El hecho de contar con un empleo en el mercado laboral hace que los obreros cristianos superen el desafío de dar cuenta de su presencia el país de acogida de manera creíble, al proporcionarles una razón legítima para estar en allí. El salario complementa (o suministra) los ingresos que los obreros necesitan, y trabajar con la población local les permite tener acceso a las comunidades menos alcanzadas.

Sin embargo, el hecho de recibir un salario de una empresa local no es suficiente.

"Podemos trabajar y ser útil en nuestro lugar de trabajo. Sin embargo, si nunca llegamos a contarles por qué somos diferentes, nunca llegarán a conocer. En esto radica la intencionalidad", nos explica Sasha. "La forma en que tomas tus decisiones, qué haces con tu tiempo, cómo oras, todo eso forma parte de ser intencional."

Los obreros deben estudiar su entorno de trabajo para saber cuán abiertamente pueden compartir el evangelio. Aun cuando algunos empleadores les exigen que se comprometan a no hablar de Cristo en el lugar de trabajo, a menudo hay formas sutiles de presentar las verdades bíblicas.

Craig, por ejemplo, publica un versículo bíblico de Proverbios en la pizarra de su oficina. "Él nunca hace comentarios al respecto, pero está ahí", dice Sasha. "Pero sus compañeros se acercan y hablan de ello, y se suelen dar conversaciones de carácter espiritual".

"Algunas de las preguntas que pueden ayudar a los musulmanes en su camino hacia Cristos son: '¿Por qué oras cinco veces al día? ¿Por qué sacrificas un cordero?'", dice Sasha. "Cuando logramos que la población local emprenda una búsqueda y cuestione sus creencias, ellos comenzarán a acercarse a la verdad."

Si bien los obreros aspiran a compartir el Evangelio completo con sus colegas locales, también vale la pena compartir con ellos historias breves o conceptos bíblicos. "Les he compartido I Corintios 13 como definición de amor", dice Sasha.

Al escuchar el pasaje, un estudiante universitario señaló: "Dada esa definición de amor, no creo que yo haya amado a nadie".

Más tarde, al hablar del matrimonio, el alumno le preguntó a Sasha cómo es que ella y Craig habían estado casados tanto tiempo. "Es porque seguimos el ejemplo de Cristo", respondió Sasha. "¿Esa definición de amor de la cual te hablé? En realidad es definición bíblica del amor ".

Hubo un tiempo en que Sasha y Craig no podían hablar de Jesús en su lugar de trabajo. Pero sí podrían entablar conversaciones sobre Él fuera de allí.

Por ejemplo, cuando una compañera de trabajo de Sasha debió ser operada, ella fue al hospital para visitar a la señora y orar por ella. Al cabo de unos días, Sasha regresó para ver cómo evolucionaba y la mujer le preguntó emocionada: "¿Recuerdas cuando oraste por mí en el hospital? No lo sabías, pero yo estaba orando contigo".

Le contó que cuando Sasha llegó, su familia no tenía dinero para pagar la cirugía. Pero luego de su visita, los problemas económicos se solucionaron. "Ella reconoció que era la respuesta a la oración que había hecho conmigo", señala Sasha.

"Puedo explicarte por qué tuviste una respuesta rápida a tu oración", le dijo Sasha. " Yo oré en el nombre de Jesús. La Biblia dice que se Él está a la diestra de Dios, e intercede por aquellos que piden. Tu oración fue junto con la mía directamente a Dios."

Recientemente,  un obrero de OM que lleva 11 años viviendo en el Golfo Pérsico llamado Denis* descubrió oportunidades interesantes para compartir el evangelio de forma intencional con sus colegas luego de cambiar de trabajo. Primero, comenzó un grupo de oración con otros creyentes que trabajan con él. Luego, le presentó principios bíblicos a su nuevo equipo.

Denis dijo a sus empleados: "Es importante decir la verdad con amor". Más adelante, uno de los hombres describió el efecto de esa verdad: "¡Lo puse en práctica y funcionó, así que ahora me lo he apropiado (a ese principio)!"

Denis también les habló de la idea de la integridad. ¿Creen que podemos ser un equipo íntegro?

"Estás poniendo la vara muy alta", respondieron sus colegas.

Al poco tiempo, uno de los empleados tuvo que hacerle una propuesta a un proveedor. Quería realzar la propuesta para hacerla más atractiva para el proveedor, pero Denis lo disuadió de mentir. Finalmente, el proveedor aceptó la propuesta y se mostró "muy agradecido por nuestra honestidad", nos cuenta Denis.

En el lugar de trabajo, " las personas guardan (en su corazón) las cosas pequeñas y éstas tienen un gran impacto", dice Denis. "Ves todas esas cosas que Dios está haciendo sin que nos demos cuenta."

*Los nombres han sido modificados por razones de seguridad

Nicole James viaja por el mundo y escribe para OM International. Le apasiona colaborar con los obreros en la comunicación de las formas en que Dios está obrando en todo el mundo.

Janet decided to follow Jesus at age eight and from then on, she had two passions in life: to know Jesus more and to make Him known. “When you know the love, the grace, the forgiveness, the kindness, the gentleness—when you know those virtues in your own life—you want to share that with others.”

Still, Janet might have been content to share God’s love in her own small British village forever if a group of servicemen from the Arabian Peninsula (AP) hadn’t shown up to test some equipment they had purchased. At that time, she’d never heard the words ‘Islam’ or ‘Muslim’.

Several of the men rented her sister’s guesthouse, and many came to Janet, a hairdresser, for regular trims. Those encounters were a turning point in her life. “The Lord gave me a real love for and interest in the Muslim world,” she said.

The connections continued for years after the men left—through long-distance conversations and visits when they returned to Janet’s village for vacation with their families. Janet began to wonder whether God wanted her to do more with the Muslim world.

A couple of ladies from her church happened to watch a programme featuring OM founder George Verwer on television. When they contacted him, they found out he would be visiting their area a couple weeks later. The women arranged for Janet to meet with him. As she listened to George talk about the work OM was doing, “I just thought my heart was going to burst,” she shared. “I was so excited listening to his story.”

When George left, he told Janet to contact him if she needed anything. But she didn’t plan to follow up. “I knew if I got in touch with him, he would have me in Saudi Arabia the next day,” she said, laughing.

For the next three weeks, Janet prayed that God would take away her urge to get involved in missions if it wasn’t from Him. Instead, it got stronger.

Beginning the journey

Janet’s first visit to the AP on a short-term missions trip was a challenging experience for her. “I just felt unusable, and it was a really difficult time,” she shared. “Yet the other leaders knew my story; they knew what was going on…I remember the man in charge at the time saying to me: ‘Janet, you will be surprised on this trip… I think you will find that you fit in very well.’”

The team visited a local neighbour with nine friends. “When they found out I was a hairdresser, they weren’t letting me leave until I was going to cut their hair,” Janet said. As she engaged with the ladies, she remembered the leader’s words. “God showed me that it doesn’t matter who we are; as long as we’re open and available, He can use it.”

After a few more short-term trips, Janet learnt about an opportunity to serve long-term in the AP by working part-time in a bookshop. “As soon as I came here, I felt like I’d come home,” she said.

As Janet interacted with people—women, students, migrant workers, professionals, retirees—through the bookshop, she realised that God was bringing her those He was already drawing to Himself. In the first six months, three migrant workers who spent time talking to her at the bookshop came to faith and were baptised.

During the beginning of Ramadan this year, Janet sold four Bibles to individuals whom she estimated to be in their late twenties, all “searching for truth and feeling that Islam was not giving them what they’re wanting, what they’re looking for.”

Another young woman who had been talking to Janet for a year and a half finally asked: “Janet, when you’ve been brought up [in Islam] and you know nothing different, how do you know the truth?”

“Ask God,” Janet replied. “If you really are seeking to know the truth, ask God, and He will show you.”

The one-on-one interactions at the bookshop suited Janet, who described herself as an introvert. “I was never brave; I was never adventurous, in fact, quite the opposite. I would say I was very fearful, I felt very inadequate and very weak,” she shared. “I’m amazed that God can even use someone like me.”

“It’s His love that compels me; it’s His compassion that drives me. Just the fact that many here are going to be lost for eternity, having never heard, that’s what propels me,” she summarised. "Even at 52, it’s worth it, just to embark on this journey with Him.”

*name changed

Gustavo became a Christian at the age of 20, and during his final year of college, he felt God was leading him to work in the Arabian Peninsula. At one point, he started looking for a job there but the logistics of it seemed so overwhelming.

“I thought it was crazy. I didn’t have enough money. So at that time, I closed that dream and I forgot about it,” he recalled.

“Two years later,” Gustavo continued, “I went to OM’s ship, Logos Hope when she visited Central America. I’d read in the paper that the biggest floating bookstore in the world was coming so I decided to go, to purchase books about architecture."

During his visit to the ship, Gustavo met Nathan, the field leader for OM in Central America, and his wife, Ruth. They invited him to OM activities and then asked if he wanted to serve with the ship when it returned. Gustavo said yes, and spent his weekends doing activities with kids and serving in the bookstore.

One day, Gustavo decided to go to a conference on board titled: What is in your Hands? It introduced the possibility of doing work and mission simultaneously. The speakers there were from Chile, the USA and the Arabian Peninsula.

“When the man from the Arabian Peninsula spoke, I remembered the dream from years earlier about going there,” said Gustavo. “That was amazing. I thought: ‘this is for me.' After the conference, I spoke with him and got his contact information.

“From that moment on, my heart was focused on that dream. I felt a stronger calling,” Gustavo declared. “So I spoke with Nathan again and said: ‘This is in my heart, but I don’t know if I should go long-term now, or even if it is the right time to go.’ That’s when Nathan told me about a prayer journey that they do twice a year in the Arabian Peninsula.”

After that conversation, Gustavo began praying about going to the Arabian Peninsula on a short-term trip.

“One day, I asked God: ‘If this is what you want for me, please answer with three different people confirming it.’” This was important to Gustavo because he had just started his own business and had been given several opportunities for work; something that hadn’t happened to him before. He’d actually earned a year’s worth of wages in two months.

So, unlike two years earlier when he’d tried to go to the Arabian Peninsula, Gustavo had the money. But he didn’t have the answer from God yet.

Over the course of the next two months, three separate people—none of whom knew each other or knew what Gustavo had been praying about—all mentioned something to him about the specific city he’d been praying to live in. It wasn’t an easy process and it took a lot of waiting on God in faith because the final confirmation came just one month before he intended to leave.

The next day, Gustavo started looking into flights and visa information. Once again, he experienced a miracle as God provided a visa within 24 hours, and a flight priced so low even his travel agent was amazed. “She’d never seen a price that low for that part of the world,” Gustavo said.

The Arabian Peninsula

“On board Logos Hope,” Gustavo remembered, “The crew talked about OM in Latin America’s initiative, Ellos son como tu! It points out that there are many similarities between Latin cultures and those least reached with the gospel, even including how people look.

“I experienced that myself—twice—on the way to the Arabian Peninsula. During my layover in Spain, a man started talking to me in Arabic before he realised I couldn’t understand him. And in immigration on my arrival, the officer asked me where I was from. When I said: ‘Central America,’ he replied: ‘No, originally—where are your fathers from?’ I repeated that we were originally from Central America. He said that I looked so much like people in his country that he thought I was from there.”

During the following weeks, Gustavo went to tourist areas in his host country; walking and praying around the area. “You can’t evangelise openly there,” Gustavo recalled. “We prayed everywhere we went. I met a lot of Christian families living and working there—even others from Latin America. One of the Latino workers shared with me things I need in order to prepare for long-term work there: how to share from the Bible, how to prepare for the workplace, things like that.

“I love the architecture of the Arabian Peninsula. I was like a kid in Disney World!” Gustavo said. “On my second day, we visited something that was really special to me: a palace. It was the most amazing thing I’d seen in my life.”

“Then, a few days later, I saw the man I’d met on the ship. He remembered me from the ship and was so excited about how God is sending Latinos to that area of the world as professional workers. He even introduced me to a friend of his, an engineer who is also a Christian. We started talking about life in the region, about being an architect there, and he explained specific things to me about construction and design locally.

“Then I discovered that this was the guy who had designed the palace! Only God could have done that.”

This man also shared some contacts with Gustavo, asked for his number and told him to keep in touch. “I felt so thankful; I believe the connection was God-ordained. This is a key person in that country, and he was helping me possibly take my first steps to work there long-term.”

Back in Central America

Now that Gustavo is back in Central America, he is praying about returning to the Arabian Peninsula. “It is so exciting,” he said. “I always want to do something for God, for His kingdom. And what an amazing thing to work and serve Him at the same time.

“Going as a professional to the Arabian Peninsula is a good thing because they have many of the most modern things in the world. As a professional, you can grow your skills and experience. If you can work there, you can work anywhere.

“When I returned to Central America, I saw an OM video that caught my eye. It’s a story about an architect in the Arabian Peninsula. In fact, when I saw it, I felt like God was calling me to go back. On my trip, God taught me that without Him, you cannot do anything. I mean, you can do things, but with the help of God, it will be more amazing. You will see things you had never imagined before, like me meeting the guy who designed the palace.

“It was also amazing to meet Christians in that area of the world. I now feel more comfortable about possibly moving to a completely different part of the world,” Gustavo shared.

Gustavo’s short-term prayer journey in the Arabian Peninsula has fanned into flame the dream that sparked years ago. Now he is waiting on God to see what’s next, willing and excited to see how God will use Gustavo’s skill as an architect for His glory.

Have you ever thought about using your profession overseas? As an architect, Gustavo can work just about anywhere in the world, and as a Christian, he can share God’s love with others wherever he is. What if you could do that?

For more information about going overseas as a professional Christian worker, contact us here.

*name changed

Kristen Torres-Toro loves to tell stories about what God is doing in the world. She currently serves as a Brand Contributor for OM in Argentina.

Gustavo se convirtió a los 20 años y, a lo largo de su último año en la universidad, sintió el llamado de Dios a trabajar en la Península Arábiga. En un principio, comenzó a investigar la posibilidad de encontrar un trabajo allí, pero la logística de este plan le resultó abrumadora.

“Creí que era una locura. No tenía dinero suficiente. Así que, en ese momento, decidí abandonar ese sueño y olvidarme de él”, dijo.

“Dos años después”, continuó Gustavo, “fui al barco de OM, Logos Hope, durante su visita a América Central. Había leído en el periódico que la librería flotante más grande del mundo estaba en camino y decidí ir, para comprar libros sobre arquitectura.

En su visita al barco conoció a Nathan, el líder de OM en América Central, y a su esposa Ruth. Ellos lo invitaron a las actividades de OM y, luego, le preguntaron si quería servir en el barco cuando regresara a América Central. Él dijo que sí y, durante los fines de semana, participó en las actividades con niños y sirvió en la librería.

Un día, Gustavo asistió a una conferencia a bordo del barco titulada “¿Qué tienes en tus manos?” Durante la misma se introdujo la posibilidad de trabajar y misionar al mismo tiempo. Los oradores en esa conferencia eran de Chile, EE.UU. y la Península Arábiga.

“Cuando el orador de la Península Arábiga habló recordé ese sueño que tuve años atrás sobre ir allí”, dijo Gustavo. “Fue algo maravilloso. Pensé ´esto es para mí´. Terminada la conferencia hablé con él y me dio su contacto.”

“Desde ese momento mi corazón estuvo enfocado en ese sueño. Sentí un llamado más fuerte,” declaró Gustavo. “Así que, hablé con Nathan nuevamente y le dije: ´Esto es lo que está en mi corazón, pero no sé si deba ir a largo plazo ahora, o siquiera si es el tiempo indicado para ir.´ Nathan me habló sobre un diario de oración que hacen en la Península Arábiga dos veces en el año.”

Después de esa conversación, Gustavo comenzó a orar por un viaje a corto plazo.

“Un día le pregunté a Dios: ´Si esto es lo que quieres para mí, por favor respóndeme a través de tres personas diferentes que lo confirmen.´” Esto era muy importante para Gustavo, porque apenas había comenzado su propio negocio y tenía muchas oportunidades laborales; algo que nunca le había sucedido. De hecho, en los últimos dos meses había ganado lo mismo que antes ganaba en un año.

Así que, a diferencia de la vez anterior, Gustavo sí tenía el dinero para hacer el viaje. Pero aún no tenía una respuesta de parte de Dios.

En el curso de los siguientes dos meses, tres personas diferentes, que no se conocían entre sí, ni sabían sobre las oraciones de Gustavo, le mencionaron algo sobre la ciudad por la que él estaba orando para vivir. No fue un proceso sencillo y llevó mucho tiempo de confianza en Dios, porque la confirmación llego tan sólo un mes previo a su salida.

Al día siguiente, Gustavo comenzó a buscar información sobre la visa y los pasajes. Una vez más, experimentó los milagros de Dios en la provisión de una visa en 24 horas y un ticket de avión tan económico, que incluso su agente de viajes estaba perpleja. “Ella nunca había visto un precio tan bajo para ir a esa parte del mundo”, recordó él.

La Península Arábiga

“A bordo del Logos Hope”, recordaba Gustavo, “la tripulación habló sobre la iniciativa de OM en Latinoamérica ´¡Ellos son como tú!´. Su propósito es destacar las similitudes entre las culturas de América Latina y aquellas entre los menos alcanzados, incluso físicamente.”

“Fue una experiencia en primera persona para mí mientras iba camino a mi destino. Durante mi parada en España, un hombre comenzó a hablarme en árabe antes de que pudiera darse cuenta de que no entendía nada de lo que me estaba diciendo. También en la oficina de inmigración el oficial me preguntó de dónde venía. Cuando respondí ´América Central´ me dijo: ´no, originalmente ¿de dónde son sus padres?´ Le repetí que éramos de América Central. Él dijo que me parecía tanto a las personas de su país, que pensó que era de allí.”

Durante las siguientes semanas, Gustavo visitó áreas turísticas en el país donde estaba, caminando y orando por esos lugares. “No está permitido evangelizar abiertamente, allí”, dijo él, “orábamos en cada lugar en el que estábamos. Conocí muchas familias cristianas viviendo y trabajando allí, incluso de América Latina. Uno de los trabajadores latinoamericanos me compartió consejos sobre lo que iba a necesitar para quedarme allí a largo plazo: cómo compartir sobre la Biblia, cómo prepararse para el lugar de trabajo, ese tipo de cosas.”

“Me encanta la arquitectura de la Península Arábiga. ¡Me sentía como un niño en Disney World!”, dijo sonriendo. “En mi segundo día allí visitamos un lugar muy especial para mí: un palacio. Fue lo más maravilloso que vi en mi vida.”

“Unos días después, vi al hombre que había conocido en el barco. Él se acordaba de mí y estaba muy entusiasmado porque Dios estaba enviando obreros latinoamericanos a esa parte del mundo a través de sus profesiones. Incluso me presentó a uno de sus amigos, un ingeniero que también era cristiano. Comenzamos a hablar sobre la vida en la región, cómo es ser un arquitecto allí, y también me explicó cosas sobre el diseño y la construcción locales.

“¡Luego descubrí que él era el hombre que había diseñado el palacio! Sólo Dios pudo haber hecho eso.”

Este hombre también compartió algunos contactos con Gustavo, le pidió su número de teléfono y le dijo que se sintiera en libertad de llamarlo cuando lo precisara. “Me sentí tan agradecido; creo que esa conexión fue a través de Dios. Él es una persona clave en ese país y me estaba ayudando en mis primeros pasos para trabajar a largo plazo.”

De vuelta en América Central.

Ahora que Gustavo está de regreso en América Central ora por su vuelta a la Península Arábiga. “Estoy muy entusiasmado”, dijo. “Siempre quise hacer algo para Dios, por Su Reino. Y qué cosa tan maravillosa poder trabajar y servirle al mismo tiempo.”

“Ir como profesional es algo muy bueno, porque allí tienen muchas de las cosas más modernas en el mundo. Como profesional, puedes crecer en tus habilidades y ganar experiencia. Si puedes trabajar allí, puedes hacerlo en cualquier lugar.”

“Cuando regresé a América Central, vi un video de OM que me llamó la atención. Es una historia sobre un arquitecto en la Península Arábiga. De hecho, cuando lo vi, sentí que Dios me llamaba de vuelta. Durante mi viaje, Dios me enseño que no hay nada que pueda hacer sin Él. Quiero decir, puedes hacer cosas, pero con su ayuda será mucho mejor. Verás cosas que nunca has visto antes, como cuando conocí al diseñador del palacio.”

“También fue increíble conocer a otros cristianos en esa área. Ahora me siento con mayor confianza sobre mudarme a un lugar tan diferente y lejano”, compartió Gustavo.

El viaje de oración por su visita de corto plazo a la Península Arábiga ha avivado el fuego de aquel sueño que había tenido. Ahora espera en Dios lo que vendrá, dispuesto y entusiasmado de ver cómo Dios usará sus habilidades como arquitecto para Su gloria.

¿Has pensado alguna vez en usar tu profesión en otro lugar? Como arquitecto, Gustavo puede trabajar en cualquier lugar del mundo y, como cristiano, puede compartir el amor de Dios donde sea que esté. ¿Y si tú pudieras hacerlo también?

Para más información sobre cómo viajar como obrero cristiano profesional, contáctate con nosotros aquí:

https://www.om.org/en/contact

*el nombre fue cambiado por seguridad

A Kristen Torres-Toro le encanta contar historias sobre lo que Dios está haciendo en el mundo. Actualmente, ella sirve en el área de comunicaciones para OM en Argentina.

“English?” I asked.

She mumbled something in response, but I couldn’t interpret it. It wasn’t English, and it didn’t even sound like Arabic. I was lost. I couldn’t help her, so I turned my attention back to my phone.

Not five minutes later, a young man walked over from his seat across the boarding gate. “Does she need help?” he addressed me in perfect English.

“I think so, but I don’t know what she wants,” I replied.

He tried talking to her, too, but didn’t get much further than I had. But then he gestured for her boarding pass and took it over to the check-in counter to verify her flight details. Apparently, she was in the right place; her flight scheduled to take off two hours after ours.

“Wait here,” he said, trying to reassure her through hand movements.

She didn’t seem comforted, though, so when two women, clothed in long black robes and headscarves, sat down behind us, she got their attention as well.

“What do you want? Do you want to make a phone call?” the younger of the two asked, when the still frightened-looking woman produced a scrap of paper with a phone number.

I chimed in with what I knew of the situation. Then the older woman, completely covered and face obscured except for her eyes, stood up and motioned for the African girl to follow her. They started walking down the terminal, and the younger woman clarified, “My mother is taking her to the airline office to see if someone there can help her.”

