Bringing God on Vacation: Georgia

About two weeks ago, I had the unique opportunity to travel to Georgia with my wife for a week. This is not the Georgia where peaches, Coke and Chick-fil-a come from, but Georgia the ex-Soviet Union country that is famous for churches, wine, and monasteries. I was very grateful for the opportunity to go there, and it was both relaxing to enjoy the city, physically demanding with quite a bit of hiking, and educational as we learned about the history of the country and also it's Christian history. Here are some ways I encountered and worshiped God on my vacation.

Encountering different Christians

My wife and I went to the Holy Trinity Cathedral on our first day in the country. It was a massive church that overlooks the entire city.  The cathedral had a very large area around it for gardens, fountains, and other aesthetically pleasing structures.  It was interesting to note that nearly all the women who went inside the church wore a head scarf, which is not too different from the hijab, which is a head scarf that covers the hair of Muslim women in Kuwait and the Middle East.  There was no requirement that women had to wear a head covering to enter the church, but I think most women did this as a sign of respect.  My wife left her scarf at home, so she decided not to enter and waited outside.

As I entered the church, it was a very different experience for me.  As a man who has grown up in the evangelical tradition, I find the beauty and intricacies of orthodox Christianity very different.  The inside of this building was as beautiful as the outside.  There were paintings and icons everywhere, and incense burning in several places.  There were candles set up in a few locations, and even the inside of the building was symmetrical and made the shape of the cross, where the top of the cross is where the priest would give his sermon.  It was extremely fascinating.  Even though I don't believe in the spiritual value of icons and burning candles as prayers for loved ones, it is nice to see that there is care taken to the beauty of the church, both inside and out.  Most evangelical churches are not nearly as ornate, and the churches I've often attended have been in re-purposed warehouses or school gymnasiums. 

Another thing I noticed was the quiet and reverence that people had in the church.  Even though there were well over 100 people walking around, lighting candles, reading the Bible, and praying, it was very quiet.  Most people didn't talk to each other, and when they did, it was a whisper.  It really felt like you were in a holy and unique place.  This is also very different from the evangelical tradition.  We are quite loud, and for good reason.  Every week, people are happy and excited to see each other, so there is a lot of socialization before and after each service.  There is also a time of greeting during the service, and I try to talk to as many people as I can.  I think this is a good thing.  However, I do think there is value in reverence and respect in church. 

The other thing I noticed was some of the sincerity that people had towards praying and reading.  There were a lot of people who were praying, and, at least, looked earnest in their prayers.  Many people were praying in front of icons, and I wasn't sure what to think of that.  However, it could be that some of the images in the cathedral, such as Jesus on the cross, were just a reminder to these people to encourage them to pray and give thanks.  There were also a handful of people who were standing up and reading the Bible quietly to themselves.  It was in Georgian, so I didn't know what they were reading or praying, but there certainly was a level of devotion in the people.  In a very different way, I believe that many of them were truly expressing themselves to God and loving Jesus for saving them from their sins by His death on the cross. 

Do I believe that all of the people in the church were Christians?  No.  Do I believe that all of their practices, such as candle lighting and praying to icons, are biblical?  No.  However, even in the evangelical tradition and at the church I attend there are plenty of people who are not Christians, but attend because they are culturally connected or are socially interested.  And I am sure that when I get to heaven, I will discover there are things that we have done wrong as well.  Through that experience in Georgia, God taught me that there are Christians who look very different from the style of Christianity that I like and that I am used to.  However, it doesn't mean that their faith is necessarily different from what I believe.  I pray for the Christians in Georgia, that God would be with them and show Himself to them in a very real and authentic way, and that the Holy Spirit would empower them to not only look inward to the Georgian orthodox church, but would reach out to other religions and those who are not religious and share the gospel with them.  

Arabic Practice

One of the first words I spelled in Arabic.

At my small group last week, we talked about hope. Every person in the group gave a prayer request in the form of a hope that we have and we all prayed for our hopes. When it was my turn to speak, I shared that the hope I have is to not give up on Arabic. It is the language of the people here in Kuwait and I feel that it is important to know for a variety of reasons. I prayed that I wouldn't give up and I would have opportunities to continue to speak Arabic.

Fast forward to this week and God answered that prayer. I work at an institution where there are many native Arab speakers who also speak English fluently. I usually have the desire to speak to some of them in Arabic, but because of fear and and the difficulty of trying to speak and understand, I usually always chicken out and speak English, which is easier for everyone.

However, I was able to get over my fear this week. I started speaking to one of my colleagues in Arabic while we were in the tea room getting a drink. She responded quite positively, and even though the conversation was short, she said she was impressed with my Arabic.

That's not to say that I'm fluent by any stretch of the imagination, but I do have a small vocabulary that I can work with. My colleague had to repeat herself a couple times and translate a few words, but I had an idea of what she said and she could understand me.

She also said that she would try to speak to me every day in Arabic, which was a surprising and pleasant offer. I know that means a lot more work and thinking for me, but if it helps me to use the vocabulary I have more often, then I'm definitely interested.

