Day 1

Pray that God would continue to open doors so that his living word can bring hope to a people broken by twenty years of war. Pray that during this critical time churches around the world would be faithful to carry the message of God's grace and mercy to the Hazara.

Mehdi's story

Mehdi's* parents grew up with conflict. First came the Russian invasion, followed by the Mujahdeen reign of terror. The Hazara conflict with the Tajiks stole many of their friends' lives. Mehdi's father trained to be a soldier in a country plagued by war. He and other Hazara men in their village fought bravely against advancing Taliban troops but were overpowered.

The Hazara were forced to drop their guns, gather their families, and flee to the mountains. Fearful of Taliban troops patrolling well-traveled roads, Mehdi's family was forced to scale rocky crags above more navigable paths. Seven arduous days later, they arrived in a refugee village in Pakistan. His mother was sick and suffering from starvation the day she discovered that Mehdi would be born.

“How will I feed another baby?” she cried in despair. The family shared a room with relatives, but there was little food. The family of five shared two long pieces of flat bread at each meal and drank tea. Life was bitter. There was little hope.

The family listened on the radio to the accounts of the World Trade Center bombing. What would become of them now? The same day, they met the first foreigner they had ever seen. She shared medicine and food with Mehdi's family. The foreigners said it was the love of God that moved them to share.

In the following months, the family learned about the love and hope God offers through Jesus. One day, the radio reported that the evil days of Taliban were over. That was the day Mehdi was born. To express his faith and hope in God, his father gave him the name that means hope —Mehdi!

When Mehdi's family returned to Afghanistan they found a crater and some rubble left by the bomb that demolished their home. There is no work. There is still very little food. But mother and father look at Mehdi and remember. God gives hope!

This is a new day of hope for Afghanistan. Its people are more open to the Gospel today than any other time in history. Now is the time for God's people to act!

Pray diligently that the Hazara will choose to accept the Good News of Christ rather than chase after the materialism of the west. Pray that God will call out laborers to go to this brand new harvest field.

*Names have been changed to protect individuals. Photos do not represent the individual described in the story.

Go to Day 2