I pray for Jasmine's future husband every Monday and, wow, there's a song I hear on http://launch.yahoo.com that tears me apart. The song is Bob Carlisle's "Butterfly Kisses and Bedtime Prayers." I hope you'll find it at that radio station and give it a good listen. You dads with daughters might want to have a handkerchief close by.

At the end of this page is a knee mail from a like-minded believer we used to know when we lived elsewhere. I may have shared Jonathan's story with you earlier but, if not, it's online at www.shevet.org I hope you'll read it in its entirety.

Those of you who've known me for any length of time know my love for baseball. I grew up as a fan of "The Big Red Machine," the Cincinnati Reds, back in the days of Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Dave Concepcion, George Foster, Ken Griffey (way before Jr.), and Charlie Hustle. It's been a long time since the Reds have played in the postseason, so I've found myself pulling for the underdog teams like the Cubs and the Red Sox. And, as you may have noticed, it's close to World Series time.

What does this have to do with why I'm here. Absolutely nothing. I do find, however, a small window where there are no clocks or news flashes of impending evacuation - just three outs to go and all the time in the world to make them. Baseball takes my mind off who's going to launch the next weapon but, unfortunately, the season will come to a close soon and there's a strong possibility that the "Middle East Conflict" will not be over before the Fall Classic ends.

I'm reminded of how we're not promised tomorrow and that we must work while it is day for the night is coming. I think of how those around me who've heard the message we've come to bear will be left behind when we hear that final trumpet.

The worst thing that could happen to anyone is to die and then find themselves in Hell. That's why I'm a firm believer in praying for every lost person in the world.

So I guess you've heard of the possibility of "escalation" and, naturally, I won't say who's starting it; however, I did find this news article.

Seminary's witnessing tract places God at the center.

Watch out for Christmas "pencils, candy canes and absurd court rulings."

Since we always need "one more" person to pray for us, please feel free to recommend the 'Wednesday Weekly' to other like-minded intercessors in your circle of friends. Invite them either to send an e-mail or to subscribe at our website.

+ More visitors were coming to the Prayer Center, and we had hoped they would catch its vision and purpose and then tell others about it. You prayed with us that this be so... today's visitors expressed interest in taking home a set of tiles to help them in their focus on prayer for the world. They mentioned how the tiles will be used to encourage friends to do the same and, who knows, maybe their friends will want a set.

+ I worked on a co-worker's computer last week and needed an extra dose of His wisdom and insight on the best way to fix it up... oh, the memories! I started with FDISK in DOS 6.2, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and am at Windows 98. I still need to get to Win98se and then figure out a way to get the NIC to accept an Internet connection so I can get the necessary Windows Updates. I've had a lot of fun and have more to find : -) Thanks for praying!

+ Last week marked the fourth anniversary of "Andrew's" untimely death, so you prayed with us that his death would not be in vain and that his family would accept what he understood by faith... we're still unable to get back to visit his family due to our visa situation and, yes, it's been thirteen months overdue.

+ You continued praying for the ongoing agricultural work taking place in the Prayer Garden, especially that real seeds would take root and grow... while that hasn't happened yet, we have made other signs of progress by way of getting more information on the irrigation system. A special thanks to the donors who've contributed a good portion of what we'll need to cover the costs, above and beyond their usual tithe through the Cooperative Program and special gifts with the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

<T H I S  W E E K><

<>< Jasmine continues to have difficult days at school, so I mentioned how we ask you to pray for us. Jasmine said, "Ask the Wednesday Weekly friends to help me stop crying. I want to have a good day at school." Jasmine seems to be a born-perfectionist unless all firstborns are that way. She wants to make her letters and numbers perfect the first time and isn't much for practice without complaining.

<>< The olive trees in the Prayer Garden will need to be harvested this week, so pray with us that the peoples of Jerusalem would either recognize their rightful inheritance as the olive tree or that they need to be grafted in.

<>< This week some of the leaders from the church will be visiting us. Please pray that our fellowship time will be focused on how God is moving in our area and what we can do to reach the lost.

>< Pray for the Amhara of Ethiopia. >

CALENDAR UPDATES

<If you're not receiving our bimonthly snail-mail newsletter, let us know so we can send it to you!><

8, US families to fall in love with Jesus

* Although it hasn't happened yet, I do believe there's still time.

9, more people to hear God’s word

* What a joy it was to have run into a national co-worker from a few years ago! "Carlo" has been and is still actively involved in the Bible Society, and how good it was to hear of His success stories!

10, Ali’s salvation

* Continue praying as God brings him to mind.

