"When I go to Iraq the reaction is amazing because the Christians there feel forgotten," Nelson says. Christians comprise less then two percent of the population of Iraq, which is overwhelmingly Muslim. "They say, ‘We thought you forgot us.’ They hunger for recognition and affirmation that American Christians care about them."

Unfortunately, geopolitical considerations have blinded the eyes of many believers in the West, Nelson believes. "Evangelical Christians have so politicized their outlook on the Muslim world, that most of the time we don’t see the people of these countries with the eyes of Christ," he says. "We see them in terms of the political objectives of the United States of America, but not in terms of the priorities of Jesus Christ."

"We see the world with political eyes, not spiritual eyes," he adds.

Nelson also visited Afghanistan on his recent trip, and plans to return in December with medical aid and school supplies. "All the schools lack almost anything," Nelson says, including chalk, pencils, paper, textbooks, desks and chairs. "The U.S. has promised a huge rebuilding effort," he says. "But the money that’s been promised has not been delivered in a timely fashion."

"The roads are just horrendous," Nelson says. "To travel from Kabul, the largest city, to Kandahar, the second largest city, is a 16 hour trip," he says. "It shouldn’t take more than two or three hours. It’s like driving in a riverbed, because the road was bombed to smithereens."

Nelson visited a school in Afghanistan with 3000 students. "The building had been totally trashed by the Taliban, but on the wall was a poster showing Osama bin Laden holding an automatic weapon in his left hand and in his right hand holding the world. He’s standing in front of the smoking, flaming World Trade Center. Underneath was a caption saying, ‘The al-Qaida band took a big forward step.’"

"When I looked at that I realized the Taliban influence is alive," Nelson says. Because the school had limited building space, students were meeting in 14 tents supplied by UNICEF. "If it wasn’t for the United Nations, they wouldn’t have anyplace to meet in the 100 degree heat," he says.

"Where is the church in all of this," Nelson wonders. "Why hasn’t the western church provided the tents?" he asks. "My question is more to the church than President Bush or the State Department."

Nelson believes our priorities are unbalanced. "Evangelical Christians spend more dollars on weight reduction products than on missionary efforts," he notes. "If we really care about that part of the world then we’ll take the gospel and express the love of Jesus Christ in tangible forms," he says.

"The children and students and teachers are wide open," he says. "They are looking to us."