Monday, June 30, 2008 

A Fun Tournament

My country played in a big international football tournament a while back, and it was a blast watching the team. Everybody around here takes football very seriously (way too seriously actually), and this tournament was the only thing I heard about for weeks. Every day all the newspapers had articles about the team on the front page.

The matches were shown on tv late at night (starting at like 10pm), and all of us (us being every able-bodied male in the country) went to cafes to watch. Watching the people's reactions to the match is almost better than watching the match itself. Each setback was met with anger or crushing disappointment, each good thing with wild celebrations, hugs, and shouts.

The matches themselves were good, we would always fall behind and then score a goal in literally the last 30 seconds of the match to win. We won that way 3 different times before we finally lost in the semi-finals. But, no one expected us to get that far, so everyone was pretty pleased.

One night another foreign friend of mine came to visit from another city. I picked him up from the bus station and we headed to the nice cafes downtown. We watched a thrilling match where we came from behind to upset the other team and take the victory. After a match like that, we all took to the streets.

The match ended around 12 midnight, but the party was just starting. Everyone got in big groups and shouted, waved flags, danced, and otherwise celebrated like it was 1999. Those with cars (including me and my friend that night fortunately) drove around the strip honking our horns and hanging out our vehicles shouting. My friend and I drove around for an hour or so screaming and honking, then started heading home. There was such a crowd driving around and honking, and so many people dancing in the streets, it took us another hour to get home. It was a really fun night, I have never felt such goodwill among everybody as I did that night. It was like everybody was everybody else's best friend. I liked it. The pictures below don't really do the night justice, but they give you an idea.




Thanks for the good times, guys.

1:07 PM | |

 

3 Different Responses

The other day God gave me the privilege of sharing truth with 3 different people. I got 3 different responses, and it pretty much sums up the general attitude around here.

The first guy was young (19 or 20). We were talking when he looked at some females passing by, and I kind of let him have it. I told him what Jesus said about that kind of stuff (Matt. 5), and he told me basically "I'm not hurting anybody, I can do what I want. No one else can tell me what I can and can't do. If it doesn't hurt anybody, I can do it."

The second guy was in his late 30's probably. We were talking, and the subject came to religion. He asked me what I believed, and I explained in general the story of Jesus. Then he told me he could never change his religion because of his nationality. He thought if he changed his religion he could not be a proud citizen of his country.

The third guy was in his 60's, and as far as I can tell is a sincere believer in Islam. He talked a lot about the Quran and the prophets after I talked to him some about my beliefs. What really struck me about this guy was his sincerity.


So there you have it. The first guy is a practical atheist who wants to do whatever he wants to do, and refuses any outside authority that tells him what he can or can't do. The second guy cares more about his country and his citizenship than any religion, but sees his current religion as a condition for being a good citizen. The third guy sincerely believes in the lies of a false god and a false book and a false religion.

12:27 PM | |

Thursday, June 19, 2008 

Picture Post

My mom and aunt flew over the ocean a couple of weeks ago to hang out and see the the country I've called home the past couple of years. We had a great time, and we saw just about everything there is to see in the big city. After that we headed to my city, where they got a good look at normal life around here. It was a good trip. Here's some pictures:


My aunt and mom (in that order)


The hapless tour guide (We didn't use any tour guides)


We toured a lot of museums, and this was the weirdest statue of them all


The guard is real, but he wasn't allowed to move a muscle.



I grew a moustache as a joke. My mom and aunt didn't notice.


Jesus, as seen in an old church-turned-museum. Bonus points for the person that can name the story being depicted over his shoulders


The Apostle Paul


My mom and aunt shopping at the giant marketplace

11:06 AM | |

Thursday, June 05, 2008 

Heading Out

As I type this my mom and aunt are flying over the ocean to meet me tomorrow night, and I'm heading out to the big city to meet them and show them around. Pray for a good trip, I'll post some pictures when we get back.

10:23 AM | |

Monday, June 02, 2008 

Yet Another Road Trip

Last weekend I had the privilege of taking some foreigners out to another city and showing them around. I usually have fun on these trips, and this time was no exception. Saturday morning we all piled in the party wagon and headed to the famous ruins near my city. After that, we hit the road to the new city.


The Party Wagon


On the way, we passed through a city that has the only McDonald's with a drive-thru in the entire country. There's several McDonald's around, but none with a drive-thru. Not many people have cars or drive, so every restaurant delivers (including McDonald's) but you never see a drive-thru. This was a happy exception.


After a few hours on the road, we arrived at our hotel, which just happened to be at one of the most famous vacation spots in the country. It gets its fame from the thermal pools there that are said to have healing qualities. I don't know about all that, but I do know it's fun to jump in and swim around.

The Thermal Pools


After a fun night of swimming around thermal pools and eating giant buffets at the hotel, it was time to get down to work. The reason we went there was to take video of the city to send back to people stateside so they could see the city and pray for it.

The guy that came from the States to do the video was no amateur, and he was serious about making a quality product. He brought a sweet camera from the states, and I actually worked as a grip. There was a giant pole with a microphone on the end of it, and my job was to hold it and swing it around. It might sound like an easy job, and it kind of was, but it does sound pretty technical and professional.



After a solid day of filming in different locations, we got all the footage we needed, and we stopped at the local mall to eat supper before heading out.

As we walked through the parking lot I heard American hip-hop blaring and saw a small crowd gathered around. It turns out there was a show being put on by one of the national football team players. It was like those AND 1 basketball shows, but this one just had one guy doing crazy stuff with a football. He was bouncing the ball off his feet, head, shoulders, and any other body part he could twist around. I was impressed, I've never seen anyone do stuff like that with a football. I talked to him after the show, and the video guy got his autograph. He's probably the most famous athlete I've ever met.



After all that excitement, we headed back home. All in all, it was a really good trip.

10:39 AM | |