But let me back up a bit! I've told you before that we're attending a church which is a heavy "get in touch with your Jewish roots" teaching church! So last Wednesday night, we had an apples and honey service and teaching about the beginning of the Jewish high holy days - Rosh ha Shanah in particular. As Glen and I stood in the long queue to get our apples and honey, one of the women ushers walked up and introduced herself. She told us she had seen us before and always meant to come introduce herself but it just hadn't happened. We were pleased! (We always sit in the same section and our own little usher is Linda - a beautifully sweet Taiwanese lady!)
Friday night we returned to the church for a church-wide Shabbat (Sabbath) service. Ouida (the aforementioned usher) came up and said hello, asked us again where we were from. We also met a young Indian man who told us about an Indian restaurant - we looked it up on the internet and were THRILLED to find our favorite foods on the menu. We made a plan to eat there after church on Sunday!
Saturday night, we entertained 4 Greek officers and one wife - plus our friends who were also in Abu Dhabi. We had a great time of food and fellowship out on the back patio - in company with Esther!Sunday morning dawned way too early for both of us - we were up very late getting things inside after the dinner. But we journed to church for the first official service with Pastor Larry - the other Sundays were done by his wife Tiz because he was on his annual hunting vacation - in ALASKA!
While we were in praise and worship, Ouida came up and said these words to us: "would you all like to come up to the Green Room after church and meet the pastors?" WOW - this is in the Bible! Remember the Scriptures that teach us to not push our way to the front - better to be in the back and invited up than to be in the front and told to move back! It was a wonderful service and we were BOTH excited about what was to come after (not just the Indian food!).
We were ushered up in an elevator to the 2nd floor by Ouida. She seated us at a long long long table, covered with a white cloth and adorned with small flower arrangements - she seated us 2 chairs from the head of the table! The room quickly filled and people began to fill plates with a delicious spread of food. We were given tea by a sweet lady and introduced to SO MANY people!
In a few moments, Pastor Tiz came in and we met her and shared a bit of how we'd come to the church. After Pastor Larry got in, Tiz began to introduce people. We were SECOND and had quite a long conversation with Larry AND Tiz! It was one of the most amazing moments in my life and we are still filled with awe at how God arranged that! THE LEADERSHIP of the church know our names, where we came from, where we're going - and we've only been visiting the church 5 weeks!
And THEN we journeyed across Dallas to "Our Place" - opened the door and broke out in HUGE smiles! Totally and absolutely FILLED with beautiful Indian people! We were the only white faces!!! And because I was wearing a gorgeous red silk salwar kameez, I was quite the object of all eyes! We even had a waiter who brought us our favorite foods EXTRA from the already abundant buffet! We most definitely will make this trek again and again and again.
SO, in addition to learning more about our Jewish roots for the next few months, we feel the church is preparing us for our next assignment coming up in the spring! And in addition, we're getting to play with our grandbabies, talk to our children almost daily - WOW. SO, on this rainy Monday in Fort Worth, Texas, I wish you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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