abraham came home this morning and we just gave thanks when he got back! He looked tired and exhausted and plain happy to be home. He out down his bags in the front lobby and just lay down with his head in dadi's lap. He was devastated. Not because of the bomb, we know the sound and impact of those now, but the loss of lives, the aftermath, the tears and the sounds. Apparently it was close to the last attack which brought down the nun;s bookshop. Remember i told you about it before? Abraham went to the hospital to see a friend who had shards of glass in the back os his neck and was wiating for the doctors to treat him. He was in a pain and hardly able to move. Haroon, his friend, lay on his stomach with his face into the pillow, he kept clenching his fists to release the pain. A Christian nurse who was his cousin came and attended to him and told him she was sorry but that there were cases worse than his and the staff were working to their fullest. While Abraham had stood there someone on the next bed had touches his leg. Abraham turned around to see a white bearded old man whose while Shalwar Kameez was covered in blood and even his beard was stained. His leg had been wounded. He was saying something to Abraham who then recognised him as an old Mathematics teacher from his boarding school. Salim Sahib, had always loved Abraham dearly. When he saw his face, his eyes registered recognition but very little else. He wanted water and so Abraham not only went and brought him water and then assured him he would be in touch with the family and let them know. They were frantic when Abraham called. 'Maaria' he told me quietly as we sat under the whirring fan in the warm front room, 'Maaria, it was so strange, God took me to see my Christian friend but I ended up caring for a Muslim teacher whose family could not get to the hospital for a long time because of the blocked roads. The teacher who always tried to get me to study the Quran and Islam, thanked me when I left this morning. I sat up with him all night. His son is in the US studying and his wife is an arthritic lady who finds it difficult to walk. Maaria God took me there for a purpose. Salim Sahib thanked me when I held his and Haroons hands this morning and prayed for them before I left. I was so scared when I was praying for him in case someone saw but God led me to do that be bold in it. But Maaria he said 'thank you' to me and he said 'Ameen'. ' Even though we had been terrified out of our skins all of the last few days, I know then that God had a purpose in taking Abraham there. He was shattered. The fact that soon he would be leaving for the West to study and perhaps someone would have to come and care for Amma and Baba was a terrifying thought to him. He held me close and cried. 'Maaria, I think perhaps I should stay...' I cut him off. It was hot and we were both drenched but it did not seem to matter as we started to pray for wisdom, protection and safety - but above all for God the greater healer to heal our land and God the great creator to restore our land and bring beauty out of ashes.

The Camps Posted on 05/27/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (2)

The heat is absolutely unbearable. It has been 50 C &people are dying in certain parts of the country as temperatures sky rocketted. Some places have had the relief of a cool breeze but for the most part we are really really in the middle of a dense heat wave, made worse by constant power cuts every hour.Most people now have generators but my heart aches for those poor people in refugee camps. Even though a lot of the Swatis are used to the temperatures and one would think the north of Pakistan is cooler than the rest of the country, actually in summer the heat beats down&is ruthless. The Swatis are used to the cool stone&ventilation of their homes. They are clean people. Do not mistake them for poor. They may not have lifestyles like ours but until a few years ago they had a sustainble way of life. They are healthy, strong& clean people. Just because their homes are not like those of the city folk& they may not have as much access to the rest of the English Speaking world does not make them poor. Their lives were full& balanced, so do not feel bad for the 'poor people' in refugee camps. Think about people who lived well, ate well&dwelt in comfort. Even the girls had some education prior to the coming of the Taliban, some in the local run schools& others at convents run by faithful Catholic nuns& priests, schools which have not too long ago been destroyed. In those camps are not uneducated, already malnourished poor dirty street urchins. No the sadness of it is that these people who have so much to offer the world we live in have been made homeless& to live in circumstances that history has shown us will deteriorate&become unhygenic&terrorising. It is in that heat, where there is perhaps little food, little access to clean drinking water- perhaps only hardly access to refrigeration& medication that all kinds of illness& disease will spread. In those camps there are about 6000 pregnant woman. As a Christian I am compelled by the Holy Spirit to pray compassionately. To consider how many of them will deliver their babies alive at the hands of someone as capable as the village mid wife&doctor from their old home? As a Christian I am forced to pray that when those babies are born, they will not be born into a breeding ground for terrorism, anger& hatred but that there will among those camps rise compassionate Christians, aid workers& carers, either Pakistani or from other countries, those who will be Christ to these&from there a wave of Christianity may spread among people previously inaccessible. We never wanted the war or the autrocities that have gone with it but if it has come as Christians we are responsible to reach out, either practically or in prayer. Only prayer will provide the wisdom to know how to minister&help. Money is perhaps the most dangerous thing in the hands of non believers&non mission workers in the region. Mission workers led&guided by Jesus will use the money well, but otheriwse it is most likely on its way to another terrorist camp, another ammunition dump owned by the Taliban. Perhaps 6000 babies will be born this year, maybe less, maybe more. How I would love to go and be there, help& hold them. But I doubt baba would be at ease letting me go. How I long to hold them&pray for them before the sound of the Adhan is spoken into their ears at birth. Will you pray for Christians doctors& mid wives to pray for these babies? Oh my heart does ache to be there- to be Jesus in those camps. But God will raise up His own, may they be obedient.

