Author: Audra Grace Shelby
Located in: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Submitted: July 27, 2011
Tell us a little about yourself. My husband and I served nine years as Southern Baptist missionaries in the Middle East, along with our 4 children. I am the daughter of (retired) career missionaries to South America and the Caribbean. I have also called Texas and Alabama "home". I love heirloom sewing, knitting, and gardening, as well as writing and speaking. My husband and I remain actively involved in global missions.
What was your motivation behind this project? I began writing it as a legacy for my children - that they would know the Lord as I have known Him, and that they would not forget the extraordinary ways He has worked in our lives. God broadened those borders into a much larger arena as part of His bigger plan.
What do you hope folks will gain from this project? I pray that readers will gain glimpses of our mighty God working through extraordinary circumstances and go deeper in their personal relationship with Him. I also pray that readers will gain understanding of the lives and needs of Muslim women and see opportunities behind the veil.
How were you personally impacted by working on this project? Describing scenes of Yemen in the book made me 'homesick' to return. As I recalled the treasured afternoons I spent with women 'behind the veil', I yearned for another opportunity to sit and drink tea with them, and share their lives again. Also, I wept repeatedly over my poor keyboard as I remembered God's powerful intervention in near-death experiences. It was wonderful to remember our amazing God!
Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists? Well, the Lord is my greatest influence and inspiration - I simply wouldn't BE, without Him. I depend on His Word for everything. I have also enjoyed books by Kay Arthur, T.W. Hunt (i.e. The Doctrine of Prayer, The Mind of Christ), Charles Swindol (biographies of biblical figures), James Dobson, and so many more. I have been inspired by biographies of Christian missionaries (Adoniron Johnson, William Carey, Lottie Moon, etc.).
Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: I am an ordinary person in the hands of an extraordinary God.
