Yusuf and Ayesha and their children became refugees overnight as they had to flee physical persecution in their home country due to their faith.  A religious leader’s son had begun to read the Bible and he blamed it on this family.  A crowd was gathered and went to their house to hurt them.  

A new Hindu temple officially opened on October 5th, the day before the Dussehra festival, in what is being described as the “worship village” of Jebel Ali in Dubai where several churches and a Sikh temple are located.  Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, and the Indian ambassador inaugurated the new temple at a celebration where over 200 dignitaries, ambassadors and local community leaders gathered. 

Moving to Dubai was never a part of my plan for my life. If you had asked me in 2012 where I saw myself in 10 years, I would have probably said something along the lines of married with kids working as a successful lawyer somewhere.

I once heard a saying: “Men make plans, and God laughs.” It turns out that saying is true for women as well.

Many residents are celebrating in the UAE this week as the mask requirement has been scrapped in most public places after 2 and a half years. One school even held a special “ceremony” ending in masks being thrown into the air - graduation style. Masks will still be required in hospitals, public transport, and places of worship. Discipleship classes and small groups are back in full swing back in churches.

Cheryl had the opportunity to travel to Europe for an evangelism project. The country was beautiful, and many Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula traveled there to escape the heat and enjoy the green scenery. One evening Cheryl was paired with another woman who just happened to be named Cheryl which they found to be humorous. They were both close to the same age and both introverts. They had an enjoyable evening connecting with different Arabs but were finding it difficult moving from social conversations to spiritual conversations.

Mohammed* is an Emirati Bedouin from the Northern Emirates. He loves his camels, and he invests lots of time and energy in caring for them. He oversees regular blood tests to ensure they are healthy. He watches his racing camels exercise at the nearby camel track. He drives to another farm to gather milk from his she-camels.