Friends from Home

Hanging with the team.

Marganne at the park.

Ryan and the Tea man at the restaurant Sat. nite.

Boushra, Gina and Jackie at the Grand Mosque.

All day yesterday I tried to sit down and tell you about the visit from our great friends. So much happened that it has been hard for me to condense it enough so you will read it. :) Let me start off by saying it was a wonderful time of fellowship...and Mike and I came away feeling refreshed and reconnected to everyone. I can't describe how we felt as we saw our friends come out of the baggage claim/customs area and walk toward us. Let's just say there were not just a few tears....:) Gina, Kurt, Joanna, Eric, Jackie, Todd, Monty, Gary and Marganne...it was one big hug that just filled us up.

We spent the day on Saturday eating, laughing, talking, crying, eating and touring the Grand Mosque with my sweet friend and Arabic teacher, Boushra. We also took them to see our new church building and had a time of prayer with Boushra, which was a blessing for all of us. That nite, we ate a leisurely dinner at a Lebanese restaurant by the port. Mike and I like this place because it has Middle Eastern atmosphere and good food, but not toooo expensive. :)

Marganne, thank the Lord, stayed a few extra days..which really helped when we said good bye to everyone at midnite on Sat. nite. Our time with her was great. She just did life with us and I loved having her go with me and see what it's like here. Carpooling Ryan, buying groceries, the Beth Moore Bible Study, hanging out at the park with Sallie and Robert, Perspectives...and life. We played games, laughed, shopped and cried...It was so good.

I guess the best part was seeing our home thru their eyes and being reminded of why we are here..sort of like a short term trip for us right in our front yard. :) And we loved answering questions and seeing the interest everyone had in our life here. Let's just say, it was fantastic and we are so glad everyone came.

But, just in case the team returns to you all and says "It's just like the States there..." My friend Nita came up to us at the Bible study and I asked her how the move into her new apt was going...She answered with a laugh and said...Well, when we turn on the airconditioner the doorbell rings. I kid you not. :)

Thanks for sharing your families with us. Thanks for praying.

Love, Mattie, Mike, Ryan, Robert and Sallie

Valentine's Day 2008

HI Everyone...Wanted to share some Valentine's pictures with you...We had a party out in Khalifa City for the kids. Here are a couple of pictures of the kids and the party table. Robert and Sallie are in the middle of the line of kids. We had about 25 homeschool kids there and lots of fun party foods. The other picture is when we adults went to dinner at Al Arish at the Port in Abu Dhabi. It was a fun evening.

Had my English Club yesterday. This time we dined on Finnish food. It was also very tasty. Marganne will be here on Friday and I hope she gets to meet my new friends. I wish she could stay longer. I know the visit will feel way too short. :) By the way, next week we are not going to have a feast for our Club...maybe snacks and more English work. We'll see how that works out. :)

Had a long talk with Russell this morning. Always good to hear from him. The weather is heating up..it was 90 yesterday. Hmmm..not looking good here. :) Love you all.

Mattie and the Gang

Creative Parking

You've heard us talk about parking in Abu Dhabi...Here are some creative Parking ideas...From just today. :) Enjoy.

On the sidewalk...fair game. On the right you see a whole row of cars parked down the middle of the street. Plus a car parked at the entrance. This is why I like my little Honda Civic...So far no scratches. :) Below on the left...double parking in the middle of the street. On the right side you see the mosque courtyard...now a parking lot. Mike's car is the Expedition on the right side sort of golden tan. He pops her into 4 wheel drive and rolls right over the curb. So do about 10 other SUV owners.

These last two shots...notice again...the sidewalk is fair game and the other car in the left picture is parked between the dumpster and the sidewalk..not sure how they got there. Those dumpsters are very heavy. Not shown...a picture of the BMW that was parked on the sidewalk with its front wheels on the street... Wish I'd gotten that shot. :)

Wonder how we'll drive when we are back in the US...that's something to think about. :)

Russell's 20

Russell turned 20 yesterday...Feb. 11. I can't believe we have a 20 year old. All day long memories would hit me. He's loving UT...course, he is...:) and had a great day with all his buddies...but we sure wish we could have been there with him.
Sallie and Robert had a fun day yesterday as well. They went to the desert on a field trip to see the Sheikh's falcons. A friend of ours knows the Sheikh's Falcon Veternarian and he taught the kids as well as showed them some of them. It was quite an experience for them.
So, where was Mom? Well, it was time for my English club with my apt. friends...But we are now changing the name to Eating Club...
Tanja made several dishes from Serbia for us. We laughed and ate and ate and talked. I guess when it's at my place again I will do TexMex or maybe barbecue. Next week we go up to Tejia's house. She is going to make Finnish food for us. Don't know if we will ever do official teaching but we sure are talking A LOT!!! :)
Our friends leave this week for India..We are praying for them. It will be fun to hear about their adventures in person....
Love, Mattie

New Building

Today we held our first service in our new church building. Although Mike and I haven't been here very long, we felt the excitement in the room. There are now 20 different congregations who meet in the Evangelical Community Church with a combined attendance weekly of about 2500 people. Since we moved here we have been meeting in the old half of the building while the new one was being built...and it has been quite cozy. So today was a big day. An extra blessing was that Stuart Briscoe was here to do the first services. It was fun hearing him and it felt like home. Tonight there was a Chinese outreach. The Chinese believers bused in about 500 Chinese workers from the Labour Camps in honor of Chinese New Year. We are praying for a wonderful time of ministry and changed lives.
This week I have also been busy learning my way around Facebook. Poor Ryan has put up with repeated questions and my total lack of computer knowledge...but I think I am getting the hang of it.
Mike and I are so excited that we will have friends from Dallas coming thru in a couple of weeks. We can hardly wait. My friend Marganne will be staying a few extra days. We are anxious to just sit and visit.
Well, it's time to head to bed. I have some pictures of the church services that I will post later. It was a wonderful day.

Japanese Tea and Tacos

I have been trying to blog for a couple of days now. The internet has been kind of funky. Not to mention that I still have to log in in Arabic. I just guess where to type everything...:)

Thursday was really fun. My Japanese friend Junko invited the ladies from the Holiday Tea to join her for coffee at her apt. So about 10am I headed up to the 9th floor. I thought we would drink tea or coffee, chat and then I'd head back down to finish school with Sallie and Robert.... Hah. When I walked into her apt. the first thing I saw was food spread out on the dining room table. She was disappointed that I hadn't brought the kids cuz she made tacos. Yep. My Japanese friend made tacos for her Serbian, Finish, American and Iranian friends. :) Actually I didn't think much about it until I heard Tanja(from Serbia) ask Junko what they were eating and how to fix it. :) Then I noticed that Tejia and Alice were waiting to hear how to eat them as well. I smiled and gave lessons on tacos. You know, it's this kind of stuff that I love. It was so fun. We had Japanese tea and tacos. If Adrian and Diana come and visit us ever I will have him make his famous fajitas for my new friends. A real feast. By the way, we start our English lessons this week. It looks like they all want to meet each week and practice. I pray it is a good time.

Had a sandstorm yesterday. Our first official one. Couldn't see the buildings. The cars look tan now...all of them! :) It kind of reminded me of that scene in Hidalgo where he is outrunning the sand....Lots of things here remind me of Hidalgo. :) Then it sprinkled, by the way.... yuck.

In the picture...it is left to right...Tejia, me, Alice, Junko and Tanja.

Adios,

Mattie

Fujeirah

Last November our friends, Jeff and Mary, asked us if we would be interested in going with them and another family to a Fujeirah, a coastal town in the UAE, in January. January seemed far away but we said, "Sure, that sounds like fun." Only God knew how much we would need to get away this weekend.

We stayed at a hotel called Sandy Beaches. Each family had a bungalow with two bedrooms, a kitchenette and a teeny weensy bathroom. :) It was heavenly. Palm trees and water stretched in front of us, and mountains spread out behind us. ..there was a playground for the kids on the beach, a swimming pool, kayaking, snorkelling and lots of time to relax and laugh. Each bungalow is equipped with a grill so all of our cooking was done outside together. Sort of camping with bathrooms and beds. :) Very low key with just the right amount of sightseeing...the oldest mosque in the UAE..around 1400, a palace fort in the mountains, etc. and then volleyball on the beach, and hanging out.

