Hope for Turkish Women (Hannah's Heartbeat Newsletter)
Officially a secular state, Turkey has a constitution that guarantees its people religious freedom, but cultures usually affect daily life more than governments do. For women living in this majority Muslim country, traditional practices and views are the primary determinant of how they are treated. In the cities, some women achieve high levels of success in education and employment, becoming doctors and lawyers. But, overall, Turkish women are considered second-class citizens and women in rural areas, and poorer communities have limited life options. All Turkish women need to hear about God and the gospel truth that truly frees every believer.
Starting the first week of September 2012, Project Women's Health began sharing the gospel with Turkish women via its signature program, Women of Hope. A 30-minute weekly broadcast, the program features a format that is attractive yet challenging. Presented in a friend-to-friend style, Women of Hope strives to communicate to listeners that they are understood and loved, especially by God. Using two FM outlets, Women of Hope in Turkish can be heard by more than 10 million people in Istanbul and close to 4 million people in Ankara can hear.
By the end of 2012, Project Women's Health’s fledgling prayer ministry in Turkey had 25 groups praying through the monthly prayer calendars in Turkish. “The women are excited about the prayer calendars,” reports a Turkish Women of Hope producer (her name withheld for security reasons). “They say that they were praying for these types of things before, as well, but now their prayer has a structure to it.” This producer has a personal request for all who pray with Project Women's Health: “Please pray that I will know God even better in my life so that I can teach the women about his love. Please pray for my family, my mother and my brother, who are not yet in Christ.”
Sign up for Project Women's Health’s monthly prayer ministry. Visit projecthannah.org/monthlyprayercalendar to view and download monthly resources at any time.
Read the full Hannah’s Heartbeat newsletter and email the PDF to friends so they too can join Project Women's Health in sharing God’s life-changing love with suffering women around the world (select "Download the PDF" for the current issue; archives of past issues are also available).