POST JACK
today, i'm going to yield my blog to steve walker. last night, heather mercer was at his house recounting her experiences as a captive of the taliban in afghanistan in '01. here is what steve had to say about the evening...You probably remember hearing about Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry, along with four German and two Australian aid workers, being arrested by the Taliban in Afghanistan on August 3, 2001. After 105 days in prison, and enduring a trial that most likely would have ended with a death sentence had it not been interrupted, they were rescued. Last night, Heather came over to our house and talked about her experience, and what she is doing now. It was incredible to hear some of the “behind the scenes” stories, and how God worked then, and how he is working now.
One of her captors is now studying in the U.S. at a Baptist University, and tracked her down to tell her some of what was happening “behind the scenes” when she was in Afghanistan, and to let her know how his life has changed since those days.
She is now working in northern Iraq among the Kurdish people. She is temporarily living in the same city our team from Gateway was in back in 2004, and the city where Kiki lived. The Kurdish region is stable now, unlike before the war. There is economic growth and development, and academic expansion taking place. They are grateful for what America has done for them. The Kurds have been oppressed for centuries, and the freedom they are now experiencing in northern Iraq is something they have never experienced before. Like many people in the Middle East, they are spiritually hungry for the truth. They resent the oppression and bondage of Islam.
I have said it many times before, but it bears repeating -- what we see and hear reported by our news media is not the full story. When you talk to people that have not been sent there to find and sell the bad news, you get a very different perspective of what is happening. Our God is amazing, and he is doing amazing things in many parts of the world that the secular media will never report.
If you want to hear more of Heather’s story regarding her experience in Afghanistan, click here.
- Steve Walker
posted by pablo
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Post a CommentI should have included this little tidbit in the story. One of her pastors flew out to LA to connect with some people regarding the work. His taxi driver from the airport was from ... Afghanistan. He asked the driver if he remembered Heather, which of course he did. The driver was astounded that his passenger was flying to LA to meet with Heather ... right here where he lives!
Heather's valet at the hotel here is from ... you guessed it, Afghanistan.
Our God is always up to amazing things. What connections will he make for us if we will only ask?
I wonder if they were allowed to have their Bibles with them in jail. I watched the video that you linked and it said that they would recite scriptures that got them through it. I don't know if I have enough scripture memorized to get me through something like that. Maybe I should start memorizing more of it.
Sonia,
They did have their Bibles, but Heather said last night that she began to memorize scripture more after this experience because she realized how difficult it would have been to make it without God's word.
Here are some highlights of the video (the quality is a little better once Heather and Dayna show up live at about the 5 minute mark)
Dayna sharing about them singing in prison, and not sounding that good, but they used their water bottles as drums, and made the best of it.
what she misses most about prison -- all the time she had to spend with Jesus, and how she really learned to hear his voice.
one year after they were released, the Jesus film that got them arrested and had them facing a death sentence, was broadcast on the local TV channel in Kabul, the very city where they were arrested and imprisoned.
(Heather starts speaking at about the 21:11 mark)
their "Gideon" hearing the good news on their shortwave radio and saying "this is so beautiful ... this love that Jesus has for me."
when they were arrested, she had a copy of the Jesus film on her, and the heads of the Taliban watched it to see what was on it. ha,ha what a God we have! the gospel was preached to the Taliban!
"God had to send me to prison to set me free [spiritually]."
the story of the angels opening the prison doors for Gideon just the angel did for Peter in Acts 12.
I was just watching this video Heather gave us explaining her current project in Iraq, and the video cuts to Heather and Kiki's right-hand guy while he was there talking about the project! My immediate response is, "Hey, I know him!" How cool is that?
Visit FREEDOM CENTER to learn more about her current project.
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