This Is the Day...

... that the Lord has made - let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Everything is packed and ready to go for our 11:30am departure!  Some have been asking about the different religions in Iraq and Jordan.  There is a great resource called Operation World that keeps track of what is happening in all the countries around the globe.  You can go to  their website for more info:  www.operationworld.org 

IRAQ:  (we will be in country from 10/2-8)
96% are Muslim
1.6% are Christian
.03% are Evangelicals
41% are under 15
We will be in the Northern Kurdish region (the city of Erbil or sometimes spelled Irbil) where the church may be tolerated more than the rest of Iraq, but they do suffer growing marginalization at the hands of the increasingly dominant Kurds.  Economically they are very strained because the Kurds, who left under Hussein's regime, are returning in droves and can't be cared for.  Many participants will come from the other parts of Iraq where there is great persecution.  There is a tremendous amount of unrest and division amongst the various religious and political groups.

JORDAN  (We will be in country from 9/29-10/1)
96.5% are Muslim
2% are Christian
.4% are Evangelicals
35% are under 15
Though there are state laws guaranteeing freedom of religion, and a public presence of the Church, there is still pressure placed on the evangelicals.  Though the number of Christians have greatly increased in the last decade (there are now 50 churches and many more house churches in the whole country), because of the huge influx of Muslim refugees, the percentage of believers has dropped from 6.5% to 2.2%.

I truly believe God has us going for a specific purpose, other than our teachings, which He will reveal to us as we faithfully move forward.  Be praying for our unity, our health, our physical and spiritual strength (I was reminded by the Spirit of how the enemy likes to attack my stomach when going into certain countries!).   Be praying for our families as well as the devil will attack wherever he may find a weak, unprotected spot.  

Hope to get a picture of our dynamic team posted from the airport.  Thanks for your support!  Could not do this without you all!