Here There and Everywhere

Expat wanderer

Kisses From Katie

There are so many blogs out there, it’s hard to keep up even with very good ones, blogs which really stand out, blogs which are extraordinary.

My nephew, Earthling’s wife wrote to me about a blog, Kisses from Katie, and urged me to take a look.

This blog is so unusual, so unforgettable for any person who tries to follow God’s purpose for his or her life. This woman walked away from EVERYTHING to serve God’s will, and ended up with 12 children and a grandmother, in Africa.

It’s not like she is a saint. She struggles. She hurts. She works hard with children who are dying, abandoned women, the poorest of the poor. She faces the challenge of raising 12 daughters and all their needs, and special needs. She celebrates their triumphs. She walks her life in utter faith.

I challenge you to read her blog. I challenge you to try to tell me you are not moved. This woman is an inspiration.

Katie works for a group called Amazina and you can learn more about them and their work with orphans and God’s love by clicking on the blue type above.

Thank you, Silver!

February 20, 2010 Posted by | Africa, Beauty, Biography, Blogging, Character, Charity, Community, ExPat Life, Family Issues, Food, Interconnected, Living Conditions, Spiritual, Work Related Issues | 1 Comment

Generosity of Spirit

In our Womens Bible Study Class, the discussion turned to how living in these lands, the cradle of our religion, has illuminated the reading of the bible in new ways for us. As I read this morning’s readings, I thought of all the loving kindness we have been shown at your hands, at the unending generosity of spirit you have shown us, living here, in this dry and thirsty land . . .

Abraham's Departure, by József Molnár

The Hittites tell Abraham he is a mighty prince among them, and welcome to bury Sarah where he would wish. Ephrom refuses to take payment for the cave Abraham wants to buy, insisting that Abraham accept it as a gift. This, near Hebron . . .

Abraham insists on paying for the land, and hands over, piece by piece, 400 pieces of silver.

Would that God would bless the land with a similar spirit, that the Jews and the Palestinians might find a way to share the land and to live together in peace, as a blessing to one another.

Genesis 23:1-20

23Sarah lived for one hundred and twenty-seven years; this was the length of Sarah’s life. 2And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3Abraham rose up from beside his dead, and said to the Hittites, 4‘I am a stranger and an alien residing among you; give me property among you for a burying-place, so that I may bury my dead out of my sight.’

5The Hittites answered Abraham, 6‘Hear us, my lord; you are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places; none of us will withhold from you any burial ground for burying your dead.’ 7Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. 8He said to them, ‘If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me Ephron son of Zohar, 9so that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as a possession for a burying-place.’ 10Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city, 11‘No, my lord, hear me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it; in the presence of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.’ 12Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. 13He said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, ‘If you only will listen to me! I will give the price of the field; accept it from me, so that I may bury my dead there.’ 14Ephron answered Abraham, 15‘My lord, listen to me; a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver—what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.’ 16Abraham agreed with Ephron; and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.

17 So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, passed 18to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, in the presence of all who went in at the gate of his city. 19After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20The field and the cave that is in it passed from the Hittites into Abraham’s possession as a burying-place.

February 4, 2010 Posted by | Charity, Communication, Community, Cross Cultural, ExPat Life, Family Issues, Financial Issues, Interconnected, Living Conditions, Random Musings, Spiritual | 5 Comments

Qatteri Cat – ReVisit

So all the way home, I am thinking “I have to be fair.”

It’s one thing to write a post when you are all hurt or annoyed by something, and then another to have to go back and give an update which is more . . . ummm. . .. . balanced.

The Qatteri Cat went back to the vet today for a re-check. He is fine. He didn’t want to go, and told me so all the way there.

The “mean” animal handler was there when I came in. She asked who was coming, and I told her, and she came over and called him a “sweetie,” and was genuinely nice to him, and caring.

When it came time to visit the vet, the QC stepped out of his cage all by himself, and behaved himself like a perfect gentleman. . . err, gentlecat.

I can tell you it is a lot harder to write a post about nothing happening and everyone being nice, than it is to write an emotional post. All the way home, I had to think about what I was going to write, and what came to me was that while I was making excuses for the Qatteri Cat being foul tempered (hungry, hurting, scared) I wasn’t making any allowances for the humans, who have to deal with sick, hungry, hurting, scared animals every day, who have to watch them suffer, and die, and who might be hungry, or tired, or in physical or emotional pain themselves. So . . . for all my own crabbiness, I apologize.

Today was a new day. QC is a well cat, and AdventureMan and I are still waiting for the magic phone call.

February 3, 2010 Posted by | Character, Charity, Civility, Community, Doha, ExPat Life, Family Issues, Interconnected, Living Conditions, Pets, Qatar, Qatteri Cat, Relationships, Work Related Issues | 7 Comments

The Law of the Harvest

A small group was huddled, talking about volunteer work, and how people are afraid to commit, when the duties are actually very light, and easily accomplished, then we drifted into giving generously . . .

