(gentle music)

- Hi and welcome to the program.

Thanks for being with us today.

The president promised two weeks ago

to get all Americans out of Afghanistan.

Well, did he keep that promise?

The Pentagon says he did not.

- Although the United States military

met its evacuation deadline yesterday,

at least 100 Americans remain,

and the Taliban is incontrol in that area,

so they're in danger.

CBN's George Thomas hasthe story on the pullout

and what lies ahead in Afghanistan.

- [George] 19 years,10 months, and 23 days

after the US mission in Afghanistan began,

Major General Chris Donahue,

commander of the 82nd Airborne Division,

was the last Americansoldier to leave Afghan soil

shortly before midnightin Kabul on Monday.

- Tonight's withdrawal signifies

both the end of the militarycomponent of the evacuation,

but also the end of thenearly 20-year mission

that began in Afghanistanshortly after September 11, 2001.

- [George] A mission that was not cheap.

- The cost was 2,461 US service members

and civilians killed and morethan 20,000 who were injured.

- [George] By early Tuesday morning,

the Taliban's Islamic fighters,

along with their top leaders,

were strolling the tarmac ofKabul's airport in full control

and declaring that the mythof American invincibility

had been busted in Afghanistan.

- [Interpreter] We haveachieved our independence

and we were able to forcethe Americans to leave

after 20 years of jihad and sacrifice.

- [George] Over 18 days,the US military airlifted

about 123,000 civilians from the airport,

including 6,000 Americans,

in the largest non-combatantevacuation in US Army history.

Still, US citizens who wanted to get out

are still trapped insidealong with thousands

of Afghan partners.

- There are still a smallnumber of Americans,

under 200, and likely closer to 100,

who remain in Afghanistanand want to leave.

- [George] But just twoweeks ago in an interview

with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos,

the president promised tostay until every American,

including Afghan allies andtheir families, were out.

- If there's American citizens left,

we're going to stay tillwe get them all out.

- [George] Now with USforces out, the question is:

Will Afghanistan become aterrorist safe haven again?

The Taliban says it willnot allow the country

to be a launching pad for terror attacks,

but many experts believe their takeover

is a boost for terror groupslike Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

- And unfortunately, goingto see a massive boost

in terror recruitmentradicalization based on the belief

that jihadists in Afghanistan

first defeated the Soviet Union

and now they defeated the United States.

- [George] And the ramificationsare already reverberating,

especially for Afghanistan'sreligious minority groups.

At a safe house in Kabul,Jaiuddin, not his real name,

has been in hiding alongwith 12 other Afghans

since the Taliban seizedcontrol of the city,

nearly three weeks ago.

- [Interpreter] One of us isalways awake during the night

always walking around and praying

so if the Taliban shouldcome and knock on our door,

we should alert everyone.

- In an exclusive interview with CBN News,

Jaiuddin and the others, whoare part of Afghanistan's

very small Christian community,

told us they have no passports,

no US government-issued exit papers,

and right now, see theirhopes of escape diminish.

- [Interpreter] We had manyplans for preaching the gospel

with other brothers and sisters,

but then the Talibantook control so quickly.

It happened so fast.

- [George] And now they'vebeen marked by the Taliban.

- [Interpreter] Every day,I receive a phone call

from a private numberand the person warns me

that if he sees me again,he would behead me.

- [George] While Jaiuddinsays he's not afraid of dying,

he's asking the worldto pray for his country.

- [Interpreter] We arepraying for each other

that the Lord would putHis angels around our house

for our protection and safety.

- [George] President Biden is expected

to address the nation this afternoon

following today's finalpullout from Afghanistan.

George Thomas, CBN News.

- Well CBN contributorChuck Holton joins us now.

He's been coveringAfghanistan for two decades

and has vast military experience himself.

Chuck, the big concern, orone of the big concerns,

is Afghanistan becoming a terror base.

So can you tell us about someof these other Islamic groups

in the country and theirmaybe complicated relationship

with the Taliban?

- Well, Andrew, I wouldn'tsay that any of these groups

differ very dramaticallyin their worldview.

Their only differences

are in how to work out their worldview,

which certainly considers theUnited States to be the enemy.

So whether you're talkingabout ISIS-K, Khorasan,

whether you're talking about...

There are Taliban units orgroups of Taliban-like fighters

in Tajikistan and Pakistanand Waziristan and Uzbekistan,

in the whole region.

And there are Al-Qaeda,the Haqqani network.

There are lots of different groups

that are all gonna fight each other.

And there's a lot more weaponsand material over there

to do the killing.

As we always see though, thepeople who suffer the most

from all of that fightingare the civilians.

