Several years ago, Walid had met a young Iraqi man who had come to Christ after moving to Lebanon.  This former Muslim had fled Iraq when the war began with the United States.  He became a very zealous witness of the Gospel and spent a lot of time working with Walid in evangelism.

A few years ago, Walid helped him repatriate to Iraq, as the young man had a great desire to see his family members come to know Christ, as well as see a church planted in his home city of Baghdad. However, this young man faced insurmountable obstacles upon his return to Iraq.  He not only got deathly ill at one point, but his family turned on him in strong opposition to the Gospel.  With the flight of almost 400,000 Christians from Iraq, the believing community is now essentially non-existent.  Persecution has also increased for the Christians that remain.  Recently, al-Qaida linked militants killed 58 people in an attack on a Coptic church in Baghdad.

Walid is now greatly concerned for this young man's life and he has tried to help him leave Iraq. A few weeks ago Walid got him a plane ticket from Iraq to Lebanon and when he arrived at Beirut's airport he was detained and sent back to Iraq.  Walid is now trying to get the young man a visa for Egypt so that he can go and work with Sam.

Please pray for this. Often times it's the Lord's will to keep a Christian in difficult situations for the good of that Christian and the growth of the Church.  However, it is becoming increasingly clear in this young man's case that he needs to leave, be strengthened through fellowship and discipleship, with the hopes of one day returning one day much sharper than he left.

To read more about the tension in Iraq, go here: http://bit.ly/btQXm2.

Marc Glass