Being without a car in America is like being unable to walk.

These were the words of my neighbor and new friend, Ban. Ban is precious woman from the country of Jordan in the Middle East. She and her two young daughters (Miriam, 5 and Rima, 3) moved to American 9 months ago with high hopes for a better life. For reasons that I can't completely understand, Ban has not seen her husband face-to-face in 4 years. He had to work far away from the family (when they lived in the Middle East) and was unable to come to America with them. He is working with the Embassy now in an effort to join his family in America, but the process is slow and frustrating. So, Ban is here alone with two little girls. She is unable to get a job. She has no car. She goes to a center in town where she learns English and receives some financial support. However, it takes her 2 to 3 hours to get to this center by bus, even though it is only a few miles away. Ban's situation is difficult and she is facing so many trials in her life right now, but she has hope! Ban is a follower of Jesus Christ. I befriended Ban with hopes that I could be an encouragement and help to her, but she has ended up being an encouragement and help to me. I am so blessed by the strength of her faith. She is often tearful as she expresses her loneliness and weariness to me, but her final words are always the same: "I trust God. I trust the time of the God." She rests on the truth that God is sovereign over every aspect of her life. He is sovereign in providing her daily bread. He is sovereign over the timing for her being re-united with her husband (partner and provider). He is in control and He will provide for the needs of His children. I try to encourage Ban by reminding her that faith is strengthened through trials, all the while wondering if I could ever endure the hardships that she faces. Ban is a God-send. When I think that I am suffering, I need only to look around in order to realize how comfortable I truly am. When I think I am in want, I look at Ban and remember that people all around me have no transportation, while our 2 person family has 2 cars! Oh, how blessed we are! But, oh how ungrateful we are! May we, as the Church of Christ, be continually reminded of God's faithfulness and His many, many good gifts to His children!