Saturday morning I took some time by myself and had a long talk with God. So much of the weekend reminded me of my folks...(we used to take weekends with friends and hang out just like that, when I was growing up in Aruba and Bolivia. ) the Supertankers lined up on the horizon, the beauty of the water and being on the beach in January, just being a family together...I kept wanting to call my folks and tell them about it. So instead...I cried a bit and told my Father how grateful I am for such special memories of my mom and dad. And yes, I did mention the timing thing...I probably will think about that for a long time.

It was a refreshing time....the whole weekend was. For all of us. We had a big group play volleyball on the beach...with Mike and Ryan eating sand on a regular basis and me being glad I even hit the ball...:) Some families from Iran even joined in the fun. Mike,Robert and Ryan went kayaking while Sallie and I built sandcastles. Before we left Ryan went snorkelling and saw some beautiful fish. We will try and go back in April for all of us to snorkel...I just could not bring myself to get in the water...a wee bit too cold for me. :)

It was perfect timing...much needed...and we are ready for another week. Thanks for all of your prayers, dear friends. We feel them and could not do this without you. So many of you have sent emails...thank you. We are humbled and feel very loved.

On the journey,

Mattie and Mike, and the Kids

ps. if you send cards..please use the Hill International address...Mike Hildebrand, box 5201, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. in fact for all letters that is the best address... Thanks for everything. We love you.

Mom

It's almost 4 am here. Can't sleep. It's kind of nice cuz the city is so quiet.

I just spent about 30 minutes reading my emails...from the best people in the world. I don't even know how many I have received, but I am saving them to a folder and want to print them out. People have called too. But yesterday the phone was down so most of their messages came to me on voicemail.

I don't really know what to write but I wanted to write something. I keep thinking about my mom and how glad I am that I got to see her in November and hug her one last time and laugh over memories of dad and life together one last time, and cry with her. I called her a lot these last couple of months and I am so glad for that. I remember Kristen Young telling about her Dom. Rep. trip and how their team used a verse, although which one escapes me right now...but they also used the rallying cry...No regrets...as they worked on their site. I'm glad I told mom how much I love her and I'm glad I saw dad in July before we left the US and I hugged him and we visited and laughed and remembered together. No regrets...but you know, I think I still have some..cuz well, I do. But I think we all do no matter how much we try to dot our i's and cross our t's and do it "right". It's just life. I'm so glad that God knows me and loves me anyway. And He is here...in Abu Dhabi hugging me and holding me up....and He uses His children to do it. My treasured family in the US from Bent Tree and Tres Dias and Kansas, Carrollton.Carlsbad and all over and my new family here in the UAE. And my sweet, sweet husband who knows how to make me laugh even when I am soaking his shirt..and my sweet ,sweet kids who hugged just a bit longer and tighter yesterday...or made me laugh all the way from Austin....

(Let me tell you something folks...if anyone thinks you can do this pilgrimage, this journey, alone...Well, just forget it. Who would want to, anyway? Pride and independence...what a bunch of.... nothing.)

I am so blessed by the most wonderful friends and family........It overwhelms me.

I know I am rambling again....maybe this blogging thing isn't a good idea cuz it will be here for the rest of my life....oh well, who cares? Life is way too short to sweat this stuff....

I miss her ya'll. My mama...Nancy Neal Deahl...born Dec.23, 1931 died Jan. 21, 2008. Funny, kind, obsessively clean,faithful, loving and married for 54 years....I love you, Mom. No regrets.

Two Words

I wanted to write this down before the days got away from me. If I wait too long then I forget what I wanted to tell everyone. :) Last nite, I was driving home from an Arab culture class that Mike and I are taking at church(really fun as there are South Africans, Indians, Filipinos, Americans and Germans in it...and we are all learning how to live and work and minister in this culture)...anyway, as I was driving home I actually understood two words in Arabic that were on the radio!!! I had just learned them that morning so it was so fun to hear them and know what they meant!! We have had 4 classes and with each class I realize that this is going to take a long time....a long, long time. It can be discouraging but hearing that on the radio helped me want to stick with it and not give up. At least for now. :) The words, by the way, were Eid Milad...which means Birthday feast...sort of. :) They are the words used to say Happy Birthday...Eid Milad Saeid. So there you go...Arabic 101. :) Love, Mattie

Come on Down...It's a New Car!!!

I am excited to announce the arrival of my new Honda Civic...Yep! Picked it up today. So we are really, really here. Two new cars, a bunch of new furniture and so on. We have arrived.( And some days that scares us to death. :))
Had an unusual thing happen to me today. When I signed on to add to my blog...everything came up in Arabic. The sign in thing...and everything. I screamed. Sure hope this posts in English. :) Now the kids and I are learning Arabic but ummmm, not quite ready to blog in it...or read directions. Wow.
Well, that's all for now....if you would like to read more...go to Sallie's blog...sandymound.blogspot.com...cuz last time I wrote I posted it there. Just can't keep it straight. but I sure do have a fun car! :)

A Big Day

Big news here! Yesterday I became official. I got my UAE license. (Not a word out of you Mark Pearce!)
Mike unexpectedly had the day off....On his way to work he noticed an unreal amount of police cars at every intersection. After he'd been at the jobsite for about an hour a couple of policeman came in and said...You need to close the site and send everyone home. Yes sir. How high....:) So Mike and about 300 employees from the site left. President Bush is in town. Traffic was so snarled that it took about an hour to get to our house..normally a 20 minute drive. My friend Mary has today off as well. Her office building is across from Emirates Palace where the meetings are taking place. She got advance notice though. It would be nice. Mike may have today off as well but he won't know until he gets to the jobsite. He would like today off though...He stayed up from 1:30am to 5am to watch the Cowboyscowboys....lose. He is hurting this morning. :)
Anyway because he was home yesterday we ran to the Dept. of Vehicles Ministry building to get my license. It was actually less confusing than it could have been. There is a separate ladies section where you go in a closed door and everything is handled right there. We were one picture short though...naturally...passport photos are required for everything here and we only had one but needed two. Sigh. So they told us to go 3 buildings down...ha. We walked out the door and laughed...3 buildings..which way? which ones? Asked another guy who pointed us to the right place...or sort of. We decided to walk and then had this hesitation...3 buildings could technically mean three blocks but we kept walking. :) Good news though...it really was just down the street. Went in...two guys standing there taking pictures for a few dirham(this picture thing is a lucrative business around here....) got our photos, walked back, she clipped ALL my paperwork together...I say ALL because it was a stack of stuff, and then I went for my picture in the NEXT office for the license. :) The guy takes my paperwork, tosses it over his shoulder, literally, and then takes my picture. Two minutes later I am out of there with a very official license....Picture isn't bad either. I mean, at least I don't look dead like in my passport picture. :)

So, another day, another item checked off our list. As Mike says....each thing makes us feel more and more entrenched and more entrapped. It's kind of a love hate relationship. :)

Here's to driving legally....:)

Just as I hit publish, Mike's phone rang...He is up and ready to leave for work...Oops, nope...job site is closed again..just letting him know. Another day in the UAE.....

Mattie

Familiar but Different

Some days things can be so different yet so familiar as well. Like on Wednesday when I dropped Sallie off at her Music lesson and then took Robert to the park to play with his friends Ben and Josh. I sat on the park bench and thought about the many park benches I'd sat on in my life while my kids played on the playsets. It made me smile. And then I began talking with a lady next to me....:).... I don't remember her name but I do remember she was from Sudan. We visited for quite awhile. I then began talking with a lady next to me on the other side. She was Chinese...a Chinese Muslim, in fact. Fascinating....I tried to learn her story but she was sketchy with English. Familiar day at the park...but different. :)

Or like today, at church. I've told ya'll how neat it is to worship with so many people from different countries....Well, today Joe asked Mike and me to help with the announcements. Why us? Next week ECC is starting a Perspectives Class...every Tuesday nite until May. So, there we were...pushing Perspectives...very familiar, but in a whole new place. Different. :)

And tonight. We had our Bridge Club. That group of likeminded folks that I told you about who meet every other Friday to encourage and pray for each other. A small group. A lifegroup. A minichurch....familiar...and yet....different. For example, my friend Mary was going to a wedding tonite....the ladies' side of it. The men had their wedding festivities a couple of nites ago. She was heading out the door at 9pm. They will eat at midnite. We prayed for her. That God's love would shine thru her to all the women there. Can't say I had prayed for someone attending an Arab wedding before coming here....:)

Familiar yet different. Perhaps that is what Culture Shock is....not just all the new stuff but all the old stuff that looks different and what do you do with it? Mike has been here 6 months now...and I've been here 5. Some days it feels like yesterday and others it feels like we got here years ago. I think that's part of Culture Shock, too. :) OH, by the way, we were really shocked two days ago when we got 5 parking tickets in the same day. Yep. Apparently January is bonus month for the police and it helps to give lots of tickets. Mind you, we were parked in the same places we have been parking since August. Now that was Culture Shock. :) We thought about protesting them...ha ha ha ha ha.

