P
petitefleur
Guest
Dearest friends,
First of all I’d like to say a HUGE thank you for all of you who have been praying for me over the past few months. May the Lord bless you abundantly and may you continue to be His instruments of peace and love in this world.
I’ve decided to leave my country for good, and will be moving halfway around the world in a few weeks.
Please pray for my faith, good health and smooth transition to my new life and school.
A word of insight concerning women in Muslim countries: The problem is not simply about lack of education or abuse. I deeply feel that it’s the cultural values in these societies that keep women and ethnic minorities in some sort of “emotional infantilism”. Whenever anyone dares to speak up about certain controversial topics, people start ostracizing this person for fear of mob lynching or persecution. The result is a forced focus on material consumption as the only allowed outlet of pleasure, fulfillment and self-realization. (that’s why we get stories of those overspending Saudi women, for example). Although my country is not so extreme, I literally find myself becoming less mature, more emotional and displaying a much lower pain threshold when in this country. In other places where I can write and teach with freedom, intellectual fulfillment is possible, and I am able to enjoy life, be grateful, and resolve whatever problems need to be resolved. But when even going out alone is seen as unusual (chaperoning women is customary in Muslim countries), speaking up and writing quite dangerous, then life becomes this sort of torture. Mostly I just stay at home studying and writing, but loneliness sets in really quickly and I start becoming very sensitive to the smallest things.
For some time now (especially after the bombings last May), I no longer feel the local parish to be a spiritual sanctuary, and do not feel at peace when going to church (I still go out of duty). Mostly it’s because I’ve lost that feeling of “community” at church, due to the atmosphere of fear, misunderstanding and ostracism. I often feel that I’m a very bad Christian and a very bad person.
Please pray a lot for my faith, strength, good health and a smooth transition to my new life abroad.
I hope in the future I can have lots of friends and use my talents to be a blessing for others.
Thank you!
First of all I’d like to say a HUGE thank you for all of you who have been praying for me over the past few months. May the Lord bless you abundantly and may you continue to be His instruments of peace and love in this world.
I’ve decided to leave my country for good, and will be moving halfway around the world in a few weeks.
Please pray for my faith, good health and smooth transition to my new life and school.
A word of insight concerning women in Muslim countries: The problem is not simply about lack of education or abuse. I deeply feel that it’s the cultural values in these societies that keep women and ethnic minorities in some sort of “emotional infantilism”. Whenever anyone dares to speak up about certain controversial topics, people start ostracizing this person for fear of mob lynching or persecution. The result is a forced focus on material consumption as the only allowed outlet of pleasure, fulfillment and self-realization. (that’s why we get stories of those overspending Saudi women, for example). Although my country is not so extreme, I literally find myself becoming less mature, more emotional and displaying a much lower pain threshold when in this country. In other places where I can write and teach with freedom, intellectual fulfillment is possible, and I am able to enjoy life, be grateful, and resolve whatever problems need to be resolved. But when even going out alone is seen as unusual (chaperoning women is customary in Muslim countries), speaking up and writing quite dangerous, then life becomes this sort of torture. Mostly I just stay at home studying and writing, but loneliness sets in really quickly and I start becoming very sensitive to the smallest things.
For some time now (especially after the bombings last May), I no longer feel the local parish to be a spiritual sanctuary, and do not feel at peace when going to church (I still go out of duty). Mostly it’s because I’ve lost that feeling of “community” at church, due to the atmosphere of fear, misunderstanding and ostracism. I often feel that I’m a very bad Christian and a very bad person.
Please pray a lot for my faith, strength, good health and a smooth transition to my new life abroad.
I hope in the future I can have lots of friends and use my talents to be a blessing for others.
Thank you!