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In Oman, one of the most conservative Muslim nations in the Arab world, our Omani friends subscribe to a lot of superstitious beliefs. They see and understand the spiritual realm very clearly—often more clearly than we do. When we come into contact with these beliefs and demonstrations, we are assured that the power of Jesus in us is greater than anything we will face and has the power to drive out demons (Acts 16:18). We continue to plant and water seeds, and we trust God to bring the increase when He is ready for the harvest. Until then, we celebrate small wins.

One day a friend I was visiting told me a story of the jinn, or evil spirits, that were inhabiting her home and bothering her family. She and her family would hear strange sounds and slamming doors, and people and dead cats would appear out of nowhere. She admitted to me that even her husband was scared.

Where we live, experiences like these are fairly common. The spirit world is active. People buy and sell curses at the mosque and pray against other people because of jealousy.

My friend, looking for a solution, called the local mutawa, a religious man recommended by the mosque who handles problems like these. When he chants the Qur’an around the corners of the house, the jinn supposedly leave. She frankly confided in me that he came and chanted, but it didn’t work. Knowing I am a follower of Christ, she asked me what I do about these kinds of problems.

I told her I would fast and pray about it, then come and pray in her home. She agreed. I fasted. I visited, and we prayed in her home in Arabic and English, and then read Psalm 91 together in Arabic. The presence of God was so wonderful—I don’t usually weep when praying with others, especially Muslims, but I was so overwhelmed by the Lord’s presence that I couldn’t help but weep. I told her that she must pray in Jesus’ name for the jinn to stay away. A few days later she said they left and her family was relieved. What a privilege to see such openness in an Omani woman, to pray and read the Scriptures with her, and to see the Lord show Himself as the True One who casts out demons.

It’s common for our Omani friends to seek solutions to their felt needs, but uncommon for them to make decisions to follow Christ. There are not many Omani believers throughout the country. Yet in this physically and spiritually arid country, people are thirsty for the Living Water, and will take a drink when they feel it is safe to do so.

Please continue to pray for my friend as she sips of this Living Water, grows in her faith, and learns to discern the difference between what she has been taught her whole life and the Truth she is discovering in the Word of God.

Do you have a desire to make a difference? To make an impact that lasts?

We here at Eurasia Café want to give you a new challenge. Much of life’s successes are dependent on whom you know. What about those whom you do not know? How do you impact them? With our current Live Dead Blend, you are able to support the development of an English language center in Doha, Qatar. We want to challenge you to join us in praying for the Arab World for seven days. Prayer changes lives and your prayers can change the lives of those living in the Arab World.

-         Day 1: Thank and worship God for who He is.

-         Day 2: Pray for mercy and peace for the nations in turmoil and for the refugees.

-         Day 3: Pray for the leaders in the Arab world and those who have much influence.

-         Day 4: Pray for the lost. Pray that they may find and know God.

-         Day 5: Pray for the Church in the Arab nations. Pray for strength, courage, determination, boldness, and protection for the believers there.

-         Day 6: Pray for the Live Dead Arab World, and those who are out reaching Arabs for the Great Commission.

-         Day 7: Pray for whatever is most burdening your heart about the Arab region.

Find time in your day to pray. You can pray as you drive to work, during your lunchtime, before you get ready for bed, whenever. Never doubt the significance of prayer and especially never doubt the power and love of God. Prayer changes lives. How will you change the lives of those in the Arab region?

We’re excited to share a job opening at Culture | C-Street. Here’s the inside scoop on this new position…

CULTURE | C-Street Job Posting

Position:  Full Time Administrator

Essential Functions:

Booking Coordinator:

1) Manage bookings and operations of a six, suite boutique hotel and 1200 sq. ft. gallery and event space.

2) Engage the local community to promote CULTURE | C-Street among businesses, churches and other organizations.

Receptionist: Manage physical and virtual “front door” for Eurasia Café.

1) Answer and direct incoming calls.

