El Classico

One of the first things I learned when arriving at the CSM school to teach was you have to pick whether you will pull for Real Madrid or Barcelona.  Yes, I am in Iraq and yes those are two football teams from Espana.  However, every student, and most nationals, will ask "Mister, Real or Barcelona... Real or Barcelona!!"  For the first couple of days, I had no idea what they were talking about.  Now that I do, I still don't have a favorite.  If the Steelers or the Tarheels don't make the list, I check out.  That's the extent of my sports enthusiasm... and to this day I don't even have a jersey or a Terrible Towel.  I like to watch sports, but "fanatic", I am not.

So when I was asked the other day about going to a local café to view the match between Real Madrid and Barcelona, known by most locals as "El Classico", my response was close to "meh".  However, a new American teacher had just arrived from Barcelona and his wife is from there.  When I say he just arrived, I mean he arrived in Iraq just 2 days before and knows very little about the city, the culture, or the language.  But I agreed to take him to the place where just last year there were several eruptions after Barcelona and Real Madrid lost games.  One such eruption had a lot of shouting, horns honking, and apparent happy gun fire (into the air presumably).   Now just in case you missed something, one of those teams was about to lose again.

Now since this is an Islamic area of town, this was not a bar, but a café.  No alcohol was present, but there was a lot of hookah going on… I just have to assume you know what that is.  It was very smoky and most seats were occupied.  A quick glance, lead me to believe I didn’t know anyone there, so we found one of the two empty couches and turned one around to face the closer TV.  The attendant came over and we ordered two orange Fantas.  I know, right?  No hookah, please.

We arrived late in the first half and no goals had been scored by either team.  Another glance around the room, and we were both pretty sure the crowd was mixed with supporters of either team sitting together – one had the colors from Real and the guy next to him was draped in a Barcelona flag.  So we felt at ease with the seats we had chosen.  Of course very soon, upon arriving we were asked the big question… “Mister, Real or Barcelona.”  Since my new friend had just arrived from there, we, of course, said, “Barcelona”.  My friend was quite the celebrity when word got around of his recent travels.  So again, more ease surrounded our presence.  We were asked who we thought would win and what the final score would be.  No betting, of course, but we offered our opinions.

The amount of supporters for either team became evident when Ronaldo for Real scored the first goal during the second half and maybe a minute later Barcelona scored.  The abundance and volume of the cheers heavily favored Barcelona.  Did I mention, we were feeling at ease?  Adding to this was the fact that several guys approached our couch after recognizing me in the crowd.  Not sure how they would have noticed me among so many, but the greetings were unexpected and very pleasant.  One was the brother of a local merchant whose market we frequent often.  The other had seen me working with my construction friends.  Another guy seated in front of us had very good English and after about an hour asked if I lived nearby.  I said, “Yes”.  He knew I had looked familiar to him.  You would think that would make me feel uneasy, but that is why we walk everywhere and visit all the markets we can.  We actually do want to be known among the nationals.

My American friend had a great time.  He is bigger sports enthusiast and even though an American, loves football… er, soccer.  The time was very enjoyable, I must admit.  The banter between fans was great and some singing commenced a few times.  I don’t know enough of the language, but it seemed positive.  Barcelona scored twice more to Real only scoring once more.  When time expired the place emptied without incident.  The Real fans were a bit downcast, but were still good sports.

Oh yeah… I failed to mention that the game began around 11:30p and we were walking home around 1:30a.  They play again next week sometime… I am sure we will try to repeat.

Gideon's 300

I have been meditating on the story of Gideon lately.  As a challenge to those who support our journey to Northern Iraq, I have mentioned Gideon's 300 because we need 300 gifts of $100 to meet our budget for the next 10 months.  To date we need 240 more gifts.

Here are some thoughts from the story:

• The angel told Gideon, "The LORD is with you..." (ch 6 v 12)
• Gideon questioned the presence and calling of the LORD.
• The LORD said, "I will be with you..." (v 16)
• God was patient ("I will wait..." v 18) and gave Gideon several signs to give him confidence.
• We are so thankful for God's presence and calling on our lives.  He has shown us patience and, upon reflection, has given us many signs as confirmation.
• God said to reduce the number of men so they would not boast in their efforts. (ch 7 v 2)
• Those who were fearful, were given the chance to go home.
• There were still too many men, so a random test was given and Gideon's army was reduced to just 300 men.
• Sometimes my plans are not God's plans.  He chooses to work in His timing and His ways.  We desire many to go "with" us on this journey, but God reveals himself, His power, in the few.
• Gideon was given the opportunity to further increase his faith by hearing a dream from the enemy.
• There have been many stories relayed to us about Muslims having dreams about Jesus.  We pray God will speak to our friends and neighbors in this way.
• The Ephraimites complained, "Why didn't you call us..." to help?
• We are trying to ask all we know to get involved.  All cannot help financially, but there are many ways to be a part of what God is doing in Kurdistan.
• The men of Succoth refused to help. "You're on a wild goose chase; why should we help you on a fool's errand?" (ch 8 v 6 MSG)
• Many have asked if we are crazy.  Some have actually refused to support our going.  We agree that it is crazy.  However, as Katrina, was told, "If something doesn't seem natural, it might just be supernatural."

