My friends all over the world

Urgent Prayer Request
I recieved an e-mail this morning form my friend in Iraq. Below is his e-mail.
"I've been having to travel around to a few different bases here for the past few days. I can't go into details, but you tend to get "on edge" when you're out and about like this. Yesterday when I arrived at one of the bases, a fellow soldier committed suicide about 50 feet away from me. I cannot give any specifics, and I don't really want to talk about it anyways, but please be in prayer for this soldier's family and those of us who were in the vicinity when it happened."
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I have 2 friends that are overseas and 1 that is going the first of Feb.
I wanted to give an update/ prayer requests for each of them.
First, I have a girl friend who is in the Sudan. She moved from the US to the Sudan for 1 year to do mission work. She arrived there last week, and God is already moving, and there are already new Christians to celebrate about.
The following is her e-mail, and what specifically we can be praying for:

" I am adjusting ok, a little homesick and freaking out a little from all the dirt and bugs. But God is good and has given me so many people that love me over here and backat home that are praying for me. And each day I feel better and better. Of course on Saturday I will probably relapse a little when the team leaves but that's still a long ways away.
So far we've had a great trip. We had 4 women accept Christ on our first day of women's ministry. This morning we showed the women how to sewbookbags and they loved it. What was so surprising was when we passed out the crayons for them to color their picture bibles and some of the women didn't even know how to open the crayon box or even color all together. The smallest of things that we take for granted they absolutely love and cherish!"
She is having trouble with her phone and laptop not working, and will take them into Nairobi next month to have them re-configured. She is also having some digestive troubles while she tries to acclimate to the new foods and water. Please pray that the little things get taken care of, and that God will open the hearts of more women, and that they will become Christians too.

My next 2 friends are guy friends, that are both in the armed forces and one is in Iraq, the other is deploying to Afghaistan next month.
My friend in Iraq is with the Texas National Guard. He has already spent 18 months in Kosovo a few years back, but got called back up to go to Iraq.
The following is an e-mail from him, and he has some specific prayer requests as well:
" Things are going okay here. Iraq is still a pretty dangerous place, but it's getting better. I think God's got some amazing things in store for this country. The number of Christians here is growing (although many have been displaced or fled Iraq due to the war). We do have a great Bible study on Wednesdays that I keep missing because I tend to lose track of what day it is here. That 10% of 1 John that I got through last month was very interesting, though. I did go tonight and we had a good discussion about sinfulness and righteousness. As for prayer requests, just pray that God opens up some more doors for me to share His love and His message with some of the guys (and gals) in my unit... We're not really allowed to openly proselytize, so if all I can do is just reflect some of the love God shows me on the guys around me, maybe He'll use that to send His message. It's just not always easy to show love in this environment of war and military discipline." "It hasn't been an easy few months, and it's not going to get any easier. We still have guys dying every day here, not to mention all the Iraqi people affected by the war. "
The following e-mail bit is from when he first arrived in Iraq, and what life is like on his base.
" I am currently stationed at Tallil Airbase in southern Iraq. Unfortunately, I can’t talk much about what I’m doing here or what our specific mission is (…however, if you are a hot girl, I am currently in the Special Forces on a very dangerous top-secret mission fighting the world’s deadliest terrorists…). Apart from all the war-stuff, though, we actually do have some entertainment here. Salsa dance night is probably the most fun, although there’s also country night, karaoke, etc. It’s all led by other soldiers, though, so don’t think we’re over here wasting your tax dollars. No, that trillion dollars or so is definitely getting put to good use, providing the thousands of civilian contractors here with much-needed foot massages. One interesting thing I can tell you about the base… The ruins of the ancient city of Ur are located here. Ur is where Abraham was born (not Lincoln, the other one). There is also a completely intact 4,000 year old ziggurat which is visible from any part of the base. A ziggurat is basically an ancient Sumerian temple. If you don’t know what they look like, they look almost exactly like an ancient Babylonian temple. "
Please pray for his safety and the safety of all the other troops in Iraq. I have know this guy for about 6 years, and he is a great man of God, and I know that God is using him to reach his other troops.

My last friend, is also a guy friend. Tomorrow is his 19th birthday. I have known him and his family since before he was born. I've known his family for about 21 years. He is currently stationed in Alaska, because that is the 1 US state that most resembles the terrain of Afghastan. He will be going to A'stan (as he puts it) next month, his deployment ceremony is 2-3-09. He doesn't know how long he'll be there. But when talking with his father, A'stan is much more dangerous than Iraq. This is a guy that I have seen grow-up from birth. I remember when he was little he loved Batman, Trains, and other little boy stuff. But, once he hit middle school he was all about paintball and skateboarding. I can't imagine him being "all grown up" and leaving to go fight the bad guys and protecting mine and your freedom, and possibly not coming home. He doesn't think about the last part much, but I know it's on everyone's mind.
Please pray for his safety and for the troops he will be going over there with. Please pray for his parents, and 3 sisters as they prepare for him to leave, and they aren't going to be able to see him before he leaves. Pray that they will have a peace from God and strength as they deal with his deployment.

Please pray for all my friends as they trust God to see what is right for them. Please pray that they will all be kept safe. Pray that they will be used as light to the dark world they are in. Pray that they can come home safely when it's there time.