G'Night All.

Things I learned...

It is Monday morning here. Ryan is back at school. The Fords left on Friday morning. Russell headed back to Texas last nite. I have so many things to write about....but how do I do it? I could be very sad....which I am...or ignore my feelings and just fill everyone in...so I think I will tell you all this way.
Things I learned during our first family Christmas in the UAE:

10. It's beautiful weather here in the winter.
9. Holiday busyness is not limited to the US...I am pooped.
8. Mail...snail mail...feels like a hug, especially during the holidays.
7. I love having a phone that connects me to my family and friends in the US.
6. Being far away from everyone is really hard, especially when they are hurting and you can't be there with them.
5. Friends who come all the way from Bulgaria to spend time with us are worth their weight in gold.
4. Laughing with old friends is priceless, and loving their kids like your own, just can't be beat.
3. Youth pastors never grow up....one day I will share the story of Darren giving Mike a peanut butter face slap...just picture it.
2. Saying goodbye to your oldest boy heading halfway around the world is really really hard...and waking up to a new day with him gone, is even harder.
And the last thing I learned this Christmas is...with God all things are possible...even making a go of it in a strange land....Sandyland.

So there you have it. It was a great Christmas and New Years. Very different but very special. Mike and I loved watching the Ford kids and our kids hang out together. We enjoyed showing our new life to the Fords and having Russell be a part of it. We are blessed.
Happy New Year, Everyone.

Sisters?

Russell's here! The Fords are here! On the 23rd we picked up Russell in Dubai and then last Thursday morning...at 2:35 am. we picked up Pat, Darren, Austin, Jared and Jason at the airport here in Abu Dhabi. It has been non stop chatter and laughter since everyone got here. It also feels a bit surreal to sit in our dining room with our one window, tiny view of the Arabian Gulf...and play spades. Felt normal when we women beat the guys though.....:) Stomped 'em is more like it..... ( I can say that cuz this is MY blog.):)

Yesterday the teenagers...Russell, Ryan, Austin, and Jared headed to Dubai with our church for a weekend retreat called Desert Challenge. It is sponsored by Youth For Christ. I hope they all have fun. Supposed to be a pretty big deal with kids coming in from all over the Gulf Coast...the Arabian Gulf Coast. We toured Emirates Palace and then ate at the new Papa Johns pizza place...topped it off with a blizzard from the new Dairy Queen. :) The Fords are really enjoying our food choices here. :) It's always nice to have treats from the west.

My mother's heart is full up with my boy here. Russell looks great. He was so good about playing the pack mule and hauling all of the stuff from home for Christmas. Robert got a Wii and Russell hauled it in his backpack...along with Ryan's xbox360 and the acoustic guitar(Russell checked that in baggage but still had a load to deal with....). He also brought surprises from friends and they all made the day so very special. A couple of cards brought tears to my eyes...Christmas in the "Hood" was always a special time. But overall we feel so blessed with having him here and knowing how well he is doing. He and Ryan are having fun hanging out and it is especially fun with the Fords here.....

Pat and I had quite a deja vu experience at our little grocer's on Friday...We walked in to buy bread and my friend behind the counter asks..."Sisters??? :) Look same..." We smiled.

Happy New Year everyone.
Mattie

My Friend Kim

Many people close to me know my story...my growing up years in Latin America, becoming a Christian in Aruba, growing in my faith at the University of Texas thru Campus Crusade, meeting Mike on a summer project in Galveston, and so on. Some of these same people know about the friendship with a girl in my college dorm.... She was tough as nails when she moved into our dorm. A partier and a loner at the same time. As the fall semester went into full swing I found her watching me...when I worked the front desk, at breakfast, sitting in the lobby...She intimidated me. Then one nite, during my shift at the front desk, she cornered me. She seemed so tough to me...like she had it all together. Hey, what's up?... Nothing. How are you? ...Can I talk to you a second? ... For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what she would want to say to me.... "Why are you smiling all the time?" I was floored.
And so began my friendship with Kim.
Several weeks later, in October, Kim accepted Christ. She asked me to disciple her and for the next 3 years we spent many, many hours together.... Lots of hard times, we were both growing up, and lots of wonderful times...
As the years passed we didn't get to see each other like we would have wanted but we still were in each others' weddings and celebrated the births of our various children and encouraged each other in the tough times and laughed together in the good ones.
But today is kind of hard for me....I can't be with her...and I so want to be. Her sweet husband Carl passed away in his sleep this morning... I received the email when I woke up. She has family with her and great friends.... I know Kim. She'll stay strong and be there for her twin girls..Brooke and Anna...and she'll find strength and hope in her Saviour. She'll cry when she needs to and she'll find things to smile about and she will cling to Jesus.
It is my privilege to call her friend and sister. She taught me so much about faith thru our years together, and she still is.
But if you wouldn't mind...as you read this blog....please pray for her and for her girls...
Kim and Brooke and Anna.

We'd appreciate it..
Love, Mattie

We spent

It Still Feels Like Christmastime to Me

Wednesday nite the church had their International Carol Sing. 12 different groups got up to sing carols from their homeland. Well, technically..just one carol each(except the westerners were the only ones who kept it to just one song. :)) It was quite an evening with people from Korea, China, Australia, Indonesia, Germany, India, the Phillippines, Canada, the US, Latin America, and a couple of special songs. Mike and I sang with the US group and I also got to sing with the folks from Latin America. We sang Feliz Navidad. :) I kept teasing Jean Page about how many groups sang more than one song...we both decided that the truth was...the westerners were probably the only folks who thought it was too long anyway. :) Anyway, it was a fun evening.

Here are some pictures from our last few days. The trip to the Al Ain, the oasis city, picnic in the park with our new muslim homeschooling friends, the international carol sing...Korea and Latin America, and last but not least...that's me in the hot dog hat at the Ladies Garden Party last week. The two other ladies are also Marthas...Martha, Mattie and Marty. :)

Here are some words from one of the carols we sand at church....Sallie and I had fun singing together...

We know it won't snow in Abu Dhabi,

But we still decorate our Christmas tree,

And you can still feel the magic

From the sand dunes to the sea,

And it still feels like Christmastime to me. ...

The camels standing in the shade,

the traffic shimmers in the haze,

But it still feels like Christmas time to me.

Almost

Merry Christmas.

The Hildebrands

The Office... Party

Last nite we had the Hill End of the Year-Christmas- Holiday Party. It was in a hotel in Dubai. We decided to be brave and drive ourselves instead of taking the company bus from Abu Dhabi. I say 'brave' because driving in Dubai is always an experience, especially when you don't know where you are going. Roads are always changing from the construction and maps are never up to date. Anyway, we got lost. An hour later managed to get to the hotel.
We changed and went down to the foyer/lobby. As we stood outside the closed doors of the ballrom, it felt like the countless office parties we have attended over the years. Drinks being served as people mingled and pretended to be comfortable around 300 strangers. Hoping against hope that someone would stand and talk with us until the doors opened for dinner. It was just like home. Well, almost. Other than the fact that in that room many of the women were covered...and there were people from all over the world standing there waiting to eat. Then the doors opened...it was a blast from the 70s. Lites flashing, 3 filipina women singing on stage...That's the way, uh huh, uh huh I like it....uh huh, uh huh. And more songs from the 70s.
It was Dreamgirls Filipina style. :)
A lovely lady from Pakistan sat next to me. I met her at Lulu Island the first month we were here. We visited all evening. I hope I see her again. Her name is Ferida. The highlight of the evening was this Male dancer from Egypt. He danced something like a Whirling Dervish Turkish dance but not the same....He wore this costume of multilayerd skirts...that he controlled in patterns as he spun in circles...fast...for over 30 minutes....I am not kidding. It was amazing and beautiful. I honestly can't do it justice but didn't have the camera...it figures. After he danced the Supremes came out again and a few couples danced. Then came the belly dancer. We left. :)

As far as office parties go, we had fun. Certainly not run of the mill. We are glad we went.

