LIGHT OF LIFE INTERNATIONAL

P.O. Box 283 Hazel Park, MI 48030

586-817-2662 IrfanAbdullatif1@gmail.com Twitter@LightofLifeIraq

__________________________________Reaching Muslims for Christ_________________________________

Dear Friends, I would like to begin by wishing you a Happy New Year. I trust that this year will find you serving Christ, regardless, of circumstances. That is my request heading into this year for myself and it is my request for you as well. As usual this letter finds me busy with the work of the ministry. I will soon be traveling to places like Oklahoma and North Carolina to present the ministry of supporting native church planters in Iraq. I continue to be amazed as I read the statistics on missions to the Muslim and Arab world. Today it is estimated that 23% of the worlds population is Muslim and growing. That means almost 1 out of every 4 people on this earth is Muslim. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the United States, Europe and South America. I am distressed when I read such things, since I know firsthand the type of freedom there is in Christ as opposed to the shackles of a works based religion. However, it also reinforces the necessity and the validity of what we are doing in Iraq. Muslims need the Gospel more than ever. The Middle East needs the Gospel more than ever. The ministry to the Middle East is not about culture wars or winning them to our way of thinking, but of winning them to Christ. It is about recognizing that God is the creator of all men, and that we are to share the Good News with every tribe! I would greatly appreciate prayer for my travels, especially by car. The winters in Michigan are tough on cars and I have already had my car in the shop for brakes and several engine issues. It is my hope that we do not run into any more issues as they can be budget busters (especially with the cost of health care going up) and time consuming. I would like to share a praise with you, though it is a bittersweet one. I have written several times about Syria in my letters and how we have worked to provide humanitarian aid. Syria has been called the greatest humanitarian crisis of this millennium. More than 4 million people have been left homeless, with most of them being housed in tents in the middle of the desert, often with no clean water and little food. Those who have stayed are afraid to walk outside their homes because of the bombings and shootings that could happen at any time. However, even with all this we were able to send $2000 to Aleppo Baptist Church in Syria, to help them put together care packages of supplies like canned goods, aspirin, and simple staples that every home needs but that have tripled in price since the beginning of the Civil War there. Thank you for your support both financially and through your prayers. Keep us in your prayers as we attempt great things for the glory of Christ! In Christ, Irfan Abdullatif January 2014