“It’s called The Law of the Harvest” one of my favorite women popped in as I was trying to explain that when you give, open-handedly, give with your heart, it all comes back to you multiplied.

We all turned to her. “Remember the seeds? You sow the seeds and then it is multiplied?”

Of course! It’s so simple! Why didn’t I think of that?

January 28, 2010 Posted by | Character, Charity, Civility, Community, ExPat Life, Leadership, Relationships, Spiritual | 11 Comments

Bu Yousef’s Haiti Challenge

My Kuwait blogging friend, Bu Yousef, is about to send a donation to the World Food Program designated to help Haiti. He has set a challenge to all bloggers and blog readers. Please, go comment on his post. For every unique comment he gets on his post (one per person), his donation will go up $1 from a minimum $50 to a maximum of $200. It’s up to us.

I would love for BuYousef to hit his maximum. I would love for him to be so overwhelmed, that he ups his maximum to $250. 😉

Please go say good morning/good evening to BuYousef, and do it NOW! Thank you!

Bu Yousef, AdventureMan and I will match your donation. 🙂

January 21, 2010 Posted by | Blogging, Charity, Cross Cultural, ExPat Life, Family Issues, Financial Issues, Health Issues, Hygiene, Interconnected, Kuwait | | 13 Comments

Volunteer Day at Animal Friends Kuwait

God bless the work of your hands, all you who work to help those who have no voices, who rescue the animals, give them food and shelter, and adopt them.

Animal Friends and K’S PATH will be hosting its bi-annual Shelter Open Day where everyone is invited to come out, visit with the animals and learn all about their rescue and care. Visitors will be able to walk the dogs, cuddle the cats, play with the puppies, brush the donkeys, watch the baboons and so much more. The weather is beautiful, so come and make a day of it.

When: Friday 29 January, 2010, 11:00am to 3pm
Where: Animal Friends Shelter and K’S PATH sanctuary in Wafra
Cost: Free, although we certainly appreciate donations
Notes: Please leave your own pets at home and refreshments will be available for sale.

Huge Yard Sale — antiques, collectibles, book worm’s treasure trove, gently used infant clothing and toys, gently used adult clothes and shoes, Indonesian teak furniture, home wares, gourmet kitchen gadgets, dishes, pots and pans and so much more. Come on over and rummage through the goods and you might find a treasure. All funds will go to support Animal Friends.

When: Saturday 6 February, 2010, 10:00am to 3pm
Where: Fintas, Block 4, Street 11, House 29
Notes: Refreshments will be available for sale.

January 13, 2010 Posted by | Charity, Civility, Community, Cross Cultural, ExPat Life, Financial Issues, Fund Raising, Kuwait, Living Conditions | | 7 Comments

Different Languages, Different Tribes, One God

This is the meditation from yesterday, from Forward Day by Day. I really like it. We all talk about tribalism, as if we were not ourselves from tribes, even self-made tribes. It can be a tribe based on family, or based on nationality, or, in the USA, sometimes on nation-of-origin. It can be a tribe that calls itself Alpha Beta Zeta, or Rotary. Any kind of grouping that distinguishes between “us” and “them” is a kind of tribalism, in my opinion. And it costs us so much, in terms of energy and focus and resources, when, as i see it, we are all one family under God.

Psalm 118. I called to the LORD in my distress; the LORD answered by setting me free.

In the depths of the long civil wars here, the people cried to the Lord in their distress and were set free. The results have been amazing: the crossing of tribal lines to form one people whose most precious commonality is their belief in Jesus. Sitting in church on Sundays, that lesson comes true. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, or recite the creeds, or sing our favorite hymns, we do so in our own languages, so that a cacophony of voices rises to the heavens. It is not unusual to hear 12 or 13 languages spoken simultaneously, all praying the same thing at the same time.

We are set free when we forget to which human tribe we belong and focus on being members of God’s tribe of beloved children. This is how peace will be achieved, not just in this land, but in all of creation: by ignoring our differences and focusing on the freedom we have in God and from God.

Some days, listening to all the languages and praying in my own, I am moved to tears by the beauty of the holy noise we are making. We are set free in those moments, and our distress falls away.

PRAY for the Diocese of Aguata (Province of the Niger, Nigeria)

January 9, 2010 Posted by | Charity, Community, Interconnected, Living Conditions, Spiritual | Leave a comment

‘No Madame, Don’t Tip, Management Takes the Tips’

From today’s Gulf Times

When I was new to Qatar, and thrilled to find my hometown Starbucks going great guns here, I asked “Where is the tip jar?”

Every Starbucks has a tip jar. Everywhere. Baristas don’t get paid that much; you always tip. Often they are young people stretching to pay the rent while they go to school, or trying to raise a child as a single parent. A tip is a way to allow God to redistribute income in the world; you let it go freely and He sends it where it should go.