Today was a ladies luncheon for church. We wore hats. I wore Marganne's hot dog hat and was a big hit. Naturally, I told everyone it was a Turkey frank...trying to be culturally sensitve here. Made a new friend from Texas....Carrollton, Texas. Graduated from RLTurner. Attended TWU. Four kids... Only thing is...she's 12 years younger. :) Oh well. We were on a roll until that part. It was fun visiting with her.

Time for bed. It's been quite a weekend.
Love, Mattie

Tea for 6

I just finished cleaning up from my holiday tea. 4 ladies came from the building. So with Jean and me there were 6 of us. Tanja from Serbia, Teija from Finland, Junko - Japan and Alice from Iran/London. They arrived at 11 and left at 1:30. Each lady brought something to share and we laughed and talked the whole time. We talked about Christmas traditions, our home countries, our children, and lots more. It was so fun. The ladies have asked me to teach them English so after the holiday rush we are going to get together and start lessons. All of us moved into this building in Aug. of this year. Fun, huh? Anyway, during the tea memories of the 'hood' would pop in my head..... Now my 'hood' is a pink skyscraper in downtown Abu Dhabi. Huh. Can't always get my head around that. Thanks for praying for the Tea and all. It was a great time.

We finished our second Arabic lesson. Dhabi, by the way, is pronounced Thabi...that is one of the easy letters we learned. We have now covered the Arabic alphabet...covering it and saying it correctly are two very different things...and then there's remembering the letters...hah. I love the lessons though.

One last thing. An interesting note....Remember the people who fired Mike from the project he was on? Well, they fired their second project director about 6 weeks ago...they now want Mike back. Wow. At this point he's not going. He can't imagine voluntarily returning to that place.
Kind makes our head spin, living here. You just never know.

Sallie's Christmas production was last nite at the church. It was very nice. The lady who teaches these kids really pours into them. They did a good job. On Sat. nite the kids from church will sing at a hotel in the area for their Christmas tree lighting. I should have everyone over after to help eat all the food we have leftover from the tea. :) We'll see. I'm beat.

Thanks for praying!
Love ya!
Mattie

A New Car

Well, victory oh victory. Sunday we finalized the details on our new car and Mike drove it off the lot. I emphasize Mike here as I don't know if I will ever drive that honkin' big thing. It is a 2008 Ford Expedition. Ok, to be fair to Mike he didn't really push the big car, I did. In hopes that many of our wonderful friends and family will be coming to see us...I kept saying we need something to fit in. So we now have something. Problem is we have nowhere to park it. :) Literally. As it is I park in front of construction No Parking zones all the time. As does the rest of the world here...oh well. We pray every nite for a spot. Some people just flat out pull up on the sidewalks. No kidding. It's amazing. I may have already told you about the parking but NOW we have a big car and that demands further discussion. :) It only took 8 weeks or so to buy this car. And by golly we are going to enjoy it. You bet we are. :) We need to buy a little car for me but we are just too tired to start this process again.

So, make this purchase worthwhile and come and see us!!!

It's beginning to feel ...not at all like Christmas...!

Saturday...the day to try and get everything done before 1pm because then everything is closed until 5 or so and then we are too tired to get the rest of it done. Whatever "it" happens to be for that paritcular Sat. Today the errands included....find or fix Ryan's phone, go to Aramex and pick up our first package, and pick up our new car. Yes sirree. No problem. Hah. We ask Sallie for the phone because she had it last(long story) but oops...it is in her purse which she left at the Pages....ok, so, now we have to go to their house...a bit a 15 minute drive get the phone and THEN we can fix it...but wait. When we get in the car...oops. No gas. So, now we get gas, pick up the phone but technically have not started on our errands yet. :)
We arrive at Aramex. Excited to get our first package. We are next in line. Two people behind us. Clerk asks all of us to please sit down...We, like dumb sheep without a shepherd ..all sit down. Ahh yes, you guessed it...New clerk comes in and takes the guy who just walked in off the street. But it gets better. Mike and I, at the counter now with the first clerk, are still waiting because the new guy keeps butting in on our clerk's computer...Meanwhile, out in the car, Ryan...

I told my mother that I needed to write this portion of her blog. She just wouldn't give justice to the pain and humiliation that I suffered in our Honda Accord outside.
"We will only be a minute, you can stay in the car." Good one.
I sank down in the back seat, and turned on my ipod. After the first few songs I realized how truly hot it was inside the car. It was an inferno. As the sweat dripped down my forehead I decided to unlock the car and get out.
BEE BEE BEE BEE HONK HONK HONK BEE BEE HONK. ALARRRMMMM.
How embarrassing. I am now locked inside of Hade's chariot and the alarm is going off. Why did they have to lock the car in the first place? I thought. You'd think after 16 years of living in a world of automobiles I could figure out how to get out of the car without letting the entire city know.
Eventually it shut off, and I sank back into the seat of the Honda Oven. I wait a few more seconds in the blistering heat. And I try again, this time pressing the button in front so the car unlocks, then getting out.
BEEE BEE BEE BEE HONK HONK HONK BEE BEE HONK. ALARRRMMMM.
It simply CAN'T be this difficult. I was at a loss. At this point 3 guys standing outside of the car had officially gotten annoyed at the complete lack of basic knowledge that I had demonstrated by my actions. They came up to the car, knocked on the window, and started speaking whatever language they spoke.
I played the "I'm asleep" card, appearing startled by their intrusion to the 400 degree privacy that I dwelt in, I jerked my head up and simply mouthed the words "I don'tknow what happened." Ha Ha. Yeah Right.
The minutes ticked by, I officially surrendered to the vehicle...and just sat in the backseat. Hoping my parents would come soon. Finally after 30 minutes of hell, my parents showed up. I needed out of the car.

I laughed so hard when Ryan told us. We both heard the alarm and wondered whose car kept going off? Would they please take care of it??? With package in hand and fainting son we headed to the phone store. Ryan was actually with us so he could pick out a new phone...Oops..they are going to fix the old one. Ryan didn't even need to come. :) Oh boy.

I know this is getting long...but to finish off the day. We still have no car. It's not ready yet. And I was so excited to go to Emirates Palace tonite...to see the Christmas tree lighting. Oops. They aren't lighting the tree. Who knows why?
Oh my, What a day. If you could just have seen Ryan's face. I am still laughing.

Thanks to Ryan

When Ryan heard my blog was in crisis he sat down and figured out the problem. It actually turned out NOT to be me causing the problems....So, now you have everything on the right page except for the one time I published on Sallie's. :)

National Day is over. I am so glad we do not live on a main street downtown but on a secondary one. My friend Debbie had loud noise from the cars going by her building until like 3am for 3 nties in a row. Ryan heard from school that 20 people died in car accidents.... With all the blog problems I can't remember if I've said this before but you have never seen anything like this. We are very thankful for the relative return to "normal".

Today we start Arabic lessons. Jean Page and her 3 kids will be joining us. We met the Pages in the summer at the Hone's house. It has been so nice to get to know them better and to have someone here who we feel a connection with from Texas. Although they are rather strong Aggies fans...but nobody is perfect. :) When UT lost to A&M it was a sad day over here. Sallie made a bet with Mr. Page and now she has to wear and Aggie tshirt. I watched it from the airport in Chicago...on my way back to Abu Dhabi. So sad.

I was invited to attend a birthday luncheon for my friend Nadia the other day. We went to a new place...the ShangriLa hotel. It was an amazing brunch. In honor of National Day everything was decorated in flag colors...red, black, white, green. These folks are really really proud to be Emirati.

Sure hope all the kinks are out of this thing.

Love you all,

Mattie

Let me Clarify

There are two blogs that I have written that for some reason...."probably" operator error... are not coming up on the web. So, one of them is on Sallie's blog...sandymound.blogspot.com and the other is on my blog site but in the archives section. So please go there to read the latest news from Sandyland. When Sallie wakes up this morning I will try again with some pictures from National Day activities from last nite. Oh my. It was something.
Please comment if you are able to find the hidden blogs. :)
Mattie

Oh Good Grief!

