Dubai

Saturday 08-03-2013

Dubai! The place as hot as hades! If you are not a Christian and are questioning salvation, come to Dubai – it is so hot. Spending an eternity with Jesus going to be so good. Judging from today’s heat, hell is not worth the temporary joy of sinful living.

We arrived in Dubai around 5am this lovely Saturday morning. We embraced the thick, warm, humid air for a total of 5 seconds. This is such a drastic difference from the weather that we have had these past few weeks. After arriving at the airport we had a short drive to the hotel in which we are staying. Let me tell you, it is such a relief to finally settle down for a hours/days and just relax. Unfortunately we were unable to move into our rooms this morning so our belongings went into storage. A lovely breakfast was provided at the hotel. Omelets and mixed fruit were very welcomed as breakfast foods compared to what we have had. We soon left for a bus tour of Old Dubai. I’m not quite sure how much information everyone retained during the tour because it looked like everyone was passed out on the bus due to utter exhaustion. Throughout the tour we were able to get off the bus and walk through a beautifully completed museum, harbor, and the spice and gold souks. The people of Dubai are very pleasant and it was a wonderful experience being immersed in the sights and smells of the city.

After spending about 2 hours bargaining and sweating, we finally made our way back to the hotel to settle in for a few hours. Now we are getting ready for a ferry dinner cruise. According to Dr. Keyes, we worked hard so now we are playing hard. We are looking forward to a good time simply enjoying each other’s company.

Having a final meal together and talking about everyday life events was a nice break from the counseling like talk that we have become accustomed to over these past two weeks. There were a variety of foods to try, some ranging from relatively mild to others being very spicy, all of which were very good. The atmosphere was very warm and inviting.  Being immersed in this culture is an experience that many are not likely to forget.  We closed the evening by debriefing, as usual, and are preparing for our final day here and flight home.

- Jen, Kelly, and Sarah