Written by Beatriz Lima

 

“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” - Søren Kierkegaard. These words came to mind when I sat down to speak with David, an OMer from the UK who has been serving in the Arab world for many years. David told me he lived the first ten years of his life in Yemen, before he knew Christ. Now, years later, he is serving Yemeni refugees in the Middle East. Listening to him, I couldn’t help but think about what an intentional God we have.

David became a Christian in his early twenties, but God had been stirring something in his heart and preparing him long before that, through his love of travelling and backpacking, and through his curiosity about other cultures and languages. He shares: “The day I became a Christian, I was convinced that God cared about the nations.” He adds, “You can’t let go of what you’ve experienced. When I became a Christian, I understood that God could use this part of my life, my connection to that nation and community.”

After graduating, David sought out opportunities to serve overseas with his expertise through cross-cultural ministry. He chose to join OM because he connected with the vision and understanding that we’re all called to “go and make disciples of all nations”. He remembers feeling encouraged by leaders, in particular OM’s founder George Verwer, who spoke so openly about the fact that we’re all sinners and that choosing to serve in God’s mission and share His word with the least reached is not only for “super saints”. “Christian missionaries are not super saints, they’re sinners being put back together by Jesus, who want to serve and be used by God to reach other cultures”, he explains.

Over the past two decades, David has served as a language teacher across the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa. “Most cross-cultural workers I meet are in other professions,” he said. “It’s a good route to go down. You make sense to the local community. You’re able to contribute and engage.” When asked about the challenges, he shares, “It’s tricky to be bivocational. You have a desperate passion for the church to be planted, but you don’t have a whole lot of time.” Sharing honestly about the cost of working a full-time job while serving in ministry, he adds, “Life can feel stretched, with family, paid work and church planting activities all competing for the same hours. But God uses us.”

We tend to look at evangelism and ministry work as something only possible for those able to leave everything and everyone behind, relying entirely on giving and funding. Yet, David’s story shows us that there are other options. Serving alongside his wife and four children, he’s had the chance to build natural relationships with the local community through his work. In fact, he’s met many believers who are there to serve with their professional skills, such as doctors and nurses, who have a heart and vision to spread God’s love. “You’re not in a community where the church is the natural interface for these conversations about faith”, he adds, “My desire is to glorify God through serving others as well as I can.”

At the community centre where David volunteers, he’s had the chance to meet many Yemeni and Sudanese refugees who carry a deep sense of uncertainty right now. Many feel like they’re living in limbo. Some fear being sent back, and dream of resettling somewhere they hope will offer stability. David also mentioned the added pressure for those who become followers of Jesus. They often need wisdom for how to live faithfully within their communities, and courage for what it may cost. His prayer is that God would keep building His Church as he promised, and that believers would learn to trust the Lord and one another. 

When asked what he’d tell a young person who feels drawn to the Middle East but unqualified, he says, “Read the Psalms. I often return to Psalm 27:4-5: One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.” 

For David, this is the foundation that carries him and his family on good and bad days, through times of uncertainty. It is remembering and praying that this would be their reality: desiring to dwell in God’s presence. He shares, “The desire to be in God’s presence will guide me through the challenges of life, whether I’m in the UK or the Middle East. Another scripture I often turn to is Psalm 63:3: Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. When David wrote this, he wasn’t in a safe place; he was in the wilderness of Judah, but God was with him, and that was enough; it was better than life.”

If God is stirring your heart for the Middle East, I hope that David’s testimony encourages you that you don’t need to be a “super saint” to go. As he shared with me, “You just need to have the sense that this is where the Lord wants you, and to have a desire for it; you don’t need to rush. Seek guidance from those you love, and visit the region before making this commitment. You can’t predict what it is going to be like just from the media or what you hear.”

Please pray with us for Yemeni and Sudanese refugee families, that they would find protection and stability, but above all, that they would have the opportunity to encounter Christ and walk with Him. And please pray for David’s family, and for other third-culture kids (TCKs) - children growing up between cultures, as they navigate change and the grief that can come with friends coming and going on the field.

 

Is God putting longer-term missions on your heart? Learn more about how you can serve here.