T-minus 5 days and counting...

Team members are being reminded to be very sensitive; culturally and spiritually, in all our communications. They are asking us to watch what we say and write home about. You will probably not hear me talk much about spiritually issues and reflections after this on the blog just to be safe. My prayer is our mission will be to show LOVE to all the Afghans we come into contact with.

In preparation, I just read a fairly simplified description of Islam and its comparison to Christianity. The one thing that stood out to me was the difference in the characteristics of God. To quote Bruce and Stan, "Allah of Qur'an only loves those he deems as good; the God of the Bible loves all humanity, none of whom are basically good". What an assurance to know that little ol', fallible me is loved unconditionally!

I really feel I am providentially being prepared for this trip. The coincidences and connections to Afghanistan are bombarding me every day. I am so trying to keep all the information straight. I was able to check out the Dead Sea Scroll exhibit last night. These documents, that were written around the time of Christ, are even older than the religion of Islam which started in about 600 A.D. It was neat to feel the timelessness of Bible. The Omnitheater was also showing a film on Arabia. Part of the film showed images of Mecca and Muslims on pilgrimage, which is one of the 5 pillars of Islam. I am struggling to find the right word to describe what 2 million people bowing before a black cube and rotating around it 7 times looks like. You've gotta just check it out for yourselves.