This video makes me think of a game show where Judah is the contestant in the hot seat and has to make as many correct animal noises as possible in 30 seconds. I think he nailed it!
Dieter traveled to the village of Dubancho in southern Ethiopia last weekend. This was his first time returning to the village since our initial visit in November when a group of people from Fellowship Bible Church in Gardner, KS met us and decided to partner with the rural church. It spoke volumes to return to the community who has had people visit multiple times in the past but never return to build a relationship. The confirmation of our partnership provided hope for the people who had admittedly felt defeated and beaten down by the difficulty of life in their region. On the trip I was able to see the impressive way they multiplied a micro loan we had given them in November by distributing it to 19 families in the church. The families purchased chickens and sheep and through their hard work they appear to have doubled the value of their loan and and are starting to pay back the loan this month. I also was happy to see that the church members were using the sewing machine we purchased for them in November to patch and make clothes for people of the community. This is used as an outreach tool as well as a source of revenue to fund evangelism projects for the church.
The bulk of my trip was spent talking with the church elders and collecting information about the land in order to take the next step toward establishing an animal fattening project for the community. It was encouraging to see that the church has multiple educated agricultural leaders that will volunteer to provide advice for the project. The next challenge is acquiring enough land to start our animal fattening project and finding a leader who will be responsible for running the everyday operations of the project. I will be returning in July to work on these two issues. In the mean time I took an opportunity to provide a micro loan for 2 farmers, selected by the church, who have land but could not afford the startup costs to buy seed and fertilizer for this years crop. They were extremely appreciative and blessed by the relatively small micro-loan. I will monitor their progress in future trips and maybe our church will choose to expand the project next year if it is successful.
It was a wonderful trip which took a big step forward in our relationship with the Dubancho church and our goals toward meeting their physical and spiritual needs.
Esther, the boys and I met up with some of our friends from Fellowship Bible Church (Gardner, KS) in Ethiopia for a 10 day vision trip. Our goal was to make contacts with local churches and missionaries, determine the needs present in the area, and pray for God to reveal ways FBC can partner with the Ethiopians to help.
So our team visited a small village church, a huge church in town, a medical clinic, an orphange, an elementary school, a Bible school and homes of missionaries and church elders. We were more than overwhelmed by the need for resources, training, and encouragement found in these places. We met women who walk 6-8 miles per day for water, children who literally teach themselves in school because there aren't enough teachers and books to go around, and men who sleep on the dirt floor of a 15' x 15' room with 18 other men for the chance to be trained in a Bible School as future pastors and evangelists. The most shocking need was schooling, clothing, food and medical care for 300 orphans in the Dubancho church. Since the total membership is only 1000 people this is an overwhelming need. Many of these orphans came from parents dying of AIDS or leaving the village to find jobs in the city.
FBC is seeking wisdom for the smartest way to help but we have already started by purchasing sheep and chickens for the church as a micro-loan to produce revenue and we purchased a sewing machine for the women of the church which they say is a huge blessing. The trip was fantastic and it was so good to be re-united with our friends from Gardner. Dieter is already making plans for a return trip in January and hopes there will be many many more visits to come.
Now that the weather is cooling off, Doha is starting to come to life and we have been able to spend more time outside. Last weekend we took the boys to the annual Doha Tribeca Film Festival which was really cool. There were all sorts of activities and crafts for kids to do, as well as a circus. Like most things in Doha, the event was very extravagant and looked to be extremely expensive. Films were shown in a couple of outdoor theaters throughout the festival. This weekend we went with a few of our friends to another festival with all sorts of free inflatable playgrounds for the kids. Judah loved it. In the last couple of weeks we have also attended a professional tennis tournament that had the top eight women in the world, ridden a camel, and gone trick-or-treating for Halloween (Judah was Woody and Jake was a turtle … oh the joy of hand-me-downs).
A few weeks after visiting Fort Zubarah we decided to go see one of the old fishing villages on the northwest coast of Qatar. These villages were built in the 1700s. Fishing used to be Qatar's number one resource, but when natural gas was discovered people moved out of the fishing villages until they were abandoned in the 1970s. It was fun to walk through and look at the old ghost town. It you look at the picture album you will also see pictures of Jake sitting up by himself for the first time and pictures from a brunch with my co-workers.
