Moonlight in Lalibela

Again, we were broke, living in a foreign country but singing at outdoor cafes and passing the hat always brought in some extra cash and somehow, it was always enough. Late one night while walking home, we encountered a man who asked me to sing a song that would bring him joy. My song touched his heart and over many months, we became the dearest of friends. He never let on just who he really was, only that he was an author and poet known in the Muslim world. One day, in his absence, one of his associates let slip that he was at the Arab Summit. Upon returning, he told us the whole story of his life from his rise to the position of Prime Minister of Sudan to his exile and to our surprise, his ardent defense of us and our sharing of Christ’s love with him before all the Muslim heads of state. A few months later, God spoke to him in a dream and his own life was changed forever. His conversion was a shock to the Muslim world. The story begins with Abdul imprisoned by a military coup. This rebellion is itself soon overthrown by the Egyptian army and he is released but must go into exile. As he leaves, he begins to get acquainted with a clandestine group of benefactors that use his gifts of communicating and negotiating to develop amazingly effective propaganda persuading the West to marginalize everything Judeo-Christian and empathizing with Islam. He also becomes the driving force, behind the scenes, of a masterful treaty that brings a temporary peace to the Middle East.The group has been growing in power and influence for several decades and is led by a man who ultimately wants to conquer and rule as much as possible in order to destroy the “wretchedness” of the Jews and Christianity. Comprised of very powerful members from Muslim countries, Israel and the Vatican, the Council has developed unimaginable assets in governments, financial and media institutions world-wide.In the course of his Council-sponsored “education”, Abdul chance-encounters a young couple in Athens and over time, develops a close relationship with them. They seek to demonstrate the sincere love of Christ to him which he recognizes is in contrast to the faith he has known. Swept up into the violent manipulations of the Council, Abdul struggles with what he has always thought to be true and discovers along the way that his benefactors are indeed the vilest purveyors of evil.Of course, Israel is in the midst of this as well. A pre-emptive nuclear strike on Iran’s own nuclear facilities is a bold move, but unknown to the Israeli government is the traitorous infiltration and subterfuge by members of the Council which ultimately leads to catastrophe. Out of that debacle, emerges two additional protagonists who miraculously connect with Abdul and together, they pave the way for the survival of the nation against all odds.The story ends with hope and sets up the scenarios for the next two books.