Easter in Abu Dhabi
Mostly this blog is a chance to write down our family memories of this place, to share our life here with people back home, and a chance to shake up the homeschool writing assignments for the kids.
Most of the time what we're sharing are the typical social media "high lights". The adventures. The cultural changes we have had to get used to. And, I'm noticing in review, not nearly enough photos of the amazing food we've been eating.
It looks like a lot of big adventure, living the expat life.
But Christianity is not a big adventure. Especially being Christians in a Muslim country. It's not flashy or exciting. It's really a lot more lonely than I anticipated. Our biggest holiday is not a national holiday. In fact, Friday is the day set aside for worship. So church services are Friday morning (and we have "children's church" instead of Sunday School") and so Good Friday service was the big church day of the season.
Sunday, in fact, is the start of the work week. It's different to get up at the crack of pre-dawn to gather with brothers and sisters at the edge of a backwater park, celebrate the Resurrection, sing together of our hope, witness some baptisms, and eat a picnic breakfast. Then go right to work or school. Or go home to homeschool and work-from-home like usual. It's different to not get too dressed up because you know church on the beach is a sandy endeavor and requires a bit of a walk from the parking and your children will be trying to catch sea creatures as soon as they can.
And after work, Jason and Henry went to one of the labor camps to celebrate Easter with the Christian workers there. [Henry:] They sang us a song in Urdu and seemed really happy. Maybe because we shared a cake together. Maybe because we were visiting (which they don't get a lot). Maybe Christ gave them happiness. Anyway, the Christians in the group really stood out. If you tried to talk with the other workers, they wouldn't even try to engage, while if you talked with the Christians there, they'd feed you Mountain Dew and talk with you for hours. One even tried to teach me some Urdu!
It's an adjustment to be a minority. It is eye-opening to notice what we take for granted. And where to even mention the fact that the only advertised mention of Easter is that the western groceries had a significant increase in the variety of European chocolates and giant chocolate eggs and a number of brunches held egg hunts. Which has its benefits. The meaning of Easter is not lost in a pile of plastic grass and candy, or a frenzy of trying to coordinate new outfits for everyone. It sneaks up quickly but is easier to focus on the facts of the resurrection then the stuff surrounding the celebration.
Most of the time what we're sharing are the typical social media "high lights". The adventures. The cultural changes we have had to get used to. And, I'm noticing in review, not nearly enough photos of the amazing food we've been eating.
It looks like a lot of big adventure, living the expat life.
But Christianity is not a big adventure. Especially being Christians in a Muslim country. It's not flashy or exciting. It's really a lot more lonely than I anticipated. Our biggest holiday is not a national holiday. In fact, Friday is the day set aside for worship. So church services are Friday morning (and we have "children's church" instead of Sunday School") and so Good Friday service was the big church day of the season.
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| Eliza helped out with the worship team. |
And after work, Jason and Henry went to one of the labor camps to celebrate Easter with the Christian workers there. [Henry:] They sang us a song in Urdu and seemed really happy. Maybe because we shared a cake together. Maybe because we were visiting (which they don't get a lot). Maybe Christ gave them happiness. Anyway, the Christians in the group really stood out. If you tried to talk with the other workers, they wouldn't even try to engage, while if you talked with the Christians there, they'd feed you Mountain Dew and talk with you for hours. One even tried to teach me some Urdu!
It's an adjustment to be a minority. It is eye-opening to notice what we take for granted. And where to even mention the fact that the only advertised mention of Easter is that the western groceries had a significant increase in the variety of European chocolates and giant chocolate eggs and a number of brunches held egg hunts. Which has its benefits. The meaning of Easter is not lost in a pile of plastic grass and candy, or a frenzy of trying to coordinate new outfits for everyone. It sneaks up quickly but is easier to focus on the facts of the resurrection then the stuff surrounding the celebration.
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