Perhaps 10 minutes later, much closer to boarding, the older woman returned. I asked what happened, and the daughter told me the airline staff had requested the African girl to wait in the office. Her flight was departing from the same gate as ours, and they were afraid she’d get confused when our boarding process started.

“It was very kind of you to help her,” I told the women.

While I waited the remaining few minutes for my flight, I processed what had just happened. I recognised too much of the ‘Good Samaritan’ parable in the situation, and, unfortunately, I wasn’t the unlikely passer-by who went out of the way to help: it was the Muslim woman.

The next week in the Arabian Peninsula gave me more time to experience the generosity, hospitality and help of many more Muslims.

A man, wearing the national dress of his country, took my suitcase down from the overhead compartment without me asking—or even pointing it out. He’d seen where the steward had placed it when I boarded.

Several days later, when I had to change the time of a scheduled inter-country flight, due to my own mistake, a male airline employee, hearing me explain the situation to one of his colleagues, asked me to step over to his counter. “The same thing happened to me once,” he said. “I missed a flight, and somebody helped me then. So today, I’m going to try to help you.”

The airline had originally rebooked me on a flight early the next morning, but 45 minutes later, the helpful airline employee handed me a boarding pass with my name printed on it. I arrived at the next destination only an hour after my colleagues, who had departed on the originally scheduled flight.

On one of our last nights in country, my group was invited to dinner at the home of a wealthy, well-respected man. The cars parked in front of his home hinted at the success he’d enjoyed though his profession, as did the size of his house and the generous banquet laid out for us. When we sat down to eat, the man himself—not his assistants or wife or cook—stood up to serve us. He poured drinks and personally brought platters of food around to each guest. He served us like Jesus served His disciples the night before He was crucified, the most respected man in the room humbly taking the lowest position.

I was speechless.

OM and other organisations send workers to the region because most people there have never heard the gospel message, but the fingerprints of God still shine through His creation. Jesus loves Muslims, and I have so much to learn from them.

Nicole is a world traveller and writer for OM International, based in the US. She’s passionate about partnering with believers to communicate the ways God is working across the globe. In her free time, you’ll find her biking, paddle boarding or curling up with coffee and a good book.

After arriving in the Gulf, Nick started hanging out with young men in his community, usually in their 20s and 30s. His friends ranged from students to government employees to soldiers to unemployed.

“You can think of an Arab the same as you can think of any other friend you have in your country,” Nick described. “The fact that they have the same needs and same aspirations and dreams, just like I do or anybody else in the West outside of the Middle East, makes them normal.”

Nick spent time with his new friends as he would anyone else—going out, drinking tea, playing games. He also focused on introducing spiritual topics into conversations early on. “It is easy to share within the first five meetings. If you don’t share within the first week or two, it’s very hard to share afterwards. But if you’ve been sharing from the beginning, you can easily continue,” he said. “That doesn’t mean it’s always the gospel message, but it’s religious subjects.”

The house Nick rented had a large living area, which he and his roommates outfitted with a ping pong table. Often they invited local friends to hang out there. “One of the guys, Khalil*, liked spending time with us so much that he would always bring [other] people to our house,” Nick said.

Late one evening, Khalil showed up at Nick’s gate unannounced. “I had a horrible day, and I need to talk to somebody,” he said. The two men chatted, and afterwards, Nick suggested inviting some more friends to come over.

Around 2am, Khalil fell asleep on a floor cushion while the other men continued playing games. Finally, there was only one local left besides Khalil. Since Khalil was sleeping soundly, Nick decided to grab a blanket from inside the house and sleep in the living area, too.

When they exited the room, the other local told Nick that he had been exploring the different sects of Islam but could not find peace. “I am a Muslim and I want the truth,” he announced. “Maybe God sent you, Nick, to tell me the truth.”

Nick talked to the guy for over an hour while Khalil slept. Eventually, he left, and Nick grabbed headphones so he could play worship music to block out the loud Islamic music Khalil had left playing on his phone. Then he fell asleep.

The next morning, Nick woke Khalil in time for work, but Khalil told him he had the day off and went back to sleep. Later, when Khalil woke up, he told Nick, “Two things that never happen to me happened to me [last night]. I never slept in someone else’s house before, and I never fall asleep with music.”

Nick realised God had allowed Khalil to fall asleep – at someone else’s house and with loud music – so that he could share with his other friend.

Because Khalil spent time with many foreigners, Nick and others worried he might be spying on the Christians. However, Khalil continued to introduce new locals to Nick. Through Khalil, “we were able to share with a lot of people,” Nick said. “I hear of people that never come to Christ, but they bring others on the path. I don’t want this to happen with him because I want him to be saved as well.”

“I see this guy who’s very very gracious,” Nick described. Khalil often displayed generosity, like giving away half of his expensive birthday cake to a shop worker or offering poor people rides in his luxury car. “I’m still trying to see how much he does that to show off, but he does it all the time,” Nick noted. “God can really redeem this generosity.”

Khalil has heard a lot of the gospel, but most of the time he has a counter argument from the Qur’an, Nick said. “He listens to everything I have to say, then he gives me his share…I’ve been praying with him, and I’ve been praying for him to go beyond [the idea of] ‘this is my side and this is your side.’”

*Name changed for security

Nicole James is an international writer for OM, passionate about publishing stories of God’s work among the nations and telling people about the wonderful things He is doing around the world.

“If it was just the two of us, this decision would be so easy. When you have kids, you’re making decisions that are going to impact the rest of their lives,” explained Markus*, who joined the OM Near East Field (NE) in 2016 with his wife, Vicky*, and two small children.

Still, families following God’s call into missions in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region have discovered His faithfulness as they’ve taken their children abroad.

Starting over together (OM Near East Field)

When Markus and Vicky started their relationship, they also made a goal to serve as long-term missionaries. A trip to Southeast Asia two years after they married showed them they needed to find a different area to serve, but their first daughter’s birth changed their plans for another short-term missions opportunity the next summer.

They began looking at other options, but “as soon as it seemed to get more specific, it fell apart.” Markus described. “We kind of gave up. We let go. I think that was the turning point.”

Vicky and Markus watched the movie A Good Lie, which broke their heart for refugees worldwide. “Sitting in that movie, I just looked at Markus and said, ‘This work would fit so well with your heart and your gifting,’” Vicky remembered. “At the same time, I felt the Lord had told me we needed to look into an organisation and not a country…We realised we’re not called to a country, we’re called to a job, a specific work.”

 As soon as the couple started exploring options with OM, “it became very clear very fast” that the NE was the best fit. They decided to move to the field in fall 2016 — enough time to prepare and to have a second child.

The biggest shock on their vision trip to the NE, Vicky said, was seeing how difficult it was to get around with young children. “A few days after we arrived [in the host country], we made a couple of lists of things we knew we would have to fast from and things our children would have to fast from not living in the Western world.”

Nevertheless, Markus and Vicky decided it was possible to move. Their sending church and the field agreed.

Two weeks before they left, Vicky questioned everything. “I knew coming was what we were supposed to do,” but it all seemed chaotic, she said. Their children, a baby and a two-year-old, were not sleeping well, and Vicky wondered if she could start over again. “The hardest things were closing down the apartment and then that initial saying goodbye the morning that we flew off,” she remembered. “Taking that step to go is just hard.”

Arriving on the field as a family, however, Vicky and Markus were surprised by God’s provision: an apartment with an outside courtyard for the kids to play. Most importantly, they recognised the value of moving together. “I have three people with me who are very close to me who are sharing all the ups and downs together,” Markus explained. “There was hardship, there will be hardship, but through it all God’s been so faithful because He wants us here, it’s so obvious. He’s answered our prayers.”

Heart to go (OM Arabian Peninsula Field)

Andrew* was already serving full-time with OM USA when he and his oldest daughter went to Malta on a short-term trip. During that time, “God stirred up something really significant in my life, and He pulled me into a deeper relationship. We left knowing something was going to happen, but we didn’t know what,” he said. With two teenage daughters and a special needs son, “we didn’t even know it was possible to go somewhere.”

Andrew, his wife, and their three children put a world map on the dinner table and started praying for unreached countries. In January 2015, the family flew to the Arabian Peninsula (AP) for a vision trip. “Children who are teenagers, they’ve got to be part of understanding that they are called as well as the parents,” Andrew stated.

By the time the trip ended, the whole family knew God was calling them to the AP. A year later, they had all moved into their new home.

“Watching God work in my kids’ lives” has been the biggest blessing of life on the field, Andrew said. The way his daughters have embraced the language, the culture and their local friends has helped the family’s transition. “The girls have had their up and down struggles, but they’ve always been pretty solid in their faith…Somehow when God does something in your child’s life, it’s fuller than when He does it in your life.”

The hardest part has been the choice of home-schooling. Their oldest daughter had to take an extra class in order to graduate; their second daughter didn’t function as well on the home-school programme. In addition to learning language and visiting friends, Andrew had to design and oversee every problem of every lesson for his autistic son, Ben*.

Beyond educational uncertainties, Andrew also wondered how Arabs would relate to Ben. But Andrew soon discovered his local friends were infatuated with his son. “They remember his name, and they don’t remember mine!” he exclaimed.

In the local culture, “seeing a family care for and love a special needs child is important,” Andrew noted. “A lot of times maybe they look at children with special needs as shameful. But I do know they see see something in him that’s pure and special, and they see something in the way we care for our son…and they see Jesus in that.”

As a worship leader, “I have a heart to pray for the nations,” Andrew shared. “I believe you come and you take the presence of Christ and you put it in the middle of a place and you pray.”

One day, Andrew had a close Muslim friend visiting. Since the man was interested in music and familiar with other cultures, Andrew asked his daughters to sing a few songs while he played along. After a few songs, his second daughter started singing “Your Great Name” by Amy Grant.

Listening to the lyrics – “Jesus, son of God, Lamb of heaven” – Andrew looked at his friend, wondering how he would react. His friend sat, head bowed, foot tapping to the music. “Wow, that is so stirring,” he said when the song finished.

“We got to worship, real genuine worship, with this Muslim man sitting in the middle,” Andrew said. “That’s cool.”

Gifts to give (OM Near East Field)

Philip* and Cassidy* had a nice house, good jobs and three teenage daughters thriving in their suburban schools. But the longer they lived comfortably in the West, the more dissatisfied they became.

“Parallel to that, our girls got a real vision,” Philip remembered. “They said, ‘You really have to be called to live in the US, don’t you?’ It seems like it’s really easy, and it seems like there are plenty of Christians.”

For the next three years, the family started to think and pray about moving overseas. One night, Philip and Cassidy were hosting a former field leader for OM NE. Sitting on their back porch, he asked, “What are your gifts that you give the body [of Christ]?”

“Hospitality, mentoring younger people, worship,” they told him.

“That is exactly what I need on the field,” he responded.

His question pushed them to go, Philip said. Their destination in the Near East, Cassidy added, resulted from prayer trips she had taken to the Mediterranean region, “that Isaiah 19 highway into Jerusalem.”

The couple sat down with their girls for a final vote: “Either we are all in, or we are all out,” they told their daughters. “If anybody says, ‘No,’ we won’t go.” In their own time, all three girls agreed to go.

Within five months, the family raised enough money. “It is possible for families that are mid-career professionals to raise support and go. People want to send,” Philip emphasised. “It’s not impossible to send a family like ours.”

With the girls signed on, the family left their North American five-bedroom house in the suburbs for a three-bedroom apartment in the Middle Eastern city. They found ways to plug in and serve: organising prayer, leading worship and running a small group for young adults. Philip facilitated OM NE’s significant Syrian and Iraqi relief project. Cassidy used her counselling degree to help others walk through difficult situations. The girls thrived in their school and community, and the family enjoyed exploring the host country on weekend outings.

The voluntary loss of their previous careers, their inability to communicate in Arabic and the distance from their extended families made the initial experience humbling, Philip described.

Nonetheless, he celebrated his daughter’s achievements and local friendships as well as his family’s acquired closeness. Serving overseas “really bonded us. It’s an amazing thing to do with your family during a period of time when so many families are going [separate] ways in the States,” Philip shard.

Reflecting on their time in the Near East, Philip said his family’s experience could encourage others to go. “Any missions organisation needs more doctors, lawyers, journalists, engineers…Think about it: you can go and help a team right away if you have a professional skill, even if you’ve been married 20 years and have kids.”

*Name changed for security

Nicole James is a world traveller and writer for OM International. She’s passionate about partnering with fields to communicate the ways God is working across the globe.

Having marketplace jobs allows Christian workers to overcome credibility challenges by providing them a legitimate reason to be in their host countries. Salaries supplement (or supply) financial income. Working with locals also allows them access to least reached communities.

However, simply earning a pay check from a local company isn’t enough.

“You can work, and the work can use you. But if we don’t ever get around to telling them why we’re different, they’re never going to know. Therein lies the intentionality,” Sasha explained. “The way you make your choices, how you spend your time, how you’re praying—all of that is built into being intentional.”

Workers need to evaluate their job environment to know how openly they can share onsite (some employers require a commitment to not speak about Christ at the workplace), but there are often subtle ways to introduce biblical truths.

Craig, for instance, posts a Bible verse from Proverbs on the board in his office. “He never says anything about it, but it’s up there,” Sasha said. “Others will come and comment on it. Spiritual conversations come up a lot.”

Questions can help local Muslims along their journey to Christ. Ask “Why do you pray five times a day? Why do you slaughter a sheep?” Sasha suggested. “If we can get locals to seek and question what they believe, they’re moving closer to finding the truth.”

While workers hope to share the complete gospel with local colleagues, sharing a short story or biblical idea is also worthwhile. “I’ve shared 1 Corinthians 13…as a definition of love,” Sasha said.

One college student, upon hearing the passage, remarked, “I don’t think, by this definition, that I’ve loved anyone.”

Later, talking about marriage, the student asked Sasha how she and Craig had been married so long. “It’s because we’ve been following Christ’s example,” Sasha said. “That definition of love I told you? That’s actually the definition of love that comes from the Bible.”

During one season, Sasha and Craig could not speak about Jesus at their jobs. But they could carry those conversations off site.

For instance, when a colleague needed surgery, Sasha went to the hospital to visit the lady and pray for her. After a few days, Sasha returned to check on her. The woman excitedly asked, “Do you remember when you prayed for me in the hospital? Well, you didn’t know it, but I was praying with you.”

She mentioned that when Sasha came, her family didn’t have the money to pay for the surgery. But after Sasha’s visit, the finances came together. “She recognised that it was an answer to the prayer she had been praying with me,” Sasha noted.

“I can explain why you had a quick answer to prayer,” Sasha told her. “I prayed in Jesus’ name. Our Bible says that He sat down at the right hand of God, and He intercedes for those who ask. Your prayer went along with mine straight to God.”

Denis*, another OMer who has lived in the Arabian Gulf for 11 years, has recently discovered interesting opportunities to intentionally share with colleagues since switching jobs. First, he started a prayer group with other believers at his work. Secondly, he introduced biblical principles to his new team.

“It’s important to speak the truth in love,” Denis told to his employees. One of the men later recounted the result of that truth: “I tried it, and it worked, so now I take that [principle] for me!”

Denis also talked about the idea of integrity. “Do you think we can be a team of integrity?” he asked.

“That’s a high standard,” his local colleagues replied.

Soon, one of the local employees needed to present a bid to a vendor. He wanted to embellish the offer to make it more attractive to the vendor, but Denis discouraged him from lying. In the end, the vendor accepted the proposal, “and he very much appreciated our honesty,” Denis shared.

At the work place, “people take small things [to heart] and they have a big impact,” Denis said. “You see all these things that God is doing without [us] realising it.”

*Name changed for security

Nicole James is a world traveller and writer for OM International. She’s passionate about partnering with fields to communicate the ways God is working across the globe.

Violence continues to ravage this predominantly Muslim country, causing many people to flee and start new lives in neighbouring countries or further abroad. In a time of war, Christian named his son Peace. “We believe in the Prince of Peace, and we believe in peace,” Christian expressed. “God has given us many local friends through that name.”

"The people are tired of terrorism; many are leaving Islam. Now is the time to offer hope," Christian said. “The harvest is plenty.”

Supernatural confirmation

Christian, who was raised in a devout Muslim family in his country, spent five months in the late 1980s with his businessman uncle in Dubai. The time in the emerging capital city enforced not only Christian’s economic acumen but also his adherence to Islam. Upon his return home, Christian ordered his mother (and female classmates) to wear the traditional hijab, headscarf.

“When we were in [our country], the only thing we knew was Islam when it comes to religion. There was nothing else. [Our] book was Muslim, nothing else. We didn’t have any other books we were allowed to read. It was not easy to get a Bible, even though there were missionaries there,” Christian explained.

Outbreak of war in the early ’90s caused many people in Christian’s country to leave. “It was a very bad time for the country. At the same time, it was a good time,” Christian mused. “Many people went outside [the country].”

Christian, too, left his home country again, travelling throughout northern Africa and the Near East. By that time, he was married with one child and another on the way. They stayed behind.

In Christian’s final stop, Lebanon, his Islamic fervour began to crumble. “I heard a lot about Mohammed and Islam,” Christian explained. In pursuit of truth, “I met different Imams (religious leaders) who [had] different ideas about Islam…my mind is changed…I convinced myself this is not from God.”

Eventually, Christian decided to leave Islam, continuing to believe in the existence of God but wondering how to find Him. “I read the Bible. Before that, I couldn’t read it. When you are Muslim [in my country], you cannot touch it. It’s haram (shameful),” Christian said. “When I left Islam, I felt free. I could read whatever I wanted. I could ask people—priests, pastors, regular Christians—‘What do you believe?’ But I didn’t get any answer that inspired me in my soul.”

Finally, Christian returned to his country to take care of his family. “I shared with my wife, my closest person in this world at that time…‘If there is a faith, the nearest faith is Jesus, but I don’t believe in Him.’”

The next morning, Christian’s wife told the entire community. “I became a kaffer (disbeliever)," Christian recounted. “They wanted to kill me, my own family.”

Christian fled the country, ending up in Ethiopia. One day, he encountered a huge gathering of people—thousands gathered at an open-air church, listening to someone preaching. The pastor noticed Christian, a foreigner, and pulled him aside. “Why are you here?” he asked.

Immediately, Christian began pouring questions at the pastor. “He listened to me, very patiently and kindly,” Christian recalled.

The pastor asked, “Do you believe there is a God and that God created you and me and earth?”

“Yes, I believe,” Christian responded.

“Ask Him.”

When he said, ‘Ask Him,” everything was open in my mind,” Christian explained. “I was always asking the questions I had to the people. He told me no one can give you the answer you’re looking for except for Him—ask Him.”

That night before Christian went to bed, “I had a real talk to God in my language: ‘You know that I love you. Why don’t you show me Yourself?’ And I was expecting that He would give me the answer because I was believing there is a God.”

After midnight, Christian recalled hearing someone knocking on the door. He got up, looked outside, right and left, but saw nobody. He locked the door and went back to his room and laid down in bed, continuing to wonder who had been at the door.

Then, Christian said, he felt he was suddenly lifted up in the air—suspended between his bed and the ceiling for several seconds. “I was shaking. I became very scared, and I went down to the bed slowly,” he described.

When he reached the bed, he sat up and said, “What?”

Christian, he heard in his own language. I am Jesus. I’m the Son of God. I’m your Lord. Will you follow Me? Follow Me. Follow Me.

“All of my soul went to Him. From that morning, I decided Jesus is my Saviour and Lord,” Christian said.

“From that time, I started serving the Lord... Everything changed. I became a new person.”

The cost of the cross

Christian returned to tell his wife what happened. “She believed me, and I and my wife were baptised on one day,” he said. Then they moved to Europe to escape the continuing violence in their country.

As the couple, by now parents to four children, settled into their new community, Christian sought to evangelise the people of his country. “There were thousands of [the people group] living in our town, and my wife was afraid to isolate from the community, and she was telling me to stop it,” Christian remembered.

“No,” he responded. “You have to obey the command of God. We have something very beautiful we have to share because our people need it.”

“I can’t calm down,” he told her. “Even if I want to, the Holy Spirit is pushing.”

Christian began sharing his faith on the Internet, where he encountered other believers from his country. His wife, however, was not happy.

“One day my wife came to me and said, ‘You have to choose: your Jesus or your family. I have never been a believer; I just said that to win you.’ It was a very bitter decision in my life. It changed everything,” Christian shared.

When he chose Jesus, his wife left him, taking their children with her.

Internet church, in-person meetings

Despite the tragedy of losing his family, Christian continued ministering to other people from his country on the Internet. Two or three years prior, if someone had asked whether there were believers from his country, Christian would have said no, the nation was 100 per cent Muslim. “But if you go to the Internet today, you can see many believers say, ‘I am [from this country], and I believe in Jesus Christ. You have many believers giving their testimony, even teaching. But what we need is physical meeting.”

In 2006, Christian met a long-time OM worker who had pioneered OM’s ministry amongst Christian’s people group. The two began to pray together. In 2007, for the first time, believers from Christian’s country gathered together in Europe. “In my town, we were three persons,” Christian remembered. “We prayed together. Our vision was clear. We want to see people [from our country] coming to the Lord.”

In 2015, they gathered believers from the people group again. This time, more than 80 believers attended the meeting. “There is a joy,” Christian stated. “I see every day new faces who are very, very thirsty… and they don’t know how to find God. We cannot win the people, but He can win the people through us.”

“I lost everything, but I won Him…and I believe one day, everything will be ok,” Christian said. “I lost some friends, who were killed because of their faith in Jesus. They can kill our body, but they cannot touch our soul. I feel all the time that I have a good thing. Jesus is with us.”

New life

Christian’s first wife eventually married another man in their ethnic community, providing Christian a chance to reconcile with his children. Later, Christian also re-married a believing woman. Their son is named Peace.

Christian now leads OM’s ministry among the diaspora of his people. According to the OM field leader for the Arabian Peninsula, Christian wants to spread the gospel amongst his people through media made by ethnic believers. “They know how to reach their people in very difficult circumstances. We’re walking the road with them,” the field leader said.

Pray that God will transform Christian’s people from those promoting violence to those proclaiming Jesus as the Prince of Peace. Pray for believers from his country to endure through the persecution they face. Pray they will grow in their knowledge of God. Pray for God to provide financially for the ministries that reach out to this people group.

*Name changed

Nicole James is an international writer for OM, passionate about publishing stories of God’s work among the nations and telling people about the wonderful things He is doing around the world.

In 2006, Jason* and Linda* Jones started a blog to document the healing miracles they were seeing God do as they prayed for people in the Arabian Peninsula (AP). Ten years later – and hundreds of healing miracles amongst Muslims – they’ve lost track of the number.

