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. :-( ] |