Two Sacrifices

" . . . and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head." 
                            Matthew 27:29   (The soldiers mock Jesus before His crucifixion.)


I have thought a lot about that scenario since I have  been here.  It is my understanding these were no "rose thorns," to which  those of us who are from "The City of Roses" will attest can be painful enough!  I now have a new "visual" on their reality:

Thorns or Nails???

I have been watching these collecting next to a chair Phil sits in outside on our screened porch.  One day I asked him why he was collecting "nails" there and he explained they were "thorns" he had been removing one-by-one, with pliers, from his shoes!  They are extremely sharp and imbed themselves deeply in shoe soles if you happen to walk over them.  Just one more reminder of the suffering Jesus underwent as a sacrifice for me.

Yesterday and today, the Galmi village Muslim community celebrated a holiday called "Tabaski."  This is considered to be one of the biggest Muslim Festivals of the year - The Feast of the Sacrifice.  According to the Qur'an, Allah asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son, whom they consider to be Ishmael.  Though Abraham was deeply troubled by Allah's request, he agreed to perform the sacrifice as a sign of his obedience.  But just before Abraham began the sacrifice, Allah told him to offer s sheep instead.  To remember Abraham's offering, every family sacrifices a sheep on Tabaski morning.

 Later in the afternoon yesterday, Phil and I went with a friend from the compound here to visit a young couple she knows quite well.  The man is also the one who cooks the rams for many families.  It was a warm wonderful visit, and although we missed the "slaughtering of the rams," (Thank you, Lord!), we did see the cooking of the sacrifices in action.  Apparently, the rams are eaten on the second day, but the "intestine-kabobs" were a much-anticipated treat for celebrating day 1 of Tabaski!

Rams on the "Spit" With Kabobs 

Rams on the "Spit"

I did not mind at all that we were not staying for dinner, or not being offered a "kabob-to-go!"  

You know you have adjusted to Galmi when . . .

You no longer check for things that might “kill you”  before you get into the shower.

Your make-up routine consists of a quick spritz of “OFF!”

A “fashion faux pas” means forgetting to wrap your head before you leave the house.

Recycling is when you save your used and empty cans and cartons for your house-help

or gardener to take home and use again.

A “cool-down” in the weather means temperatures have dropped down into the 90’s!

You are losing weight even though you are eating real butter!

People stop asking you how you are adjusting to the heat . . . and you stop asking

yourself that!

People from Arkansas and those from Illinois are thought of as sharing a common heritage.

You check email, not snail-mail for communication.

“Friends” and “neighbors” are synonymous words.

A blackout is God’s (frequent) way of offering you the opportunity to reacquaint yourself with the stars and the moon in full splendor!

You realize why it is called a “BLACK-out” and not a “grey-out” or a “dim-out!”

You apply “Sting-Eze” more frequently than you do lipstick.

The woman who washes your laundry by hand does a better job than your washing machine back home.

The term “swimming pool” is applied to a 4-ft. deep, 20-ft. wide, concrete “water-holder!”

“Power-walking” is how you get to school/work every day.

You no longer focus on the color of one’s skin, but on the condition of the heart!

To Market, To Market . . .

I believe the rest of that nursery rhyme goes . . . 

                           

                                    "to buy a fat pig; home again, home again, jiggety jig!"

Personally, I wonder if the writer of that rhyme ever bought a fat pig, because he would never have gone "jiggety jig" on the way home . . . unless maybe he lived in Galmi!  They do carry some amazing loads on their heads --- even the littlest children!

Carrying Flour?  Sugar? .....  Sand?!

Guy Carrying Food

It is rare to see a guy carrying items on his head.   Usually it is the women who do the carrying!

Carrying "Meals to Go!"

                                                  
Young girls make deliveries like this every Saturday night to people on the Compound.  It is chicken, sauce, and fritter-like "pancakes."

NOT Carrying Pizza!

 

This beautiful young womanin the photo above, did not pose for this! I just happened to "catch her" walking through the market!  She did not even know I took a photo of her!
  

Carrying While Socializing!

This young girl was perhaps twelve?                                                                                 

Just "hanging out???"

Girls and women carrying things on their heads is so common, it really is like part of the clothing they wear.

                                                                              

Tiny Girl Carrying Fodder for the Animals

The girl carrying the fodder could not have been more than 6 - 8 years old.  She moved so fastI could hardly get a photo!

Who Needs a Backpack?!

I know I have shared the photo above before, but the resourcefulness of these people continues to AMAZE me!

And finally, one last "carrier" I saw on the path . . . 

Carrying His WHOLE HOUSE!!!

Life here is continually AMAZING!!!  Phil and I watched a movie on our computer last night and the contrast between the culture we saw on the screen and what we see here, is so stark, that it is almost as though they could not both exist on the same planet!  We are just living each day with "eyes wide open" to all the new sights and experiences, and realizing that circumstances may vary widely around the world, but people have the same need everywhere - to love and be loved by a Savior who doesn't require them to work their way into his favor, because he has already bought them with his sacrifice on the cross!