Hilary- Adult ESL Teacher

I secretly want to be like Hilary when I grow up, even though we are the same age.  God has set her apart for such an amazing ministry that it just makes me want to squeal with excitement when I think about it!  Hilary is a “welcomer”.  She teaches ESL (English as a Second Language) to adult immigrants and students right here in Austin.  She spends her days loving on and caring for these “strangers in a foreign land” all to display, in the flesh, God’s heart for this population.  If you have ever met Hilary, you also know this: that she loves the Muslim “strangers” she meets most of all.  This is what I am so inspired by.

For the last two years, I had heard bits and pieces of how she had wound up an ESL teacher, but to hear the story unfold from A to Z during my interview with her was pretty cool.  Looking back, God was creating in Hilary a love for the nations long before she even became a follower of Christ.  In college, she worked as a summer camp counselor for U.S. Embassies abroad (one summer in Russia and one in Spain) and she studied abroad her junior year in Mexico.  But her view on traveling the world was all about adventure and experiencing other cultures.

In 1997, Hilary committed her life to Christ and immediately began sharing the gospel with just about anyone who would listen.  She refers to herself back then as a “pistol” bursting with eagerness and passion for Jesus to be known.  About 2 months into her conversion, she went with a group of friends to a Passion Conference in Austin (she lived in Iowa at the time) and remembers hearing some crazy old man say in his sermon: “If you don’t have a heart for the nations, then you don’t know the God of the Bible.”  Hilary was actually offended at this… she knew the Lord that had saved her and yet she didn’t care much about the nations.  She thought to herself that this guy simply doesn’t know what he’s talking about.  But his statement was lodged in her brain and continued to gnaw at her for years. 

After finishing college, Hilary—a brand new Christian—decided to go on staff with Navigators, taking a placement in East L.A. working for 2 years among Spanish-speaking students on college campuses. During her tenure with Navigators, the organization also sent her to the Philippines for a summer with the sole objective of spending time on college campuses sharing the gospel.  She enthusiastically shared with dozens of students that summer—many of whom happened to be Muslims—and God was doing amazing things by calling many into relationship with Himself!  At the time, Hilary knew very little about the Muslim culture or the religion of Islam, but these were the students He kept putting in her path, and she was faithful to share the Good News.

After she completed her Navigators placement, she took a year to teach Spanish to high school students back in Iowa before rationalizing that if she wanted to serve the Lord, she should probably work at a church.  She took a job with her church doing college ministry, and settled in for what she assumed would be the long-haul.  In 2002, some of the staff took Hilary to a Passion “Thirsty” event.  She says she doesn’t remember much, but once again, one statement rung out above the rest and it haunted her: Louie Giglio said in his sermon, “Some of you in this room need to leave full time ministry in order to do the ministry God has called you to.”  What was that supposed to mean?  She had no idea what it would all look like, but less than a year later, Hilary had left her church job and returned to school to get her official ESL endorsement. 

She prepared to take all the remaining required schooling in a short 4 months, get her endorsement, and start working.  But not 30 days into the process, a representative from the school asked her to consider getting her Masters in ESL.  If she agreed to take an “assistantship” with the department, they would pay her way, full-ride, and give her a monthly stipend to live on.  She accepted.  The assistantship turned out to be the department using her as a TA for college-level ESL classes.  Her first student in the program was a Croatian woman (who just happened to be a Muslim—love it, God!). And with that, God began to stir her heart and open her eyes to the ministry He’d been preparing her for.

The first full class Hilary had as a TA in grad school was made up of almost all Muslims.  They came from far off lands: Egypt, Iran, Somalia, Mali, Sudan… but still Hilary knew nothing of Islam, just that God was softening her heart for these people. 

Hilary has an album with a photo of every student she

As a natural “welcomer” at heart, she immediately began serving her students by trying to meet needs she recognized in them.  It took many different forms, but my favorite is how she noticed the men students really missed soccer, so every weekend, she would drive them all to a neighboring town in Iowa that had a soccer league they could play in.

