Since our first gathering in January
2001, Well Of Life has welcomed members from many
nations, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China,
Cyprus, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Jamaica,
Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mauritius, the Netherlands,
New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, the Seychelles,
Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom,
the United States and Zimbabwe.
The church has impacted the expatriate
community in our city. Here are just a few of many
testimonies from our members:
Angela, 45 yrs,
British,
Osteopath:
Well Of Life has been a great blessing to our family
since coming to Dubai three years ago. For our 10-
and 12-year-old daughters especially it has been wonderful
to find such a young and vibrant church to encourage
youth to follow a Christian path. The children’s
programmes provided for all age groups are both fun
and educational. The youth programmes for 11-18 year
olds provide a social network and support system so
badly needed.
I myself have benefited in a very
personal way by the ladies courses. My husband has
enjoyed attending the men’s breakfast meetings,
and our marriage was strengthened by the Marriage
Course held earlier this year. Well Of Life seeks
to support local needs, such as the prisons and a
women’s shelter, regardless of religion.
Cedric, 50 yrs,
South African,
Executive Director Human Resources, Property Industry:
My wife, two sons and I moved to Dubai in April 2005
from Budapest, Hungary, where I worked previously.
We had been members of a New Covenant Ministries International
(NCMI) church in South Africa before our move to Europe.
In fact, we’ve been going to NCMI churches since
the 1980s. When we moved to Dubai I was delighted
to find that there was a similar fellowship here,
and I even came across some familiar faces I remembered
from Durban, South Africa, 20 years before.
I have a high pressure job with a
leading company in Dubai. Among the many benefits
of being part of a local church like Well Of Life
is the reassurance that comes from knowing that while
I am at work my family is safe – my wife has
a great circle of friends from the church and is involved
with various activities during the day; meanwhile,
after school, my kids have a church youth group and
young Christian friends to spend time with, which
instills in them the right values. I needn’t
worry that my boys are hanging out in the wrong places
or becoming involved in anti-social behaviour.
While I’m busy pursuing a career,
thanks to our membership of Well Of Life in Dubai
I can have the peace of mind that my family is happy
and fulfilled. Undoubtedly, by caring for the well-being
of expatriates like us, this church is making a priceless
contribution to the development of this great city.
Corlene, 27 yrs,
South African,
School Teacher:
When I relocated to the UAE five months ago, I didn’t
expect the incredible culture shock I experienced.
I normally adapt easily to a new setting, but I really
had a hard time getting settled in this country. In
my first couple of weeks here, I experienced (for
the first time in my life) loss of appetite, incredible
lack of sleep and a strong depression. I was incredibly
lonely and was desperate to find a place where I could
talk about the things that are important to me. I
didn’t know anyone in the UAE and because of
a language barrier (I teach English in an Arabic school),
I didn’t make friends easily. Needless to say,
all the pressure and lack of sleep affected my work
and I started to consider going back to my home country.
When I found out about Well Of Life,
I was really excited to see what it is all about and
I couldn't wait to join the meetings. Wow! What an
amazing experience that was! I suddenly found myself
being enthusiastic about the country and my work again.
My sleep patterns were restored and I started eating
again. There was a new-found hope, because I realised
that the church and I share the same principles and
beliefs! It was wonderful to feel alive again!
I started going to the services on
a Friday, and I haven’t looked back since. I
have made so many valuable friends, and this church
really acts as my new family. I feel at home, and
I am grateful yet excited to be part of this church.
A lot of my circumstances have changed for the better
since I joined the church. I know that if it wasn’t
for the support of other members of this body, I would’ve
resigned from my job in the first month that I was
here, and would’ve left to go back to my country.
Like I said, I’ve been living
here for five months now, and I’m loving it!
Who knows, I might end up staying here for many more
years!
Elena, 27 yrs,
South African,
Cabin Crew, Senior Flight Stewardess:
Four years ago I was employed with Emirates Airline
as a cabin crew. When accepting the position I was
a little nervous in taking the job as I was worried
there would not be a church in Dubai that I could
be part of.
After being in Dubai for almost a
year I still had not found a church to belong to.
I tried many churches, but none that followed the
vision that I had prayed for. With a sad heart I started
preparing my resignation to go back to South Africa.
Emirates was an amazing company to work in and something
I dreamed about for years, but on my days off in Dubai,
I was miserable and lonely. Work became my only joy
in Dubai. The family of the church was important to
me and I was missing it.
Within the month of preparing to
resign, I was told about and invited to Well Of Life.
It wasn’t even a month later that I made the
decision to stay in Dubai. In that month my whole
life changed. I was now in a country far from home,
but not lonely, I had been invited into a church family.
Well Of Life has become to me a family.
