all things are possible

Reports twelve years ago listed Somalia as "the most lawless nation", and "the highest on the human suffering index" and "zero tolerence of other (non-muslim) religions". Now the reports say "the most lawlessness in Somalia's history", "unprecidented human suffering", and "executions of all Christians". The death tolls keep rising--those from the gunfire, those from disease, starvation, and lack of shelter, and those of Christians unmercifully being killed.

Years ago, the world new about Somalia--when it wasn't nearly as bad. But somewhere in the early to mid nineties, the world started forgetting. Now, so few remember. To those in Ethiopia, Kenya, and neighboring countries, Somalia is real. The problems are real. To Ethiopian Christians, there is a duty. But much of the world sleeps peacefully, choosing not to remember Somalia.

Somalia's only answer is Christ. The small number of Christians there are making a difference. They faithfully serve the Lord despite the orders of their government (or lack thereof). They risk their lives with every breath, and yet they still sing and rejoice and they give God glory---because they understand, as did the apostle Paul, that in all circumstances we can have joy. Obviously these believers are making too much of a difference in the world, or satan would leave them alone. How many people want YOU dead because of Your faith?

Most churches and missionary agencies dont have Somalia on the calendar--or even on the prayer list--either because they dont know, they dont care, or because it just doesnt seem possible. God knows. God cares. With Him ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.

Please seek what the Lord would have you do concerning His children in Somalia and the many unreached He desires will come to know Him there.

faith

In Luke chapters 7 and 8, there are 2 stories about faith. One is the story of Jesus and the disciples, out on the boat, sailing across the lake. A dangerous storm is sending giant waves of water to the point that the boat is flooding. The disciples are in fear of their lives, yet in the midst of it all, where is Jesus? He is sleeping. Sleeping! Imagine that! They wake him quickly shouting "we are going to die!". There is little doubt that they wanted His help, but rather than expecting Him to calm the storm, they were more likely expecting Him to help them bail the water out of the boat! After Jesus rebukes the storm and the winds and waves calm, the disciples are amazed at what He had done.

The other story of faith is one of a man, a centurian, who has a servant who is sick. This man sends some guys to go ask Jesus to come to his house and heal the servant. These guys try to justify to Jesus how worthy this man is to have it done. Yet the centurian realizes that he is not at all worthy, and so, he sends others to tell Jesus not to bother coming to his house, because he is not worthy. But this man will not let his own unworthiness interfere with his servants need, he has the guys tell Jesus "Just say the word and my servant will be well". This man has an understanding of who Jesus is, and of who he himself is, and is not. He is not the worthy man he has been described to be, but despite his inadequacies, he posesses greater faith than even the disciples who have spent so much time with Christ.

In life, we can ask Jesus to help us bail the water out of the boat, or we can understand who we are and who He is and can put trust in what He can do and what He will do. What choice will you make? Who is He to you?

Some verses of encouragement

Psalm 34:19 -- Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

Hebrews 13:6 -- So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Psalm 107:8-9 -- Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

Isaiah 41:10 -- Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Psalm 16:11 -- Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Mourning another loss

We mourn the loss of Sister Leonella (Rosa Sgorbati), an Italian Nun gunned down in Somalia this week.

Sister Leonella modeled the love of Christ in her work, and offered forgiveness as she took her last breaths.

Please continue to pray for Somalia.

Being thankful

Be thankful.

That was just the footnote at the end of one of many "sermons" the aposte Paul was preaching in his letter to the Colossians.

As I was discussing scripture with my students today, those words jumped out at me. Of course these are words that are anything but scarce in scripture. Paul himself says it over and over. But today, in the midst of discussion on a whole other passage, here those words slipped in again. The footnote. He just had to throw that in. But why?

People have varying levels of appreciation. Typically, we are more thankful for that which we do not think we deserve than for that which we feel we are entitled to. The problem for many is the feeling of being entitled to much. And from there, thinking becomes more askew and thankfulness becomes nonexistent. But Paul isn't telling us to be thankful for only some things. Actually, he says "In all things, be thankful".

We can say we are thankful for the "good" and the "bad", yet our words and our actions reflect our hearts. If we are so thankful to God, why do we complain so much?? If we are so thankful, why is it that our actions are much less than Godly? If we are thankful, our lives will reflect it.

Thankfulness is a matter of appreciation, and none of us can claim we have nothing to appreciate. If we feel as such, we do not know the Most High God. If we know Him, we know how insignificant we are in and of ourselves, yet how significant we are in His sight.. significant enough that He would send His Son to die for us.

Are you thankful enough today to take a stand for the people of Somalia? Are you willing to fight the spiritual battle on Your knees for the many lost and dying? Are you willing to take a moment out of your day to consider the Somali church---not a building (there is not one) but a people.. people who are willing to take a stand for God--because they truly are thankful.

Yet another believer killed for his faith

We mourn the death of our Somali brother Ali Mustaf Maka’il on September 7, 2006.

Ali was shot and killed in Mogadishu by a militia member of the jihadist Union of Islamic Courts after he refused to join a Qur’an chanting crowd in response to the lunar eclipse. Ali converted to the Christian faith eleven months ago and his killing is an attempt by the Taliban style jihadists to eliminate the Somali Christian community.

Kindly send an e-mail of protest to the Union of Islamic Courts at islamic_courts@yahoo.com or qaadisiya_editor@hotmail.com Salutation: His Excellency, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed

Please be respectful in all your communications with the Union of Islamic Courts.

www.falsan.blogspot.com

Continue to pray

Father,
Move Your hand in the nation of Somalia. You know the faithfulness of Your children there. Let them be an example of Your love and Your grace. May each person who crosses the path of one of Your children notice that something is different. Place apon their hearts a desire to know what it is that is so different about them. Help them to see that You are so much more than the idea that they have of "Allah", that You have a plan for each and every one of them. Like a mighty wind, let Your Spirit fill that place, that each and every knee would bow and each and every tongue would confess.

