For the most part, people outside Afghanistan are getting ‘bits and pieces’ of what is taking place in the troubled nation after American and NATO troops withdrew. What is known: “It’s chaos. There’s tremendous economic problems and unemployment – and therefore, increasing concern about hunger, meeting family needs, aside from the typical things you’d hear about the Taliban in terms of their attitude toward women and girls, and so on,” explains Dr. Rex Rogers, President of SAT-7 USA. The ministry broadcasts satellite TV into many portions of the Middle East, including Afghanistan.
SAT-7 has consistently been receiving text & phone prayer requests from inside Afghanistan. “In the aftermath of the drawdown, we thought we would experience a decrease in the number of those kind of contacts – and we did just a little bit – and then it boomed right back up and it’s stayed steady ever since. People are just asking for prayer. They are talking about their fears.”
- Faheem, male, Afghanistan "Greetings in the Lord to you beloved. Where we live is in the middle of a war zone. We are hungry and don’t have any bread. We fear for our lives. Pray for I am in danger. The Taliban are in the process of occupying. Where can we go? What can we do?... We have studied so hard and now the university is closed, and the women are wearing Burkahs."
- Nisha, female, Afghanistan “I am an Afghan and living in Afghanistan at the moment. People are terrified, everyone is afraid and scared of the Taliban. I am only 16 years old and cannot take what is happening around me. I’m crying out to God right now; someone please help us. My family’s situation is very bad.”
- Jahan, male, Afghanistan "I came to Christ a year ago. The Kabul situation is dreadful. Please help us! My daughter’s life and my life are both in danger… My daughter is eight years old. She has no one else except me. My name is Jahan and it was so difficult to find a phone to contact you. I would like to go to a place where going to Church is free and there is freedom, so that I and my daughter can serve the Lord." (Names have been changed for security)
And the ministry receives deep spiritual questions like, “Does God exist? Does he care about what’s happening here? Why is God allowing this to happen to me?” Rogers says some of the worries and questions they receive are “gut-wrenching.”
SAT-7 has counselors available to respond? “Absolutely. Every day,” in the appropriate language for the person making the contact.
From some neighboring countries like Iran or Saudi Arabia, “You can have people – they’ll call in and say that ‘such-and-such kind of authority has destroyed my satellite dish, or they found out I was going to a secret church, and they warned me not to’ – and yet they’re calling in to tell us that.” That’s because they trust and count on SAT-7’s inspiration and programming so much. Likewise, it takes boldness for someone to contact the ministry from within Afghanistan, and they do it, “because they are courageous and because they are scared at the same time. They’re reaching out for hope…” and SAT-7 is there to provide it.
In our complete interview podcast below, learn what types of programming SAT-7 offers to viewers in Afghanistan, including women’s shows, special shows for kids, Bible studies, and music videos, to name a few, “produced by nationals…not by westerners like you and me from America, but it’s produced by people who grew up in that country, who speak that language, and culturally understand and can communicate.”
And Rex Rogers offers some very specific prayer needs for Afghanistan and SAT-7’s mission.
