It’s funny how things that were once strange can become normal so quickly. Of course, covering their faces has always been normal for many women in the world, and it’s becoming normal for me now, too!!
I met this truly captivating masked young woman (shown above) over two years ago at the park where many ladies from her language group gather. We had connected a couple of times on WhatsApp but nothing major. I’m not big into social media, so I had never changed anything on my WhatsApp profile and didn’t even realize I could or should.
‘Somehow’, on Easter, it occurred to me that I should post a sunrise photo of our family and say, ‘He is risen!’ I quickly got a response from this sweet lady asking what that meant!! I explained in full color what that meant, and she immediately wanted to download the ‘SOURCE’. She then messaged one of my friends and told her ‘Happy Easter’ and ‘He is risen!’ to which my friend said, ‘How did you know that?’
Those exchanges were the beginning of a very special friendship. Her name really does mean ‘captivating’, so we began reading the book by the same name. One day when we were together, she confided in me that she wanted to be a medical technologist (my career in a former life) but had no way to afford a UAE education and her parents would not allow her to go to another country alone. She mentioned that she wanted to go to a university in her homeland, and I told her that we have friends (Bob and Sue) there!! We prayed together that God would open the door according to His will.
She went home and told her mother about this new development which immediately opened the door of possibility for her to go. Captivating’s mother had met Sue at the same park and knew that she was a good woman. Fast forward 4 months…our young P*n friend didn’t have to pass a difficult entrance exam because of COVID and was admitted to university when many of her friends were denied admission! But that’s not the end of God’s provision for her! Four days before she was to leave for university, she fell in the bathroom and cut her face open. Her family told her not to worry about it, that it would heal on its own. But by God’s grace, we got to welcome her at Kanad Hospital at a time our surgeon friend was on call.
Since Captivating doesn’t have insurance, she came to the eye clinic and our surgeon friend stitched her up with our own personal clinic supplies making it totally free for her. (Skillfully stitched wound is hidden behind the mask.) Praise God that she flew on September 2nd and is getting settled into her new home…in the same city as Bob and Sue. Another one of our sweet friends in the US who came to the UAE and met ‘Captivating’ is currently learning the P language and is set to move to the same area in just a few months! God is definitely not finished with our sweet ‘Captivating’ yet! She knows God is at work in her life, and I can’t wait until she allows Him to do the WORK he really wants to do.
Noteworthy is the time I mentioned here…over two and a half years between the time we met and when God chose to put this plan together. This is the value of a long-term commitment in one place. Relationships take time, especially in this part of the world!
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