1. family and parenting

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April 2015
Dear Friends,
These are troubling times. I’ve used this space in the past to address a wide variety of topics –
everything from marriage to The Drop Box, to the baseball mitt my dad never gave me – but on this
occasion it’s my intention to write on a sobering subject that disturbs me deeply and lies heavy on my
heart. It’s a subject that I know will resonate profoundly with every single person who picks up this letter.
I’m referring to the recent murder of twenty-one Christian men in Libya and the terrible sufferings that
so many of our brothers and sisters are enduring in the Middle East at this moment in history. I think
you’ll agree that this is an issue that needs our immediate attention.
Many people don’t realize that Focus on the Family’s outreach extends far beyond the borders
of the United States. We actually keep up an active presence in more than 130 countries and speak to
over 200 million people around the world through radio broadcasts. As part of this effort, Focus supports
Associate Offices in twelve different countries and maintains working relationships with in-country
ministry partners in sixty additional nations. One of the Associate Offices currently in the spotlight
is Focus on the Family Egypt, founded in 2001 by Sami Yacoub. Sami also serves as our Middle East
Regional Director.
Until this year, Focus Egypt’s primary audience was the church. That’s because, traditionally, it’s
been difficult to reach the Muslim community with Focus on the Family’s overtly Christian programs
and materials. All that changed dramatically when ISIS came on the scene. Nowadays Sami is busier
than ever reaching out to Christians and Muslims across the Middle East. Since August 2014 we’ve been
working closely with him to meet the very real needs of families displaced by the war in Iraq and the
continuing onslaught of the Islamic State. I’m pleased to report that gifts from friends like you have helped
the Focus Egypt team identify strategic partners in Kurdistan- North Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon who are
able to supply refugees with regular food parcels, housing, spiritual care, and even intimate-hygiene items
for women who are either unable to pay for them or culturally inhibited from requesting them. Sami is
committed to come alongside these folks in any way he can. Because of your partnership, he and his team
have been able to share God’s love by addressing their short-term physical and long-term spiritual needs.
That’s what he was up to at the beginning of this year when events in Egypt took yet another decisive turn.
On Sunday, February 15, 2015, Islamic terrorists associated with the Libyan branch of ISIS
released a video depicting their brutal murder of twenty-one men – twenty Egyptian Coptic Christians
and one Ghanaian. The effect on the Egyptian nation was electrifying. These men, who were drawn from
among the poorest of Egypt’s poor, had been working as day-laborers in Libya when they were kidnapped
by Islamic State forces. They had crossed the border for one reason and one reason only – to help their
loved ones back at home keep body and soul together. They were, for the most part, their families’ sole
support. They had literally nothing except the thing for which they died – their belief in Jesus – and they
died because they would not let it go. When pressed under torture to deny their faith, they steadfastly
refused. What a testimony to the character of those young believers!
Within a week of this horrible event, Sami Yacoub’s wife, Wessam, and Focus Egypt Director
Remon Shohdy, together with several other members of the Focus Egypt team, had an opportunity to
visit with the families of the twenty Egyptian martyrs in the small, destitute villages where they grew up.
The way they tell it, it was a life-changing experience.
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As the team went door-to-door, ministering to each of the twenty families, what they
encountered again and again was not distraction and despair, but rather a spirit of peace, resolution,
thanksgiving, and unshakeable faith. It was like a mirror-image of the first-century church. At every
turn they witnessed the message of the Scriptures springing to life before their very eyes. In the words
of one staff member, “Today we saw a living Bible.” I think it’s worth mentioning that all this took place
in a town where ninety-percent of the people are illiterate, and where the Christian community’s limited
knowledge of the Bible is based primarily on memory and oral tradition.
The forty-five days following the initial kidnapping were days of silent torment, fear, anxiety,
sleeplessness, and non-stop weeping for the families back at home. Then the news came that their
sons, brothers, and fathers had been gruesomely murdered. The people of Samalut were shattered –
understandably so. But it’s precisely at this point that their story takes an unexpected turn; for by their
own account, this devastation was miraculously short-lived. Within hours, they told Sami’s team, grief
gave way to rejoicing. These bereaved family members found themselves praising the Lord for the martyrs’
homegoing. These folks actually felt a sense of gratitude towards ISIS for ushering their loved ones into
Christ’s presence. Many expressed a desire to pray for the terrorists’ spiritual enlightenment and salvation.
