Halloween: Is the real trick on the Christians?

So lately I've been thinking a lot about Halloween... Ya know, the big and evil day that a lot of Christians (particularly the older generation) seem to belittle so much. I began to research and think more about it... From the origins of Halloween to the stance that the Church has on Halloween, and I began to wonder why.

I know the whole "demonic activity and a night for Wiccans to do all the stuff that Wiccans do" statements, but I began to wonder, what about the rest of the people? I mean, most conservative belivers (and the church) do not recognize Halloween or embrace it because of what it represents, but yet in a way, we sort of do. So is the trick really on us?

I mean, we talk down about Halloween and warn people against it, but yet we throw a big celebration where we tell people to come, dress up, and get candy. Isn't that really what Halloween, for the overwhelmingly majority of people, really all about? Dressing up in costumes, getting candy, and having fun?

I feel it is a little hypocritical of believers (and the church) to speak so harshly about Halloween, and yet have a Halloween celebration (only we won't call it a Halloween celebration, will we?). It's kind of like the phrase, if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, and acts like a duck, it's a duck. So what is the proper response for the believer? To not have anything, and stay locked up in our home with our lights off so nobody comes to our door? Or do we have an intense prayer night? Or do we maybe admit that we've made a bigger deal of Halloween all these years?

I would love to hear other people's thoughts on this, as I've been mulling over this for weeks now.

What do you mean you've never heard of that?!?

Alright, so first off... I've been MIA for a little over a month now, and I apologize! I've been so wrapped up with school and work and other things, that I have neglected all my blogger fans out there (all 3 of you!). But now I'm coming back with reckless abandon, so be prepared!

Alright, so here's my random story of the day... So a few weeks ago, I am speaking to my youth group, and I forget exactly what I was speaking about, I think it was on being transparent... anyways, that's neither here nor there... So I am talking and I mention the phrase "Charlie Church", and everybody looked at me like I was crazy... Needless to say, I was dumbfounded... I couldn't believe that nobody had ever heard the phrase of someone being "Charlie Church!"

My question to you all out there in blogger land is this, what phrases or sayings do you have that aren't as widespread as you would of guessed?

O-Man, Day 6: Part Deux

Tonight was a night of big opportunity for the girls, as they were meeting some local girls they had met at Starbucks (Yes Jamei, St. Arbucks has even stretched its death grip to the Middle East). So it was going to be a pretty low key night for the guys, since the girls would be using the van. We had some gourmet pizza that reminded me of CPK (California Pizza Kitchen), and then we went to go meet the guys for a movie. We had about an hour to kill before the movie started at 11:45, so the guys took us to a billiards hall right next door. They were alright, but thanks to my dad playing pool for 20+ years, I was able to hold my own. Then it was movie time.

Abdullah has the biggest sense of humor of the group, and he showed it tonight. As we were giving our ticket to the ticket taker guy, Abdullah just walked straight in saying "VIP, VIP!" and kept walking into the theatre. The guy chased him down a bit but it was a huge laugh for us all. The movie was alright (Mummy 3) and Abdullah left halfway through because he was tired. That my friends, would be uh-oh numero uno. You see, now we had 8 guys with only one car, a Nissan Maxima. I was a bit curious as to how this would work out. I mean, being Mexican I've had my share of being in stuffed cars, and in high school we once piled in about 12 guys in an old mini van, but this was different. We had 8 full grown men, some wider than others. We ended up fitting myself and 4 others in the back, and 3 in the front. We all had to suck in our guts just to close the door. We only had to drive about 2 miles but well, God has a sense of humor, so we hit a few detours and the trip took twice as long. We were laughing about it the whole time. We got in around 2 AM, decided to knock on the girls doors and wake them up just for fun, and then headed to bed ourselves.

What's the most you've ever had in one car?

