After studying with us every week over several months, three local friends were recently baptized. One is a young man named Kamal. Last summer, Kamal met some believers who were on a short-term trip. They shared the Gospel with him and, before they left, introduced Kamal to us. Since then, […]
Freedom From Winter’s Grip
We eagerly await spring. All our local friends say that winter ends on March 1. They welcome the start of spring by bundling up and huddling over hot cups of tea. It’s not much different than how they’ve spent the days of the Central Asian country’s long, cold winter. “Remember […]
A Reminder From My Daughter
Throughout the city we live in, we see people begging on the streets. On one street, there’s a young Muslim mother huddled under a blanket with her children; she tries to make eye contact with passersby, hoping to elicit a compassionate response. An old man stares blankly as he squats […]
The Gift That Matters
My Muslim friend Nabiha lost her husband to cancer recently. I was at another friend’s house when I found out. We were decorating our hands with henna in preparation to attend a wedding the next day. I received the bad news as the henna was still drying, its intricate designs […]
Dreamers and Believers
My teammates and I recently met Abdi and his family. In his younger days, Abdi had been an Islamic scholar. But in spite of his religious education, he still felt confused by what he’d read in the Quran. So, a couple of years ago, he started reading it more intently […]
Milk and Honey
Recently I sat in my teammate’s home, sharing a breakfast of spiced coffee and fried dough as we chatted about new friends, neighborhood happenings, and things we’ve been learning. Our conversation turned toward the hard things local Muslim women—our friends—face here. Abuse, rape, war, hunger, and poverty; corruption, lies, and […]
In a Single Generation
“No, don’t beat the thieves,” Sheikh Idriss said into the phone as I sat in his simple home on the edge of the village. “And don’t arrest them, either. Let them go and tell them to come to the civil court tomorrow morning.” The thieves were two poor women. They’d […]
Baptized in Hostile Environments
God is moving powerfully in the Muslim neighborhood where my teammates and I live. Men and women have been healed, and many have become followers of Jesus. These new believers gather regularly, and they’ve begun calling themselves the Family of Jesus Christ. Recently, an elderly member of the community opened […]
Opportunities in the Arab Gulf
Every year, 3 million Muslims travel to the Arab Gulf to visit one place: Mecca, Saudi Arabia. They come for the hajj, or the Islamic pilgrimage, which is one of the five pillars in Islam. Try to imagine Muslim men and women arriving in the Dubai airport, a major Middle […]
The Face of the Untold at Urbana 18
Perhaps you saw her, with her sparkling gray eyes and infectious smile framed by a flower-printed headscarf. You watched as she emerged slowly in the vast hall, her face a picture of calm amid a sea of activity. Her name is Halima, and she came to life on a Frontiers […]