Hello Loved Ones.
Where do I begin? How do I condense my last two weeks into an email that people will take time to read and be blessed by? For starters, I would just like to say that I love this place. It's beauty cannot be described by words in an email. We are staying in one of the highest places in the city, and from my window, all I can see is this ancient city for kilometers and kilometers. There are mosques everywhere you turn, everything is made out of stone, making the whole city appear to be painted tan. Everything is covered in dust, including leaves of trees, cars that have been parked too long, and my feet, which I don't think have been clean since I arrived. The people are so hospitable, so beautiful. We have been going out into our little community for the last week, a very impoverished area which I could describe in great detail but can't because of security, but know it's a shocking, yet beautiful area. The streets are narrow, the brick structures are high, and would crowd you if you let them. There is rubbish everywhere you turn, dead rats every few feet, and live ones you have to watch you step for. There are little boys riding donkeys, trucks and cars, and donkey-towed carts, cats, dogs, goats, sheep, men shouting at you every few steps. "Welcome!" Or things I'm thankful I don't quite understand. It can be quite overwhelming if you allow it to get to you; sometimes funny, sometimes degrading. Women are covered head to toe, and we stick out like soar thumbs, even though we wear long skirts, long sleeves, and sometimes head coverings. We are not allowed to interact with any men, I don't think I've ingnored more people in my life. I've found it a challenge to ignore, but wear a look on my face that speaks to them of "love" and "value". It's an oppressive culture, it's an unjust culture, but it's also a beautiful one. I wish everyone could see the other side of it. Not just what we see on the news, or what we hear. These people really are a beautiful people. Kind, generous, welcoming.
We've been getting to know our neighbors during the last week, practicing our Arabic, which I've grown to love, and have learned a lot of. We've met a lot of pregnant women already, and women that have just had babies. We've palpated bellies, taken blood pressures, pra.yed for women, children, homes and families, taught on anemia, child spacing, birth control, nutrition, danger signs in pregnancy... We've even taught on such basic things like burping your baby after breast feeding, or proper hygeine that they just don't know about. It's really been amazing. We visited an orpanage the other day and saw just a whole room full of cribs. Some with crying babies, some with sleeping babies, some with hungry babies, laughing babies... It was amazing to just go in, hold them, speak value over them, ble.ssings over them, destinies over them. They are such beautiful little babies.
We've been having meetings after meetings with different places around the city, hospitals, refugee camps, places in need... I'm excited for things to start coming together, and hopefully get to start seeing some births. It was funny, our last few weeks in Perth we spent preparing to come, packing, talking, planning, then we traveled, got settled in, took a few days to read the whole b.ible out loud, and by the beginning of this week when we started lectures again, I had almost forgotten what I was doing. Then we studied "obstucted labour", and I got so excited. It was like I remembered my love for this adventure all over again. It's very exciting to be getting into the practical part.
Pr.ay for me, we were playing a fun game the other night with the team, and me being me, fell down in the midst of excitment and hurt my arm. Mish mushkala... no problem, but it's still really swollen a few days later and I can't really bend it or straighten it all that well. It's definatly not broken, but no promise that it's not cracked, and definatly sprained, or jamed, or something. Either way, I can't catch, or hold babies, and that's a problem. So be pr.aying for a speedy recovery. As well as for my friend Yoho who during our time in the community yesterday got hit by a motor bike, and gashed his leg pretty bad. It was a purposful hit, so be pra.yinng that he is not discouraged, or that he does not loose heart. Mostly our days have gone well, and we've been very welcomed. However, there are those who challenge us, and remind us that we do have to be careful, and wise.
I hope you are finding yourselves healthy, and happy. I love you all, think of you often, and pr.ay for your well being. That you are knowing the beauty, the love, and the fufullment of our beautiful G.od. He is such a good G.od. He really is.
Bessma (That is my Arabic name. "Bess" means "enough" or "finish", so I have to introduce myself as "Bessma" which means "smile". And everyone always asks me if I am Arabic. "Shwia shwia" I say. "A little". :)