- Well Chuck, we've heardabout the Pineapple Express,

retired special forces wholaunched their own mission

to get Afghan specialforces and their families

out of that country.

We know there are still Americans

that are trapped in Afghanistan.

Do you know if thereare any private efforts

to get them home safely?

- Yes, there are.

Now I'm intimately awareof some of the efforts.

There are actually quite a few.

And because Afghanistanis very disjointed,

it's not that it'simpossible to get in there.

As a matter of fact, some of these groups

are even working with the Taliban

because the Taliban istrying to gain legitimacy.

One of the things thatwe have just enabled

is not just a Taliban regime,

which is exactly what we went in there

to fight 20 years ago,but we've enabled China,

we've enabled Russia, we've enabled Iran,

and we've enabled Pakistan

to grow their influence in that region,

and that's the bigger problem.

Now, as for these private groups

that are trying to get people out,

yes, there are quite afew and they are working,

some of them together,some of them separately,

to try to fly people out, totry to get people out by land.

But it is a real challenge in a country

that is now controlled by the Taliban.

- Well Chuck, with nomore boots on the ground,

of course, now we're hearing about this,

quote, over the horizon capabilityto hit terrorist targets.

What is that for people who don't know,

and it isn't really enough?

- That's just the ability tothrow bombs at Afghanistan

kind of at random.

We have lots of signalsintelligence capabilities,

that is the ability tosuck up cell phone calls

and satellite phone callsand that sort of thing.

We have the ability tofly drones over there

and watch what's going on.

But we don't have theon-the-ground capability anymore.

And just think, we had talked about,

people like to say forever war.

Well, this was not a forever war.

We were down to like 2,500troops in Afghanistan

and we hadn't seen a casualtyin a year and a half.

The presence that we had in Afghanistan,

up until a few weeks ago, waskeeping a lid on all of this.

Now we're gonna see itexplode into violence.

That violence is gonna spread.

And you mark my words,

we're gonna see something similar happen

by the end of this year in Iraq

as the last American troopspull out of that country

because we've encouraged these jihadis now

to get more violent andthat's what we're gonna see.

- All right, Chuck.

It's a sobering message,but we thank you, of course,

for joining us andappreciate your perspective.

- Sure.- And we want to remind you,

if you want to see moreof Chuck's reporting

or more from the CBN News team,

download the CBN News Channel app today.

Terry.

- Well, still ahead,

her husband kicked her outand left her with nothing,

not even a credit card.

So how did this womanearn more than $200,000

in only one year?

Her secret is coming up.

(inspirational music)

- Well today, Rita runs her own company

and she has seen a 100-fold increase

since she started the business.

But at one time, listen tothis, she had no home, no job,

not even a credit card in her name.

- My husband walked in andhe said he wanted a divorce

and he told me to get out of the house.

It ripped my heart out.

I had no means.

I didn't have a credit card in my name.

- [Andrew] And since she'dworked for her husband,

now Rita Bonarrigo didn't have a job.

- Eventually, I couldn't pay rent.

That makes you, like heart palpitations.

It makes you feel like you're drowning.

It's a nightmare and youjust feel like a loser,

like, "What happened?"

- [Andrew] Rita reluctantly moved back

to her childhood home, whereshe could share basic expenses

with her sister.

- Over 45, alone,

competing in a world whereyouth matters in sales.

It's a lonely feeling.

And I cried out to God.

- [Andrew] Rita had become a Christian

and started giving years before.

- I trusted God, I believed His Word,

and He said, "Test me."

- [Andrew] So, as shegot small jobs, she gave.

- If I earned $100, Igave 10 back to the Lord.

I just knew that I was supposedto tithe, and so I tithed.

- [Andrew] One place she gave to was CBN.

- The 700 Club does so much good

with the money they receive,with Orphans Promise,

and then like where theygo in and do the surgeries,

like for the cleft palatesurgeries, eyes, cataracts.

I trust them with every dime I send them.

- [Andrew] She says itwas this consistent giving

that gave her faith to believethat things would change.

- I didn't know how.

I was like scratchingand clawing at this point

and desperate, but I knew that somewhere,

God had a blessing for me.

And as I continued totithe, God was faithful.

Eventually, He opened the door.

- [Andrew] Before long,Rita started landing jobs

with top office supply sales firms.

- I remember my firstyear when He finally said,

"Okay, the test is done.

You've passed the test,and now here we go."

I earned over 200,000 that year.

- [Andrew] From there, herincome continued to grow.

- In my job, I always prayedfor wisdom and discernment,

that God would be glorified.

God started putting people,decision makers in my life

that we just clicked.

- [Andrew] One big client

even helped her open her own business.

- The increase in my companyfrom when we first started,

it's had to be at least100-fold, at least 100-fold.