My life in Dubai has become a bundle of many special
moments. If it were not for this church I don’t
think I would have been able to stay in Dubai. Now
I have the joy both in the workplace and in my private
life.
Church family is a very important
part of people’s lives where I come from and
when people know that they don’t need to leave
that behind when they move from one country to the
next, it makes the decision to move a lot easier.
Gavin, 39 yrs,
South African,
Air Traffic Controller:
My family (wife and two sons) have been living in
the UAE for the past eight years. (three in Abu Dhabi,
five years in Dubai). In Dubai, we started attending
Well Of Life. It was here that our lives changed dramatically.
My marriage was very unstable and we were considering
either moving back to South Africa or separating.
Today, my family life and marriage is strong thanks
to the renewed experience with God that I experienced
at Well Of Life, an experience we discovered with
the help of the leaders and family of believers at
the church.
I have subsequently become involved
in various church community projects, including visiting
sick people in hospitals, and visiting and encouraging
Christians serving prison sentences in Dubai. We also
assist the South African consulate with various social
matters, especially deaths in families, people in
financial difficulty, suicide cases and so on.
Through the church I have a new love
for the UAE and specifically for Dubai and its rulers
and people. We often pray as a church for blessings
to fall upon the UAE and its leaders.
There are many others in our church
that have the same testimony as ours. I believe that
there are many values that true Christian believers
can add to residents of the UAE/Dubai.
Gillian, 33 yrs,
South African,
Housewife and Mother of 2 Children:
My husband was offered work in Dubai as manager for
a tyre company, which he accepted. Shortly thereafter
we found out I was pregnant. When we arrived in Dubai
we did not know anybody and had no family here and
I was already four months pregnant. I didn’t
know my way around and didn’t have a support
system.
We attended an NCMI-relating church
in South Africa and were really happy to find that
there was a similar church here in Dubai. Being part
of it has helped my husband, son and myself settle
in Dubai rather easily. The group for mothers and
young children and the other church members have been
a fantastic and a vital support for me and my family
whilst I was pregnant (replacing the family that I
had back home). The church members were a great help
while I was in hospital for a caesarean section three
weeks earlier than due and looked after my three-year-old
son in the early hours of the morning so that my husband
could support me during the procedure.
I truly believe that Well Of Life
has been the core essence of our happiness in Dubai
and our feeling that this is a home away from home.
It is a truly wonderful church which plays an extremely
relevant and important role in the expatriate society
of Dubai.
John, 48 yrs,
South African,
Airline Training Captain:
I arrived in Dubai in early 1995 from Bahrain with
my family to begin a new life flying as a pilot for
Emirates Airline. In 2000, we began an informal Christian
gathering with six people in our lounge at my home.
As the group grew, we sought guidance from New Covenant
Ministries International, because we really agreed
with their vision and values. Expansion was rapid
and in time Well Of Life started meeting at the Dubai
Evangelical Church Centre (DECC) in Jebel Ali, where
we now find ourselves with about 400 people.
We are a family reaching into the
community of expatriates here in Dubai, helping them
in tough situations, like marital problems, break-ups,
deaths in the family, help in times of illnesses.
There is a richness in our lives
which nobody could make or buy. I found that my children
have made wise decisions for themselves, based on
good morals which have come from what we have learned
through the church. We don’t have to check on
them when they go out with friends. We know they are
doing honourable things, because good foundations
have been laid into their lives as young people, through
the work of the church leaders.
I am so thankful to God for what
He has done in our lives as a family. Well Of Life
has been the richest experience of my life. Watching
God at work in people’s lives is such a wonderful
privilege.
Matt, 37 yrs,
British,
Freelance Writer:
I arrived in the UAE 10 years ago as a journalist
with a new newspaper, The Gulf Today. I had
gone to church in the UK as a youth, but had drifted
away in my 20s. For six years, I couldn’t find
a church in Dubai that reflected the way I wanted
to worship God – I visited the Anglican and
Catholic churches and some meetings of the United
Christian Church of Dubai (UCCD), but none of these
felt like “home”. Then, in August 2002,
a South African friend suggested I visit the Christian
group that relates to New Covenant Ministries International
(NCMI). At last, after six years in the desert I had
found a place where I could be spiritually refreshed.
I’ve been a part of Well Of Life for four years
now. Whereas I was a lonely, “lost” bachelor
in my first years in Dubai, 10 years on I am spiritually
fulfilled, married and in no hurry to leave this amazing
city. If it weren’t for Well Of Life I probably
would have left Dubai by now. As it is, I am a freelance
writer doing my bit to promote the city overseas.
