Still breathing hard from my last set, I picked up my gym bag and headed for the locker room. As I packed up my equipment for the night, a young guy from my fitness class entered. I was exhausted and badly in need of a shower. On the verge of […]
Stumbling Through Prayer
Language learning can be uncomfortable. Just a year after my husband and I settled into our home in Southeast Asia, our neighbor Azim visited and told us gravely that his wife Yusra was very sick. “I will pray for her,” I assured him. My heart ached for what he was […]
Annoyances and Opportunities
I shifted on the hard bench, tired of sitting but grateful for the privilege. Over the previous three days, my husband Xavier and I had spent countless hours standing in a crowded room waiting to submit our residency application, which was ultimately denied. But a consultation with a local lawyer […]
Persevering Through Mystery
When Spencer and his family arrived in South Asia, he was excited to see God move in powerful ways. He knew God had called them to the field, so he anticipated that God would answer his prayers with power. But after a few years, life on the field felt less […]
Trusting Only in Jesus
As the noise of the café faded into the background, delicious chai sat forgotten in my cup. I leaned forward, eager to hear more from my long-time friend Antar. “Then what happened?” He continued sharing about a dream where Jesus appeared to him, asking multiple times which Antar wanted more—riches […]
Praying Like a Local
“That was the worst prayer I’ve ever heard,” my language nurturer whispered to me. I chuckled. He wasn’t wrong. In the few months I’d been on the field, I had heard many locals praying in flowery and semi-rhyming phrases, with a beautiful cadence. But when the host of the event […]
God’s Timing
As our house fellowship ended, the group of locals we had been meeting with pulled their coats tight against the cold and snow as they trickled back to their own homes. We all loved reading the Word and talking about Jesus, but in the Caucasus Mountains, no one wanted to […]
Never Led Astray
Sharif paid close attention while Boubacar spoke in the village center, his steps uneven and voice thick. Years ago, as a practicing Muslim, Boubacar had struggled with alcoholism—even though it violated a direct command of Islam. Many in his community disapproved of and criticized his actions, and his business was […]
Full of Surprises
Bianca skimmed the reading for her next language class as she sipped her morning coffee in the house she shared with her Frontiers teammates. Since moving to Southwest Asia, she had devoted hours to language learning, but at the moment she wasn’t fully paying attention to the book on the […]
Unexplainable Peace
Safuan stepped into his home and smelled savory fried rice sizzling in the kitchen. His wife Latifa stood at the stove, stirring their dinner, which would surely taste as rich and spicy as its aroma. As Latifa worked, her lips moved silently. He’d seen her like this before—praying at any […]