Hamroz in Tajikistan

Hamroz is back in Tajikistan with her father and brother. I'm in the airport in Dubai on my way to a teacher conference in Cairo. The camera is in my bag, at Hamroz' request. The camera battery isn't charged, so I recycled the photo of Hamroz taken last summer.

Personally, I couldn't think of anything more boring than seeing some overbuilt tombs - even though I've been teaching a lot about ancient history. All the important people in Egypt died long ago. Want to see pictures? That's why God invented google earth. It's laye, I'm tired, not sleeping so well at the airport and my attitude is showing.

One unusual activity - shoveling your roof - when they are made of clay they are flat and need to be shoveled.

Newsy Stuff

We are looking for a new house here in Kabul. Our lease ends in the end of May, but we have been out and seen several homes in the area. Since single women are not treated well when they do not live with their fathers, we also have a two, a doctor and a lawyer, living with us. What everyone would do, where everyone would go, is all up in the air depending on which house we end up with. Stay tuned.

The building that the Internationals use for a church is no longer able to be used as such. This has effected the way foreigners get together. Stay tuned.

We have a one week Spring break in April during which most of the ISK teachers, including yours truly, will be going to an important International School Conference in Cairo. Hamroz will be heading to Tajikistan for two weeks. During summer break, Hamroz and I plan to spend about a month in Tajikistan. Though Christian churches and organizations are legal in Tajikistan, they are under a degree persecution. Stay Tuned.

Other more important things are going on – nothing is staying the same. Stay Tuned.

The snow person and snow fort in our yard, and the pile of debris that our snow person left behind...

Various Pix

There was a little snow. Our new car has been a blessing.

Some object to the name, "Puppy Jaan", since Jaan is a term of endearment used only for close family and dear friends, but that was gthe given name. So I changed the name to Puppy Jonathan, and even though she's a female, the name still fits.

Our friend is in the new place that opened nearby for tea, food and talk. Chai La, the old tea shop where Hamroz and I met, is closing this month.

Tajikistan

First picture shows Hamroz and family members inside the house in "the village". I have been to Dushanbe (the capitol) and Khujand (where we were married) several times, but not yet to the village. She took a short trip there last summer before school started.

The second picture shows the land outside the home, especially the fruit trees. The third picture gives a good perspective of what a Central Asian village is - a narrow valley built around the stream.

Preparation

There had to be preparation for this type service – God has been working in me for years.

Hamroz and I are strange members of the staff team at the International School. The distance of living off campus is emotional as well as physical. This corresponds to my first two years in Costa Rica, when God asked me not to speak in English. The distance that this divine directive put between myself and other like-minded ex-patriots resulted in one emotional problem after another. Years later, in Kabul, I was able to anticipate the emotional distance and head off the problems before they tended to divide the team.

Language learning is a test not of ability but of persistency. Though I had at first swallowed the myth and believed that I would be “gifted” to learn Dari, when great efforts produced laughable results, the memories of what it was really like learning Spanish in Costa Rica came pouring back. I could recall how heavy the price would be, and what the results would be worth. And that knowledge has spurred me to continue to keep on and try anew over and over again. The righteous stumbles seven times and gets up again – that describes about 120 seconds of language learning. And I was prepared.

The quality of our marriage relationship has been a tremendous key to bless the surrounding community. In this region the idea of a man giving up his life for his wife, and using that sacrifice to establish his leadership in the household, is absent. Therefore, our love shines hope into many hearts. From the beginning, there was little room for error; people were already inside our home to greet us upon our return from our honeymoon. In order to meet these requirements, the divine instructions were for me to pass some years and gain maturity as a single man, not to use marriage as the vehicle to gain maturity. Only now is it obvious why it had to be so.

Matthew 7:14 - The way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.

I HEED CAREFULLY THE WARNING OF JESUS SINCE I REALIZE THAT THE VOICE OF THE MAJORITY, BEING AFRAID OF BOTH THE BATTLE AND THE COST, WILL BE A VOICE OF DISCOURAGEMENT TO ME. - Al Finch