11, computer ‘health’

* I started the work day with high hopes of restoring a co-worker's classic P-100 to run its maximum Windows 98 but got blue screened all morning. I'll tackle it again Tuesday!

12, A worshipful experience

* What a day of family togetherness : -)

13, believers to be encouraged

* The believers we were with today received the direct benefits of your prayers, and we thank you!

14, Shirin’s mom to become His follower

* Oh, how we'd love to see this happen soon!

<>< +++ <>< +++ <>< +++

Dear friends,

I'm just returning now from a week in Baghdad preparing our first group of children to come out for heart surgeries. Each time we have tested the waters in Iraq we have found God's grace. This time the hospital there gave us use of a conference room and access to their files. At night I would call the families of children who need surgery and ask them to come meet with us. It's a very strange thing in Iraq for an American to call up at 11:00 at night and ask you to come see him the next day. To my relief most could understand my Arabic and believed me; I was only hung up on twice!

And what familiar, stirring scenes the next day. Blue, neglected children walking in solemnly next to their parents. Just to look in their eyes and smile caused them to light up. But they could only bear the attention for a few seconds before they'd turn sheepishly away and look at the floor. And how well I could empathize with the parents, watching with such quiet intensity as their papers were scrutinized, praying that they would not be turned away from what must seem like a miraculous chance to save their child. By week's end we were surprised and thankful to find that God had enabled us to complete paperwork, and heart examinations on CD or video, for 24 of these children.

Our last morning in the hospital there was a sudden commotion and we were hustled out of the hallways. Injured were coming in from the suicide car bombing of an Iraqi police station in a Shiite neighborhood. Once things quieted down we were standing to one side of the doorway of the emergency room, encouraging a mother with child in arms that we would pray and do everything we could to help her loved one have life-giving heart surgery. To the other side were Shiite women, dressed all in black, sitting on the floor and weeping over the murderous attack on their loved ones. I couldn't have painted in stronger terms the struggle now on for the future of the people of Iraq.

But most efforts to help have now come to a standstill due to the threat of violence. The American consul told me that most diplomats and NGOs were in the last stages of evacuation, and--to my amazement--she advised me to have a plan in place in case the American forces bunkered down in their headquarters and, by implication, lost control of the country.

What helped give me some perspective on all this pessimism was a visit earlier in the week to a Shiite family which had grown close to Dr. Lee and Angela, our volunteers who spent the previous month in Baghdad. Our host showed us the picture of his brother, killed for taking part in a demonstration against Saddam's regime. "There's no family that hasn't lost someone," he said quietly. Indeed the Iraqis are a deeply wounded people, and seeing what they have suffered illuminates how precious is the change that has taken place. All the common Iraqis know this in their hearts, and I am increasingly optimistic that they will succeed in opening a new chapter in the region's history.

During the week I was privileged to attend the ordination ceremony for a new pastor for one of a number of new evangelical churches opening in Baghdad. Hundreds of Arab Christians from all over the country and the Middle East came to celebrate together in an amplified, open-air meeting next to the new church building, which has a prominent sign and cross on its roof. "Could this have happened under the old government?" I asked. Never, I was told.

A young man named Ghazwan who is a member of the church has agreed to work together with us in Baghdad. He is culturally Arab, but like many in Iraq (e.g. Kurds and Assyrians) he is actually of non-Arab origin, with family roots in Turkey. He has a servant's heart and we were especially blessed that he understood and accepted that we work as volunteers and trust the Lord to provide. Please do join us in praying for courage for Ghazwan and remembering that God may prompt us to help meet his needs.

We also thank God together with Phil and Martha Berg of our Jerusalem office for their new baby Sara born Friday morning, their first girl after three fine boys. Sara was born right in our building in Jerusalem, with Phil reportedly officiating in place of a tardy midwife!

Now begins the work of providing donor hospitals in the US, Europe, India, and Israel with the CD and video examinations so that they can select Iraqi children for surgery. We have 12 firm invitations in hand and hope for many more. The most recent comes through a friend named Marianne in Holland, who wrote:

After reading your call about the situation in Baghdad I wrote to several hospitals in Holland with your request of donating a surgery. Now the Academic Hospital in Groningen responded on the call and they are willing to donate a surgery on a child from Baghdad...When I got this message from the hospital I was so happy and thanked God for opening a door in Holland too.

Let's remember that even though we are simple people with no special connections, there are many ways in which God can use us now to make a difference in Jesus' name in Iraq and the Middle East.

Yours faithfully for His sake,

Jonathan Miles

Coordinator

Shevet Achim

www.shevet.org

"Behold how good and how pleasant when brothers dwell together in unity" (Psalm 133:1)

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