Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The longer we are on this side of the world, the more we realize the sustaining hand of the Lord and the need for your prayers. We want to thank all of you again for your faithfulness in praying, encouraging, and supporting the work in Pakistan.
Little people keep coming to our home for a Safe Haven. The definition of haven in the 1828 edition of Noah Webster’s dictionary means 1. A harbor; a port; a bay, recess or inlet of the sea, or the mouth of a river which affords good anchorage and a safe station for ships; any place in which the land can shelter ships from the force of tempests and a violent sea. 2. A shelter; and asylum; a place of safety.
These children have lived like ships toiling and tossing on raging dangerous seas and nearly drowned by all of life’s troubles. I hope and pray that our home is like a haven of calmness and refuge from the storms of life.
Jesus said, “Come unto Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). I want every child who enters Safe Haven to enter the rest that is in the Lord Jesus Christ, laying all their burdens upon the Savior. Only He can take away our sorrows and burdens and wipe away every tear from our eyes. These orphans have cried many tears, but God has heard their cries and brought them to a haven of rest. No tears, prayers, or words spoken in secret ever stay unanswered.
You cannot find this peace and rest by only retreating from the world but by coming to God, who is our abode and home. Whether we live in a mansion or a humble cottage makes no difference. It is God in whom we live and move and have our being.
“It is at home where we feel safe: we shut the world out and dwell in quiet security. So, when we are with our God, we “fear no evil. He is our shelter and retreat, our abiding refuge.” -from Charles Spurgeon.
I wanted to share the testimony of our guard, Brother Mansha. Brother Mansha is a soldier of the cross; he prays spiritual hedges of protection around our home and teaches the kids the importance of prayer and following God in their lives. He was not always a follower of Jesus. Once following worldly passions, bad crowds, and fighting, he spent much time in prison for his crimes. God had a purpose for his life to use him for His glory. The last time he was in jail, he met an American missionary who had been falsely accused and imprisoned. This missionary, whom we will call Brother S, had been ministering to the poor people in the brick-making kilns and was falsely accused by his driver. Brother S was arrested and sentenced to years in prison in this foreign country. His hardships did not deter him from preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to his fellow inmates. Through his witness, Brother Mansha heard the changing life truth of the Gospel. Brother Mansha accepted Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior, and Brother S baptized him inside the prison. His life completely changed from that moment on. His fellow inmates were amazed at this transformation in his life. Before his conversion, he beat his fellow prisoners and fought with everyone. Now he was filled with peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Brother Mansha has seen many visions and dreams. He dreamed a few years ago that a great light shown around him. In his vision, Jesus spoke to him and told him he would use him for His work and the promises of Mark 16:18. The missionary, Brother S, was miraculously released after two years. God has a time and place for everything in our lives. We have to use these opportunities, whether good or bad, to testify to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Please pray for Brother Mansha as he lives his life for the Lord. The times when he is not at Safe Haven, he and his wife travel to villages and share the Gospel. He also distributes many Bibles from Safe Haven.
Since last fall, 11 more kids have come into the home. We now have a total of 23 children. The last two boys who came in are ages 8 and 9. Their mother ran away with a non-Christian man. The week before they came here, their father died of a stroke. Their relatives do not want anything to do with the little boys because of the reputation of their mother. Even though their family was Christian in name, these little guys had never been to church or Sunday school or heard about Jesus. They had so many lice when they came that we had to shave their heads before we brought them into the house.
Two other little girls recently came. Their mother is a widow. She is unable to support her children. The two girls, ages 5 and 6, have been in another orphanage. The orphanage wouldn’t feed or care for them. They had many skin problems when they got here. We are treating these problems.
The kids who come here have a healthy diet, vitamins, and lots of care. Two sisters who arrived in January, Mahanoor and Jessica, came from another orphanage. They told us that in the other home, the staff would never talk or spend time with the kids. They were always left alone and learned really bad language and fighting.
It is sad that many orphanages here, even Christian, do not care for the kids. One home we heard of leaves the kids all alone at night, and all the staff go home and lock the doors. It is so upsetting that this goes on in the name of religion, and even foreign churches and unassuming missionaries are supporting these projects.
This year, we got a new shipment of Bibles. We have had to rent an extra storage place to store all of them. Please pray that the Lord will provide a massive hunger in people’s hearts to receive His Word. We want these Bibles to be sent to the right places and placed in the hands of whom the Lord has prepared. We received one testimony of a man who received one of our Bibles. He was a drug addict and living a very bad life. His wife received a Bible and started praying, and her husband turned his life over to the Lord. He did not have any rehab or counseling. He stopped using drugs, and God healed him of all his past addictions. He is now a Christian husband using his life for the Lord. God has used this home in many ways. It is amazing how God can change someone’s life.
Besides the orphanage and Bible distributions, God has allowed us to feed families, help with the school fees of Christian children, and give assistance for emergency medical care. Here, the hospitals will only treat patients if they have full payment before the surgery. Many die because they cannot afford surgery. We are thankful to have been able to help out in this way.
There is a blind family that Safe Haven supports monthly with food and medicine. Another blind man is also being supported to pay for his medical treatment.
None of this work means anything unless God is in it. Except the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. (Psalm 127:1). There is already so much ministry and humanitarian work here, but I honestly do not see many transformed new creations of Christ. Most religion is just a big show, and ministries are using poor people to get financial support. “…To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!” (Isaiah 10:2). Unless we are telling the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the truth of God’s Word from Genesis 1:1 the rest of the humanitarian work is only temporary. Still, it will not have an eternal impact in people’s lives. Many Pakistani Christians are confused. They have not read the Bible for themselves but have only learned the teachings and doctrines of men. This has made a confused and divided Church. We do not need to teach men’s interpretations of Scripture but the living Word of God, which is the truth.
Please keep Safe Haven in your prayers. Pray for this work, these children, and the Bible distributions. WE NEED PRAYER.
Our daughter Imani has been very sick with a stomach issue. She became so weak that we have had to give her IV drops here in the home. Other children have also been sick. It seems like Azeem is constantly a taxi on his motorcycle between here and the clinic.
We always are encouraged to hear from you all. Please feel free to reach out to us through email with any thoughts or prayer requests.
Blessings in Christ,
Azeem and Clara Munir Imani, Hosanna and Moses
Send all letters and correspondence to:
Azeem and Clara Munir
PO Box 527 Brice, OH 43109
claraazeem777@gmail.com
