UPDATEM o n t h l y . . . 2 0 2 1

Number 08.21 P.O. Box 50884, Colorado Springs, CO 80949-0884, USA • Tel. 719-386-8808 • Email: FRINT@aol.com • Website: www.friendshipintl. org August, 2021

Del HuffExecutive Director

FriendshipINTERNATIONALEmpowered by the Holy Spirit,Reaching Out to a Needy World

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

James 5:16

The most current news which will eventually affect the entire world, is the take-over this past Sunday of Afghanistan by the militant, terrorist group, the Taliban. It is expected that this time their control of the country will be the most hor-rific form of evil ever to be released upon hu-mankind. Here is a report I just received by way of Pastor Josh Manley at the RAK Evangelical Church in the United Arab Emirates. This is a call to all Christians around the world at this time.

Afghan Pastors Ask For Prayer!As Taliban forces have swallowed up Afghanistan and even now the capital city of Kabul, pastors in the country have been emailing and messaging me over the last few days, even hours, anxious for prayer.

Pastoring just a short flight away in the United Arab Emirates, I’ve had the opportunity to build partnerships with these men over the last decade. One house church leader sent me a picture of the small room he was hiding in with his family. He wrote, “This is where I am living. We are hidden right now in different areas.”Another pastor wrote, “We can’t go out like nor-mal. It’s dangerous. We moved to one of my friend’s houses, but it’s not safe at all.” Mindy Belz at WORLD reports that pastors say the Taliban has contacted them saying they are coming for them.

Here are specific ways they have asked for you and your church to pray.

1. Physical Protection and ProvisionI asked one brother if he was presently in phys-ical danger. He replied, “Not only me but my family too…because of me.”We need to pray that our sovereign God would physically protect our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan. Boldly go to the throne of the uni-verse and plead with our God to restrain evil and confuse the plans of evildoers. Pray also for physical provision.

One brother asked that we would pray “for financial issues because no one can take out money from the bank and ATM’s are empty.”A number have specifically asked that we would pray for visas to get out of the country. So let me throw in an additional request to you, dear reader: Is helping secure a visa something that you or someone you know is in a position to help with? If so, do what you can. Whether you are or not, you can ask our heavenly Father to provide. Pray for physical protection and provision.“Be not silent, O God of my praise! For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues. They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me with-out cause.” (Ps 109:1 – 2)

2. Spiritual ProvisionEvery church leader who has emailed or texted me has asked that we would pray for the Lord to strengthen them in their faith—that they would “stay strong in the Lord, who is the Sovereign King,” as one put it.“Pray for me to be strong in my faith. It is really hard to stay here,” said another.If you are reading this, you have the opportunity to ask God to protect and even increase the faith of our brothers and sisters in the Afghan church. They don’t know what today—much less tomor-row—will bring. But they can be certain that our God will supply every need of theirs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:19).“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Rom 15:13)“May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might…” (Col 1:11a)

3. Gospel AdvanceOne brother described these days as “dark” and said they feel like a “storm.” Then he asked that we pray for “revival.” What faith! Here is a man whose life is in danger asking us, who enjoy so many privileges and freedoms, to pray that God would open the eyes of the spiritually blind and give life to dead hearts.Wouldn’t it be like our God to work in these horrible circumstances to make his great name known? While our Afghan brothers and sisters face terrible uncertainty, we should be like the believers in Acts 12 who themselves faced serious threats and persecution but, without ceasing, offered up earnest prayers to God.“Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men.” (2 Thes 3:1-2)“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jer 32:27)“Our Hope Is Not in Politics, but in Jesus”Over the past weeks, U. S. mission agencies have pulled out their workers. I have had the great privilege to minister the Word to some of them as they have processed their own grief and confu-sion. I’m grateful they could get out. Pray for them as well as for any who chose to stay.But pray especially for the Afghans who have no choice but to stay, such as one brother who has already spent time imprisoned for his faith. He has assured me again and again, “We can trust that our Lord is mighty and will care for his children. Our hope is not in politics but in Jesus who is the King.” This is not escapism. This is biblical faith when all earthly prospects are completely bleak. Don’t you know that such faith brings great glory and joy to our Father in heaven? While these days are dark and tragic, remember that God sits on his throne in the heavens. He holds the rulers of this world in contemptuous ridicule. He promises to make the nations his Son’s heritage, the ends of the earth his possession (Psalm 2:4, 8). Amen.