I'm blessed to be a blessing.

If I tithe, God can trust me.

- [Andrew] Rita's advicefor anyone struggling

like she once did?

Put God first and give.

- When you think you have no hope,

that you are so desperate, trust God.

When He says I will openthe windows of heaven

and poor out blessings, youjust cannot outgive God.

(inspirational music)

- I hope that story encourages you.

You know, in this program,

we show a lot of storiesof people finding healing

and recovery from physicalmaladies or sicknesses

or illnesses or comingout of drug addiction,

bondage, and differentthings, finding salvation.

And here we see someonewho had no job, no home,

marriage crumbled, saying,"Lord, financially, I am stuck.

I'm desperate."

And little by little, theLord started to teach Rita

how to sow into the kingdom of God

and begin to trust relationship with God

in all facets of her life,

and to hear Rita say atthe end of that story,

"God can trust me."

To have the intimate relationshipwith God and her finances

to say, "God can trust me thathe will give me what I need

and I will give a portion back

to honor God and what He's done."

It's a form of worship for her.

And I hope this story encourages you

that we can trust God in our finances.

It may not be an immediate turnaround,

but little by little,we'll begin to see change

because we're trusting in the Lord.

Sometimes it can be astep that's frightening,

but I hope you can see therethat God does honor our giving.

And one of the ways Rita gives

and shows her worship to the Lord

is through her financesand giving the CBN.

And if you'd like to sow intothe ministry here at CBN,

it's very easy to do.

You just call us at 800-700-7000,

and when someone picks up, you just say,

"I want to join the 700 Club,"

and someone would love totalk to you about that.

Terry, it's amazing

how we see so many storiesthroughout the year

of people just tellingtheir financial story

of here's how God worked in my life.

It's really encouraging.

- I also love when you all share,

when we do hear from you,

how much you trust the work of this place,

you know.- Yes, amen.

It's humbling.- The things

that you see on here are happening,

and honestly, they're happening

because of you.- Yes.

Amen to that.- So we say thank you

- We do.- for that.

Well up next, a devout Muslim

who practiced ritual flagellation.

Why this man risked hislife to leave Islam.

That's coming up.

(dramatic music)

Kill or be killed for the cause of Islam.

That's the only way tosecure a place in paradise.

Mohamad memorized this andother doctrines from the Quran

when he was just a boy.

Then as a teenager, he beganbeating himself with chains

in order to purge himself of sin.

But no matter what, Mohamadremained so miserable.

All he really wanted to do was just die.

- Nobody knows, am I doing enough?

There is no guarantee.There's no assurance.

This limbo is always, alwaysis in your mind as a Muslim.

- [Andrew] Born in Iran,raised in a strict Shia family,

Mohamad Faridi was taughthe had one purpose in life.

- My goal as a Muslim

was to satisfy a god that I didn't know,

a god that I couldn't get to know.

So, everything I did,everything I read, studied,

it was about to fulfillthat particular goal,

to keep him satisfied withme, to have his approval.

(man chanting in foreign language)

- [Andrew] From childhood,he prayed and fasted

and memorized the Quran.

- Because the belief is that

if you memorize the Quran,you cannot be burned in hell

because the verses of the Quraninternal and they are pure.

When it's in your mind, thatmind cannot be burned in hell.

I was always in constant fear.

- [Andrew] Then as a teenager,

he started ritual flagellationsto earn Allah's approval.

- We have chains, we have swords

that we beat ourselfwith it to punish ourself

in order to pay for our sins,to show how sorrowful we are.

- [George] aBut there was only one way

he could secure his place in paradise.

- The only guarantee, accordingto Chapter 5 of the Quran

is jihad and being a slay orslain for the cause of Islam.

That's the only guarantee you will find

in the doctrine of Islam.

- [Andrew] Mohamad hopedto get his chance in battle

when he served his two yearsof mandatory military service

after high school.

But war never broke out,

and when his army career came to an end,

Mohamad grew frustrated and depressed.

- I knew as a Muslim if I commit suicide,

I will definitely end up in hell.

At this time, I'm living in hell.

If I kill myself, I'm end up in hell.

So I had this dilemma.

I was stuck.

I really was stuck.

- [Andrew] Then one day,he met up with a friend

that he hadn't seen since high school.

Right away, Mohamad noticedsomething different about him.

(gentle piano music)

- He was very mellow, very peaceful.

And it bothered me tothe point that I said,

"What is going on with you today?

There's something very different today."

And then he said thathe became a Christian.

And he started explainingabout the goodness of God.

He talked about the love of God

and how his relationship with God

that is through Jesus Christhas changed their lives.

I tried to defend myself.

I tried to prove him wrong.