And, Lord, place a hedge of protection around the Somali Christians, that no harm would come to them, and no hindrances would come about in their efforts to do Your work. Strengthen them, encourage them, unite them. Bless each and every one of their needs. Thank You for the witness that they are.

In the precious and holy name of Christ,
amen

ALL who follow Christ will be persecuted

In so many countries, Christians go about everyday life without thought of persecution. For Somali believers, this is unimaginable. We can suggest that things should change and that all people should have "freedom to worship" how they want. We can make excuses. We can claim that because the country has chosen to serve another religion, that they don't need to hear the gospel. We can assume that our own safety if more important than the need for each and every person to hear the Gospel. But if we do these things, we deny the commands of scripture. We reject the very thing God has sent us to do.

We pride ourselves on our "religious freedom", yet look around. Many of us live in a country that serves the God's of self, money, success, and pride. The freedom we speak about is merely the freedom to call ourselves Christians while living like the world. If Christians truely lived for Christ, and bodly shared their faith--If Christians stood up for the God they claim to serve--then there would be persecution, because the world rejects Him.

I commend our Somali brothers and sisters who are willing to bodly serve the One who died for them. I pray that those who are living comfortable lives in the world, compromising their faith for the sake of not offending others--or for not being offended--will wake up and take notice. My Somali brothers and sisters are in need. They need prayers, they need support, and they have physical and financial needs that exist because of their faith. My God is faithful to provide, but I believe He desires to use YOU to help meet these needs. Seek Him, Seek His plan. Then, obey. Don't be like Jonah and run the other way. Don't ignore the needs. And while you are at it, step out bodly, and live to please Him. The world will nto accept you, but thats ok, it rejected Him as well.

A call to pray, a call to act

To my non-somali friends.

With so many people all over the world with their various problems, you might ask, "Why Somalia?" I have heard many say that we have enough problems in the U.S. that we need to resolve before seeking to intervene in the rest of the world. While that may be true insofar as politics goes, it is far from the scriptural truth when it comes to spiritual needs. The people in Somalia are lost and dying. They need to hear of God's love and grace.

I will, in the near future, post some information here about Somalia to give you a better picture of what the country is like. But for now, let me tell you that they are 100% Muslim, required by law, though in reality, a VERY tiny percentage of Christians exist. The country is the highest ranking on the human suffering index and life expectancy is only in the 40's. The country suffers from drought, lack of food, and continual fighting among the various factions seeking control.

There are some Somali believers out there. Many of them are bold about their faith. They face toture and death, but they will not relent because they refuse to deny their Savior. They need encouragement. They need support. They need your prayers. Please commit to lift up our Somali brothers and sisters each and every day and to lift up the many who have yet to know Him.

The call

I feel the need to tell my Somalia story as an explanation of why Somalia is so important to me.

Eleven years ago, as a fairly new believer, I felt the Lord calling me to surrender my life to mission work. I was in college at the time. I recall attending a missions conference where Scott Wesley Brown sang "Lord dont send me to Africa" and as I heard the words, I begged the Lord to send me there! I couldnt fathom why anyone wouldnt want to go anywhere the Lord could use them.

It was several months later...I dont think I had ever really heard of Somalia or knew anything about it. But one day, Somalia came to my mind. I felt the Lord telling me that I would serve Him there. The thoughts never left my mind. I questioned the Lord on this and started doing some research. Somalia being in Africa of course brought some thoughts to mind, that maybe I wasnt crazy after all, but was getting my wish! But the more I learned about Somalia, the more impossible it certainly was to go there. I spent a lot of time seeking the Lord in this.

One day, when I was absolutely determined to know for sure His will. I attended a Bible study as I always did on Friday nights, and this guy walked up to me afterward and said "Hi, my name is Ahmad, I'm from Somalia. Go to my country and teach." That sounds way too obvious to be true, but the Lord is my witness that that is exactly what happened. Now how could I an any way deny that that was His voice!!!

At that time, I was an education major. I later changed to ministry. For many years I sought a means of getting to Somalia to serve. It never worked out. No agency was willing to send me and I could not go on my own. But Somalia has never, ever, left my mind. I have never doubted that I will one day serve there.

I pray for Somalia daily. I keep up with the news and the needs there. I await the day the doors will be open.

Recently, the Lord told me time is nearing. And, through a string of events that I could never have imagined, the way is being prepared. I will not go into detail for the sake of the security of others.

I am so blessed now to have contact with believers in Somalia and to be gaining understanding of how to help the believers there.

Please commit to pray for Somalia. It is my prayer that the Lord will open your heart and give you the depth of love for the Somali people that He has given me.

Welcome

Welcome to all of our Somali brothers and sisters. You are dear to us and in our prayers daily. The Lord has great plans for Somalia. Trust in Him and follow wherever He leads. Jesus Christ will give you victory!

Prayer for Somalia

Father, Bless each and every one of your children in Somalia with an abundance of peace, and overflowing of joy, and unsurpassable hope as they seek to minister your love and grace to the many who do not know You. Let your Spirit fill them full to overflowing, and pour out upon the entire country. May they be bold witnesses for you, ever encouraged, and ever determined. Place a hedge of protection around each and every one of them, around Your church, that they would stand united, and would stand against all obstacles, trusting always in You, and You alone. In the precious and holy name of Jesus, amen.