Behind the Veils of Yemen: How an American Woman Risked Her Life, Family, and Faith to Bring Jesus to Muslim Women by Audra Grace Shelby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“Behind the Veils of Yemen” by Audra Grace Shelby, is a fascinating and eloquent true story, of Audra’s and her family, personal experience, when they relocated to Yemen, to begin work there as missionaries.
Filled with rich details of the Yemeni culture from meals to wedding traditions to basic phrases that are customary to greet each other, what makes, “Behind the Veils of Yemen” stands out, is that this isn’t about just the women of Yemen, that Audra encountered and ministered, but how her and her family life there, were transformed and their faith in God was strengthened by their personal experiences.
The stories she shares are haunting and presents a look, “Behind the Veils of Yemen” , that those in the States often don’t hear or maybe only hear very brief glimpses of and the way, Audra, writes, is a story that is filled with strength and hope, in and through our Father in Heaven.
I felt that the ending of the book was a bit rushed and yearned to find out more about what happen after the events in Yemen, but the rest of the book, is a powerful testimony to the spirit of faith, hope and persistence.
The reader will find themselves hanging on to the detail of daily life of the Yemeni culture as shared by Audra and the complicated interactions she find, living as a foreigner among the Yemeni people.
Her experiences are both eye-opening, heart breaking, convicting and live readers asking, how strong are they to be able to do the same as Audra and her family.
Although the book shares about the Muslim women that Audra encountered and befriended, if you are expecting a “missionary book” about conversions, Audra doesn’t focus on that; Instead, she focuses on the real life struggles and experiences of being a missionary family in the Middle East, learning both the languages and customs, sharing personal insights into the culture and on the trials that her and her family personally endure of times of sickness that they had encountered and how as Christians, sharing the Gospel with other faiths and culture.
This isn’t really a book that focuses a lot on the Yemen women or culture, but rather is more like a personal biography of one missionary families experience, but it is still a compelling and fascinating read to look into.
© 2011, Sunflower Faith. All rights reserved.
Disclaimer: This post contains my personal opinions and does not reflect the opinion of any organization I am/was associated with or affiliated to.The product I have reviewed was/is based on my honest opinion and was not influenced or edited by anyone / Thank you to Bethany Publishers for the complimentary copy, in exchange for my honest opinion.
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