I get out of the taxi about 50 yards from the ancient gate leading into the old city, called the medina in Arabic. The afternoon is gloriously warm for early spring, and locals move about at an easy pace. A throng of uniformed schoolchildren pass by, lost in laughter and […]
Sometimes We Dance
A teammate and I pop into the tent of Amira, a woman we know in the refugee camp where we run a learning center. She greets me with a kiss on my left cheek, right cheek, left cheek, right cheek, then she hugs me with an extra left-cheek kiss to […]
A Muslim Man Shares About a Dream of Jesus
“I’ve had a dream of a man in white,” Hanif said. This was one of the first things he told me after we hired him to work with us in our consulting business. “There was so much light all around this man,” Hanif continued. He shared that the man came […]
The Power of the Word to Reach 12,000 People
AbdeRakhman and his sister Maimona are among several people in our Sub-Saharan city who are open to the Good News. Together we’ve gone through an entire series of health lessons that incorporate stories from the Word. Now AbdeRakhman and Maimona are convinced that everyone needs to know the ways of […]
Learning the Vocabulary of the Heart
I was recently invited to a baby shower for Manzoor and Deena, a refugee couple who came from the country where my team and I serve. The shower was hosted by believers from a church that had generously provided nearly a whole nursery for the family. Deena has had several […]
Black Missionary Heroes
“Please tell more Black missionaries to come,” locals often said to Leslie Pelt, an African American worker serving in Nigeria with SIManother agencySudan SIM Internationalior Mission. Many of them told her she was the first Black missionary they had ever seen.1 Today, African American believers are underrepresented on the field. […]
Jesus Only at the Bench Press
From the moment I met Majda, I adored her. She was one of the first clients to sign up for private training sessions after I became certified as a personal trainer. One day between sets on the bench press, I asked her to tell me a story from either her […]
A Heart Wakes Up for the First Time
“I really need your prayers,” my Muslim friend Arief said as we sat down at a table in our favorite café. “Would you pray for me right now?” Arief and I had been friends for several years. But he had never shown much interest in matters of faith—until now. For […]
A Militant Forsakes a Life of Violence for Christ
“How much do I owe you?” Ali asked as Dr. Hadawi finished bandaging the wound on his shoulder. Hadawi’s eyes darted toward Ali’s long beard. Then he glanced at the patient’s tired garb—the kind worn by militant fighters who camped close to the frontlines of battle in the mountains nearby. […]
The Power of Prayer to Save a Life
When Habsa heard how much it would cost to remove the cancer in her abdomen, she thought the news was a death sentence. An unmarried woman in a Muslim country, she had no insurance and couldn’t afford thousands of dollars in medical expenses. When Habsa told the news to the […]