Rana, 30 yrs,
Lebanese,
Corporate Communications Manager, Automotive Industry:
After moving to Dubai in 2001, my husband and I were
searching for a church we could belong to, that we
could call family. Being an Arab woman, my family
was an integral part of my life. Leaving them in Lebanon
was difficult and I eagerly wanted to feel the comfort
and love I felt back home. Dubai was a new and exciting
city for me, but I felt like a foreigner in a new
city, wanting to settle in, wanting to belong to a
loving and respectable community that had strong values
and high morals.
In 2002, two of my colleagues invited
me to Well Of Life and after the first visit I really
found what I was looking for: people who care for
you, love you without boundaries and want the best
for you. Four years later, I have seen a church grow
from 80 people to an astounding 400 people. I now
have a family of 400. I don’t even know 400
people in Lebanon!
Rieka, 34 yrs,
South African,
Housewife and Mother of 2 Children:
We arrived in the UAE in September 1997. My husband
works for SERCO as an Air Traffic Controller. After
about three years in Abu Dhabi, we moved to Dubai,
but honestly, we were ready to go home to South Africa.
We missed our friends and family, and as a stay-at-home
mom of two young children, I missed the support I
would have had at home.
Then we started going to Well Of
Life church in May 2002. We found a community of believers
that embraced us as a family and gave us new reason
to stay in this wonderful country. We found a place
where we fitted in well between people with the same
beliefs, hopes and dreams we have. Before this church,
we did try some of the other churches, but did not
find the same warmth and friendship there as we have
now, nor did we have our spiritual needs met in the
same way as we do now.
We are grateful to the UAE rulers
for allowing churches to care for the needs of expatriates.
Without this, I believe many families would find their
way back to their homelands much sooner.
Rob, 59 yrs,
South African,
Turf-grass Farmer:
My British wife Chris and I met in Dubai in 1994,
we married and have two delightful children Joseph
(nine) and Anna (five) both born in the UAE. We moved
to Ras Al Khaimah to be near our turf-grass farm while
Chris was on maternity leave with Anna.
During this time, which was in 2000,
we were without Christian fellowship and experienced
difficult times, being without a church group to turn
to for guidance and prayer support. In our search
for Christian ministry, we heard of Well Of Life,
who had a group of mainly South African, British,
Australian and other nationalities operating on an
informal basis in Dubai at various temporary accommodation
venues. We sought help from the leaders of the church,
who gave us tremendous support and guidance. We were
so encouraged by the counselling we received from
the Well Of Life leadership that we moved back to
Dubai, where we have become active in the phenomenal
growth of the church community.
We have had the opportunity to attend
excellent courses on marriage and parenting which
have strengthened and consolidated our own family
relationships. We have also been grateful for the
input provided into our children’s lives, that
has helped instil in them a sound moral foundation.
Chris is currently a physiotherapist
for children with special needs and I am active in
both the supply of turf grass, nursery plants and
as a consultant in the landscape of many of the Dubailand
projects.
It is our prayer and belief that
the ministry of Well Of Life will continue to grow
and help people from among the Christian expatriates
who are in need of order and Godliness in their lives.
We hope to remain in Dubai together with our children
for many more years to come.
Ryan, 32 yrs,
Indian,
Area Manager, Fashion Retail:
I’m an Indian and have been in the UAE over
the past eight years in different emirates. When I
got married, I moved to Dubai. My wife and I were
looking for a church not only to worship God but also
to enjoy fellowship with Christians. In 2004, a friend
introduced us to Well Of Life, where we felt really
comfortable and above all at home.
Then in 2005 tragedy struck us and
we lost our first born son. Being alone in Dubai without
family members, we were devastated and were in a miserable
condition. When the church was aware of our loss,
the support and encouragement that was extended to
me and my wife was overwhelming. We were able to lean
on the support of the church that was our family during
that time of crisis and which is still a family to
us. My wife is expecting once again!
Yolande, 27 yrs,
South African,
Executive Secretary/Operations, Shipbroker Company:
My husband John and I came to Dubai over three years
ago. Coming to a new country without any family, friends
or experience was quite terrifying, until we joined
Well Of Life. Within our church family we got the
support we needed and through them, mentioning only
one of the many benefits, grew fond of everyone around
us. In our free time we are involved in different
community projects, such as a women’s shelter
in Dubai, visiting and blessing them with fresh fruits
and gifts; and orphanages, locally and abroad, donating
money, clothes and toys.
With our capabilities and skills
in our jobs we are openhandedly contributing to the
UAE, and also through our church are we bigheartedly
contributing to “our extended family –
the people of the UAE” and we pray that this
church will grow to be a even bigger blessing to the
UAE and its people.
If Well Of Life was not part of my
life here in Dubai we definitely would have left the
country by now. The church is not only for benefiting
ourselves, but also through us being a blessing and
playing a part of the country’s growth in many
different ways. |