Let Your Kingdom Come LordYour kingdom come, your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.Matthew 6:10

by Gwen Stone

July 17, 2021 my father passed from this life to the next. We had been able to visit him many times before moving to Romania, and he gave us his blessing in moving although he was on hospice care. We are grateful for all of the time that we were able to spend with him!

We are also so thank-ful that we were all able to travel back to the USA to be with fam-

ily and attend dad’s funeral! He had served in the military for over 30 years and was buried at the Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon. We had a simple but very meaningful service at the cemetery. My dad had asked me to sing “Taps” at his funeral. Yes, it does actually have lyrics, and my dad often sang it to us when we were growing up. My dad also wanted all of his grandchildren to learn The Lord’s Prayer, the 23rd Psalm, and the 10 commandments. Each time that I was able to see him this year, he wanted to pray the Lord’s prayer together. Because of this, I also sang the Lord’s Prayer at his service. God helped me to be able to sing without breaking down in tears. I cried before and after, but not during the time I needed to sing. Praise God, He is so faithful! He comforts those who mourn.

It was a spe-cial blessing to be able to spend time with family remember-ing my dad’s life! We

spent a few days with my brother’s family at the beach town my father often took us to when we were growing up. It was good to share memo-ries with our children and pass on a love for the coast to the next generation! I am so thankful for God’s grace and mercy in making this trip possible!

We have now been back in Șiștarovăț Romania for less than a week. We are still adjusting to the time difference, but it is so good to be back home! David has started working at his pro-gramming job again and that is going very well. Thank you for praying for us! We are asking that God’s kingdom will come and His will be done in our lives and in Friendship International Romania as it is in heaven!

Praises• We were able to travel to the USA for my dad’s funeral.• We had good flights and travel to and from the USA.• Blessed time with family.

Prayer Requests• For our residence visas to come through.• For us to adjust well to life here.• To be able to learn the language quickly.• For us as we are grieving.• For our children and all of us to find godly friends.• For unity among all the workers here.• For wisdom in what to get involved in. (There are many needs, but we want to do what the Lord wants us to.)• That we will keep our focus on Christ and be a light and a blessing.

When you pray for us, you are partnering with us in ministry. Thank you and God bless you.

Friendship Camp ReportWe are so thankful for how the Lord encour-ages us by allowing us to continue the ministry at Friendship Camp, even under continued lim-itations by the COVID-19 threats. Just as it is happening in the States with a new surge of the COVID variant, so it is here in Romania as well.

But what a blessing that we continue to see glimpses of hope and are allowed to have limited numbers of kids, teenagers and parents come out to the camp for day gatherings. But it is still not possible for us to have a one week camp, where children are sleeping, eating and gathering in smaller quarters, as we do for regular camps.

Here are some pictures with the youth group from Adi and Tabita’s church. They have been there for 2 days and had a great time, with games, campfire, hamburgers for dinner, Bible study and a lot of songs around the camp fire.

And with grateful hearts they expressed their thankfulness to the Lord for the opportunity to be at Friendship Camp again, even if it was just for two days.

Exciting AnnouncementOn the 21th of this month, Friendship Camp will be the host to a huge youth meeting with kids from several churches. It will be a full house, and a good day!Please pray that the Lord would meet these young people in a special way.

Being thankful to God helps center our minds on His goodness and is key to worship and intimacy with Him.

Many of them mentioned how much they missed the “good old days” when they had the freedom to be together with their friends at camp, with no restrictions.