(From The Crescent Project, and was written by Dan Torres. This article is in followup to our previous post, on 10/27, about the need for English teachers. Thanks to Bevin Ginder and The Joshua Project for the above photo.) “When the United States abruptly pulled out of Afghanistan in 2021, the Afghan people faced an excruciating choice: stay and face the wrath of the Taliban or flee. Millions chose the second option, and tens of thousands of refugees are now our neighbors in the United States.
“The question facing Christians is whether we will choose to be neighbors to them. In the Los Angeles area, the opportunity to reach these previously unreachable Muslims with the love of Christ is huge.
“Afghan newcomers face bewildering cultural and economic challenges, a language barrier, and too many heartaches to count. For example, two loving Afghan parents with three children saw their oldest son, 20, murdered by the Taliban. In another case, a man named Abdul and his son fled Afghanistan because of death threats. Abdul’s wife, three daughters, and another son, however, were left behind and will likely never see them again. Such heartbreaking stories go on and on.
“And yet, I am excited by what the Lord has been doing, and will do, among our small but passionate network of churches and pastors. Yes, we are supplying these refugee families with practical help—everything from refrigerators to rent money. But the goal is much deeper.
“Our plan this next year is to grow. We’re aiming to reach more Muslims by involving more Christians who want to be neighbors to them. Your help and prayers make this vision possible.
“We visit mosques and sometimes pray with the leaders, provide outings at the beach or in the mountains for new arrivals, and organize special events around holidays such as Christmas—Afghans are very interested in how we celebrate the birth of Christ. We always give them a special gospel booklet in Dari and Pashto, which they receive with gratitude.
“During a recent outing, I turned to a young Afghan woman named Sanah and asked about her hopes and dreams. “I want to be an FBI agent,” she confessed. Not only were we able to pray with her about this in Jesus’ name, but we quickly connected her with a Christian in the FBI who encouraged her and shared the steps she needs to take. Only the Lord knows her future, but He is clearly pleased by the beautiful interactions with Muslims we are seeing.
“As you can tell, this ministry is not a sprint but a marathon. Our goal is to build friendships as unabashed Christians and respond to each person’s spiritual interest when the time is right. I always pray in the name of Jesus with all Muslims I meet. They uniformly are excited to receive these prayers. As with Elijah in the Old Testament, the cloud of the Lord’s blessing right now seems small over a distant horizon, but it is surely coming.”
Thank you for your vital support in helping us to be neighbors to the many Afghan refugees in our midst. To give, please go to crescentproject.org/give
In case you haven’t seen the Afghan video from thewaitingworld.net, please click here: