Akeem knew the English center would close soon, but he remained in his seat and double-checked his notes anyway. He worked as a professor at a local college, but in order to be considered for a position at an even better university in the city, he needed to improve his […]
The Only Answer
My wife and I strolled toward the front of the appliance store with Mohsen, the friendly salesman who’d helped us select the perfect refrigerator for our apartment. As we passed several aisles, Mohsen shared briefly that he had a challenging relationship with a family member. When I gently suggested that […]
Outnumbered Not Outmatched
I waited outside a small shop overflowing with trinkets as my friend and Frontiers teammate purchased a souvenir. We were halfway through a visit to a neighboring country in the Middle East, but instead of buying mementos I was busy trying to make sense of everything I’d seen in this […]
The Waymaker
My family had been living in our host country for months when we decided we needed to buy a car. Our area didn’t offer much public transportation and renting a vehicle had become far too expensive. That night when I was reading aloud from 1 Samuel, my children pointed out […]
Double Healing
The streets bustled with men on their way home from work and women with covered heads tugging toddlers by the hand. I strolled down the block, enjoying the sounds of my host city. Suddenly I noticed a commotion across the street. A crowd had formed around an elderly woman who […]
Always the Right Time
“Would you look at that crowd? It must be for the holiday.” I pointed beyond the windshield of the taxi to a well-dressed group of women and children standing outside a Russian Orthodox church. My driver, Rustam, quickly glanced over before returning his eyes to the road. “What holiday?” “When […]
Answers from Heaven
I gently laid my daughter in her crib before tiptoeing out of the nursery and into the living room, where I sank onto the sofa beside my husband. We usually went to bed shortly after our daughter, but we had an appointment at a nanny agency in the morning. We […]
The Boldness of a Son
Three years ago, Uday left Islam. Disillusioned with the Muslim faith he’d grown up in but uncertain what to believe, he chose to become an atheist. A few years after that, he discovered some online videos about Jesus and began seeking the truth. Then he put his trust in Christ. […]
Breaking the Language Barrier
Learning a new language is difficult, but sometimes it’s also downright embarrassing. Recently, I ventured into a shop in search of a light bulb, and asked the owner in my very best Arabic, “Do you want a light bulb?” He narrowed his bushy eyebrows at me. “What? No.” I glanced […]
An Unexpected Celebration
Pots and pans cluttered the stovetop, and a variety of delicious scents filled the air as my friend Leila and I worked together to prepare the iftar meal. She looked forward to breaking her Ramadan fast in traditional North African style, and I hoped for a chance to talk with her about […]