Abu Belal is from the south of Syria near the Jordanian border. He was inside his home the day that a rocket hit it, and the house collapsed on top of him. Badly injured, his family brought him to a nearby country for medical care. Now he’s paralyzed. When my […]
Waheeda and the Word
In their first years of ministry, James and Kristin were part of a team that had the joy of leading Muslims to Christ and helping them start fellowships that were beginning to multiply. But most of the new believers were men. Few Muslim-background women had begun following Jesus. James and […]
Friends in the Valley of Enemies
From our kitchen window, there’s a valley stretching just beyond the outskirts of the large Asian city we live in. It’s more like a village than a suburb, with simple houses lining dirt streets. Many of the people who live in the valley belong to a Muslim tribe called the […]
With Shouts of Joy
I met Amira shortly after moving to a new town in our host country, a nation in the African desert that my husband and I have called home for many years. Amira is an energetic, Muslim-background woman who loves Jesus. She visits a Muslim village several hours away every month […]
The Bride of the Red Sea
On the west coast of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia lies the ancient city of Jeddah. From its humble beginnings as a fishing village some 2,500 years ago, Jeddah has blossomed into one of Saudi Arabia’s largest cities, second only to Riyadh, the capital of the Kingdom. With a population […]
Refugee Diamonds
Eleven Syrian women stepped into the room. They seemed nervous and unsure of what to expect out of the next two hours. With young children clinging to their abayas, the women sat down and looked at the flowers, signs, and refreshments around them. My teammate and I welcomed them with […]
Discover the Unengaged
Imagine flying over the earth at night. As you look down over a community, you’ll see lights shining up from the darkness. Those are homes reached by a power source. Look down again, and you’ll see areas that appear mostly dark. In these communities, few people have power. Likewise, there […]
Village Trains and the Great Wall of Noise
Our family arrived in our new country a couple weeks ago and are staying in the home of some teammates who are away. Landing in this new place with a house already set up has been a godsend. We are also blessed to have daily help from Rania, our teammates’ […]
Feasting at Sunset
Throughout our years in the Middle East, our family has been welcomed into countless homes during Ramadan. We’ve been invited to enjoy iftar—the meal marking the end of the day’s fast—with Syrian refugees, our next door neighbors, and even a large family in a neighboring city. These visits can sometimes go […]
The Hidden Immigrants
We are hidden immigrants in our home country. For the past two decades, our family has lived in Muslim communities in South Asia. We are not Asian. But we don’t feel fully American either. We look like we belong in America, and our passports say we do. But we often […]