Dreams and friendships prepare hearts for Jesus in the Middle East

Ana and George’s decision to stay impacts every part of their family’s life. 

Their son is a child with high intellectual ability. While the social aspect can be a challenge, he is a sweet boy who is very direct in his speech. He loves Jesus, and at school he talks to other boys about Him, even though sometimes they make fun of him and worse, threaten to kill him. 

Ana knows that when people picture what it takes to serve overseas as a family, some might look at hers and wonder how they’d manage: finding the right schools, therapists, or specialist support in a country where those things are harder to come by. 

She says, “People would look at my family and think, ‘Oh, it would be too difficult,’ but God has used my family as a witness to bring Him glory.” 

Her son keeps talking about Jesus at school, even when it brings a difficult response. Ana says, “It doesn’t bother him too much”. She is encouraged to know that years from now, those boys will remember the classmate who kept talking to them about Jesus in a room that would otherwise never have heard his name. 

“Some of the people they serve live several hours away, with little public transport in places where years of conflict have made everyday life harder.”

It’s one of several signs Ana and George have seen of God preparing people’s hearts to hear the gospel. Again and again, they find themselves having opportunities to talk about Jesus because someone has first told them about a dream. 

Ana says, “So many people here tell us about their dreams, dreaming about God, or dreaming that God has spoken to them. It happens more than you would imagine, and it’s often the reason someone is willing to have a conversation with us in the first place.” 

It is a profound reminder that before the boldness of sharing the gospel, God may already be preparing the way. Even before Ana and George have the opportunity to speak about Jesus, He is stirring questions, drawing people’s attention towards Him and creating openings for conversations. 

George’s local language teacher has also become increasingly open to talking with him about different subjects. As their relationship has grown, conversations about faith have become more natural, and he’s shown real interest in the good news, recently starting to read the Bible. 

Another family they know are from a very conservative religious background, and Ana and George continue to pray for them. Their oldest son recently joined a birthday gathering with Ana and George’s son and her friends. As the girls took turns praying, each in her own language, she raised her hand and asked if she could pray in the local language. It was another small sign of trust, another opening to point someone towards Jesus. 

Ana sees the same kind of openness in her work at a local women’s centre, where she runs language classes. Many of the women never had the chance to attend school; from a young age they were expected to focus on responsibilities at home, and some were married as young as 14 or 16. Now with their husbands’ permission, they attend classes together.  

She describes the centre as a place of peace, where conversation naturally moves from learning language to caring for their bodies and giving thanks to God. “I want this to be somewhere they feel safe, maybe for the first time. If they leave knowing someone sees them and loves them, that already means something.” She and George pray that the women who come will know above all, that they’re loved. 

The couple both know that the Lord is preparing hearts. 

After five years in the region, they have learned that they will not always see what God is doing through their work. There are moments of rejection, seasons of weariness, and conversations whose significance may only become clear years later. 

“We can say that it is the first time in our five years of service in the region that we have felt tired, but our confidence is in the Lord, not because we consider ourselves strong, but because we know He is our strength.”

*Names have been changed.