SEVERAL WEEKSBEFORE MY TRIP,I HAD BEENTALKING WITH AFRIEND WHO HASBEEN TO IRAN.

He told me about the receptivity tothe Gospel, and I shared my desire toget Bibles into Iran. He said the Kurdsin Northern Iraq could help meaccomplish this task. I tried to applyfor an Iraqi visa, but was told itwould take two months. Then, by thegrace of God, I met a man who hadbeen a missionary in Northern Iraqfor 13 years. Through him, the Lordopened a door for me to cross theborder into Iraq.

THE CHRISTIANSWERE GRATEFULFOR THE SUPPLIESWE WERE ABLE TOGIVE THEM.

It was like giving a cup of cold water in the name of Jesus.We were able to pray with several families we visited andencourage them in their walk with God. Many have beendriven out of their homes by terrorists who threatened to killthem if they didn’t leave.The greatest thing that happened to me during the trip wasthat Jesus broke the fear I had of sharing the Gospel withMuslims. I began to see them as people created in the imageof God, for whom Jesus died. I was able to hand out manyGospel tracts in Turkey and left some in Iraq. Severalhundred went to Germany as well.I prayed for an opportunity to share the Gospel with aKurdish man working at the hotel where I was staying inIstanbul. A friend from The Way of the Master had explainedto me how to share the Gospel with Muslims using the Ten

I have been traveling to Turkey for over ten years and for nine years working with the Iranian Christians.We haveprovided many New Testaments to help the IranianChristians in Turkey grow in their faith in Jesus Christ.My underlying desire has been to get God’s Word into Iran.

DEAR FRIENDS:I WANT TO SHAREWITH YOU SOME OF THE EXCITINGTHINGS THAT HAPPENED DURING MYLAST TRIP TO TURKEY AND IRAQ.

Commandments. The Lord gave me the opportunity, so I satdown with this Kurdish man and shared about Moses being aprophet and then about Jesus being a prophet. He sat andlistened intently.I then began to tell him the Ten Commandments, and headmitted that he was a liar, a thief, and an adulterer. Iexplained that he had broken the Law of God and was underjudgment. He was convicted of his sin and saw how he hadviolated God’s Law. Next I explained how Jesus is the perfectsacrificial lamb, and how Jesus died on the cross for his sins.I told him that Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and thelife, and no one comes to the Father except by Me.” Heunderstood the Gospel for the first time.At the end of our conversation,he kept asking, “But whatabout Mohammed? He said wecan have four wives.” Iexplained that while some menin the Old Testament had morethan one wife, it caused them alot of problems, and how Godhad created one woman for oneman. The man really struggledover this, but I was so gratefulthat the truth had now beenrevealed to him. I trust theHoly Spirit to bring him to salvation.

WHILE I WAS IN TURKEY,I METWITH AN IRANIAN PASTORWHO REPORTED THAT THEREVIVAL IN IRAN ISCOMPARABLE TO THE REVIVALIN CHINA.

He said there is a tremendous need for Scriptures in Iran andasked me to help get as many Bibles into Iran as possible

REPORT FROM CUBA TRIPBY CLIFF

The living and powerful Word of God is absolutelychanging the lives, hearts, and minds of thousands uponthousands in Cuba. We found a thriving church of theLiving God in which believers are eager to shareeverything they have, even at great cost to themselves, inorder that others may be provided with daily needs. Notonly did the wonderful believers give us unaffectedfellowship, they humbled us by the selfless nature of theirgenerosity as they fed us, transported us, and invited usinto their homes with the message everywhere that theirhouses were our houses, their families our own.In the midst of ongoing severe oppression of all kinds,true Christian discipleship is being passed on, believerby believer, in hundreds of churches ranging in sizefrom a dozen members to over a thousand. Some of these churches have been meeting for more than threeyears in the open country without buildings, at timeshaving to hold up large plastic sheets over an entirecongregation to keep the rain off because they didn’thave permission to meet in a building.

IN CUBA,BELIEVERS SINGHYMNS WITH CHORUSESSUCH AS,“I LOVE YOURPRESENCE,JESUS,MORETHAN MY OWN LIFE.”

And they mean it. Persecution over the years has leftmany a vacancy in local fellowships, throughimprisonment or death. The attitude in practice of thebelievers we met is that it really doesn’t matter what aperson may suffer, because knowing Jesus and servingHim through leading others into His Kingdom is themain thing in life, against which physical comfort,natural possessions, and personal safety are not wortheven being considered. We took in many Bibles andother provisions, but we were the ones who receivedmore than we would ever be able to bring in – in termsof the true Christian witness shown by those dearbrothers and sisters who received us.