Healing the sick

After receiving some training on hearing from God and using the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Linda was shopping at a grocery store in the AP one day. Walking down an aisle, all of a sudden, she felt a terrible pain in her ear.

Oh no! I have an earache, she thought. Suddenly, the pain subsided. Wait. I don’t have an earache. Someone has something wrong with their ear.

Looking back down the aisle to see who she had just passed, Linda saw two local women. She slowly backed up her cart towards the women, and the pain in her ear returned. The women were struggling to reach an item high on the shelf, so Linda offered to help them.

“Excuse me,” she interjected after a few minutes. “Does one of you have something wrong with your ear or pain in your ear or something?”

The older woman of the two said, “Yes, I’m deaf in this ear.”

“OK,” Linda responded. “Right now God just showed me you have that [condition], so I’m going to ask Him to heal that.”

The woman put her hand on the woman's ear and Linda prayed briefly. Then she asked the woman how her ear felt.

“I can hear,” the woman said before hurriedly excusing herself and pushing her cart off to another aisle.

“She got so scared.” Linda recounted. “I just said, ‘Jesus healed you!’ and then she ran away."

“I got so excited because I realised God spoke clearly,” she added. “I was running out of the grocery store. I just wanted to tell someone.”

Another evening, one of Jason and Linda’s friends, another Christian worker, had invited a local contact to a praise meeting at the Jones’ house. During the meeting, the local man, Ahmed*, pulled Jason and the other worker into the kitchen.

While the men were talking, Jason got a "word of knowledge" that Ahmed had some kind of digestive disorder on the lower left side of his stomach.

“Ahmed, what’s going on with your stomach?” Jason asked.

“Did you say something to him?” Ahmed asked the other man.

“No, I didn’t say anything,” he replied.

It turned out Ahmed had digestive problems that he had spent $25,000 on surgeries trying to solve. “I have pursed every Arab way, Islamic way and Western way,” he told Jason. “Nothing has worked.”

“God’s going to heal you,” Jason told him. Indeed, Jason prayed for him, and Ahmed was healed immediately.

Ahmed looked at the other worker and said, “I’ve known you for two years. Why didn’t you tell me you had the power to heal?”

“I’m so sorry,” he responded. “I had no idea.”

The other worker wasn’t alone in his ignorance. “I’ve been to seminary, Bible school, was part of OM, and nobody ever taught me how to cast out a demon or heal the sick,” Jason said. “The fact that nine out of ten people trying to reach Muslims on the Arabian Peninsula do not know how to cast a devil out of somebody is astonishing. If you look at the life of Jesus, He did two things: He healed sick people and He cast out devils, and He talked about the Kingdom [of God].”

Jason explained, supernatural encounters are supremely important for Muslims who discover Jesus. “That’s how Muslims are coming to Christ—they are coming to Christ through supernatural means,” Jason said. “Either Jesus is visiting them or it’s a healing, a vision, a dream…even the ones who were discipled [to faith] by someone, it’s always a factor.”

Casting out demons

Sometimes, Jason introduces his wife to Muslim contacts as an "exorcist." "I hate that word in English," Linda said, laughing. "In Arabic you can say it differently: ‘she makes the demons leave.’"

“I tell my local friends that through Jesus we have the power to do that,” she added. “They start sharing their stories, their encounters with demons. Because they know that I don’t think it’s strange or weird, they feel safer sharing with me.”

One of Linda’s friends had practiced the Japanese healing technique, Reiki. Whilst catching up in a coffee shop, Nada* shared, “because I want more power, I asked two different spirit guides to come and help me. What have you been doing lately?”

“I learned how to get demons out of people,” Linda said. As she shared a story of helping a Christian in her home group become free from demonic oppression, Nada suddenly slapped the side of her head and exclaimed, “Ow!”

Linda continued talking about what Jesus had done in the lives of her friends, and Nada kept saying, “Ow!”

“What is this?” she asked Linda.

“You know those spirit guides you think are there to help you? They’re not happy with what I’m saying right now,” Linda said.

“Can you get rid of them?” Nada wanted to know

“Yes, but I have to do it at my house,” Linda responded, noticing she only had an hour before her next appointment.

“I’ll come to your house right now!”

When both women were at Linda’s house, Linda started walking Nada through some unforgiveness issues. Then she told Nada, “To get really clean, you have to surrender your life to Jesus.”

“You’re right,” Nada said. “I can hear [the spirit guides] telling me, ‘Don’t do it. We’re your friends. You need us.’

Linda explained the gospel to Nada, and she surrendered her life to Christ. Then Linda asked Nada what the spirit guides’ names were, and she commanded them to leave.

“Did they leave?” she asked Nada after the prayer.

“Yes,” Nada said.

“How do you know?” Linda returned.

“I can see them right there,” Nada said, pointing to the corner of the room.

“In the name of Jesus, get out of my house!” Linda demanded.

After being delivered, Nada, who had never read the book of Acts, went home, burned her Reiki paraphernalia in her fireplace and began reading the Bible. Later on, however, she turned to what the world had to offer rather than the life Jesus gave her.

“Sometimes I wonder why didn’t she continue [in the faith],” Linda reflected. “But we offer the gospel, we offer Jesus, we offer healing. That’s all we can do.”

In terms of power encounters – healing and casting out demons – “there’s only so much we can do before they need to surrender their lives to Christ in order to get fully released,” Linda said. To grow in faith, they need to continue walking with the Lord.

“The only way to be free is to be cleansed and have the Spirit of God come and live in you,” Jason confirmed.

Pray for Muslims who have supernatural encounters with Jesus Christ will fully surrender their lives to Him, grow in their faith and lead others into the Kingdom of God.

*Name changed

Nicole James is an international writer for OM, passionate about publishing stories of God’s work among the nations and telling people about the wonderful things He is doing around the world.

“So much more is happening, when I think about a typical week, than I could have ever dreamed about,” Ben exclaimed.

What strategy drives this team and its extraordinary encounters? Not the newest church planting model. Not total cultural immersion. It’s about investing in other Christians, Alyssa said.

“Relationships trump strategy,” Ben confirmed.

Burning out

OM seeks to establish vibrant communities of Jesus followers among the least reached. But when Ben and Alyssa – who have served overseas for 27 and 25 years, respectively – first arrived in the Arab world, they discovered other field workers had time for local Muslims but not for them.

In Alyssa’s early days on the field as an Arabic student, she recalled struggling and asking one of the leader’s wives if they could meet weekly to pray. “She said she didn’t have time,” Alyssa said. “I learned then that Muslims were more important than people in the community.”

Later, on a different inter-organisational team, Alyssa again approached another worker about spending time together. The woman offered her a handful of limited and specific times. The next day, Alyssa found out the lady had spent over five hours with a Muslim friend, in addition to baking before the visit.

“The women in our group put Muslims before anyone else,” Alyssa remembered. “I began to do that, too…I’d give Muslims my best and [fellow ministry] workers crumbs.”

Alyssa’s actions corresponded to advice she and Ben had been given prior to moving overseas: “Don’t spend time with other workers.” That counsel, however, caused them to feel like they crashed and burned.

Filling up

“A little bit after the year 2000, we really shifted, going through our own spiritual renewal,” Ben explained. “I felt like we needed to open our team meetings to other Christians in the [host] country who were hungry. We changed the way we operated.”

Instead of avoiding workers, Ben and Alyssa decided to follow Jesus’ John 13:35 mandate: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (NIV).

“I want to be out [on the field] as long as I can. I want to be healthy, and I’ve seen it’s not a waste of time when we invest in each other,” Alyssa said. “Muslims will see, wow, you love each other, and we’ll bring them into those relationships. If I love other people well, they’ll be able to love well.”

Initially, the concept of open community challenged the couple. “We didn’t want to be wasting our time,” Alyssa noted. But by spending time with teammates, they have been able to reproduce themselves exponentially.

They’ve seen workers receiving deliverance and developing their gifts, women getting serious about their faith and becoming fiery evangelists. “Our group is about equipping people to bring people into the kingdom,” she added.

During the week, Alyssa and Ben’s team spend time together—eating, shopping, texting, doing ministry. “Whatever we do, we do it together,” Ben said. Meetings, with supernatural stories and extended times of worship, are “where we get filled, so we can go out and spill.”

The result is an evangelistic, multi-ethnic community that some say is the best community they’ve had. Ben and Alyssa agreed: “It feels more like a family than a ministry team or church.”

Joining in

Millennials thrive in Alyssa and Ben’s group. “They say, ‘We want to come and join something that’s already happening, and, in the context of relationships, do ministry,” Alyssa acknowledged. “That perspective has been very fruitful, but it has to come from the top down…If that’s not the leaders’ perspective that they want it to be like a family, it’s not going to happen.”

Another couple, Dan* and Ally*, serving in the AP agreed. “[They are] really correct about the depth and the need for community. We’re from that generation, and we deeply desire that,” Dan said. “We had such a strong desire to see community built right from the start. We knew for ourselves, that’s how we were going to survive.”

Within eight months of their arrival in their current host country, Dan and Ally saw the workers in their city increase from three families to thirty people. “We got everyone together, and we started talking, saying, ‘We want to be of one mind and one strategy for how we’re going to take the kingdom forward.’”

Their initial efforts, including a monthly 6-hour prayer meeting, moved in the right direction, but eventually, people got tired. However, not having community is not an option, especially for millennials, Dan said. “Millennials will be motivated by the cause of radical kingdom evangelism, but they will be drawn to the field by community—peer to peer encouragement. If they’re not able to connect and to be empowered to move forward, they’re not going to hang around. They’re going to burn out, fizzle, and leave.”

Pray for OM MENA teams to develop into vibrant communities of Jesus followers so that they can model Jesus’ love to the least-reached.

*Name changed

Nicole James is an international writer for OM, passionate about publishing stories of God’s work among the nations and telling people about the wonderful things He is doing around the world.

“We want to focus on indigenous people hearing the gospel, but anyone can be sharing,” he explained. Physical location can create “invisible barriers” and does not always represent where ministry is actually taking place, Clayton said.

“So often you think about the resources of missions being the ‘insiders,’ missionaries on the ground, but that’s such a small pool of people, and they’ve only got so many hours in the day.”

In order to learn how to best utilise technology, social media and globalisation, Clayton developed a four-box model to write down what he saw happening among Gulf Arabs and to provide a resource for future ministries among Muslims.

“It gives you clarity in terms of thinking about non-traditional ways of doing ministry,” he noted.

1. Inside to inside

Those living inside a geographic footprint reach indigenous people within the same footprint. This model reflects the traditional “missionary” approach. Any worker living in the AP has opportunity to meet and share with locals through work, school, leisure activities and everyday life.

“My daughter is growing up with all sorts of local girls,” one OM worker shared. She became friends with a few local girls in her school class, who invited her to visit their homes. During the visits, the worker’s wife had opportunity to share with the mothers.

Another OM worker volunteers at a bookshop that sells Christian literature. “A young local lad visited for the fourth time (having found no one there the previous three occasions he visited it), looking to purchase a Bible,” the worker shared. The young man told the worker how he had wandered into a Catholic church near where he lived, looking for something. “What he found was Jesus, a peace in his heart and a desire to learn more about Christ,” the worker said.

2. Outside to inside

Those outside a geographic footprint reach back inside to the indigenous people within that footprint. Radio, television, internet and social media have provided ways to broadcast truth into the AP without workers in the country. By using technology, foreign believers and indigenous expats can connect easily with seekers and new believers inside the AP.

Long-term worker Jared* lived in the AP for several years before relocating to the UK with his family. Nonetheless, he reaches out daily to friends in a Gulf country by sending Scripture verses to a small group on a smartphone messaging application. In fact, the group functions as a week-long electronic Discovery Bible Study (DBS) with prayer, practical application and sharing aspects. “I did some basic discipleship classes. Basically now, they’ve taken it over. They’re administering it each week; I just contribute as a member,” Jared said.

All types of satellite/media ministry follow this model as do focused social media ads, Clayton emphasised. From hundreds of thousands of video downloads to individuals using video chat, the opportunity is vast for believers outside the AP to connect to those searching for truth inside the region.

3. Inside to outside

Those living inside a geographic footprint reach indigenous people in the diaspora of their people group living (or visiting) beyond that footprint. Most locals in the AP face safety risks for sharing their faith openly where they live. Still, many have come to Christ and share their testimonies abroad via the internet.

Within one people group from the AP, a thriving church has developed among its spread-out diaspora. “The way this church has got off the ground is online,” Clayton said. Members of the people group live around the world, some believers and some not, but a few who share truth still live in the AP. An online forum for religious seekers “attracts anyone,” Clayton explained. The local believers living in the AP “witness to people, but they veil their identities.”

4. Outside to outside

Those outside a geographic footprint reach indigenous people in the diaspora of the people group living (or visiting) outside that footprint. Globalisation has changed the way Arabs study, vacation and do business.

Workers serving in the AP talk about meeting Arab foreign exchange students whilst in their home countries on furlough. “There is a whole ministry focused on Arab students, and lots are coming to Christ,” Clayton said.

Another OM partner ministry reaches out to Gulf Arabs vacationing in Europe. Volunteers seek to start spiritual conversations with AP nationals on holiday, helping them discover Christ in an open environment.

A national worker who heads up similar outreaches shared multiple stories of people from the AP turning to Jesus abroad. Once he met a Gulf businessman on a business trip to the UK. “After having a long conversation…and answering all his questions about Christianity, he gave his life to Jesus and asked to join discipleship training,” the worker shared.

Pray for believers in and outside of the Arabian Peninsula to find creative ways to share with Gulf Arabs. Pray that many locals from this region would come to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

*Name changed

Nicole James a writer for OM International, passionate about publishing the stories of God’s work among the nations and telling people about the wonderful things He is doing around the world.

As a pastor and director of a multi-organisational initiative aimed at sending expatriate believers in the Arabian Peninsula (AP) to the least-reached people around the world, Ron wants to see people from everywhere take the gospel to everyone.

Broken dreams and new beginning

Ron and his wife didn’t start out globally-minded. “I went to Bible college, got married, started working in churches, then the Lord moved us and connected us with a church planter, and we just fell in love with the concept of seeing new people come to Christ,” Ron described.

So he launched his first church plant alone. “I was young and thought I was required to do it all,” he said. A couple years later, he and his wife were working two jobs each, and Ron found himself burned out, disillusioned, in debt and needing a change.

Like many, Ron and his wife moved to the AP for adventure and cash. “We had a 7-year plan to pay off our debt. God did it in three and a half years. Within months of paying off that debt, God called us into missions,” Ron recalled.

Instead of relocation, however, that missions work required refocus. “We still work with the church, but how we work with the church looks different,” Ron said. Looking at the large percentage of his church members coming from other countries, Ron saw potential for both global gospel multiplication and local interaction with the nations continuously arriving in the AP.

In the AP and around the world

Officially, the initiative Ron directs exists to give the expatriate church in the Arabian Gulf opportunities to volunteer in service and relief situations around the world.  He also hopes to mobilise people—like him and his wife—who came to the region to make money.

“My wife works day and night with locals,” Ron said. “She shares the gospel; she talks about difficult conversations…She didn’t come here with the intentionality of being a local worker, but God gave her the door to be a light.”

“Part of our heart is to help expats in the Arabian Gulf realise that they can make an impact just by being a witness in a nine-to five-situation [in the workplace],” Ron shared.

Sometimes that starts overseas. For example, he took a dozen teenagers on a short-term trip to India. “We gave them opportunities to minister, we gave them opportunities to share their testimonies and to literally share the gospel, for some of them for the very first time,” Ron noted. “In the AP, there’s the concern of, ‘How do I share my faith with my friends, especially if my friends are Muslim?’”

Having practiced sharing their faith, the teens had potential “to scatter after this trip to parts of the world [I] will never go, and they will take the gospel with them,” Ron said.

In the AP and around the world, the initiative helps global gospel multiplication “because of the vast amount…of expatriates who could come to faith or are believers and could end up in places that we couldn’t get the gospel,” Ron explained. “We just see this exponential potential.”

Modelling partnership for big results

Right now, Ron is in a networking phase, “going out and meeting with pastors, going out and meeting with church leaders, going out and meeting with other missional organisations and sharing the vision, hearing others’ hearts and helping connect dots within the Gulf,” he described.

Connecting the dots includes informing congregations about where and when they can serve overseas, publicising trainings on marketplace intentionality, and strategising with pastors from all ethnicities about how to get their people involved in missions. It also means drinking a lot of coffee.

“We recognise we can’t’ do everything, so we need partnership,” Ron stated. “The important thing is that there are many pieces, and we are just one of those pieces.”

Still, he said the scale of partnership is unprecedented. “We’re modelling something that’s not being done right now—the ability to have church partnership and have the organisation operate in secure fields…there is multi-agency collaboration and partnership like never before. It gets a little 'sticky' here and there, but that people are willing to get in the same room and pray together and share together and strategise together, that excites me.”

Pray for more open doors and more open hearts, Ron explained. “Open doors meaning we would like to get into places to minister that we haven’t been able to get into in the past, and open hearts meaning people catching the vision of mobilising the nations within the church,” he defined. Pray for workers, finances and for churches to work together. Pray for more people to know Jesus.

*Name changed

Nicole James is a writer for OM International, passionate about publishing stories of God’s work among the nations and telling people about the wonderful things He is doing around the world.

At an annual leaders' meeting for OM's Arabian Peninsula field (AP), trainer Durwood Snead, missions director at North Point Ministries, talked about the differences between problems and tensions. “So often things we consider problems are not problems to be solved but tensions to be managed,” he explained.

“Tension is like fire. It can warm you or it can burn you,” he continued. However, “if you don’t have tension, you don’t have progress.”

The group, leaders with long-term ministries in the AP, shared amazing stories about God’s work in the region.  They also acknowledged that life there wasn’t always easy. Together, they compiled a list of ten tensions they encountered on a regular basis.

1. Safety and security

Life in parts of the AP seems stable, but political tensions across the Middle East make security tenuous at best. Although workers have lived in the Arab world for decades, many have moved countries at least once, not always by choice. Different countries have different levels of safety and security; so do different people.

“When we’re thinking of an event or security measures, we must consider those at the greatest risk, including local believers,” one leader shared. However, ultra-security can also hinder communication, teamwork and progress. Sometimes local believers—who risk their lives rather than a visa—are most bold about their faith. Workers must constantly determine what is wisdom-driven and what is fear-based.

2. Family

Family can provide a built-in overseas support system, but managing everyone’s activities can also create chaos. When the husband wants to do one thing, the wife desires something else and the kids need to attend events as well, life gets complicated. Not to mention the pressure of family “back home” and responsibility for aging parents.

“Because of educational costs, there’s a tension between schools being either not very good or very expensive,” a worker explained. “To solve that, my wife’s home-schooling the kids. Her Arabic’s superb and she loves being alongside people. But [teaching our kids] means she doesn’t have all the time visiting local friends.”

3. Time

Everyone has 24 hours a day, but full-time jobs and families command the bulk of those hours. Time-related questions constantly crop up. How much time are people willing to give the community: local friends and other workers? What time of day can they meet? Leaders have to factor in families – work schedules and kids’ bedtimes – when scheduling team meetings. And there is always more to do.

Tension arises when someone suggests adding another activity, “a thing that’s obviously godly,” one worker described. “You want to say yes, but if you do, all manner of things will suffer.” Taking on too much, the workers said, is a recipe for burnout.

4. Driving

“Two days ago, I came off a roundabout, and one guy cut in front of me by passing over a white line,” a worker recounted. Everyday, there are “cars weaving in and out of traffic at high speeds in town,” another described. “Driving here is insane,” a third admitted. In the AP, driving can be both physically and emotionally dangerous “because you start drawing cultural conclusions from the way people are driving. It’s detrimental to my attitude towards locals,” he said. “The most stressed I get is when I’m driving to work.”

5. Personalities

Prayer gatherings and meetings certainly contribute to vibrant team life, but not all members leave feeling filled. “Maybe it’s an introvert-extrovert thing,” one worker suggested. “We’ll meet, talk for a long time, pray. You can see the extroverts, by the end of it, they’re incredibly energized. Those of us who are introverted, we’re exhausted…All I want to do at the end of a meeting is go lie down in a quiet room for 20 minutes.” Leading teams can be complicated and confusing, learning how to blend different personalities and expectations.

6. Language

Workers agree that the better one’s Arabic is, the better he or she can connect to the heart of locals, yet some people who speak very little Arabic lead incredible ministries. In a mixed environment, some locals speak good English; others don’t. “Arabic is a difficult language to learn, and it takes a lot of time, but it is still important,” one worker noted. Initial language studies on the field might not yield fluency, and full-time jobs can compete with further lessons. Figuring out the language causes a few to work at it too hard, others to ignore it and some to slowly add pieces of vocabulary and grammar over the years.

7. Work and ministry

“If you go back to 'work as worship', it’s all one,” the AP field leader explained. “I don’t see a tension between the two, but some people feel it.” Practically, workers might decide whether to visit locals after a 10 (or more) hour work day. One worker shared that he often works 50 hours a week, but communicating the holistic nature of work as ministry to those at home is challenging. Even though he spends his work days with local colleagues, “the expectation is that you should be doing outside [ministry]”.

8. Cultural differences

Generally, workers move overseas ready to encounter and adapt to cultural differences with the host culture. “When you meet a local, you expect cultural differences,” one worker explained. “Within the worker community, you expect it less because you’ve got all that shared foundation of Christ and the Bible.” However, differences within those groups can also cause tension. At meetings, certain cultures might take over. Various nationalities are more sensitive to particular topics, and workers need to try to avoid inside jokes. When workers go on furlough, they also take adopted international idiosyncrasies with them, often needing to readjust to their home cultures.

9. Economy

With lowered oil prices, job insecurity among workers is high in the AP. Some employees have received late paychecks or only a percentage or their salary. The instable economy creates insecurity among the locals as well, a worker said. “They don’t know when this is going to end.”

10. Finances

Life in the Arabian Gulf is expensive. In a family where just one adult works, it’s hard to make ends meet. People can’t always afford travelling to take necessary breaks or attend ministry training events. Socioeconomic differences exist among the worker community, depending on backgrounds, jobs and pay levels. “There’s always a danger of jealousy,” a worker noted.

Despite the tensions present in the AP, workers embrace the challenges because they want to obey God. “If God has laid it on your heart, you need to be doing it, and you then push through whatever bit of resistance gets in the way,” one long-term worker explained. “You live with it because you know that God loves you so much that you can trust Him through the tension.”