Things we DISLIKE about Doha so far… #4: Grocery Shopping
Even Vanessa Hoosier would meet her match with grocery shopping in Doha. The really big and convenient grocery stores don’t have all the ingredients Esther is used to cooking with and the Americanized store costs 2-3 times as much. We’re talking $10 for a box of cereal. In all cases if you see something you want you know you need, you better buy it because you may never find it again, or it may take 3 months to be in stock again. After 2 months Esther is starting to learn where to buy what items but you can NEVER get everything in one place and our grocery budget is about double what it was in KC. The challenge will be learning to cook with the local ingredients and not relying on the American products. We still haven’t found Rotel though so Shara is going to ship us a few cans so Esther can continue to make my favorite enchilada recipe.
Things we LIKE about Doha so far… #4: Malls and Parks
When we first arrived here we were visiting the parks around town so Judah could run off some energy before bedtime. There are a lot of nice parks but Aspire Park next to our house is probably the best. It’s got a lake where you can feed the ducks, fountains for the kids to play in, an outdoor movie screen, playground equipment and what seems like endless green grass to run around. Now, that the weather is so hot we have resorted to indoor activities only. Also next to our house is the Villagio Mall which has everything you could want including an IMAX movie theater, Virgin Music Store, Carrefour (local Wal-Mart), high end shopping, an indoor amusement park, nice restaurants, ice skating rink, and a river walk with a gondola ride. Most of the stores are too high end for us but it’s still nice to walk around. We go there so frequently that Judah even knows his way around. If we tell him that he can ride the choo-choo at the amusement park he knows exactly which way to go and if we deviate he will let us know. We have learned to not be there after 7:30 on a weekend because it gets REALLY crowded. What’s kind of interesting is sometimes they don’t allow single men to even enter the parks or the mall. They only let you come in if you have a family or at least a group with you. I’m not sure what the reason is but I have to remember that when I think about going by myself.Things we DISLIKE about Doha so far… #5: Hot Water and No Garbage Disposal
While we feel fortunate to have a dishwasher and clothes dryer which are not necessarily standard, we struggled at first without a garbage disposal. It didn’t occur to us until one night after Esther made dinner our maid was finishing up her shift and offered to clean up the kitchen. After the meal it was so nice to come back into our clean kitchen and not have to clean the pots and pans until we tried to use the sink and it wouldn’t drain. She had taken the strainer out of the sink and put all the food scraps down the drain. After several minutes of cleaning out the trap I realized this is going to be a routine maintenance project. Another plumbing problem is the water temperature. In the states the issue is running out of hot water. Well that’s not a problem here since the ground water temperature is 90 deg F. Actually, it’s very difficult to get cool or even luke warm water. They store the water in tanks on the roof that bake in the sun all day so sometimes when you turn the dial to cold it is actually hotter than having it on hot.
