Looking good

I thought I'd post a few photos of our newly completed center so you can see how good it's looking. With the limited resources here in this country, we are really happy with how it turned out. Be on the lookout in the coming days for our monthly update which will give more details. We will begin registration on Oct. 6th and classes on Oct. 12th. Thanks for remembering us on those dates! We're always looking for English teachers, short-term or long-term, so if you're gifted in that area, please contact us.

An inspiring evening

Last night we attended a conference that was held for all Evan churches in Iraq. Almost 1000 people packed into the auditorium at 5:30PM to begin the worship service which lasted for 3 1/2 hours. Explosive, electrifying, contagious, alive and over-the-top are words that could describe the worship experience we were able to share in with these dear brothers and sisters. With colored flags, jumping, dancing and spontaneous clapping & laughter, these people who have known such horror and tragedy in their lives, worshipped God with all their hearts. I found myself completely caught up in the experience and hardly realized that 3 1/2 hours had passed when it was over. The Ugandan pastor, who himself has lived through dark days in his country, gave a powerful message on the obstacles to breakthrough in prayer. Hundreds of people went forward to receive deliverance from a spirit of bitterness and unforgiveness and also from addictions. People who have watched their loved ones slaughtered in front of their eyes were begging for God's forgiveness as they struggled to forgive. There were many who ran back to their seats, free at last. It was truly a night to remember and just what I needed to refuel my dry soul. God is amazing in his faithfulness to us.

The Baazaar

Not having the ability to include sounds & smells in this blog will not give you the full picture of what a morning in the baazaar entails but use your imagination! A teammate and I headed for the baazaar early on a Friday, thinking we'd beat the crowds & the heat but what we didn't realize is that most schools opened today in the city and everyone was in the market yesterday to buy school supplies and clothes. We also didn't realize that people are already starting to plan for their big celebration at the end of the month of Ramadan, buying food, clothes and all kinds of things for the biggest event of the year. The place was mobbed with people; we could hardly move at times. We wandered aimlessly through the alleyways, not knowing where we were going and lost half the time. We passed carts loaded with "meat" (mostly the organs of cows & sheep). They washed the meat and threw the bloody water down a trough that ran through the center of the road. You can imagine that smell on a hot day! We passed through the vegetable market and row upon row of spices & pickled everything. We happened upon hundreds of men standing around with pigeons, doves, turkeys, ducks, birds of every kind. There were birds in boxes and cars and cages, thousands of birds everywhere. We have no idea what that was all about! I guess pretty much anything you could desire, might be found in that baazaar, but how to find it??? We tried asking for different things and were sent on wild-goose chases down alleyways, only to NOT find what we were looking for. During this month of Ramadan when people are suposed to be fasting, the restaurants all put up sheets out front to show respect to the fasters; the funny thing is that the places are packed with people inside. Very few observe the fast in this city, though we've heard in other cities it is very strictly followed. It was an exhausting morning and I think my friend now knows who NOT to invite next time on a trip to the baazaar. But at least now I can say that I've experienced it and who knows, I may just venture down again sometime when the weather is cooler.

A week for the record books

This morning when I walked down the street to get bread, this is what it looked like. Ordinarily we can see mountains and buildings in the distance but today, only dust. It began yesterday afternoon and this morning everything was covered, both inside and out! There is so much to tell you about the past week that I hardly know where to start but I'll give it a try...
We have had 10 people living in our house for the week and 4 students staying with other team members. They all eat 3 meals a day here however. I'm sure I have made at least 25 large pots of sweet, strong tea over the past 5 days. And I never knew there existed such large trays & pots. I bought the biggest I could find in town. Between preparing 3 meals a day & AM and PM coffee breaks, it has kept me hopping. But the laughter, the stories, the tears, the deep sharing has been so rewarding. Darrell has had a workout too, teaching 8 hours a day, Romans & All. Doctrine. Needless to say, we both fall into bed exhausted by 10PM, even though our living room is still alive with people talking late into the night!
In the middle of the week, 2 of the students decided they wanted to be baptized. Since there is no water anywhere near here, we went and bought a kids' pool and had the baptism in our front yard. What a great time of celebration it was, followed by a pizza party around the pool. Of the 11 students that attended the short term classes, 6 of them were from another background. The fellowship around the table and in the living room has been so special to see as these brothers bond together. Some of them have suffered terribly because of their faith. Some are in deep pain even now as they struggle to survive in a hostile environment. We feel privileged to have a small part in the training of these fine leaders. We will miss them when they leave tomorrow. Tonight will be a final farewell dinner at a restaurant & they will all leave to go back to their homes in the morning. Thank you to all of you who have helped to make this week possible!

