Well, the classroom (lecture) phase of our school has ended and we are now in the outreach (in-the-field) phase.
RECENTLY... We were just in Jordan for 12 days helping out a few churches and visiting several orphanages. It was really interesting to be in the Holy land, where the dominant religion is now Islam. The people in Jordan are very friendly and easy to befriend. We ate SOOO much food while we were there. It was delicious! I just want to affirm that arabs are not all terrorists, despite popular belief in America. I was treated with great hospitality and respect by both Muslim and Christian middle-easterners.
CURRENTLY... Now, we are in India for a little over a month. We had 36 hours of travel. Going to the Airport in Jordan, 6 hour flight, taking a 6 hour taxi to Pune. Waiting 6 hours for our bus to Goa. 10 hour bus ride to Goa WITH A CRAZY BUS DRIVER WHO PASSED EVERYBODY AT NIGHT ON MOUNTAIN ROADS. Although at the same time, I was impressed with his driving skills. I was NOT impressed with the Bollywood movies that played the ENTIRE 10 hours. The driving is CRAZY here. It's a whole different world here from the middle east, where I'd been for the last 3 months. AND CERTAINLY a different world from the US.
We drive past slums all over the place. People living in tents and make-shift shanties in fields or in forests or on the side of hills. Hygiene is terrible and the water they use for daily stuff is not good. My heart breaks as I see the way they live. It also breaks as I learn about the caste system of Hindu society, where people of the lowest caste are called "untouchables" because touching them is said to defile members of higher castes. Also, they are said to be in the lower caste because of sins in past lives, so it is supposedly their own fault. This division of Hindu society into castes runs SO deep that even when churches are planted they have not been able to mix castes. They have only found success in planting single-caste churches. I guess thousands of years of tradition will take a little time to overcome, even inside the church. In the slums you find people picking through garbage, pooping/peeing everywhere. Not all places are like this... there are tourist places and also cities that look just like American cities (except ALL the people are Indian and everything is cheaper and the cars/motorcycles are crazy). SOOO interesting! Also, there are only like 7 fat people in the whole country of 1.2 billion people. Everyone is so skinny and they eat rice and curry ALL THE TIME. I write this having had curry and rice for the past 4 meals.
A COUPLE CYPRUS TIDBITS... I had the opportunity to pray with a cameroonian man named victor who was orphaned as a child, and later kicked out of his country for political reasons (he didn't elaborate). He poured out his heart and longing for his country. His only hope truly is the Lord and he doesn't know when/if he will be able to return to his country, but in spite of that, he trusts in God. Amazing faith.
During our weekly outreach/evangelism we talked with several Bangladeshi Muslims on the streets of Cyprus. I learned that their name for Jesus sounds like "Jeezu". They believe in Jesus, but only what is written about him in the Koran. It is also very difficult to hold conversations, because their english is only okay. It's also interesting to note that almost all of the Bangladeshi's we've met are in university for hotel management. We have had several conversations with a group of them. Some of them have even come to our open meetings. They are very proud of their country and love their country, but they are also aware of its problems. In Cyprus, I have met so many refugees and asylum-seekers and immigrants and people on the street that would love to come to America. It is their dream to go to "the land of the free."
List of things I loved about Cyprus:
traditional Greek and Cypriot food made well (you will find a lot of lousy traditional food as well)
the amount of international people (i.e. people not from Cyprus) you meet in the street and at church
the weather
the history
the beaches
the easy-going nature of the Cypriot people
ASKING MY GIRLFRIEND TO MARRY ME THERE!!! And having her say "YES!"
List of things I missed from home while in Cyprus:
YOU GUYS!
free refills
large meals
cheap food
central heating
efficiency
reliable electricity
reliable internet
reliable plumbing (in many places around the world, including Cyprus, Jordan and India, people put used toilet paper in garbage bins next to the toilets, rather than in the toilets. weird, eh?)