Another Bomb - another reminder Posted on 05/27/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (3)

I know I have already blogged by as I signed off the phone rang. It was my Abraham. He has been in Lahore this week to get his transcripts from his old college where he was a border. His voice was shaking. He told me to turn on the news and said he was at a Christian College there to see some old friends and had heard a long explosion. Everyone had run for cover. Even some miles away windows broke and there were screams and squeals all over the college. There was another bomb in Lahore. Friends a reminder that destructive elements are everywhere. A reminder from those terrorists who want to remind us that the war is not going to end because of conflict in Swat. The Evil One has touched people right through the nation with the spirit of destruction. His people have spread through the land. We need prayer in these days. Baba and Amma are thankful Abby is well. He will come home tomorrow morning after visiting a friend in hospital who got his leg wounded. If Abraham have stuck to his original plans he would have been on that road today going for a coach to bring him home! Pray for us!

Where then will they go? Posted on 05/20/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (7)

I wonder what all those news channels around the world are telling you about our refugee crisis. I wonder how it is brought to you on your TV screens. I pray that my words will be words guided and directed by the Lord so to minister to you for the needs ofyour brothers and sisters in a way that is honest and truthful. Just two days ago I asked a simple question - 'Where will the millions of people go if Churches, mission schools and hospitals and Christians are shut down. At the time of Partition when India and Pakistan seperated and there was a mass exodus from regions of present day India to what the Muslim majority west which became Pakistan, the violence was unbelievable with normal people becoming empassioned and losing their minds and going on killing sprees, killing anyone who was a different religion from themselves. In the midst of that it was the Christians, the Nuns, the Mission hospitals and Schools, that gave medical care, set up care camps and gave refuge to those whose lives were in danger. Why? because they were there! Had they not been there, had missionaries not come to the Sub Continent perhaps the organised set up they gave us would not have been in place and we would not have had some of the first schools and hospitals to function in Pakistan, which was a new born babe and needed to set up from scratch. Today those same mission hospitals and schools that were a blessing in that blood bath are being asked to close down and move. Those same mission hospitals and schools that were a blessing all these years, giving treatment and education regardless of how extremist or how much persecution they have faced. If they with their experience and their relationship with the local people and as locals themselves are not allowed to function as caregivers in the region who is left? Those left are a confused and scared population of people at risk. Muslims but afraid of who to allign themselves. No one is can be easily identified. There are those in the refugee camp who are innocent little children who want a future free from war. But how is an innocent family to knwo whether they are innocent or Taliban in disguise seeking refuge. No family wants to put their children, especially their young girls at risk. So where will those innocent little children and families go? They will be taken in by a madrassah or perhaps some one who is faking an orphanage to be able to find young children to either indoctrinate or then abuse. The picture is grim. A lot of moderate liberal Pakistanis in the other cities not yet affected by the fighting are pouring money into the area. But I see the confusion etched in their minds, in their motivation. Who do they listen to? who do they support? Who are they really giving their money too? That is where the power of prayer changes all things. With prayer comes discernment and wisdom and clarity and direction. That is where you come in.

