If you felt God was calling you to go to another land to share His love for the people there would you go? Would you go if it was to Yemen? Shelby (not her real name) and her family said "yes." Their struggles to get there, to fit in and to find a way to love their neighbors is the substance of this illuminating book on what it really means to "Go into all the world."
Behind the Veils of Yemen
by Audra Grace Shelby
Chosen
September 2011
This is not at all what I expected when I picked it up. I expected stories of triumphant Christianity, overcoming native superstitions, overcoming financial obstacles - the trite nature of so many books about missionary work. It is also not a theological treatise on why missions in the 21st century. This is a memoire of a family, specifically through the eyes of Audra, who chose to follow God's call and to go somewhere that most Americans would dread going - the heart of the Middle East.
The stories that Audra shares with us focus on her personal growth as she learned to trust God in every situation no matter how dire. We hear about believers who live this way, we may even know a few, but we seldom get to see how they came to trust the Lord so completely. Audra's stories were so real and so emotionally charged that I can't begin to count the amount of times that she had me crying right along with her!
This book is a must read for those who believe in the desperate need for missionary work and want an insider's view of it. It is also a game changer for those who either have misconceptions about what missionary work really is or have had bad experiences with those who have. I highly recommend it.
