we had a lighter day today as it is friday, the muslim holy/rest day: breakfast and debrief, house church, sorting, fellowship and games, and shopping.
our morning was filled with worship, thanks, and encouragement. we were able to join a house church with some ex-pats at the home of one of the long-term team members. after time of fellowship, we gathered on toshaks (large cushions placed on the floor) and filled the room. there on the floor, believers of all different ages, nationalities, and backgrounds joined together in worship. it was pretty humbling and encouraging. all i could think was the importance of filling oneself with with the spirit on a daily basis. as we sang, i was acutely aware of my usual self-reliance. i recalled various team members sharing how God has stretched them through using them in projects outside their expertise, causing them to rely on God's strength instead of their own. both mentioned how this resulted in less tress and more personal fulfillment. ironic. we've got it backwards in the west. the service continued with scripture reading and discussion of a lesson based around the scripture. as our team leader mentioned, it felt like an "acts 2 church..." people of faith coming together to encourage and sharpen one another. pretty cool!
back at the guest house, we sorted donated materials once again. we are certainly doing lots of bonding together with all our sorting! but seriously, it is fantastic to be a blessing to the NGO by giving them our time and our hands. we separated and packed blankets for families out at the community we will visit tomorrow.
we enjoyed some downtime by playing our new favorite game (and our host's favorite game), mafia, before heading out to do some shopping. the peals of laughter coming from the room while we played mafia were pretty great!
shopping began with the traditional trip to the carpet shop. it's safe to say the whole team thoroughly enjoyed the carpet buying experience. watching the men pull out rug after rug until each person had found the right size and color combination. then the bartering begins...quite a cultural experience! we all left quite satisfied and moved on to a couple more shops. a team of women enjoying the late afternoon shopping? i know. mind blowing. :)
kabob take out and pizzas made for a relaxing dinner. our day of rest ended with more sorting, gift bag stuffing, and seed packet preparation. it has been a full day, but a restoring day. i'm looking forward to what tomorrow will hold!
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