Three Things

{one}

I had a Skype date with Sarah from Sweetness of Laughter yesterday. We’ve corresponded for a while now and that connection absolutely flowed into our conversation. We laughed. We talked. We shared stories and passions. We prayed together. Oh it was such an encouragement and I came away with the widest smile.

Sarah is such a gem. She’s as genuine and as sweet as they come and her heart for Christ shines. If you haven’t had a chance to meet Sarah yet, go say hello here!

{two}

I’ve been watching the live stream of Passion online and oh. my. goodness. I can’t even imagine what it’s like to be there because I’ve been rocked and challenged immensely from afar. Each session is rebroadcast for 24 hours afterward and I urge you to go watch while they’re still available. Seriously go check it out!

{three}

The new issue of the Set Apart Girl online magazine is out. I always anxiously await new issues and this one surpassed any and all expectations! I promise you it is worth taking the time to read.

United Arab Emirates {It’s an Interview!}

Friends, I’m so excited about today’s post! I’ve corresponded with Ameera from The Wandering Theologian all summer long and was even able to Skype with her last week. Although we haven’t met in person, I truly consider her to be a friend. She recently graduated from Moody Bible Institute and has committed to being an ESL teacher in the United Arab Emirates this school year. She leaves TODAY, but before she left she answered a few questions I had. Now, I get to share this “interview” with all of you! Her answers blew me away with the amount of clarity and detail they provided. I hope they give you a small glimpse into her mission this year…

1) What led you to pursue teaching overseas?

I think the first time I realized I wanted to teach overseas was in the summer of 2005 when I went to teach ESL in Germany with a team from my church. I was born with a desire to travel and learn about other cultures (I'm a military brat) but when I realized the potential for teaching overseas my heart changed. Two years later I went to Venezuela, to work with the first missionary I had ever met, and I left with a desire to return forever. Both of these trips opened my eyes to the need for ESL teachers overseas and so I applied to Moody with the intention to enter the TESOL department. During my four years at Moody my passion for teaching grew and grew and I knew that God was calling me to teach overseas. My internship in Oman (just east of the UAE) confirmed this calling. 2 months with those students changed my life forever.

2) Did you have a certain country or region of the world that grabbed your heart before the UAE?

Ever since the summer of 2010 my heart has been for Arab Muslim women and children. I spent a week in Dearborn, MI (the highest concentration of Muslims in the US live there). This is what led me to seek out an internship in the Arabian Peninsula. Originally, I wanted to go to Yemen because of my experience in Dearborn. However, the political situation in 2011 made this impossible. This lead me to Oman where I was confronted with the reality of the situation in the Arabian Peninsula. My hope is to one day return to Oman but currently God is opening the door to the UAE (I'll be living a short 5 hour drive from where I was last summer) and the need is just as great.

3) Tell me about the church and worship in the UAE.

The churches that exist in the UAE are international or foreign churches. There are approximately 31 churches in the whole country. The UAE is tolerant of other religions so followers of Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and other religions are free to worship. Statistics put the Christian population between 8-9%, only 1.4% of these being evangelical Christians. These Christians include, American, Filipino, British, Armenian and Swedish people. Worship will depend on what type of church you attend but the evangelical churches look similar to the churches here in the US. However, due to the inability to evangelize openly the focus of many churches is simply to gather together. There are many Christians living in the country who have no desire to reach out to the people around them for fear of the government. Therefore, any team there with a desire to do outreach must do so without publicizing it.

4) How is Christianity and the Gospel accepted in the country?

As I mentioned in the previous answer, evangelization, proselytizing and conversion is illegal in the UAE. Muslims are not allowed to become Christians and the UAE censors websites with evangelistic purposes and those which have any negative portrayal of Islam. Islam is not just a religion but a way of life. Therefore, acceptance of the Gospel would mean exile from their families, communities and culture. As a result, many of the people are resistant to the Gospel. A couple other stumbling blocks are the negative propaganda they've heard from the leaders of Islam in their communities and the assumption that every Westerner is a Christian. They also accept Western television as reality and thus think Christians act the way they see people act on TV. I think my supervisor encapsulated the struggle to evangelize well in this statement, "The Arabian Peninsula isn't ready for the seeds of the Gospel to be sown just yet. We must first remove all the stones from the soil."

5) How can teaching be used as an outreach in the UAE and countries similar to it?