She invited several of her students to come to a college church service one night and that’s when she began to sense what God was up to in her life.  One student was singing his heart out to worship songs about Jesus, and another asked if he was allowed to touch the Bible and when she said yes, he opened it and began to touch every page, page after page, in awe.  She remembers praying that night as she watched it all unfold, “God, are you using me in ways I can’t even see?  Open my eyes, Lord.”

In the spring of 2006, Hilary signed up to take a Christian course called Perspectives, which basically fills you in on what God’s been up to in the world since the end of Revelation and how it’s been His mandate since Genesis that we are to reach out to the nations.  The course completely shook her and she finally connected the dots back to what that crazy man, who happened to be one John Piper, had said at Passion 8 years earlier.  It all began to make sense.  She had finally developed, and understood why, God had given her a heart for the nations.  And she began to recognize that God had completely surrounded her with the nations—without ever leaving the U.S.!

That summer, in a classroom of 28, Hilary had 25 Saudi students. In Iowa!  One of the most closed countries in the world, where there is no way a missionary could go bring the Good News, and here God was, bringing the Saudis here.  At that, she says, “it was over.”  God overwhelmingly began breaking her heart for Muslims and burdening her deep inside to love them with Christ’s love.  It wasn’t easy though—she admits she was fearful at first.  But that summer, as she built relationships with her students, she started to realize “these are people, not ‘Islam.’  The Lord broke me for Muslim people through that.”

Just a few short months later, Hilary made the move to Austin.  With the University of Texas and

A page from her student photo album.

several large, high-tech companies actively recruiting from foreign nations, Austin is a hotbed for internationals.  She works for a private adult ESL school near UT’s campus and teaches dozens of students a semester.  She’s also a part of a House Church whose vision is to reach out to the Muslim population of Austin with the love and message of Christ.  She interacts with immigrants and foreigners every single day.  They are her friends.  And she loves them.

“Spiritual conversations happen all the time,” Hilary says, because religion is such a big part of her students’ lives.  So she often finds herself talking about Jesus, answering questions, or giving away Bibles.  One student’s face lit up when she saw a Bible because she said she’d never seen one before and didn’t know it could be in her language.

About 6 months ago, one of Hilary’s first students, a man from Mali, called her up (5 years later) to tell her that he was finally graduating and that he was thankful for her help in the early days of his coming to the States and for teaching him English.  He also shared something else that touched her heart.  He said, “I remember you loving people and that you talked about Jesus.  I am a Muslim and my family is to, so I could never believe, but I remember that about you.” 

Hilary says, “This is the prayer of my life… in every area.  In all who I am and in all that I do, I want to be and live in such a way ‘so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.’ (Isaiah 41:20).”  Her heart is to be a reflection of Jesus to those around her.  To be faithful in that is all God has called her to.

Hilary marks all the countries of her students with a black border.

Recently, I have been struggling with this question: “Is my ministry enough or does God want even more from me?”  I am sure this is a universal question that believers ask themselves because our ultimate hope is that our lives are a pleasing sacrifice to the Lord.  Here is specifically what I’m stressed about:  God has birthed in me a deep burden and passion to see His name proclaimed among the women of the Muslim world.  This is not something I stumbled into of my own power or interest, but the one way to explain it is simply that GOD DID THIS WORK IN ME!  Two years ago, I was intimidated by, uneducated about, and even spiritually complacent in regards to the Muslim population of the world.  I knew little about them and certainly had no personal relationships with any of them.  BUT GOD began a work in me to change my hard heart and create in me a compassion, a love, and a concern for Muslim women.  I desperately want them to know Jesus as their Savior, not just a prophet. 

I believe this particular heart and desire within me is pleasing to the Lord.  But the catch is, lately, I have been confronted with the many, many, many Scriptures in the Bible that talk about ministry to the poor.  And although there are poor Muslim women in the world, my ministry to and passion for outreach to Muslims is based on their estrangement from Jesus, not on their poverty.  So, the question arose in my mind… should God’s love for the poor trump the heart He’s given me for Muslim ministry?  I wrestled with this question, thinking to myself, “Do I have the time and energy to devote my life to both?”  I wondered: is this single focus sufficiently reconciled with His Scriptures?  I am terrified of getting the answer wrong… What if God truly wants both from me?  I am still praying for discernment and clarity on this… it is not an issue I am taking lightly.  I have been reverently, fearfully talking to God about this over and over.  And I believe He will one day reveal a definitive answer for me. 