2) Classify and direct initial email inquiries.

3) Greet and direct visitors from front desk at CULTURE | Boutique Hotel.

Special Skills: Applicant should possess excellent interpersonal skills and an ability to effectively communicate over the phone and face to face. Must be able to work in a dynamic environment and organize information from multiple data streams.  Retail and/or hospitality experience preferred but not required.

Reporting: Applicant will report directly to a member of the executive leadership team. While the administrator will not have any direct reports, they will be required to work with the CULTURE| C-Street Café manager to obtain support needed for operations of the hotel.

What is CULTURE | C-Street?  A mixed-use facility designed to support the mission of Eurasia Café. Located on historic Commercial Street in Springfield Missouri, it consists of a café and coffee roastery, a boutique hotel, and office space.

What is Eurasia Café?  Eurasia Café is a faith-based coffee company that works to strengthen local communities while making a global impact. Learn more at Eurasiacafe.org

If you’re interested in applying submit your resume and cover letter to: info@EurasiaCafe.org

For a printable job posting, click here: Culture C-Street Job Posting

Father Simaan is a born-again charismatic priest who leads one of the largest Coptic churches in Egypt. His story is remarkable.

As a young man Simaan had a vision of the Holy Spirit descending like a dove. Simaan was fervent and dedicated to the Lord. One day a garbage collector came to his door. Simaan shared Jesus with this poor peasant. The peasant responded, “I don’t know what you are talking about. Besides, there are thousands of us who live in ‘Garbage City.’ You need to go tell them about Jesus.” Garbage City is a huge trash area inhabited by the desperately poor who eke out a living by sifting through the rubbish for what can be eaten or recycled.

Simaan struggled with this invitation and wanted to run away from the internal tug he felt. He decided to fast and pray for three days. On one of those days, walking through Garbage City, a strong wind blew a fragment of paper up from the rubbish and pinned it to his chest. Simaan peeled the piece of paper off his chest and discovered it was from Acts 18: “Don’t be afraid, for I have many people in this city.” Simaan took that paper and his story to the head of the Coptic church, Pope Shenouda, who told him clearly, “This is a command from God. You must do a work in Garbage City.”

Father Simaan began to work. One day a truck bringing supplies for a building project ran over a small boy and crushed his head. The inhabitants of Garbage City were furious and blamed Simaan. “This is your fault. If you were not here, this boy would not have died.” Simaan walked to a pile of garbage and picked up a broken and smashed chair. “Who made this chair?” He asked. “A carpenter,” the people responded. “God made this little boy’s head,” Simaan told them, “and God will repair it.” Simaan scooped that boy in his arms, took him to the hospital, and prayed all night for him. In the morning, God healed that boy and he revived, asking for food and water. That little boy is now a minister in Father Simaan’s church.

Countless miracles have occurred since then. The church has expanded so much that they have had to carve a huge cavern in the hillside that can hold over 20,000 people. Perhaps you have seen videos on YouTube of the united prayer meetings being held there during these turbulent days in Egypt. Father Simaan remains humble and Spirit-led, even in his 70′s. He had enough faith and obedience to allow God to use him to find thousands of treasures in the garbage.

What has happened once can happen again. With the God of the impossible, even what has never happened can occur. Believe with us that God would raise up a glorious church from the sands of the Arab world.

During the Spring 2013 semester, Eurasia Café was blessed with a phenomenal intern team! We want to take the time to share with you who our interns are and the impact they were involved with!

Two of our interns: Mina Habibi, left, and Yesica Goblirsch, right.