So, how can you help?  

How can someone you know help?  

How can a small group that you are a part of help?

Winchester Family Financial Needs:

$850 per month rent in Kurdistan

   (our landlord expects 3 months at a time; $2550 four

    times a year)

    Our next rent payment is due September 1st

$1,000 estimated cost for Kate’s braces

     We have had most of the work done here, but she

     needs the bottom brackets while we are in Iraq

$1,000 monthly living costs

SOME ESTIMATED MONTHLY COSTS:

• $65 for taxi fare
• $100  for phone service and internet
• $400 for groceries
• $50 for generator electricity
• $50 for prescription medication
• $100 for dining out
• $40 for clothing/shoes

To the right, there are links for donate via credit card or print a mail-in support form.

Saw this and had to share.
It is a humbling responsibility you give us.

Opus Dei Cum Pecunia Alienum Efficemus
- "Doing God's Work With Other People's Money"

The Problem of Pain

Just finished reading The Problem of Pain by CS Lewis.  Can't say I agree with everything he says, but it has me thinking deeper about some things.  Basic thought, if God is who we think he is and we, as humans, are who we think are, then in order to have a relationship between the two... it will involve PAIN.

Some quotes to chew on:

Love can forbear, and Love can forgive…but Love can never be reconciled to an unlovely object... He can never therefore be reconciled to your sin, because sin itself is incapable of being altered; but He may be reconciled to your person, because that may be restored.  – TRAHERNE

The Divine ‘goodness’ differs from ours, but it is not sheerly different: it differs from ours not as white from black but as a perfect circle from a child’s first attempt to draw a wheel.  But when the child has learned to draw, it will know that the circle it then makes is what it was trying to make from the very beginning.

God’s love causes all the goodness in the object, causes all the goodness which the object has, loving it first into existence and then into real lovability.  God is goodness.  He can give good, but cannot need or get it.  In that sense all His love is bottomlessly selfless by very; it has everything to give and nothing to receive.

 Of all powers, he forgives most, but he condones least: he is pleased with little, but demands all.

A recovery of the old sense of sin is essential to Christianity.  Christ takes it for granted that men are bad.  Until we really feel this assumption of His to be true, though we are part of the world He came to save, we are not part of the audience to whom His words are addressed.

From the moment a creature becomes aware of God as God and of itself as self, the terrible alternative of choosing God or self for the centre is opened to it.  This sin is committed daily… it is the fall in every individual life, and in each day of each individual life, the basic sin behind all particular sins:  at this very moment you and I are either committing it, or about to commit it, or repenting it.  We try, when we wake, to lay the new day at God’s feet; before we have finished shaving, it becomes our day and God’s share in it is felt as a tribute which we must pay out of ‘our own’ pocket, a deduction from the time which ought to be ‘our own’.

In the world as we now know it, the problem is how to recover this self-surrender.  We are not merely imperfect creatures who must be improved: we are rebels who must lay down our arms.  … to render back the will which we have so long claimed for our own, is in itself, wherever and however it is done, a grievous pain.  … to surrender a self-will inflamed and swollen with years of usurpation is a kind of death.

Everyone has noticed how hard it is to turn our thoughts to God when everything is going well with us.  We ‘have all we want’ is a terrible saying when ‘all’ does not include God.  We find God an interruption.  As St. Augustine says somewhere, ‘God wants to give us something, but cannot, because our hands are full – there’s nowhere for Him to put it.’

Prostitutes are in no danger of finding their present life so satisfactory that they cannot turn to God: the proud, the avaricious, the self-righteous, are in that danger.

The full acting out of the self’s surrender to God demands pain: this action, to be perfect, must be done from the pure will to obey, in the absence, or in the teeth, of inclination.

The Marxist thus finds himself in real agreement with the Christian in those two beliefs which Christianity paradoxically demands – that poverty is blessed and yet ought to be removed.

