Bullet points

A) Food. After a long roadtrip featuring McDonalds, Wendy's, and Burger King, we first solace we found in reaching our destination was real food. We hit up the Arab-American festival first thing, and the shish tamook sandwich I had was so good, I went back for a falafel sandwich. The next morning we reaped the blessing of having a bunch of moms on our team: banana and raisin oatmeal made with organic steel-cut oats. Lunch was Yemeni chicken and saffron with naan and hummus. Dinner was a fail on my part: most of the team had Italian (but come on, we're from Rhode Island) but a few of us went to the local church's college and career group where we had burgers and pizza. Tomorrow is certain to feature food from the Lebanese bakery next door! It doesn't get better than this, folks.

B) Darkness. It's a Sunday, so we haven't started any of our projects around the base or done any ESL classes yet. Instead we spent the afternoon educating ourselves. The first documentary we watched was on the Ground Zero mega-mosque . . . and, this always happens to me on these trips, I think I have to amend my position on the issue. Capitalizing on the extremism behind the sponsors of the mosque, we also watched a documentary about Islamic radicals and their war on the West. Little girls chanting about jihad. Persecuted Christians. Striking comparisons to the Holocaust. While the skeptic in me held everything I heard in flux, I couldn't help the fear creeping into my stomach. The darkness is real, the lies are powerful.

C) Other stuff. Our group's motto is becoming "We we we so excited!" My guitar lessons are also progressing. I know five chords now. Woo! When we pulled into the city, the main street was entirely lined with abandoned buildings. Empty, dry, and dead. Hardly a person in sight. What a setting to hear the call to prayer, the whole effect was 100% eerie. I was not prepared to be confronted by poverty in addition to spiritual strongholds. It's also a little uncomfortable being a girl around here. There are very few women out and about on the streets, and the mobs of men we ran into at the Arab-American festival made me feel unsettled; it was weird to feel so vulnerable.

So, no real news. But thank you, thank you, thank you for praying! Believe me when I say it's made a difference, that I can tell you've been praying. That's a testimony that's blowing my mind right now. My heart is full of half-developed musings on abiding in Christ and the necessity of sacrifice, and I'm surprised to feel so afraid, but, our God is faithful. And so, so good.