CDTS - Orientation

In preparing for our CDTS, we came across the idea of having God's eyes when we look at a person. Thus the title of our blog, abbasvision. What if we saw people not for how they act, but for who they could be in Christ? It is much easier to criticize and cast people aside who don't measure up to our expectations. But is that was God does to us? How many times have we fallen flat on our faces, only to have God pick us up, dust us off, and reassure us that He loves us? As Kasey and I prepare to spend 12 weeks learning more about God, I have been challenged to try to see people as God sees them. To see the hope, promise, and beauty of their life and not the junk that weighs them down.

This idea of Abba's vision for others was reinforced Thursday night at our first "Family Night" here at the Park. Family Night is a worship service open to the community that features staff and visiting missionaries from the Park. This week we heard from missionaries from Afghanistan who asked us to share what we thought about when we heard the terms "Afghanistan" or "Muslim." Some responses were jihad, war, terrorism, and oppression. The missionaries then told us about the mission they had established which was bringing hope and a future to those who truly had none. They relayed the story of a woman who was enslaved by her husband's family after he ran off to Iran and married another woman. Bruised and battered by not only physical, but emotional abuse, we heard how this woman, and many like her, have been able to share their stories with Christ and receive a new found hope.

We invite you to pray for a specific girl, whose story particularly touched our hearts. The girl, in her early teens, has been imprisoned for becoming pregnant as the result of rape. Even though she was raped by a relative, under Islamic law, if an unwed woman becomes pregnant, she is to be put to death. Her family and the local authorities have had "mercy" on her and agreed that instead of death, she will be imprisoned for 30 years and her baby will be killed after it is born. The missionaries have secured asylum for her in another country, but her father will not permit her to go, because the family is shamed by her pregnancy. Please join us in praying for her father's heart to be changed, that this girl may be released to seek asylum in another country, and that her baby's life may be spared. Please pray that this change will occur quickly, as the baby is due in 2 months.

Hope to the hopeless, that is the story that we all have an invitation to join.