Things we LIKE about Doha so far… #5: Low Maintenance Living
It’s definitely nice to have a rental car you can just trade out when there is a problem or oil change and have a villa that has people waiting to fix anything that is broken. It’s so common for people to hire help for everything here. We feel like we are strange for not having a live-in maid and a gardener. The lawn is so small that I can cut the grass with a weed eater I bought in the grocery store. We did decide to get a maid to come clean the entire place once every two weeks because there is so much tile (5 bathrooms remember?), things get dirty really fast with the combination of dust outside and poorly sealed walls, and the labor is so cheap. Her name is Antoinette and she has done a great job. Hiring help is part of life here. You can have groceries and all fast food delivered. When you eat at a fast food place you just leave your trash and someone cleans it up. I’ve even seen people hired to carry items around for them in the mall. At first I refused to make other people do something I felt should be my responsibility but it was explained to me that if you clean your table at McDonald’s you are putting someone out of a job. It’s how the economy works here. There are hundreds of thousands of professionals who come to this city to work at building the city and hundreds of thousands more who have come here to work in the service industry as a means to save their families from starvation and poverty back home. It is sad from our perspective but from what I have gathered they are truly grateful for the opportunity to be employed. To do the work on your own is taking their livelihood and to give them a handout is taking their dignity. I’ve found the best way to serve them is to allow them to serve me while showing them respect. Although some of the laborers are mistreated, the work for the most part is not inhumane, just unnecessary.Things we DISLIKE about Doha so far… #6: Driving
Esther and I heard a lot about how bad the drivers were in Doha and after being here for several weeks we don’t think it’s the drivers as much as the infrastructure that makes things so frustrating. I used to think that Springfield, MO had the worst infrastructure of any city I’d been in but Doha has a lot more people and a lot less freeways… zero. It’s like Kansas City without I-435, I-35, I-70, 69 highway, etc. It feels like you are leaving a sold out sporting event every time you drive somewhere in the evening. And If I ever hear a civil engineer tell me why roundabouts are a good idea I would respectfully disagree just before I kick them in the shin and spit in their ear… respectfully. The roundabouts are everywhere and always get overwhelmed by traffic to the point where they put in traffic lights which means that only one of the four directions are moving. The lights take 5 minutes to cycle so you want to run red lights but they have cameras at nearly every intersection and the fine is $1500. Everyone, except the locals who have connections, stops the very second the light turns yellow. We are slowly discovering the tricks and I have cut my commute down to 20 minutes. It was 35 minutes for 5 miles which would be slower than my easy recovery runs during marathon training. And we try to run all our errands during the day as the busiest time when everyone goes out seems to be between 7:00pm and 10:00pm.
Things we LIKE about Doha so far… #6: Mix of Cultures
It is fascinating to be a part of such a mix of cultures. Although I have met a few of the local Qataris, they are very few and far between. 80% of the population are ex-patriots just like us from all over the world. On my job site alone the engineers are mostly American, Architect is a New Zealander, Inspectors are mostly Indian, mech. contractors are Korean, estimators are British, tea boys are Nepali, secretaries are Filipino, LEED specialist is from Gambia (west Africa), and the list goes on and on. We attended a church service last week where 6 continents were well represented in the congregation. The thing Esther and I have enjoyed most about our mission trips and foreign travels is experiencing and appreciating other cultures. Learning about how people of other cultures eat, sleep, play, sing, greet, socialize and think changes my entire perspective on life because I am suddenly reminded that the American way is only one of the thousands of ways to live. This is something I can read about and watch on TV but never feel until I experience it in person. We are especially excited for Judah and Jake to see this first-hand at such a young age.
Things we DISLIKE about Doha so far… #7: Foreign Electricity
With the higher voltage the systems are laid out with multiple levels of disconnects for every outlet, fan, air conditioner, stove, etc. So, sometimes to turn on an appliance you have to flip 2 or 3 switches scattered throughout the room. There are so many light switches and they are placed in the most obscure places like on the hinged side of a door. So I have to go into a dark room and close the door in order to turn on the light switch. Also, we assumed that when you buy something in Qatar it will be compatible with the electrical outlet. This isn’t the case; I have had to buy a dozen adapters for stuff we bought here. Finally, the voltage conversion for our American products has been frustrating. One night, our blue ray player overheated from the voltage conversion and I shocked myself 3 times in about 30 seconds trying to inspect it. Esther was having a great time watching me dance around the living room.
Things we LIKE about Doha so far… #7: Job
I have really been enjoying my job. We have a nice two story office building that was built on the job site. Since the project is revitalizing the old downtown area we are very close to a lot of cool shops and restaurants with a lot of culture. I’m having a great time with the guys I work with and when their families arrive we should form a pretty solid community of friends. The best part is that I have the opportunity to not only take part in the design but also supervise the construction on three very cool buildings.