“When I hear that something’s hard, it actually makes me want to stick at it, because some of the greatest things that happen, happen through hard times,” the OM AP Field Leader said. “We’re content to live in this world of tension. We want to thrive in this because if we do, the kingdom of God will be expanded in our area.”

Nicole James is a journalist, ESL teacher, and adventurer. As a writer for OM International, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

Once when Beth visited local friends – six sisters and their mother – the women told her about an upcoming celebration in one of the country’s major cities. They wanted to go, but they needed to use Beth’s car in order to make the hour and a half journey.

“OK, I have a sedan, so I can only take four of you,” Beth told them. However, when she showed up the morning of the celebration, all seven women were ready and waiting. Unsure of whether her car could handle the load, Beth checked with her friend about her vehicle’s maximum capacity. They piled into the car: two in the front, five in the back.

On the way to the celebration, Beth’s friends wanted to listen to music, so they tuned into a local radio channel. “On this radio station, they mentioned in Arabic that it was close to Christmas. They talked about gingerbread men and ginger cookies,” Beth said.

Confused by the subject, the women asked Beth about the DJ’s comments. “Gingerbread cookies and gingerbread men are normal traditional cookies for Christmas,” she said.

“What is Christmas?” they asked.

That question was Beth’s opening. “I could explain to them why it is one of the most important holidays for us and explain the birth of Christ to them,” she remembered.

She cut conversation in the car short, recognizing the chaos caused by seven women talking simultaneously, but she told them that on her next visit, she would bring a book with the whole Christmas story for them to read for themselves.

“It was quite interesting for me that the radio…and gingerbread men…opened up the conversation,” Beth said. And since that car trip, every time Beth has visited the family, she’s spoken about something spiritual with the women. “It’s incredible, if we pray, how God opens the door for a story, even if it’s five minutes, how we can get the gap to talk about Him.”

*Name changed

Nicole James is a journalist, ESL teacher, and adventurer. As a writer for OM Middle East North Africa, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

In fact, when his friend Logan* suggested the pair embark on a 'Luke 10-style journey', Craig didn’t have faith that they could accomplish their aims. The two goals were straightforward—give away a Bible and sleep in a local house—but far from simple. For single men, overnight invitations come from local families rarely, if ever, Craig said. Nonetheless, challenged by Logan, Craig agreed to try.

The night before their faith adventure, Craig and Logan started preparing. To engage spiritually, they fasted, consuming only liquids. Practically, they went to a shop to buy necessary maintenance items for their car. While there, they chatted with a man in front of the shop who introduced himself and told the two about his home village.

In the morning, as Craig and Logan prayed about their destination, Logan said, “I think we should go to this place where the guy’s from.” When they reached the village, unsure of who they should talk to, they parked their car near the sea and wandered onto a dock, hoping to get a boat ride from a local fisherman. One man finally offered the two a short tour in his boat, “but that was it,” Craig noted. “They were not the people God wanted us to meet specifically.”

Craig and Logan wandered to the other side of the dock, where a group of young men were scouring the rocks lining the sea, looking for a phone someone had dropped. The two chatted with the guys while they hunted for the phone, picking out common interests and enjoying the conversation. Finally, one of the young men rescued the phone, and the group invited Craig and Logan to visit a local attraction, about a 45-minute drive from the dock.

After the excursion, the young men dropped the two foreigners back at the dock, where Craig and Logan discovered their car closed behind a gate. Although the security guard would have allowed them to take their car and leave, they instead struck up another conversation with a man standing near their parked vehicle.

“Are you driving back tonight?” Abdullah* asked them.

“Not yet. We’re trying to see the places around and maybe spend the night here,” they replied.

Satisfied he wasn’t deterring them from heading home, Abdullah invited them to walk to a hotel 40 minutes down the beach. Although he hesitated to engage with spiritual topics in the beginning, he opened up after a while. By the time they entered the beach behind the building, he was very open, Craig noted. “For almost two hours on the hotel beach, we were talking,” Craig said. “All this time we were able to share... He was very interested in talking about religion.”

On the way back to the car, Abdullah even called his sheikh, an Islamic religious official. At the time, Craig didn’t want to talk to the sheikh personally, so he instead used his phone to type answers to the official’s proposed questions.

Back at the dock, Abdullah, Craig and Logan joined a crowed of around 15 men, fishing for squid. They stayed until almost 2:00 in the morning, talking and hanging out. “Part was spiritual, part just cars and guy chats,” Craig said.

Finally, Abdullah turned to the foreigners: “You’re not going home tonight,” he announced, his way of inviting them to spend the night at his home. Following local custom, they refused his offer a couple of times before eventually accepting.

Once they arrived at the house, Abdullah turned on his computer. Logan quickly fell asleep, but Craig stayed up with their host until 4:00, reading through one of the Qu’ran’s surahs and continuing their talk about religion.

Around noon the next day, Abdullah’s mother woke the men by pounding on the bedroom door. She also brought them breakfast, but Craig and Logan explained they were fasting. Soon, another family member entered the room and asked why they were not eating. Again, they shared what fasting meant from their Christian perspective.

Just before 13:30, Craig and Logan prepared to leave, having accomplished half of their goals. “We have a Bible, we’d like to leave it with you,” they told the family. Although Abdullah hesitated to receive the book—and even suggested giving it to his sheikh—another family member accepted the gift. In return, Abdullah offered Craig a Russian Qu’ran but switched to a book covering questions about Islam and Christianity once Craig told him he already owned an English translation of the Muslim holy book.

“All this happened in 22 hours,” Craig recounted. “Almost everybody we met, we had the opportunity to share.”

For both Craig and Logan, the trip took endurance. “We were tired, and we hadn’t slept. I hadn’t slept the nights before much, and I hadn’t had food, but it was just amazing how God worked in weakness,” Craig said. “All praise to Him.”

Most of all, the trip required faith. “I know God sent us,” Craig concluded. “They now have the Word and have heard the gospel, and God will continue to work.”

Workers in the Arabian Peninsula require plausible reasons to live in their host cities and countries. Many areas, like the village visited by Craig and Logan, completely lack Christian witness. Pray for God to appear to locals in visions and dreams, and pray for believers to find creative ways to access these areas.

*Name changed

Nicole James is a journalist, ESL teacher and adventurer. As a writer for OM Middle East North Africa, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

As Miranda waited for the doors to the tourist attraction to open, she thought about the next four hours. Returning to the well-known locale with a handful of visitors, she neither felt like wandering around the site nor did she want to simply sit on a bench. Since she’d arrived early, she noticed fewer tourists than usual. Most would wait for a few more hours before they showed up, when the growing darkness would lessen the afternoon heat.

To pass the time, Miranda headed toward an area where local women demonstrated how to make traditional handicrafts. She saw one older lady spinning wool into thread. Next to her, another woman was weaving a tent wall panel. Miranda greeted the women in Arabic and tried to start a conversation, but she quickly noticed they were not interested in sharing any information with her.

So she walked another lap around the handicraft area, this time stopping next to a woman knitting a silvery thread to decorate traditional dresses. “Welcome, come have a look,” she beckoned.

Miranda sat down next to her and began talking about her work. First she asked the older woman what she thought of the changes the last three decades had brought to the region. Then she asked how old she was.

“How should I know?” the woman replied. “There were no birth certificates.”

“How old is your oldest child?” Miranda continued.

“There were still no birth certificates.”

Moving on, the woman started chatting about her Filipino housekeeper. After seeing the Hajj, the Islamic pilgrimage, on TV, the maid had wanted to go to Mecca—so much that she converted to Islam, a prerequisite for those travelling to the religion’s holiest sites in Mecca and Medina.

“I can’t go to Mecca, but I’m so happy because God doesn’t live in a place,” Miranda mentioned.

“What you said is true, but if you go on the Hajj, you will be like this,” the woman responded, gesturing to a white pillow nearby.

Miranda and the woman continued talking about the difference between Muslims and Christians.

“Why do you think we have five fingers? Because there are five pillars of Islam; you can remember them,” the lady asserted.

“God is perfect. We cannot stand in front of God. Jesus is our salvation and our wasta (connection) to get to salvation,” Miranda responded. “Doesn’t the Qu’ran say He was created? And He was born sinless? And He was the word of God?”

For about an hour, the women talked about what they knew about each other’s faith. Finally, at the end of the visit, the older woman turned to Miranda. “You have to promise me that you will talk with other Muslims,” she admonished.

“Habibti (beloved), I promise you that I talk to other Muslims, but any time you have a time in your life when you need help, remember Jesus is your wasta,” Miranda returned.

The whole conversation took place in a very loving way, Miranda remembered. “It wasn’t hostile at all, but we also didn’t move from our opinions.”

“This lady, she meets so many foreigners. It’s probably not often that one foreigner, a woman, who is there before any of the crowds arrive, sits for an hour and talks to her,” Miranda stated. “She was just wishing I would find the truth, and I was wishing she would find the truth.”

Pray for Muslims in the AP to discover the truth of who Jesus is. Pray for OM workers to take every opportunity to share with the people they meet.

*Name changed

Nicole James is a journalist, ESL teacher, and adventurer. As a writer for OM Middle East North Africa, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

Many workers in the AP have discovered open doors for ministry in an English-speaking context, but Lisa* said learning language was top priority for her from the beginning when she moved to the Middle East. “I didn’t want to live here without knowing Arabic,” she explained. “A lot of times you’re treated as a tourist until you say two words of Arabic, then their interest completely changes.”

Lisa also didn’t want to live in an Arab country without spending time with locals.

Diving in

When Lisa arrived in the AP, she moved in with a host family during the first five months of her language school. “That opened a lot of doors to meet people, to have new contacts, to see how they appreciate if you try their language,” she said.

The experience was challenging, she recalled, but it helped her learn Arabic and it connected her, indirectly, to Marwa*, one of her closest local friends.

One evening, Lisa accompanied her host family to another home in the community. That night Marwa hadn’t talked at all. “She was the daughter-in-law living in the house…She was just bringing tea,” Lisa remembered. “My Arabic was non-existent, but I felt so drawn to her.”

Later, Lisa returned to visit the family again, this time, connecting with Marwa. “It was like two magnets,” she described. Marwa using her limited English to say she wanted to be friends, Lisa reciprocating in simple Arabic. From then on the family knew her visits there were meant for Marwa.

Doing life

Because the AP adheres to gender-specific social interactions, all of Lisa’s friends in her host country are women. In her home country, most of her contacts and peers had been men. “I was never really the girly girl hanging out with girls,” she noted. “I am still positively surprised that God gives me enough interest and things to talk about to make [friendships with women] work even though they are very girly.”

Finding “real friendships,” Lisa said, where workers can discuss what’s happening in their lives, “turns out to be quite rewarding.” However, it takes time for two cultures to come together, as she discovered with Marwa and other women. “I feel there’s a lot of grace for us living here. And also grace for the local people because they cope with us and still want to be friends with us.”

After several years of friendship, Marwa visited Lisa in her home country. She saw the daily programme Lisa arranged so that she and her husband could maximise their trip. Now, when Lisa visits her, she tries to similarly arrange the time. “For her, it’s total stress to plan two things in a day,” Lisa described. Yet she appreciated the effort Marwa continued to make after experiencing another culture. “She didn’t want to be just a polite host because I keep coming back; she really wanted to be friends in a way that was productive to both of us,” Lisa said.

Digging deep

In the five years Lisa has been on the field, she’s seen how her increased Arabic skills allowed deeper communication with her friends. “They actually tell me things that I think they would not be able to say in English. We talk about things that are challenging me on an Arabic level, but otherwise, they might keep it on simpler subjects because they would not be able to say what they really feel,” she explained.

On home visits, Lisa can understand the family’s conversations with each other and pick up on the mood inside the house. “Of course, reading the Bible doesn’t speak to a person as much in a second language as in their heart language,” she added. “I think a lot of things wouldn’t have had as much impact if I had shared it in English.”

Building on their growing friendship, Marwa asked Lisa to accompany her to the hospital for the birth of her daughter—an invitation invoking a local tradition where a female family member must be present when a new baby is born. “That was a turning point in our friendship, holding the baby in the first five minutes. That opened a whole [new] level of intimacy,” Lisa recalled. “Even now, she makes sure that everyone knows that I’m very closely related to her daughter…She really wants me to speak into her life and into her daughter’s life.”

When one of Lisa’s friends from home visited her in the AP, the two women visited Marwa together. “How is it to be friends with Lisa?” the friend asked.

“Everything changed when I met Lisa,” Marwa replied.

Today, wherever Lisa is, she and Marwa stay in constant contact, via phone calls, texts, and at least twice-a-week visits. “We talk very open spiritually, and she knows there’s a decision to be made,” Lisa stated. “I really pray that something is happening [spiritually] with her, not just to improve her daily routine.”

Pray that Marwa would come to know Jesus through Lisa’s friendship and example. Pray for workers in the AP to learn Arabic and connect with their friends at the heart level.

*Name changed

Nicole James is a journalist, ESL teacher, and adventurer. As a writer for OM Middle East North Africa, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

https://vimeo.com/112719878

Her friends, however, were afraid of the storm. “It’s not something they were used to,” Maddie explained. They told her, “if God makes a noise, you have to listen fearfully.”

Undeterred by their apprehension, Maddie went outside to feel the rain. She stood under a little shelter, watching the weather unfold. After a while, one of the fathers joined her and asked how to say “thunder” and “lightening” in English.

Since he had started the conversation, Maddie continued: “In the Bible, they were waiting to hear God speak in the thunder, but He [spoke] in the whisper.”

She wasn’t expecting an answer to her brief retelling of Elijah’s experience hearing God not in the storm but in the stillness. However, as soon as she commented on God’s voice, the father jumped in.

“I once had a Jesus film, but I lent it to someone and never got it back. Do you know where I could get another one?” he asked.

Maddie told him she would check whether an international church stocked the DVD. Although she had access to that film and others—all of which she put in her car after returning from the visit—due to security and social rules for male-female interaction, she could not drive back to the family’s house with a gift for the father.

“I had to pray that God would make up an opportunity that he and I meet in an appropriate way, and then he need[ed] to remember that he wanted it,” she explained.

Three and a half months later, Maddie attended a wedding. While she was parking her car before joining the women’s celebration, she saw the family’s car pulling into the same lot. The father parked near Maddie, got out of the car and shouted to her, “Did you bring the DVD?”

“He was not at all afraid,” Maddie recalled. “That was the first thing on his mind.”

When she gave him the Jesus film, he told her that an expat at his workplace had also been sharing with him and reading the Bible from time to time. “I was very, very encouraged,” Maddie said.

On another visit, while she was sitting together with the husband and wife, he asked Maddie to pray. “The wife started crying because she had never heard a free prayer,” Maddie described.

With the husband receiving biblical input from his co-worker, Maddie hoped to spend more time talking to his wife. “If I have the chance to share with [her], they have a chance as a couple to develop [spiritually] together,” she noted.  

Though Maddie’s command of Arabic helped her communicate with the family and the father, her ability to insert spiritual truths into everyday situations allowed her to discern his open heart. Knowing little phrases from the Bible is important, she said. “It shows you are a person that is spiritual; you are a person that they can talk about God with… That’s the only reason I added that God can speak in a whisper, not only through thunder.

“That was one story where God had to put all this together,” she concluded. “I was rather surprised that something came out of it.”

Pray that this man would continue to seek God and lead his wife and family into a relationship with Jesus. Pray for workers like Maddie to have spiritual discernment and the ability to fill their conversations with phrases pointing to the Bible.

*Name changed

Nicole James is a journalist, ESL teacher and adventurer. As a writer for OM Middle East North Africa, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

Instead, Mark* and Lynn*, long-termers serving in the UK, cleared their busy ministry schedule for three weeks in order to gain a better understanding of the Arab world and Islam as well as learn how to pray strategically for workers living in the region. “We’re always exploring ways that we can potentially be supportive of the work in that region,” Mark said. This time, they decided to see for themselves.

His wife hoped to take her experience home to her weekly English classes for migrant women. “Because we have so many women from various countries in the Middle East, I felt it was very important that I step into their world, to try to see things from their point of view—how they look at westerners and how I, as a westerner, would relate to someone from a different country and someone from a different basis of belief,” Lynn shared.

Meeting people

Talia*, the outreach coordinator who accompanied the short-term team, hoped to provide insight into the region and let teammates learn how to meet new people and make friends. Instead of setting up meetings with her own existing local friends, Talia scheduled time for the team to explore different cities and hoped that spontaneous conversations and invitations would result.

At the end of the three weeks, Mark, Lynn and Talia agreed that meeting people and sitting down with several families in different homes, drinking thimble-sized cups of coffee and eating sticky dates, was the most meaningful part of the experience. “It wasn’t fake. It wasn’t lined up. I really enjoyed that a lot,” Talia said. “That’s also my passion to go there and meet them, to get sucked into the home and go with the flow.”

How to share

In most cases, the invitations to local’s homes came from conversations Talia initiated—complimenting a new baby in the market, chatting with little boys on bicycles, following up with the friend of a friend. Lynn watched her interact with locals and summarized, “Part of living in this region is initiative…you have to be intentional, otherwise you’re not going to maximize being here.”

During the outreach, Mark, too, sought out men during evening walks along the seafront in one city, and he accepted several invitations for impromptu coffee chats in various other locations. However, without Arabic, his conversations often settled at surface level. “I think we learned that in order to really be effective, you have to get to know the language and the culture. You have to be patient,” he shared.

As someone who usually evangelizes openly in the UK and elsewhere, Mark said the “level of caution in operating…took me by surprise.”

In fact, that cautiousness in sharing spiritual truth was another reason Talia didn’t introduce the short-term team to her local friends. “It takes a long time until a local family takes you in to the extent that they don’t host you very well, but they share with you real stuff,” she explained.

“Over-excited short-termers that want to share at every opportunity that don’t fit into your story” could also cause mistrust or suspicion in local relationships that took months or years to build, she added.

The caution “could be paralyzing,” Mark noted. Through Talia, however, he saw a middle ground: “She’s cautious, but she still wants to get out there and witness to people.”

Takeaway

To Mark and Lynn, the AP’s landscape, remote stretches of desert and stark mountain ranges, represented aspects of God’s character. “Even in the desert, God is able to sustain His people, in the physical desert but also the spiritual desert. Even in the dark places, God is at work,” Mark commented.

“In the barrenness of the desert, the mountains still speak…They declare the glory of God!” Lynn exclaimed.

The couple’s greater takeaway, however, came from experiencing the spiritual atmosphere and almost unanimous adherence to Islam. “You can’t be in an environment like this and not come away with a greater appreciation of the grace of God,” Mark shared. “Some of these people are earnestly hoping to earn God’s favor, and you know that [they] never can, but in Jesus we have the gift of salvation.”

“For me, coming here as well, you see how the workers are few,” Lynn added. “And you really need to pray for labourers in the field here because it is so remote and there are so few people who can really connect and converse with [the local] people.”

Going back, both Mark and Lynn expressed a newfound confidence and desire to connect with Arabs in the UK. “We have such a great opportunity to reach people openly and freely, whereas in Arab countries it is very hard,” Mark said.

Are you interested in learning more about the Arab culture and how to pray for workers in Muslim countries? Visit: http://www.om.org/en/country/arabian-peninsula

*Name changed

Nicole James is a journalist, ESL teacher, and adventurer. As a writer for OM Middle East North Africa, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

Many congregants at his church have never seen a missionary or considered the services they provide across the globe. His role, Matthew explained, “is to expose people to the greater need of missions all around.”

At first, Matthew wasn’t thrilled about full-time pastoral ministry. Having previously served as a long-term worker in his current host country and elsewhere in the AP, “I thought my world was missions only.”

As a worker, Matthew had regularly visited churches to raise money for missions. “Now I’m in the church, receiving missionaries and raising money for missions form a different perspective,” he stated. “It’s a great privilege to understand both worlds and know the needs of both worlds.”

With experience on both sides of the missions equation – being sent and sending – Matthew also understands cross-cultural transitions and integration, unlike many people who show up at his church.

The reasons for moving to the AP vary, Matthew noted. Some came for money, some to avoid high crime rates or unemployment in their home countries. “The majority came because there’s jobs here, there’s money here and there’s a future,” he said.

“Very few of them stay,” he added. “At best, [the area] is a transfer place.”

And although many people secure jobs and form friendships with local Arabs, “very few of them had any [previous] exposure or training on how to do it,” Matthew stated. “They don’t have any cross-cultural training; they don’t know about Islam; they don’t know about any of the people they’re going to work with.”

Sharing with local friends

When these expats show up at church, jobs and local relationships intact, Matthew sees “a great opportunity for me to prepare them for service. In a sense, it’s a mission training programme on the job.”

The church hosts multiple discussions and training events to prepare people to better Christian witness in the region. Other church members have learnt how to use prayer to guide people to a place of healing. “Some of them are scared stiff of the idea that you can share your faith with someone. Others have been doing that their whole life,” Matthew commented.

No matter their readiness to respond or reach out personally, everyone should be mobilised for the Great Commission, Matthew said: “Even if they are not willing to share much of their lives in words with people, at least we can motivate them to pray, so they can be the back-up team for those involved on the front lines.”

Besides sharing with individual contacts, church members have also corporately reached out to other people groups living in their area, including illegal immigrants. “There’s a few thousand of them from Afghanistan and Pakistan…sitting on the street waiting for a job, just like in Jesus’ time,” Matthew described. Most of the men can only eat when they have work, but sometimes they don’t have work for days.

To address this need, the men from Matthew's church decided to deliver meals to the hungry day labourers. “They don’t know the language, they don’t know the culture, but every week, we went out to distribute 100 meals on the street,” a process which lasts approximately 30 seconds, Matthew said. “The desperation is amazing.”

“For some of [the church members], it’s the first cross-cultural situation they’ve been in,” Matthew stated. “They would like to share their lives, but they don’t know how.”

One time, the group took a visiting worker from Afghanistan to the meal distribution. “It was fascinating to hear him talking in their local language,” Matthew remembered. The men from the church watched with open mouths as the worker talked to the immigrants and they talked back.

Meeting global missions needs

Every week, the church prays for one of the countries of the world. Often, Matthew shares corresponding stories about missionaries there, including prayer requests and needs.

“Overall the people here are very generous,” Matthew said of his church. “If they know about a need, they’re happy to get involved.”

When the congregation heard about an orphanage in the Kalahari Desert, one church member suggested buying a gas-powered fridge so the orphanage could store meat longer term. Within a matter of days, Matthew remembered, the church raised money for the fridge, and one man flew to the orphanage to personally deliver and install the new appliance.

The Sunday the church learnt about evangelists in Sudan needing a motorcycle, one man stood up on the spot. “Tell them they’ve got a motorcycle,” he announced.

