Your Gifts And Prayers At Work For Afghan Christians

It’s a rare gift to hear from Christians who are helping to serve Afghan believers. Afghanistan, No. 9 on the 2023 World Watch List, is essentially impossible to live in for any indigenous Christians. When the Taliban took over in August 2021, most Christians went further underground, or left the country entirely. 
 
Open Doors partners in surrounding countries were ready to help. Thanks to your gifts and prayers, our partners have been able to help Afghan believers who left everything and who are trying to rebuild. 
 
Brother Ahmad* is one of these partners. We can’t tell you his real name, or even what country he lives in—many of the countries around Afghanistan are also hostile toward Christians, and serving Afghan believers can attract even more unwanted attention.  
 
But he sent this letter to us to make sure you know how big of an impact you’re making. It’s Jesus’ words in Matthew 25 come to life: “I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.”

Rejoice and thank God with Ahmad and the believers he serves—and be reminded that you are making a huge difference, building God’s Kingdom in the hardest places in the world.  
 
Dear brothers and sisters:  
 
I want to tell you some very good news. We have started a ministry on the border between our country in Central Asia and Afghanistan. This is a very difficult and closed area for the gospel. But by the grace of the Lord, we can serve in this region.

  There are now a lot of refugees in this area from Afghanistan, many of them are hiding in a deserted area without clothes, food or drinking water. Those who live here do not have access to water because of climate change and harsh terrains. Those who earn a small income in a family can afford to buy water—but such people are very few. Most people drink rainwater and water from rivers and ditches. The risk of disease is very high.  
 
We prayed a lot about this situation and by God’s grace, your prayers, and your help, we were able to make our dream and the dream of many people in this region a reality. We decided to build a well to help with access to water. So, we started drilling 240 meters deep—and found water there!  
 
This path [to get to this point] was very difficult. Many of those who were engaged in the drilling were initially reluctant to get involved with this project, especially because they were not sure whether they would even find water in this area. And there was no equipment [locally] that could reach such depths. Fortunately, one company agreed to help us and ordered additional specialist equipment to drill to the required depth.  
 
The machine was drilling, with three shifts of workers working around the clock to find underground water. And finally, a miracle happened. After a month of work, we reached the desired depth and found water. Now, local residents, Afghan refugees, our minister and his family, and other believing brothers and sisters can use this water source free of charge! Praise the Lord!  
 
In Christ, 
Ahmad 

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Thank you for your gifts and prayers that supported this project, along with many other projects that are too sensitive to talk about publicly. Continue to pray for Ahmad, and our partners on the ground in Central Asia and other places where Afghan Christians have fled. Pray for Afghan believers both inside and outside of Afghanistan, that they will be encouraged and sense the support and encouragement from Christians around the world.