Teachers are highly respected in the Arab culture. The more education you have the better. In addition, the Arab people are the most hospitable people I've ever met. They open their homes, families and lives to you just because you're their teacher. In a short two months, I was able to visit many students' homes and became very close with their families. They took me out  to see sights around their community, they went shopping with me and I even had one family take me and my friend out to their farm for the whole day. Relationships form in the classroom in a way I've never seen before. They want to know all about what America is like and hope to learn English to better their chances of going to the best universities. In return, they're willing to teach you all about their culture and their language. It is through these relationships that conversations about life and faith (as the two are inextricable) begin.  It is through these relationships that stones are removed from the soil. It is through these relationships God is opening doors for the Gospel to be preached.

6) Can you tell me a little more about sharing the gospel in the UAE?

As far as sharing the Gospel, it definitely happens. Discussions about what you believe are commonplace because of how profoundly the Muslim faith affects their lifestyle. It comes down to a lot of discernment of knowing when to share and when not to. For example I noticed the girls were more willing to talk when their mothers/aunts/grandmothers were out of the room. It takes a lot of time to understand what kind of claims I can make and what parts of the Gospel they're ready to hear. Working with Muslims has taught me, more than anything, that evangelization is a process. It takes time and it's ultimately the Holy Spirit's role to convince them of the truths you're presenting.

7) What are some specific prayer requests you have for your country and mission of service?

-Please pray for unity among the team of teachers. We're coming from all over the world and we barely know each other. Pray that God would form friendships  and bonds that will further the work being done in the UAE.
-Pray for the hearts of our students. We know that God is already preparing them for this new school year. Since it is an international school there will not only be Emirati students but students from all nationalities. This is a huge opportunity for the Gospel.
-Pray for safety for everyone, both physically and spiritually. Driving in the Arabian Peninsula can be quite dangerous and there is always a concern for single women, even in such a westernized country. Spiritually, it is a very dark place. The devil has a real foothold in this country and I had never experienced spiritual warfare the way I experienced it in Oman.
-Ultimately, pray that God would be glorified through our work there, that the students would see Christ's love through us and He would draw people to Himself, (just fyi, one of the most common ways for Muslims to become Christians is through dreams and visions).

{Ameera being commissioned at her church in Chicago}

Follow Ameera’s journey here!

Called to Peru {Guest Post}

Hello from Peru! My name is Amanda from La Blondie Peruana...I'm so happy to be a guest blogger today! {Thanks Samantha!}

A little about me: I'm 27, I've been married to the most incredible man, Shaun, for the past 7 years and in October we are expecting our first {long awaited} little blessing, Judah. We are from Texas but are currently living full time in Lima, Peru but more about that to come!

Samantha and I haven't been blog friends for long, but she has been an incredible encouragement to me so far and I am excited about our new friendship. The first day I visited her blog, she had written a post about Missions and Prayer, where she explained her desire to teach overseas one day, and how she had challenged herself to start lifting up missionaries who are currently overseas. One of the pictures in the photo she took featured Peru, so we started a conversation mostly because I was curious if she knew anyone in Peru.

The answer is...NOW SHE DOES! Funny how God connects people :)

So, it is my pleasure to not only share with her, but also with you, more about my daily life and our ministry in Peru! I could really be all over the place with this...but fortunately, Samantha has provided me with a Q&A to help keep me on track! I'll try to be as thorough and as brief as possible! So without further ado...

1) What led you and your husband to become missionaries in Peru?

In August 2008 Shaun was approached by a friend and invited to go to Peru. His friend had lived in Peru several years ago, and it was always his dream to return  for a Basketball tour/missions trip. He had several connections that would allow his team from the states to play professional teams in Peru. Shaun had played basketball in high school, but not really since then, but as we prayed about it, we felt like it was right for him to go. 

While he was away, I really felt God was prompting me to pray and prepare my heart for something big that would come out of his trip. I had no idea what it was, but I prayed anyway. When Shaun returned one of the first things he said to me was, "How would you feel about moving to Peru?" I was...shocked to say the least, but at the same time I wasn't. I only laughed and thought, "OK God, thanks for preparing me!" 

So in March 2009, we boarded a plane and came back to Peru together. During that time God made it 100% clear that this is where He wanted us. When we returned to the states we sold everything we had, quit our jobs and moved in with my parents. By December 2009 we were both settled in Peru.

{Our excited faces, the day we got our missionary visas}

2) Tell me about your specific ministry in Peru.

I will break this one down into two parts: As a team and personally...

As a team:

The community we live in currently is not where we started out. We lived in another area for the first 2 years we were here, and God really used that season to prepare us for what He had next. It allowed us to get accustomed to the culture, and the language (neither of us spoke any Spanish before we moved here!). Then God moved us on to a community in Chorrillos, where we are now, last September.