Things we DISLIKE about Doha so far… #8: Washer and Dryer
I shouldn’t complain much because apparently a lot of places don’t have clothes dryers because the clothes dry fast if you lay them out. However, compared to what we have in the U.S. it is very frustrating to do laundry. The washer and dryer is combined in one unit and only seems to be capable of washing what one person would wear in one day. So, we need to do 2-3 loads per day just to stay even. Also, opening the machine during use is very tricky and some units don’t allow it at all. In fact, at our temporary apartment we were due to check out at noon and we had to leave our clothes because the washer/dryer held them hostage for about 12 hours! We even had the maintenance guys come and they just told us to wait. I don’t know that I have ever seen Esther so mad.
Things we LIKE about Doha so far… #8: Pool
As much as we like our villa, the community pool is even better. It has a huge canopy that completely covers the pool which is necessary for any outdoor activity. There is a little kiddie pool section that Judah can run around in without us being too concerned. He really likes his water wings, blow up toys, and jumping from the ledge into Dad’s arms. Jake is getting used to it but still not quite sure what all the fuss is about. The best part is the pool is literally 100 feet away from our front door and usually we have it all to ourselves.
Top 10 things we DISLIKE about Doha so far… #9: WEATHER
It’s hot guys. I mean really hot. It’s been at least 103 every day we have been here and with the humidity it feels like 115 every day. The hardest part is how relentless the weather is. We’ve been here 10 days and we haven’t even seen a cloud let alone rain. Shade is extremely valuable when walking or parking. Judah doesn’t seem to be bothered by the heat, he still wants to run around and play outside but we convince him to stay indoors as much as possible.
Top 10 things we LIKE about Doha so far… #9: EATING OUT
Dieter has been eating out every day for lunch and really enjoys it. There are some great Indian and middle-eastern food places by his work where you can have a buffet for $4. The rest of the family has eaten at some American joints like Macaroni Grill and Fuddruckers but the other night we all went to an Iranian restaurant at the Souq Waqif (outdoor marketplace) that was fantastic. We had slow roasted lamb, potatoes and pita bread and Judah enjoyed chicken nuggets and french fries. We definitely plan to branch out slowly but we like what we have had so far.
We put together a top 10 list of things we like and dislike about Doha so far. We'll feed them to you little by little in no particular order.
Top 10 things we DISLIKE about Doha so far… #10: THE LIZARD
Esther was innocently unpacking boxes while the rest of the family slept, and this gigantic lizard (ok, so he was only two inches long), darts out from under the TV stand. She spent the next hour unpacking boxes with one eye glued on the villain. Even though Dieter had been exhausted dealing with jet lag and a new job, she figured conquering a lizard warranted waking him up from his nap. Her hero hunted down the lizard and squished him with his shoe. Judah thought that was hilarious and has since then been found squishing “lizards” all around the house. Fortunately there has only been one real lizard.
Top 10 things we LIKE about Doha so far… #10: THE VILLA
We are almost completely settled into our new villa and we are barely using half of the space. If you include the maids accommodations it has 5 bedrooms and 4 ½ bathrooms plus a very large living room that we can only use half of even when we spread out. We even have a back patio with a patch of grass and a few bushes (I thought I was done mowing and watering). Esther really likes the large windows that bring in a lot of light. Since it’s so hot outside we spend a lot of time indoors and it’s really nice to have extra space for Judah to run.
The Myers family has been living in Doha for 10 days now and things really have been going well. The culture is fascinating, the buildings are incredible, and the people have been friendly. We are becoming experts at navigating the Qatari roundabouts, and the Carrefour (the French version of Wal-Mart) isn’t nearly as daunting as it was the first day. We even celebrated our sixth anniversary, thanks to Dieter. Possibly for the first time in history, the wife was the one who completely forgot the anniversary. Dieter surprised me by getting a co-worker to watch the kids while he took me out to Macaroni Grill – yea Italian food – located in this amazing shopping mall called the Villaggio, which is right across the street from our villa. It has a lot of familiar stores and restaurants and an indoor riverwalk with gondola rides.
Our villa is great and we are slowly getting settled in. There is a nice pool just a few feet from our front door that Judah will be visiting a lot. Four of Dieter’s co-workers and their families are in the same community, so making friends should be easy. On Friday we tried out a church that was recommended to us from a co-worker. We were excited to see that they have AWANA and MOPS groups that meet regularly.
Thank you all for your prayers. We miss you!