news from afghanistan

Contact efforts are still being made with regard to our martyred Brother Faris, his wife, and the other two brethren stranded in Kandahar. A visit is planned, God willing. Here is a tribute from Bro John Kasanda (Kasembe, Zambia):

I wish to offer tribute to our brave Brother Faris of Kandahar, Afghanistan. His brutal death is a shock to us. Dear Brothers and Sisters who remain, when we open our Bibles and read Acts 6:8-15 we read how the Jews argued with Stephen the man of God, but they could not stand up against his wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke. They got him executed on false charges of blasphemy. Yet in the end he still prayed for his spirit to be in Jesus' hands. Brother Faris has left a remarkable spiritual lesson to each Christadelphian. We too must never stop speaking the Gospel until our death. We hope to meet in the Kingdom to come.

Further, Sis. Julie Trotman (Southampton, UK) was moved to compose the following in tribute to Bro Faris:

THERE'S A DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

With the dark time drawing near
And with friends who couldn't see,
Loving Jesus didn't think of himself but of you and me.
He was trembling and afraid
For the ransom must be paid
For the children that he loved to be freed.

So he knelt there on the ground
And his anguish could be seen,
With temptation hitting harder than ever it had been.
Then the God who answers prayer
Proved to Jesus He was there,
As an angel gave him strength to proceed.

What he gave him in his mind
Was a vision he could see
In the glory of the Angel: "Yes! Soon that will be me!"
From the moment that he came
Jesus rose up through the pain,
Being strengthened to endure cruelty.

Keep a vision in your mind
When the path you've taken home
Is a dark one and you know you must take it on your own.
Keep a vision through the storm
Of a fireside bright and warm.
Keep your head down in the wind, when it blows.

Though the storm clouds hide the sun
And the rain beats in your face
Surely Jesus is beside you with guidance and with grace.
So remember this is true:
"I will always be with you"
'Cos he's been there, and he will get you through.

There's a dark side of the moon
And a light side in the sun,
And the light side is the time when God's Kingdom has begun.
There's a good time coming soon
When the bad times will have gone
And the glory of the Lord will have come.