We are now part of a team called OIKOS, which is Greek for "Extended Family". Our team is made up of members from America, England, Canada, and of course, Peru. We know God has called us together to be an "extended family" so that as a team, we can reach out to individuals, families and and communities around us.  Currently as a team we focus on three areas: Pacifico (a Shanty town about 5 min away), The Jungle, and Los Cedros (the community where we live).

{Pacifico}

{Calleria: One of our Jungle Communities}

Each community is very different, and like looks different each day. But we are dedicated daily to the following foundations: Personally abiding in Christ, Sharing the Gospel, Life on Life daily discipleship, Disciples making disciples, Worship, Prayer and Living as a community. This is what we live by and what we hope to communicate to the people we live and work with. It's been incredible to see lives transformed as we build relationships!

Personally:

I am currently the worship leader of our communities. It will forever be a mystery to me why God chose ME, but I am growing daily in this process and learning more about the Character of God through worship. I have no previous experience in leading OR worship, but God has given me a talent that I would be silly not to use for his glory. There is only one place I am truly comfortable being, and that is in HIS presence. At the time there are 3 other members on my team and they are amazing. God is growing us each individually and as a team. We have recently started a new discipleship program, in which we are all learning more about becoming leaders and worship. I feel God is leading us to teach the people what we are learning about DAILY worship..that it's not just about singing songs during the specified "worship time" on a Sunday morning..but about truly LIVING a life of worship to God for the things he has done for us. It's been an exciting process and I look forward to seeing how God will use this team here in Peru!

3) Tell me about your church and worship in Peru.

Oops! I kind of jumped ahead on this one...but that's ok I will expand a little more on the "schedule". On Sunday mornings we go out to Pacifico. Our "service" (for lack of better words) is held in the house of Ines. It is a small and humble home, but she willingly opens her doors to us and to her neighbors every week. Twice a month we hold a "formal" service, with worship, a message and fellowship and the other 2 weeks of the month we have an "informal" service...basically we go with drinks and cookies and the people come and we just fellowship. Sometimes we break up into groups and go out into the community, sometimes we just stay in the house and the people come and we just have a great morning talking. It looks different every week.

Sunday evenings, we have a service in our teammates, Mark and Anna's house in Los Cedros, the community we live in, where there is worship, a message and fellowship.

The rest of the week, we just live life together...building relationships, meeting each others needs, visiting...etc.

{During an “informal” service in Pacifico}

4) What do you appreciate most about the culture?

Hmmm...LOTS to appreciate! Culturally, the Peruvians are a very loving people. It would be so easy for them to reject us as foreigners, but they have accepted us as part of the family and allowed us to make our lives here. They are very helpful and patient when it comes to the language...which I have heard from some missionary friends in other countries, can be extremely difficult. Like I said earlier, neither of us knew any Spanish when we came, and we are far from being fluent, but everyone around us is so willing to help!

5) What is a typical day like for you and your family?

We often get this question...and the answer is, there really is no such thing as a "typical" day. Yes, there are things that we have scheduled and that are routine, but every single day and week looks completely different. Our team really moves in and out of seasons, which means the way we do things, as well as the people we work and live with.

However, some of the things we have scheduled would be: Leadership Meetings, accountability, visits, discipleship, etc...Really focusing on building relationships within our team as well as out in our community.

One of our EVERY day activities includes our team lunch! Every day (but Saturday), we come together and share a meal together, which is SO fun, encouraging AND a little crazy. There are anywhere from 8-20 people around the table every single day! To us it is normal now, but every time we have a visitor I remember just how overwhelming and different it was the first few weeks.

{A normal lunch setting}

6) What has been the most encouraging part of your ministry in Peru? The most challenging?

Another toughie...This has been such a humbling experience because most of the time we are learning SO MUCH from the people we work with daily. We are constantly blessed by the things that they teach us! We love to see lives changed because of what God is doing here...and it's such an honor to be used by Him, when he could have called ANYONE else.

On the flip side: It is such a challenge to pour constantly into someone, only to see them resist change, or turn back to their previous lifestyle. We have each experienced some sort of rejection or disappointment because of this. Of course, it has nothing to do with us personally, but when you give so much of your time and energy and see SO much positive change, it can be the most discouraging thing when that all changes for some reason or another. We have to start back a "square one" a lot. But there is a positive to that as well, because it teaches us daily that our identity MUST be in Christ, and NOT the work we are doing, or even the people we are investing in.

