In the Land of Blue Burqas (Kate McCord)

In the Land of Blue Burqas

“I lived in Afghanistan for five years and I learned the rules … I had to.” – the author

The author speaks the local language and has interviewed and conversed with hundreds of Afghans, both men and women. She listened to their stories and lived among them. And in the midst of all of that, she found Kingdom responses to the beliefs Afghani Muslims hold to be true.

Fascinating and fast paced, In the Land of Blue Burqas depicts sharing the love and truth of Christ with women living in Afghanistan, “the world’s most dangerous county in which to be born a woman,” according to the July 20, 2011 issue of The Boston Globe.

These stories are all honest, all entirely true. The harsh reality of the lives of Islamic women is not sugar-coated. Through storytelling the author shows how people who don’t know Christ come to see Him, His truth and His beauty. The stories provide insight into how a Jesus-follower brought Jesus’ teachings of the Kingdom of God to Afghanistan. They reveal the splendor of Christ, the desire of human hearts, and that precious moment where the two meet.

This is a collection of vignettes tethered together by the real danger that women face as subjects of the Afghan version of Islam. They are firsthand accounts from the authors experience drawn from living in this very hostile environment for women. The reader will see just how revolutionary Christ’s message is today, and how radical it was during Christ’s lifetime – the present day Afghan cultural attitudes are not unlike they were 2000 years ago.

All the names of those involved, including the author Kate McCord’s, plus the locations, have been changed to protect the participants. Just take a few minutes and read the opening pages. You’ll be hooked.

About the Author

Kate McCord is an American writer, transmedia storyteller, and experienced spiritual director. She worked in Afghanistan for nine years as a humanitarian aid worker and often draws on her experiences as she explores the nexus of faith and real life.  She has written under a protective pseudonym.

Endorsement

“The true and riveting story of a woman who spends five years in Afghan villages talking to the natives about her faith in Jesus, while being pressured to convert to Islam. The writing is powerful, the narrative is intriguing, and the author compellingly lifts up Jesus at every turn. An excellent introduction into the Muslim world and the mindset that marks it. Inspiring and educational.”

-Outreach Magazine, March/April 2013

Table of Contents

1. Become One of us, Foreigner
2. Where it All Starts
3. Whose Example do we Follow?
4. Facing Hatred
5. Choosing Love
6. Who is God?
7. How Do we Respond to Evil Done to us?
8. How Do we Respond to Insult?
9. Who can Judge?
10. Who Protects us From Temptation?
11. Understanding the Journey
12. How Do we Learn to Live our Faith?
13. How Should we Pray?
14. Fasting
15. How Do we Live with Open Hands?
16. Saying Good-bye