Grief

I just listened to a short podcast from NPR.  A man had lost his infant son and talked about the grief that followed.  He went on to say that grief is "showing honor to the one that you love".  I can't help but to agree.  If we would see someone who just lost someone and they weren't grieving we might ask or think, "don't they care?"  Grief seems to be viewed differently here.  I shouldn't say much on this as I don't fully understand the culture yet.  But I can tell the story of sitting in a local home and a woman came in.  She began to cry because her teenage brother had been killed the night before from a gun shot.  Nobody said anything, and I was waiting for the cultural clues to know what to do.  After a minute or two, the woman of the house said, "Enough!  This was Allah's plan!"  To grieve here seems to indicate a lack of trust in God.  So grief is discouraged, at least publicly.  

Anniversary Boat Ride

For our 2 year anniversary, Joe organized a boat ride for us in the Arabian sea.  We went along the coast for a couple of hours westward.  He arranged it through a friend's cousin who knew a fisherman.  We both enjoyed it especially because it was another adventure together.

Enjoy more pictures when you press "my photos" to the right.

Anniversary Dinner

Tomorrow is our 2 year wedding anniversary.  Our Urdu teacher and his friend made us a very special meal and bought us this cake.  While listening to Bollywood love songs, they had us cut the cake together and then feed each other.  I couldn't have asked for anything better.

Celebrating Eid

Eid is the 3 day Muslim holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan.  We had expected it to start on Thursday, but we woke on Wednesday to lots of noise and clamor, and had a sneaking suspicion that the date changed during the night.  It is all based on the lunar calendar and the Eid moon was seen earlier than expected.  Thankfully, we were prepared in terms of clothes and gifts.  We spent the next 2 days visiting with friends doing what you see in the picture above sans the chai (tea) in our hands.  

I had a moment.  I was following a local lady who was fully burqaed through the neighborhood visiting various houses.  We were weaving through small alleys strewn with trash, donkeys and goats tied to doorways, mangy dogs scrounging for food.  I stepped back and thought, "Wow! This life is really different!"  It all seems right.  I am having so much fun.  What an amazing experience to sit in homes  and begin to enter into lives, experience a new culture, talk in a new language.  I can't fully explain it all.  To go home later on and get on the computer and remember back in the States no holiday was happening was kind of strange.  

Big Day

I haven't spoken much of it, but the last few weeks have been Ramadan.  Tonight is the "night of power" where men go to the mosque all night to pray.  Women do the same at home.  They wait for visions and guidance, and pray to ward off evil.  They call it "big day" in this language.

We broke the fast with some friends tonight.  Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset everyday during Ramadan.  When the call to prayer goes off in the evening, they break the fast, usually by  eating a couple of dates.  The meal that breaks the fast is called Iftar.  So with our friends tonite, the food was all layed out before us and we waited about 10 minutes until we heard the call to prayer from the mosque, then we dug in.  The smokers in the crowd usually bypass the dates to quick light up as they are not to smoke during the fast either.  

We've had some good conversations about fasting this month.  Sharing notes about what it means.  I speak very simply at this point, but I am encouraged as people are interested in hearing more, and its always good to hear how people understand their own faith.

The Battle is On

The rat/mouse is back.  For over a week now we are seeing evidence of a rodent in our kitchen.  We had left a window open for a few hours one evening and it must have discovered the tasty morsels in our kitchen.  He keeps coming back.

Some pearls I have gained in this battle . . .

• You really get to know something when you are battling against it (take this to deeper places).  I am really getting to know its habits, its food preferences, maybe its weaknesses.  Its favorite munchie is rice.  So much so, that last night it was able to eat it off a mouse trap without setting it off.  BUT it also, ate rice laden with poison.  Only 3 pellets so we have to wait and see what it can handle.  As I lay in bed strategizing, I thought that if the certified rat poison doesn't work, I will head over to the pharmacy and get a cardiovascular med that could send it into a deadly heart rhythm.  (ALL meds are over the counter here).  Any blog readers who experiment with rats down in the lab have a suggestion?  
• When you really want something, there is a way.  (go deeper here too).   With the kitchen cordoned off, we soon discovered it redirected its path.  It began to gnaw through other screen windows, eat the bottom of 2 doorways (to crawl underneath), and then would enter the land of its dreams-- our kitchen.  We can't keep get ahead of it!  We now close every door, every window, pack every bit of food, AND it keeps coming back!
• Mice seem to be incontinent. (stay at the surface) It has no sense of discretion where it relieves itself.  And there are no convenient to clean piles.  I was thinking about it this morning after clean-up, it must be running along with poops just falling out the back end.

Missing Mom

2 years ago my mom passed away.  As I look at her photo, it still feels like a huge loss in my heart.  She was so precious to me.  Looking at her photo, I can still hear her voice in my head.  I hear the intonations of her voice and how she said my name.  I remember the experience of her care and love for me.  I remember her waiting at the door for me when I would arrive home after a 10 hour drive from Minneapolis.  And I remember that last hour of the drive, being so excited to see her everytime.

Along with all this God has brought me much comfort and care.  To His Glory, I can say that HE is GOOD.

This is a photo of my mom holding my twin and I.  My brother Dave is on the left.