If you have ever doubted my technological skills...then go to read my latest blog...at Sallie's blog address..sandymound.blogspot.com For pete's sake...I didn't realize I was on her blogspot and posted it there. There is no hope for me.

I have, however, figured out the pictures again....:) These are of my trip to Carlsbad..and our field trip to the Heritage Village the other day.

The Journey Home

Tomorrow I begin the long, long journey home to my sweet family. I have missed them so much but I am so grateful for the time I have had here with my mom and my sister. We've laughed and cried and talked in between...It was a precious time for the Deahl girls. I am thankful for all the great memories we have of my daddy and that mom and Diana got to be beside him in his last hours. He went very peacefully...unusually so, as COPD is a very hard way to go...your lungs just fill up and quit working. I thank God that my daddy simply slipped away and then quit breathing. The nurse later said that it was one of the most peaceful and beautiful home deaths she had ever seen. I am completely sure that this was in answer to the many prayers being lifted up on our behalf. Thank you everyone. My dad did not want a funeral or any type of service so our time together was quiet.

I leave at 1pm and fly to Chicago, London(12 hour layover), Bahrain, Abu Dhabi. I am not looking forward to the trip but I am anxious to get back to Mike and the kids. They are doing well but we don't like being apart. Ryan returns Sat. from Bangladesh and then I will arrive Sunday morning around 11 am...which is about midnite Sat. Dallas time. We have lots to catch up on and then prepare for our first Christmas in the Middle East. I imagine I will have lots to tell you.

Thank you everyone. Please keep my mom, Nancy, in your prayers. She is a strong lady but this is very hard..they were married 54 years.

Lots of love,
Mattie (in El Paso)

My Dad

On Sunday nite my daddy passed away in his bed in Carlsbad, NM. Many of you know that for years my dad was on oxygen due to emphysema and other smoking related problems. Mike and I knew that when we said goodbye to him before coming here it would very likely be my last hug and kiss. I guess I just didn't expect it to happen in 3 months. No, I wasn't prepared. I am on my way to New Mexico tonite to be with my mom and family. It will be good to be together. Yesterday during that Beth Moore Bible Study ....about the time my daddy was taking his last breath...Beth took us into the Holy of Holies...beyond the veil. Where our hope is truly anchored. I am blown away by God's timing and message just for me. Intimacy with Him. That is what life is truly about...and death. What happens here, well, it's just a moment in time...preparation for when we are really living. So, I am comforted, not in what this world has to offer but in my hope....not that kind of wishful thinking hope but REAL hope....Heb.6:19,20 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. So, I am comforted.

I am sorry if I am rambling, but I have found in my life that when I am in the midst of something soul wrenching, I ramble.

21 Years ago when my daddy was diagnosed with COPD or emphysema or whatever it all was...We were sure he was going to die right then. But he lived on to meet 4 more of his grandchildren and watch all 6 of them grow into great kids and adults. (Well, Robert and Sallie are still young but he did get to spend time with them.) We are so thankful for those years, years of laughter and sweet conversations and even some tough discussions about life. When daddy was diagnosed in 1986 I wrote a poem to him. While going thru all of our papers and stuff before moving here, I found a rough draft and for some reason....stuck it in my journal. It is not a contest winner by any means, but I'd like you to meet my dad...

My Dad, My Friend

The joy you brought so lovingly
fills my thoughts unceasingly.
I cannot shake these memories,
they mean so very much to me.

A rocking chair with hugs to share,
swimming, skiing, bowling, sailing.
La Cuenta, por favor!
All this with you and more...

Your eyes that twinkle you gave to me
We've talked and shared, You always cared.
I can't imagine what life would be
if God hadn't given you to me.

Dad, could I sit in your lap again?
And tell you what you mean to me?
I love you Dad, I always will
My Dad, my friend...Peace, be still.

The last line just came to me right now. Anyway, there you have it.
Don Deahl, born November 27th, 1924 died November 11th, 2007
Thank You, Jesus, for the best dad a gal could ask for...

Love you all. Thanks for praying.
Matt

Family Fun-3 Months In

We've been here 3 months now and I have been running a bit dry on fun things to tell you, but today my cup is full. We just returned from an overnight family retreat at the beautiful Mafraq(think Aflac) Hotel outside of Abu Dhabi. We picked up Mike from work yesterday and then Robert, Sallie, Mike and I headed out of town. We arrived at a very nice, clean hotel about 40 minutes later and checked into our room. The kids immediately changed and headed to the pool while Mike and I relaxed on the balcony...That is until we heard this loud roar and looked over the balcony...where we saw two employees in masks spraying DDT all over the plants and bushes by the pool..where all the kids were swimming...and the food was set out. Oh boy. Yes, I figure they had most of the day to do it but dinnertime was when they got around to it. I actually went to the front desk to ask them to stop but when asked, the workers said they had to do it THEN. Ok, whatever. :) Soon the huge cloud dissipated and only a few of the heartiest mosquitoes survived. :)( Tom Wright...this is your town...no rules, no regulations, just kill 'em dead no matter what!!) :)

After the cloud cleared Mike and I went to sit by the pool and talk. As soon as we sat down...the pool guys turned on the music right by our chairs and blasted it! We just stared at each other and Mike grinned and said...They really don't want us here. Sheesh. All we wanted was a few minutes to catch up. We really didn't feel like we were asking for much. Dinner was delicious, though. We have had some of the best steak here and the potatoes were delicious.

Today was spent doing the Walk Thru the Old Testament. We did this years ago at Bent Tree but it was certainly different doing it with people from all over the world. We finished early and spent a couple of hours by the pool...Robert and Sallie enjoyed swimming with their new friends and I found a lady who is going to teach me Arabic. Actually, she'll be coming on Wed. to teach Sallie, Robert and me. I am excited. I also met a lady from Puerto Rico and her husband from Honduras. It was fun to talk together in Spanish. They have been here a year. He is from Siguatepecque where both Russell and Ryan have been. It was fun.

Ryan, you'll notice, wasn't with us on this little jaunt. He had a community service project at the school last nite and then today he was the teacher for the youth group. They are studying the 10 commandments. He said it went well. Dylan sent him some stuff to use. Email is great.

I have begun my search for Christmas decorations. There seems to be a good selection here.

Love,
Mattie

Odds and Ends

Tonight was the last meeting for Ryan's trip to Bangladesh. We learned all about what they will be doing. As we still don't have our residency visas it may present a wee problem for him...but we are supposed to get them by November 8th..We hope. He kinda needs that ol' passport to head out of the country. The team is pretty large...23 kids and 4 adults. From the sound of it they are going to be very busy.

Mike is closer to moving into his office on the jobsite. He was out there today. He is pleased with it...it even has a view of the water. Now, if he can get the internet hooked up...he'll be a much happier camper. :) Today he had to call me from the office to get into his email to find something he had sent out. Not the most efficient way to accomplish things. But you gotta do what you gotta do...sigh.

We think we may own a car soon. It has been touch and go for several weeks but we think within the next week things will be finalized. Then we need to work on car number two as this jobsite is way in the opposite direction from school so.....Awww, the cycle continues. My friend Judi said...hey, wait until you have been here a year, then you have to start all over again cuz everything starts breaking...washer, iron, refrigerator. Oh boy, I can hardly wait.

I have, however, found a great place to get my hair cut. The best part is the price!!! Only 40 dirhams and I was there for an hour. Wash, cut, style, trim it up...I mean, she was great. This is just over 10.00 dollars. It was a sparkling clean shop and after 3 months without a haircut I was beside myself with joy!! :) It did take me two days to actually get there. The first time I could not for the life of me, find it. But then on Thurs. I went with my friend Pam Johnson and she got me there. Today I gave another friend directions. She made it without any problems.

That's all from here.
Love and hugs,
Mattie

Dunes and Donuts

It is Saturday morning. Sallie, Robert and I walked a few blocks to the Dunkin Donut store...but it was closed. Ok, that's a bummer. Why would a donut store be closed on Sat. morning? Sigh. Mike took Ryan to breakfast and he is going to stop and bring donuts home. I had some frustrated kiddos....:)

We are all dragging a bit this morning because we had a desert picnic last nite with new families from the church. It was such a nice evening. One of the dads took the kids sand sledding. He pulls them behind his 4 by 4 thru the dunes. According to Sallie and Robert it was great!!!

