To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing. - Martin Luther
FROM THE DESK OF: the Director of Communications
First week back in full swing after the holidays and our office is looking forward to 2015. Lots of changes. New Director of Development, new season of projects, new revenue streams. Annie got a dog. (Not crazy about him. Smells weird.) I'll have a kid this year (probably will also smell weird). Same mission though. Get people into countries - that without sports - wouldn't be possible otherwise. That's still the plan. And given the regions we focus on, with the constant threat of Islamic terror, political unrest and economic limitations, its still an important and urgent mission.
Lets get to work.
For the Win[Dow],
Bubby Bryan
VERSE OF THE WEEK: Psalm 3:3
"But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head."
COUNTRY OF THE WEEK: IRAQ
Iraq is a country in Western Asia that borders Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, Kuwait to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the southwest, and Syria to the west. The capital, Baghdad, is in the center of the country and its largest city. The largest ethnic group in Iraq are Arabs, Kurds with their own autonomous Kurdistan Region form the largest minority, and other ethnic groups include Assyrians, Turcoman, Shabaki, Armenians, Mandeans, Circassians and Kawliya. Around 95% of the country's 36 million citizens are Shia or Sunni Muslims, with Christianity, Yarsan, Yezidism and Mandeanism also extant.
Iraq has a narrow section of coastline measuring 58 km (36 mi) on the northern Persian Gulf and its territory encompasses the Mesopotamian Alluvial Plain, the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert. Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through the center of Iraq and flow into the Shatt al-Arab near the Persian Gulf. These rivers provide Iraq with significant amounts of fertile land. The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is often referred to
as Mesopotamia and thought to be the birthplace of writing and the world's oldest civilizations. The area has been home to continuous successive civilizations since the6th millennium BC. At different periods in its history, Iraq was the center of the indigenous Akkadian, Sumerian,Assyrian, and Babylonian empires. It was also part of the Median, Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman,Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid, and Ottoman empires, and under British control as a League of Nations mandate.[7]
Iraq's modern borders were mostly demarcated in 1920 by the League of Nations when the Ottoman Empire was divided by the Treaty of Sèvres. Iraq was placed under the authority of the United Kingdom as the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. A monarchy was established in 1921 and the Kingdom of Iraq gained independence from Britain in 1932. In 1958, the monarchy was overthrown and the Republic of Iraq was created. Iraq was controlled by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party from 1968 until 2003. After an invasion by the United States and its allies, Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party was removed from power and multi-party parliamentary elections were held. The American presence in Iraq ended in 2011[8] but the Iraqi insurgency continued and intensified as fighters from the Syrian Civil War spilled into the country. (Wikipedia)
http://prayercast.com/iraq.html
http://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/12247
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Peace between Muslim factions in Iraq.
- Wise leadership from political leaders.
- Uttermost International Staff
- Uttermost US Staff