The barista reached down and pulled out a jar, but did not look encouraging.

“Why is it down there?” I asked, naively.

“We don’t get these monies,” the barista said. “The Management takes everything.”

So I started asking at every Starbucks, and the answer was always the same. The workers don’t get the tips. Management takes everything.

Jesus said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for rich people to get into heaven. When I hear stories about the workers not getting the tips, or workers being exploited, being treated as a resource or commodity rather than as partners in operations, I fear for the people who would take these monies out of their own greed. I fear for them in the afterlife. If we are not open handed, using our wealth to help others, maybe it will be our burden in the next life, and we will regret having to carry it around. Maybe it will be a barrier, and we can just peek over to see the life of the spirit we might have had. I fear for people who cannot overcome their greed, and share the wealth.

‘Hidden charges’ at restaurants slammed
By Sarmad Qazi

Irked by having to pay what they call “hidden charges”, some customers have expressed their displeasure at the increasing practice in restaurants of adding “service charges” to their final tab.

Patrons say they do not mind paying the extra so long as any additional charge is written visibly on the menus and the money actually goes to who it is originally charged for – the staff.

“The fact that my bill had a 10% service charge came as a surprise. The font size used on the menu to announce the charge was smaller than a bank’s fine print,” a customer of a fine dining restaurant said.

Debate on the subject is raging across the region. Just last week, the UAE outlawed the practice and warned restaurants and cafés to do away with the practice by February 1 or face fines ranging between Dh5,000 to Dh100,000. Exempted from the rule are restaurants located in hotels.

Service charge, often added to the final bill at dine-in and table-service restaurants (not applies on take-outs, home delivery), usually ranges from 5% to 20% depending upon the quality of the outlet. The practice is allowed at restaurants inside hotels but has caught up outside too.

Restaurants, however, yesterday defended the service charge and maintained the money went towards staff waiting tables and inside the kitchen.

“Various establishments use it for different purposes. We use it as a motivational factor for our staff,” said a senior official at a food and beverage company which manages some of the leading franchised restaurants in Qatar.

But customers also accused restaurants of pocketing the extra money rather than giving 100% to employees.

“If all of the service charge is not passed down to staff then restaurant use the money to cover breakages (glass, cutlery etc) by employees rather than managements increasing the cost of products (on the menu),” a general manager of an American franchised chain of restaurant said.

The practice is not restricted to branded restaurants only as some local fine dining restaurants in Qatar also take service charges. Most officials Gulf Times spoke to were not sure whether a prior Baladiya or Ministry of Business & Trade permission was taken before the charge was introduced.

Industry officials also dismissed suggestions that instead of a separate service charge they should increase the price of products as “impossible”.

“This can’t be done. Increase in prices will make the customer move to a competitor,” a restaurant official said.

“We do however waive the service charge if a customer insists or if they do not feel like they received the level of service they expected,” he added.

January 6, 2010 Posted by | Bureaucracy, Character, Charity, Community, Customer Service, Doha, Eating Out, ExPat Life, Financial Issues, Interconnected, Lies, Living Conditions, Values, Work Related Issues | 7 Comments

Pink Glove Dance Reaches Millions :-)

Remember the Pink Glove Dance? Today, in AOL News, is a report that over three million people have clicked on the U-Tube Video promoting free mammograms for women who can’t afford them:

Pink Glove Dance Reaching Millions
AOL News

(Dec. 5) — A video showing hundreds of dancing hospital employees wearing pink gloves in support of breast cancer awareness has become an Internet sensation.
The video, put together over two days with the help of 200 employees at a Portland, Oregon hospital, has more than 3 million hits and thousands of comments on YouTube.

Martie Moore, nursing manager at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, told CNN the hospital has received hundreds of calls, e-mails and notes about the video.

The idea for the video came from Medline Industries Inc., the company that makes the pink gloves. The company said it would donate a portion of its glove sales to fund mammograms for women who would struggle to pay for them, ABC News reported.

The employees dance to “Down” by singer Jay Sean. Moore said many of the employees had been personally affected by breast cancer.

The janitor who closes out the video with a solo performance had a mother who battled with breast cancer. Moore said he told her, “This is just a disease that just keeps touching lives.”

December 6, 2009 Posted by | Blogging, Charity, Family Issues, Health Issues, Living Conditions | | 2 Comments

Pink Glove Dance

I love this, the whole idea, I love it so much it made me cry to watch it. I’m shy about dancing, but these people – they were dancing for a cause. They didn’t care about making fools of themselves, they just let go and had a good time promoting breast cancer prevention awareness. You gotta love it:

When the video gets 1 million hits, Medline will be making a huge contribution to the hospital, as well as offering free mammograms for the community.

November 28, 2009 Posted by | Charity, Family Issues, Health Issues, Music, Women's Issues | 6 Comments

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