Open hearts, Open doors - the attempt to close what is open Posted on 05/18/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (5)

Friends a lot of what I know I cannot cannot cannot share with you. I stress this because of security. Who knows who is who& who is reading this& why & how they may use it. I am not being paranoid brothers & sisters but this is the truth we grow up with that we live in goldfish bowls, we are being watched. I must raise up prayer but I must do it safely and securely. Can I express to you the urgency for many of your brothers& sisters right now. There are reports of Churches being closed down, confirmed reports, there are confirmed reports of mission schools being closed down. Some have been threatened by the extremists, others by those who feel it is safest for the Churches&Christian staff attached to the schools. What will these people do? My friend Sadaf, lives in the north with her husband, two daughters and two sons. She got married very young because her father died when she was 15&her mum was not able to care for her children, so Sadaf married a close family friend who loved her very much& has been such a fantastic husband. They were only 17& 20 when they started work as missionaries, she continued her studies and now they teach and do missions work young as they are, she is also a great mother, she is older than me but still young at 26. I spoke with her, I called her knowing full well there was little she could tell me. I asked cautiously and she knew why I had called. ‘We are well Maaria’ she said tensely ‘we cannot do anything without your prayers and the prayers of the believers’. I know she spoke purposefully. She does not know about you and about this blog, but she does know that I raise up prayer. I asked her whether they were coming for a summer break to see us – trying to know whether she was leaving the North with the children and Rehan (her husband). ‘No’ she said laughing trying to make it sound like friendly banter, ‘We are the ones in the most beautiful part of Pakistan and you want us to come to you? When are you coming here?’ I could hear the genuineness of the smile in her voice – I could almost see it. And as soon as it came it disappeared in her next sentence ‘No one comes to visit us’. I was painfully aware of what I heard in her voice. I began to tell her about our ‘meetings’ and how ‘dad’ is present at these meetings and how we know He is doing something great and how we know ‘Dad’ is with them too and will care for them. Once again the reminder, that God has called me to serve my people. Will you pray for Sadaf &Rehan and the people they serve. A difficult place to live in but clean honest hearts that serve the Muslims and Christians of the area. Please pray for those from mission schools where for years and years almost centuries Christians have served and ministered to those God brings to them. For those Christians who have been issued warnings by the Taliban to leave their homes and their areas. At time when Christians need to be in these places and open up their homes and hearts and take in the one million homeless, orphans, wounded, hungry& the naked, at a time like this the mission hospitals, centers of servanthood and love are being shut down. If the Sadaf and Rehans leave, who will open those doors, if the doors are shut where will those one million with needs go? If the doors are shut what options are there for the Sadafs and the Rehans? Pray for the voice of the Good Shepherd to be heard in this valley of the Shadow of the death, for those in the valley to hear the sound of His staff and His Rod hitting the ground with each step on the way He had called His sheep to take.

Let JESUS come to these Little Children. Posted on 05/13/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (8)