Mina Habibi returned for her second semester here at Eurasia Café (as she had interned in the Fall of 2012)! Mina earned a BS in Communication at Missouri State University and is almost finished with her Master of Business Administration, with an emphasis in Marketing. Mina primarily helps with graphic design for social media, promotional materials and events. As a member of our marketing team, Mina helps develop marketing strategy for quarterly promotions and web sales. When asked what highlights she has from her time at Eurasia Café, Mina said “I have absolutely loved being surrounded by team members who love and support me; who genuinely care about me and developing my skills, not just the value I can add to the team. I have been given opportunities here that I would not have gotten anywhere else that have helped shaped me into the designer and marketer that I am now.” We are excited to see how Mina can use her MBA and creative eye to impact the world around her and we are pleased to have Mina joining the team here in the Eurasia Satellite Office starting May 1, 2013!

Yesica Goblirsch joined us for her first term as an intern at Eurasia Café. Yesica is a senior at Evangel University and will be graduating with an International Studies degree and Public Administration concentration. Here at Eurasia Café, Yesica has championed our blog, worked to develop our upcoming Pinterest account and worked on product development. When asked about her highlights from this semester, Yesica said “I love being a part of an office that shares my beliefs and passion for God and reaching His people. I love being a part of a vision that brings hope to people around the world.” In the future, Yesica wants to be overseas working for an organization that brings restoration and hope to hurting and broken people. As far as what Yesica has gained from interning at Eurasia Café, she said “My eyes and my heart were opened to Marketing. I have seen the power that words and stories have and want to use the words God gives me to fufill His ultimate goal. I cannot wait to see how God uses my season at Eurasia Café for His glory!”

Accounting intern Jacob Smith loves coffee as much as we do, especially when it is life-changing coffee!

Jacob Smith joined us for his first semester as an intern this semester. Jacob attends Missouri State University and is an Accounting major. Here at Eurasia Café Jacob helps to keep the books, which includes recording NLRC sales in QuickBooks. One highlight Jacob notes from interning at Eurasia Café is having free coffee three mornings out of the week! Jacob’s goal in life is to be happy and leave things better than he found them. When asked about his experience at Eurasia Café, Jacob said “I have had a valuable experience here in that I learned some things about running a business. Also, it is nice to know that my work eventually helps someone around the world.”

Yi Han, who also goes by Rick, joined us for his first semester at Eurasia Café! Rick Han is a graduate student at Missouri State University and is working towards a Master of Business Administration. Here at Eurasia Café Rick is involved in logistics, where he was able to ship orders, drink coffee he personally ground by himself, perform inventory checks, and complete orders on his own. Rick has a heart to use his business skills to reach out to more people who have not heard about Jesus Christ! Rick is grateful to Yang for being patient, answering all of his questions and taking care of him while he was here at Eurasia Café. When asked why he loved Eurasia Café, Rick said: “I love Eurasia Café because the relationship between everyone in the office is pure and wonderful. We all have the goal of glorifying God.” Rick cannot wait for Eurasia Café to move to its new location on Commercial Street, view the new building and coffee shop, and see how awesome it is! We are excited to have Rick continue on as an intern at Eurasia Café this summer!

Jonathan Jones joined us for his first semester as an intern at Eurasia Café! He is currently attending Evangel University and majoring in Film with a minor in Spanish. Here at Eurasia Café, Jonathan is working to support Eurasia’s video presence. Thus far, Jonathan has created a motion graphic video explaining the basics of Eurasia and how people can get involved. When asked what his highlights for the semester are, Jonathan’s reply was “working with the people here has been great! It’s great to work in such a friendly and encouraging environment.” Somewhere in the future, Jonathan wants to use digital media for missions as he has a passion to serve missionaries with film and photography. Through interning at Eurasia Café, Jonathan has gleaned a greater understanding of social justice and how to incorporate social responsibility in something as simple as a cup of coffee.

Four of our interns, from left to right: Mina Habibi, Jonathan Jones, Yi Han, and Yesica Goblirsch.

As the Spring 2013 semester is drawing to an end, we are grateful for the work our intern term put in. We are excited to see where God takes them in the future!

Interested in interning at Eurasia Cafe?? Email info@EurasiaCafe.org to learn more! We’d love to hear from you.