Born and raised in South Africa, Starla first felt the call to the Middle East in her early twenties. After three consecutive dreams calling her to Jordan, Egypt and Syria she began to sense that God had a purpose He wanted her to fulfil in this region. She spent two months in Amman with a lovely family learning all she could about their culture before moving to Dubai in 2007.

 

In January 2011, Starla and her husband planted City Lights, a thriving, creative and authentic church in Dubai. In 2012 God laid it on her heart to gather women from around the region to be empowered on Middle Eastern soil. In response, Starla founded a conference for women that has since attracted hundreds of women from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and beyond. Although this event faces many challenges due to religious restrictions, Starla continues to see the hand of God at work in her midst.

 

Starla carries a sharp prophetic edge and is a passionate communicator of the word of God. She has been married to Dan since 2008 and after a 10-year journey of infertility they are now the proud parents of twins Rocco & Riah, conceived through IVF, and a little surprise baby boy, Koah, that was born when the twins were 18 months old.