I have been unable to stop the tears. God is filling our lamps alright. He is also moving us slowly, changing our viewpoint a little more each day so we can see the extent of the darkness & its damage. It is 2 am. I just finished praying. Before I go to bed I want share my heart with you. Someone must have watching Peace TV which is an Islamic channel and when I switched on there was some man or other spewing forth about how bad it is that the US is controling Pakistan. My facebook page tells me a differnt story with many of my friends, openly condemning the Taliban & their control on Pakistan. Of course Ghani wont say anything. His brother's beard has grown the full length, his turban has become a lot more menacing, his shalwar (the baggy pants worn by Pakistani men) has gone higher above his ankles (how the islamic prophet Mohammad was supposed to have done) & the deep dark bruise on his forehead has become darker from rubbing his head on the ground when praying. I changed channels & saw an image of a heavy built pathan man in a white shalwar Kameez, a dark black groomed beard, standing in an open courtyard with children playing games behind him. He stood with tears in his eyes & a western man put out his arm to comfort him. At the bottom of the screan I saw the CNN logo. The short feature was about an American journalist reporting about orphans & homless refugee children from Swat- displaced & must be housed & kept safely while their valley, which was formely the Switzerland of the East, is reduced to rubble & turned into a mass graveyard. He hid his teary eyes from the screan. My first question was whether he was crying because of the war, or because his operation of safety for these children has been exposed by western media. Was he crying because of the war, or because he was hopeless & saw no end in sight. My tears began to flow. The children told a thousand stories. Some were annimated & excited to be talking to a western man. They were showing off their English, talking about the terror of seeing men blow up in front of their eyes- suicide bombers. Others, quietly averting their eyes from the camera & the white man who broke bread with them at their 'dastar khwan' (food laid out on the floor at meal times on a sheet). I know the Holy Spirit was guiding me to pray for these young men. That those little bright eyed boys who were happily chattering away with their American friend, would be shielded from abuse, pain & more war, that the older boys who looked less happy to be there, who had been more exposed to war, change & even indoctrination by the Taliban would be protected, would be touched. The reporter who had reached out and touched Mohammad khan on his shoulder could have touched him with the hands of Jesus if he knew Jesus. Many reporters will have access to people like this. Many western people will go out, soldiers from the West will be in these places. Please pray that God will work in their lives so through them those who mourn will be comforted. Those who have been left fatherless will come to know of our Heavenly Father. Those who have been left homeless will hear the words of Jesus promising to prepare rooms in His own Father's house for us all. Pray that there would be those who go there who will be like Christ to these children, not stop them from meeting with Jesus. Jesus loves children.

Mothers in the Muslim World Posted on 05/11/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (2)

I woke up early this morning to pray for the women God laid on my hearts yesterday. When I woke up Baba was ready to go to the office and Ama was ironing clothes for the day. She and baba were talking about the only thing we ever talk about these days- the future for Pakistani Christians in Pakistan. Yesterday was a mother's day and the papers were full of it. Today it was forgotten in the midst of the crisis of war and change. But the Lord quickly reminded me of my resolve to pray for all the mums in Pakistan who are concerned for the future of their children. We already celebrated mother's day a few months ago but in some Western countries it is today and so now we have two days to celebrate our mums. We thanked the Lord for our mums. Did you celebrate mother's day where you are? I know how Amma feels about Abraham, myself, Jonz and my sister Neenz. I know her concernes and fears for us but I know that each day she draws on her relationship with the Lord to care for us and to stand by us as we make decisions for our lives, as she needs to guide us, parents us, sometimes discipline us and always points the way to Jesus. In our world that is not easy. I think of the Auntie Tabassum and other mother's who converted from Islam. From the decisions that they need to make every day, the stands they need to make every day to protect their children, the fears they face for themselves and their families. Will you pray for those who truly are as rubies, precious and strong, willing to risk everything to protect their children and prepare them to serve this land. Sometimes these days, I struggle to write to you. Things are so bleak. But in the midst of that there are the precious women we call 'Mother', who pray for us, take care of us, keep life going for us and look to the Lord to be there for us when all we can do is weep and want to give up and not go out into the big bad world. When we need shielding they will shield us, when we need encouraging to go out and face the world, they will give us that, when we need to fight for what is right and just they will guide us in that, when we need wisdom, they will draw from the Lord and minister to us. For those who are Muslims but struggle because a child of theirs had decided to follow Jesus, the choices are many. Manipulate their child back to Islam or help their child grow in what is beautiful. Pray for those mothers too. Pray for mothers of christian kids are they minister to their mothers of the children's Muslim friends. For the mothers in the Muslim world who converted to islam to marry Muslim men and have over the years wanted to coem back to Jesus. Remember the mothers in the Muslim world. Remember that through these women God can change the face of the next generation of the region that is today perhaps the most destructive and hurt and wounded. May God work through mothers.

