Our Director of Ministry in Bangladesh shared an exciting update with us last week - The Gospel has gone into a completely unreached area of the Hill Tracts, a portion of the country that borders Myanmar and India. With a population of over 163 million people in Bangladesh, it’s estimated that 99% have yet to hear the name of Jesus.

“Our Treasures have reached out to another remote destination in the hills of Bangladesh where over 100 families (est. 500 people) of the Marma Tribe live. Please pray for those who formed listening groups and the many who are already professing that Jesus is Lord of all.”

—Unknown Nations International Partner

We were thrilled to hear that in just this last month four new listening groups have formed! Families and groups of 5-20 villagers are gathering around the Treasure on a daily basis to listen to the Word of God.

For these people, it is their first time ever having access to the gospel. The Good News is truly spreading like wildfire!

Your support is making an impact in spreading the good news to ALL Nations!

I recently returned home from Pakistan after visiting many communities without any form of a gospel witness. In 24 years of ministry, it was one of the most impactful and eye-opening international trips I’ve ever experienced. This is the 2nd most populated Muslim country in the world, having a strong presence of extremism, along with an abundance of Christian persecution. Yet, we met many Muslims who came to Christ simply by listening to the Treasure and Messenger audio Bibles!

We also had the opportunity to visit the refugee camps filled with thousands of Afghans fleeing the horrors of the Taliban.

Rescuing these precious people has required involvement from many people. Brave Pakistani leaders risked their lives to pass rugged terrain, Taliban check points, and newly planted landmines. And they did this all to bring people to freedom! 

Meeting these frightened refugees and courageous rescuers was an indescribable privilege.

The part of the trip that shocked me the most was when we met hundreds of modern day slaves. I was naïve to the reality of 4.5 million people living in hellish conditions, treated like animals while being forced to work 13 hours every single day. These are slaves!!

One of the staples of the economy of Pakistan are brick kilns. Some 15,000 cover the landscape in every direction and their labor is made up entirely of these slaves. Muslim business owners prey upon vulnerable people in neighboring communities and seek to cover some kind of medical expense or debt that requires a loan. Once the business owner pays these bills, the individual, and in many cases, the family, become that owner’s slave. Among the hundreds we met, there was only one story of a person who was able to obtain their freedom!

When quotas of making bricks are not achieved, these slaves are punished. Food is withheld, women are sexually abused, children are beaten, and further financial obligation is added to their growing debt. To make matters even worse, most of these slaves have never heard the gospel message!

Our team was able to visit several brick kilns and speak with the slaves. Owners agreed only after we paid for 24-hours of their freedom. As we shared about true freedom, the response was overwhelming!

• One woman who was forced by her owner to have 3 different abortions told us how God gave her the strength to forgive her master. Days earlier she was thinking of ways to kill this man who took her child on 3 occasions. Now, she is free from that bondage! 
• Another man had vicious abdominal pain for several months. Bending over to make bricks had become impossible. As he heard the Gospel for the first time, the Lord healed his heart and his stomach simultaneously. He is free from pain and his heart is filled with joy. 
• One elderly couple who had been enslaved for 10 years begged for release from their captive. The owner regularly beats them because he finds their production to be unacceptable. They literally begged me for freedom! As much as I wanted to fix their temporary physical situation, I found comfort in knowing they also decided to follow Jesus and would be growing daily by listening to their new tool – the Treasure!

Although being tormented daily, they can find rest and peace in their relationship with Jesus. Our partners on the ground are providing immediate food and medicine for these slaves, while also sharing the message of hope that sets them free! 

Together in the Harvest, 
Greg Kelley, CEO

Thanks for helping make 2021 the most impactful year in the 27 year history of Unknown Nations! More solar powered audio Bibles, micro sd cards and Jesus Film projectors have been sent in 2021 than any other year. That means millions of people (more than 7 million to be accurate) heard about Christ for the first time in their lives because of what we did together! That truly is amazing but when you realize the condition of the world in which we live, it makes it all the more rewarding.

