READY TO DO MISSIONS?

[ see photos | read testimony ]

AMBER
Dallas Baptist University, Dallas, Texas
Biblical studies major
Senior
Long-term plan: international missions

Assignment: The Middle East. We worked with Saudi people that had come to our country for the summer. We were told we would be learning some Arabic and would spend our evenings in public places where our people were, praying for divine appointments to converse with them.

Typical day: In the morning we had a devotional time with thoughts from God’s Word, prayer and sometimes song. For two hours we would have Arabic class in our living room with our tutor who was also a Christian. We spent our afternoons resting and studying for Arabic class for the next day. In the evenings we would go to a public place where our people were—often amusement parts or malls or other shopping areas.

Best memory: Seeing a dear Arab friend fall in love with Jesus and take the step of public baptism in the Jordan River while realizing the risk of being a follower of Jesus in a world that hates Jesus.

Challenge: I have never had to trust God so much in all of my life. The desert I was in physically was mirrored in my spiritual walk as well. But even in the midst of the dry air and desolation, the stream is just ahead, and it is plentiful.

Funny moment: One night my female teammate and I decided to dress like Saudi women dress, fully covered, to see what life was like for them in public. We had to eat under veils and assume a soft gracefulness. It was only the first 10 minutes of being in public when I, fully dressed in an abiyah slipped and fell down the steps at a café. All my attempts to be graceful were then thrown completely away. God does have a sense of humor.

Lessons learned: Personally, I learned how to cling to Jesus as He became my source for everything that concerns my identity, my security and all my longings and desires.

Why go: We can study about the nations and pray for the nations, but until we know their needs, their individuality and their deceptions, then we are in a way ignorant. When we go and experience what they experience every day, then we will know how to minister to them and bring the hope of Jesus.

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