Do you want your lamp filled? Posted on 05/06/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (9)

So if it was not enough that Hina shared God direction for prayer with me - God filled our lamp with more oil! Last evening we went to see a member of the congregation who is struggling some what with health issues and fears for his son who is away fighting. Hina's family and mine were there and while Hina and I sat in another room talking another couple of kids from the youth group walked in and we sat and started to talk and then a young girl about 16 comes up to me and says 'didi' which means older sister, 'God has been laying on my heart to pray more. Will you join me in praying a few minutes every day for our land and for love to flood our hearts for the enemy your words last week to the youth group really challenged me'. Hina and I just sat with out mouths open. The guys were busy with their silly jokes and random humour which they use to lighten all this tension. Its good clean humour and God wants us to laugh so I think its great having these jokers around. But sometimes I want hide their jokes are so cheesy. But they mean well and they have learnt over the years that jokes about weight and height and personal stuff only hurt the people we love. So it is getting better. There is a running joke about hina's eye brow and how it goes up and is a measure of when they should curb their humour. But with all that going on we did not care. We were just so thrilled that yet another had been added to our number to pray for God's work in this land. And so there and then we found a little spot in the kitchen and prayed. It was hot and sweaty and not very comfortable but we know Jesus was there and that is beautiful. We know times are bad and we cannot expect our parents to let us go out whenever we like, but we know we will gather together in spirit and where two three are gathered in His name He is there. He who is above all others, above all names, above all rules, above all the works of men, above President Zardari and President Karzair (who have by the way left their people at this critical time and gone for 'talks') and President Obama and Gordon Brown etc... He is above them but He wants for us to love them, honour them with prayer and believe that by the name that is above all names- even now things can improve. There are three Pakistani girls who believe, will join the ranks?

He gave me oil in my lamp Posted on 05/03/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (9)

On the face of it things seem so unchanged in places that have not had bombs go off in them or people murdered there. But underneath everything has changed. The uncertainty of everything has become an ever present shadow in every conversation, in every plan we try to make, in everything. In fact the last few days I have struggled with the words and the thoughts that I have wanted to write to you. You however have written me words of such encouragement and blessing. Thank you for those nuggets. I just want to share some encouragement with you from Church today. I have been praying about these men who are wanting to take our freedom away, these men who call themselves the Taliban. The Lord has been laying on my heart the importance of raising up prayer for them. They are people in need. People who need the Lord's love and salvation. It has been a struggle because everyone is so angry about what is happening about how our lives and plans and futures and studies nad professions and businesses have been put on hold. Every thing has been paused and the next thing that happens, may be destruction. How can you challenge people to start praying for these people in the midst of this. We have so much depression going around the city and even some in Church. It is so sad. Then today while I was in church, someone put a hand on my shoulder during worship and when I turned around it was Hina my friend. She whispered into my ear that she wanted to talk to me after Church and if I could hang around inside the building. I wondered what had happened. She is a gentle soul who loves the Lord. A liittle sister to me. I love her so much and we do spend a lot of time praying together. After Church we spoke and I burst into tears as she told me that she was staying awake nights praying for exactly the same thing and she did not know what to do but God was telling her to talk to me and ask me. We were so amazed and we prayed together. So friends, saints, loved ones, Thank you for your prayers because this is the LIGHT- when Jesus does these beautiful things and guides us in times of darkness and difficulty and gives us like minded prayer partners. We have now decided to start praying for them every day from 8-9 every night and trust the Lord. I am touched and blessed and thank God that even in this God is giving us the opportunity to pray for change and hope. If every Taliban Soldier became a believer in Christ, can you even imagine what God could do. Do you think that is impossible?