Secret viewers in the desert

In a North African country that has sand dunes as large as mountains and Bedouins riding camels, this country as many others in this region is marked by extreme beauty, extreme hospitality and extreme religion. At a recent conference attended by several North Africans, a number of shocking stories of persecution and great suffering were heard. But despite these stories of unimaginable hardship, there are hundreds of people coming to Christ in secrecy. A satellite dish and a solar powered battery In 2007, a person we will call Aziz, had recently met Christ. He immediately got a burning desire to share the gospel with fellow countrymen. It was his friend, that we will call Mohammed, who first invited him into his home to watch a Christian satellite broadcast on TV.  The programs caught his attention like nothing he had ever watched before. Suddenly many of the questions he had pondered in silence were answered. He just couldn’t get enough, and for several weeks Aziz went straight to Mohammed’s house after work to watch the programs on this channel. After a while Aziz knew he had to find a way to share the good news of Jesus Christ, but how? Locals were not allowed to enter the churches of the foreigners, and it was far to dangerous to randomly share the gospel with people he met. He also knew that even if people had access to satellite TV in their homes, it would be a challenge for many to find time alone to watch the Christian programs. A plan But Aziz had started to learn about prayer, and he decided to ask God to show him a way. He talked to his friend Mohammed, and slowly a plan took form. They pooled all their savings and bought one of the largest satellite dished they could find, a large television set and a tent from the Bedouins. They also stacked up on large quantities of dried meat, canned goods, boxes of coffee, a goat that could be milked and some chickens that could lay eggs. Then they executed their plan. Every single week they would invite five new people with them to their tent that they put up in a secluded area of the desert, shielded by large sand dunes. There they would all sit for an entire week and watch Christian programs on satellite TV. When evening fell upon them they would light a fire, and while their supper simmered in a pot over the coals, they would talk about what they had watched. Then they would huddle together under warm blankets until they fell asleep around the fire. When their week was over, another five took their place. For eight months, this is all Aziz and Mohammed did. -We would have liked to keep going longer, but then we didn’t have any money left, says Aziz. When he was done telling his story, he was asked if he remembered what channel they were watching. -Oh yes, that was Miracle Channel and it was such a blessing to us, he replied, not knowing that he was  talking to a member of Miracle Channel’s staff. When the CEO of Miracle Channel heard the story, he was moved to tears.  He says that the story only confirms the great hunger for the gospel in North Africa. -What God does in the Arab world is far greater than anything we can comprehend, and far above our expectations. We will never know about all the people that have been impacted by Miracle Channel before we one day all meet in heaven, he says.