“So this is what it feels like to be a sardine,” I say to myself.

I’m squished into a mass of humanity as half the population of this teeming metropolis attempts to enter this one subway car all at the same time. I hoist my backpack and steady it on my head to make a bit more room.

Sweat trickles down my back—the first telltale sign of spring.

See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come. (Song of Solomon 2:11-12)

Other signs of spring are more pleasant. The budding trees smell amazing. The green space outside our apartment gives off a rich earthy smell as the soil opens up to a mixture of grass and weeds.

It may sound as if everything here is amazing and beautiful and new and sparkly—spring is here and that’s that. You may be thinking, “I watch the news and I know you live in the Muslim world. I don’t see a lot of sparkly happy things happening there.”

You’re right.

There are wars and persecution and refugees—tens of millions of them in the Middle East. This is part of the reason for the tightly-packed subway. My already crowded city swells as more and more refugees from nearby countries arrive daily.

When will their season of suffering pass? When will this winter of death and destruction end?

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)

Part of my task here involves entering into people’s suffering to show them how Christ wants to heal and restore their lives. I listen to the stories of refugee women. I cry with them, hear their longings, and believe in their dreams.

I know spring is coming. I can almost smell its sweet breeze as I share God’s Word with my Muslim friends, pray over them, and ask Jesus to show them the hope of His eternal spring.

• Ask God to bring His spiritual spring to the Muslim world.
• Pray for millions of Muslim refugees to have the chance to hear and respond to the Gospel.
• Lift up field workers and ask the Lord to fill them with hope and vision for the growth of His Kingdom among the least-reached peoples.

**This comes from a long-term field worker.**

Original article: www.frontiersusa.org/blog/article/awaiting-spring-in-the-muslim-world