Living Behind the Veil

I'm often asked what I wear in Afghanistan and what it's like to wear a veil. It's freedom. Freedom to have a bad hair day, freedom to arrange my chadar to conceal the curve of my breasts and backside, freedom to not be an expatriate for a little while. It means freedom to hide even on the street from the Afghan men's eyes which seem to strip me naked.
When I relax my shoulders and walk less purposefully, less confidently, my eyes downcast and covered by sunglasses, I pass for an Afghan woman. I hear the men whisper in Dari, "Is she a foreigner or local woman?" I chuckle but am silent. On the street, I'm also a free target....freely exposed to groping, sexual innuendos whispered to me as a man bicycles by, free to have stones thrown at me, freely seen as no one's wife, daughter, sister, mother, friend, or boss. I step inside my gate, and remove my chapan and chadar. Now I'm someone's boss, motherhood returns to me as little steps run to greet me, and I receive a kiss from my adoring husband. Now I'm free to his loving and gentle eyes which know and enjoy my curves, free to once again be under the protective umbrella of being a wife, mother, friend, colleague, boss, niece, sister, daughter, woman.

Saturday, August 25, 2018

Endurance in the Wilderness While Waiting and Hoping


Neal and Anna Hampton, Devotional Teachers

July 2018

Annual Conference for Global Workers from Middle East & North Africa

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done 
the will of God you may receive what is promised. 
Hebrews 10:36  

The original audience of these messages are global workers ministering in "front-line" areas where the challenges are unlike what is faced by Western Churches.  These are typically unreached areas where the host people are resistant to the Gospel message and the potential for great trial, persecution and loss are high while at the same time the potential for amazing Eternal Fruit is also very high.

Neal preached two messages "Endurance" and "Waiting" and Anna preached "Wilderness" and "Hoping."  They have two very different styles!

To access Neal and Anna's audio presentations please write to me or use the blogger form on the side panel to request the pre-formatted email with all 4 links. Please briefly introduce yourself.

Neal: Endurance (26 minutes)
Power Point 
Hebrews 10:36 "For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised."
Neal's style is to share half a story at the beginning of a sermon or teaching, and share the second half towards the end of the sermon.  In the case of this conference, he shared half of two stories in "Endurance" and the other portions in "Waiting."  If you want to hear really cool God-stories, listen to both his presentations!

Anna: Wilderness (23 minutes)
Power Point 
Isaiah 35:1-10  "Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you."

Neal: Waiting (32.28 minutes)
Power Point 
Psalm 130:5-6 ““I wait for the LORD,  my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.”

Anna: Hoping (33.14 minutes)
Power Point 
Lamentations 3:24 "The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I will have hope in him."
In this talk, Anna introduces the Cycle of Hope and the Cycle of Despair in mission work.  She uses Jeremiah's raw discussion with God as a template of how we can talk to God when we are in pain.

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