Received this update yesterday from one of our partners in one of the tough places. Please pray for her and her team as they serve.

So it’s hard to know where to begin an update, but I feel like I should start with a big, “WELCOME!!!” because in the culture here you are always greeted with this. So, WELCOME…

I don’t know how these Friday stories Shu does usually go, so I’m just going to write. Please know that the things I’m writing about are my personal experiences. These are things I have seen and heard and understood during my time in the particular city I live in. Know that the things I’ve experienced cannot be generalized for the whole country, much less the entire region.

Over the past couple of months, I have been increasingly aware of the lostness that is so real here. As my relationships are growing deeper, I am learning more and more, specifically about the generation of people here that are my age. As an outsider looking in at the culture norms, I realize I was naïve to many things. Outwardly, most people dress conservatively and act the part. However, the more I get to know people, the more I see that my generation is very different from the ones before. Again, outwardly they will say all the right things and act the part. What I am learning, though, as I get to know them is that for many people, these things are just things they do because they have to. It’s not because they believe or desire to; the culture pressures them to.

There are many girls who hate the hijab (head covering), but they wear it anyway. There are guys who will pr five times a day but drink at night. I even heard this week of a girl here who is an atheist. I wish I could convey to you the depth of how unbelievable that idea is for this part of the world. This generation is not simply accepting the things they have grown up hearing. They are thinking for themselves. Some of them are even taking big risks culturally in order to experience new things and hear new ideas. The answers they are finding, from what I see, are as empty and deceitful as those found in their religion.

Also during this past month, there was a three week period where family members of my close friends passed away. So for three weeks in a row, my weeks started with funerals. In fact this was the fourth week, and honestly at the beginning of the week my stomach was queasy sometimes wondering who’s family member would be next. There are few things I know that are darker than sitting in a room filled with people, fully aware that they do not know the Son. Sitting, knowing the one in the grave didn’t know Him either.

So, these are a few of the thoughts of a girl wandering around in the M.E. I give you all these seemingly random details to give you a glimpse into His ancient work that I see here. To me it seems that one of the ways He is working in my generation is by opening their minds to challenge the things that previous generations have always simply taken to be true. I believe He is also working specifically within my circle of friends to force us to ask questions about life and death and truth that maybe we are often afraid to ask.

So my requests are simple. Please pr for open doors and boldness to be honest and real with my friends as our relationships/conversations go deeper. And please ask that as this generation searches for answers, love, satisfaction, joy, and peace that they would find it in the Son.

I’m not sure what you think, but as I read over this update I think it sounds kind of dry and ordinary. All I can say is that perhaps this is the joy of the sower. I don’t see a lot of fruit right now; but I’m still going out to the fields each day believing He is bringing the harvest. So, thanks for listening and pring.