Big news! Yesterday we had clouds!! No rain but clouds....I cannot believe how nice it was to have a different sky. I took pictures...but now we can't find Sallie's cord so we'll pass them on to you once it is located. :)

PICTURES :)

We have pictures. :) Ok, it is not the prettiest presentation but what do you expect???? In order of appearance...Our first visit to the beach during our first week here. Our living room when we first moved in. Our trip to Lulu Island when we swam in water the temp. of a hot tub. ugh. Nassar..our building guy who always smiles like that and has been such a wonderful help to us. And finally, Ryan in front of the American school here. Sitting by the gated entrance, on a barricade...hmmm..... Ok, so now we will do better about getting pictures to you all. Sallie, by the way, figured it out by herself. :) What a gal!

Ryan's Home

Ryan is home from Kuwait. The team came in second in the Volleyball tournament. He gave me the details and then crashed on the couch. Each player stayed with families from the school. Ryan said his family was very nice. I am so glad he had this experience. He was kind of surprised at the country itself. Very polluted, dirt streets...not what I picture . He said the driving is really crazy. Wow. It's all in your perspective but to come from here and say it's crazy there...well, it must be wild.

Robert's Awana Club had Heroes of the Faith last nite. The kids all came dressed up in Biblical characters. Robert and I both forgot. My favorite was a little 4 year old girl who came dressed up as Martha...had the head covering and the dress, and carried in a play teapot and wore rubber gloves. Just so cute. Her brother was Luke...had a stethoscope around his neck. Robert's good buddy Ben Miller(from Colorado) was the OT Benjamin....all he did was throw a pillowcase on his back and put a sign on it that said "gold cup inside". Check your Old Testament....pretty creative.

Still trying to buy a car. Still trying to get a phone set up. Things are happening. It just takes awhile.

Love,
Mattie

The Movies

We thought it was a bad idea...like going to see Jaws before going to the beach...but wanting to get out of the house tonight we decided to go see a movie. We went to see The Kingdom, which many of you have already seen. But let me tell you....it was pretty weird seeing it from our side of the world. :) First of all...most of it is filmed in Abu Dhabi. Yep. We drive those streets and see those buildings. The Saudi Palace is actually the Emirates Palace Hotel which Mary Hone and I toured last week. Cool, huh? A couple of things....the availablilty of parking spaces...total Hollywood fiction....the actual driving scenes...not so much. Anyway, nice to get out but not exactly a relaxing evening. :)

By the way, the funky skyline is not Abu Dhabi..that is actually Riyadh...with the funny shaped building.
G'Night.
Mattie

Dr. Michael Youssef

Saturday evening Mike and I went to the Abu Dhabi National Theater to hear Dr. Michael Yousseff speak. That may not sound like big news to you but over here it was actually a historical event. This was the first time ever that an evangelist has been allowed to speak in this type of forum. We had to smile as we thought of the special week Bent Tree was having and here there we were...having our own type of "festival" but on the other end of the spectrum. We sang many familiar songs in English, led by a Filipino worship team...and then another musician came up. He led the congregation in Arabic worship music. I cannot tell you how cool that was...we were standing there and all around us praises were being lifted up. It was really neat.

Friday nite we were also busy. About 800 people gathered at Ryan's school for Picnic in the Park. It's a fundraiser for the school trip to Bangladesh in November. We had lots of fun...the picnic food was middle eastern :) and there were several music acts from the school for entertainment. We sat on camping chairs and matts and visited with people. It was relaxing... for us anyway....Ryan worked like a dog. :)

Our busy week has started....Will keep you posted.
Mattie

Our First Visitors

It's Friday afternoon here and we are getting ready to head to Ryan's school for an all school picnic. It is a fundraiser for the team going to Bangladesh with Habitat for Humanity in November. Ryan is working it, as he is on the team that is going.

Mary and Laurel Hone left last nite after their whirlwind visit to see us. We spent 4 days laughing, crying, and zipping around town to see the sights. We had a desert picnic, visited a camel farm, toured Emirates Palace...a hotel with a lobby the size of 3 football fields, had Moroccan tea, swam at the beach, ate at some fun restaurants...including Lebanese Flower and McDonalds...:) and generally had a ball. I think the best part was knowing that although we are so far away we are still connected with our friends and family back in the States. And now Mary and Laurel will both know what we are talking about when we share things. It just made all of us feel less isolated from life back there. They really blessed us with lots of fun movies to watch and some good books to read as well. Woo Hoo!

Fun fact we learned from Jeff Kinney the other nite while Mary, Mike and I went over there so she could meet them. Mike was talking about the process to buy a used car and all that it takes....(going on 3and1/2 weeks) when Jeff asked him if he noticed the separate door for the women to get their driver's licenses...Mike said yes. Jeff kind of chuckled and said...The Local ladies,( all wearing black veils that cover everything but their eyes) who go back there to get their picture for the license don't have to take off their face veils for their picture....

'Nough said. We just laugh and move on.

Love you all,
Mattie, Mike, and the Kids

Island Living

group of us gathered on Thurs. nite at the beach for a picnic. Many of us there were newcomers and it was fun to meet several other new families. The water is finally cooling off so Sallie and Robert enjoyed swimming. Our friend Peter brought his guitar and we sang thru the evening. It was so peaceful and relaxing.

The night before our picnic I found out that one of my old friends from Aruba was living in Qatar. Her brother and his wife just moved here and she and I were talking when we realized that I had been in Aruba at the same time as her husband's family. I couldn't believe it. Joni was in town this weekend , and we spent Sat. morning talking until we were almost hoarse. She has kept up with several other friends from our Aruba years and it was so fun to catch up.

We christened our new grill last nite with Snapper and shrimp. The grill takes up our entire balcony...and not because it is a big grill. Mike and Ryan went to the fish market and brought home dinner. It was delicious. I've never been a big fish eater(that's an understatement) but I decided I need to broaden my horizons. Ryan made the cocktail sauce and we dined on a delicious meal. And I didn't have to cook....:)

From Mike:

The fish market was a bit of an experience itself. It is housed in a building at the port just around the corner from the Iranian souk (another story). You smell it about 50 yards before you get there, when you coax yourself inside there are about 100 booths and 300 Indian and Arab fishermen selling everthing slimy, slippery, and smelly fresh from the Arabian Gulf ! Yards of stainless steel tables laiden with crushed ice and fish. Shark, tuna, squid, lobster, snapper, red fish you name it, much of it still wriggling around a little bit on the table. We're talking fresh! Ryan and I chose the prawns (shrimp). Not Texas shrimp, more like miniture lobster, these were about six inches long, four of them made a meal for about 3 bucks. They grilled them up right at there at the market (key item here...keep the smell and the mess out of Momma's kitchen). We brought the snapper (cleaned and fileted by the fisherman...ref:note about momma's kitchen) home to cook it up ourselves on the new grill. Even food critics Robert and Sallie were transformed into seafood lovers...well sort of. The Baskin Robbins ice cream for dessert was probably the bigger hit.

Mike and Mattie
for the Seafood lovers in you!

Desert Detour

On Tuesday the kids and I joined a couple of other homeschooling families and headed out to a newly built area right by Abu Dhabi...Khalifa City. Mike actually looked in this area for places to live when he got here but decided it was too far out for us. This was my first visit there. My new friends Krista and Jean drove the one car and I followed them. We actually got a bit turned around and we saw more of the desert than planned. :) Somehow we ended up in Khalifa City B when we needed to be in part A. So, we stopped at a gas station...to ask directions...(we women do that, you know...) All of us had a good laugh when Jean came out sort of shaking her head. I asked her, "Were they able to help?" She laughed and said "I don't know...we go 5 kilometers and take a left right. " Oh boy. Well, we did finally reach Michelle's villa in Khalifa City A and had a good visit.

Mike and I are enjoying the cooler mornings these days. We go down to the Corniche(seawall) and walk in the mornings. We usually stop about halfway thru and find a bench where we take some time to pray about our life and for our friends. It's been a sweet time for us.

We are all excited about the upcoming week. First of all, Ramadan will be over today or tomorrow and secondly our friends Mary and Lolo Hone are coming on Saturday!!! They aren't staying long but we are so excited to have them here!

