These pictures I took at a place overlooking the city of Ta'iz, where I am this week. We had tea and some dinner as the sky darkened (that's me on the far left). And that blue house was just built into the side of the mountain. It was rather dark and foggy so these pictures didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped.

Color....

These are all a glimps of what Yemen looks like: the meat man- yes, those are goat heads lying on that table and yes, they will be eaten. See that sheep in the corner there?? Poor little guy. Then there's the shepherd boy we passed in one of the villages. He was happy to see us! This man and woman are dressed in their typical clothing. And the men and the fruit and vegetable market were really amused by my camera. "Friend, friend!", they called out. That was my cue to take their picture (which I did gladly!).

Visits in Yemen

Here is another snapshot of our visits in the villages. However, using the word "village" hardly describes the place we were this day. We took the jeep up the side of this mountain on what could hardly even be called a road. Up and over boulders, ditches, and steep, sandy ravines we slowly made our way to the very top. We ate lunch with this family... a father of nine kids who had married his wife when they were around 15 years old. This man and his wife are not very much older than I am and they've been married for 20 years! Yikes! Anyway, I worked with their oldest daughter and her father, again encouraging them to learn sign language. They were very skeptical at first but eventually got excited. I was also able to share with them a story from our Book. I will be interested to hear from them in a few years and see how they are!

Yemen

Yemen. One of the most interesting places I have ever been. The influence and power of the society is found on the shoulders of the women even though from an outward glance it would seem that men control everything. The entire country is highly religious (Muslim)- almost 100% of the women cover in black except their eyes. The men chew "qat", a drug that is illegal in most places of the world and which is highly addictive. They start chewing around 2:00 in the afternoon and are out of commission for most of the rest of the day. I spent about a week in Sana'a, the capitol and then drove a few hours north to some villages to visit some deaf patients of a friend who runs a clinic. We wanted to love and encourage these families. And I personally wanted to encourage the families to learn sign language in order to communicate with their kids! In this picture above, I was visiting a sweet family... one of the poorest homes I have ever visited. I am not exactly sure how many- more than 6 members- lived in two or three dark, dingy rooms. The oldest child who is about 8 (they don't really know their ages since they tend not to keep up with or celebrate birthdays) is deaf and also has other physical handicaps. Abdul's parents had been given hearing aids and told that their son should be able to hear with them. After reading his audiogram, I broke the news to them that their profoundly deaf son would never be hearing. But I encouraged them to use sign language to communicate with their very bright and very sweet son. In this picture I am helping shape Abdul's hands into a sign.

Zoe

My little niece, Zoe, is about months old now... she's too cute for words. Look at these pictures! I can't stand it. Zoe was a "fat chicken" for Halloween. She played the part well!!

The past few weeks have been busy with various people and places. One of the places I've been hangin' out a lot is with Jim, featured in this picture, in one of our hospitals here in Amman. Jim and his wife, Gwen, are co-workers of mine and live in a town about one hour or so away. About three or four weeks ago, Jim became very ill and has been in the hospital since- some time in the ICU and some in a regular room. I have stayed with him for several days and also go to visit every other day or so in order to give Gwen some time to run errands, pack their house so they can return to their home in the U.S., or just get out of the hospital to grab a bite to eat. I didn't know them very well a month ago but we know each other well now! I'm not very good at asking for help and neither is Gwen.... so I don't give Gwen a chance to have to ask, I just go.
We hope that Jim will be stable enough to travel within the next day or two. I know that we've all gotten to know hospitals too well lately and they'll be happy to get home where they can have their family near-by. It's been a pleasure to get to know them.

In other news... I am getting myself together in order to travel to Yemen next week. I have this weird thing since living here that every time I travel, especially for long periods of time and especially to unstable or dangerous places, I feel the need to clean my house to perfection, clean out "junk drawers", leave my important papers in order, and in every other way leave behind as little mess and clutter as possible. I guess for two reasons: to have a clean place to come back to or to not have a mess for someone else to clean up in case something happens and I don't come back (the second reason is unlikely but it's still in my mind).

Before I sign off for the day, I want to remind you about the believers in Gaza who have continued to have their lives threatened since Rami's death (see below post if you don't know about Rami). It's a terrifying thing to wonder every day if you're next to be killed. But in their boldness, our brothers and sisters have said this about the persecution they endure for their faith: "it is a difficult school but we learn alot and it is a privilege to be in this school. " Please continue to remember them in your prayers.

I hope you all have a wonderful day!!!!!!