American Missionaries In a Muslim World

Audra Grace Shelby* is an amazing author and I was privileged to read her story. Answering the call of God to an unknown land full of the Muslim religion can be a scary thing. Audra and her family prepared to move to the Middle East, and God became much more real to her while she was in Yemen. This story was very inspiring. Kevin*, Audra, and her kids gave up so much to go share the Gospel with the people of Yemen. What is keeping us from spreading God's word and sharing the Good News in our own city, with our own neighbors? She had to be careful with the things she said and the things she did. She learned to speak their language and learned their ways so she could get behind the veils of these Yemeni women. She needed to be their friend and they wanted her friendship. Audra was able to plant seeds of faith in these women. Many of the women could not even read. Education was for the boys. The girls only knew what was told to them. Audra had the job of communicating God's love in a way they could understand.
There was a part of the story that had me almost in tears. OK, maybe I did shed a few tears. Audra's friend and Arabic teacher , Fatima, had a baby. Qasar was born with the cord around his neck. So, of course he had some medical issues. These women have no hope, as I found out reading this. When Fatima was asked if they could pray for her baby, she willingly allowed it. He began to show improvement, thank you Jesus. 
Audra and her family moved to another town where they would live for the next few years. There were many English speakers there and she was excited to make some new friends who were foreigners (American & European) in this land, such as herself. These women were polite to the locals, but were not interested in befriending them. They didn't cover up with the balto and hejab as the women in that region did. Audra decided to wear hers and it paid off in the end. She was respected and welcomed among the Hudaydah women. They were happy she spoke their language. She may not have made new English speaking friends, but God gave her many new friends to share His love with.

Take a look inside the book at amazon.com and go ahead and grab a copy. They have it for a great price!


*Names were changed to protect identities and ongoing work in the Middle East


I received this book from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.