“People here have a big open heart, and they want to know how they can get involved practically in missions,” Matthew affirmed.

Church members have purchased new cars for long-term workers with dwindling support. One family travelled to Thailand on holiday and met people running an orphanage there. When they returned from vacation, they raised money and started projects to provide unprecedented funding for the Thai children living in the home. Another time the congregation heard about missionaries in Angola training locals, and they raised enough money to support three national evangelists for a year.

Too, the congregation has contributed food, clothing and furniture to ministries in Somalia and packed boxes of books for OM South Sudan, among many other initiatives. “There’s generosity here, huge generosity,” Matthew exclaimed. “It’s rare that the project is not met. People are much more willing than ever to get involved.”

Learning to be wise stewards and witnesses

“From the outside, [the AP] looks like the winning recipe – 'all that glitters is gold' – but there’s a lot of frustration and heartache. Many people live way beyond their means,” Matthew shared.

However, debt is another factor that drives people to church, he explained. “You need God when you’re in trouble. When you’re in trouble, you’re much more open as well.”

Last year, the church offered a popular financial training course to its members. “For many people that was a good eye-opener to see how you can handle money, how you should handle money,” Matthew explained. These tools help expats “understand this world is driven by money, but we, as kingdom workers, are driven by different guidelines. We are not money-driven, we are Spirit-driven.”

Ultimately, locals watch the way Christians live in the AP, including how they use money. “Jesus said, ‘You will be my witnesses.’ You can either be bad witnesses or good witnesses,” Matthew stated. “All of us are witnesses even if we don’t speak the language, even if we don’t know the culture…When you’re tired, when you’re happy, when you’re overworked—whatever you do, you’ve got a testimony to live out.”

As a pastor, Matthew encourages his church members to represent Jesus well, and he enjoys walking alongside them as their involvement in global missions grows: “I’ve got the privilege of seeing how God is transforming them and getting them involved with a world that is totally foreign to them, to pray, to get involved and to support different missionaries and missions organisations and projects.”

*Name changed

Nicole James is a journalist, ESL teacher and adventurer. As a writer for OM Middle East North Africa, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

Just before noon, I emerged from the local market labyrinth, narrow alleyways crowded with small shops of every sort, and sat down on a bench near the back of the square, waiting for the rest of the group to arrive at our meeting point. Rebecca*, our short-term outreach leader, joined me. “We’ve been invited to a wedding tonight,” she announced.

While Mark*, Lynn* and I had been exploring the market, Rebecca had been wandering the backstreets of the town away from the tourist areas. First, she ran into an older woman. They walked together a bit before she ushered Rebecca down a different street. Alone again, Rebecca turned onto another road, where she encountered three small boys on bicycles.

“English?” they cheekily asked.

“No, Arabic,” she replied in the local dialect.

“Wow!” they exclaimed, surprised by the foreigner who spoke their language. “You have to come meet our mother. There’s a wedding at our house today!”

Rebecca followed the boys to their home. When she entered the front door, she discovered around 40 women – all family members – preparing for the evening’s festivities. After kissing 40 cheeks and shaking 40 hands, she sat down to eat dates and drink coffee with the ladies, who insisted she stay for lunch and join them for the wedding party that night. Although Rebecca loves being spontaneously pulled into the flow of life with local families, she told her impromptu hosts that she needed to meet her friends (us), tourists who didn’t know the city and wouldn’t know where to find her if she remained at the house for the afternoon meal.

“Bring them, too,” the women immediately replied. However, since Mark and Lynn were married, the situation became slightly complicated—the lunch and the party were only for women.

When Mark and Lynn met Rebecca and I back at the bench, we quickly compromised. We’d pass on the lunch offer, opting to eat together as a team, but we ladies would leave Mark to his own devices later in order to attend the wedding.

Importance of preparation

Although our itinerary already included built-in flexibility, our entire day’s schedule suddenly shifted. We needed to buy proper clothes and accessories, Rebecca told us, and, if we really wanted to impress our hostesses, we should also visit a henna salon that afternoon. Lynn and I were excited about the invitation, but we started mentally calculating the costs for fancy new dresses, more money than either of us had planned to spend on souvenirs.

While we were chatting about our options, Rebecca reminded me of the black abaya (overcoat type dress) I’d purchased two days prior. “If you keep it on the whole night, you can just wear that,” she told me. Then Lynn remembered she’d seen a few other abayas hanging in the closet at our rented holiday apartment. “Maybe they’ll fit,” she suggested. Quickly we decided to try on the clothes at the flat before making any purchases.

When we unlocked our apartment door, I went straight to the closet, amazed by the four abayas and matching headscarves hanging inside. Both Rebecca and Lynn picked out suitable abayas, and I pulled mine out of my suitcase. Together, we donned our evening apparel for a quick mock fashion show. Amazingly, everyone found something that fit. Already happy about the invitation itself, I was giddy over God’s provision. Not only had He arranged Rebecca’s meeting with the boys but He had also given us everything we needed in order to appropriately attend the party.

Over a simple lunch at the flat, we discussed parallels to the parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22. In this story, after the king’s initial wedding invitations were refused, he sent his servant out with another message: “‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests” (Matthew 22:8-12, ESV).

For weddings in the AP, the number of guests determines the event’s success, Rebecca explained. Although we didn’t know the bride (or groom), our attendance at the wedding would reflect favourably on those organizing the event. And, like in the Bible story, where one guest was chastised for lacking festive attire, our appearance also mattered.

To honour those who had invited us, we went to a salon later that afternoon to have henna painted onto our hands, temporary decorative designs and flowing flowers that dried, cracked, and darkened from a bronzy orange to a deep brown over the next couple days. By the time we put on our abayas, pulled up our hair, and situated our headscarves, we blended in perfectly with the local ladies. We were ready.

Party time

We arrived at the hotel ballroom minutes before the bride’s grand entrance and slipped into seats near the back next to two other women in black. In fact, except for immediate family members of the bride and groom, all the women were wearing full abayas and headscarves.

When the bride entered the room, everyone watched her tedious journey to the gilded double seat at the end of the aisle, her steps hindered by the sheer amount of dress fabric sweeping the floor in front and behind her. Near the door, the bride gathered a single red rose from each woman in the family, though she soon exchanged those flowers for her cultured bouquet. She looked pretty but not joyful as she tugged her long veil over her bare shoulders, the exposure seemingly uncomfortable. For many Arab brides, the wedding is less of a celebration than an ordeal, Rebecca noted. Following the ceremony, the bride will be taken by her husband, a man she likely doesn’t know well or has met only a few times without opportunity for private conversation, to his unfamiliar home where she’s forbidden to see her own family for a week.

While we enjoyed the treats brought to our table: juice, sweets, and barbequed meat, the bride posed on stage for an extensive photo shoot. Rebecca chatted with the women who had invited us, and we joined the younger girls for a few dances once the music was turned up. Finally the groom arrived. Before he entered the hall, every woman covered again, pulling on abayas and adjusting headscarves. As the groom entered and walked toward his bride, an Islamic chant filled the air. Then the two sat together at the front for another round of photos. Though many guests had already started leaving, scooping the leftover food into makeshift tinfoil containers, we waited for the newlyweds to leave. As we stood to exit, one of the women Rebecca had most interacted with invited us to the family lunch the next day, another part of the extended wedding festivities.

Follow up

Recognizing the follow-up opportunity, especially for Rebecca, we went to the family’s house the next day at 12:30pm. Even though we had worn traditional headscarves and abayas at the wedding the night before – a fact mentioned several times during lunch conversations – we showed up to lunch wearing conservative, but normal clothes. Again, we encountered a full house of women, neighbours and members of the groom’s family. We sat on the floor near the doorway, ate fruit and dates and drank thimble-sized cups of coffee. Then some of the women picked up the plastic sheets covering the carpets and spread new ones in between the groups to make room for the main course.

Meanwhile, the bride came down the stairs, dressed in bright purple clothes and sparkly high heels. The post-wedding lunch was designed so family and guests could verify her well-being after the wedding night, though her own family had to wait another week before the groom took her home to visit them. (Only after two weeks would they be allowed to visit her at her new home.) The bride went into another room, where a handful of women were praying. We lined up to greet her, and Rebecca gave her a small pair of earrings she’d purchased that morning as a present.

Minutes later, we returned to our spot on the floor in the entry room, where some women had placed a steaming platter of rice and meat. We ate with our hands from the communal plate, each woman in our circle eagerly tearing off chunks of meat and tucking into the feast. After the initial feeding frenzy had slowed, one of the women in our group told Rebecca that in Islam people only eat from the food directly in front of them. “In Christianity, we all look out for the other people at the table,” Rebecca replied. In reality, both comments described culture rather than religion, but Rebecca told us later that she and the other women had been establishing religious boundaries through those remarks, identifying their beliefs.

Lynn and I appreciated the cultural and biblical insights we garnered from the wedding and subsequent lunch; Rebecca made new friends. Besides greeting the family members a third time, she also connected with three new university girls who studied in the same city where she lived. Afterwards she told us she looked forward to pursuing those relationships. Invitations, whether for coffee or a wedding, are key to making contacts, we learned. Only spending time in local homes lends the type of cultural competence Rebecca exuded throughout our trip.

Pray for workers in the AP, like Rebecca, who need spontaneity and flexibility when receiving invitations from locals. Pray that the friends they meet would accept the greatest invitation of all: the opportunity for forgiveness and salvation through Jesus.

*Name changed

Nicole James is a journalist, ESL teacher, and adventurer. As a writer for OM Middle East North Africa, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

When Mira goes to the garage, she usually speaks to a woman who works there. But on a few occasions, she has also talked to another employee as he took her out to check her car after the mechanic finished. Once, he asked Mira to pray for him because his wife was pregnant.

Knowing he was a Muslim, Mira said, “Of course I can pray for you, but why?”

“I just have a lot of things stressing me out,” he replied.

“Is it because your wife is pregnant?” she asked.

“Yes, because I have to take care of them financially,” he admitted.

“Children are a gift from God,” Mira told him. “If God gives you children, He will give you the ability to take care of them.”

The next time Mira went to the garage it was the day before a major Muslim holiday. The woman wasn’t available, so Mira spoke to the same man again. As they chatted inside the garage, he asked Mira if she was fasting the next day to prepare for the feast.

“No, God hasn’t told me that I need to fast,” she said.

“He didn’t?” the man responded.

“No, I don’t automatically fast,” she explained. “I fast if I want to hear God’s voice clearly about something or if He just tells me I need to fast and pray.”

Her comment sparked a longer conversation about fasting and praying. Finally, the man asked Mira when the Bible was written.

“The Bible was written over many years, but actually I don’t know the exact date because so many people were involved,” she said.

“Many mistakes could come out of the Bible,” he countered, citing the common Islamic belief that the Bible is corrupted.

“No, actually, Jesus lives in us, and I believe the Word of God is unchangeable,” Mira answered. 

As Mira and the mechanic walked out to the car, he asked whether she liked to debate about the Word of God. She told him no and then went home. Thinking about the conversation later though, she realized he had left the door open for future discussions. She also emailed two other workers who used the same garage, encouraging them to ask for that man the next time they took in their cars.

Though simple, the conversation with the car mechanic encouraged Mira. “Over many years, through relationships, God opens the strangest doors,” she said. “We just have to go and talk to them.”

*Name changed

Nicole James is a journalist, ESL teacher, and adventurer. As a writer for OM Middle East North Africa, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

Lauren*, a long-term worker in the Arabian Peninsula (AP), has seen Muslims come to faith over her years living in the Arab world. Those friends have also struggled to stay in the faith because it’s hard, she observed. “Many times God uses us just to encourage them.”

Bayan*, a Muslim background believer (MBB) whom Lauren befriended years ago, suddenly started avoiding Lauren and other Christians. After nine months or so, Bayan and Lauren met up again, four days before Bayan was supposed to travel to visit her family. During the meeting, Bayan shared her struggles with doubt and fear, especially concerning her relatives.

“She’s been a believer many, many years, but I saw how fear got ahold of her and actually paralyzed her,” Lauren said.

Sitting with Bayan, Lauren asked her friend, “Do you remember all the promises God has given you, for your family and for different things?”

“Oh, now that you mention it, tell me again,” Bayan replied. “I remember things, but can you just remind me?”

Lauren started telling Bayan about God’s promises as well as noting the encouraging things Bayan herself had shared over the years. “God revealed to you that your whole family will be saved,” she reminded Bayan.

In fact, God had given Bayan a specific number: 21 relatives would become believers. At first, the number had confused Bayan, who only counted 20 family members. But then her mother had called Bayan with an announcement—her sister was expecting a baby!

Before the women parted ways, Lauren told Bayan she would commit to pray for her every day. “I know you pray,” Bayan told Lauren. “That’s why we’re still standing.”

“She went home and every day, on Facebook or on WhatsApp, she would post a verse, which is quite a big thing for an MBB to do,” Lauren said.

As part of Lauren’s life in the Arabian Peninsula, she also posts daily verses on social media as an example and encouragement to friends like Bayan. She’s also honest about her own struggles.

For example, Bayan once asked Lauren if she ever doubted.

“All the time,” Lauren said.

“Really? Even people like you?” she wondered.

“We are exactly the same. It doesn’t matter that I got saved early,” Lauren emphasised.

“But you were born in a Christian family,” Bayan continued.

“It doesn’t make us believers,” Lauren countered. “And even if we come to faith early, it doesn’t exempt us from hardship.”

Bayan lit up when she heard that statement, Lauren remembered. “She found that so encouraging to hear that we can also doubt and fear, but how we, even us that know Jesus for years, still have to commit every day to the Lord. We are not exempted from anything.”

Often, workers face challenges different from those encountered by Muslim background believers, but prayer and encouragement remain constant, according to Lauren. “We can never understand completely what they’re going through, we can just pray how we can encourage them in their walk with God.”

*Name changed

Nicole James is a journalist, ESL teacher, and adventurer. As a writer for OM Middle East North Africa, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

To carve paths of light into these spiritually dark places, Ken*, a long-term worker, and his friend Dillon* decided to visit some of the villages on mountain bikes with one aim: “Firstly, we are going to a place that has not been reached, to go to a place where no one has gone with the Good News,” Ken said.

Biking together is strategic because “it’s less intrusive, it opens conversation straightaway, and we’re going in a group of two,” he explained. Plus, they can traverse the rough paths. “Anytime you go to little obscure places, it’s in the heart of Satan’s world,” he said. “How rugged it is to get to some of these places, how ridiculous, even in a 4-wheel drive, shows the stronghold of the enemy.”

The first time the men rode together, they planned a simple itinerary: a 10 km ride through a village where they would spend time praying, try to meet someone open to their message, and/or hang out at the mosque.

That morning, Ken and Dillon had left early, with only a quick breakfast of water and granola. However, after a few kilometres, Dillon’s head began to pound. He told Ken he was ok, but a few minutes later, he suddenly stopped, dismounted, and began vomiting violently.

While Dillon continued to be sick, Ken started praying, feeling that something more than physical illness was affecting his friend. Looking around, Ken saw a tower on top of a nearby hill. When Dillon said he was ready to ride, Ken told him they needed to climb the hill.

Leaving their bikes behind, the two men trekked to the tower, where they discovered 30 or 40 spots that had been used for occult worship. “It was obviously a place where folk Islam is happening,” Ken stated. “We just looked at it, took some photos and were walking and talking out Scriptures and pictures we were seeing…At the end of the prayer, I knew Dillon wasn’t feeling 100%. I laid hands on him and rebuked everything that had come on him.”

Afterwards, when the men returned to their bikes, Dillon said he felt phenomenal, and he and Ken raced home, covering the distance twice as quickly as they’d come.

For Ken, the experience was a visual reminder of the spiritual activity that occurs in this part of the Arab world, especially in his area of the Arabian Peninsula. “In human nature, people want a god they can connect with,” he said.

During the first visit to the occultist worship site, Ken and Dillon prayed specifically that people would meet Jesus through dreams. Later, Ken returned to the village with his wife, where they encountered many people who were disfigured. “Satan’s got that place in his grip. He’s slowly taking souls into hell,” Ken said.

The next two trips to the village didn’t work out. On the last attempt, the roads had been completely washed out. “We really felt strongly that we were prevented to get to this place,” he remembered.

According to Ken, by visiting the villages, “you are carving a path of light, because that’s what we represent in the darkness here.” Proclaiming Jesus’ name in places also breaks the bonds of darkness, making a difference in the spiritual realm. “We have to believe in the significance of these things because the locals believe in it from a demonic perspective,” he explained. “We have to take the demonic perspective and replace it with an understanding of the sovereignty of God in this place.”

Recognizing the spiritual realm

Greg* and Linda*, who have served in the region for 45 years, agreed that the country where Ken and Dillon live is full of the occult. However, workers coming from Western cultures often need training to recognize the spiritual forces at work.

“When I studied how to learn a language, they had this theory of language learning that you didn’t learn something until you had a real felt need to learn it,” Greg said. The same applies to the spiritual realm. “People can be told this kind of thing, but unless they see it [they won’t understand]. Motivation is really key to learning anything, and if you’re not motivated you’re not going to learn it.”

“A lot of these things we were never taught in our churches,” Linda added. “I think it’s been a steep learning curve.” Curses, physical encounters with demons, haunted houses—all are regular experiences within the country. “They’re afraid of spiritual forces. They’re so much more aware of the spiritual world than we are.”

Once, on a Nile River cruise, Greg and Linda overheard young boys on the boat talking about the angels on each of their shoulders, one good and one bad. Many souvenirs and trinkets across the Arab world incorporate either Fatima’s hand or the blue evil eye, both symbols intended to interfere against spiritual attack.

Ken shared his strong conviction that workers across the region, regardless of denominational backgrounds, need to be aware of spiritual forces within Islam and recognize their effects on ministry as well as in the lives of Muslim background believers.

“I know intellectually it’s there,” Greg said, explaining his own interaction with the spiritual world. “I don’t feel it as much as Linda does, but I know it’s there, so I pray.”

Pray for workers in the Middle East and North Africa to have wisdom, protection and discernment as they engage the spiritual forces at work in the region.

*Name changed

Nicole James is a journalist, ESL teacher, and adventurer. As a writer for OM Middle East North Africa, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

“I’ve been married for three years and I don’t have any children,” Amina* told Sophie*, a long-term worker living in the Arabian Peninsula (AP). When Sophie didn’t respond, Amina repeated: “I’ve been married for three years, and I don’t have any children.”

Cautiously, not wanting to offend her friend, Sophie asked Amina why that mattered. “We can’t have children, and I am shamed and shunned by society,” Amina told her.

From that point on, nearly all of the two women’s conversations revolved around Amina’s desire—and inability—to conceive. Sophie would receive messages from Amina in the middle of the night, her friend devastated, again, by a family member’s cruel remark. Too, Amina remained bound by words an occultist spiritual advisor had spoken over her, shortly after she had married: “You will find it very difficult to ever have children.”

“She was believing this woman, the power she had over her, and she started getting very depressed,” Sophie described. Amina desperately needed to hear a different message.

Since Sophie and her husband had announced they were Christians at the beginning of their time in the AP, they could continue to be up front about their faith with neighbours and friends, including Amina.

“Most of my conversations with her are about encouraging her to have hope,” Sophie said.

Later on in their friendship, Amina discovered she had a cyst and needed an operation. But she was scared to seek medical attention in her own country, anxious the doctors wouldn’t take seriously her desire to have children. Sophie suggested a treatment center she knew in Western Europe. Amina applied, and, soon, the clinic accepted her.

Needing the operation, Amina nonetheless worried about travelling abroad to a country she didn’t know with a language she didn’t speak. While she spoke excellent English, her husband, accompanying her on the trip, could barely communicate outside their native Arabic.

Ahead of the impending travel, Sophie sent a message to her friend Karen*, an Arabic speaker living in the city where the treatment center was located. Sophie wanted to know if Karen could help Amina and her husband, but she didn’t ask for much.

“Could you just meet up with her for coffee?” she wrote.

Cross-cultural connections

Karen’s reply was simple. “Sure, I’ll help,” she told Sophie.

“I thought it would be kind of easy,” Karen admitted. “It turned out to be a lot of work and a lot of time, but also very nice.”

Having recently spent half a year in the Near East and North Africa—as well as having lived overseas as a child, immersed in Arab culture—Karen knew that Arabic hospitality vastly differed from her Western European norms. Thinking about the arrival of Sophie’s friends, “I knew they probably had different expectations, especially that I would take care [of them] and do more for them,” she said.

In the Arab world, people “overwhelm you with their hospitality and what they do for you. I really appreciated that so, so much when I was there. I knew that’s not my culture, it’s not something that’s natural for me, but I wanted to try to do some part of that.”

So she picked up Amina and her husband from the airport, showed the hospital, the hotel, and toured them around the city. That was only the beginning.

“Basically, time is not measured the same way with Arabs and Europeans, so with them, you can spend a whole afternoon, and still it’s not enough. So I ended up spending the whole week with them,” she explained.

Sometimes, they sat in cafés. Sometimes they strolled along city streets. Often they talked. When Amina was in the hospital, Karen visited regularly. The time was “very touching,” Karen remembered. “I thought it was going to be just some organising, but it was a kind of friendship at the end.”

“She’s my age,” Karen continued. “It was really nice, but…she was really heavy laden… She lives in a culture where her worth as a woman is defined by your husband and your children, and that’s all. That’s your identity.”

Although Amina’s husband has been supportive so far, if she doesn’t fulfill her duty to bear him children, he could “go and get another wife,” Karen added. Once, when the trio sat together at a city café, Amina didn’t talk but simply wept.

“I tried to talk with her about it, to try and speak truth into her life, that she has worth,” Karen said. “It’s normal to talk about God with Arabic people, so I did that a lot. I think she noticed the way I talked about God was different. I just really encouraged her that He loves her. No matter…if she gets children or not…He still loves her immeasurably.”

Continuing condition

When Amina and her husband returned to the AP, 99 per cent sure the operation had been successful but still plagued by the one per cent chance of failure, they told Sophie they would not have survived the experience without Karen.

“I hope they noticed that this is not normal—their friendship with Sophie and how this hospitality was—and that it’s not our love, it’s God’s love,” Karen said. “I hope that by speaking their language of hospitality, they would see that love.”

According to Karen, Arab women can believe extensive lies about themselves, their worth, their identities and their abilities.

“It binds you up, and you’re not free to be who God made you to be. We can pray that she gets free of those bondages and lies,” along with other women.

Most weekends, when Sophie’s family is home in the AP, Amina and her husband find a reason to stop by.

“They keep saying that when they come to our house, they feel freedom,” Sophie noted. “We’re ultimately praying that God would give her a baby, but that she will see it’s in the power and in the name of Jesus.”

