“You look like you’ve never been sad before,” Zara said with a wistful tone. “You’re always smiling.”

My heart broke for her. What are you supposed to say to that? I took a deep breath and paused. “The joy in me comes from God. I trust God. He is the peace in my heart, even when I’m sad or worried.”

While she nodded in agreement, her expression gave me the impression that she had not found the same peace in her tradition.

“The Bible says that when one little bird falls from the sky, God sees and cares,” I added. “He knows me personally and loves me. When I’m sad or anxious, I tell Him all about it, and He listens. He gives me peace that does not come from my circumstances.”

“Yeah, Islam is like that, too,” she said. But she didn’t sound convinced.

I’ve been visiting Zara’s family every day for a couple of weeks now. She doesn’t have dollar signs in her eyes when she talks to me like some others do. She isn’t looking for handouts. Though she is very poor, all she seems to want is my friendship. This is a breath of fresh air.

By now, River and Osiah know the routine. Wake up from naps, grab a snack for the ride, and hop on the moto to go visit our friends. Since the Lewis family has been on furlough, my boys have been even more eager for playmates their age. They swing in the hammock, play in the sand, and try their best to speak Cham or Khmer with Zara’s three girls and one boy. I usually bring some fruit or snacks to share, or the boys bring a toy. Bubbles were a huge hit.

One day, as I was braiding her daughter’s hair (they love it when I do their hair), Zara asked, “Do Christians have to pray five times a day?”

“We can pray five times a day, or 100 times a day, whatever we want. We don’t have to do a certain number or even specific prayers; we just talk to God like He is our Father, or Friend, and share whatever is on our heart. Once I tell God everything in my heart, I choose to trust Him, and I feel a little bit better.”

She was thoughtful. “Yeah, in Islam, when we finish our prayer recitation, we can ask for whatever we want from Allah, too.”

Right now, she thinks Christianity and Islam are merely the older and newer versions of the same religion. I hope that through these conversations, punctuated by children needing their moms for various reasons, I can keep planting seeds of truth about God, the One who knows her intimately and can ease anxieties.

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