Shelly, Susan, and Mandy had come to Dubai to see the sights and go to Expo. After wandering around and going into different pavilions, they realized that the world was represented at Expo not just by the country pavilions but by the many nationalities they had met while waiting in lines. They were also surprised to see more Emirates than they had seen anywhere else in Dubai. They wandered into a park area to sit and just relax for a while. As the girls were chatting about what they had seen in the pavilions they noticed two girls sitting not too far away.

Katie entered the Sri Lankan pavilion with several friends and wandered around.  She noticed a lady sitting in the middle of the pavilion alone and greeted her.  Mary asked her if she had ever been to Sri Lanka.  Katie said no and proceeded to walk through the rest of the exhibition.  As she circled back around to the exit, she saw Mary again. Katie learned that Mary was a follower of Christ and lived in Dubai.  Mary had lost her job with a major company during Covid, but when Expo 2020 opened she was hired by one of the pavilions.  

Naelia’s came from a Muslim family in Sudan, but she grew up in the UAE. She went to Germany for college and when she was there, she heard about Jesus and wanted to follow Him.

She returned to the UAE and got connected with a church family, but did not tell her family where she was going. Her community was so life-giving that guilt began to weigh on her about the double life she was living. Naelia wanted her family to share in the same joy of knowing Christ that she had. Her community prayed with her to have wisdom and she felt it was time to tell her family.

Grace is from India.  She is a manager in her office in Dubai.  She was taking a special evangelism course at her international church where she was challenged to share the Gospel.  Grace is a serious follower of Christ, and she took up this challenge.  

Craig was enjoying the gorgeous weather in Dubai with his wife.  It was cold back home, and they were glad to be in warmer temperatures.   The highlight of this trip was being able to experience Expo 2020.  The couple had been to several pavilions, some that were extravagant and others that were simple.  They entered the Afghanistan pavilion.  Craig saw an older gentleman and wandered over to speak to him.  The man shook his head – no English, but he called over another man, Abed, to talk with him.  Abed shared that he was from Afghanistan but felt that he would never return there.  He grew quite emotional as he shared about the destruction he had witnessed.

A few weeks ago, Cindy and her family were able to go to the desert for a BBQ with some friends from church. About half the group were members and the other half were people that were invited by members. It was such a wonderful mix and reminder of what the body of Christ looks like. Cindy remembers talking to so many new people that were in need of a Savior.