Please pray that Amina and other Arab women would find the truth in Jesus. Pray that God would continue to use workers across the region to speak His light, His life and His love into their lives.

*Name changed

Nicole James is a freelance journalist, ESL teacher and adventurer. A writer for OM Middle East North Africa, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

Some people wander past the books, stopping for short conversations, “maybe half an hour or an hour, just that one time,” Jenny said. But through many interactions, she’s also had opportunity to build lasting relationships. “This ministry is me. I’m a one-to-one person,” she explained. “For me, my ministry has been to make the relationships here [at the bookshop] and then to take it further.”

Often people are surprised that someone from the West would be interested in spiritual things. They also frequently ask Jenny about the difference between the Bible and the Qur’an. After meeting women in the bookshop, Jenny has visited many in their homes and in their tents in the desert, eating, drinking tea and sharing hope.

“God has given a lot of openings,” she explained.

Three disciples

Within the first half year of her ministry in the AP, Jenny watched three young immigrant workers receive God and be baptised.

The first boy, from Nepal, had been left abandoned, one day old, outside a medical clinic. He shared his hard past with Jenny, as well as more recent events. While he was working in the Gulf, suicidal and struggling to deal with his past, God appeared to him in a dream.

“I shared the Gospel, and he just received it. Now he’s wanting to be a pastor,” Jenny said.

The second boy passed by the bookshop after his father died, looking for answers about what happens after death.

“He had a lot of questions and was really depressed,” Jenny said. But she and her two colleagues had the chance to “sit and share Jesus and answer some of his questions.” Later, he, too, trusted the Lord.

The third boy grew up in a harsh environment, his father adherent to both Hinduism and Communism, and he had lost a few friends at an early age. This led to awful dreams and a desperate search for peace. After spending time with Jenny and reading the Bible, he also accepted the Lord.

“None of the boys knew each other,” Jenny said. “I had the joy of seeing all three of them being baptised… That’s been really special just to see them grow.”

Worth the risk

The bookshop sells Arabic Bibles and New Testaments, along with a number of other religious books by well-known Christian authors. Although Jenny said she would love to give away Bibles, she finds that people prize things they purchase.

Earlier this year, Jenny remembered watching a girl pass the bookshop slowly, backtracking, stopping, and finally picking up the Bible she’d spotted on a shelf.

“I can’t believe you’ve got this,” she said. “I’ve been searching for one of those.”

According to Jenny, many of her customers have never seen a Bible, especially those from Gulf countries banning non-Islamic religious literature. Not only are they “delighted to get them,” they’re also willing to take risks to return home with God’s Word.

“How easy is it for you to take this back [to your home country]?” Jenny once asked a man who had purchased a Bible.

“Not easy at all, but it’s worth it. I want to take the risk,” he replied.

Samuel Zwemer, a missionary to Arabia, wrote in his book Call to Prayer (1923), “The distribution of the Word of God always holds the first place. It has always proved its power.”

“Here so many people are more spiritually open,” Jenny said. “They don’t have any understanding of Jesus and the Bible, but they’re open.”

Another girl who stopped by the bookshop told Jenny she was looking for a book on horoscopes. “We don’t have that,” Jenny said. “I have something much better.”

Interested in knowing what Jenny had to offer, the girl listened and shared. Afterwards, she and Jenny remained in contact via email and social media, though infrequently since the girl’s husband frowns on his wife’s contact with Westerners.

Once when Jenny mentioned Jesus, the girl broke in and said, “Yes, I’m so desperate that I have cried out to Him. I’m so desperate that I’m willing for anything. I am open.”

This girl’s situation is similar to that of many who enter the bookshop, Jenny said. “A lot of them are very broken, hopeless. They are in that place where there is more to receive.”

Jenny shared another encounter: “This morning I felt privileged to spend over an hour sitting and talking with a local family who shared with me their pain of losing a son, seven years old, just eight months ago, then inviting me to come to their home. I love those people. I love this place. I just want to serve them as best I can.”

Pray that the bookshop would be a light and a safe haven to the people of the AP in these days of tension and difficulty. Pray that people would experience healing, restoration and the reality of peace in their lives. Pray for a greater level of protection over the bookshop. Recently, workers have experienced spiritual attack and certain locals have shown anger and displeasure at the Bibles and books being sold. Praise the Lord for existing volunteers and supporters, but pray for more volunteers and staff to join this ministry.

*Name changed

Nicole James is a freelance journalist, ESL teacher and adventurer. A communications intern for OM Middle East/North Africa, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

Yasmin* had been sick for a long time. She’d visited doctor after doctor, receiving multiple treatments for a serious liver problem, but the medical professionals hadn’t made any progress or found a solution for her illness.

Knowing Yasmin was already facing a worst-case scenario, Judy*, a long-term worker in the Arabian Peninsula (AP), suggested another option: “Jesus healed many people,” she told Yasmin. “You’ve got nothing to lose by praying in the name of Jesus. You’ve got nothing to lose by going to Jesus with this problem.”

“If you want, I can come back with a little Bible study,” she added. When Yasmin agreed, Judy prepared a series of verses for her friend, following the Discovery Bible Study format. Yasmin read each Scripture, told Judy what the passage was saying, and listened as Judy explained aspects she had missed.

“We covered a few such stories and verses about healing, and then we finished with James,” Judy explained.

“Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray for them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven” (James 5:14-15; NIV).

“The verse talks about forgiveness of sins,” Judy said. “It really speaks to [Muslims]. They often think that sickness is either a test from God or a punishment… It’s hard to reconcile those things because you think God is punishing you, so it’s hard to ask Him for healing. It’s another way of saying, ‘Give your life to the Lord. Submit to His authority.’”

Yasmin, however, was ready to submit herself to the Lord. Judy anointed her, prayed over her, and Yasmin was healed.

“It’s amazing that God can show up like that, in power encounters,” Judy said. “I don’t find that people come to faith because of theory or debates. They come to faith because the Lord shows up in their lives and gives them something which they need.”

“I feel like too often, we, as Westerners, want to focus on the [theological] debates instead of just praying over people, giving them verses that would lead them to pray, basically giving the Lord place to do His miracles,” Judy said.

Vision

Hammad* did his research first. Academically inclined, he completed comparative studies of the Bible and Qur’an, researched extensively, and finally ended up talking to Judy’s husband, Alex*.

“He had a lot questions,” Judy recalled. “I think he was at a point where he was ready to make the commitment [to Jesus], but he needed one last push.”

One evening, Hammad went to bed as usual. However, he woke up feeling like someone was watching him. Thinking someone was in his room near his bed, he looked towards his window. There, in the window, he saw Jesus. Hammad looked at Jesus, and Jesus looked at him.

“He cannot tell you what He looked like. All he could remember was the eyes,” Judy said.

The next day, Hammad appeared at Judy and Alex’s house. “I’m ready to make the decision,” he exclaimed.

Although Hammad had already been convinced according to the books, the Bible and the Qur’an, he couldn’t quite make the decision to accept Jesus as his Lord and Saviour.

“When the Lord showed up, that convinced him,” Judy said.

Hammad’s conviction, after seeing Jesus, proved strong and sustained him through prison and persecution. Often, when Hammad was blindfolded in prison, he would see visions of Jesus. In these visions, he would receive answers to the questions the authorities asked him, just like the Bible promises.

“But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time, you will be given what to say” (Matthew 10:19; NIV).

“Wow, there’s a verse about that in the Bible,” Judy and Alex shared with Hammad after he was released from prison when he told them about his experiences. “Knowing that Jesus is real and what God has done…that is what has sustained him through a lot of persecution,” Judy said.

The Lord is revealing Himself in the Arabian Peninsula, but believers need to check their motives before praying for miracles, Judy cautioned: “If your heart is not in the right place, God will not show up. It’s not about the miracle; it’s about reconciling with God.”

Pray that God would continue to work in people’s lives across the Arabian Peninsula through healings, visions and miracles. Pray that the Lord would convict men and women through the Holy Spirit, drawing them to Himself.

*Name changed

Nicole James is a freelance journalist, ESL teacher and adventurer. A communications intern for OM Middle East/North Africa, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

Ann* has never worried about conforming to the rules. For her, missions is about living life naturally and being honest in relationships.

“I’m not hiding that I’m a Christian. I love God. In my mind, that’s the key thing for opening the conversations,” she said.

Once conversations are started, persistence is required. “Friendship evangelism is not instant,” she stated.

In fact, as a long-term worker in the Arabian Peninsula (AP), Ann’s been ‘doing life’ with two families for over several years. And in that time, she’s moved from friend to family member.

“I’m just living a normal life as auntie, sister, cousin to share with them God’s love,” she described.

With dozens of people in each family, Ann said she’s tapped out on relationships—“basically you can’t handle more.”

According to 2 Timothy 4:2 (NIV), believers should “be prepared in season and out of season” to preach the Word. But being ready in all seasons means being around in all seasons.

In the Middle East and North Africa, “daily life is involved in religion,” Ann said. “With Muslims, it’s fun, you can use anything to share!”

Many of the family are not satisfied with the answers that have been provided to them. One time, Hassan* sold his car, purchasing a smaller, simpler model to replace it.

“He’s basically putting his family to shame because he has this little car,” Ann explained.

But Hassan refused to let appearances rule, choosing to spend his money on travel instead of payments on a more luxurious vehicle. “Why should I pay more for my car?” he questioned.

“Yes, you can be satisfied and have a peaceful life if you have the Prince of Peace,” Ann told him.

Last December, Adnan* told Ann he’d been learning Christmas vocabulary from the BBC: reindeer, Santa, sleigh.

“Adnan, what is this?” Ann asked. She pulled out her smartphone, opened a Bible app, and showed him Luke 2. “Read this. All the vocab you find here, this is Christmas. That’s what our faith is about.”

Nadia* had to stay inside her home for several months after her husband passed away. One day while visiting, Ann had several hours alone with her friend. Hearing her problems and concerns, Ann told Nadia that God’s love was always there for her. Again, Ann used her smartphone to show Nadia 1 Corinthians chapter 13, starting with verse four.

“How much God loves you!” Ann told her, as Nadia scrolled up to read the whole chapter again.

“I don’t know this love,” Nadia answered. “My family and my friends, we don’t know this kind of love.”

For that reason, Ann continues to visit the two families, often with different experiences but always with the same motivation.

“You go, you visit again, you visit again, and you don’t know what you [will encounter], but you want to share love,” she said.

Sharing, however, is not always easy. “You want to be an ambassador of Christ also when there is a mess. In the beginning, you go and drink tea." Then, said Ann, "This nice hospitality face changes into the daily life. But these are all opportunities where you can bring in the Gospel and how God can help.”

Over the years, Ann has given the women Bibles, and she has often shared pieces of Scripture from memory or on her phone.

“The important thing for me is to use whenever possible God’s Word, as that goes deeper than my word,” she said. “I think the biggest thing is that God is in control... You have only to do your part.”

Responsibility

First and foremost is time with God. “You have to read your Bible, you have to pray. You have to maintain the relationship with the Lord before you go out,” Ann said. Connecting with the Lord in the morning strengthens her throughout the day. “How many times could I later in the day quote what I had read in the morning?” she explained.

“Have the Word also always with you,” she continued, pulling three Bibles from her purse: a tiny red-letter version, a slightly larger one in a zippered case, and the Scripture app on her smartphone.

Thirdly, stay informed. “Read the newspaper, [find out] what’s moving the people, ask what’s new, really ask them where they are,” she advised. God is about “holistic caring,” Ann said, His provision extending to both spiritual and material needs.

Also ask people how you can pray for them. “So many times we assume we know what they want and what they don’t want,” she said.

Finally, be risky in relationships, bold in sharing truth. “People have such a fear of people and everything, but if I love my lost friends, I should be more risky,” she said. “In perfect love there is no fear… Make sure you are a real Christian [a follower of Jesus] and not the one they have [seen on] TV.”

*Name changed

Nicole James is a freelance journalist, ESL teacher and adventurer. A communications intern for OM Middle East/North Africa, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

Zara’s family had asked a mullah, an Islamic religious leader, to pray over the house in order to send the spirit away. The mullah agreed but wanted to charge a large amount of money for his services—more money than Zara’s family could afford. So they decided it would be easier to sell the house and move elsewhere.

Sensing an opportunity to share, Tori told Zara, “There’s no need for you to sell your house. Jesus will free you from this thing for no money at all. It just requires that you understand who Jesus is, what His authority is, and what He can do if you believe in Him.”

Desperate for relief and curious about what Tori had told her, Zara agreed to study about Jesus together. Eager for Zara to understand who Jesus is, Tori prepared a study about Jesus’ character, identity, and purpose: that He was sent by God with authority to heal people, set them free from demons, and raise the dead.

When the women met again, Tori shared from Luke 4:18-21: “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me…” (v. 18a, NIV). Jesus read this prophesy from the Old Testament and told the people in the synagogue that He was the One to fulfil it, she explained.

Then Tori turned to Isaiah 61. “Look,” she said to Zara, “This comes from Isaiah. This is one of the books you believe in. Here’s the prophecy about Him that He will do this thing.” Then Tori showed Zara several different stories in the Bible where people were delivered from demons.

“What makes Jesus so special? Why would [the demons] listen to Jesus?” she asked.

“Because all authority has been given to Jesus. This authority is from God.” After presenting Jesus’ power and authority, especially to drive out demons, Tori turned to Matthew.

“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first…” (Matthew 12:43-45, NIV).

“If you are delivered…If the house is cleaned out and the demons are gone, the space is empty. Whatever spirit was there will come back with seven more,” Tori began. “What is that emptiness? That emptiness is if you did not make Jesus the King, the ruler of your heart. His authority must stay. You can call upon Him to set you free, but his authority must stay.

“How do we give him the authority?” Tori explained, “You believe with your heart, you know in your head, and you say it with your mouth.”

Not wanting to force Zara to make a decision at that moment, Tori wrote down a prayer for Zara to take with her. “This is an example of what you should pray if you want to accept Jesus’ authority in your life,” Tori explained. “You need to think about this.”

A few days later, Tori met Zara again and asked if she had made a decision. “Yes,” Zara replied. “Yes, I did it, and now the house is clean!”

Praise God for this new sister in Christ. Pray that Zara will continue to accept Jesus’ authority in her life and that she will grow in her faith.

*Name changed

Nicole James is a freelance journalist, ESL teacher and adventurer. A communications intern for OM MENA, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

It has been said in the AP, “witnessing” can be defined as watching God do incredible things, then telling others about it.

I was privileged to watch God sow seeds of truth through His Word in the heart and mind of a local Muslim woman. This woman and I were comparing the story of Noah in Genesis 6 to what is said in the Qur’an about Noah. While I was reading the Qur’an, I offered to let her read from the Bible. She began in Genesis 6 and ended in Genesis 22, about 45 minutes later. I watched her as she read the Bible with intensity.

Then I watched as her face became saddened, when she read Genesis 22. This passage contradicted what she had been previously taught about Abraham’s obedience to God in preparing to sacrifice his son. 

I asked her what was wrong and she replied softly, “It’s different.”

God’s Word never returns void. My friend read the Bible with a heart seeking God. 

Pray that God would use His truth to soften her heart and draw her to Himself. Pray she will come to know Jesus as Saviour.

Although the villa functions somewhat like a small bed and breakfast, with people reserving beds and contributing funds for their stay, the proprietors view the building differently.

“For us, it’s not really a guest house, it’s our house,” Marie explained. “We welcome all these people into our home.”

Resting place

After their first two years in the Arabian Peninsula (AP), learning the culture and relying on Peter’s job for income, the couple considered moving to Central Asia. Peter and Marie’s home church, however, declined their application to move. The organisation they applied to also asked them to remain in the Gulf in order to provide support for workers already living in more difficult countries.

Peter then found a second, smaller job, and they started looking for a bigger house. Their cleaning lady found the place—a large villa with ample guest rooms, just around the corner from where they’d lived their first year in the AP.

“There was quite a lot of work to do because it was an old house. But it was a thing that we could afford and make it work,” Marie said. “At that time, we were on our own. We had no support… It was really an act of faith. We put our last money there to pay for the first three months.”

“And from one day to the other, the house was filled…with people needing a place to go,” Marie remembered.

Within two years, the couple had transitioned to running their house as a full-time ministry.

“Being full time meant still we had to save money because the living here is quite expensive,” Marie said. “We had to take the kids out of school and home-school them. These years were focusing on the ministry here in the house and on the kids, training them.”

Shelter

In the middle of their ministry, Peter and Marie began providing shelter for persecuted Christians from across Western and Central Asia and North Africa.

“To get to know them was really a blessing,” Marie shared. “To see what they went through, how much they suffer and still how they hang onto their belief and spread the Gospel in their countries.”

One lady from North Africa stayed at Peter and Marie’s home nearly three months, having escaped persecution in her country, leaving behind her family. Already she had been hiding for years before going to the Gulf.

“She was sitting here on the computer, hearing that a friend disappeared. For years, she had not seen her own kids,” Marie remembered. Yet, one evening during prayer time, this lady told Marie, “You don’t need to pray for me. Pray for the ones who are not saved (spiritually).”

Marie and Peter welcomed many others like her into their home, some from Central Asia, who never knew when they travelled to remote villages to preach, if they would return. Some were from Western Asia, who had been in prison and had disappeared for years.

“The people we met, they would not give up what they found in Jesus, and that’s really amazing,” Marie said. “When you hear their stories, you think, ‘Wow, they need so much prayer,’ and they say, ‘No, we have Jesus. It’s enough.’”

Training ground

Well into their hospitality work, the couple’s home church started supporting them, and Peter and Marie officially joined OM. For Peter, the transition was difficult “because he was for two years a manager in a big company. When he chose to come full-time in the hospitality ministry, it was clear it was mainly practical work: cleaning beds, making food, not only the serving job, but also [learning] to share,” Marie said.

For Marie, the doors finally opened to make friends with neighbours. Through the first few seasons of ministry, she had not had any close Arab friends. Using a new language-learning methodology helped her regularly visit a local family in their home.

Being with Arabs in their own environment is a way to eradicate fear and to learn to love them, she explained. It is important “that you really understand there are so many lovely people, to give them a chance, to get to know them, to see they’re just people.”

Transition

After 10 years of living and serving in the AP, Peter and Marie are now packing their bags to return to their home country, prompted by the Lord to begin a new season for their family and careers. But they continue to hold the stories of the people who have passed through their home.

“When you do a ministry, you want to be a blessing for all these people needing a shelter, a safe place. These are people who bring such rich life stories with them when they share what they experienced with Christ and what they went through,” Marie said. “Ten years means you meet so many people. This is really something we will take with us. There are so many stories we’ve heard.”

Pray for Peter and Marie as they transition back to their home country. Pray for a smooth transition into a new house and jobs. Pray that their children will integrate well and stand firm in their faith amidst a secular youth culture. Pray also for more workers to join the AP, and for God to continue moving among Arabs in this region.

*Name changed

Nicole James is a freelance journalist, ESL teacher and adventurer. A communications intern for OM MENA, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

“They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.” Isaiah 40:31 ESV

I have known a certain local young man for several years that I have stayed in communication with. Most of our communication has been text messages and only a few face-to-face meetings. He has always been focused on himself and his pre-occupation with women other than his wife, and how he should relate to them. He always would talk about some inappropriate situation that he put himself into and then ask, “What do you think?” I was thinking that I was wasting my time with him, but we still remained friends.

Recently, his life changed. He started having episodes of pain and stiffness. He lost his job and is now in a lawsuit. Everything in his life has crashed. What I thought was a wasted time really was a waiting time. When I visited him last week, his question “What do you think?” was the same, but the subject was much more deep and desperate.

This story is a micro-picture of what we are doing in the Arabian Peninsula region. It often seems that we are just wasting our time dealing with the culture, their faith, traffic delays, indifference and materialism. One day passes and then a week or a year, and we see little change.

Maybe our friends or family ask when we are coming home. Even our church may not understand what we are doing. But our confidence is in the Lord, that as we faithfully love and share, we are waiting for Him to intervene. That is our hope: that not just the individuals we care for but also that the country and the whole Arabian Peninsula field will come to meet Jesus.

Pray with us for the Arabian Peninsula and the OM workers there. 

I was working at the bookstore a few weeks ago, when Arab man in a traditional robe started to browse through the books. He asked for books about anxiety, so I directed him to the Joyce Meyer booklets, which are very popular in this region.

After reading for a few minutes he asked: "Is she like Bin Laden?"

"Excuse me?" I responded.

"Is this writer, er, Joyce Meyer, is she like Bin Laden?"

"What do you mean?"

"Does she think everyone should be in her religion?"

That was a great springboard into a Gospel conversation. I shared about the blood of Christ being the only way to God. He then asked who Jesus' father was, so I opened a Bible to Matthew 1 ('His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit').

We talked some more, and he seemed on the verge of buying a Bible; but he hesitated, saying, "I'm not allowed to carry a Bible back into my country." 

After two hours of visiting, five different houses, dozens of conversations and innumerable glasses of tea, I was done. I was tired out and ready to go home. I rose to leave and started saying goodbye, when my host ushered me back into my seat and bade me sit down again. He whispered: "There's a protest outside, and the air is full of tear gas. You can't go yet."

So I resumed my seat, and resigned myself to another half an hour of drinking tea. But I prayed, "LORD, I've been here two hours! I'm tired, and I want to go home. I haven't had a Gospel conversation all night. It's great to build these relationships, but I really want to talk about You."

A few minutes later, one of the guys leaned towards me and asked if I fast. I explained that Christians do fast, but it's a little different to the Muslim practice. He seemed curious by my answer, so I pulled out my phone and opened my Arabic Bible app to Matthew 6 ("it should not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen"). Suddenly, three guys were hunkered around my phone, reading the Word of God!

In one country in the Arabian Peninsula (AP), outwardly closed to evangelism, workers are encountering new openness to the Gospel amongst locals. Through conversations, children’s comments and curriculum, opportunities to share truth are increasing.

However, these workers also experience intense challenges—both physical and spiritual—as they seek to introduce neighbours, friends and colleagues to Jesus. Pray for the men and women in this country to persevere, to faithfully and flexibly sow words of truth into its increasingly fertile soil.

Wasta with Jesus

On the way to pick up a rental car, long-term worker James* ducked into a coffee shop, hoping for a cold drink and a couple of minutes out of the Gulf’s intense heat. Inside, he greeted a local sitting at a table, and the two men struck up a conversation.

The local told James a long story about how he had met Mike Tyson. Clearly impressed by the boxing champion, the local man told James he thought it was sad that Tyson would never go to heaven because he had tattoos.