Some “volunteer for the post of Satan… If you do his work, you must be prepared for his wages.”

Hungry men seek food and sick men healing none the less because they know that after the meal or the cure the ordinary ups and downs of life still await them.

To condone an evil is simply to ignore it, to treat it as if it were good.  But forgiveness needs to be accepted as well as offered if it is to be complete: and a man who admits no guilt can accept no forgiveness.

A Public Faith

Just finished reading A Public Faith by Miroslav Volf.  I had never heard of him and was just perusing the books available for download from the library and this caught my eye.  It was a great read about the Christian faith and how it functions and malfunctions within society.  I believe I will purchase it soon in order to take a slower, more deliberate, journey through the book.

Here are a few quotes that caught my heart's attention:

"In asking God to help us succeed, though, are we not abdicating some of our own responsibility?  We would be if receiving God’s blessing meant that God did things that otherwise we would have to do.  But that’s not the case.  When God blesses, God does not create finished products; God works through human means to achieve God’s ends.  With regard to our success in work, we pray not so much for God to miraculously bring about a desired result but to make us willing, capable, and effective instruments in God’s hand – which is what we were created to be in the first place."

"With respect to social relations, one of the most important aspects of the doctrine of the Trinity concerns notions of identity.  To believe that the one God is the Father, the Son, and the only Spirit is to believe that the identity of the Father, for instance, cannot be understood apart from the Son and the Holy Spirit.  The Father’s identity is from the start defined by the Son and the Spirit, and therefore it is not undifferentiated and self-enclosed.  One cannot say without qualification that the Father is not the Son or the Spirit because to be the Father means to have the Son and the Spirit present in oneself.  The same holds true, of course, of the Son and the Spirit in relation to the Father and one another."

"Whatever we have, we want more and different things, and when we have climbed to the top, a sense of disappointment clouds the triumph.  Our striving can therefore find proper rest only when we find joy in something infinite.  For Christians, this something is God."

"To reject wisdom as a way of life, or Christ as the embodiment of wisdom, is not like leaving the dessert untouched after a good meal; rather, it is like refusing the very nourishment without which human beings cannot truly flourish."

"One important feature of sharing wisdom:  it is more like playing a musical piece for a friend than treating her to a meal.  When I serve a meal to a friend, what she eats I no longer have; in contrast, when I play music for her, she receives something that, in a sense, I continue to posses.  When I share wisdom, I don't part with what I give; to the contrary, I may come to possess it in a deeper way."

Can I get up now?

My sister told me about this song. 
I have listened to it many times since and it still gets me.

I feel like I'm in surgery
Still you cut deeper

CAN I GET UP NOW!!

My flesh and my will
Its yours not to kill.
I present myself to you
but living sacrifice is MORE.

CAN I GET UP NOW!!

Be still and know... He is GOD.  I am HIS.

What a great song.

It hurts, I want to be more.
He is not finished yet.
There is pain, but I trust HIM.

Being changed

Another post from my wife:

Ran into an old friend at the grocery store today.  I was at the register and she was maybe 6 people back in the line when she called my name.  I turned and smiled and waved to her.  Once we were both finished checking out, she approached me and said, “Why are you bein’ all shy?”  Me, shy?  I guess because I did not call out across the store maybe she felt I was behaving differently .  No one in the last 3 decades, to my recollection, however, has called me shy.  Am I now shy? No. Have I changed? I will say “yes.” We all have; Kinley, our girls, and myself.  Being called shy made me stop and reflect.  I am the same person, but I’m not.  We are the same, only not really.  Our hearts are changed... well, changing.  We still are the same basic personalities, I feel.  I’m still a talker, for sure.  But I’m quieter at times, more thoughtful in some situations. I’d say some of our actions, reactions, habits, and conversations have changed because our perspective is changing.  For our old friends, like the one I saw in the grocery, we’re still your friends--only changed some.  So for those of you reading this, if you see us in the grocery store, mall, park, where ever—call out to us!  We want to see you and chat with you.  But if you feel we are somehow different, don’t take it personally. There’s nothing wrong.  As we follow Him in obedience to this call to love and serve the people of Iraqi Kurdistan, we will be changed.  It is our prayer that others will be changed as well.

