Dear Muslim Friends, I am a Caucasian mother and grandmother and a devoted follower of Jesus Christ. I was born in Aden, Yemen, grew up in Somalia, went to college in United States, married a Canadian and lived in Pakistan for a decade. A brief time was spent in Tunisia. There is a special place in my heart for Muslims.  At Christmas followers of Jesus Christ celebrate God coming into the world by taking on flesh. He was born from a virgin. He came into the world to become the atoning sacrifice for our sins. He was sinless. He saves us from our sins, our guilt, our shame ..read more

“Put on salvation as your helmet…” Ephesians 6:17a After I was born in Yemen a local woman sewed a bonnet and gave it to my mom for me to wear. Her belief was that jinn enter the soft spot of the head and must be protected. Well, it is true that our minds need to be protected from the strategies and tricks of Satan and evil spirits but the bonnet was helpless in that regard. We hear a lot from our Muslim friends about the importance of the hijab, their head covering. The belief is that the head should be covered. They might not voice it but many believe that piece of cloth brings protection ..read more

Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you.  James 4:8a When I read James 4:8a to Nazanin she shuddered. She had no desire to come close to God. She had been burnt by religion and was afraid of God. “What is your goal in life?” I asked Shahnaz. “To make money,” she answered. As we discussed further it was apparent there was no room for any religion. She had been burnt by Islam and the control of Muslim clerics. She did not trust holy books, God, clerics, or any religion. In her mind everything was just a fairy tale and fear driven. “What is your purpose in life?” I asked Mojgan ..read more

The day will surely come when God, by Jesus Christ, will judge everyone's secret life. This is my message. Acts 2:16 Amal who is an abused wife wants to be safe and secure and avoid a backlash of anger or get beaten for displeasing her husband. The first time I picked her up she said, “Next time please pick me up on the other side of the building. I don’t want my husband to see.” She also told him another reason why she was going out which was not true. It did not take long until I discerned that Amal was living a secretive lifestyle of giving false impressions, conniving, lying, and pretend ..read more

"So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step." I Corinthians 9:26a Farideh was practicing reading The Gingerbread Man to me.  "Run, run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch me - I'm the gingerbread man!"  In the end he was caught and gobbled up. Eventually being on the run makes us lose our focus and get sidetracked. We think we are invincible and in control. There is the occasional day I find myself running too fast. Too many things to get done, you know. Some days running too fast is inevitable but overall  I try to guard myself from having a ..read more

I long for the Lord more than sentries long for the dawn, yes, more than the sentries long for the dawn.  Psalm 130:6 It was thirty three years ago on July 14th that we arrived back in Canada from our ten years of service in Pakistan.  Even though it was not clear what our ministry assignment would look like after one year away we had no clear idea at the time that we would not be returning.  All of our belongings were put in storage with the assumption of returning.  But that day never came. There have been changes and losses in life.   The ministry Ed had in Pakist ..read more

"Now glory to God!  By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope."  Ephesians 3:20 I’ll never forget the first diary I received as a gift at thirteen years old. It was a small green one with a little lock and key. It was bursting with what I considered important private secrets and adventures. It would be obvious to any reader I was more than a little boy crazy! Many years later, while in Pakistan, I kept a journal during my first three months of cultural adjustment there.  Unfortunately I did not continu ..read more

“You seem to believe whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach about a different Jesus than the one we preach….” 2 Corinthians 11:4a Children especially love fantasy. They listen to fairy tales, play the Candy Land game, dress up, watch animal animation movies, and make graham cracker houses of gumdrops and marshmallows. We never seem to outgrow loving fantasy. Maryamo, newly arrived from a refugee camp, was glued to the soap opera on TV. It surprised me to see her so absorbed in the western love story while she was cloaked in her conservative dress and head covering. The curtains were ..read more

“As a result, many Jews believed, as did some of the prominent Greek women and many men.” Acts. 17: 12  I was surprised receiving an evite from Dr. Amal to a Muslim women’s party. When the time arrived I felt a twinge of apprehension. I wasn’t accustomed to mixing with people with such status, wealth, and education. Beautiful Arab ladies, bubbling with joy, stepped into the posh home glad to have a night out with their women friends. All of them except one were doctors from the Middle East and North Africa who were nearing completion of their medical specialty studies. They were br ..read more

“And they defeated him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of their testimony. And they were not afraid to die.” Revelation 12:11 Imagine defeating Satan. Is that really possible? Our personal salvation story, no matter how imperfect the presentation is, has power to it but the story of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, has even more power. Huge power! Yousef listened to the story of the cross for the first time. Shocked, he asked me, “Joy, who on earth would have made up a story like that?” “God did,” I replied. The majority of Muslims have never actually heard the story nor und ..read more