We trust that you had a blessed Christmas and New Year.  We have really enjoyed our quick three week visit to NC to spend the Holiday seasons with our family.  Grandpa and Granma had a blast time spoiling these 2 precious grandkids.  We have enjoyed reading your Christmas letters; it helps us to know how to pray specifically for you. Thank you for your faithful prayer and financial support to us during the 2009.  May the Lord continue His blessings upon you during this 2010. 

The year 2009 has been marked by extensive infrastructure work in preparation for the launch of the National Multi Drug Resis-tance Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Pakistan.  Some of the year’s achievements have been the development of National Guidelines for the Treatment and Management of Drug Resistant TB, successful  Application to the Green Light Committee  (GLC) for www.who.int/tb/challenges/mdr/greenlightcommittee/en/,  securing access to essential Second Line Drugs, preparing hospitals and laboratory network as Pilot Sites for MDR management, training national medical staff for MDR management and last but not the least a successful Application to The Global Fund to fight against AIDS,TB and Malaria http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/)  to assist Pakistan in its fight against this deadly disease.  Each patient costs around $US 5000 for SLD alone (not including other medical and laboratory expenses) during the 24 months of treatment. 

2010 Goals

As the Lord enables us we would like to commit ourselves to:

-Enjoy a deeper growth in our Daily Family and Personal devotion.

-Support the work of Friendship, Evangelism and Discipleship ministry at the local church and the community

-Support God’s kingdom in Pakistan and the Middle East toward the establishment of worshipping groups through the Son.  This will be accomplished through:

·         The ministry of prayer.

·         The ministry of giving.

·         The ministry of encouragement and consultation.

January Prayer Requests

Wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit  in organizing 2010 plans.

 Stability, peace and protection in Pakistan and throughout the Middle East.  The devil continues his destructive work in the entire region but we are confident that our God remains on the throne. 

Expansion of God�s kingdom in the region that His church might be planted among new people and His message might be preached mightily.

Physical and Spiritual fruits in the work of MDR-TB that essential drugs would become available soon to begin the treatment of hundreds of MDR-TB cases and that many of these patients would be touched spiritually through direct contacts.

Our relocation to Cairo gets settled soon and for extra strength and wisdom in dividing our time among various responsibilities and services. 

That our family would continue to grow in the Lord and fully depend on Him for our spiritual and physical needs

Many of you have been following the news from Pakistan during the last several months and as you are aware that the security situation has deteriorated so badly that led many International organizations to pull out and relocate some of their staff.  On January 8, 2010 I have been told that WHO was instructed to reduce its International staff in Pakistan by 30%.  As a result, my wife and I have been temporarily relocated to the WHO Regional Office in Cairo until the situation is improved.  At the meantime, and because of the crucial need to continue the urgent work of MDR Tuberculosis in Pakistan, I have been asked to make some trips back and forth to ensure that our urgent MDR work is carried on and strategic goals are being reached.

Dear Supporting Churches and Friends:

It was exactly a year ago, Thanksgiving 2008, when Farida and I announced our new opportunity to serve the Lord in Pakistan for a period of 6-12 months.  It took almost 2 months to finally arrive in Islamabad (Feb. 18, 2009), and Farida arrived a month later.  The main medical task of this assignment was to assist the National Tuberculosis Program in Pakistan to develop a strategic plan to fight Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in the country.  Pakistan’s population is about 170 million, and it ranks sixth in MDR-TB occurrence among the 27 high burden countries of the world.  It is estimated that Pakistan produces about 7 thousand new cases of MDR-TB every year (compared to about 20 annually in Jordan).  So the task was overwhelming and beyond my imagination initially. 

On the other hand, for the first time in 30 years of missions, I found myself to be the only follower of Christ working among 80 medical and administrative professionals who are of the majority faith, some of which are very devout.  This has also been a new opportunity to exhibit Christ among these unreached people.                                             

During the last 9 months some major infrastructure work had to be done in preparation for the upcoming new MDR-TB Project such as:

1-    Development of a National Guideline for MDR-TB management.

2-    Submission of an application to the Green Light Committee for the procurement of Second Line Drugs for MDR-TB Management.

3-    Submission a giant application, on behalf of Pakistan, to the Global Fund for a $170 million grant over a period of 5 years to treat about 17 thousand MDR-TB patients.

4-    Identification, selection, and preparation of hospitals and medical institutions for MDR-TB management.

5-    Development of training modules and training local medical and paramedical staff for the management of MDR-TB.

 Distribution of certificates to the participants.

25 national physicians, nurses and paramedics participated in this special MDR training workshop in Lahore, Punjab.

It was only by the grace of God and the power of His Spirit that the above steps were accomplished.  

Meanwhile, the last 9 months have proved to be a very difficult period for Pakistan as the country has suffered from dozens of terrorist attacks, suicide bombings, and civilian and military killings.  Security issues have become the key concern among the civilian population.  To go to church on a Sunday morning, we must go through several check posts, be searched by numerous guards, and have proper identification before we are allowed inside the church.  Despite this and many other severe restrictions, God has given us opportunities to:

1-    Build up some relationship with neighbors, co-workers and local friends.  On several occasions these relationships have led to spiritual dialogues and sharing of personal testimonies.

2-    Be engaged (Farida) with other women in a weekly outreach and Bible study group.  This group has been actively seeking to reach out to un-churched individuals, prisons, and important figures within the diplomatic circles.

3-    Support other kingdom expansion projects in the country in various ways.

During these months we have repeatedly asked you to pray for safety and protection from evils and God has wonderfully answered prayers.  Needless to say, we have a lot to be thankful for during this thanksgiving season.  At the same time God has blessed our family and met our children’s needs despite the difficult economic situation.  Please continue to pray for:

1-    Our visa extension in Pakistan.  Both of our visas expired Sep. 30^th and are still pending approval for extension.  Government visa processing has been extremely prolonged due to the current situation in the country.

2-    Peace and stability in the nation.  Pray for the believers and the church in Pakistan especially in the war zone areas.

3-    The expansion of God’s kingdom among our friends and co-workers in Islamabad.

Please allow me to introduce you to one of TEAM’s Projects in Pakistan for your prayer and financial support consideration.

Contributions could be sent to TEAM/ designated for EFL Ministry in Pakistan.  Have a Blessed Thanksgiving season.  We truly thank the Lord for all of you.

In Thanksgiving For His Grace,

Salem and Farida