It's easy to think that if I can just push through the problems and challenges I'm facing right now, everything will be better. But my guest today reminds us that, “Behind mountains are more mountains”. We need resilience and grit founded on drinking deeply from the well of God's goodness and character to make it through this life of difficulties. Today on the pod, my guest gives us the resources we need to build a life of godly grit.

Find out more at PMPod.org

Resources from Kyle Farran

Overflowing: Ministry and Missions That Flow from the Heart

Godly Grit: Unshakable Resilience & Grit For Life & Leadership

Check out Kyle’s website: farran.abwe.org

Kyle has a fantastic podcast called “Missions Life“

Check out this YouTube video of Kyle talking about Godly Grit

Today on the Pod, my guest talks about how the events of the 9/11 terror attacks in New York City were the seed that God used to send her into a lifelong pursuit of bringing the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ to Arab Muslims in the Middle East.

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Timeline

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:00 Longing for the 9/11 hijackers to be saved
• 05:58 First Field Reality Check
• 11:28 Breaking The Snare Of Compare
• 16:07 Ministry Without Finish Lines
• 19:33 Long-Distance Relationship While Serving Overseas
• 24:37 Returning As A Married Woman
• 29:43 Arab Women Friendships And Marriage Views
• 35:24 Loneliness Ramadan Lows And Spiritual Habits
• 40:30 Commitment To the Local Church On The Field

Today on the Pod, I share a quote from one of my heroes, Martin Luther about his conversation, and also one from the Puritan Richard Baxter, about pressing into Scripture so we can treasure God more. I share four temptations cross-cultural workers might face, a few things I'm learning from my injury, and then we cap off this jumble sale of a podcast with a little comparison between our glorious Gospel and Islam.

• Luther’s struggle with Romans 1:17 and the discovery of righteousness as God’s gift through faith
• Baxter’s challenge to study deeper when Christ does not feel enough
• Four temptations for cross-cultural workers: sloth, self, silver, sex
• How legalism and burnout can hide behind “productivity” on the field
• Financial anxiety, support pressure and future fears under the pull of silver
• Why sexual temptation can derail ministry and why singleness can fuel idolatry
• What injury reveals about receiving love, hidden idols and judging others
• A hard look at impatience, harsh words and pride disguised as passion
• Christianity and Islam compared through outward rules versus heart transformation
it’s okay to be normal.

Today on the Pod, we talk honestly about how long-term life overseas reshapes you until you feel like you belong in your host country and still do not fit back home. We trade stories from Africa and the Middle East about boundaries, health, spiritual life, and the daily pressure of need so you can last with joy and clarity.

To find out more, go to PMPod.org

We talk about
• a conversion story that turns into a call to hard places
• falling in love with an African people group through friendship
• the real cost of selling your house and moving into a mud hut
• illness, decision fatigue, and learning to troubleshoot alone
• practical changes we would make for long-term health and sustainability
• why boundaries matter, including privacy and security
• outsider identity, belonging, and third culture life
• reverse culture shock, shifting politics, and painful misunderstandings
• responding to constant requests with wisdom, limits, and compassion
• syncretism, prosperity gospel pressures, and the need for clear teaching
• staying spiritually healthy through Scripture, prayer, and community

Timeline

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:00 From first bible to a surrendered life
• 04:08 Finding a people and moving
• 5:40 Comfort shock and Lyme disease
• 10:43 Healthier rhythms for longevity
• 16:20 Boundaries that keep you healthy
• 19:06 Outsider forever and yet known
• 24:37 Retuning home a different person
• 31:58 Dealing with real needs everywhere
• 36:58 Syncretism and the need for Gospel clarity
• 39:51 Spiritual health and real community
• 42:26 Building staying power

Today on the Pod, we work through a clear, biblical definition of the local church and why that clarity matters for missionaries and cross-cultural workers who have been shaped by unhealthy church experiences.

We connect church membership, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and congregational authority to everyday discipleship.

learn more at PMPod.org

Topics
• confusion created by saying “the church isn’t a building” while ignoring the need for a covenanted body
• the value of expositional preaching versus preacher-driven topical proof texting
• a practical definition of a church as a baptized, covenanted congregation that gathers weekly
• baptism and the Lord’s Supper as covenant signs that shape membership and accountability
• why leaving a church during conflict reveals a thin view of covenant commitment
• the “keys of the kingdom” and the church’s authority over doctrine, membership, discipline, and leadership
• moving from “what do I get?” to “how do I love and build up others?”
• what to do in frontline ministry with only a few believers and no established church
• the dividing line between a Bible study and a church gathered around the ordinances

Today on the Pod, we challenge the obsession with outward ministry metrics and argue that lasting fruit in missions depends on the inner life with God. We talk through discipleship in community, hard heart issues, and the spiritual disciplines that keep workers joyful, rested, and faithful.

Find out more at PMPod.org

• defining discipleship as the Holy Spirit revealing identity in Christ
• building community early by involving seekers with family and other believers
• shaping a simple house group rhythm of singing, Scripture, prayer, and sharing
• reading the Bible with purpose through Ephesians, Acts, and the whole redemption story
• addressing heart issues like addiction, pornography, fear, marriage, and parenting from the start
• practicing hospitality that models love, service, and a different kind of family life
• reclaiming Sabbath as wise rhythm rather than legalism
• naming screens, scrolling, and news as counterfeit rest for many of us
• describing fasting as embodied hunger for God’s will, often paired with solitude
• redefining solitude as being alone with God in private prayer
• rejecting “just do more” prayer and pointing to Christ praying in us
• making the case for scripture memorization for temptation, teaching, and witness
• reframing self-denial as total surrender to a good Father
It’s okay to be normal.

Today on the Pod, I talk to a woman who has raised her kids in war zones, discipled illiterate church leaders, and has shown the incredible power of having enduring hope on the field.

Read more at PMPod.org

Timeline

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:00 First Impressions and real Arab Women
• 02:52 The Joy and Stress of Lawlessness
• 04:53 Language, Culture, And Earned Respect
• 06:16 Marriage Kids And Social Authority
• 08:32 Polygamy and the Real Struggles of Women
• 11:27 Women’s Power Inside Family Systems
• 14:34 Discipleship That Changes Social Patterns
• 16:56 Teaching Forgiveness In A No Forgiveness Culture
• 19:27 Figuring out Education on the Field
• 27:44 Raising Third Culture Kids
• 32:35 Deciding Whether To Stay During War
• 39:48 Crisis Creates Hunger And Open Doors
• 42:15 Why Women Respond Powerfully To Jesus
• 47:59 Discipling Illiterate Women
• 52:28 Barriers In Discipling Women Long Term
• 56:45 The Power of Endurance

On today's episode, we look at the effects of staying close to the Father, what real success on the field is, how to bolster both your effort for God and your rest in God, the power of weakness, what makes a good leader, and how understanding where we came from will help us deal with the challenges we face now.

For more information, go to PMPod.org

Timeline

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:00 At 16 years old asking God where to serve
• 06:12 Resting in God, and working hard are not opposites
• 9:44 Feeling weak and useless is the path to trusting God
• 14:00 How missions has changed since the 1990s
• 21:28 What makes a trustworthy leader?
• 30:34 How to avoid cynicism
• 34:53 The History of Missions and Innovation Cycles
• 41:50 Understanding where we came from helps us address the the challenges we face now