Being a Scribe for Others--Carol Ghattas

Let me share with you a little about my own story. Being able to serve alongside my Egyptian-American husband for the past 20 years has given me the privilege of seeing the world not only through a typical American lens but through the Arab one as well, as he has helped me understand culture in a much deeper fashion. Not only am I blessed because of Raouf's guidance in understanding, but I've been blessed to be the partner of an amazing evangelist and communicator.

Because I have seen many exciting things through Raouf's work, I became aware of the importance of sharing that with others. Our goal in ministry was to multiply ourselves--through discipleship, mentoring and training. We cannot do that only one-on-one, so I felt led by the Lord to write down the principles and techniques I saw Raouf use in order for others to benefit from them. This led me to begin writing a church planting and evangelism newsletter, which I did monthly over the course of two years.

Through this I saw a way the Lord could use my ability to write to encourage the Body and build workers. From this came papers on various subjects for the local church and larger body of workers. Then, with the title Raouf gave me, Lust Under the Veil was birthed as my first novel. Though fiction, I have been able to weave many of the real-life experiences we've had on the field as well as some of Raouf's evangelistic techniques into the stories, allowing us to multiply ourselves and the Lord's work in a creative form.

Perhaps you are an introvert like me, who lives or works with a "Paul, the extroverted Evangelist." Just as the Apostle Paul used scribes to write his letters to the churches, is the Lord calling you to serve as a scribe for your husband, co-worker, or ministry?

While the Lord has used me to disciple Muslim-background believers, host countless visitors and a house-church, along with raising two boys on the field, I still find some of my greatest moments of fulfillment in writing--knowing that an article or book can reach people I may never meet. Being able to use your gifts to share with others about a husband or co-worker's ministry is a wonderful way to be partners in God's work. When we recognize our differing gifts and appreciate them as such, both partners can be encouraged and used more fully to His glory.

If they talk--you write! If you talk--then let them write! Whatever you do, get it down on paper that the acts of God will be remembered!

[Editor's Note: This is Carol's final post. Thank you, Carol! I loved how the Lord brought you to this blog.]

The Importance of Your Senses--Carol Ghattas

I have grown into writing over the years and have learned several things along the way. In writing books which tell a story, it is important to describe the environment in which the story takes place. This means you need to be able to share the sights, smells and sounds of the place to the reader. As you live in your neighborhood, begin to take notice of the things around you.

For instance, in Egypt we have people that come around the neighborhood every day shouting "ruba beckia." They are asking people to give them their old stuff so they can then resell it later. They have a unique cry, and their presence is such a part of everyday life, they would have to be included in any story about Egypt. Things like this are important to notice and remember as you begin to write.

A good rule of thumb is to write as if your reader will never experience the people or country you're sharing with them in the story; this will help you to be more deliberate in describing the details of each scene.

Another important factor in writing stories is language. The way people communicate with each other is unique, and even if you are writing in English, you will want to capture their use of vocabulary and sentence structure. One thing that caught my attention early in my life overseas was the way Arabs referred to family.

For instance, when a person is talking with his sister about their mother, he doesn't say, "my or our mother"; he says "your mother did so and so." He always refers to his own mother as the other person's, not his. I never got a good reason for this -- just that it was the way it was done. I tried to capture that in the conversations between characters in my book. We have to listen to the people around us, if our books are going to be realistic.

In general, writing takes work! I never had training in how to write fiction, but I've adapted since the beginning. The first book, I just sat and wrote. The story came out on its own. The second book, I thought more about what I wanted to include in the book and made an outline. I finished it in a much shorter time. The third book took a lot of research as I dealt with areas I was not necessarily submerged in through our ministry. I knew how the book should end before I knew how it should start.

For me, however, writing is not as difficult as "rewriting." The editing process is painful, because you have to step back and look at the whole thing objectively, which is not easy as a writer, but is worth it in order to have a more effective product.

I want to encourage you to use your senses to prepare a data bank of the world about which you want to write, then see where it takes you!

"A Glimpse of Your World" WRITING CHALLENGE: In the comment section, write a description (using all your senses) of the place where you are sitting, right now, reading this post. Try to keep to 100 words.

Outlets for Writing--Carol Ghattas

Not all writing has to be a huge book. I have found several outlets for writing, and I think it is useful to begin in smaller bits before taking on the larger project of writing a book. All writing is helpful to develop our skills and gifts.

1. Journaling. This is a personal exercise which enables you to put your thoughts and experiences on paper (or computer) in order to later reflect on what God's been doing in and through you. It's a release for some, healing process for others, and in general an encouragement. Journals can also be a good resource when a person feels led at a later date to write for publication.

2. Newsletters. These are very important as they convey to your supporters what is happening in your world and how they can pray for you. The better you write these letters, the more they will be encouraged and motivated to partner with you. Work on making them personal and share stories about real people with real needs.

3. Articles. These can be for your team, company or larger worker body. They can be used in magazines or company journals. I've written poetry for some and straight articles for others. Many publications are looking for true-life stories. Search the net, and you'll find them, or ask your organizational leaders for how you can contribute. The challenge for the article writing is to be concise--my greatest challenge! I have a hard time cutting my material down. It takes practice and is sometimes painful, but will make your article read easier and be more effective if you do.

4. Papers. These are similar to articles, but are more about a certain issue and can be longer in form. I've written papers for the local church body overseas. For instance, they asked me to review a book. I also wrote a paper about mixed-marriages that was used to confront an issue facing the local church. It was circulated among both workers and nationals. Not everybody reads a paper, but there are some who want to see something in writing, and this is where we can be of help.

5. Books. For me this began with a title. My husband asked me to write a tract—I ended up with a 300 page book! I told you I had a problem with being concise! :) However, it was with the title that I saw an opportunity to tell a story. I looked at the market and realized there was really no material written in fiction form that showed how a Muslim comes to faith and is able to remain in his/her environment, so my book became a church planting manual in story form.

I am going to go into detail in the next blog about writing books or novels. Until then, look around you in your area of service and see what stories need to be told!