To the UAE - and Morocco - by Faith

Jason's turn to record some thoughts.  In general, I would say all the goals our family had when we set out for the UAE are on track.  Personally, I was looking to shake life up a bit as I was spiritually drained and emotionally depressed.  Perhaps a mid-life crisis?  I felt like I was serving the Lord out of obligation instead of out of a spiritual abundance, I felt like I was headed down a dead end road in my career, physically I was in poor shape, and God was distant to me after years of having what I would consider a strong and growing relationship.  This was not God's fault, however, as I have uncovered many sinful attitudes and behaviors in my life the past several months.  It is never the Lord's fault!

So how does the Lord bring someone out of a spiritual slump?  With the testing of their faith!  I have needed to rely on Him more than ever and can not coast on my own talents or abilities or knowledge.  God has been a much closer companion these past several months than in the last few years.  This is being driven by the fact that I'm way out of my comfort zone.  I left a church I love where I am loved, family and friends, a familiar culture, a job I was very good at, a youth group that was a joy to lead, etc.  But I know the Lord has led my family here, at this time, and I am very confident of His kindness toward us and that my faith and my family will grow spiritually and be used by God here in ways that we would not have experienced otherwise.

Let me share with you a recent personal example that I hope will illustrate how the Lord is using our time here.  Prior to living here, I had only been outside the United States once, to India, for 2 weeks, where everything was more or less programmed for me.  Here it is different.  Here my leadership says "We'd like you to go to Morocco with us."  OK great, yes, sounds fun and like a great first customer visit/experience in my new role!  But then, this evolved into unfamiliar territory very fast.  Next thing I knew I would be:

• Traveling by myself
• Flying into Casablanca and renting a car to drive it 1.5 hours to the Capital Rabat
• The car would be a manual transmission, which I had not driven for many years but turns out it is just like riding a bike (you don't forget how to do it) 
• My cell phone data plan did not work, even though it was supposed to (glad I printed maps etc. in advance of the trip)
• The GPS I rented with the car was an old Garmin unit with no in-car mount which added to the challenge of operating a manual transmission while navigating in a foreign place
• Asking a stranger from Guinea for directions to the hotel when my GPS and directions got me close, but not close enough
• Presenting a new product we plan to launch to a room full of Arabic/French speaking colonels...in as clear and simple English as I could muster so a many of them as possible could understand!
• Having to figure out how to pay for gas when the credit card reader would not work but the attendant had already filled my tank and I needed to get to the airport for my flight home

Every single one of these unexpected challenges drove me to prayer, which resulted in my remembering God's goodness and faithfulness.  In one of the final sermons from Pastor Janke we received before leaving the United States we were challenged as the people of God not to fear our circumstances for God is with us, indeed if we are His then He is leading us.  The point is not so much that God rescues us from uncomfortable or unpleasant things but rather that He is good and that He has in mind higher purposes than we often do, and we can trust Him even if He leads us to our death.  So the smaller fear and anxiety inducing challenges like my trip to Morocco are proving to be opportunities for God to reveal Himself to me in prayer.  When life was easy in Cedar Rapids, I was not driven to prayer in the same way as I am now.

And about that trip to Morocco, how did I see God's goodness?  Well, in spite of so many challenges God provided, including in many ways I was not considering when I was only focused on the challenges I was facing.  For example:  

• The guy from Guinea, who in spite of saying he did not know English spoke quite well and was very helpful, personally taking the time to walk me 4 blocks to a point where I could see the hotel.  The walk with him gave me time to get to know him a little, and to encourage him as he was in Morocco seeking work.
• The customer meeting going extremely well in spite of one Colonel asking that I quit presenting because he could not understand!  God blessed my French and Arabic speaking coworkers to do a great job and make up for my lingual deficiencies.  
• The gas attendant gave the credit card machine one more try, and it worked!  
• Great conversation including spiritual discussions with coworkers
• The road trip from Casablanca to Rabat allowed me to see the Moroccan countryside
• A trip through the Madina (Moroccan street shops) to experience the local culture.  I saw old men helping each other down the street, shopkeepers "closing their shops" with blankets knowing that no one will steal from them, children providing cardboard for rest and food for one of the many "stray" cats, local eats and artisanry.
• Some of the best food I've had since leaving the United States
• Actually getting a few hours sleep while flying in coach!       

Our shakeup has been good for us in other ways too.  We have consistently had daily scripture reading and prayer time as a family (using the Read Scriptures application and videos - which is FREE and excellent if you are so inclined).  We have had long dinners as a family, kicked off by intercessory prayer for others and conversation on how the day went.  Pam and I start most days with exercise and I've lost about 10 pounds so far.  I would love to keep sharing more but I need to end this post at some point.  I'll try to write again soon now that all the business of moving is behind us.  God's blessings to you.