We are so blessed! Tonight, as I was sitting in the mini bus/taxi, waiting for our driver to come back from praying in the mosque at a rest stop, I thanked God in my own prayer for the opportunity to live among this amazing culture of devout and wonderful people. They are such good examples to me!
Last night, a member of the Al Ain branch, Cynthia Steele, was in Abu Dhabi and offered to take us to Al Ain with her and stay in their spare bedroom. We slept on a bed that she is trying to sell, so we actually got to test out a bed before buying it! Church was at a beautiful villa. The members of the branch took us in immediately and adopted us and cared for us. We love them! After the meetings, we enjoyed a delicious pot luck, where we were able to get to know them even better. Many of them (including Cynthia) are ADEC teachers as well, so they have lots of goo advice to share!
Another member, Tom (aka Santa) offered to take us to the bus station and said he even had time to drive us around and show us the beautiful oasis of Al Ain. We drove around with him for hours! He took us to see a mall, a souq (market or bazaar) that had Arabic couches like we want to get, and even corrals full of goats, cows, and camels!!! We saw the border, where Matt will need to go to renew his visa, went around 50 roundabouts, which each had their own special name to Tom based on what was in the middle. Some of the names included:
Monkey House round about
Deer round about
Globe round about
Mountain round about
Falcon round about
Monument round about
And so many more!
Tom dropped us off at the bus station and a driver convinced us to ride with him on his taxi bus because he was only 20 AED instead of 25 AED, and he could get to Abu Dhabi in 1 1/2 hours instead of 2. The driving here makes most people freak, but it is exactly how Matt drives, and he loves it. I actually didn't feel unsafe in this bus. I would feel much more nervous in a slower moving car.
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