One bereaved father even said that after watching the video of the executions he was finally able to
sleep soundly for the first time in forty-seven days. Imagine that! One of Sami’s team members compared
this man’s experience with that of King David, who fasted, prayed, and wept while his infant son’s life
hung in the balance, but got up, ate, washed, and worshiped when he learned that the child had died (2
Samuel 12:16-23). It would be hard to find a purer and clearer example of child-like faith in the absolute
sovereignty of a loving God!
How do we account for this supernatural response? Incredibly, the families of the murdered came
through this tragedy feeling genuinely concerned about the murderers! Even now they are sincerely
praying that the ISIS jihadists will someday come to see the light of God’s truth and love. Could you do
that? Could I? Those of us in the First World need to come to grips with the idea that these people are
in touch with something that has largely eluded us. They share a profound conviction that Jesus is all they
have, and that as a result they have to be “all in” with Him. Never before, said Sami and our friends with
Focus Egypt, have Paul’s words to the church at Philippi resonated more clearly: “For me, to live is Christ,
and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).
I should add that, according to Sami, this incident has done more to unite the Egyptian people
than anything else in the nation’s recent history. While there are some Muslims who don’t dare speak out
against ISIS – even though they disagree with what the Islamic State is doing – the vast majority of them,
including Egypt’s newly elected president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, are standing with their Christian neighbors
against the evil tactics of the terrorists. Nor is this the first time something of this kind has happened:
two years ago, when the Muslim Brotherhood bombed a church on Christmas Eve, Muslims all over the
country accompanied their Christian friends to Christmas services in a show of solidarity. This is just one
more piece of evidence that God can use even death and tragedy to accomplish His purposes and bring
about positive results.
Is Sami surprised by any of this? Not in the least. On the contrary, he’s quick to point out that
the Middle East is the birthplace of Christianity and that the church in Egypt has always been watered by
the blood of martyrs. As he sees it, martyrdom is the key to true revival. When asked if he and the brave
men and women who serve alongside him feel threatened or endangered in any way, his response is swift
and unequivocal: “I don’t feel like a hero, but I’m not afraid! What is the meaning of life if we consider it
too precious to be sacrificed for our faith and the freedom of our nation?”
How far do Sami Yacoub’s faith and courage extend? Let me tell you. Instead of laying low
and hiding out in the wake of the recent murder of the Coptic Christians, Sami has boldly authored a
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powerful brochure on the subject bearing his name and the Focus logo. It’s designed to communicate
this message of love, commitment, dedication, and solidarity to all of his fellow countrymen. As of this
writing the brochure has been distributed nationwide. Initial reactions suggest that Egyptians everywhere
– Muslims and Christians alike – have been deeply moved by its content. In addition, Sami and his team
returned to Samalut in mid-March to visit with the Bishop and the families for a second time. During
that visit, they presented our abstinence-based No Apologies curriculum in the community—something
they’ve been doing in over the past 3-4 years. This curriculum has opened doors and established trust
between Focus and the people of Samalut. That’s what’s happening in Egypt. That’s what Focus on the
Family has been up to in the Middle East. I think you’ll agree that it’s wonderful news.
With all of this in mind, we’re hoping to raise $931,000 over the next few weeks for the specific
purpose of building up our Middle East outreach. This effort will not only help families in Egypt and
elsewhere with their immediate physical needs, it will also play a unique role in bringing the Gospel of
Jesus Christ to a region of the world that desperately needs to hear the Good News.
Specifically, more than half of that $931,000 will go to directly support the mission of our
associate office in Egypt, including not only ongoing ministry to refugee families and intervention in crisis
situations, but also day-to-day outreach to Christian and Muslim families in Egypt and beyond with solid,
biblically based advice on family-related issues. Sami and his team are committed to the many families in
the Middle East that are looking for answers to their questions about marriage, parenting, and many of the
same challenges that you and I face. We want Focus Egypt to be equipped to meet those needs in practical,
God-honoring ways.
Contributions to the fund will also be designated to several specific projects, including the
construction of new housing for the families of the twenty Egyptian martyrs. We’re also hoping to
establish a memorial for those brave men, as well as help start a sustainability project for their families
and members of the surrounding community who have lost their primary source of income. The fund
will also purchase 10,000 “Women’s Dignity Kits,” which can be a lifeline for refugee women who, as I
mentioned earlier, are culturally forbidden from broaching certain subjects related to feminine hygiene.