A Day in Kurdistan

Sunday, the 10th of June, was sort of my first day out of school.  Really the full-time teachers still have to report this week, but technically there's nothing for me to do in the school, so I did not report on Sunday.  Actually, I used the fact that Sunday was Hannah's last day in Kurdistan as my excuse not to go to school.  Instead, we planned a shopping trip to the big bazaar that morning so the 3 of us, Hannah, Virginia, and I, could pick up some gifts to take to America.  We had also received a lunch invitation from Mrs. Linda for Sunday afternoon, so we were looking forward to a busy, fun-filled day.

At around 9:45 am the 3 of us grabbed a taxi and headed off to the bazaar where we enjoyed some shopping among the local people and in the traditional style.  There were scarves a-plenty, from which we each made our selections.  We perused small stands with henna and searched for ornate (and gaudy) teaspoons to bring to America.  I even found a great mug tree, but not for mugs.  Karoline will use it as a jewelry hanger.  You know how I love to re-purpose!  We wandered around among the sweaty people, hanging beef and lamb, buzzing flies, and noisily shouting salesmen for a couple hours, then made our way up the steep hill to the Qalat (Citadel).  Virginia loves the antique shop there and, since she's single, I guess she has the money to buy antiques. :)  She purchased some treasures, including another dagger (soooo Virginia), then we headed down the steep hill to finish the outing with ice cream or juice.  Virginia got her favorite pistachio ice cream, but Hannah and I decided to try some mixed juice flavors we'd never tasted before.  Hannah chose henar and gindora---translation: pomegranate mixed with  a melon (like cantaloupe).  I went with a safer mix, strawberry/banana.  Well, Hannah's was way better!!!!  I will buy that again.  So, happy and re-hydrated, we headed home in a taxi.  Kinley called to say our family had received another invitation for 5pm that evening!  Whew--it was shaping up to be a very busy day!  If you know me, I love it!

As soon as we arrived home after shopping, I had about 30 minutes to freshen up from the stale heat and dust of the bazaar before meeting Mrs. Linda at the school to go to her house for lunch.  Go, go, go!!!!  At Linda's house, Hannah, Virginia, and I enjoyed a small lunch of beef kebab in samoon and a soup with kuba.  We chatted about all kinds of things; family, students, TV...it was nice and relaxing.  We had tea and the sweet they call manna.  Nearing 5pm, Kinley called to ask when we were coming.  So, Linda graciously changed her clothes and drove us back to our neighborhood.  As soon as I walked in (at 5:34) Kinley and the girls walked out.  We were late for our 5pm invitation.  Oops!  MY fault.

Now, remember, this is NOT a time-oriented culture.  However, Kinley had an agenda for a small side mirror car repair and wanted to get it done before the shop closed.  So, my family left me home to shower and rest a bit.  An hour later, Kinley returned for me.  The girls were already at the home of our great Kurdish friend, Shemal!  Remember, he's the construction worker Kinley became friends with 2 years ago when the house next door to ours was being built.  So, we arrived at Shemal's around 6:45pm.  He lives at home with his parents, his wife, and 5 younger siblings.  He also has 5 older siblings, all married with children who have their own homes, mostly nearby.  We had all been invited to see the new baby.  Shemal was just married last summer, and Friday, June 8th, his first child was born--a son, Niaz.  Not all the family came for the visit, but most of them, including all their children.  I think there were 25 people, but I lost count!  I know of at least 11 more who were at the home of one of Shemal's brothers.  I was just waiting for them to show up.  It was an amazing evening--and night, of Kurdish language, food, celebrating, pictures, laughing, Uno (yes, my daughters have introduced them to the card game), and squealing, shrieking, running, and playing of lots of children.  Wonderfully, Shemal has one older sister with 7 children; 6 girls, one boy.  The oldest girl is 16 and they go on down from there to an 18 month old!  We had never met them before, but we found out they actually live on our own street in our neighborhood!!!  Amazing!  Plenty of girls for our daughters!!  Now, there was some serious language confusion between the girls, but hey, it's time to learn!  Believe me, Hannah Montana and Justin Beiber are the same in any language!  When Shemal invited us, we told him we would come in a week or so after his wife rested from the birth of a baby.  He said that's when guests come.  We are not guests, we are family and we will come when the family comes.  It was so sweet!  He calls Kinley his brother, and he means it, truly.  We had a long night, trying to listen and translate and communicate, but we were filled with the spirit of why we are here;  to love the people of Kurdistan and be a Light into their lives.  What a privilege to be called "family" by a national man and his extended family.  We left Shemal's house around 11:30pm. We are tired today, but filled with joy and overflowing with blessings of friendship!  As a matter of fact, Kate is so overflowing, she's still in the bed at 11:30am!!!!!

Katrina