Monday, April 30, 2007
Mental Gush...
It has been a long day. And I had some great photos I wanted to upload. But everyone else in the city is on the internet right now so my pictures can't go through. Today was an unusually long day--I spent half an hour at home in between 7:30 am and 10:30 pm. A friend of mind just lost her mother and found out over e-mail. And yet, as I sit here in the dim glow of my computer and a few candles, I know overwhelmingly that God has been good to me. Who cares if you have electricity if you have been amazed at seeing the family of God international, intercultural, crossing all boundaries of race, age, language, culture, even distance. And I am in awe. It is a beautiful thing to be in awe of God. I would unreservedly recommend it to everyone.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
From Matthew 3
Matthew 3:8
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
In keeping with repentance… What does this mean?
The command is there: Produce Fruit. My first assumption was that the fruit is supposed to be good fruit. But perhaps that is what the “in keeping with repentance” is there for. Jesus does converse on both good and bad fruit. It could then be describing the kind of fruit that is produced. A repentant heart will not produce bad fruit. So this is saying that we should produce not just any fruit but Good fruit.
In addition, I know that if keep short accounts with God and confess my sins as soon as I commit them then I am more productive. Perhaps the application of this verse includes both aspects: goodness and productiveness.
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
In keeping with repentance… What does this mean?
The command is there: Produce Fruit. My first assumption was that the fruit is supposed to be good fruit. But perhaps that is what the “in keeping with repentance” is there for. Jesus does converse on both good and bad fruit. It could then be describing the kind of fruit that is produced. A repentant heart will not produce bad fruit. So this is saying that we should produce not just any fruit but Good fruit.
In addition, I know that if keep short accounts with God and confess my sins as soon as I commit them then I am more productive. Perhaps the application of this verse includes both aspects: goodness and productiveness.
Friday, April 27, 2007
More on picnics!
My city from the hillside.
Our guard... a funny one.
Elaborate food--essential for any picnic.
Our guard... a funny one.
Elaborate food--essential for any picnic.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
We eat good...
It is an amazing thing, cooking. The variety, the possibilities are so endless. It is even possible to make great dishes in places that don't have all the ingredients you are used to. It is even possible without box mixes and no canned tomatoes. Amazing things are possible. We eat Chinese food, Brazilian food, Mexican food, American food, Italian, Greek, Kurdish, and Arabic food. Wow! And then we also have things like the "poma-orange" see bottom picture. They combined oranges and pomagranate... not to amazing gustatorial success...but interesting to look at.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Picnics!
The essence of Kurdish culture is the picnic. While I have multitudes of pictures about many kinds of picnics and all their fun, I believe the result is always pretty much the same... as seen below...
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Matthew 2
Matthew 2:11
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.
What kind of faith must it have taken to see and child and worship him. I am pretty sure Joseph and Mary weren’t hanging out in a palace…it says house. Simeon and Anna in the temple had the same kind of faith so that when God showed them the child they responded openly. Not only were these wise men ready to display their faith, they had prepared for it and were ready for it. They brought gifts, albeit strange ones. As anyone who has studies Christmas much has heard about the meanings behind the three gifts. Gold is for kingship, incense is for priesthood, and myrrh is for burial. This is truly a unique combination and provides a basis for the whole of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus is our high priest, our king and king of the Jews, and he died. It is like Anna’s message to Mary—He will be great and a sword will pierce your own heart also. Greatness and lowness combined to be something greater than anyone had imagined.
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.
What kind of faith must it have taken to see and child and worship him. I am pretty sure Joseph and Mary weren’t hanging out in a palace…it says house. Simeon and Anna in the temple had the same kind of faith so that when God showed them the child they responded openly. Not only were these wise men ready to display their faith, they had prepared for it and were ready for it. They brought gifts, albeit strange ones. As anyone who has studies Christmas much has heard about the meanings behind the three gifts. Gold is for kingship, incense is for priesthood, and myrrh is for burial. This is truly a unique combination and provides a basis for the whole of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus is our high priest, our king and king of the Jews, and he died. It is like Anna’s message to Mary—He will be great and a sword will pierce your own heart also. Greatness and lowness combined to be something greater than anyone had imagined.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Gold Shops
I have always preferred silver jewelry to gold. But here, gold is a sign of wealth and status. And the gold that they have here is stunning! They make jewelry out of just gold with little cuts and surfaces that is amazing! Here is one part of the bazaar full of gold shops.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Google allows you to travel to Paris for nearly free!