O-man, Day 6, Part 1: The Tears of the Saints

Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head. Found my way downstairs and drank a cup, and looking up, I noticed I was late. Today is Tuesday, and is a big day for us, as we are headed to the Grand Mosque, which aside from Mecca, is one of the largest Mosques in the world. When we got there we were amazed at the sheer size of it all. It really was a thing to behold. It was all so intricate and beautiful, and can leave one in awe. We then walked inside the Mosque, which normally is for the Muslim men, but until noon on certain days, it is open to visitors and tourists. This was one of the most beautiful structures I have ever seen. The decor left me just saying wow. It was hard to take it all in, it was so big, so beautiful, so wow.

After that we went to the room that the women get to go in to pray, and although it was nice, it was probably 5 or 6 times smaller and way less extravegent (albeit nice). Upon entering it, many of our girls started to breakdown. Some cried, and some you can just tell they felt angry and upset. They had just come from this gorgeous room, and then the room that was for them, seemed to be the leftovers. The injustice of it all was very heavy on them. To get them in the Mosque when we arrived, the girls had to wear the head covering, and we had a few who said that upon entering the women's room after leaving the main room reserved for the men, that they found themselves wanting to cover themselves even more. How they felt shamed, embarrassed, and felt like they were second class compared to the men.

It absolutely broke my heart to hear them share the emotions they felt, and to know that for many women, this is their reality that they face. Our girls get to go back home and both understand and receive the freedom that they have because of what was done at Calvary. Yet so many of these women will never feel that freedom (but my hope is they do), but will only feel oppression, only shame, feel unworthy for the best God has in store. It is my prayer that somehow the oppression these women are faced with, that those strongholds will be released. That they can feel valued, feel as worthy and as loved and important as anyone else. To know that what was done at Calvary was to set them and everyone else free from feeling 2nd class, because He is in all, and is all. I write this with an extremely heavy heart, and would ask that you remember these women in your prayers.

You can also post your thoughts as well.

O-man, Day 5: The Anthony Bourdain Episode

Had breakfast as usual, had a good devotional with the team, and then headed out to his old town that was destroyed years ago. It was an inhabited city that somehow posed a threat so the Omani government gave the UK the okay to bomb it hundreds of years ago. The city is in ruins, although some houses are still pretty much in tact, although deserted. It really was something to witness. Although deserted and in ruins, a stream of water still flows throughout the town. A little ways down the stream gets much bigger, with waterfalls and all, and is a popular spot among locals to go swim. We went to a particulat spot of the stream, but we had to drive through the stream to get to it. I felt like I was on the Oregon Trail and we chose the option to ford the river. It was pretty fun wondering if the van was going to get stuck in the middle of this big stream. We made it obviously, and we walked through the streams a bit and talked to some locals. The local guys were as fascinated with us as we were with them. They invited us to their village later on, but unfortunately we were not able to make it. They really embraced us and I am thankful for that.

We also visited an amazing old fort that still is up today, where we, yet again almost died. The roads are very narrow and the van was a mere inches (yes, inches!) from scraping the sides of the wall on both sides as we drove through. I love the history here. We then filled up for gas, and then out of nowhere, it started to rain! Talk about crazy! We then decided to visit the "city hidden upon a hill", which is pretty much a citty hidden on a hill (more of a mountain actually). It is a very small village that is very private and usually not too thrilled about visitors, but they allowed us to walk through. As we were walking through I couldn't help but think of the biblical times, as I imagined villages and towns very similar to this one. As we walked through the tiny village, soon we were on the other side of the mountain not visible from the roads, and were amazed at what we saw.

It was so beautiful... I could imagine Anthony Bourdain doing a show out here. It was so green with palm trees, date trees, plantain trees, streams, frogs, geckos, waterfalls, etc. I think the best way to describe it is that it made me think of the new land that Little Foot and Petrie found at the end of "The Land Before Time" (for you old folks like me). I think that is a worthy comparison, minus the dinosaurs. That hike around the town was about 2 hours long, so by the end it was dinner time and we were starving. We chowed down at this place that served amazing chicken tikka masala. The drive home was about 2 hours, and most were exhausted, and by then it was about 10:30 anyways, so bedtime! It was so humbling and crazy to see how some people live. Parts of Oman are very westernized, but the city hidden on a hill was very old school.

