Massengill Middle East Minute Spring
March 2014
 
Greetings once again from the Middle East. Spring has hit the UAE! Well that is if you consider spring being in the low 90s. Doors are continuing to open for us in unexpected areas & at unexpected times. God is moving in this part of the world & thanks to your prayers & support, we are in the right place at the right time.
Wisdom Needed
As I mentioned, God is opening all kinds of doors & presenting unbelievable opportunities for us. It seems to happen as soon as we open our front door. We have been approached by several people in the supermarket who just seem to want to talk. While we are awed by God basically opening these doors right in front of us, we also want to be wise in dealing with each situation.

One situation is in our apartment building. There are 850 families who live in the building, & only 2 are Christian. Although most of these families are Muslim, some are also Hindu, including the family living across the hall from us. God has opened a significant door with this family, and the contact is increasingly frequent. The family is very devoted Hindus & the dad just flew to India to pray at a temple because his business is not doing well. On several occasions, the mother has contacted Kari when things go wrong. Although she knows some of our other neighbors better than us, she said she always thinks of us when something is troubling her. Of course, we do not believe this is a coincidence. We truly feel that God has placed this family in our lives but we also know we need wisdom. Please pray for this family & also for us as we attempt to share our lives with them.
 
More Than A Witness
One of the blessings we have here in the UAE is a good church family. They have been so good to us & have truly helped us in so many ways. Of course the primary focus of our work is to be ambassadors for the ONE who sent us & be His witnesses. However, we are also here to be a brother & sister to those who share our hope. This means sharing in their joys... & sorrows. We have families in our churches that are struggling in so many ways. One example is a woman in our church whose husband has another family & a mistress. He will not give her any money to send her children to school & abuses her frequently. If she was to report him or divorce him, the entire family would be deported back to their home country in which they probably would not be able to survive. Our church is her only refuge & the members are her only real family. We have looked at many possibilities of helping this woman, but in the end all we can do is love her, cry with her & pray. As Christians, we are all called to be witnesses... but we are also called to love one another & carry each others burdens no matter how much it hurts & even if it makes us feel helpless. The really wonderful thing is that when we love one another, Jesus told us that the world will know we are His disciples... and thus we become the witnesses He asked us to be as we love one another.
 
Once again we thank you for your faithful prayer & support. May God bless you beyond words for your commitment to the Great & Only Commission.
 
In His Service,
Vance, Kari, Leandra & Kendra Massengill
Massengill Middle East Minute

Hello again. Well this past month I found out that my ankle joints were not developing properly, so I have to wear special shoes for a while. I do not like it but I know it is best for me so I am trying to make the most of it. I am about to lose my other top front tooth so eating is about to get weird. Oh yeah, mommy & daddy bought us a small turtle. It is our first real pet. We are not sure what we will do with him when we have to come back to America. Daddy said we could make soup... but I hope he is joking!

What's up? I still have not lost any teeth which stinks because Daddy gives us some money when we do. I am getting close to finishing 1st grade which is cool. In about 2 weeks, our friend Abigail & her family will be coming for a visit. We have not seen her in a long time so we cannot wait. Her Daddy & our turtle have the same name... which I think is hilarious!