July 2025

Dear Friend,

This morning I have so much on my heart. The last 30 days have been “full,” packed with more highs and lows than I can contain. Yesterday, my heart took turns laughing and crying as I thought about all we’ve been asked to carry together. On the one hand, I’m filled with so much thanksgiving and joy at the privilege God has given us to make His name known all over the Earth. Miraculous doors have opened for the Gospel to reach the darkest of places. And yet, the cost of this “open door” is something I was not prepared for.

A few weeks ago I flew across the pond, not knowing if the details of our “rescue operation” would hold. I was awaiting the arrival of my cherished friend and ministry partner from the region. A colleague and I were waiting in an international terminal when I first saw my friend, along with another dear brother who had escorted him to safety. I will never forget the joy to hug, pray with and just be with this dear man who I’ve not been able to meet face to face in over a year. Since we last met he has been stabbed, shot, beaten, and his family exploited for the sake of Jesus.

Hours later, all still amazed by how God had miraculously reunited us, we sat down to eat in a Muslim restaurant. To our great surprise, Quran Radio, playing through the restaurant sound system, played: “Hear these praises from a grateful heart. Each time I think of You, the praises start. I love you so much, Jesus.” Yes, it was a message from Heaven and a reminder that He sees us and knows us wherever we are.

The next day, my friend could only explain his pain of the past two years with these words: “Brother Eric, I have come to you riding on a horse, but my horse has died, and my back is broken.” Then the tears began to flow as he shared very personal and intimate details of the family’s suffering. At one point, we both started to cry. I’m not sure why, but God had met us in places of suffering and shame.

It was in these moments of brokenness that God began to unfold the next steps of the plan. Within a few days, the Lord was so evidently going ahead of us, enabling RUN to provide shelter and safety for this brother in this new country, opening up a new regional office, and building plans to help grow and multiply movements for Jesus. The lesson from Heaven was clear: beauty still comes from ashes (Isaiah 61:3).

One night, I could tell hope was returning to our heavy souls. It was like a glimmer of light shining bright through a very long and dark tunnel. To our surprise, we began to “see” that all the pieces of Emma’s Project, which I wrote about in my last letter, were suddenly coming together. Where tears had flowed, laughter soon began to fill the room as we realized that God had just invited us into an incredible moment in history.

Moving like a “cloud by day, and a fire by night,” each element began to come into focus:

  • ✔  2,000 volunteers, aged 18-40, trained and ready to be deployed

  • ✔  An open “path” for teams to enter one of the least-reached countries on earth

  • ✔  11,000-plus house churches ready to receive each team and deploy them in every county

  • ✔  The generosity of so many, offering their prayers and finances to undergird each step

  • ✔  The purchase of 100,000 microSD cards loaded with the JESUS Film, audio New Testament, and God’s Word

  • ✔  1.5 million intercessors ready to pray 24/7 for the harvest

  • ✔  14 years of prayer and church planting

Within hours, phones were “pinged” in multiple nations, volunteers were recruited, house churches were prepared, and teams were sent.

Now, just a dozen days after Emma’s Project began, miracle stories have already started to pour in. First were the stories of unexpected provision and a willingness to be a part of something bigger. Then came the incredible testimony of a “sheikh” several countries away whose repeated dreams of Jesus convinced him to sell a truck and give the proceeds to help make this happen!

Next came the testimonies of those who “loaded” the microSD cards with evangelistic tools, the carriers who brought them across borders, the house churches that received the materials, the successful pre-positioning of 2,000-plus volunteers, and the open hearts of those ready to hear the Good News. What soon followed has been a continuous flow of stories of divine appointments, supernatural encounters, and the power of Jesus Christ making Himself known.

I called a meeting of dear friends and we began to pray for:

- Open Heavens
- Open Hearts
- Open Homes
- Open Highways (personal networks)
- Open Hallways (business and government)

I began to quietly ask the Lord if these events may have been on His mind, when the prophet Isaiah asked, “Can a nation be born in a day?” (Isaiah 66:8, CEV). The work is still underway. God is bringing light to the darkness and freeing those who have been captured by evil.

Then on June 12, the day before Israel bombed Iran, the secure-messaging app on my phone pinged. It was a text from a leader at one of our regional outposts: “Brother, there is a group of 26 leaders who have come from the ‘Land of Daniel.’ I am going now to meet them. Please pray.” Within hours, I received the message passed to them from our house church leaders, couriered by messengers, and then delivered to our outpost — for me and our top leaders. They had come by land and by sea with two messages. The first one: “Is Brother Eric OK?” It was a continued signal to us that the enemy is still at work, “as a roaring lion ... seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The response was: “YES, he is in good health and ready to help lead us.”

The second message: “Please tell Brother Eric that Jesus appeared to our leaders four times in a dream and said to us that a time of sacrifice is coming to our land. We must prepare now to give our lives for a great harvest. We need to mobilize our leaders, prepare all the house churches, those caring for rescued children, and more.”

The next day, Israel unleashed its weapons against Iran, and a new war began. Like you, the older I get, the less I know about the world around me — especially regarding those who hold earthly, temporal power. I am not an expert on geopolitics, but I have studied and been in the harvest field for nearly all my adult life. God has asked us to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, to defend the widows and orphans (James 1:27), and to bring Jesus’ Kingdom to every person, everywhere.

We immediately set up a communication chain from the smallest house church in our care inside the ‘Land of Daniel’ to regional outposts and, eventually, to me. As I write to you the communication chain is “live” and dynamic. The news feeds are talking about “regime” change - and that is precisely what you and I must contend for. We must ask for the kingdoms of this world — all of them — to bow their knees to the King of Kings. Let us turn the attention of our hearts and direct our prayers and generosity to this one great cause, for the love and forgiveness of Jesus, Savior of the World, to reach those who are powerless and broken. They are coming to us with little hope — with their “horse dead and back broken” — asking us to stand with them.

What will happen in this long-planned effort between Israel and Iran? More bloodshed, violence, and turmoil. During these tumultuous times, it would be easy to allow our minds to get lazy and let the “talking heads” tell us how to think. Perhaps the better question for us to ask each other at this moment is, “How will we bring Jesus, the Prince of Peace, to the hearts of every person, everywhere?”

We have been praying for doors, hearts and homes to be open, and for highways and hallways to clear the way for Christ. To our surprise, Jesus is coming to the powerless in dreams and visions. He is ministering to the broken-hearted and the wounded, rescuing them to eternal life. He is opening doors that cannot be shut and inviting us into His great plan of redemption.

Since God has "not left himself without a witness” (Acts 14:17, NRSV), let us join together, prayerfully and generously, so His name will be spread throughout the whole earth. The Jesus Followers in the Holy Land and the ‘Land of Daniel’ have asked us to help them bring the Gospel to their nations. They are readying teams, sacrificially giving, and running toward the chaos. Let us stand with them, offering our prayers and gifts to Jesus.

Toward that end, RUN is launching the Daniel Emergency Fund to strengthen teams on the frontlines as they bring the Good News and meet the physical needs of those caught in crisis. Your support of $50, $75, $100 or any amount will help us get emergency supplies bought and distributed.

It’s all about the Gospel,

P.S. Thank you for taking time to read the incredible things God is doing through our partnership. To support the Daniel Emergency Fund and provide food, shelter and medical aid to those in crisis, I have enclosed a return envelope or you can visit runministries.org/danielfund to give electronically.