9:00 AM – As many of you know, I teach English using the Bible,  have taught 6000 Muslims so far, and have converts in hiding all over the Middle East.

Last night, I received this message from my convert from Islam to Christianity in Afghanistan five years ago. He is about 50 years old and has five children. He decided a few weeks ago he had to preach to his friends and relatives. A couple weeks ago he told me he had preached to over fifty of them. We talked about his safety and if he has talked over his situation with his wife and he said he had, and that she was strong. Here is his message:

I will be in heaven with my lord very soon;
This night at 7 pm I received a warning call from government spies, he told “we know you are preaching and spreading Christianity in our country, you will pay heavy atonement”.

10:00 AM – Several people have asked me about his escaping to America or Europe. He does not want to be relocated. He wants to stay and, if he lives, to continue evangelizing his country. Four years ago he ran for his life and escaped to India for awhile. He knew the Taliban would find him some day again. Nothing will stop him from trying to save the souls of his countrymen short of death. He is driven to do this. The last time he contacted me a few hours ago, he has sent his children into hiding. He will try to escape into the mountains, but he will not leave.

10:30 AM – When I wrote “Stephen: Unlikely Martyr” recently, I was Stephen. I put into his life all the persecutions that go on in the Middle East among the Muslims I work with – threats, loss of jobs, imprisonment, burning shops, kidnapping children. As Stephen struggled through these things, I was struggling with him. His conclusion is in the chapter, and I know you know what it was. And it became my conclusion.

11:30 AM – I just now wrote to my converts in the Middle East (we use a secure website like what banks use) and this is what I told them: The Christians in the Western World are praying for you by the thousands. They are calling you all brave Soldiers of the Lord and Warriors for the one true God. Though you may see yourselves as weak, they see you as stronger even than them. You, my Christian brothers and sisters, are leading the church into a new era of courage and standing up for truth, no matter what. Lead on, my spiritual children. Lead on