Pakistan
“Please encourage our efforts to spread the Gospel in the hardest part of the world — the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.”
These words came from a pastor who joined Climbing For Christ in 2008.
We hear stories daily about terrorism, bombings, murder, kidnapping, and harassment. Particularly at risk are ambassadors for Christ. “Discrimination affects virtually every aspect of daily life such as education, health, livelihood and housing,” according to Open Doors USA, which adds: “Opening a new church building is almost impossible.”
Open Doors has long ranked Pakistan among the top 15 of the 50 most persecuted countries on the planet.
The church is wherever two or more gather. “God is really doing a great work in Pakistan,” said our pastor friend, whom we last heard from in 2009. We sense he may have been martyred for his faith.
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Climbing For Christ pastor, whose face was blurred to protect his identity, praying with new believers in Pakistan.
He shared the day in October 2008 when more than 30 people accepted Christ. He baptized many of them publicly in a canal.
“People were sinking in the valley of desperation and (being) illiterate,” he said at the time. “They were living just for themselves, not for God. Just sleeping, eating, and working. But when I share the Word of God the Holy Spirit move on them with His heavy authority and break them of out the bondage of the Satan’s works.”
Since 2011, Climbing For Christ has partnered with Save Pakistan, delivering thousands of Urdu-language Bibles through Project Living Word and helping to free children forced to work in brick factories through Project 8:36.
Please take two minutes to watch the C4C Pakistan Prayer video.
Fast facts
The mountains of Pakistan, such as K2 (above), are among the world's most rugged and beautiful peaks.
Location: Southern Asia. Leader: Prime Minister Mohammad Nawaz Sharif (since 5 June 2013). The government is a federal republic. Population: 191.6 million, the sixth most populous nation in the world after China, India, USA, Indonesia and Brazil. Less than 1 percent of the population is Christian. Primary Religion: Islam (98.9 percent).
Where in the world?
Pakistan is located in Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India on the east, Iran and Afghanistan on the west, and China on the north. (The World Factbook)
UPDATE:
A new challenge to ministering in the mountains of Pakistan: the Taliban may target climbers.
Late Saturday, June 22 and early Sunday, June 23, 2013, gunmen masquerading as police attacked Base Camp on Nanga Parbat and killed 10 foreign mountaineers and one Pakistani guide. “By killing foreigners, we wanted to give a message to the world to play their role in bringing an end to the drone attacks,” a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban told The Associated Press.
This was one of the worst attacks on foreigners in Pakistan in the last decade.
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