When I went overseas, I decided I would go as a learner. I didn’t want to go with all the answers figured out. I’d go in weakness and humility, ask questions, and try to look for ways to let Muslims in the local community help me.

It turns out I didn’t have to work hard at needing help. In fact, I need it daily. It’s forced upon me as I learn a new language and culture and constantly ask questions like, “What does this word mean? Can you help me buy clothes for a friend’s wedding? What’s going on?!”

But a large part of my neediness is because I am a young, single woman living in a place where women do not live apart from their fathers, brothers, or husbands. There is no protocol in this culture for a single woman going about life on her own. Functioning in this society means I accept help from the many Muslims who treat me as a special guest or as one of their own.

There is a nearby shop where I often wait for friends or for my ride to pick me up. It’s inappropriate for women to wait outside on the street in this culture, so I wait inside the shop. One of the first times I was there, the shopkeeper brought me a chair to sit on. I politely thanked him and sat down.

Since then, I haven’t spoken a single word to the shopkeeper, and I don’t need to. I simply sit and wait. We have an unspoken agreement that I am welcome as a guest under his care.

Whenever I stay out late for a wedding or evening meal with friends, I know I can trust my hosts to help me get home. As their guest, they take responsibility for me. As it gets late, I’ll start to hear them discussing me, until someone finally says to me, “This person and her brother and cousin will take you home.”

It’s beautiful and wonderful, and I’ve grown closer to local friends by accepting their help. It has also created so many opportunities to share the Gospel.

But it’s also painful as I discover I am no longer able to carry out simple errands and tasks on my own. Sometimes it seems like I’m putting together the pieces of a big puzzle as I figure out who to ask for help, how to get somewhere, or who will accompany me. I feel about as independent as a six-year-old, and it can really make my self-sufficient independence writhe inside me!

I don’t have to do it this way. I could just do things on my own. But if I want to live in a way that “is honorable in the sight of all” (Romans 12:17b) in this culture, it means accepting help from my local community. It’s also a very wise way to live, as the community looks out for me and takes a vested interest in my well-being.

After all, my self-sufficiency is probably a good thing to go anyway.

• Pray for Frontiers’ single female workers, that God would give them Muslim friends who welcome them as guests into their homes, families, and communities.
• Ask the Lord to bless field workers with wisdom and insight as they navigate different cultures and discover opportunities to be a part of Muslim communities.
• Pray that Muslims would be drawn to Jesus Christ as they interact with Frontiers workers.

**This account comes from a long-term worker. Names and places have been changed for security.**

Original article: https://www.frontiersusa.org/blog/article/no-place-for-my-independence