Along for the Ride
Kari is along for the ride to be a part of what God is doing in the nations.
Kari Kiser walks out to the main street in the early morning heat and waves down a taxi.
“Selam,” (Peace), she and the driver greet each other. “How are you?”
Though these pleasantries never change, they are quite necessary. One must never start talking without first exchanging the familiar lines. It’s a reflection of the warm, hospitable North-African culture in which Kari lives. Conversations are fun-loving and expressive, with a hint of sarcasm thrown in.
As her taxi weaves in and out of traffic like a Mario Kart game, a trucker whizzes by with no hands on the wheel, save for the occasional correction. He holds a cell phone with one hand and gestures enthusiastically with the other hand as he talks, even though his friend on the other end of the call can’t see him. “In this country, if they’re not using their hands or even their whole body and face to express themselves, you know something’s wrong,” Kari says.
Somehow, they have lanes of traffic – many more than there are lines painted on the road – all flow where they need to go. Eventually Kari’s cab arrives at the university. She spends her days teaching English to business students from all over Africa. She is also in charge of teaching professors at the university so that they, too, can teach classes in English. Although Kari loves teaching, her purpose for living and for being in Northern Africa is even bigger.
OPENING UP
In 2020, Kari was a teacher in Colorado Springs, attending Woodmen on weekends and serving on the worship team. She never imagined that God would lead her across the world to serve. After a rough experience teaching overseas in the past, she thought she wasn’t cut out for it. She thought perhaps she was only good at teaching in America.
Kari observes that most of us tell ourselves a few lies. Her lies? “I am unlovable. I am too much. I am not enough. On my lowest days, I believe them.” She continues, “Though, I thought I had overcome them, I was not prepared for how quickly they would resurface once I moved to North Africa.”
Through this struggle, she quickly came to a valuable epiphany, one we can all cling to: It’s absolutely essential to come back to God in constant prayer throughout the day, to recognize the lies for what they are, and to ask “Father, help me not to listen to the lies and instead listen to Your voice.”
Especially during the month-long holiday of Ramadan, she felt an oppressive spiritual battle in Northern Africa. Ramadan is a time where Muslims fast and pray and seek Allah, but it is also a time for community. This year, with COVID, it was especially difficult because, for a culture that is so communal and celebratory, people were not allowed to gather after 7 PM. That’s when the sun sets, and Ramadan feasts and celebrations would usually begin. Because of this, feelings of depression and isolation escalated among the people.
Despite being a foreigner and only having lived in-country for six months, Kari has the privilege of talking to several women who opened up about their experiences with depression and their feelings of isolation, sadness, discontentment, and entrapment. “I think because their families don’t know me, there is a safety in opening up to me,” she says.
“It made me realize how this is not just a cultural trait specific to America, but that it is a human trait. When we try to live life and do whatever we want without the Father, it’s an empty, meaningless existence. Though there might not be an openness towards it, there is definitively a desire among the people for something different.”
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER?
One day at the university, Kari and her students finished up at the planned lesson earlier than expected, so Kari pulled out a stack of discussion cards to help the students practice speaking in English. A question that came up was, “How afraid are you of dying?” They all had a chance to share what they believed about and what happened afterward.
One girl admitted she was worried about a verse she heard from the Gospel of Matthew, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”
Kari had the opportunity to encourage the girl and share the good news of God’s grace. She hopes to have many more conversations like this with the people she is growing to love more and more.
Though the challenges of living overseas, such as navigating a new language and culture or leaving her family behind, are difficult and sometimes exhausting, the surpassing value of walking with God and serving Him in North Africa proves worth the cost.
Will you join us in praying for Kari as she serves in the days ahead? Ask the Father to grant her precious relationships, so that she might be able to share the good news of Jesus with the people there. Invite the Lord to give her wisdom to be an effective teacher for the long haul. And pray that she would be able to save enough money to buy a car.
Frantic taxi drivers notwithstanding, Kari is along for the ride to see and be a part of what God is doing in the nations.
Are you interested in joining the ride? Click below to find out about Woodmen's global missions and how you can get involved.
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