When my children were young, all of my day was spent taking care of them. From feeding them to clothing them to playing with other little ones in our apartment complex, my days were busy but sweet. And, then somehow I find time to squeeze in my prayers to Allah, five times a day. As the saying goes, “The days are long but the years are short.”
I am a widowed Hui lady, almost eighty years old. I have several children, grandchildren, and even great grandchildren.My family once lived in a rural area, where we made our living by farming. However, as the city expanded, the government turned our land into residential property.
And here we are again at the end of another summer break. As a worker, I am in a non-stop wrestling
match in my soul, battling with the tension of wanting desperately to be faithful in this friendship to
point her to Jesus and knowing that, no matter what, I cannot save her, this is the work of the Lord
alone. I ask that you would join me in prayer for this precious friend.
“I think that God just isn’t concerned about me,” Mei Li tells me as she sits at my dinner table and pushes food around her plate. Her sentiment is not unlike the feelings many believers have at one point in their life. Mei Li faces intense cultural pressure to be married by the time she’s 30. At 29 years old, her mother’s request for the past several years is that she marry a nice, preferably wealthy, Hui man, which is almost unheard of.
God called us to Asia with a burden for the Hui. Since we arrived we have intentionally shared our burden for Muslims with our local partners. God has blessed us with the opportunity to disciple and befriend a sister, Rebecca. She has watched us serve a neighboring Hui family who own a local noodle shop as well as share the Gospel with them. We’ve talked with her about the importance of reaching the unreached. She has become a close friend and has picked up our passion to share with Muslim people groups in East Asia.