For more on this initiative, I hope you’ll read the enclosed note from Sami Yacoub’s wife, Wessam.
By God’s grace, some of our supporters are already stepping forward to embrace this effort. As we
were preparing to send this letter, a good friend of the ministry donated an extremely generous $200,000
toward our $931,000 goal, with a challenge to those receiving the letter to join in standing in the gap for
families in this troubled region of the world.
Of course, not everyone can give $200,000. But I hope you will be encouraged in knowing that
smaller gifts can make a big difference. For example, every $100.00 we receive could buy sixteen Women’s
Dignity Kits. And if just 100 of you reading this letter would send $100.00, we could fully fund the
construction of a new house for one of the families of the martyred Coptic Christians. By working together
and giving generously, we can make a difference in the lives of these dear brothers and sisters on the other
side of the world—and we can also shine the light of Christ into a predominantly Muslim culture.
It’s not an exaggeration to suggest that by supporting this effort to meet the practical needs of
these families in the Middle East, you are literally investing in greater cause of world missions. This is not
simply “relief work” similar to what the United Nations does, as important as that is. This is a concerted
effort to provide hope—hope that can ultimately be found only in Jesus Christ. We’re not only providing
short-term aid, we’re committed to the long-term objective of lifting up Christ and addressing deep
emotional and spiritual needs that can be met only in Him.
As you give, please remember that Focus on the Family is uniquely positioned to respond
quickly and deeply to needs of families around the world, in the same way that Focus Egypt is currently
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responding to needs of families in the Middle East and North Africa. We have “boots on the ground” in
a number of countries, with partners that can help us deliver encouragement and practical support on
an ongoing basis. In addition to the work of our twelve global partners, we are involved with a myriad
of programs and initiatives in scores of other countries. It’s a big job, and we can’t possibly get it done
without your assistance.
Our global outreach delivers counseling support, family ministry events, international radio
broadcasts, orphan care initiatives in every part of the globe, and much, much more. Meanwhile, the
local partnerships we’ve cultivated in these countries provide the cultural expertise, person-to-person
connections, and manpower needed to make the whole thing work. You can find out more by visiting
the Global Outreach page of Focus’s main Website at FocusontheFamily.com/International. We’re
excited about this ever-expanding arm of our ministry and pleased to have this opportunity to invite you
to participate by supporting these endeavors with your financial support. As I’ve said many times in the
past, every little bit helps, and donations of any amount are always deeply appreciated.
Thanks again for your heartfelt interest in enabling families worldwide to thrive in Christ, and for
giving generously to help our global partners like Sami Yacoub make both an immediate and an eternal
difference in the lives of families in their respective countries and regions. As I said at the beginning of
this letter, these are troubling times, but they’re exciting times as well. They’re exactly the kind of times in
which committed believers get the greatest opportunities to make God’s love known in practical, tangible
ways. As author Malcolm Muggeridge once expressed it, “[When] in the gathering darkness every
glimmer of light has finally flickered out, it’s then that Christ’s hand reaches out sure and firm. Then
Christ’s words bring their inexpressible comfort, then His light shines brightest, abolishing the darkness
forever.”1 Let’s link arms with those amazing Christians in Samalut, Egypt by doing everything we can
to become a part of that powerful, ongoing, and miraculous movement of God in Egypt, the rest of the
Middle East, and beyond. Grace and peace to all!
Sincerely,
Jim Daly
President
P.S. Once again, our goal is to raise $931,000 to help provide direct, hands-on relief, including housing,
for the families of those brave believers who died on a beach in Libya with the Name of Jesus on
their lips. Please prayerfully consider how you can join with Focus in supporting these precious
brothers and sisters—and others like them—through our global outreach.
Your gift is a sacred trust. We promise to honor your generosity by using your gift in
the most effective way to help families thrive. The needs described here reflect Focus on
the Family’s ministry efforts at the time of writing, and represent a ministry category
that addresses particular challenges facing the families we serve. Your gift will be used
where it is needed most to provide families with help and hope within that category.
1
Malcolm Muggeridge, The End of Christendom (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1980), 56.
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