Life - Faith - One Bridge
Problem (top): fire today at a construction site next to the local shopping mall
Solution (bottom): ONE mall employee in a black business suit with a garden hose
Funny thing about this country; MOST establishments are WAY overstaffed. It is downright awkward going into most department stores, as there are so many employees there to help you, you are literally followed everywhere you go. There are people on every isle to “help” you at every turn. [Read more…]
As I said in my larger post this weekend, this was my 12th Thanksgiving in Asia. Pretty amazing to think about.
Though I knew that I would be in Asia “long-term”, I don’t think I could have conceived of still being here in Asia in 2013 when I arrived in August 1999.
Anyway, it was an amazing Thanksgiving here. I definitely missed home, BUT I do love the people I get to do life with here.
In summary, the dinner was great. The location was perfect. The fellowship was even better.
The location was at the “home” of a group of five local American students. They were able to get a great deal on a HUGE apartment. It was the perfect place for a large Thanksgiving dinner.
This picture was taken of the two rooms we had tables spread out in. My particular favorite was of the “kids table” you see there in the lower picture!
(This post part of my Instagram(able) Asia! pics.)
I woke up this morning to the reality that this is my twelfth Thanksgiving spent in Asia. My 12th!
There is obviously no recognized holiday over here for this day, but generally folks allow foreigners to take off on their specific holidays. Today is such a day for us ex-patriot Americans here in Asia.
I know it is a little cliché, but I could think of nothing better this morning than to simply type out some of the things I am thankful for on this day. [Read more…]
(At the end of this post, I have a “funny small story” from this trip.)
As I sat there listening to the passionate, venerable nurse speak about her 37 years of serving in the Arabian Desert, I was mesmerized. She had faithfully served in this little desert hospital, appropriately named the Oasis Hospital, in the midst of the United Arab Emirates for over half of her 71 years of life.
Her name was
We FINALLY have pizza in this little corner of East Asia!
As I type this post, I am sitting in a coffee house about 1/2 mile from my apartment. I tell you this seemingly mundane detail, as this is not in fact a mundane detail. You see, it has not always been this way for my life here in Asia.
When I arrived in August 1999 to live here “long-term”, there was almost no “western food” in this area of Asia. There were tea houses, hotpot restaurants, and dinning establishments which featured the meats of the day in cages on the sidewalks out front.