So many of us are slaves to our schedules, are ruled by time, or even by work. Then there are those who may not have the high paying jobs, fancy cars, or even a cell phone. Yet they are slaves to nothing, and live life not by what needs to be done, but simply enjoy living. In some ways, and on some days, I am envious of the latter.

O-man, Day 4: Friendship to a higher level

So we are having breakfast at 8 AM today, and I volunteered to wake everyone up. Only one little problem... I have no watch and my phone isn't getting signal, so I can't use the alarm clock because it isn't connecting to any time. So I wake up, and I don't think it's 8 yet, as it is still rather dark. I can't go back to sleep so I figure I will head downstairs and find what time it is. I have to admit, it is so weird to not have a sense of time at all. As I get to the bottom level I find the lobby is pitch black, so I am assuming it is in the middle of the night still. As I walk up the 3 flights of stairs I get back to my door and I hear the little (not so little actually) call to prayer blaring throughout the town. Because of this, I know it's about 4 AM. It is so different to hear prayer like that over a loud speaker throughout town, but I was able to use that time to write out my own thoughts, and then head back to bed. Luckily I woke back up at 7:15, so I was able to wake people and we had breakfast, which consisted of, of course, a chicken schwarma (my mom will have to learn to make those), and fresh squeezed mango juice.

After that we met up with Ayoob and Fahad (a different one than before), and we went to this really old, really small village. Today was the hottest it has been since I got here, probably about 110, and man, was I sweating. I seriously felt like I was in a sauna with all my clothes on. As charming and witty as I am, I must admit that I would not be all that appealing to most ladies at that time. But on the same note, I think that we all know the ladies would still love me (I think it's obvious the heat has made me delirious). We go through a few buildings that are hundreds of years old, but are nothing more than ruins now. We see a few kids playing soccer and we hang out with them for a bit. Later on we go to Abdullah's house for lunch, and from what I was told, we were in store for a great feast. Since Abdullah's family is a very traditional Muslim family, the guys and girls were placed into seperate rooms to hang out and eat. Abdullah has 12 brothers and 8 sisters (their poor mother!), not to mention nieces and nephews, so their house was pretty full. Again, this idea of truly serving your guest was very evident yet again, this time in a whole new way. The guys and our team were sitting and hanging out while some of Abdullah's younger brothers served us. They were about 11 or 12 years old, and they would come out with a tray of mango juice and would serve us so well. After serving us drinks, they would stand the entire time with tray in hand to pick up our glass right away or serve us more. Then came the big daddy of them all, lunch.

It was a huge bowl probably 24 inches wide all the way around. The brought two of them, each one had 4 guys eating at it. It had rice filled almost to the top, then had whole chicken pieces and french fries scattered throughout. They taught us how to eat it like traditional Omani's. What you do is you get on your knees, and you lean down and eat it with your right hand only. What we did was we would tear off a piece of chicken, grab a fry or two, then grab some rice (all in one hand), and then we squeeze it together in our hand. So now we have (or are supposed to) a little clump of food, and then you just eat it. It took some getting use to but it was delicious! They brought so much food out that we were nowhere close to finishing it, and I was stuffed so I had to tell them no mas. Then, to my amazement, they brought out all kinds of fresh fruit for us to eat. Mangos, grapes, bananas, pears, oranges, apples, everything you can think of. We could barely fit it in. After that, as per tradition, we were served Kawa (Omani coffee) and talked. Actually, we did more listening then talking, as we heard Abdullah's brother, who is a driver for people who go to Mecca, share his latest stories. He shared how they spent time on a road where they believe that Hagar and Ishmael stayed, which was very exciting. So he was pretty excited. Omani's love fellowship and we spent hours there, but then we headed back to the hotel to regroup.

