Ariana
The Tunisian province of Ariana, adjacent to the capital city, is simultaneously rural and urban. This province contains some of the most sparsely populated agricultural land in the country as well as a dense urban population forming a suburb of Tunis. Like many of the communities around the capital, Ariana has its own municipality and a separate identity.
Ariana is different from other northern suburbs in that most people who live there are from there. As a result, Ariana has a strong sense of community and people are proud to be from there. Prior to the mass exodus of Tunisian Jews in the 1960s, Ariana had a strong Jewish community. The Ariana Jews talked about Ariana being a city in an idyllic setting, particularly for health reasons. A popular proverb, repeated even today, says, “If only Ariana had the healthy sea air, nobody would ever die.” The beauty and health of Ariana are celebrated each year at an annual flower festival, where Ariana residents revel in the pride they take in their region.
There is another side to Ariana, which is far less positive, as Ariana is much poorer than the adjacent communities. Much of the economic growth and development of the capital stops at the provincial line. A drive along the street denoting the border between Tunis and Ariana is a dramatic revelation. On the Tunis side, tall new office buildings, luxury apartments and cleanly paved roads contrast with the Ariana side where overcrowded, impoverished housing units are interspersed with abandoned lots being grazed by the occasional herd of sheep. The problems of unemployment, economic oppression and lack of hope that permeate much of rural Tunisia are evident in Ariana, and residents are often desperate and unsettled.
There are a handful of believers in this area, but they do not regularly gather for fellowship; believers seem to exhibit an unwillingness or inability to gather with others. Efforts are still being made to disciple believers from Ariana, but progress is slow. There seems to be a stronghold of folk Islam which maintains a grip on some of these believers. A government school, which uses a primarily French curriculum, is located in Ariana, hence a number of expatriate Christians have chosen to make this community their home. A resident of Ariana is more likely to meet a follower of Jesus today than in any time in history.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations (Isaiah 61:10-11).
Heavenly Father, adorn this community that you so passionately love with every kind of blessing. Just as Jesus emptied himself to become like us, inspire those who are followers of you in Ariana to traverse barriers of language/culture/religion to become like those who so proudly call that place home, so that many will be saved. Lord, we ask that you so bless the incarnational ministry of living out the Gospel that righteousness will sprout from the land of Ariana and be an example to the nations.
Pray for believers to meet together, “and let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25). Pray for a breaking of the grip of folk Islam.