The Italian arrives

Up until now we've been managing with our small Chinese-made generator, altho it only runs 1 A/C and a frig. We realized that we needed a much larger one that would do several A/C's at a time. Rated at 25 amps, we learned that it was so ineffective because in truth, it could produce only 10 to 12 amps. After lots of discussion with our leadership and a day of shopping with 2 diesel experts, we concluded that we could best afford a $5,500 Italian Lombardini rated at 13 KVA which translates to about 50 amps. Even with this, the seller recommended running only 3 A/C units on it for maximum life. It will be tight, but this will be enough when we are holding language or theological classes in our Training Center and when students or visitors are sleeping upstairs in our Guest House.
Affectionately named "The Italian", the photo shows its arrival in front of our house at rush hour yesterday. Our team of Kurdish language students were meeting in our front yard with 5 prospective language teachers. Confusion was rampant as the driver of the "winch" did not hesitate to block traffic on our busy street while off-loading the Italian.
We launched into an immediate disagreement as the company changed all the agreements we had made before the sell. They said they would pay for the pickup carrying the Italian but I had to pay for the winch. Then they said I would have
to pay for set-up. At the show room I was told that the purchase price included "set-up." The man now said he never promised that. I asked if his word counted only if he added, "I cross my heart and hope to die?" There is a definite problem of language since I did the transaction in Arabic with a Kurdish man who spoke Arabic.
But that gave him lots of wiggle-room to claim a misunderstanding. Finally he said he would come the next day and hook it up. But today he arrived with an Electrician who he said I would have to pay 75,000 dinars plus parts. Through a Kurdish friend I told him that before I purchased the machine he treated me like a son but once the money changed hands, he treated me like an orphan.
To be ready for the electrician to do the hook-up, I had to fill the tank with diesel fuel. I contemplated several trips to the gas station filling my two 5-gallon plastic jugs with diesel fuel. But then I had a great idea. I would ask my neighbors to send the man who fills the tank of diesel fuel for their generator.
I should have perceived something was up when they kept asking, "How many liters do you want?" My response was, "I don't know. I want the tank filled."
So a man shows up in an oil-covered pickup truck with 5 barrels in the back and 2 very dirty boys in the cab. He offered to drop off a barrel with 120 liters of diesel fuel in it. Of course my response was, "How would I ever get it into my tank?" Well, it turns out that the guy has a pump with NO meter on it. So to make a long story short, he filled my 20 liter jugs with his huge hose and then poured them one at a time into the generator's tank. Thus he knew how many liters he gave me. Now don't think this was a neat operation. After a jug was filled, he would jerk the hose up into the air above the level of the barrel on his truck to shut off the flow. He spoke neither Arabic nor English so a friend told me how much I owed him. I told my friend to tell him that there were still a few spots on my driveway that he had not spilled diesel fuel on if he wanted to complete soaking everything.
I paid him, gave toys to his 2 boys and he was on his way.
So now I was ready when the electrician returned with his supplies and I thought we would have back-up electricity by sundown. But today is the first day of Ramadan, the month of fasting from dusk to dawn and although many here do not fast, this man did. So at about 3 in the afternoon in 110 degree heat,the poor guy says he's just too tired to finish the job today. Could he come back tomorrow? What could I say? He did not even pick up his tools, but left them scattered all over the place.
So the story of the Italian should end tomorrow. But if it does I will be the one who is most surprised, since nothing here goes as you plan or hope.