God has called our organization to the hardest areas of the world, places where Jesus is unknown and where hostilities to the gospel are intense. We minister in places like Bangui, Central Africa Republic, where in February 2021, rebel groups laid siege to this capital city and choked off the community (and political leaders) from any outside assistance. Those who attempted to flee were kidnapped or killed. But you and I were there together! We helped the innocent who were displaced with urgently needed humanitarian supplies and most importantly, the precious Word of God. Remarkably, those who were victims were eager to share those Bibles with their attackers!

Other African nations were not spared turmoil. In fact, according to a 2021 index that monitors fragile states, 15 of the top 20 are from the precious African continent. Places like Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia are all on that dreadful list. Several of these countries experienced a military coup to compound matters! Chad, Mali, Guinea and Sudan all went through the horrors of government takeovers in 2021. All of this instability is crushing to new democracies and the cause of unspeakable humanitarian crisis. But friend, you were in all of these places in 2021 proclaiming the goodness of the gospel message.

It is during times of crisis that hearts are most open to the gospel. We have experienced that for over 25 years, which is why we lean in to the places where the circumstances seem the most bleak.

• Places where refugees are struggling for survival in inhumane camps 
• Places where war has separated families and destroyed communities 
• Places where violent persecution has destroyed churches and imprisoned believers 

Over the next several weeks we must go to some specific places…….where no one else has gone. Afghan refugees are flooding into make-shift camps in Pakistan. As winter arrives these precious people who have escaped the horrors of Afghanistan will struggle for survival. They need blankets, daily food rations and most importantly……the Word of God.

We just received a report that over 200 Afghans have received Christ from listening to our audio Bibles! 

Rohingya refugees who make up the largest refugee camp in the world are equally struggling in Bangladesh. The Burmese military who unmercifully tormented them in Myanmar have pushed them to a place where no human being was intended to live. These camps are filled with sick families and are preyed upon by gangs seeking to traffick young girls and recruit young men to rebel forces and drug running. Life is difficult and no one is prioritizing them for the sake of the Gospel. The Rohingya and Afghans are people groups that are more than 99% Muslim. Now their hearts are open to the Good News. May we go there with boldness!

Our group of international leaders are overseeing 4 underground churches in these camps. They listen to the Word of God every day and share their faith with other refugees.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free. Luke 4:18 

Together in the Harvest, 
Greg Kelly, CEO

All of us have been fixed to the news about Afghanistan. The images will be with us forever as we have watched men, women and children desperately trying to flee the imminent threat of the Taliban takeover. Now that the US military is completely removed from the country, the long-term realities will become firmly established.

As recent events are unfolding, we are reminded of the country’s history and see a grim future awaiting this precious land. The likelihoods revealing themselves include: 

• Ongoing civil war fed by instability and greed 
• Radical Islamic leadership filled with terrorists and Taliban extremists  
• Extreme poverty that will affect a majority of the population 
• Millions of Afghan refugees surviving in horrific camps scattered throughout the region
• A country of 40 million people where only 8,000 are Christians! 

These are tremendous challenges and things that should be on our prayer lists! But we also can be encouraged by what God is already doing and future opportunities for ministry among these people.

Let me remind you that current humanitarian crises are our opportunity to show the love of Jesus. Getting the gospel into their hands is our responsibility!

Within Afghanistan we know of more than 200 underground churches filled with passionate Christ-followers. These people are currently being hunted by the Taliban, yet their hearts are filled with compassion for their aggressors. We can help them! We are sharing the Gospel message while responding to the immediate humanitarian needs of fleeing refugees. We are also helping Christians within Afghanistan with funds to purchase food and supplies.

