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Please remember to keep praying for the imprisoned Christians (see below) who are humanitarian aid workers who were in Afghanistan providing assistance. There are two American women, 2 Australians, 4 Germans, and as many as 16 unidentified Afghan Aid Workers accused of being Christians, who are probably under worse duress than the others. They have all been put on trial by the Taliban. All these Christians need our prayers. The Taliban previously indicated that, if convicted, foreigners would only face jail and expulsion; but they have since indicated these people could be executed. The fate of the Afghan Christians is likely worse if convicted. Remember and pray. |
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 Heather Mercer |
 Dayna Curry |
 Peter Bunch |
 Diana Thomas |
| Americans Jailed in Afghanistan Accused of Sharing their Faith Antioch Community Church, Waco, Texas Update / Letters / Press Release 10/31/01 These women worked in Afghanistan for Shelter Now International, "an aid agency that provides food, clothing and housing for refugees and IDP's as well as basic education and health needs for street children." Heather had visited Afghanistan twice before she went permanently in March 2001, and Dayna had been there excluding furloughs, since January 2000. |
Australians Jailed in Afghanistan Accused of Sharing their Faith NorthCity Christian Centre, Padbury Perth Western Australia Afghanistan Update from Perth "Diana is a registered nurse and nursing instructor. She is 50, single and has been a member of NorthCity Christian Centre for over 25 years. Diana is the personal assistant to the Shelter Now team leader and is involved in Shelter Now's malnourished feeding clinic and new mother's clinic. Peter is a jack of all trades with a background in engineering, project supervision and the retail industry. He is 57, single and has been a member of NorthCity Christian Centre for 12 years. Peter is a project supervisor with Shelter Now overseeing housing and feeding projects." |
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 Georg Taubmann |
 Katrin (Kati) Jelinek<;/b> |
 Margrit Stebner |
 Silke Dürrkopf |
| Germans Jailed in Afghanistan • Accused of Sharing their Faith Georg is a 45 year old nurse, married to Marianne Taubmann. They have two sons, Daniel and Benni. The whole family moved to Kabul in July 2000, but Mrs. Taubmann and the children had to flee Kabul after his unexpected arrest by the Taliban. Kati, age 29, is a nurse. Margrit, age 43, is in administration with Shelter Now (as best as I can tell from translations). Silke is 26 years old and is a teacher. |
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Arsalan and 15 others (names unknown, no photos available) • Afghan Aid Workers Accused of being Christians |
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 Group Photo of the Shelter Now Westerners (from a German TV transcript site) |
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Some FreeRepublic Threads on the Jailed Christians (reverse chronological order, not comprehensive): • Outside contact frozen for imprisoned aid workers; winter sets in |
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In some previous threads several have mentioned or asked about special forces plans or involvement in this situation. I thought I would post this as one of the few recent stories regarding rescue plans. There seem to be plenty of Freepers who just think that these people chose their own fates, and therefore are disqualified from receiving special assistance from our forces. Fine. It's obvious they chose to go there and knew there were risks. However, I find the speed and vociferousness with which those types of comments get posted here interesting given the American tradition of rescuing people from their own self-created situations. There are many situations in which we rescue people whose own SELFISH choices (rather than humanitarian ones) contributed to their situation. But some Americans seem just as threatened with principled Christian obedience as does the Taliban itself, and they just have to inject obvious little tweaks into a thread posted for those supporting the Christians in Prayer. I usually do not mention such things, but since this is the first article I have seen addressing explicitly a possibly rescue, I figured I would immunize the thread now and simply ignore the anti-Christian digs later.
That said, I have never called for a special rescue attempt for these people, and I do not intend to. Other than prayer and a reliance on God, I do not know what is best. I do not think that even these Christians or their families have any expectation of a military rescue. I think they also are depending on God and taking action through prayer.
It may be that they will be freed simply as a byproduct of our current military actions. However, if the military and those in authority over the military DO choose to undertake a special mission to rescue these people, I will certainly support it and wish it well.
But what I really support is for us all to wish them well, and to wish their families well, and for the Christians among us to pray and to continue to pray for them.
JESUS, the creator of the universe, WORKS MIRACLES CONSTANTLY. He can, if it is His will, rescue these people. I will end by presenting in context one of the most awe inspiring statements in the Bible, the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fire, from Daniel 3:1-29 NIV (my emphasis and paragraph breaks):
King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it. Then the herald loudly proclaimed, "This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace."
Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "O king, live forever! You have issued a decree, O king, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon--Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego--who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up."
Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?"
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king." He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."
Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way."
Praise Jesus.