“What do you believe?” he suddenly asked James.

Praying for words and wisdom from the Holy Spirit, James remembered the concept of wasta, an Arabic word meaning important connections with someone in power.

“Jesus had wasta with God,” James began. “Jesus lived a perfect life. When He died on the cross, His sacrifice covered my sin. Jesus has wasta with God, and I have wasta with Jesus. Because I know Jesus, I will go to heaven when I die.”

The local leaned back in his chair and stared at James. “Wow,” he said.

As he left the coffee shop, James considered the conversation. Simply looking for physical refreshment, he instead had an opportunity to share about Jesus, the living water.

“This is too easy,” he thought. “Jesus is the way. The locals are hungry, and they’re thirsty for truth.”

Pray that James will continue to meet locals who are spiritually thirsty. Pray that the Living Water would drench this desert land.

A child’s voice

Benjamin*, a team leader, said that his family’s role over the last five years has been diverse.

“We do some evangelism and some discipleship,” he explained. He and his wife also talk to their kids about why they live there—because they want to share Jesus’ love with their friends and neighbours.

To help their children with their studies, Benjamin and his wife hire an Arabic tutor to come to their house once a week. One time, Benjamin’s wife was talking to the tutor after the lesson. Deeply interested in the spiritual conversation, the tutor asked many questions, eager to know more.

At the end of the conversation, one of Benjamin’s sons stood up and announced, “And Jesus is God.”

Even though his son had brought up one of the most controversial points between Christianity and Islam, Benjamin was encouraged by his boldness. “Of course, he’ll learn the timeliness of when to use nuggets of truth,” he added.

Pray that Benjamin, his wife and his children will develop relationships with their friends and neighbours and find fitting times to share the truth.

Holiday greetings

Working for an international company, Benjamin also has opportunities to be a light to locals at and outside of work.

During the holidays, Benjamin was sitting at his desk when one of his colleagues, a Muslim, walked over to another local and said, “Merry Christmas.” Then, he came to Benjamin’s desk and repeated, “Merry Christmas.”

“Thanks a lot for your greeting,” Benjamin responded. “But what’s the background of this?”

“I went to my imam (Muslim religious leader) and asked him if it was OK to greet a Christian with, ‘Merry Christmas,’” the colleague responded. 

At Benjamin’s office, where he is known as a Christian, such connections happen easily. In fact, Benjamin also gave the same colleague a New Testament.

Apart from work, Benjamin has been involved in discipling two local believers.

“I’m ready for them to come and cut off my head. I’m ready for that, if it comes to that,” one of the local believers shared. In this country, locals can face severe persecution for believing in Jesus.

Pray that Benjamin will meet people open to spiritual truth, and pray for local believers to persevere in spite of difficulty.

Textbook answers

Joanna*, another long-term worker, has encountered opportunities to share at the schools where she teaches. Recently, she discovered a hidden surprise in the textbooks her students carry to and from school every day—whole sections of the Scripture, including the Sermon on the Mount in the Book of Matthew, chapters six to eight, typed out on the pages.

The textbook developers “meant to study the Bible as an ancient kind of literature,” she explained. “Of course, the school wouldn’t include this in the curriculum, but the books are there.” For anybody flipping through the pages, the text is clear.

By studying sixteenth century British poets, Joanna gives her students some insight into Christianity. John Donne, for example, became a believer partway through his career. While his talent remained the same, his theme changed completely. After his conversion, Donne confessed that he was no longer afraid of death.

Joanna also talks about why the Protestants immigrated to America to find religious freedom. 

The students “ask me if I am Orthodox or Protestant,” she said. “Before they asked me if I was Muslim or Christian, but now they learnt something from the textbook.”

Her answer is simple: “I believe what the Bible says.”

“They want me to be in a box, so they can know who I am,” she said. “In the beginning they were confused because they are so used to this box. I tell them, ‘Whatever the Bible says, I believe in it.’ They are beginning to accept this kind of idea.

“Obviously, I cannot really say a lot of things,” she continued. Sharing the Gospel is prohibited where she lives. However, by challenging her students’ religious perceptions—and pushing the labels that they like to give others—she hopes to help them think outside the box.

Pray that Joanna will continue to expand her students’ preconceived notions about Christianity and spark curiosity about the Bible. Pray that her students will read Jesus’ teachings for themselves.

*Name changed

Nicole James is a freelance journalist, ESL teacher and adventurer. As a communications intern for OM MENA, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

Looking back, Leland said he should have seen the warning signs before he even left his home country: Both the situation and the profession were poor fits for his personality and experience. Technically, he was a tent-maker—a believer working in a cross-cultural setting, recognised as a trained professional—but the demands of his job were draining him of the calling and motivation that had first led him to the field.

After almost 14 years on the field, he has gained valuable experience—both he and his wife balance busy lives of work, family and ministry—but there are a few things about being a tent-maker he wishes he would have known from the start.

1. Work and worship are one and the same.

Separation of secular and sacred is very dangerous. Workers need to stamp out this dualism and glorify God in their professional lives. Tent-makers may spend the majority of their time on the field at their professional job, making the workplace their main ministry focus.

2. Maintain a strong relationship with God.

Simple, but true. Just as with life back home, workers need to take time out to be with the Lord. Developing and maintaining one’s relationship with God is no easier as a tent-maker. One does not suddenly become more spiritual in an international context.

3. Do a job that is a good fit for how God has made you.

Tent-makers will not find contentment if they are not doing something suited to their professional experience, gifts and passions. Eagerness to be on the field should not lead to unwise professional choices. Make sure the job is a good fit before committing to a cross-cultural career. 

4. It is hard to juggle the demands on your time.

For some, tent-making is like undertaking two full-time jobs. Love for the people of the host culture spills over and beyond the workplace, with outside activity often matching or exceeding the demands of the regular working day. Learning how to balance one’s time is tough, but essential.

5. Spiritual opposition is real.

Many workers underestimate the impact of the enemy’s spiritual opposition to ministry on the field. Tent-makers should expect and be prepared for attacks on family, immediate and extended, team members, leaders, new believers and seekers.

6. Set aside a significant period of time for language study.

Language is critical to understanding culture and effectively connecting with locals. However, tent-makers face a difficult choice when it comes to language. Studying full time means a significant gap in one’s career, but studying part time proves very challenging when combined with a busy work and ministry schedule.

7. Learn about proven tools for sharing your faith and resources that work in the host culture.

Cross-cultural ministry can be completely different to ministry in one’s home culture. Tent-makers should equip themselves prior to leaving for the field and continue equipping themselves on the field for the work of sharing the Gospel.

8. It is advantageous to join a mission organisation. 

While joining a mission organisation is not an essential prerequisite for success (many tent-makers are independent), being aligned with an organisation that has prior experience in the field provides tent-makers with accountability, support, vision and ministry focus, as well as provides credibility with churches and supporters. 

9. The responsibility for finding a job often rests with the tent-maker (not with the mission organisation). 

In the Arabian Peninsula, for example, where most workers have jobs outside of the religious spheres, this is especially true. Some organisations may list needs for specific occupations, but that does not necessarily mean there is a specific job available. Tent-makers need to independently research job opportunities. 

10. You may still need to raise financial support even if you’re working and making a salary. 

Depending on the field, the income may not be sufficient to cover living expenses. In addition, many hidden and unexpected costs arise, such as training events and hospitality. Tent-making can contribute to good stewardship of one’s talents and finances; however, having a support base may still be necessary for survival, as well as for support, accountability and encouragement.

*Name changed 

Nicole James is a freelance journalist, ESL teacher and adventurer. A communications intern for OM MENA, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

Change of plans

Sam* and Harmony* travelled to the Arabian Gulf as newlyweds, lured by a job offer with a company. “We were there for adventure to save a little money and pay off our debts. We only anticipated staying for three years,” Harmony recalled.

In fact, after a few years, the couple did return to their home country, bought a house, ran a business and started a family. But five years later, God called them back to the desert.

“In one week, there were five things that happened,” Harmony said. Five nudges back toward the Arabian Peninsula (AP), concluding with a contact in the Gulf asking Sam if he would consider coming back to work for his former company.

“It was like the Lord was saying, ‘I got you a job. Not everyone can go there,’” Harmony explained. Within the year, the couple landed back on Arabian sand, with young children in tow.

Change of heart

When Sam and Harmony returned to the AP for the second time, they joined an expat church and focused on community within their circle of international acquaintances. But the changing political situation in the region, particularly the beginning of the Gulf War in the early 90s, quickly caused the couple to re-evaluate their calling and look around at the locals living near them.

“We went from being good [church] attendees, focusing on our church family, to asking questions like, ‘Why are we here? Why are we risking our lives to be here? For what purpose? Is it enough to be earning money [and having] a nice adventure?’” Sam asked.

“The Gulf War really changed our hearts,” Harmony agreed. “Locals were coming to us; they were so fearful.” Knowing that Sam and Harmony were Christians, their local friends asked them if their book provided answers about the political turmoil. They also asked about religion.

“You’re such a good person. Why don’t you become a Muslim?” one local friend asked Harmony.

“Because I believe in Jesus,” Harmony automatically responded. “The answer was fine, but it didn’t help her in any way. That really started to trigger my thoughts. Why do I believe Jesus is the way and the truth and the life?”

Change of intentions

As Harmony continued to consider her faith, and calling, she realised that being a believer meant more than focusing inward on salvation; making disciples also required answering good questions with good answers.

Because of the Gulf War, several organisations began providing additional training for expat workers in the AP. Every week for six months, Sam and Harmony received orientation on reaching out to locals. “That was our training,” Sam said. “It set us on a different path totally.”

Although the couple didn’t officially belong to OM at the time, they began working with the organisation on different projects, developing relationships with other workers and becoming “all but official members”. 

“We realised God had a purpose for reaching local people,” he explained. “It was only at that point that we began to focus on people outside our own culture… Whenever we chose to leave, we wanted to have left a footprint in the sand for local people. That’s the only reason we stayed there through the war time.”

Change of location

When Sam was facing retirement with his company, he and Harmony weren’t ready to leave the AP. Providentially OM was searching for country leaders in two Gulf locations. As Sam and Harmony talked and prayed about the decision, they realised that one of the countries was clearly the right choice. They already knew many OM workers there and felt drawn to partner with them, including the hospitality team, one of the company’s strategic projects in the AP.

Although the change meant leaving the country where they had lived for 27 years, Sam and Harmony knew God was leading them to a new ministry location. Five years later, they have seen the Lord move wonderfully and creatively among their Muslim neighbours.

When Sam and Harmony moved in 2009, they realised that their first home country in the AP was just awakening to the Gospel, a reason for the couple to stay in the Gulf.

“Since we’ve left, more [Muslims] have come to faith than in the whole time we were there,” Sam said. “We didn’t want to leave the Arab world when so much was changing.”

Over the last five years, Sam and Harmony have had opportunity to invest in the lives of workers and locals, providing rest, refreshment and encouragement through the hospitality house for those serving in difficult locations and sharing their faith through relationships with their neighbours. Harmony meets regularly with a woman living close to their home, and Sam mentors young Arabs through a partnership with his business.

Currently, the couple knows of a few local couples who came to faith through one Muslim-background believer. “The Lord has been working in the AP a lot in the last six or seven years,” Harmony said. “He's letting us see some of His work while we are still in this area!”

Please pray for Sam and Harmony to continue to find opportunities to share truth with locals. Pray for local believers to be bold witnesses to their families and friends. Pray that the local church in the AP would continue to grow.

*Name changed

Nicole James is a freelance journalist, ESL teacher and adventurer. As a communications intern for OM MENA, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

A worker in the Arabian Peninsula (AP), Joy* spent several years in ministry on the field as a single woman. Now, recently married, she finds that her local friends approach her totally differently. Not only do they talk about new topics, but they also open up more about their struggles.

In return, Joy has also shared her long journey to marriage with other women, telling them how she trusted God for the right husband.

“It really didn’t bother me that I wasn’t married, but I didn’t want to marry the wrong man,” she explains. Her local friends always understand and agree; many are unhappily married or share their husband with another wife.

Recently, Joy visited Mira*, her old landlady, with a couple other friends. As the women were walking out to the car afterwards, Mira mentioned how much the Arab men bother the women.

“We had known her for five years, but she had never talked to us about these things…the anger she has towards her own nation’s men because they are not honourable,” Joy recalled. “We got a different insight.”

It takes two

As a couple, Joy and her husband, Ernest*, have also been able to share God’s sovereignty with many of their Muslim friends. After they returned to the AP from their honeymoon, Joy and Ernest were invited for a celebratory dinner to the home of one of their acquaintances, Hassan*, a Muslim from North Africa.

According to culture, Joy and Ernest returned the invitation. Right away, Hassan wanted to know their story. “How did you meet? How did you work it all out?”

Their response was simple. Joy said, “We talked about God’s purposes in our lives… How God brought my husband from [our home country] to the AP. How we could meet each other there. How everything worked out.”

“This is God’s divine appointment for you,” Hassan replied.

“Yes, God has our lives in His hands, and He works out the plans for our lives,” Joy and Ernest agreed.

The couple has also explained the Biblical meaning of the marriage covenant with many of their friends: “We got married before the eyes of God.”

One woman, one man

Ernest, too, has had opportunities to share truth at work. Many of his colleagues visit one of the country’s largest cities on a regular basis to enjoy the freedom of pubs and meeting “foreign women”. When they invited Ernest, he refused.

“Why do you go home after work? Why would you go home to be with your wife? Don’t you have a girlfriend?” they asked.

“No, it’s shameful to have a girlfriend,” he replied. “I love my wife. We love each other, and we’re faithful to one another.”

Nonetheless, as his colleagues continued to pester Ernest, wondering why he wasn’t interested in visiting women in prostitution, he decided to get Joy’s opinion. “Just ask them if they would allow their sisters to go along with them,” she told him.

The next time his colleagues asked, Ernest was ready. “Would you allow your sisters to go?” he carefully questioned.

“No, of course not!” they responded.

Then, he asked another question: “Do you want a virgin wife?”

“Yes, we do,” they replied.

“Don’t you think your fiancées want virgin husbands?” he returned. Silence filled the room. None of the men had thought about their future wives that way before.

A while later, Ernest’s colleagues asked him again to join them on their trip into the city. This time, one of the Arab men spoke up. “You know, what we do is not right,” he said.

At that point, Ernest realised perhaps he was there for that one man. Just as Jesus told the story about the shepherd seeking his one lost sheep, so sharing truth with just one man could impact his eternity.

“God is really at work [in the Arabian Peninsula],” Joy said. “We can never generate the opportunities. God does that. We just have to be available to share.”

Pray that God will raise up expatriate believers to move to the Arabian Peninsula and share with Arabs in their workplaces. Pray for locals to accept the Lord and to join together for fellowship. Pray against the human trafficking and modern-day slavery present in the Arabian Peninsula.

*Name changed

Nicole James is a freelance journalist, ESL teacher and adventurer. A communications intern for OM MENA, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

For a family from the USA, the answer was more than hypothetical. Visiting the AP for the first time, they’re planning on moving to the AP at the end of the summer. The days at the conference have been long but enjoyable for Liz*, her husband and her kids. “We’ve had a lot of questions answered,” she said. “It’s been a good week.”

Other participants came for first-hand knowledge of Arab culture and people. “Muslims have always been in my heart,” said Bethany* from Hong Kong. This conference and short-term outreach is a “gateway to really know the roots of Muslims in the area.”

Sinikka from Finland wanted to have a meaningful holiday this year. She also wanted to learn more about the religious background of many of the people with whom she regularly interacts. “We get now more Muslim immigrants coming to Finland, and the general attitude toward them is of fear and prejudice, so I wanted to come here to find out [more],” she said.

For the first four days of the conference, long-term workers from around the Gulf give the participants information about Islam and about ministry opportunities in the Gulf countries. “I like these lectures,” Sinikka said, adding that the information is “behind what we read in the books or know from hearing. It’s a lot of the [deeper religious] reasons for what we’re seeing.”

Because the speakers all have on-the-ground experience, they pepper their talks with personal stories from the field. “I like their living examples,” said Yee from Hong Kong. 

At the conference, participants also learn about the countries they will visit for a two-week outreach. “I’m excited for another adventure,” Yee exclaimed, learning where she would be travelling.

After listening to one speaker’s message on how God uses mission, Sinnika also said she’s excited about the outreach. “It’s not about what you do; it’s about getting closer to God. His primary interest is in you,” she explained. “It’s not about performance. It’s about your willingness to obey.”

Since 2006, the annual outreach conference has attracted people, ages 18-65, from around the world. The conference provides training on Islam, exposure to Arab culture, and outreach experience in the Gulf. Over 40 people have participated in the program over the last five years. Of those, 12 now serve in full-time ministry among Muslims.

“I believe in short-term [missions]”, said Joyce*, the long-term worker who currently organises the conference and outreach. “It’s a way for people to experience the Arab world first-hand, to help them decide if they will come back long term.”

Moreover, the short-term teams can vitalise long-term ministries and workers. “Short-term people don’t have all the fears that long-term [residents might have]…they can take the risks and share the Gospel. They encourage the long-termers,” Joyce explained.

Whether the outreaches encourage participants to return for long-term ministry or convince them that they are not meant to live in the Arab world, Joyce said she loves seeing the changes that take place in their lives from their time in the AP: “When they come back for the debrief, they are different people.”

*Name changed

Nicole James is a freelance journalist, ESL teacher and adventurer. A communications intern for OM MENA, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

Mareike admits that discovering her niche in the Arab World was an uphill struggle. "I go like a camel, slowly!" she laughs. "I got a visa but the work I did was definitely not my talent. It took courage to say I would stop doing it after four years.”

Sympathy with the culture

"Where I grew up in Europe, we had a ‘shame’ culture. We were always asked, 'What will your mother say if you do something wrong?' Also, I was Roman Catholic. When I got baptised outside the Catholic Church... they wanted to get me 'neutralised' [de-programmed]! So all that made it easy for me to understand the shame culture here [in the Arab World]."

Mareike explains, "I got adopted by the local people as a single lady, and now they count me as part of their family. For 10 years I lived in the same house, wore the proper clothing, greeted the people and got introduced to families. And I was careful to let them know whenever I was going away.

"People ask me, how did you get to know the locals? Be ready to laugh about yourself, I tell them. Relax and be natural with them--these are normal people. Of course, I'm still learning. You aren't always in control in this culture. Western time schedules don't always work, for instance. You have to be there when they need you. You also have to be a risk-taker.

"Sometimes I just rang their doorbell to ask how they were. I remember making a birthday cake for the daughter of my neighbours and leaving it at their door. I used to be a home economics teacher and assistant nurse, so I have used my training in a small way. When I made bread I made extra loaves for my neighbours, and sat with them. I try to eat everything they offer so I don't offend."

Pressure from home

Mareike confesses, "The biggest pressure of working here is from the West, from your church and people at home. They want to see converts. But many times it's just sowing [seeds].They know I'm a Christian--I do not hide it. I want to be a woman of honour. There is a curiosity about me and they accept me as a religious person. But in a country where they say nothing happens--" she smiles, "God makes arrangements. I get goose bumps when I think of it. Like the time when He led me to a local person who spoke my mother tongue. This must be God! It's nothing spectacular, just living every day as He leads."

*Name changed

"This is a true oasis of rest. I felt so many kisses from God last night as I stepped into my beautiful room."

"Yesterday I felt devastated to leave. When you said there was a place for me here, even though you were fully booked, I felt comforted."

"Thank you for making us feel at home in a strange land."

With OM fielding Christian workers in the Arabian Peninsula (AP) for almost 40 years, a hospitality house became an increasingly urgent need. Each year, leaders were taking in hundreds of Christian workers suffering from "battle fatigue" into their own homes, simply because there was nowhere else. Temporary accommodation was also desperately needed by other agencies which had workers serving in difficult places. The vision to rent a house finally became a reality in 2002 through a joint effort of OM, various Christian fellowship groups, as well as individual believers.

Bob* and Amy* moved from their home country to pioneer the first house, using a combination of resources to get the ministry going. Through the next years others contributed items like good quality mattresses for every bed, bathroom rugs, books and soft furnishings to create a setting where workers could truly unwind, find refreshment and renewed courage to go on.

When asked why they chose to take on such a demanding task the pair responded simply, "It was just being obedient. Although it was a lot of work it was also fun, and a joy to be involved in so many lives. God has blessed more than we ever asked or thought!"

Any doubts about the importance of this oasis would be quashed by reading the heartfelt comments of appreciation that fill the guest books. "Some workers have told us they couldn't face going back to their fields without such a place to stay for a week or 10 days’ getaway," said Amy. "One woman confided, "I think that what makes it so restful is not having to put on the whole armour of God to fight every day. Here we can take off the armour at the door."

Occasionally, they felt the Lord nudging them to do something special for a guest, like giving them a bag of coffee or another practical gift to take back to their fields. Once Amy felt moved to wash the feet of a desperately tired worker. "God said to us, 'I want to show my lavish love to my children through you! I want you to reflect My glory.'"

The rented house grew to two houses, and for several years Amy and Bob cared for a staggering 9,000 men, women and children per year. Now back to one spacious building, the facility still sees about 6,000 pass through in a single year, with up to 26 people a night. Guests come mostly from the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and other parts of Central Asia, but the house also accommodates relatives of Christian workers who want to reunite "between two worlds". In addition, the house offers a venue for retreats and team-building conferences, plus board meetings for different agencies.

In November 2012, after 10 and a half years of devoted service, Bob and Amy handed over their responsibilities to a replacement couple. Although they returned home, a part of them will always belong to the 100,000 or so men, women and children they cared for – 22 of whom were later martyred on their respective fields. This couple understands better than most the importance of serving those who serve.

*Name changed

Whether you are single, married, have a family or are retired, you might wonder how you could do anything meaningful in the Arab World. The fact is that all types of people are needed to reach all types of local people. There’s great joy and peace in being where God wants you to be. This takes you through the challenges you will face. Don’t “play it safe”, because safety comes from obeying and depending on God. 

It’s crucial how you spend your first weeks in an Arab country. You must decide who you will spend time with, who you will bond with. Solidifying relationships with local friends is the priority. You come here to be a light to Arabs. So, put on your shoes, pray and hit the streets in faith that God will provide the right people. It may feel difficult at first, but that is good reason to avoid other ex-pats and instead cast yourself upon God for fellowship and encouragement. Many people you meet want to know about you. There’s an intrigue: Why are you here? What do you do? Why do you not have children (or more of them)?

The first step is simple: obey and come!