So that's the news from here. We love you and miss you.
Mattie

Wednesday Dinner

One way that our church here gets people from all the different cultures to interact with one another is by hosting dinners. People offer their home to a family from another culture and they share a meal together. These evenings are called Adventures in Fellowship. We got to share a meal with two Filipino gals..Amy(real name Imelda..named after the Presidents wife when she was born) and Trish..who has lived here in Abu Dhabi for 18 years. Amy did all the cooking...Trish said she was there for moral support because she doesn't cook. :)

When we arrived at the apt. Amy greeted us with a beautiful smile and promptly asked us to sit on the floor so we could play a game and get to know each other better. I love the men in my family....neither Ryan nor Mike can easily sit on the floor..as their long legs make it difficult, but both guys just smiled and plopped right down.(They aren't exactly big on icebreakers either, but didn't bat an eye):)... We shared about ourselves and then had to share about the person next to us. It was fun and I wish you could have seen the wonderful smiles on these girls faces. So warm and friendly.

Amy served some wonderful Filipino dishes and talked about them as we ate. We had a chicken dish, and rice, and a wonderful oriental type vegetable chicken dish as well. She laid low on spicy stuff...which I appreciated, and so did Robert and Sallie. :)

Before we left that nite, I asked Amy if she would close in prayer..in her own language. So she prayed in Tagalog. It was such a wonderful nite. Our own little m. festival.

Speaking of the Festival that Bent Tree will be having next week, I hope those of you in Carrollton are planning to attend. Wish we could be there. We'll be downloading the messages. I will probably cry but then I will be fine. :)

We love you all.
Mattie and The Gang

ps. Ramadan ends this week. Woo Hoo!!!! Shops will open and there will be food during the day...and we can drink water in public again. Please continue to pray for everyone who is truly seeking God during this time...that they find Him and follow Him. And that His love would shine thru believers everywhere.... Amen? Amen!

pss. we are trying to buy a car. pray we find one and then that the paperwork, etc. goes smoothly...just buying a toaster can be frustrating....:)

Crockpots at Carrefour

I managed to avoid shopping at the mall for a whole month. So, having recovered from mall overload from the first few weeks, I returned yesterday with Sallie and Robert. We needed to buy a regular phone in hopes that soon we will be able to use it. The kids and I hopped in the car and headed to Marina Mall(which you can see on the internet if you'd like).
Here's what we saw when we drove up....it took a minute to process what we were looking at...The entire front wall of glass, which is two stories high was covered in a wallpaper that looked like lattice work, with mosque type windows cut out across the top. Yes, you guessed it...the mall is decorated for Ramadan...I couldn't tell if it was to resemble a mosque or a palace. The doors all had arches placed in front of them as did the escalators, which also had the lattice paper decorating their glass sides. It was actually quite pretty, but again, very surprising when one isn't expecting it. :)

We did find a phone, but even better than that...I found a crockpot! Big deal, you say??? Well, let me tell you, it is!! My friend Mary has searched for one here for two years! I called her and she was headed over to get one. I also called my new friend Debbie who was also very excited and she wants to get one, too. What can I say? Little things make us happy. :) By the way, this is not just any crockpot with a silly little knob and two heat settings...nope, it is double sided so you can cook two different items at once and it is electronic with a time setting for how many hours and has an automatic warmer on it for when you are done cooking. Hah! Bet you are all jealous now.....:) Oh, yeah. and we got a normal old toaster.

One last interesting thing about the malls here and many of the stores...they have flat escalators. Sort of like airport walkways but they incline. This is so you can put your grocery carts on them when you change levels. The carts have ridged wheels to stick in the runners on the escalators....I tell you..it's a different world here. :)

Sallie wants to go to buy a jewelry for her phone so we are heading out. She converted the $$ she saved to Dirhams so now we need to go spend it. :) Jewelry for her phone..good grief..is she my child???? ( We'll do school when we get home...lest you are worried about SandylandISD, Mr. Pearce.)

Shop till you drop,
Mattie, Sallie and the guys....
ps. sorry about the pix, we'll figure it out...sometime.

Lions, tigers, and bears...Dubai!!

Ok, if this works right Sallie and I will have loaded pictures for the first time onto the blog. We don't know if it worked but we hope so.

Yesterday, we went to Dubai for the first time for a birthday party. Mike, Robert and I followed Mary who had a car full of 9-12 year old girls. (Hence the separate cars...) This was the neatest place. When you walk thru the Mall of the Emirates you come to this place that is decorated and set up like a ski lodge...:)( The money here is incredible. Yeesh.) So, anyway, this huge dome thing is actually a ski resort. Two or three runs on one side and then the other side is the Snow Park. At the entrnace to the Snow Park side there is an ice cave with ice carvings. Yep. Real ones. Polar bears, dragons, etc. Then there is the toboggan run, the tubing hill, and sleds to pull around plus places to climb for a view of the whole place. It is surrounded by floor to ceiling glass walls so you can watch from the mall and stay warm. It did cross my mind that at my age I may want to move into the Snow Park at certain times....there was a little igloo that looked quite cozy. :) The temp. stayed at -4 centigrade and felt quite comfortable. :)

After the snow time we all ate and then the girls shopped. We headed for home. Sallie said they stayed up until 3 am. She is kind of grumpy today. Imagine that. :) The drive to and from Dubai takes about an hour and a half...Until this road was built it took forever as there was no direct route. Once you are outside the cities over here there is nothing but sand for miles. Wow.

All in all it was nice to get out of Abu Dhabi. Ryan didn't get to come as he had a dinner with the youth group. I'm sure we will go again. By the way, as we drove into Dubai I was amazed to see an entire city...think Manhattan island under construction..buildings everywhere, tower cranes everywhere yet none of these buildings is occupied yet. Most of them are at different stages of construction..It is like the whole city is a job site. Mary said you never know if you will be on the same roads because they are always moving them around with the construction. I mean it was AMAZING. We've heard that 30 percent of the world's tower cranes are in Dubai...I believe it.

Hope you are all doing well.
Blessings,
Mattie, Mike, Ryan, Sallie and Robert

Little Things

Ok, so over the last few days I have smiled about several things...and now is a good time to share them. I am in the middle of cooking dinner but if I don't get this down I know you will never hear them.

So, I'm at my new friend Rebecca's house that they just built. Here they are called villas but don't let the fancy name fool you...Don't get me wrong. It's a beautiful "looking" house but... not a single window in the house is the same size as any other one. Including the ones that are in the same window space...the one that opens may be one size and the other is different. She said, "I think they just measure an empty space and fit in a window." I had to smile when I noticed that even the windows on either side of the french door that opens to the deck(with a beautiful view of the Arabian Gulf) are both different sizes. Is it any wonder my sweet, engineering husband is going nuts??? This does not even cover the gaps between doors and door frames, or plumbing that really isn't fitting just right...Mike said "They grab the closest pipe and say..'this fits'...:)"

(Ok, so I know we need to realize it is different..not wrong, but actually, in construction I think it's ok to say...uhhh..this is wrong. Otherwise buildings fall down.....)

I also had a laugh when Mary and Rebecca were talking about the weather. "Rebecca, you remember last winter when we had that horrible sandstorm?" I just stared at Mary and started laughing...Picture Marganne and I sitting down and saying...Hey you remember that horrible sandstorm last year? Sandstorm just did not compute in my head. :)

And just a few minutes I sent Mike and Robert to the Mar Mar grocery store...little grocer man across the street for salad stuff and an onion and some garlic. Well they did not come home with lettuce cuz he doesn't have it today but they did come home with a BAG of garlic cloves! Yep, he sells apples individually, and onions and cucumbers but not garlic. Folks, I can count on one hand how many garlic cloves I have used in MY WHOLE LIFE and it is less than the EIGHT in this bag! What in the heck am I gonna do with all of this garlic? So I just chuckled and stuck them on the counter. Maybe I will give them to my new friends like you do when you have a garden...which I have never had either....:)

Tomorrow I am going on a bus tour with new moms from Ryan's school. Not new moms as in babies...:) Sallie and Robert are coming with me. It should be a fun field trip. We are going to have lunch at the Equestrian Club. I think it will be fun.

Well, dinner is ready. We are going to eat and then take Ryan to his Small Group. They start tonite.

Will write more soon.

Shoes

It's Friday morning. We are waking up to get ready for church. It is still kind of strange to be going on Fridays and not Sundays. Our week has had lots of ups and downs. Or maybe not ups..but normals and downs. :) Work is in constant change for Mike. He is moving to a different project but what it is exactly is unclear. This has been very stressful for all of us. Several times we felt like packing our bags and heading home. There are days.....

