Greeting from a lonely Christian living in "Sodom and Gomorrah"

"The Sodom and Gomorrah of the Middle East" is what the other Arab coutries like to call Dubai. This is where I've lived for the past four years. Dubai has this reputation because compared to its neighbouring country Saudi Arabia, it is very liberal in allowing western influence like the use of alcohol and allowing western women to dress "normal" with a few instructions on decency. After the 2008 financial dip this opportunity came up for my husband to get us out of our negative equity. Now we are almost ready to go again, because money can't buy you everything. We look at our time here as a blessing, living here among the Muslim people, getting to know their ways and learning to pray for them. I sometimes feel isolated from other Christian, although we attend a church on Fridays, we live outside of Dubai in Sharjah and it is always an effort to reach people with the worst traffic you could imagine. I am presently bouncing back after the huge disappointment of having my first novelle turned down by the publishers. My first language is Afrikaans(similar to Dutch) with a very small market. Now I will try to write in English and look forward to any feedback and constructive critism. I hope to meet many of you. xxx

Hello Sanet,

Welcome to Christian Creative Writers. I'm so glad you joined us. What an interesting life you lead. I hope to learn more about your experiences. One of my sister's very best friends is from South Africa, and her first language is Africaans too. It's such a small world. I think you taking to English quite well, and I'm sorry to hear about your first novel being turned down, but don't give up. It is common to get rejected many times before finding a publisher that is interested.

Welcome Sanet,
I am new here as well, but have enjoyed the encouragement and writings already.
Sounds like good advice from Lora...don't give up!