Charis Around the World

Tidbits from Ebony

THROUGH THE PLASTIC COVERED WINDOW

Greetings, Charis Family!! I wish you all a blessed Christmas, wherever you are. My hope is that we all experience the power and peace in Immanuel--God with us. Right now God is speaking to me a lot from Gabriel's interaction with Mary. I'm meditating on the fact that, "With God all things are possible." I'm also remembering that my stance before our Father, no matter what happens, needs to be, "I am your handmaiden....I am completely at your service, no matter how unexpected, weird or scandalous your plan seems from the world's perspective!" O.K., so that is not EXACTLY how Mary put it, but I think the sentiment is still the same. :-)

Have a wonderful and merry Christmas and a happy new year! Hope you enjoy these tidbits from life here.

Love in Him,
Elizabeth Carmichael

THROUGH THE PLASTIC COVERED WINDOW

This past month was FULL of time with people! Of course, our American Thanksgiving was celebrated on the last Thursday of the month. The day after Thanksgiving was also a major holiday in this part of the world--the Festival of Sacrifice. Those of you who have been on this journey with me very long MUST know what this holiday is since I mention it every year. It is the time of year when Cousins all over the world remember the story of how the Creator provided an alternative sacrifice for Abraham rather than allowing him to sacrifice “his only son, whom he loved.” Despite the discrepancies in the story we believe in and the ones handed down to Cousins through the founder of their faith...the point of the story still remains--it is God alone who provides the perfect sacrifice.

It is always, always a joy to visit with Cousins and discuss truths like this during the holiday season. The Father has opened so many doors this year for my roommate and I to sit in the homes of Glory Land, sharing his love with women, children and sometimes even the men of the families. For three days now we have been busily moving from house to house, petitioning Him for grace and glory to come, and sharing what we could with the people before us. We have had a GREAT, but exhausting time!

Mr. Sobeit’s house was, as usual, one of our favorite visits of the season! When we visit him, we sit in a little mud room with two mats on the floor. Tiffy (my roommate and co-worker) and I share a mat that is perpendicular to an oddly shaped window that is basically just a hole in the mud. This winter it is covered with plastic which provides a convenient way to see outside without being seen on the inside. We started calling it our little television set because of all we could see!

 During our latest visit, the women of the home would find themselves quite busy serving the men gathered in the men’s visiting room, or just preparing the meals for everyone. So, Tiffy and I were left alone in our little mud room. We seized the opportunity to pray and praise His name. We also watched and giggled and commented on the activity outside our little plastic window. We could see kids having “fencing” fights with dish rags. We saw one of the teenage sons escape all the commotion and just lay down on a cot, pulling a blanket over his head and trying to remain invisible. We watched a lot of family interaction between mothers and children, brothers and sisters and, sometimes, husbands and wives. Random men would walk back and forth talking on their cell phones. They were family members who had come to visit for the holiday. Sometimes we felt like they just wanted to peek at the foreigners. Sometimes little girls would walk up to the plastic window and press their faces against the dirt caked exterior, trying to glimpse us. I wonder if that kind of view is what Paul was talking about when he said that we now see through a glass dimly! Yet, all that time, those people had full access to us through the door to the room!

MEN, WOMEN and SHOVELS

During the holiday, Tiffy and I went on visits to the homes of our guards (unarmed guards who keep watch over our house night and day, helping us out and just being the “man of the house” to us). At one home, we were pointing out what an excellent and intelligent wife the guard has. He exclaimed, “Yeah! And, in thirty years of marriage, I’ve only hit her with the shovel once!” As I wondered if that is how this precious woman acquired such unfortunate dental health, Tiffy quickly replied to his wife, “You tell me the next time he grabs a shovel and goes to hit you! he won’t try that again if I get a-hold of him!” who says you can’t still be sassy even if you live in an oppressive culture?! :-)

[Yes, he probably really did hit her with a shovel sometime. :-( ]

Our International Charis Family
Your stories from around the world touch us and we pray for your safety.
Thanks, Love and Blessings to every one of you!