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Dear friends:
Just wanted to let you know I (Jeanette) am back from
Afghanistan. Thank you for praying It was a truly awesome
experience, and I want to express a special thanks to my PACTEC
hosts for their wonderful hospitality, not to mention whisking
me through all the airport chaos and redtape even a short stay
in Kabul entails. Still, it is good to be home, to ditch the
enveloping clothing and head covering (I now know the definition
of 'chador' hair) required of women even in the hottest days of
summer, to be able to shout the 'c' words and 'b' word (Christ,
Christian, Bible) and others within the confines of my own house
without worrying spies listening in. It is one thing to be aware
that the 'fledgling democracy' our govt. has helped install in
Afghanistan is in reality an Islamic fundamentalist regime, its
new constitution enshrining 'sharia' as the basis of its legal
code, its pledge to the International Convention of Human Rights
only insofar as those don't contradict Islamic law. It is
another to see that reality in action, to live every day having
to watch everything you say or do lest the religious police
(yes, Karzai has reinstituted those in full force) come
knocking. Apostasy to Islam (i.e. religious freedom) is still a
crime as is any expression of thought the mullahs decide is
anti-Islamic.
Afghanistan was hardly quiet while I was there. But as in
any trouble spot, one only sees one's own immediate
surroundings, and the dirt streets and compounds where I was
staying were quiet enough. Since news was also not easily
available, I didn't hear about the Kandahar jail break of 400+
Taliban prisoners or fierce fighting down south until I returned
stateside. We did hear nearby gunfire as we were heading to a
team meeting, and as hand radios spattered, found out the
police were hunting a suspected suicide bomber a few blocks
away; I trust all their shooting didn't hit any bystanders.
There was also an incident with bike riding (best not
enumerated), the easiest way for the expat women to get from one
compound to another, albeit heavily covered up with chapan and
gripping head scarf in place; now even that small convenience
has been restricted unless a chowkidar (all the expat homes have
day and night guards) goes along. LOTS of Blackhawks flying
overhead and military convoys were said to be related to a
surprise visit from Laura Bush. The house guard informed us of
her presence in the city; a well-kept secret!
The best word to describe Afghanistan is contrast. The
upper-class Wazir area of Kite-Runner fame, where a house
renting for $200 in 2001 now rents for up to $15,000 a month to
State Department or UN contractors, boasts all kinds of new
high-end restaurants, shots, even malls, where one must clear
airport type security to get inside. Not to mention all the
red-and-white boom bars and blast barriers, machine gun nests,
Mambas, armored Humvees, knots of armed expat security
contractors. Street after street of the gaudiest turreted,
gabled and towered mansions, many owned by government ministers,
represent hundreds of millions in squandered aid money and
opium.
Then there's the Bush bazaar full of every American item
ever shipped overseas at taxpayer expense from A-1 steak
sauce, Del Monte peaches, brand name soaps and shampoos, and
MREs to field binoculars and Operation Enduring Freedom ID
pouches (which every airport and other official was using to
hold their IDs), all of which had 'fallen off trucks' from the
American military bases; one wondered if anything was left to
the troops. The only thing missing was the body armor and
weapons, but every taxi driver is happy to show one where to get
those.
Meanwhile, mud-brick hovels are still the norm for most
of the population, the poverty and desperation barely touched
after seven years, especially outside of Kabul. A govt. bureacrat
or teaching salary is $50 a month, and few have even that (the
expat NGOS pay upwards of $400 a month, so anyone with
marketable skills works for them). Expat aid workers like PACTEC
who've been on the ground through the mujahedeen and Taliban
years say it is rapidly getting as bad as the Taliban years,
especially the increased surveillance and hostility of the
religious police, while govt. corruption is far worse than ever
before. Not to mention the violence that has cut off so much of
the country where aid workers were able to work even under the
Taliban.
There is so much more I could say--and even more I wish
I could share, but can't. But do keep an eye out for my upcoming
title, Veiled Freedom, which will be
released in a few months with Tyndale House Publishers. I came
away above all with a recognition that true freedom will only
come to Afghanistan and our world through God's love changing
individual hearts. And a commitment to pray for Afghanistan and
for those brave enough to share God's Word and the love of Isa
Masih (Jesus Christ) as well as those brave enough to listen and
receive them.
Meanwhile, Marty leaves Friday for
India. Please pray for Marty as he meets with our
Orissa pastors along with other ministry stops. Our
BCM Orissa Coordinator, Pastor Nayak, sent word that jailed
Pastor Dasarath and two other deacons have been released from
the jail. But their conditional bail requires they return twice
a week Sunday and Wednesday, a real hardship as the court is 12
km from their home.
Also, Ellie arrived
safely in Spain and is enjoying this orientation week with other
camp staff before the children arrive. Thank you to all who have
participated with her in this ministry trip. Please
pray for her continued safety, health, and spiritual growth over
these next seven weeks as well as the impact of God's Word in
the lives of campers.
AND for more news, do check out our
latest issue of the BCM World, now on
line at
http://www.bcmintl.org/e-zine/0508/.
Blessings,
Marty and Jeanette Windle
BCM International
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