Follow these directions.
1) Go to google.com
2) Click "Maps".
3) Click on "Get Directions".
4) Type in from New York, New York to Paris, France.
5) Check out step 23.
[Stolen from Stephanie's Facebook because of the hilarity of it all!]
1) Go to google.com
2) Click "Maps".
3) Click on "Get Directions".
4) Type in from New York, New York to Paris, France.
5) Check out step 23.
[Stolen from Stephanie's Facebook because of the hilarity of it all!]
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Friday, April 06, 2007
My Very Own Brown Chandelier... Thingy
It is hideous. And yet...
There is something strangely appealing... Sometimes.
And you can do things with it... like look out the window!
Thursday, April 05, 2007
The most common things...
The Eskimos have dozens of words for snow. Kurds have dozens of words for “maybe”.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Check this out! See how many of the 192 countries in the UN you can guess in 10 minutes. Click the link below. I only got 67 and I am so ashamed of myself for my lack of being able to recall the names of countries off the top of my head...
http://andys.org.uk/countryquiz/
http://andys.org.uk/countryquiz/
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
The sweet perfume of ....
So tomorrow is Newroz... or the Kurdish New Year... the streets are packed and instead of being a source of frustration it becomes a social event. Everyone is hanging out of their cars with video cameras. Anyway, it seems to be a tradition to make a fire as huge and as smoke producing as possible. Tires are the preffered option... phew! 
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Monday, March 05, 2007
I am still learning... wierd things.
So I have discovered that I have learned many things and that I have wierd conversations sometmes. Take the other day for example, we were sitting around the kitchen table talking about how many amps each different type of appliance requires. Coffee pots take a lot. Refrigerators are about an amp and a half. Splits (AC/Heaters)are hefty, while lights are just about nothing. The reason for this conversation is the never ending conversation about power: how much, when, and what to do with it. Recently many neighborhoods have been putting in group generators... do we want 10 amps or 15? And shortly after that there were rumors that the city was going to cut off power all together! Yikes... maybe they will be cutting down the amps instead... 10 per household? How will we run the coffee pot!? Or perhaps more importantly, how will we run the washing machine? Air Conditioning? Strange quesitons for a strange place. (This pic is of a new generator and a water tank, I think??)
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
My Odd World
Today they "patched" a part of the paved road with dirt.
No wonder the roads get terrible after it rains!
No wonder the roads get terrible after it rains!
Monday, February 12, 2007
Friday, February 09, 2007
Better by Far
Oh, Father God, I’m dying—but wish instead I were dead,
Oh to be with thee, not crying, here on my lonely bed,
The silence is cold and it echoes the hollow hymn of pain.
Unfilled with the songs of the angels, oh to die would be gain!
That sorrow and sin be washed away—oh! Beauty to behold,
That crowns at my Lord’s feet will lay, a massive pile of gold.
But pearly gates and glittered roads are not what I want most
For next to my most gracious God these treasures cannot boast.
Of what worth are rubies when placed beside His bloody feet?
What will you pay for a diamond when dozens litter the street?
What value is there in a pearl when you are one in His eyes?
And sapphires haven’t a chance when matched with the heavenly skies.
When weariness and struggles shall be past and the battle done
How great the rest and how grand the feast, when the race is run.
When aching hearts and uncertain fears will all be laid to rest,
When upon that glorious day I will have passed the test.
But only by my Jesus’ blood, grace, and unstrained mercy
Have I this hope, this sure command, and I need not worry.
For in his life, he lived to prove God’s vast love and power.
And dying for me he drank that cup—such a bitter hour!
The greatest gift my Lord could give would be the greatest thing
That to this earth he gave himself although he was a king
That might and splendor could become a weak and tiny child
A mystery of love intense and full of something wild.
For one might die for a good man, but die for evil not.
But who would die for a traitor? We’d let our enemies rot!
But my Lord loved while I hated… and cared while I ignored!
He battled Death for my soul and fought with a two-edged sword.
And so I ache to be with Him, my lover, Lord, and life.
I yearn to leave the confines of this world that is so full of strife.
I wait for the day when the glimmers of heaven’ll be mine.
