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Dear Partner in Ministry,

As all of us are aware these days, life in our United States of America has been profoundly impacted by the acts of violence that took place in New York City and Washington D.C. on September 11, 2001.

And, quite truthfully, beyond the terrible consequences that affected the thousands of victims of those terrorist actions – and their families and loved ones – there have been other consequences that have affected Christian ministries . . . ministries like Compassion Radio.

Let me spell out some of those consequences . . .

On the day that the terrorist attacks took place, we were in the 11^th day of our “Exodus Advance” campaign to help the Good Samaritan Ministry of Cairo, Egypt, complete its new orphanage and daycare center which serves the ‘garbage children” of that city.

You may recall that we were poised to take the support for that project to Cairo and present it personally to "Our Egyptian Friend" at the dedication ceremony of the new facility – an occasion that was to be attended by Mrs. Suzan Mubarak, wife of Hosni Mubarak, the President of Egypt.

On September 11, the day that the World Trade Center came crashing down, that Compassion Radio project . . . the “Exodus Advance” . . . also came crashing down! Contributions to this great Christian outreach to the garbage children of Cairo dropped off to a trickle – as did all giving to this Compassion Radio ministry – as American Christians focused their attention, and their giving, on the tragedy in New York City.

The dedication event in Cairo itself has had to be postponed for the time being. Compassion Radio had to temporarily set aside the project, because ‘the times’ (shall we say) were suddenly not propitious for an outreach to an Arab and essentially Muslim region of the world.

I was explaining this situation, recently, to an influential missionary leader, and his reaction was very interesting. He said, “Norm, you would think that, under the circumstances of Muslim extremist terrorism, giving by Christians to a project that reaches Muslim children and their families with the Gospel would go up instead of down . . . that support would increase rather than decrease!”

And a Major in the Air Force with whom we shared our disappointment over not being able to help "Our Egyptian Friend" as we had hoped, responded, “It’s really very sad. Right now I can only IMAGINE the in-roads to be made in the Muslim world if projects like the Cairo orphanage were supported.”

And I agree with them. One would expect that our commitment to reaching the Muslim world for Jesus Christ would intensify in the current crisis. But that’s not what happened. Many Christians froze in terror when the terrorists struck.

But, that’s not all that happened. . .

The dramatic drop off in donor support has made it necessary for Compassion Radio . . .

• To suspend the publication of our bi-monthly devotional, Morning Glory . . .

• To suspend the printing of our “Widow’s Might” publication. . .

• To drop the daily broadcasting of Compassion Radio to the Middle East from our radio outlet in Jerusalem. . .

• And, to suspend the distribution of ministry materials to prisoners, ministries to the blind, and other Christian outreaches that we have served for many years.

May I put the matter bluntly: Since all this ministry has had to be suspended or curtailed as a result of the traumatized response of Christians to the terrorism of September 11, are we not forced to conclude that Osama Bin Laden has succeeded in his campaign to defeat us?

I do not believe that any of us are willing to accept that conclusion as final. But, we need to ask God to unbind our timid spirits and cause us to become resolute in our determination to reach out materially to win a dying world to Christ.

Please be certain that you understand this crucial truth: The military victory that has been achieved in Afghanistan does not mean that our spiritual war with the powers of darkness, waged by Muslim extremism, has been won. Only through the sacrificial prayers and giving of believers, like you and me, can that conflict be won.

God’s Word has a message for us right now, in the midst of these uncertain times. Here it is from Joshua 1:9: “I hereby command you; be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

My Friend, Compassion Radio is not a passive, stay-at-home ministry. We are a ministry that ‘goes’; that engages the world’s toughest places with God’s love. And we believe that He is with us wherever we go in service for Him.

That’s why I’m asking you right now: Will you go with us, back to Egypt, and revisit our “Exodus Advance” for the ‘garbage children of Cairo’ during this month of February? Will you, by your actions, say, “September 11 is not going to be the last word on our outreach for Christ to the nation of Egypt. Terrorism is not going to stop our witness for Jesus in the largest Muslim city in the world!”

The marvelously effective Good Samaritan Center, with its nearly completed orphanage, daycare program, work skills training program, and Christian Conference Center, has facilities to serve 1000 people every day in the name and power of Jesus. It is waiting for our financial support to arrive, so that it can unleash its Gospel witness with full force.

Let’s finish what September 11 stopped!

The “Exodus Advance”.

Are you with me?

Send you best gift today!

Faithfully in Christ,

 

Norm Nelson