Former island resident sheds light on Middle East crisis – Kodiak Daily Mirror

As I consider the reverberations in the Middle East, following the brutal Hamas attack in Israel on Oct. 7 of last year, Im reminded of an interview I did with Rev. Harry Coffman, an Assembly of God pastor, who visited Kodiak Island long after serving as a missionary in the village of Larsen Bay in the late 1960s. Coffman spent a great deal of time in the Middle East.

After living on Kodiak Island, he pastored parishes in the Pacific Northwest and founded Springs of Living Water Fellowship, a ministry designed to mentor pastors in starting churches and meeting the needs of the local community.

Coffman met with dignitaries from other countries and was a close friend of Sam Brownback, former U.S. Senator and Kansas governor, and the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.

Throughout his ministry, Coffman developed the gift of prophecy, giving messages of encouragement to people.

Coffman said he met Egyptian Coptic monks and his bishop, when he spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2004 in Washington, D.C. He was accompanied to the nations capital by his wife, Roberta.

The clergy were raising money for equipment for a clinic in Cairo.

When the bishop and priest laughed, I thought there was something very special about these two men, Coffman recalled.

At the end of the presentation, Coffman was asked to pray for the Egyptian clergy.

As I went to pray for them, I was reminded of the Scripture that says, Blessed are the feet of those who bring glad tidings. So I knelt and prayed for their feet. I thanked the Lord for bringing them here.

After Coffmans presentation at the prayer breakfast, the bishop kept tugging at him. He got to the microphone and asked Coffman to prophesy over him. I dont remember talking about prophecy, Coffman said.

At that meeting Coffman prophesied that the Coptic Church in Egypt would be persecuted; the water and road systems and communications would be cut off.

Coffman told the clergy that they needed to build their own water and communications systems, enlarge farms and orchards, raise fish farms, and buy more property.

He calls the message a download from Heaven.

They got the mic, put it in front of my face and recorded everything, Coffman said.

They lined up and asked to be prayed for. Youd think we had Pentecost all over again. It was unbelievable. I was very well blessed.

The bishop wrote a special invitation for Coffman to visit them in Egypt. I had no desire to go to Egypt, he said.

During the following weeks, he would sit up in bed at 4 a.m., hounded by one word: Egypt.

Finally, my wife said, I wish youd say yes, so we could get some sleep. I did go to Egypt, he said.

On his first visit to Egypt, Coffman went to St. Marks Monastery in Alexandria, where a man was attacked with a sword. I marched around the church praying for protection, Coffman recalled.

The army ended up marching with me, which was pretty awesome. They marched around the church three times, declaring peace. Even the Muslims were following him. They smiled at me. An Egyptian army truck full of army guys was following me, too, said Coffman.

During his stay in Alexandria, Coffman celebrated Pascha (Easter) with the monastic community.

During Holy Week, Coffman was told that all of the gates were closed. The monastery wasnt taking anyone in. When I arrived, I was taken in.

On Easter, 185 priests and monks gathered with the bishop to celebrate the holiday.

I went through Good Friday Mass, which was 12 hours and Easter mass which was seven hours. And I survived, said Coffman.

I was blown away. I had never read so many Scriptures pertaining to Easter and the Resurrection. I felt like a kindergartner. They handed me a thick book with Scriptures and prayers in English.

I was so impressed. They had been fasting for 50 days.

They were very sensitive in the spirit, very sensitive to who I was. I didnt need to give them credentials. They read me right away. I was very impressed with their relationship with the Lord. They loved God and worshiped Him. They were totally sold out. They made me feel that I have a lot of growing to do. They blessed me, said Coffman.

Coffman returned to Egypt two years later. They had accomplished everything I said they should do, which was a good move, in light of the impending persecution that awaited them. It all started with what President Barack Obama called The Arab Spring.

Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, was ousted and his government overthrown.

President Mohamed Morsi a member of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood was put in charge. The Muslim Brotherhood supporters burned dozens of churches throughout Egypt and killed at least 45 Coptic Christians.

Morsis administration was eventually overthrown and the country came under the rule of Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

The third time Coffman visited Egypt was when Bin Laden was killed. Coffman went to Cairo. The Muslims were coming after me. I (attended) church in Cairo. Its a big church. I met with 20 priests that night.

He left Cairo and flew to Ethiopia. He found out that 12 of those priests were murdered by militant Muslims. It was a close call. I grieved about it, Coffman said.

While in Kodiak, Coffman expressed a desire to go back to Egypt in order to meet the leader, El-Sisi.

Coffman had prophetic words for Americans. He said the United States will be going through extremes on the negative and positive sides.

This will cause people to rise up and come out from among evil-doers, bringing a unity amongst Orthodox, Catholic and Protestants, he said. They will come together and become really very strong and united for the cause of righteousness.

While acknowledging the brutal persecution brought on by militant Muslims, Coffman talked about people of the Islamic faith, who are coming to Christ. Muslims make great Christians, he said. Theyre so disciplined.

Coffman also told engaging stories about his time in Larsen Bay, which Ill share in an upcoming column.

Continue reading here:
Former island resident sheds light on Middle East crisis - Kodiak Daily Mirror