And crave the taste on my tongue of angelic songs divine.
I long for His words in my ears that I may truly hear,
And sweetness of his breath to smell whenever I draw near.
Then I breathe the perfumed pleasantness all so softly spiced
And so I am still reminded here that to live is Christ.
Oh to be with thee, not crying, here on my lonely bed,
The silence is cold and it echoes the hollow hymn of pain.
Unfilled with the songs of the angels, oh to die would be gain!
That sorrow and sin be washed away—oh! Beauty to behold,
That crowns at my Lord’s feet will lay, a massive pile of gold.
But pearly gates and glittered roads are not what I want most
For next to my most gracious God these treasures cannot boast.
Of what worth are rubies when placed beside His bloody feet?
What will you pay for a diamond when dozens litter the street?
What value is there in a pearl when you are one in His eyes?
And sapphires haven’t a chance when matched with the heavenly skies.
When weariness and struggles shall be past and the battle done
How great the rest and how grand the feast, when the race is run.
When aching hearts and uncertain fears will all be laid to rest,
When upon that glorious day I will have passed the test.
But only by my Jesus’ blood, grace, and unstrained mercy
Have I this hope, this sure command, and I need not worry.
For in his life, he lived to prove God’s vast love and power.
And dying for me he drank that cup—such a bitter hour!
The greatest gift my Lord could give would be the greatest thing
That to this earth he gave himself although he was a king
That might and splendor could become a weak and tiny child
A mystery of love intense and full of something wild.
For one might die for a good man, but die for evil not.
But who would die for a traitor? We’d let our enemies rot!
But my Lord loved while I hated… and cared while I ignored!
He battled Death for my soul and fought with a two-edged sword.
And so I ache to be with Him, my lover, Lord, and life.
I yearn to leave the confines of this world that is so full of strife.
I wait for the day when the glimmers of heaven’ll be mine.
And crave the taste on my tongue of angelic songs divine.
I long for His words in my ears that I may truly hear,
And sweetness of his breath to smell whenever I draw near.
Then I breathe the perfumed pleasantness all so softly spiced
And so I am still reminded here that to live is Christ.
The Funny Things
My recent lack of postings has had many reasons. First of all, time seems to be absent, second, internet has been abseng. And finally, my typing has been limited due to tendonitis in my left hand. So, the following has been borrowed with permission from a 15 year old girl named Pauli whose family has joined us out here in the Middle East this semester. Be entertained... I was there when the following incident happened.
So Saturday we went to the school for teacher-training. The teachers in the school have to go to a “once-a-month” teacher training session...1)because they are Kurdish, therefore English is their second language, it’s quite difficult to teach kids a language you barely know. 2) The public schools here deal with discipline and teaching completely differently. For example- ear pulling, screaming, anything like that. As for the teaching, one of the teachers had each of the 30 students stand in the corner of the room and read the same 2 paragraphs for the entire class time. They were taught that repition is the key. The session helped show them how to “really” teach.
One of the most interesting parts was the fire drill. Jeremiah made out a plan so they could have a fire-escape plan…which had never been thought through before. As a lot of you know there was a fire a few months ago in the school building in the middle of the night. Now- houses and buildings here just do not catch on fire. Every building in concrete. Nothing is there for it to actually catch onto. So a lot of the people think someone probably set the school on fire. So when Jeremiah came up and said, “We are going to have a fire drill” everyone’s first impression was, “We have an enemy…someone is going to set the school on fire” they all said it too. See, fire drills are un-heard of here. No one does them…like as I said, nothing catches on fire here, so why have a fire drill unless we had threats against the school. So it was funny trying to explain to them that no, we don’t have someone that is going to blow the school up!
So Jeremiah went over the things that they are suppose to do in a fire…the basics that you learn in kindergarten but they were never taught it. One of the things was, “Stay and hold the door open while all your kids get out of the class then follow them” one of the teachers said, “Honestly, if there is a fire…I’m going to leave my kids and get out of the school” my mom and I just looked at each other thinking, how can this teacher leave thirty 2nd graders and run out the door. My mom turned the teacher next to her and said, “Would she really do that??” and she said, “Of course, she is much more important than the children, she has a husband and a family”
It was an amazing opportunity for Jeremiah to open up in discussion. He was saying that this is exactly what’s wrong with this culture. This is why we don’t have electricity- this is why we have limited water- this is why there is trash all over the ground- and that they don’t clean up anything- this is why all the government officials stuff the money in their pockets. The only thing that anyone is concerned with in this culture is themselves. The teacher then went on to say, “I’m way more important than the kids”…this is what happens to everyone, they grow up thinking that they are more important than anyone else. That’s why there is a school in the first place. Believe it or not, but these kids have never ever been taught to clean up. Ever. Everyone just throws their trash out the window. So for the first time- these kids are being taught to pick up their trash. To clean up- to respect others- to help. It’s a completely new concept to them. What we are hoping is that these kids will be future leaders of Iraq.
