Im back home unexpectedly early and it feels great. Its 9:00 PM. I rushed home because I was invited to a wine tasting at a ritzy restaurant, I thought it would be fun to go to. Most of my social network are people in their 20-somethings so its nice when I have social opportunities for people more my age. Jeddah, one of our Filipino photographers brought in these delicious barbecue pork kebabs for lunch. Now Im not sure if they were really that good…or if I just haven’t had pork in that long. Pork is very hard to find here. You have to have a special license to sell it if you are a restaurant or grocery store. In the butcher shop of the stores that sell pork it clearly states for Non-muslims only. So once I had a taste, I just had to have some more. So Jeddah drew me a map and I was suddenly a man on a mission. After work I found this little obscure Filipino restaurant and the pork was divine. You never know how much you miss something til you can’t have it. So enjoy your ham sandwiches you freedom loving Americans. I suppose I’ll crave a cheeseburger when I go to India…but I have a few weeks to prepare for life without beef. So I devoured the skewers on the way home, and went for my workout. I think Im obsessed about three things here in Bahrain. I have to work out every other day (I love to play squash on the off day but my main squash partner the Iraqi moved to Saudi Arabia-I miss him)…I have to read my Bible and do a devotional every day…and I have to write in this blog. Thus far, Its been very consistent for me. That’s my balance. It takes about two hours a day to do all that. So I have to budget my time accordingly. So I blazed through the workout, jumped in the shower and headed out for the restaurant. I got there and my friend hadn’t arrived yet. There were lots of people there and I knew quite a few. Then my friend called and said they were running 30 minutes late. I thought why am I at a wine tasting event…I don’t drink wine…I seldom drink alcohol unless it has an umbrella in it, is frozen or is the color red. So I told her I was going to bail and just call it a night. Now does that make me anti-social…yeah…perhaps…but I have sooooo many social opportunities lately, a night of solitude is very appealing to me. This is such a stark contrast to last year when I was paranoid of being alone. Read back to the entries for November and December if you want further proof. I think this just goes to show me that Im comfortable with how God is developing and shaping me. Its true…all I have to do is Seek First..the Kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto me. When I was lonely I adhered to that verse and ran to him. My situation and comfort at this moment is God’s answer to my prayer.
I wasn’t able to talk about our Prayer group much yesterday but it was truly amazing. We had so many new people. I think they all really enjoyed it. I spent about 45 minutes telling my story…and its pretty dramatic. A few of the people listening thought I should turn it into a movie. I probably will someday. But first I need to complete the “happy ending” and the “lived happily ever after” part. I know its going to happen and God has given me, I think specific time frames when that will occur…but I’m not supposed to share that right now. But God is amazingly specific and accurate whenever he does give me dates. Its kind of like with Joseph. God revealed Himself to Joseph in the dream. Joseph then told his older brothers…”Hey you are going to be bowing down to me someday.” That probably wasn’t the wisest move. Just because God tells you stuff…sometimes wisdom dictates you keep it to yourself. But in the meantime I’m really enjoying my life even though I miss my children desperately. That was the focus of my sharing of my testimony last night…A man who loved his wife and children more than any man probably could…having them taken away…and learning to re-identify himself with Christ. I think they were pretty mesmerized by the tale of sorrow, redemption, deliverance and a new beginning. I tried not get all “Jesus-y” knowing who my audience was. I think they responded to it well. But I just had to talk about my faith since its such an integral part of my identity. Most of the people there were from my acting class, we have developed a unique common bond. Its like friendship “concentrate.” Because of the itinerate nature of the people here coming and going, friendships tend to develop faster and are more meaningful. I equate it to dog years. One month’s friendship here is like 7 months friendship in the U.S. And with the acting class since we are baring our souls, fears, insecurities, and hopes with each other its like 1 month = two years. The relationships are quite intense. Even though we have only been meeting for 6 weeks…we are already developing amazing social connections. I mean..Im going to Greece to stay with the family of one of my acting students for example. How cool is that?
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