Last week, I was praying about this matter once again when He brought Abrar* to mind.  I met Abrar in 2007 and had the chance to spend more time with her again this past spring.  She is an Arab woman in her late fifties who lives and serves the Lord in her home country in North Africa.  I first knew Abrar as an inspiring evangelist to the Muslim population.  She has a weekly television program that is designed to reach the Arabic speaking Muslim population throughout the world to tell them about Christ.  She has told Jesus’ story to hundreds of thousands of Muslims through this venue and I am in awe of the reach that God has given her.  But during my visit with her this spring, I learned she does far more for the Kingdom than make a TV show.  

Here is a snapshot of a regular week for her: 

·         MONDAYS she travels to a slum area in her city where she ministers to poor women.  In 2000, she began meeting with just a small group of 10 women.  Now each week 150 women come to learn about simple life skills like hygiene and they also learn spiritual things about the Bible and the Good News.  In this area the homes have no facilities or running water, even the streets are filthy and the city does not service them, the people are poor and unemployed and the city government does nothing to better their situation.  Domestic abuse and marital conflict are prevalent, recurring themes in her counseling to the women there.

·        TUESDAYS she travels to a different slum area in another part of the city where she teaches a women’s Bible study to 100 women each week, after which she does home visits.  She sits in these ladies rat-infested homes with garbage all around, and listens to their stories, praying with them and counseling them and tending to their very real, physical needs.  She describes the poverty of this area as devastating and incredible, even more so than her Monday neighborhood.

·         WEDNESDAYS she spends time preparing for and recording her satellite television program called “God Loves All People.”  The show is aired in 77 countries worldwide and the premise is a weekly interview with a different Arab Muslim Background Believer… they share their testimony, talk about the Bible, and pray together.  Because in her country, as well as many other Arab nations, it is illegal to speak to a Muslim about Christ, she has found that satellite ministry opens the door for evangelism and sharing Christ with others.  She says that every day, those who work in satellite ministry hear stories of many Muslims coming to saving faith in Jesus. 

·         THURSDAYS Abrar meets with two groups of “rich” women in her city (her words, not mine) and together they pray for the women she ministers to (through Abrar’s poverty and satellite ministries) and try to collaborate on ways they can tangibly meet the ongoing physical needs of the women she serves in the poor areas.  Abrar says that these women, although not living in poverty, need Jesus just as much as the poor women in her life do.   

·         FRIDAYS and SATURDAYS she spends time serving alongside her husband, who works in drama ministry.  They organize plays throughout their city hoping to tell the stories from the Bible through drama.  It is a tool for outreach into the Muslim population.  His ministry also writes and produces movies and short films about spiritual topics geared towards the Arab population.

·         Finally, SUNDAYS she attends church and worships the Lord with her husband.  This is her day of rest.

Needless to say, as I contemplated the diversity of her service to the Lord, I felt schooled.  This woman—who I once was inspired by simply for her outreach to Muslims—is far more complex and far more dedicated to serving the Lord than just one area of ministry allows.  As I prayed about her life, I landed on the simple fact that I want to be more like her as I grow up.  She has a huge heart for Muslims, she is burdened deeply with the desire to share Christ with those who do not know Him as Savior, she loves the poor in her own city (and she spends time with them seeking to help with their physical and spiritual needs), she loves her husband and serves alongside him in his ministry, and she also ministers to the “regular rich folk” that run in her upper class circle.  All of that, plus she still manages a day of rest and worship.  Can you believe it?!  Now that is a life worth modeling. 

Lord, would you one day use me the way you use Abrar?  She is one faithful woman.  Although she is a great warrior for the Lord, You remind me that there is nothing more special about Abrar than the next woman.  You have chosen to multiply her influence, bless her ministry with fruit, and continue to break her heart for what breaks Your’s.  She is beautiful because she is madly, passionately in love with You and she desires to live her life as a sacrifice to You!  Abrar’s life is a testimony of Your power at work in a faithful child of God.

*Abrar’s name has changed to protect her identity.  I chose the feminine Arabic name “Abrar” to represent her because it means “devoted to God.”