Praying for Frontiers Families Overseas

Couples

When married couples head overseas, one of the first questions Muslims ask them is, “How many children do you have?” If they have none, the second question is, “Is something wrong? Maybe we can give you a proven remedy to solve your problem.”

Without children, couples have the opportunity to invest more of themselves in the language and culture of the people they want to see rejoicing in Jesus. They have the ability to show Muslims they meet how Jesus has united them in His Spirit through the cross. Children are a blessing, but a godly marriage by itself speaks volumes in cultures where local husbands may take more wives and women have fewer rights.

Pray:

• Ephesians 5:25-28 – “I pray for John to love and lay down his life for Erica, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her...”
• Ephesians 2:22-24 – “I pray for Erica to submit to John, as to the Lord…”
• For Muslims who will see real marriages reflecting Christ’s love poured out for the church (and vice-versa), and wonder at the beauty.

Families

Bringing your children to live in Muslim regions carries its own set of joys and challenges. Kids often pick up a new language more quickly than anyone else, and their abilities to play and form friendships in their new neighborhood can be an amazing blessing. Children often open the door for relationships to form with local Muslims families.

Of course, raising children is demanding, so parents will likely have less time and energy to devote to language learning, as they are helping their kids adjust to a new culture. Making sure these kids receive a good education can prove challenging, sometimes requiring one parent to teach them.

Pray:

• Ephesians 6:1-3 – “I pray for Sarah and Joey to obey their parents…”
• 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 – “God, please help the Smith family practice patience and kindness with one another and their team…”
• For Muslim families who come in contact with Frontiers parents and their kids to see the light of Christ in their home and desire new life for themselves.

Third-Culture Kids

Often, kids on the field don’t identify themselves as belonging to their parents’ U.S. culture, while they never feel like they fully belong in the Muslim country where they may have spent most of their life. “Third-culture” refers to the in-between condition these children experience.

They have a head-start on their American peers because they have seen much more of the world and have lived in more than one culture. However, they experience loneliness or even persecution if they are not able to adapt to their new homelands.

Pray:

• For parents of third culture kids to live in an understanding way with them, giving them the tools they will need to thrive in a foreign culture.
• For children who have arrived overseas in the last couple years and may be having difficulty mastering the language and/or making new friends.
• That these children will grow to have their own personal relationship with Jesus and reflect Him at school, as they play with Muslim kids, and in their homes.