 

"Welcome" in Arabic

 

I also had lunch the same day with another Arab colleague, and because of my confidence from the previous encounter, I also asked if I could practice. It was a little more difficult because he was more interested in teaching me, rather than trying to talk using my limited vocabulary. However, I still felt like he understood me and I understood some of what he was saying. I was a little discouraged because I understood less, but I was glad that I tried.

I walked away from that experience realizing that God answers prayers. I have been wanting to talk with people in Arabic since the beginning of the year, and almost always chicken out. However, after we took time and prayed together in small group, I had an opportunity to communicate in Arabic twice in one day.

We often feel that the pressure is on us, but this experience reminded me that God really has power to change things in my life, to overcome fear and doubt, and transform his people from one degree of glory to the next. If we put our hope in God and not ourselves, then our lives will be much more satisfying and joyful.

Harvest Festival

 Every fall, the Lighthouse Church has a massive gathering called the Harvest Festival.  It's like a combination of a concert, a yard sale, and a cafeteria all inside the church compound.  This year, the Harvest festival will be Saturday, November 9th from 9a.m. until 4p.m.- tomorrow!  I would encourage all who can to come and support the event, and everyone else who can't make it to pray for it. 

For those who have never been, it is really an excited and nearly overwhelming experience.  It is like a sensory explosion of sounds, smells, and sights.  First of all, there are people everywhere.  This is really fun because you get to see friends from your church service and people from all the different services.  Pastors, elders, and church council members are all there.  At times, it's like a sea of humanity ebbing and flowing around the church compound.

There is also a lot of music.  From Christian rock bands to soloists to ethnic dance groups, there is definitely a wide variety of musical styles on display during the festival.  Last year, one man played several different instruments during the same song, including a pan pipe, which is pretty unique! 

There is also a second-hand book, clothes, and item sale that goes on during the festival.  As an avid yard sale explorer back in America, I always find this to be pretty fun.  It's like a treasure hunt, where I will one day find my pot of gold buried beneath old books and clothes.


Last, but certainly not least, is the food.  The smell of food wafts throughout the church compound, compelling you to come and try some.  Many different booths offer foods from all over the world, especially amazing Indian and Filipino food.  Additionally, there is a bake sale with all the best homemade cookies and brownies in the world right at your fingertips. 

This year, the Jabriya Life Center is contributing a stand to the food area.  Headed by one of our service leaders, it will be an American barbeque stand.  It will have burgers and hotdogs that will be every bit as delicious as you would get in Texas or Chicago.  Many people from our service have volunteered to help make it a success, so please try to come out if you can.

For those of you who are not in Kuwait, please pray for the event.  All the money that is raised goes toward missions, which include several mission organizations, orphanages, and shelters that we support in India, Tanzania, and around the world.  The Lighthouse Church is one of the strongest international churches in Asia, so it is our desire to use that strength and influence to raise money to help churches and organizations that need our support.  Please pray that it would be a total success, and that thousands of dinars/dollars would flow from The Lighthouse Church to missions all over the world. 

Eid Mubarak!

"Eid Mubarak!"  This is one of the most common greetings I see and hear at this time of year in Kuwait.  For all the schools and universities there is no school; therefore, teachers and students have the week off, including myself.  All the government offices are closed, and most other employees get either the week or at least three days off during this time.

I am no expert in Islam, but I'll try to give my explanation of what it all means.  'Eid' in Arabic means festival.  There are two festivals in Islam, Eid al-fitr and Eid al-adha.  The Eid that is going on now is Eid al-Adha, which means the festival of the sacrifice.  It moves about 10 days forward each year on the Gregorian calendar because Eid al-adha follows the lunar calendar.  This is similar to the rotation of Easter every year because it is based on the Hebrew calendar. 

During this time of the year thousands of years ago, Abraham offered up his first-born son.  Abraham was given the promise of God that he would be the father of a great and powerful nation with descendents as many as the as the grains of sands on the Earth.

Muslims believe that Ishmael, not Isaac, was the son of the promise, but the story is similar to the Bible in other aspects.  He was the only of son of Abraham, and God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son as a sign of his dependance on God for everything. 

Abraham was willing to sacrifice him, and built an alter to do so.  His son was around a teenager at this point, and the thought must have caused terrible anguish.  However, when he was about to bring the knife down on his son to slit his throat in the ritual way to sacrifice an animal, God did something amazing.  He provided a ram in the place of his son, so that the ram would be sacrificed to God instead of his own son.

Getting ready to make the ultimate sacrifice!

Because of this, Muslims all over the world sacrifice an animal, which is usually a cow or a sheep, but their most valuable livestock is acceptable.  This is the same in Kuwait and most often it's a sheep, and on the day of Eid or the day before, there are pickup trucks taking sheep to various places on the highway, ready to meet their certain doom.  On the day of the sacrifice, many families will slit the throat of the animal, and will celebrate and eat.  Many Kuwaitis also give the meat from the animal to the poor as a sign of their willingness to sacrifice what is theirs for God, and will additionally have a butcher do the work and divide the meat.

This is also the end of the annual pilgrimage, or Hajj, when millions of Muslims go each year to fulfill one of the requirements of the religion.  Muslims believe that Mecca is the site where Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son.   