Neighboring countries such as India and Pakistan are filling with tens of thousands of Afghan refugees. They are far more accessible to the gospel and have open hearts. We can mobilize them to share the Good News with their own people! We are investing in centers in India and Pakistan to help train Afghans for ministry. Those discipled will take the gospel to their family and friends within this Islamically dominated country. They will have access when you or I will not. The ONLY thing that will bring lasting hope and peace to a broken nation is the message of the cross.

Your brother in Christ, 
Greg Kelley, CEO

The Bible is full of amazing mission verses. As a matter of fact, from Genesis to the end of Revelation we find the heart of a loving God pursuing his precious creation! It is our privilege to continue sharing that Good News message with a lost and dying world. The most notable and arguably the first and greatest missionary of all-time was the Apostle Paul!

Paul was relentlessly obedient to the heart of the father. The calling to take the Good News and message of salvation where it had never been before. In fact, his words in Romans 15:20 that formed his bedrock principles should continue to be a primary consideration in every international expression of missions today: 

“My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else.” 

Considering it is some 2,000 years after Jesus gave us the assignment to reach every nation, we have plenty of work ahead of us. One main reason is that much of our efforts have contradicted Paul’s message of prioritizing taking the gospel where it has never been. Instead, 99% of our resources of missionaries, Bibles and dollars are going to where someone has already shared and even started a discipleship making movement. May the Lord help us to allocate to places in the world that would make Paul proud and be expressions of Romans 15:20. Places like Mauritania for example.

One of our partners who has worked in this precious and spiritually desolate place of West Africa recently shared the degree of darkness. He said, “until just recently you barely needed 2 hands to count the number of Christians in the country.” This breaks our hearts but becomes almost embarrassingly troublesome when you consider there are 4.6 million people living in Mauritania!!

This Islamic republic has rejected Christianity with a passion and made life unbearable for those courageous and brave enough to stand for Jesus. But the Holy Spirit and the Word of God are unstoppable forces for even the harshest of regimes!

Over the past 6 months we have heard of Treasure listening groups spawning 30 different house churches!

What a miracle in a land that is much more welcoming of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS) than followers of Jesus.

One of our brave leaders who estimates he ‘walks’ 2,000+ miles per year doing friendship evangelism, encouraging new believers, and distributing Treasures had a recent request. We fully expected it to include a motorcycle, computer, cell phone or even new shoes. Those are all common items we provide to help national leaders do the job. But his request did not include any of these items. He simply wanted more Treasures and training for his newly emerging leaders!

What an absolute privilege that you and I have to stand in the gap with these legendary mission leaders, men and women who embrace Romans 15:20 despite being listed on ISIS ‘hit lists’ and facing regular death threats for themselves and children.

Will you pray for their protection, boldness, and courage in the face of unimaginable persecution?

Your fellow servant in the harvest,
Greg Kelley, CEO

Central African Republic (CAR) is a country that you won’t hear much about in the news. Appropriately named, it is very centrally located in the continent of Africa and a strategic ministry center for Unknown Nations. This is mainly because it is a gateway into the primarily Muslim countries of West Africa and North Africa. It is a great place to raise up leaders who will impact bordering areas of Islamic dominated Chad and Sudan. But today, we need you to be in prayer for the people of CAR!

They have endured perpetual civil war for the past 10 years. Dozens of various rebel groups keep the country plunged into constant instability. Although they are a wealthy country in their natural resources of gold, uranium, and diamonds, they remain one of the poorest nations in the world. Last year the UN Human Development Index ranked them 188th out of 189 countries. They are close to being considered a failed state, which means that it cannot protect its territory, people and boundaries.

Today, the President of Central African Republic is a Christian brother who won reelection in December. In response, fighting flared and 13 Islamic influenced rebel groups have cut off the capital, Banqui from the rest of the country. The remote surrounding areas rely heavily on Banqui. Supply lines have been choked off and people are literally starving. What supplies still exist are so expensive that the common person is unable to buy food. It’s a survival issue. If we don’t respond right now, people are going to die. 

