Reflections on Sight

We are sharing the SEND North blog today with one of our Interns, Rachael Allen. She is currently serving in Northern Canada. The following is an excerpt of her reflections on the struggle facing young Christians after summer camp.

“As we came back from camp and returned to our town, I could visibly see the inner battle between darkness and light, blindness and sight in the actions of one boy who was talking in the van.

We had a ministry coffee night the same night we returned home where we all were there for him and the other youth in the town to laugh, talk and love on him. Yet so were his friends and his video games. His face lit up when he was there in the ministry centre with us, he laughed with joy while baking cookies, playing games and running and goofing around with us, but then would stop and become conflicted when his friends came in and urged him to come outside with them. He paused in playing the game with us, promised to return, and then ran outside to answer the beckoning calls of his friends. He came back inside after a few minutes and joined our laughing, crazy circle of card games, then returned outside again to the peer pressure, literally calling his name.

I could see it in his eyes, the darkness and light interlocked in a dangerous game of tug of war. My heart longs for him to thrive, grow and be mentored in his faith, to see him loving Jesus and living for him, yet the depths of his heart desire the clutches of darkness. The only thing I can say isn’t to him, but to my Heavenly Father. I can only intercede on his behalf and trust that the True Light of the world will be fighting on his battle with darkness and bring him back into the light so that he can truly see.”

You can read the full story and follow Rachael’s internship on her blog at rachaelelisaallen.wordpress.com

Additional Posts

By Erin Brown July 2, 2025
"This probably looks impossible, but you serve a God who is greater." These are the words of Abigail Niles, a young woman who followed the Lord to Romania.
By Diaspora North America June 29, 2025
March 7, 2025 Have you ever made a New Year’s resolution only to break it in less than a week? On March 1, 1.8 billion Muslims began their annual fasting month called Ramadan. They are supposed to fast completely—no water or food—during daylight hours from March 1–Mar 29. It begins with much fanfare, promises, and declarations, as fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. Muslims believe that faithfully keeping the fast ensures one’s place of favor with God. But many Muslims won’t be able to keep the fast through the whole 30 days. The reasons and excuses are myriad. Sometimes they will continue to claim to be fasting, but in reality, they are eating behind closed doors. To gain God’s favor, they must fast through the whole month, not just part of it. So, they live with the guilt and shame of not fulfilling the requirements of Islam. What was supposed to help gain their salvation now stands in condemnation. A Feast Within the Fast To complicate matters even more, Persian New Year’s Day is March 20, right in the middle of the fasting month. Persian New Year is one of the most important cultural holidays for most Iranian and Afghans, as well as many others with a Persian background scattered throughout Central Asia and the Middle East. In fact, many people with Persian heritage don’t just celebrate on one day. Their New Year’s celebrations extend over two weeks! How do they reconcile these two weeks of festivities within Ramadan? For Arab Muslims, it is a non-issue. But for the Persian world, it IS a struggle. The hard-core Taliban will try to push people to keep the fast. However, many will lean more towards keeping their more ancient pre-Islamic traditions of New Year’s. I would encourage you to take time to explore with your Muslim neighbors and colleagues why they fast. Then share why Christians fast. Perhaps read Isaiah 58 with them, summarize it, and ask for their thoughts on this passage. One more thing to note during Ramadan is the Night of Power. Each year, during Ramadan, on or about the 27th day of the month, there is a special time called the Night of Power. This year it will happen on or around March 26. Muslims believe the Night of Power is when Mohammad first received the revelations of the Quran from the Angel Gabriel. Prayers offered up by Muslims during Ramadan—especially prayers in a mosque—are believed to be weightier than prayers at any other time. However, prayers on this special Night of Power, prayed in a mosque, are considered infinitely more valuable than any other prayer. Many Muslims will stay up all night praying on the Night of Power to earn extra points with God. There is a small problem in all of this, though—Muslims can’t agree on which night is actually the Night of Power. It is sometime during the last ten days of Ramadan, with tradition stating that it is on the 26th or 27th night. There are several resources to help Christians and churches pray for the Muslim world through this month of Ramadan. I would encourage you to connect with some or all of them. Please make others in your church aware of these resources. Perhaps you could even host a special prayer time at your church, utilizing these resources. Ramadan 30-Day Prayer Guide Booklet – This can be purchased as a hard copy or PDF. Prayercast – A wonderful website with many videos on the Muslim world. If you sign up, you can receive daily prayer videos that also work great during a Sunday worship service to help raise awareness of the need for prayer for the Muslim world.
By Erin Brown June 25, 2025
"He must increase, but I must decrease."
Show More