remembering a sad day in 1988

Today we started out on a journey to the town of Halabja. If you don't know the history of this town, let me briefly tell you. In 1988, within a 5-minute period, more than 5,000 people were killed from the poisonous gas of Saddam Hussein. The picture of the statue depicts a father lying on top of his young son, trying to protect him from the poison. They both died together that day. The young man who accompanied us today has his own heart-breaking story. On that same day in 1988, he was 6 years old, on a school bus when a bomb hit the bus and blew up 30 of the 31 children on board. He was the only one to survive. He woke up 3 months later in a hospital in Iran with both legs missing. He has since found new life and has a vibrant testimony. There are 1000 graves shown here and entire families are buried under each grave stone. The village is dotted with unmarked graves of children and mass graves, some containing up to 1500 bodies. It is sad to think of the suffering these people have endured. Our day included a picnic by a stream; you know we're getting acclimated when we thought 103 degrees was rather cool. We were accompanied by two body guards who never left our sides; we didn't think it was necessary but they are very keen to make sure we're safe here. Our picnic food consisted of a huge pot of rice with nuts and raisins, beans with lamb, chicken, salad and ice cold yogurt thinned with water & salt added. I could have done without the yogurt drink! When we left our picnic site, we headed up the mountain and stopped at a place where we could look over into Iran. It was a great and memorable day!

A trip to the bank

This morning I made my usual trip to the bank to withdraw money. I asked for my money in Iraqi Dinar today which meant it was quite a large bundle.($1=1,200 I.D.) In fact, it was downright huge and I wondered how I would carry it out. In the middle of the transaction, the electricity went out. Everyone acted like this was a normal event and just sat patiently waiting for it to come back. It seemed like an eternity to me. The girl then handed me a black plastic bag in which to pack up my bundle of money. While I was there, there were young boys hauling in huge bales of money in wheelbarrows and a man standing nearby with a Kalashnikov to guard them. Somehow this didn't seem like the usual bank atmosphere that I'm used to. Upon completing my transaction, I left the bank carrying my large black bag bulging with money. It's normal; everyone else has theirs too.

Reminiscing -what was & what might have been

We have come to Jordan for our annual field retreat. We came early because of flight schedules and are spending a few days in Aqaba, packing up our things & visiting friends. There is a deep sadness as we look around and see all the work that went into our house, all the relationships that took time to build and still go very deep. I cried myself to sleep the first night in my comfortable bed, a bed that has been mine through several houses and countries. I woke in the morning to my beautiful back yard & my special place where I used to have my devotions. The trees that I planted were now tall and beautiful. Sitting in that sacred place with my coffee, I listened to the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir singing "He is worthy of our sacrifice". Ugh, why is life so stinkin' hard? Sometimes the sacrifice seems too great. I wonder how many more times I will have to move? How many more times will I make deep relationships only to cast them aside once again? I have been forced to bury so many memories, so many friendships...it is agonizing when friends pour out their hearts to me and I am helpless to do anything but pray for them. I can no longer bear their burdens; I have other burdens to bear now and they must learn to rely on another. Life is all about pain and sacrifice. That I have learned. I have also learned that I am able to bear far more than I ever dreamed I could & that the God who called me is more than able to provide all I need to live a victorious life. I so love this place & long to be here but God has other plans and as I obey, I am confident that he will give me a love & passion for the new place he's taken me to. I guess it comes down to "can I trust Him?" I know I can, so I blindly follow, holding his hand as he leads the way.

Oh for a sausage McMuffin

We started out on an early-morning trip today. We decided we'd go an hour and then stop for breakfast. We were curious to know what kind of foods were offered here in this country for breakfast. I have to admit that even after 25 years in this area of the world, the choices shocked me a bit: grilled chicken pieces, lentil soup or rice & beans. Of course that comes with the sides of onions, olives, pickles and delicious flat bread. It was very tasty but it didn't feel like we'd just eaten breakfast. Seems they have the same thing 3 meals a day. I've learned that you really can get used to anything.

All in a Day

I have always said that there's no such thing as a "normal" day here. We rarely know what a day will bring forth and never plan more than a few hours ahead. Today was no exception. We woke to find that our water tanks were empty. The motor on one of our water coolers burned up, causing smoke & a nasty smell to fill the upstairs, the white boards that we ordered for our classrooms were covered with large bubbles & impossible to use PLUS there was a cockroach in my shower! (well, there's always a cockroach in my shower, but I keep hoping the source will dry up one of these days) Anyway, in the midst of all this chaos, the rest of our team arrived to go with us for a meeting with the vice-president of this region. (we just got the call last night that this was to take place) A friend came and took all of us. We were escorted into the inner sanctums and waited in an air-conditioned room to meet this man. When he arrived, we all stood to shake hands with him; he then gave a flowery speech about how welcome we are in his country and anything we need is ours for the asking. Darrell then explained why we've come here and what our plans include. He was very happy and told us that this is what his country needs. After a photo op, we all shook hands again and were ushered into another room to drink tea & coffee. All in a day here...BTW, we later discovered that a switch had been turned off and thus our water pump was not working. We now have water again. PTL!