March 2014
Dear intercessor and friend!
I will never forget how shocked I was when I first learned about the discrimination and brutal repression women were enduring under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. That was 1997, and Project Hannah had just begun. Living in Asia I was learning fast about the evil surrounding women of that vast region. The religious and cultural oppression, the extent of disrespect and indignity women endure daily was hard for me to wrap my mind around. “Only God can rescue them,” I thought. A burning desire to speak hope and God’s freedom to them grabbed my heart and has held it to this day.
Through the years, often I wondered why all our efforts to minister to Dari- and Pashto-speaking women never succeeded. However, since 2012, God has miraculously removed the obstacles. A Dari version of Women of Hope is being produced by native speakers, and, God willing, soon a strong voice of Hope for women will be heard all over the region. The Pashto version will follow it.
This is one of the most closed regions to the reach of the gospel; it is the Prince of Darkness’s own turf. If we ever needed fervent prayer, it’s now! As the Word of God is heard, we believe change will take place (Romans 10:17). Inside and outside of ourselves, we have no power to change their circumstances, but our almighty and loving God will transform them from powerless to powerful women of faith and hope! Jesus will be their source of power as they experience the truth that “greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
With my spiritual eyes, I see a mighty wave of earnest prayer rising to the throne of our almighty God on behalf of the Dari-speaking women of this world. Let’s ask God to build a hedge of protection around them and their families. May the new Dari Project Hannah team be filled with strength, wisdom, and deliverance from retaliation by the enemy. Let’s pray for an outpouring of godly courage to live by God’s enabling “power, love, and sound minds.” And pray for safety, endurance, and a great anointing for TWR’s leadership and PH teams in that dangerous area.
Thank you for engaging afresh in this spiritual warfare, believing that Jesus will seek and save precious Afghani women and rescue them from such cultural and spiritual oppression.
Remember, this “battle belongs to the Lord”!
Believing with you,
Marli Spieker
Global Ministry Director/Founder
Project Hannah
Marli Spieker
Global Ministry Director/Founder
Project Hannah
TWR