On the other hand, the weather is starting to cool down a bit. Evenings are nicer...not a big change but still, cooling down. Ryan got to go to Dubai with the volleyball team. I didn't have to do any shopping except for food. The Beth Moore study is going well. Robert is starting to click with his AWANA group. Mike and I are getting to know some folks. All in all, some things are feeling normal now.

The other evening Sallie, Robert and I took a walk along the beach promenade...called the Corniche. We were looking for some of the playgrounds that are dotted thru the parks by the beach. On the way to the beach we passed one of our 4 neighborhood mosques. A few pairs of sandals were lined up outside the door. It was nearly an hour later when we returned to our building, passing the same mosque. There were hundreds and hundreds of shoes covering the sidewalk and stacked on the front wall...hundreds.... I felt this overwhelming sadness wash over me. It was like the air had been knocked out of me. I think I was already becoming comfortable with my surroundings but God used this to knock me back. While we finished our walk I prayed for the men who went there to pray that nite. That they would find the God whom they earnestly seek. I hope I never forget the picture of those shoes. There are many here who celebrate Ramadan like we do Easter or Christmas...it's the thing to do. But some truly yearn to know God. Please pray with us that many will have their eyes opened to see Him. By the way, apparently the shoes didn't affect Robert the same way...His observation was "Wow, Mom, how do they find their own shoes?! ":)

We're home from church. It was nice because we actually had people to talk to as we left the building. Just like the old days with Sallie and Robert rolling their eyes at us....But...it wasn't all me. Just so you know!!!!! We couldn't drag Mike away. :)

Have a great weekend.

One month in...

Today at the Beth Moore study that I am enjoying...one of the gals shared how strange it must have been when everyone started speaking in different languages all at once. You know, you're in the middle of buying bread or whatever and BAM you don't understand what they start to say. It made me smile. It really must have been amazing. I wanted to pipe up with one of my "i think i am so funny" comments...like, that's how Mike feels everytime he is in a meeting and boom..they switch from semi-English to Arabic, but they don't know me and may not like my sense of humor. :)

We have television. The guy just left. We still don't have phone but we are closer. There is a phrase here...NQR...it means Not Quite Right. Very much like my Almost blog from a few days ago. My dishwasher continues to be a mystery to us. We have all the instruction manuals except for English, or even Spanish...so I have been trying to read the Italian one and even looked at the German..nope, not so much. It is hit or miss every time we try and run it. Either it runs without drying or it goes for nearly 2 hours, or whatever. :) I just want clean dishes. :)

The other nite was fun. I went over to the apt. of a British schoolteacher who has lived here for 4 years. I met her thru this small group Mike and I are in with our friends the Kinneys and several others. Her name is Helena and she is so sweet. She invites new teachers to her place every year to get to know them. A couple of weeks ago she mentioned that she just was weary and really didn't want to do it this year....I told her that I would come over and help. I am so glad I did. I met 4 other Brits and we laughed and had real tea...like in a teapot and everything....and I understood about every other word. :) We laughed about that, too. It was so fun. I drove them home to their "flats" and we all agreed that is was a great nite. Helena is a young gal...just turned 30, who has lived overseas for 8 years. She has such a heart for the Lord.

Mike, meanwhile, went out with the rest of our group to celebrate a couple of birthdays. They had Iranian food(very similar to the Lebanese food we had the other nite) and then laughed and talked till 10:30 or so. He beat me home but the rest of the gang went back to a home and played games till 12:30. We aren't quite there yet. Hah.!

Ryan has a meeting tonite about a trip to Bangladesh with Habitats for Humanity. You can pray for him. The trip is in November. I hope it all works out. He is going to check out playing in a Rugby club tomorrow. Very big sport here...lots of South Africans play and they are always looking for folks.

Robert is doing AWANA, but Sallie decided not to do it. She may help with the Sparks. We are all finding our way...and learning more and more about trusting.

I'll leave you with this from my Ladies Study last week. This gal who was doing the devotion and is new to Abu Dhabi shared from a book called Managing Transitions...3 questions....What are you going to hold on to? What are you going to let go of? and What are you going to reach for? I've been pondering her words....I'll let you know when I figure out my answers.

Kaballah Boomadan...town

Let me just say that I am so glad we didn't miss this. We are quietly sitting in our "flat" having experienced our first day of Ramadan...when Boom! boom! vibrates thru the room....2 blocks away, on the beach, are the biggest set of fireworks we have ever seen. Yep. bigger than Kaboom town, or Fair Park... They were set up in four different locations on the beach...and set off in sync. If we weren't standing there watching them we might have thought we were getting bombed. No kidding. It was beautiful and loud. Poor westerners...we stood there with our mouths hanging opened. It was so fun. Ryan did notice that there was no red, white and blue. :)

Things were very quiet for most of the day. Restaurants are closed until dusk. People stay inside during the day and then come out at nite. Stores are opened until 3 am. It is almost like a month long Christmas day. Gifts are exchanged...nite after nite of family and friends and food. Very interesting and we are learning a lot. We have been told that toward the end of the month people are very irritable. It is hot so I imagine that adds to the irritation. Ryan's school hours are from 8:30 until 2pm. Mike came home at 3. For the whole month everything runs on a shortened schedule.

Will keep you posted on what we learn and experience this month.
Miss you all.
M,M,R, S and R

Sept. 11

Woke up today. Took Ryan to school. On the way I said to him...today is Sept. 11. "Yeah...I know," he said, "Wonder if they will mention it at school. Probably not." But we are thinking about it. Such a day in the US but just another day over here. Very surreal.

Still feeling a bit surreal in a lot of ways. Like the Ladies Bible Study I attended yesterday. I have always wanted to do a Beth Moore study so I am taking one over here. It's about the Tabernacle and she has just redone it. Anyway, there are 27 women in the study and although there are several from different countries, the surreal part is that about 8 of us are from Texas! :) Mostly Houston...and mostly oil..but still, kind of fun to meet other Texans. I am looking forward to the Study.

Today I will go to our church and meet the ladies there. It is the kick off brunch for the fall studies. Sallie and Robert will work on school here and then I will work with them when I get home...so Sandyland ISD is still on track. The computer curriculum we are using is working well for us, although next year I would like to try and get them in school here.

Because the setting up house stuff is about done...(except a phone) things are slowing down and both Mike and I are hitting that "we really miss our friends" wall. As are the kids. Please pray for us. We are plugging in and all but it is still not home. You can't replace what we had there...and especially not in 3 weeks.

Love you all.
Mattie

Charades

Yesterday Mike and I took Sallie and Robert to the beach. One of the other Project Directors from Hill invited several Hill employees and their families to a beach party. It was very nice...and a much needed break from shopping. (Ryan didn't come because he went to the first youth group meeting at church...another story...) Anyway, we swam in water that was about hot tub temp. and then felt much cooler when we got out. One of the ladies from the office planned games. My favorite was charades...How can I describe this? First of all, about 12 adults and kids jumped up to play...no shyness here. Most were filipino or indian. All of them with big smiles and 100 percent participation. Sallie played too. They did movies....nobody remembered to say how many words, everyone pretty much talked while acting it out...and generally if one was guessed it was a total fluke. Mike and I laughed..but not rudely. My favorite part though was when Mike leaned over and said..."This is what it's like at the office everyday...." I'm still chuckling. So thankful my sweet hubby has not lost his sense of humor...and believe me, sometimes it is hard to laugh.

Take today for instance...We have spent over 8 hours trying to get our phone set up. Had to buy a desktop computer, Ryan and Mike set it up and voila..it didn't work. So, Mike and i went back to my favorite place...the Mall...and tried to return it. We went to the customer service place by the electronic section. Waited in line. And then we were told that the place to return it was on the other side of the store...opposite of the electronics..ok. So we wait in line for about 50 minutes. When Mike gets up there they unpack the whole box and plug it in. There are several people around waiting, the service return place is a small room..and they plug it in. Apparently, after we were told to come back in another 30 minutes while they fixed it and rebooted it, BECAUSE they needed to use a diptor...no, wait, that must be an ADAPTOR cuz it doesn't work without it...Hmmm....Ok....Next time it would be nice if they told a customer that WHEN they bought it...but oh well. Now, Mike is still working on it...but soon we should be done.

So, we ALMOST have a phone. Yee hah. :)