But after two hours of intense arguments,

I was an echo of what theimam in the mosque told me.

I had nothing that Icould stand on as a Muslim

because I didn't know God.

But the way my friendwas talking about Jesus,

it was like talking about a friend of him,

a personal God that he actually knew.

Out of desperation,

I fell on my knees and I asked him,

"What do I need to do to receive Him?

Everything that I had todo on my own as a Muslim,

to beat myself, to bruisemyself, to shed my own blood,

to become a sacrifice, hesaid, "It's already done

in the person of Jesus Christ,and if you believe in Him,

you will have eternal life."

And it was simple, but it wasthe most amazing good news,

the true good news, I'veever heard in my life.

- [Andrew] Finally, Mohamad discovered

the personal relationship with God

that he had always desired.

- Something within me thatwas always in war with me,

always restless, it was like a cancer

that always botheredme, never was satisfied.

That moment when I made that commitment,

when I prayed that prayer,it was like yanked out of me,

and for the first timein my life, I felt peace.

- [Andrew] Mohamad was excited,

but worried about telling his family.

According to Sharia law,

they would have every right to kill him.

- So, I had to choose between my family

and my heavenly family.

And at that time I countedthe costs and I said,

"I will chose my heavenly family,

regardless of what's gonna happen."

- [Andrew] When he dideventually tell them,

his family tried topersuade him back to Islam,

but Mohamad was convinced thatJesus was the one true God.

- The more I read this NewTestament, the Gospels,

the more it connected tome, the more it spoke to me.

The Gospels show thehypocrisy of Islam to me.

- [Andrew] For the next two years,

he attended undergroundchurches and grew in his faith.

Eventually, he fled toTurkey, fearing for his life.

After three years ofinterviews and waiting,

he was granted religiousasylum in the United States.

- God is a good God,

and what He has donethrough Jesus Christ for us

will change our livesfor good and for eternity

to put us in the right standing with God

in a relationship withour Heavenly Father.

- [Andrew] Today, Mohamadnever misses a chance

to share the personalrelationship he has with God.

- I was a very uncertainperson as a Muslim.

But when I came to the knowledge

and understanding of who Jesus is

and what He has done for me,

that love, that hope, you cannot find it

in any other places, especially in Islam.

(inspirational music)

- You know, what Mohamad justsaid is so powerfully true

for every single one of us,

but especially for thosewho are trapped in systems

that tell them that theymust somehow struggle,

that they must somehow harm themselves

or pay some sacrifice or achieve something

to have a relationship with God.

He said, "God has done this for me

when I knew what Jesus did for me."

You see, that's whatHis death on the cross

2,000 years ago was all about.

It was for us today,

for all who call uponthe name of the Lord.

Every one of us winds upat some point in our lives

saying, "Why am I here?

What is this all about?

What is life?"

I mean, in Mohamad's case,he had such a pure desire

in himself to please God,

even when he thought it was impossible.

And then someone told himthe story of the true God,

the one who was not waitingfor Mohamad to sacrifice,

the one who had alreadysacrificed for Mohamad

and covered all his sin,given him forgiveness

because He trusted him.

God is after you.

If you don't know that,

you need to hear it inMohamad's story today.

Hear it in what I'm saying to you.

God loves you.

He desires a relationship with you

that's legitimate and real.

And He will take your junk,

all the stuff that's happened to you,

whether it's been done by your own hand

or whether somebodyelse has done it to you.

He will forgive you your sins

and He will turn what hasbeen your pain into blessing

because that's what He does.

He loves you. He wants to have your heart.

He wants to invade yourlife. Let him do it.

You'll never experience a love like His,

but you will miss something amazing

if you don't give Him a chance.

You simply invite Him intothe midst of your life.

You say, "Jesus, I'm a sinner.

I need a savior.

Come into my heart and my life.

Forgive my sin.

I need a fresh beginning.

I need your spirit.

I want to walk with you every day."

God is waiting for thatinvitation right now.

Just speak it to Him.

If you have a specific need in your life

that you want to pray about with someone,

our number's there on your screen.

It's toll-free, 1-800-700-7000.

There's a friend on theother end of that line

who's already prayed that prayer

and is waiting today to pray with you.

Give 'em a call.

Andrew.- All right,

thank you, Terry.

Well, we want to leave you today

with this scripture from Acts 16:30:

"Believe in the Lord Jesus,and you will be saved,

you and your household."

Amen, there is hope.

God loves you.

God loves you very much.

Hey, on tomorrow's program,

one man has a vision to impact the world

through the craftsmanshipof custom guitars.

How did an abandonedrailroad get him started?

We're gonna find out on tomorrow's show.

(inspirational music)