The goal of the rebel groups is to remove the Christian President and literally Islamize the country.

We are sending emergency relief funds to our partners in Bangui so they can prevent the starvation. We are also sending Arabic Treasures to bring hope to the people. The same people who are suffering are compelled to bless their persecutors! They are asking for more Treasures to reach these rebel groups with the gospel message. Together, we are reaching the ends of the earth!

Together in the Harvest,
Greg Kelley, CEO

It is amazing that we are almost at the end of another year. But it was not just any year. We are coming to the close of 2020 - the year that most of us would rather forget and move on to fresh beginnings and unrestricted living. However, I believe that 2020 was a year to establish transformational principles and truths within our lives. I wanted to share the key truth that God established at Unknown Nations as we worked through the COVID epidemic.

Never compromise your highest priority, especially in the midst of trials.

Our most valued goal at Unknown Nations is to get the gospel into the hands of people who do not have access. No missionary. No bible. No church. No Christians!

As we gathered data for the last 12 months of impact, we celebrated how God used our solar powered audio Bibles to transform lives and penetrate darkened people groups who had NEVER been exposed to the gospel. Because of you 19,886 people received Christ and 8,597 people were water baptized! All in a 12 month window. Thank you!!!!

While we celebrate what the Lord has done, we are even more compelled by our primary goal. We will never stop pressing into these unreached lands and people groups. The enemy has tried to discourage and distract us in the midst of these amazing testimonies. Our partners are relentlessly persecuted. They are chased from their homes and communities. Every month we hear of a leader distributing Treasures who was beaten, imprisoned or even killed. The enemy is active and fighting to protect these untouched lands that he has controlled for generations. That control is being taken back. We will not back down!!!

Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. ~ Joshua 1:9

Together, we will continue to advance into these spiritually void regions of the world. The gospel will be established and the kingdom of God will multiply! Imagine the transformation that can only take place through the power of the gospel in lands that once had ZERO exposure to the gospel! Our goal for the end of 2020 is to send 1,000 Treasures into each of these 3 strategic fields.

• The Horn of Africa – 56 million unreached people. We will send Afar, Somali and Oromo units.
• Bangladesh – 162 million unreached people. We will send Bengali and Rohingya units. 
• Indonesia – 169 million unreached people. We will send Javanese and Indonesian units.

When the gospel goes into these areas it will not return void. That is a promise from the Lord! 

Together in the Harvest, 
Greg Kelley, CEO

Today, the Rohingya of Bangladesh are filling the largest refugee camp in the world in a place called Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Three years ago the Burmese military unleashed a military onslaught, filled with unimaginable acts of terror, upon these defenseless people. The United Nations quickly declared them to be one of the most persecuted peoples in the world and that they were enduring genocide.

Research organizations will tell you there are 948,000 Rohingya in Bangladesh and that 0.00% are Christian. 

They live in tents with bare bones access to basic survival needs – food, shelter and clothing. It is considered a luxury and is rare to have your child receive an education or to live in a permanent structure. The Rohingya continue to suffer, but there is hope!

In a town called Teknaf, the gospel is being shared much more freely than within the restricted refugee camps. The camps are run by the Muslim majority but that is not the case in nearby Teknaf. Local Christian leaders are mentoring and encouraging Rohingya who have become followers of Jesus! Although researchers say they are 100% Muslim – we know otherwise!!!

God is using the Treasure among these precious people. Since they are a primarily oral learning people group they love to listen to music and drama, which makes the audio Bible a wonderful tool. We learned of 2 area churches that were forced to close since leaders had fled. Our area coordinator distributed Treasures that bring dozens of people together, filling these empty structures, to absorb the Word of God. He is also mentoring a young man to lead the youth, which represent the majority of the population. Although many have lost their parents from the horrors of genocide, they are hungry to learn about the love of Jesus! 

Together in the harvest, 
Greg Kelley, CEO