7) What are some specific prayer requests you have for your country and mission of service?

For Peru: Our constant prayer is that everyone would experience and truly know the Love of Christ. We want them to know the freedom of a relationship with Jesus, instead of the daily burdens they struggle with.

For our team: Constant protection physically, spiritually and emotionally. It can be a daily struggle to be in a foreign country, away from families and the "comforts" of our respective countries. Also, there will be lots of traveling within the team soon. Prayer for those traveling, as well as those staying!

For my family: Please pray for my husband and I as we prepare for our first baby! Everything is about to change and we are so excited, but there are a lot of unknowns!

Also, our roles on the team will be changing drastically here in the next few months as I become more pregnant, and into the first few months with a newborn. Please pray for us as well as our team as we all adjust to the changes!

Thank you so much for reading! I know it was a little wordy, but it's a challenge to express EVERYTHING in a short post! I could go on and on and one!!!

BUT, If you would like more information or have any questions you can find me at La Blondie Peruana, or feel free to email me: amandalaura626@gmail.com You can also find out even more about our ministry at www.calledtoperu.org

Blessings!

Amanda

Thank you so much for sharing, Amanda! It has been such a pleasure to correspond with you so far and I’m excited about our growing friendship. Your willingness to follow God’s call to Peru is a huge encouragement to me and I love hearing about the community that you’re apart of.

So, will you join me in not only praying for Amanda and her family, but for Peru as well?

Encouragement

I’ve only been blogging for two months, but I’ve grown to love this creative outlet. I love having a space to write and share pieces of my heart. I love sharing snapshots of my life. I love knowing that I’ll be able to look back to see how I’ve grown and changed. But, what I’ve come to love most is the community of women I’ve been able to connect with. I’ve been so encouraged by other young women who share parts of their heart and life as they follow hard after Jesus. Although we haven’t met in person, their stories have spurred me on. Whether it has been through sweet messages or exchanged emails, friendships have developed. I know we would talk for hours if I were able to meet one of these ladies for coffee one day…

I want to share the blogs of a few ladies who have been such an encouragement to me this summer with the hope that you’ll be uplifted as well.

I want to start with Katie from Hope Engaged…



This girl is incredible! I’ve been SO encouraged and challenged by Katie. She radiates joy and the love of Christ through her blog! Her love for the Lord and people is genuine and I always look forward to her posts to see what she will share. I hope that you’ll head over to Katie’s blog and spend time reading through her posts! I promise you won’t be disappointed. Also, be sure to read her love story…I can see God’s hand on every detail and it reminds me that the beauty of God scripted love stories is unsurpassed. Just another reminder to wait on God!

Next is Tiffany from The Wandering Theologian…



Tiffany and I have exchanged emails consistently over the course of the summer and I’ve loved developing a sweet friendship with her. She recently graduated from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and is days away from moving overseas for a year to teach English. Such an exciting journey! If you want to know more about her journey, you’ll have to hop on over to her blog and say hello.

Then there is Jenna from Dearest Love…



Jenna is a young second grade teacher living in Atlanta. Her blog is full of inspiration and all things lovely. She has encouraged me in many ways through uplifting blog comments and messages we’ve exchanged here and there. Jenna has a tender heart for the Lord and that shows through her posts in an honest and vulnerable way. One of my favorite posts was her reflection of her first year teaching. I encourage you to not only read that post, but to explore her other posts! I guarantee that her blog will become a daily read of yours as well.

Next is Natalie from Heart Stirrings…



Natalie is a girl after my own heart and I know we must be kindred spirits. Not only is she an education major, coffee addict, Gilmore girls and book lover, but she is after the Father’s heart. Her posts are always founded on Biblical truth and point to the Gospel while covering modern issues. She’s also really funny and her posts have caused me to laugh out loud. Natalie was one of my first blog friends and I couldn’t recommend her blog more!

Finally, Allie from Sequins & Faith…



Allie currently lives in Canada, but is getting ready to move to Australia to attend Hillsong College. What an adventure that will be! Allie is an incredibly photographer and has a gift for writing. I soak up the wisdom she shares in her posts and she radiates Jesus. She has a way of communicating her heart through her writing in such a unique way. Her perspective on issues is really neat. I would recommend that you take time to discover her blog! It won’t be time wasted as her words always point back to the Father.

There are other ladies who have blessed me that I did not highlight above. I simply wanted to point you in the direction of a few godly women whose stories and passions have resonated with me.