So Saturday we went to the school for teacher-training. The teachers in the school have to go to a “once-a-month” teacher training session...1)because they are Kurdish, therefore English is their second language, it’s quite difficult to teach kids a language you barely know. 2) The public schools here deal with discipline and teaching completely differently. For example- ear pulling, screaming, anything like that. As for the teaching, one of the teachers had each of the 30 students stand in the corner of the room and read the same 2 paragraphs for the entire class time. They were taught that repition is the key. The session helped show them how to “really” teach.
One of the most interesting parts was the fire drill. Jeremiah made out a plan so they could have a fire-escape plan…which had never been thought through before. As a lot of you know there was a fire a few months ago in the school building in the middle of the night. Now- houses and buildings here just do not catch on fire. Every building in concrete. Nothing is there for it to actually catch onto. So a lot of the people think someone probably set the school on fire. So when Jeremiah came up and said, “We are going to have a fire drill” everyone’s first impression was, “We have an enemy…someone is going to set the school on fire” they all said it too. See, fire drills are un-heard of here. No one does them…like as I said, nothing catches on fire here, so why have a fire drill unless we had threats against the school. So it was funny trying to explain to them that no, we don’t have someone that is going to blow the school up!
So Jeremiah went over the things that they are suppose to do in a fire…the basics that you learn in kindergarten but they were never taught it. One of the things was, “Stay and hold the door open while all your kids get out of the class then follow them” one of the teachers said, “Honestly, if there is a fire…I’m going to leave my kids and get out of the school” my mom and I just looked at each other thinking, how can this teacher leave thirty 2nd graders and run out the door. My mom turned the teacher next to her and said, “Would she really do that??” and she said, “Of course, she is much more important than the children, she has a husband and a family”
It was an amazing opportunity for Jeremiah to open up in discussion. He was saying that this is exactly what’s wrong with this culture. This is why we don’t have electricity- this is why we have limited water- this is why there is trash all over the ground- and that they don’t clean up anything- this is why all the government officials stuff the money in their pockets. The only thing that anyone is concerned with in this culture is themselves. The teacher then went on to say, “I’m way more important than the kids”…this is what happens to everyone, they grow up thinking that they are more important than anyone else. That’s why there is a school in the first place. Believe it or not, but these kids have never ever been taught to clean up. Ever. Everyone just throws their trash out the window. So for the first time- these kids are being taught to pick up their trash. To clean up- to respect others- to help. It’s a completely new concept to them. What we are hoping is that these kids will be future leaders of Iraq.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Back Where I Belong
Well, I finally made it back out to the Middle East... haha. And I am truly happy to be here. Life jumped right back into being chaotic and confusing, but I have become accustomed to it. It is interesting watching a new lady who has just arrived with me... I realize how much I have grown over the past semester as I see her deal with the inconsistencies of life and everything technological or planned. It still surprises her.
As you can see from my last post (if it shows up for you... it seems some people have problems... I don't know) that I spent some time in Istanbul... that was because of some "political problems" in the place I was trying to get to. Again, I don't know why. These things are rarely explained. But, getting there was surely the most amazing part of the trip. I arrived in Istanbul with a total of $13.04. The Visa cost $20. Mmmmhhmmm. God did amazing work with that one.
Blessings to you all out in Blog world...
As you can see from my last post (if it shows up for you... it seems some people have problems... I don't know) that I spent some time in Istanbul... that was because of some "political problems" in the place I was trying to get to. Again, I don't know why. These things are rarely explained. But, getting there was surely the most amazing part of the trip. I arrived in Istanbul with a total of $13.04. The Visa cost $20. Mmmmhhmmm. God did amazing work with that one.
Blessings to you all out in Blog world...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)