By the grace of God, all team members in the Gulf are safe and well.
Most of the team live in the conflict zone, which has made this time particularly challenging for them personally. However, they remain passionate about serving women in the Gulf and continue to work with remarkable dedication.
The team is working tirelessly, responding to the growing emotional and spiritual needs. They keep creating social media content and chatting to people as if there’s no war.
We’re seeing more online engagement during this period of conflict than before. People are searching for hope, asking deeper questions and engaging more seriously with Christian content. This is providing valuable opportunities for conversation, prayer and offering guidance. We’re also continuing to refer lots of women in need to free therapy sessions, paid for by MEM.
The team is also adapting its social media posts and online conversations to the current situation, focusing on messages of hope, peace and faith that directly address what people are experiencing. In the first month of the war, we saw three professions of faith on social media, and are continuing to see more. One of these women is called Esther.
At MEM, we don’t just produce media content ourselves, we equip indigenous ministries to do the same. These teams are rooted in their communities, speak the local language/dialect and are uniquely placed to share Jesus with their people.
One of the ministries we’ve built is called Desert Roses. They are a group of five women from a non-Christian background. Together, they use social media to share the gospel with women in the Gulf and disciple them.
Esther is a 28-year-old woman from Egypt. She used to live in a strict religious environment filled with fear, unable to express her thoughts openly. Yet her heart longed for truth. Through a Christian friend, she began her journey. When she messaged the Desert Roses team on social media, she was already experiencing inner peace and seeking confirmation.
We walked with her, step by step, on her journey to Jesus. At first, when we chatted, she struggled to understand concepts like the incarnation and redemption, and even rejected them. But over time, as we spoke, shared videos, Bible verses and prayed together, she began to grasp God’s love and plan for her life.
Despite intense challenges and pressures in her life, including the war, Esther chose not to wait. She took a step of faith, praying to accept Christ. Afterwards, she experienced deep peace, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
She chose her new name, Esther, after we shared the story of Esther in the Bible with her. We continue to pray that her journey with God grows stronger and that she becomes a light within her family. In the meantime, we will continue to support her, invite her to online discipleship groups and, if safe, introduce her to local Christians.
Praise God for:
- The Desert Roses team’s perseverance.
- Three women (Esther, Mariam and Hoda) coming to faith recently through the project’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
Ask for:
- Physical protection from missiles for the Desert Roses team, including their families.
- Spiritual and emotional encouragement for the team, that they would feel held by God.
- More people like Esther to come to Jesus, and that their faith in Him would grow.
- For peace in the region, spiritual and physical.