Saturday, January 28, 2012

SITUATION IN MIDDLE EAST IS SENSITIVE

Shalom All,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Hebrews 11 verse 8 says, “It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going”.

In less than 10 hours, Jenny and I will fly from Bangkok to transit in Kiev (Ukraine) and then head towards Istanbul (Turkey). In total, it will take about 14 hours of flight time from Bangkok to Istanbul.

It is by no means easy to find accommodation in Istanbul, especially for a foreigner and one not already there. It has taken me almost a month to find a reasonable short term accommodation. Since the past 4 days, I have been able with considerable difficulty to find the lowest accommodation that costs USD 200 for two weeks and that also after much bargaining.

The weather in Istanbul is getting colder and some part of the day will be snowing.

After Istanbul, we will be heading towards Ankara (capital of Turkey) staying for a short period there to arrange for an Iraqi visa for Jenny ... no need for a visa for me as Malaysia has good relations with Iraq.

We will not give you the usual report while we are in the Middle East. Any reporting on our mission work would have to await our departure from the Middle East. We need to be cautious and wise.

We can’t say now how long we will be there ... it all depends on how long God wants us there. I also don’t know exactly why God has asked us to go there, just like His sending Jonah the Prophet. Only when Jonah reaches Nineveh, God tell Jonah to call on the local people to repent of their sins.

Trust and have faith is all that I can say. Will just have to wait and see what God wants me to do there. God knows and will always have a good reason for me to be there.

May God continue to bless and lead you.

Do pray for us as the tasks ahead will not be easy for us to carry through, without much prayer support. Thank you.

The Lord be with you and for you.

Blessings,
Rev. Steve Peter H S Kok & Sis. Jenny Ruth P. Kok