The People

Arab —Libya, Percent Christian: .10%, Percent Evangelical: .04%

Libya is located in central North Africa on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Family ties and tribal identity are strong, and many share a Bedouin heritage. Most of the people now live in cities and towns along the Mediterranean. Simon of Cyrene, who carried the cross of Christ, was a Libyan, and Cyrenean Jews brought the gospel back to Libya after Pentecost. The Christian faith thrived here among the Arabs and Berbers until the Islamic invasion of 624 A.D.

The Painting

Oil on canvas, 22 x 30 inches

Desert Guide depicts a young man who served as a guide for a prayer mission to Libya in 2010, just before the Arab Spring, which resulted in unprecedented mass migration from the Arab world to Europe. The group spent ten days traveling throughout the country praying that God would open the country to the gospel and make a way for the people to hear the good news.