The Weekend

Look what I saw strutting down the street the other day.  Discovered that we have some peacocks in the neighborhood.  They seem to just roam the streets at will but I'm told they know where to go at night.  Interesting.  I hear the roosters when I walk in the morning, but 8 haven't seen any of those yet.

The past couple of days I've been baking, walking at the mall and cooking a lot.  Today I made a batch of seasoned chips from leftover flatbread...I think I have enough to here to go with our tacos tonight.

Today when I walked the mall I noticed that the winter clothes are out in all the stores.  They have been having "end of the season" sales, so I suppose I should have guessed it was coming.  I just didn't expect so many vests, coats and sweaters.  They sure don't need them here, but I understand many of the locals go to Europe in the winter months,

Yesterday I needed to go to the grocery store in the mall for some fresh veggies...wrong!  Everybody shops on Friday afternoon when the stores open after prayer time in the mosques,  The place was jammed, the lines were long, the parking lot was full.  So, that's why Sunday morning is the best time to shop.  Note to self...

This is the new look for license plates in Dubai.  In the past it has been all black numbers and letters. 

You can tell the social status of the driver by the license plate.  The numbers 1-100 are the people closest to the Sheikh - the ruler of Dubai.  Four numbers means you are a native Emirati.  Five numbers means you are an ex-pat.  The lowest number I have seen so far is 28.  BTW - gas is $1.67 here...

Church yesterday was fantastic once again.  It is hard to describe the worship at Redeemer.  The best I can come up with is "It's like I imagine heaven will be."  Over 600 voices of people from over 50 nations around the world praising God and worshipping Him in song and spirit.  They sing with gusto and meaning.  Their grateful hearts shine through.  The songs fit the theme.  We are all of one mind, spirit and voice.  It's just amazing.  We often find tears running down our cheeks in response.  God is in our midst.   We are in a Muslim country, in a hotel run by Mormans, but our great God is alive and well and He is with us.

I was going to write a bit about Dave's sermon, but I need to get to bed.  We are getting up at 5:00 am and will be on a Cathey Pacific flight to Bahrain in the morning!  All for now...