Cooperative Program Missionary Joy

As we come to our prayer time today, we are reminded that we are blessed to live in a country where we can live out our Christian faith without fear. But we must remember that many places around the world are very different. Our missionary today we'll just call Joy. That's because she serves in a nation in South Asia where being a missionary is dangerous. This is a mostly Muslim country and one of the ways women dress up is by making designs on their hands with "henna" which is a non-permanent dye. Now, Joy has learned how to not just make those designs, but she also makes designs that help her tell Bible stories. Joy met a woman we'll call Miriam at a local children's center. Joy was able to tell her Bible stories using the henna. When Miriam's husband found her reading the Bible, he slapped her - and left. While he was gone, Miriam gave her heart to Christ and became a Christian. When her husband returned, Miram told him she was going to continue to follow Christ, no matter what. Joy asked Miriam to lead other study groups, using the henna designs to tell Bible stories and lead other women to become followers of Christ. Today, let's just take a moment to thank God for Joy's faithfulness in serving in South Asia. And let's ask Him to bless Miriam, her new faith and her new ministry. Let's pray while we're at it that Miriam's husband would also come to faith in Christ! This is not just a story from far away. Our church supports Joy and her ministry through our Cooperative Program giving.