Dear Friend,

When you get this letter, Len and Pauline Rodgers will be on their way to a special location in the Middle East for an intentional briefing called SOUNDS OF HOPE II. Along with leading Venture International, Len also serves as the director of Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding (EMEU).

Over the past twelve months Len and the EMEU team have recruited over fifty North American and European Christian leaders who will inter act for five days with twenty key Christian leaders from Sudan, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine/Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. This is an executive briefing called SOUNDS OF HOPE II. Dr. Ray Bakke, Chancellor of Bakke Graduate University, Seattle, Washington, will serve as the moderator. The first Sounds of Hope conference took place here in the USA in March 2006 at the Billy Graham Center on the campus of Wheaton College.

The mission of SOUNDS OF HOPE II is to provide a platform for Christian leaders from the Middle East to speak on behalf of the 15 million Christians who make up the churches in the Arab world; and to provide a venue for Christian leaders from North America and Europe to listen and learn, while developing relationships and partnerships with the Christians and churches of the Middle East.

As we race toward the end of 2008 I see Venture International and our Family to Family program making the kind of difference that happens when God’s people pray, give, and go to those most in need:

• Food, medicine, shelter and loving care for 500 Iraqi refugee families, some of the four hundred thousand Iraqi Christian refugees now in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.

• Solid and sustainable staff growth and program development for Oasis, a day center for mobility challenged men, women, and children in Central Asia, inaugurated in October of last year – a first in this much underdeveloped area of the world. 

• Personalized care for families through the Family to Family sponsorship program in Egypt, Jordan, Jerusalem, Lebanon, and the Kyrgyz Republic.
• A strong emphasis on skill training for young adults to create income for poor families.

• Continued printing and distribution of the colorful and beautifully illustrated Bible story book, 25 Favorite Bible Stories for Children, with a goal of one million copies in the hands of children in the Arab world.

• Preparation for the shipping and strategic distribution of special wheelchairs called PET, Personal Energy Transportation in rural areas of Central Asia.

• Continued advocacy and mediation for Christians mistreated, detained and imprisoned because of their stand and witness for Jesus Christ.

            Sounds of Hope II is needed.  That’s why Venture International encouraged our president to lead the way on this strategic conference.  And that’s why I ask you to do two things:

• Pray for this conference October 15-18 and for the leadership team both in the United States and on the ground in Jordan.
• Support this unique opportunity, along with our on-going ministry, with a special gift to Venture International.  Your gift today will translate into the lives of church leaders all across the Middle East.

            I encourage you to participate in this history making conference.  The time is now…the door in the Middle East is open…action is needed.   I know I can count on you!

Richard Hatfield, Chairman
Board of Directors