It is with great pleasure that I write to you as a young man who is blessed to have been mentored by so many wonderful people in the EPC. For the past two years, I have participated in a World Outreach missions cohort of college-aged adults. This cohort was led by EPC World Outreach mobilizers: Mark and MJ, Saul and Jesse Huber, and Shawn and Lisa Stewart. The purpose of this cohort is to, as in all things, glorify God, as well as give young adults an opportunity to discern a possible calling to the cross-cultural missions field. The cohort does this by providing students with both hands-on experience and mentorship from global workers within the EPC.

The highlight of this cohort was a short-term mission trip to Jordan. During this trip, we partnered with a relief agency of Jordanian Christians who are dedicated to doing the work of evangelists among refugees. It was during this trip that I gained one of the most cherished experiences that I have ever had since my own conversion. You see, a primary way that this agency facilitates outreach is through visiting the apartments of refugees. During these visits, staff members and volunteers bring essential food and clothing, as well as take inventory of any specific needs that a family may have. While on these home visits, they also engage in religious dialogue with the intention of sharing the gospel.

The story that I would like to share is the apartment visit with an 80-year-old man and his wife, who are Muslim refugees from Syria. As we sat together, they told us about their needs, as well as their journey from Syria to Jordan. In the midst of the conversation, our interpreter stopped and told us that he wanted to share the gospel with this man, but was concerned about his wife. In the past, he had spoken with the man and shared some things about Christianity but had yet to speak of such things with his wife. It is important to note that in Jordan it is illegal to proselytize, meaning that it is illegal to try and convince someone to change their religion. So, when you do not know how one is going to react to the gospel, you must be very careful in sharing it.

After telling us his concern, the interpreter asked our team if we had any ideas on how to approach sharing the gospel with this couple. I took a moment to pray, and the story of a man by the name of Dennis was laid on my heart. Dennis was a man from my home church who was much loved by our congregation. Despite being sick with cancer, he had such amazing joy and was not afraid, even when he knew that his time on earth was coming to an end. I began to tell Dennis’s story to this couple, and as I said to them that Dennis was not afraid to die, the wife cried out with tears. She told us that both she and her husband were afraid of death. I asked her why she was afraid of death, and she said that it was because she was not sure whether they had been obedient enough for God to let them into heaven. I explained to them that Dennis was confident unto death not because of any kind of obedience or good work that he had done, but because he knew and trusted that God loved him. 

After I shared this story, a member of our team, David, told the couple the story of Jesus being crucified next to two criminals. He explained how one criminal, like this man and his wife, was terrified of death because he knew that he could not meet God’s standard of righteousness. But upon trusting in Jesus, who is the Son of God sent to take away the sins of the world, the criminal was saved. David then got on his knees and asked the man and his wife if they believe this truth and wish to accept Christ, and both of them cried out that they believe. At that very moment, we saw two elderly people, who had been Muslim their entire lives, profess faith in Jesus. Behold the power of Almighty God! 

I left Jordan with a burden on my heart.  The call for us as God’s workers to reap a ready harvest and to disciple new believers was evident.  It has been both wonderful and convicting to share my experiences in Jordan with brothers and sisters in Christ. If you sense in any way a call to pray, to give, or even to go share Jesus with Muslims, I urge you to contact a World Outreach mobilizer through www.epcwo.org/go/. If you know a college-aged young person who is considering a life of ministry or missions, please share this story and invite them to join us at www.epcwo.org/cohort. Your life, their life, and countless others could be changed forever. 

May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,

Danny Cridelich
Highview EPC, Dousman
Christ Alone Church, Green Bay

It took five long, lonely years before Fatima*, an Afghan mother of five, could finally embrace her husband, Sayyid, again. During their escape from their war-ravaged country, Sayyid was shot in the hip by the border police and unable to make the exhausting journey across Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea. Sarah and Andrew – WO global workers – met and befriended Fatima when she arrived with her children at a camp near their town.

During those five years, the family began to change: feeling the freeing effects of a European culture originally based, in part, on biblical ideas. Sarah has had numerous opportunities to pray with Fatima for the safe return of Sayyid, for healing (both are severe diabetics), and the insurmountable paperwork. In response to life questions from their children, Sarah and Andrew have also furnished them two Bibles in their own language. 

Several weeks ago, after a perfunctory tea and Sayyid stepping out of the room, Fatima boldly proclaimed her opinion that Westerners have better ‘hearts’ than Muslims. Andrew disagreed with her, saying that all hearts are evil apart from God’s saving work. 

The challenge with our ‘cousins’ is to move their eyes away from works and religion to issues of the heart, and free grace in Jesus. For this reason, this conversation was a breakthrough moment for Fatima. 

It is a joy and privilege for Andrew and Sarah to walk alongside Fatima, Sayyid, and their family on their journey of integration into a new culture, but also their journey into an encounter with the triune living God through His people. 

There are many other displaced people who share similar stories. Since 2016, Andrew and Sarah have met and worked primarily with Syrians, Afghans, Iranians, and Iraqis – some of whom have become like family. As the horrific events unfolded in Afghanistan last month, they received a voice message from Fatima saying that her family had spent the whole last week weeping over the destruction of their country and friends and family in harm’s way. 

Please join us in prayer for Fatima and Sayyid, and so many other Afghan families alike. 

*Names changed for security of our workers and those they work with.

Written by WO global workers, A & S, serving with refugees in Europe.

For many, these days are full of sleepless nights with anxious hearts. Whether it is the constant threat of a virus which much of the world is unprotected from, a disastrous earthquake in Haiti,  wild fires that are unceasing, or the fall of a government and the rise of another,  we recognize that we are experiencing a broken world. At the root of all of the calamities there is also the Christian hope that one day we have One who is making all things right. However, that redeemed Kingdom is not only far off, but also very ever present in the here and now. We are promised that the LORD who does not slumber, who made all of creation and is recreating it in the image of His son, will bend His ear to His people. If you missed it earlier this week, please watch this link for a call to prayer from Dean and Gabriel.  

Additionally, World Outreach wanted to give specific ways for our people to be praying for the situation in Afghanistan. You’ll see those prayer points below from one of our workers who is intimately involved in that region and among those people. We also ask you to join us next week for a zoom meeting to help answer how we respond as followers of Jesus to Afghanistan’s needs and particularly the refugees coming to the US. If you’d like to connect with your Muslim neighbors (including Afghan refugees in your community), we invite you to also join our workshop taking place in September. 

Let us lift our eyes and our mouths to the LORD, for it is in Him that our help comes.