It is a holy time for Muslims and most of the week is given off.  Many people travel

Most popular mall in Kuwait

during this time, and those that don't are out and about, either with their families, in the malls, or on the road celebrating, lighting fireworks, and other such festivities.  It's an enjoyable time as long you don't get caught in traffic at night, which could cause your commute home or elsewhere to take hours to complete!

As a Christian, this is a good time for me to pray for my Muslim friends and colleagues.  I try to pray specifically that they will understand that God spared Abraham's son only because God Himself would be willing to sacrifice His one and only son for the sins of the world.  I pray that they would see that Jesus was the ram who took the place of Abraham's son, and that through Jesus they can have assurance of God's love and salvation for eternity.  

Thursday is the New Friday

In Kuwait, the work-week is slightly different from the Western world. The work week begins in most Arab states on Sunday and ends on Thursday. In fact, the Arabic word for Sunday literally means 'Day 1' of the week. Therefore, people in Kuwait say 'Thank God it's Thursday.'

So, this last Thursday, I finished up my classes and had a meeting immediately afterwards. I was pretty ready to get out of work as early as possible and enjoy my life. As I was walking back to my office to grab my things, I saw one of my colleagues and he asked me how I was doing.

In my heart, I didn't know what to do, because I really wanted to be selfish and not have a long conversation. On the other hand, this individual is asking me about my life, so I didn't want to turn him down.

This summer, I have been praying for opportunities to make a difference as a Christian in my spheres of influence, including my work place. I have also been thinking that every Christian is in full-time ministry wherever they are, and all of our jobs and careers are opportunities for us to share the joy of Christ to those who are around us in whatever way we can. 

Because of that, I (reluctantly) decided to chat with him for a while. We talked about our lives for about an hour and swapped stories. No, I didn't share the gospel or the four spiritual laws, nor did I even mention anything about God. However, I did take an interest in his life, and listen to what he had to say and opened myself up to him.

I hope that God will continue to strengthen me to not be selfish with my time, but willing to give it to people in both planned and spontaneous ways, which I hope will show the love of Christ to the people I interact with.

Fun, Fellowship, Felafel

    After we started our second school year in Kuwait, my wife and I had relocated to a different church service because the US embassy stopped conducting religious services, which is where we were attending.  The new location for us was a bit of an adjustment, but most of the same people we knew also went to the new service.

One of the things that I knew we were missing out on was more personal and connected times with other Christians.  While church is great, it's not really a time where you can get to know people well because every service has a schedule that only includes only a minute or two of greeting.

It's also especially important in Kuwait, when you are dealing with different cultures, languages, and thinking, to be able to have some friends to connect with on a spiritual level. 

Understanding this, I went to my pastor after one of the services and said I would like be a part of a small group (aka life group, care group, cell group, or anything else that ends in group where Christians get together, pray for one another, discuss a book or sermon, talk, and eat a snack).

He looked at me and said that there were no small groups in our service, but that I should start one.   My heart sank.  I had never led a small group before.  Who was I going to invite?  What was I going to talk about?  Who would want follow me?  What if I vomited in the life group because I was so nervous? 

For some reason beyond me, I agreed that I would try to start one.  I then dutifully went through the process of begging, cajoling, and finally coercing some of my friends from the service to go with me.

There were initially five of us, and yes, it was awkward in the beginning.  We didn't know each other well, I didn't know what I was doing, and everything felt mechanical.

Fast-forward three years and I was sitting in a chair with a room full of about 20 people, none of whom were part of my original group.  I recently passed on the leadership to a friend to allow more people the opportunity to lead.  I consider many the people in my group to be good friends, and we spend a lot of time together outside of the group.  I had tears in my eyes as we prayed for each other. 

We laughed, we cried, and we certainly ate pieces of fried and mashed chickpeas called felafel.  I am grateful that God has provided a community and an oasis for so many of the people who are living here in the desert.

How can we pray?

 

 

Here are some ways I can think to pray for Kuwait and the Middle East right now:

• Pray for The Lighthouse Church, which is the evangelical English speaking church in Kuwait, and consists of many nationalities.  Pray specifically that they would continue to worship Jesus in peace, and that the voices of extreme conservatives to shut down the church would not be heard.

• Pray for the Kuwaiti younger generations, who seem to be going through an identity crises, with lots of Western influence on one hand, and also a lot of influence from Saudi Arabia.  Pray that they would seek the truth and find their identity in God.

• Pray for lower-income foreign workers, especially those of Indian descent.  There has been a crackdown in recent months about the rules and regulations for foreign workers, and several thousand people have been deported so far.  Pray that the Kuwaiti government would mingle compassion with their laws and would allow families to remain in Kuwait or go home together.  

• Pray that there would be greater mixing between Kuwaitis and non-Kuwaitis, along with Christians and Muslims.  It is easy for foreign laborers to stick together in the same ethnicity or even in the same profession.  It can often be difficult for foreigners to meet and interact with Kuwaitis, so pray that opportunities would develop and there would be boldness to reach out to Kuwaitis and people from other backgrounds.