Children of Cyrus
The eyes of the world are on Iran. Your newsfeed is likely full of images and videos about the conflict happening there. You might have also heard about rallies happening in many American cities. I (Zack) attended a rally that some Iranian friends invited me to (pictured in the header). This gathering was a time of great hope and great pain. They held a moment of silence for the thousands of protesters killed by Iranian regime forces. There is a long road of healing ahead for them.
A Jesus Film national field leader based in the region shared this update: “Our staff are all outside Iran, but our key disciples and volunteers are in the country. We are trying to get in touch with them. Please keep lifting us up in your prayers so that God would open the doors for the gospel and bring peace to the Iran nation.”
Amidst the upheaval, many believe we are in a historical time of spiritual openness for these descendants of King Cyrus. An Iranian pastor told Naomi that when he came to Christ 25 years ago, there were only 10,000 known believers from his country. But today? He said there are six million!
The Emerald Flame
I (Zack) am working on a few Jesus Film projects to portray the gospel to people from the Middle East, especially those in the diaspora. One is an evangelistic media tool I wrote called The Emerald Flame. It’s a Persian-style allegory of how Jesus rescues us from darkness (mockup image below).
In this story, a princess must lead a group of exiles to find a place of refuge after a dark sorcerer conquers their home. They carry a magical green fire, but throughout their wanderings their lanterns grow dim. Only a legendary Mountain Prince can restore their homeland and the healing power of the flames. And to their astonishment, he does so by sacrificing his life.
The Emerald Flame is currently a 6,000 word (20-page) short story. I’ve submitted it to my Global Media team and we are evaluating next steps. Most likely I will make it into a shorter, simpler allegory, or I will expand and deepen it.
Dream Master
Previously I mentioned a modern-day mystery story I’m creating called Dream Master. It’s about Middle Eastern employees of a tech company who are testing a headset that can control dreams. But a White Robed Man keeps appearing to people at night, overriding their technology and challenging their beliefs. One character, Tariq (mockup image below), must decide whether to trust this mysterious man who says true refuge from evil is found in his blood.
Dream Master is based on true stories of people visited by Jesus in their dreams. I’ve written the first six episodes and have two more to draft. We have also begun experiments with different animation technologies like Unreal Engine.
PRAISE REPORTS
• The Lord has provided amazing teammates and partnerships for our different media projects in Jesus Film.
PRAYER REQUESTS
• March 20 is “Nowruz,” Persian New Year, for many Middle Eastern people around the world. Please pray for Jesus Film outreaches happening during this holiday, that hearts would be more receptive to Jesus than ever before.
• The Lord’s guidance for all the media tools we’re developing.