We got back and some walked to the cafe to write loved ones, some took naps, and others, both. After a few hours we went to the mall (it was now about 9 PM). It was more so that we could see the people interact with each other. The fellowship was something else. It was not uncommon to see two men walking together holding hands, but as a sign of friendship and honor. One of my friends, Jon, was able to talk to a few guys who gave him their number, and hopefully we can meet them agian later in the week. Then we headed back to our hotel, and the guys of the team had a good talk on focal points to reach the people. The hot topics we came up with were sin, submission, and sacrifice. Sin is serious and it does fester, and it's not a matter of simply doing more good than bad. There needs to be purity of heart, a willingness to surrender your own needs and wants, and submit to the will of God. And lastly, to offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God, something that is holy and pleasing unto Him.

Tonight has made me really think of how much value I truly place in my friendships, so I ask the question, what are some of the best moments you've ever had with a friend?

O-Man, Day 3: The day John almost died.

Woke up not knowing what time it was, but Chris was still asleep. Got showered and ready because the guys are having breakfast at 9 AM. We went to bed at about 3:15 so I was worried we overslept. There is no clock in the room, our TV isn't working, and our phones aren't picking up a signal or time either, so down I walk to the lobby. On my way down I pass a guy coming up, and we exchange greetings. I then asked him if he knew what time it was, and his response? Breakfast time! He then wishes me well, and then leaves. So needless to say, I continue to walk downstairs to find out what time it was, only to find out it was only 6:55 AM! So back up to bed I go. We head for breakfast at about 8:45, and have a tasty schwarma from the juice shop. I have a feeling that we will be eating there often. We also checked out the Souq (not sure of the spelling, but it is the marketplace) and looked around at souvenirs and such. The souqs are very popular, and we were at the largest one in Oman. This will most likely be where I buy a few gifts for back home, so hopefully I barter well!

After that we had a great devotional time together. After that we head to the Lulu Hypermarket, which is this huge store with all sorts of things, think Ralph's supermarket meets Sears. My sister would of loved the produce section, as they had fruit from all over the country, and I decided on some Saudi red grapes, which were awesome. After that Larry decided to take us to the beach for a little, just to check it out. The beaches were pretty nice, and the water felt perfect on the feet, but we only spent a few minutes there. Here is where we almost died! At this point, about 7 of us are loaded in the van, and we are about to head out, when Larry sees someone he knows, and turns the car off to go and say hi. Meanwhile, those of us in the van are dying of heat, and are yelling for someone to turn the car on so we could feel the air conditioner, so Jasmine reaches over and turns the car on, when all of a sudden the car jolts and starts to roll backwards! With nobody in the drivers seat! Apparently the car was still in gear, and Larry had to run about 10 feet and jump in the car before we rolled back into another car. Good times!

After all that, we head towards our friend Ayoob's house, where him and his friends served us fresh mango juice, dates, and Omani coffee, wich is very strong, even more so for me since I don't like coffee at all. We spent some time just hanging out with them, introducing ourselves to them, and then we headed back to the hotel to take a nap, since it had already been a long day, and we were going to meet them for dinner and hang out after. So after a brief nap time the guys come and meet us for dinner. We get schwarmas (again) to go, and then we head up this really huge mountain in our really old, really run down van. The van eventually made it up and we had dinner up there, and were able to get a bit deeper with the guys. Hospitality is a huge thing in Oman and it is showing. Ayoob and friends served us so well at his house and they were also doing it up the mountain. They bought us dinner, and kept asking us if we wanted more, and really put us above themselves.

I am already learning so much about being a servant. I talked to Fahad, and I learned how important family is here. He is 22 and many months ago he got a job at an autobody place, and he was really good at what he did. So much so that they wanted to send him to Japan to get more training for a few months. However, his family did not approve, as they were worried for him. They also asked us a lot about our lives and home, and before you knew it, it was midnight. There was actually a lunar eclipse, so we watched it for a while, before we decided to head back down the mountain. Jon and I decided to climb out the windows and hang out of the van while driving down the mountain, to feel the speed I guess, I am not quite sure. But I am sure that it was pretty dang fun! It seems today was about really forming a relationship with these guys, and I look forward to what tomorrow brings. Oman so far has been great, and the people are so friendly!