[2025 Ramadan] Day 13 Afghanistan, which will endure the final war with the gospel!

In August 2021, when the US military withdrew and the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan, a large number of Afghan refugees poured into Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan. Before 2021, 1.5 million Afghan refugees were living in Pakistan, and after the Taliban regained power, 2 million refugees crossed the border.

Knowing that if the Taliban regained power, girls' education would be prohibited and women's human rights would fall to the bottom, and that those who worked with foreign companies would be at risk of their lives, they risked their lives to go to neighboring countries and use Pakistan as a base camp to live as refugees indefinitely in order to go to a third country that would accept refugees. Even in Pakistan, where they had found hope and stability, life was not easy.

The refugee repatriation policy that began in November 2023 has resulted in 200,000 Afghan refugees being repatriated back to Afghanistan, and 30,000 in November 2024, and in February this year, Afghan refugees who were staying illegally in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, have been expelled. Refugees who were not caught by the police are living in surrounding cities outside Islamabad to avoid deportation.

In such difficult circumstances, perhaps because their hearts have become poor, Afghan refugees are desperately hoping that God will help and save them rather than seeking Allah. Now, many Afghans recognize that Islam is not the truth and is a religion that confines people in fear and darkness. People who have learned about the world outside Afghanistan through various media outlets and worked for foreign companies in Afghanistan during the 20 years that Afghanistan received aid from the United States have already heard the gospel, have Bibles, or heard news of underground churches.

Thankfully, young people, the future of Afghanistan, are now turning away from Islam, saying that Islam is not the truth. There are many souls who do not pray in the Islamic way, and religious leaders and those with strong religious beliefs still insist on Islamic prayer and going to the mosque, but Afghan souls no longer care and seek the truth, and the authority and faith of the Islamic religion and law are gradually losing their power. On the contrary, there is an atmosphere in which those who tell people to follow Islamic law are deceived by lies. The false belief that Islam is the truth and that everything will go well if you live by its laws is no longer working for Afghan souls, and instead, they are more certain that it is a lie and are seeking the real truth.

This winter, various types of short-term teams visited areas densely populated with Afghan refugees in Pakistan, and God's work took place through various ministries. There was the grace of families who were tired of Islam accepting the Lord and beginning to read the Word, and there was the joy of families of faith who had just crossed the Afghan border and were keeping their faith alone seeking worship, connecting with the community, attending Sunday services, and even participating in missionary camps. There was the grace of many souls being spiritually awakened by healing prayers and evangelism through home visits.

The believers who had gathered every week were mostly dispersed to other cities due to the recent refugee policy. The believers who had grown in faith together since the beginning of the gathering, the youth who had begun gathering by becoming more devoted to the Lord’s heart and vision through the Vision School and camp, the children who had passionately met God and praised Him with the loudest voices during worship, and the believers who had just met the Lord and were happy to come to Sunday service were overcome with fear and worry as they saw the police search their houses and other members being expelled due to the sudden Pakistani policy.

Soon, these people also left the area where they had gathered and worshiped together and dispersed to other cities, and they expressed great pain and longing at the reality that they could not worship together in the midst of great fear, worry, and concern.

However, we see that the life of the gospel that the living God has planted in the community is raising up the members as power and light even in difficult situations.

We believe that God will make the members who are still left in T City, A City, Q City, and the places where God has scattered them, will make God’s new revival work happen. When we shared with the members who were wrapped in fear and worry, “We are Christians and disciples of the Lord. God has entrusted the land we walk on to us, and through us, He will begin the history of God’s new life in each scattered city,” we saw a greater hope than before. We see Afghan refugees rising up all over Pakistan, seeking the kingdom of God!

During this Ramadan, the world tried to scatter the Afghan people who came out as refugees again and bound them with fear and anxiety, but we believe that God’s holy plan is to send them to many peoples in Pakistan and lead the Afghan souls who thirst for the truth and the Pakistani souls who are bound in darkness into life and light.

We believe that the Lord sent the Afghan saints among the many Muslims who are trying to find their identity through Islam during Ramadan. We believe that the Lord’s life will surely bring the kingdom of God to Afghanistan through the Afghan saints, just as it came to Afghanistan, wherever the saints go.

Rejoice, Afghanistan!! Rise up with the gospel and win the final war!!

[Today's Prayer]

1. During Ramadan, may the souls of Afghanistan who were scattered to avoid exile seek the truth more than Allah in their unstable refugee lives, and may the work of hearing the gospel and receiving salvation happen.

2. May the saints of Afghanistan remember that they are the victorious church of the Lord even in the midst of their dispersion. During Ramadan, may they not be afraid and anxious, but remember the promise of God that is given to us as an inheritance wherever we go, and may the church of the Lord shine life and light in all the regions where the Lord has scattered us and save souls.