Secondly, get over your fears, because God is greater than all of them. Fear of Islam, fear of a strange culture, fear about human rights for women: These are labels that impede our ability to see people who have been made in the image of God. We have lived 20 years in the region and have never felt personally threatened. We even don’t lock our house at night. I doubt that I could say or do that in our home country!

Work with the gifts you have. Not everyone is a natural at sharing their faith across cultures, or is prepared to spend most evenings out late socialising. You may have gifts in networking and resourcing others, so work out of your strengths. Above all, you need to be authentic and make connections with Arabs regardless of personal cost – that’s why we are here, after all. Everything else is secondary.

A single woman’s perspective

When I arrived here as a single woman, I wondered how effective I could be for Jesus. What a wonderful discovery awaited: Muslim girls are very easy to relate to. They have high moral aspirations, they want to know God, honour their parents, go to university and succeed.

“How can someone not believe in God?” they ask me. Actually, as a Christian, I find it much harder to relate to young girls in my home country. There are so many roles and opportunities here for a single woman. Local women are curious about my life and impressed by my desire to live pleasing to God. I have been in so many homes often until midnight, sharing about each other’s lives.

The treatment I have received from Omanis has been mostly honourable. Being a woman teacher in a class of men has provided great opportunities to meet their families and especially their women. The men are pleased to encourage their wives to meet with me, to speak English, to socialise.

An Omani’s sense of hospitality is limitless, but will seldom adhere to a schedule. People just drop by at all times. This works both ways, though: I make it my aim to visit at least one local friend every day, even briefly. Many of the women are essentially at home – either with children or because they can’t find work – and come to depend on your friendship. If we are away for a week, they worry about us and have all sorts of questions upon our return. There’s a genuine bonding that occurs.

A single man’s perspective

As a single man, I can easily connect with other single men aged 16-30; beyond that they are usually married and move in a different circle. As anywhere, different age groups face different issues. That’s why we also need older couples to befriend their peers, because as a single man I may or may not ever earn the respect and trust from an older man.

While people of every age can succeed in ministry here, because of the language and social structure, it is an advantage to begin as young as possible. Being single is a huge advantage in language learning and building relationships that demand high flexibility.

A couple’s perspective

It can actually be harder to make friends as a couple in Oman, because men and women move in different social circles. Linking with other families can take a long time. If a couple is prepared to separately build friendships along gender lines, it can work. Yet whether or not there are many regular opportunities to befriend people or even see spiritual breakthroughs, God has commanded us to come and live transparent lives, as a city on a hill.

Even though we are a couple, the segregated society means that the husband will socialise with men and the wife with other women. We’ve gone to weddings and been separated for six hours. Yet occasionally, we have been invited by another family to a park for a picnic, which was a significant upgrade in our status.

Respect and friendship

It can be frustrating when daily life makes it hard to connect socially with local people – everyone has work and other obligations. It can take months to get together in our home for dinner. I met with one friend, Rahal*, at language school; he was studying French and I studied Arabic. He was clearly passionate about his Islamic faith, and he knew I was passionate about following Jesus. It wasn’t confrontational at all, but done with respect for each other. There was plenty of common ground, since the Old Testament, Psalms and New Testament are considered holy books in the Qur’an. I spoke about those prophets mentioned in both the Bible and the Qur’an. This surprised him. I asked if he wanted to study the Bible together and he agreed. We now have to establish a weekly meeting time.

Of course I want many locals to discover Jesus, but I also want to make genuine friendships no matter what. It’s far better for me to disciple him and have him witness to his friends and family.

My first surprise when coming to Oman was how hospitable and caring people are toward foreigners. I have been invited again and again into their homes and even on vacations. Interestingly, on vacations they can stay up all night (it’s cooler) so as to attend the first daily prayer, usually after 4:00 – and then sleep until noon!

That said, they demand high loyalty to be accepted into a group. Usually, it’s eight to 12 guys that meet every evening. Because of the daytime heat, spending social time with Arabs happens only after evening prayer. That’s simple for single people but harder to do for couples. Over time, it’s not hard to talk about bigger things and life issues, including God. Talking about God comes naturally.

They may have initial prejudices against what they have been told about Christians and the Bible, but a determined patience and respect will eventually build trust and open dialogue about faith. That’s why we need to have lots of believers come to live their lives here, because an individual’s circle will not stray much from the inner group. Omanis love to meet foreigners and claim them as friends, but there are untold thousands waiting to meet that kind of friend.

The very young population in the Arab World bodes well for the future of the Church. They are communicators via social media and they are keen to meet and discuss issues. That’s why we need their peers to come and walk alongside them. There is no substitute for human hospitality.

When you come to this area, you’re inspired by reports of things happening all the time. In reality, it can seem like months between clear evidences of God at work. But you don’t come here for the thrills; you’re here out of a sense of calling from God. Victory is being consistent in your character at work and having colleagues remark that you are different from other Westerners they know. We can choose to not focus on the differences in our worldviews and instead find much common ground. Ironically, that also makes us different in their eyes, but positively so.

An interesting surprise and great encouragement has been among other ex-pats from various countries who have come here solely for work. Even though they are believers, they never realised that their work and presence can and should be a ministry. God is opening their eyes to see where they are and why. It’s exciting to encourage them to embrace the opportunity, to get out of their “foreigner” bubble and befriend their Omani neighbours.

Learning the heart language of the locals  

It is possible to be effective in English, although sacrificing to learn Arabic speaks volumes to the locals. They will certainly and repeatedly ask why you would do so, which is an opportunity to esteem their beautiful language. Arab women speaking English (especially in rural areas) are fewer than men, so communicating in Arabic with them could be more critical. Regardless of the path you take, you have to accept that you will never become Arab and will always be different. But that does not mean you can’t be highly effective.

If you have a pioneering nature, you’re not likely to settle where things are established. I’m challenged to go where nothing has been done yet for the Gospel. Anything can happen here. I wanted new challenges such as learning an entirely different language and culture. For me, the Arabian Peninsula is the best place on Earth for that. First comes the willingness to go; after that God began showing me where.

A short-term outreach to North Africa opened my eyes and heart for the people, but still I was afraid and tried to resist being pulled to this area. God said, “We’ve already had this conversation many times. What more do you need but Me?” Learning Arabic was tougher than I first imagined. Interestingly, it increased the importance of finding a group of local friends to share my struggles with. I can go to them anytime and be welcomed as family, be completely honest about my life and be encouraged by them. God turned my apparent weaknesses into strengths as my inner circle of local friends respect my model of openness and need for them.

Fruits of holistic ministry

If people come to the Arab World with a reasonable holistic understanding of church planting and community transformation – how they go hand in hand – things will develop naturally. If they think they can employ what works in the West, they shouldn’t come.

You must not make an artificial division between your spiritual walk and your job. Don’t depend on a job for a platform; rather, understand your gifting and how that can be released into the community in everything you do. Stop worrying about how to accomplish ministry and family and work; let your life witness be your work. When we finally understood this, we began to see much more “fruit” from our whole lives.

*Name changed

Greg Kernaghan, a writer for OM International, travelled through the Arabian Peninsula in November 2013. He discovered authentic hospitality, passionately committed Christians and a sense of good things to come. He observed and listened to the hearts of Christian workers who have invested decades in understanding and loving their Arab neighbours.

One young man who follows Christ secretly came under pressure by his grandparents to make his son more Muslim: to go to the mosque, to learn the Qur’an and so on. But the believer had enough and felt that to allow this would be to deny Christ. He said, “No – you will not do this with my son”.

When they asked why, he was forced to confess his testimony. As a result, he was initially forced to sleep in his car for some days. Her parents told the wife to divorce him but, even if she wouldn’t, the community could decree it anyway.

So much in a shame and honour culture is about outward appearance, regardless of inner reality: It doesn’t matter if you inwardly believe as long as you satisfy the traditions in front of others. You can believe what you like as long as you don’t bring public shame to the family.

Fortunately for this young man, the resistance by his larger family abated. But he knew that, if he conceded on small things, he would eventually be pushed into a corner. By taking a stand early on, he was left somewhat in peace. 

Most commonly held misconceptions about Arabs stem from their descent from Ishmael, a rejected son of Abraham. That is why we often start a dialogue with them about what it means to be an Arab. We want to help them to understand what the Scriptures say about their identity.

We know that Job, for instance, was an Arab; the Samaritan was probably an Arab; the Queen of Sheba was an Arab. Ishmael and Isaac stood together at their father’s death. There are prophetic purposes for the Arab people; one is their living amongst the Jews, not as enemies, but as neighbours.

Yet, outside the Arab world we have failed to acknowledge that God has made promises to all of Abraham’s children. Do we only see the isolated radicalism, or can we see a beautiful destiny for them as well? Much of the negative factors spring from a sense of rejection.

You cannot survive in the Arab world for long just with love for the people. Rather, being aware of the prophetic purposes God has for them provides us a huge and solid motivation.

The supremacy of relationship

Among the creative approaches that resonate with Muslims is speaking of their destiny. We ask them, “Do you know your heritage?” “Can you trace it Ishmael?” Many simply have no idea. So we discuss this and begin to talk about their purpose, which the Qur’an also touches upon.

The opening of the Qur’an (1:6), the shihada says, “Show me my true path. Protect me from the liars and anything that would draw me away from the path. Help me to stay in the truth of my path.” It speaks not only of obedience to God’s law but suggests a relationship with God as well.

We also rely heavily on community approaches. When we read Scripture, we never do so alone but always bring a friend. This stays true to the culture of doing things with others.

Young people especially express this desire for relationship. Our friend Ahmed* discovered that he was on the path for truth. Like many today, he didn’t think that every law written in the beginning still applied today. But he wanted more: to know the wisdom of God for every decision he would have to make.

Islam is a prayer culture, so we employed that as something relatively familiar. Ahmed would go to the mosque with his family, but every night he would lie on his bed and interact with God. He had no interest initially in Christianity, but God used his desire to know God to reveal Himself to him. Ahmed wasn’t satisfied with the mosque and mere ritual when he could commune with God on his bed (as did David: Psalms 63:6). We encourage this face-to-face journey with God – to ask God for wisdom and revelation and visitation from Him. We coach them, but don’t interfere.

Staying honest

My greatest positive surprise has been to see the potential that Arabs have when they are empowered to realise their own destiny. Once they take ownership of their destiny, there are no limits to their fearlessness and commitment. They are willing to sacrifice everything for this high purpose. We teach about Joseph (mentioned also in the Qur’an) and the importance of dreaming in your life. This transforms them.

The most painful disappointment has been to realise my own ignorance toward God’s love and capability to do something different than what I can imagine. When He says, Ask me for the nations and I will give them to you**, He is serious. He is capable of bringing spiritual transformation to an entire nation.

It’s also disappointing to realise that when things get difficult or really risky, we expect the consequences of the cross to be mitigated or disappear. Suffering for Christ is an honour, which Arabs understand and respect; they are ready to die for what they value. Jesus went to the cross not out of a desire to help mankind but to be obedient to His Father.

I pray that we can reclaim this beauty of the cross in our lives. 

*Name changed

**Paraphrased from Psalm 2:8

Learning that a country is 80 per cent desert is altogether different from experiencing it in the flesh. Not surprisingly, the air-conditioned shopping malls (69 in Dubai alone, with more underway) have become the centre of social life for many residents.

Convinced you are called

"God knows what we are each able to bear," Helen* told me, "or He wouldn't call us here." Although she grew up on an Iowa farm, this woman has spent over 30 years in the Arabian Peninsula with her husband, raising her children there. She admits that she still sometimes misses the greenery, but smilingly quotes a local proverb, "Once you get sand between your toes, you can never get it out".

Being certain that God wants you in the Arab World is critical for anyone who intends to remain for very long. And a long-term commitment--even though this goes against the popular trend for many new recruits--is what it takes. The process of learning Arabic, necessary for getting alongside nationals, requires endurance. One woman said it was seven years before she could share a Bible story with other women in their language.

But long-termer Jeff* explains that workers not only need to be "Arabised" in their language but in their thinking, so they become part of the woodwork: "They must be willing to lose... their pride and prejudice, and be 'born again,'" he affirms.

So what sort of qualifications are important for those thinking about serving in the Arabian Peninsula? Responds the field leader: "We're looking for self-motivated and resilient people, able to work with a multi-cultural team, with a heart for Muslims and establishing an indigenous church. Recruits need to understand the concept of tent-making (work as ministry) and have a willingness to learn the language. It doesn't matter if they're single or married, male or female; it has more to do with a person's contentment in life."

Work as ministry

He points out that even Christians have the unfortunate tendency to separate the sacred from the secular. "The 'theology of the workplace’ is not fully understood by many churches back home. We have to counter the argument that work is only for making money. The holistic way to look at business is socially, spiritually, environmentally and economically."

Since Christian workers in the Arabian Peninsula must have a visa, most will have to be employed full-time. But their workplace brings them into contact with nationals with whom they can develop friendships--friendships that often lead to personally sharing their faith.

Yet the unhappy experience of Donna*, from Hong Kong, is often typical. After arriving in the country she got a visa by working for a company. Later Donna did the necessary research and put up her own website in order to start her own fashion business, with the hope of attracting local women.

"I used my own savings to start and ultimately I want to be able to support myself," she relates. "But to build a business is already very difficult. When you're in a different culture, with different rules, it's even more so."

Donna's pastor back in Hong Kong, however, has conveyed the church's disappointment that she hasn't yet made any converts. He tells her they are "looking for results".

"It's discouraging," admits Donna. "But God has brought me here, and I feel committed to staying."

Trust and obey

Interestingly enough, pioneer missionary Samuel Zwemer, who became known as the "Apostle of Islam," saw fewer than 12 people convert to Christianity after 38 long years of mission work throughout Arabia, the Persian Gulf, Egypt and Asia Minor. But producing converts was not Zwemer's ultimate goal. He wrote: “The chief end of missions is not the salvation of men but the glory of God.”**

Being faithful to God’s call in the face of job insecurity, the stresses of language learning and distance from family and relatives is not easy. The temptation of materialism is also real in a prosperous economy. The fact is that this is a resistant country that has traditionally seen little fruit. There is still no national church. But trusting God means looking beyond what we can see to what God sees. Our responsibility is simply to obey and leave the rest to Him. Let's resolve to do our part by sending and supporting the men and women that God has led to desert places!

Debbie Meroff has been writing for OM for over 25 years, and her travels have taken her to over 100 countries.

*Name changed

** “Samuel Zwemer, Faithful Hero,” by Bob Grahmann

Not until 1951 did the first hospital open in what was to become the United Arab Emirates. When Christian missionary doctor Sarah Hosman accepted the invitation of the Sheikh of Sharjah to open a clinic, she had one condition: She must be given written permission to share the gospel with her patients. The sheikh agreed. In what was surely a unique arrangement in the Muslim Arab World, staff members openly prayed with every woman in the maternity clinic, and the majority took home an Injil (New Testament). Very sadly, the Dr. Sarah Hosman Hospital was forced to close in 1994 because no replacement obstetrician could be found for the one who was leaving.

In 1960 a second clinic was started in the desert oasis of Al Ain, also at the request of the ruling sheikh. A couple who were both doctors and who had previously been with the American Arabian Mission in Iraq, responded along with some nurses; these became the first white women without masks or veils ever seen by the local Bedouin population. Although this became primarily a maternity hospital, it offered the only medical treatment for miles around and won the hearts of the people. Infant mortality rates were gradually reduced to less than one per cent.

Among the 100,000 babies delivered over the years were many of the sons of Sheikh Zayed, who became the founding father of the UAE. Crown Prince Mohammad bin Zayed, on a later visit to Oasis Hospital was heard to remark, "Let's face it. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you!" When plans were drawn up to rebuild the hospital, which now has about 500 staff from 30 nations, Sheikh Mohammad and his brother Sheikh Khalifa, the president of the UAE, provided a grant for the building costs. The new hospital officially opens this year. Visitors and patients are able to take away Arabic New Testaments and JESUS CDs if they desire.

A maternity hospital was also pioneered by Christian workers in 1967, in the United Arab Emirate of Fujairah. This past August 2013, this hospital--like the one in Sharjah--was forced to close because of lack of doctors.

The commitment of the foreign medical staff who came to love and care for the people led to the government of the UAE donating land for church compounds. In effect, medical missions were responsible for the birth of the evangelical church in this country. The hospitals also birthed new generations of Emiratis that are now in universities and in professional positions of influence.

God is still asking Christian doctors and nurses to follow Him to desert places. Is there anyone out there who will accept the challenge?

For more information: https://www.facebook.com/maternity.hospital

There is spiritual turmoil in the land and an increase in expulsions of workers. Yet unexplainably, there is a sudden interest in all things Korean, and workers are using this to teach the Korean language and plan to open a cultural centre as a natural venue to exchange knowledge and culture with Qataris.

The Arabian Peninsula is full of job opportunities using professional skills or even starting your own business. Being in Qatar is no sacrifice for your career; in fact, it can be a huge asset to have considerable foreign experience. 

Christian hospitals, pioneered in this area before any others existed, were largely responsible for the government's accommodating attitude. When the Oasis Hospital was opened by Christian workers in Al Ain in 1960, a church was established on part of the original land grant. Later this church was officially separated from the hospital, but the same compound is today used by no fewer than 32 groups of worshipers every week. Roman Catholics have their own property, as do Orthodox and Anglicans.

The compound's largest congregation is the international, English-speaking church, numbering 400 to 500 people. Among the kaleidoscope of other fellowships are Arabic-, Afrikaans-, Filipino and Urdu-speaking Pakistani congregations, large Malayalam- and Telagu-speaking groups for Indians, and a Thursday evening evangelical Episcopalian church. Loud calls to prayer often intrude from the mosque right next door, but that doesn't inhibit the enthusiasm of church gatherings. All maintain a distinctly evangelical viewpoint and programmes such as the Alpha Course and Perspectives series have been run on a regular basis.

"We're maxed out!" declares Pastor Stan Rubesh of TEAM, who has lived in the UAE for 22 years. For the last 12 of those years he has been responsible for the church centre in Al Ain, pastoring the international congregation for a time. The pastor adds that he gets a constant flow of applicants to use the compound, especially with the growing difficulties relating to gatherings in hotels and other venues.

Rubesh says he has seen the birth of Sri Lanka and Nepali fellowships, and is anticipating that other linguistic/ethnic groups will also be reached in a similar manner. A recent convention held for Nepali Christians attracted 500 men and women, most of whom met the Lord after moving to the UAE.

The UAE government grants residence visas for church workers who are affiliated with recognised church groups, but most congregations are led by lay pastors. The churches actively pray for and reach out to the unsaved, and are able to sow many seeds amongst the expatriates who work there; often they live in labour camps where construction companies and others accommodate thousands of workers in sometimes poor conditions. Other believers show the love of Jesus through medical care and education.

The number of purpose-built worship centres has increased, and the mind-set of Christians has matured. More are now concerned about the need to reach other foreigners who don't know Christ. The United Christian Church of Dubai (UCCD) has so far planted three other flourishing churches in the country. Congregations are even taking the responsibility of sending people to minister cross-culturally in other countries. An increasing number of youth have volunteered for missions. At any one time, five to 10 are serving somewhere in the world with OM International.

OM feels the time is ripe to establish a full-time representative to churches in the area, to encourage their mission vision. "We are uniquely positioned to demonstrate a different approach to missions and mobilise, recruit and raise money," explains a spokesperson. "This is a message that you can preach publicly within UAE churches. But to really birth this vision we need people, young men in particular, who are looking for adventure."

Although there is as yet no national church among Emiratis, Christian workers call the United Arab Emirates a beachhead. "God has put His stake in this land. There is an openness here that is in no other place in the Arabian Peninsula. With hundreds of churches and thousands worshiping the Lord in the UAE, something has got to happen!"

Not all Western imports to the Arab world have been beneficial. Drugs and alcohol are serious problems, and an over-indulgence in fast food has turned one in five residents into diabetics. The initial oil wealth has attracted enormous levels of foreign labour – Western management and expertise combined with low-cost manual and semi-skilled labour from South Asia – and this has resulted in spectacular economic development. It has also resulted in bizarre demographics, with expatriates making up 85 per cent of the population.

Newly arrived Christian workers are bewildered to find churches abounding in all denominations; the government has even gifted them with land. In December, malls carry all the trappings of Christmas. And the fierce mutawa – the religious police so notorious in neighbouring Saudi Arabia – do not strike fear into the hearts of less-than-conservatively-dressed tourists. Life is deceptively easy.

Although religious police do exist, they concentrate on deflecting extremist elements like Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. Nobody wants terrorists rocking the boat of prosperity. The real difficulty for foreigners lies in getting close enough to the Emirati people to share the truth of Jesus Christ. Nearly 100 per cent are Muslims, and although a good number are secularised, Islam is still an important part of their identity. Mosques are within walking distance in every neighbourhood, by law; there are even places for prayer in shopping malls. Every day they join the billion all over the world who bow toward Mecca.

Locally-born residents are easy to spot, the women veiled head to toe in black, men elegant in flowing white dishdashas and head coverings. But how does one make friends with them?

Expatriates require a visa, which means most of them, including Christian workers, must have full-time jobs as bankers, teachers, architects, business consultants, and so on. "It's very easy to lose focus, to get busy and lose the way," confess these workers. "You have to be intentional in ministry even when you're tired, and make an effort to learn the language." But the fact that almost everyone around you speaks English or Hindi or Urdu or some other language makes learning and practicing Arabic doubly difficult.

"The UAE – and Dubai in particular – is one of the toughest nuts in the Gulf to crack because of the economic prosperity," admits another worker who has lived in the area for over a decade. "However, this is the front line. This is where my heart has always been directed, and that's why I'm excited to be here!"

He points to three major shake-ups in the Arab World identity in recent years: 9/11, which made many Muslims question the ethos of Islam, what it is really about; the big economic crash of 2008, which hit Dubai – the business hub for the Arab world - particularly hard; and the "Arab Spring" of 2011 – a season of great political upheaval for many societies in which ordinary Arabs discovered they could effectively challenge authority, both political and religious.

"God is unsettling all the assumptions that have recently governed the Arab World. While it looks stable, a lot is going on underneath. Western education has undermined a lot of Islamic assumptions, and there is vast disillusionment, especially amongst young people. The trickle of pent-up frustrations of women is also becoming a deluge. Things are falling into place, so we must be prayerful and as ready as we can be. It's not us who will decide when the change will come, it's the Holy Spirit."

How then should world Christians intercede? "Pray that God will equip His people with boldness," he says. "It's so easy here to be inhibited by security concerns. Also pray for personal holiness. The temptations we face here are no less than what we have at home. But if we have a heart for these people and we are focused, faithful and holy--we will get to be part of a truly amazing work of God!"