Now for the light-hearted part of the other night! The Desert Safari was fantastic! I went with a few other girls. Natasha and Brittany are best friends from South Carolina who are now living here in Dubai. And then Amy and I are both from Texas! Holla! Amy had been on a desert safari before but the other three of us hadn’t. It was also Amy’s birthday weekend so we were celebrating that as well! Our driver Hamoud, came and picked us up in a Land Cruiser with Jill and Steve (the couple I told you about in the other post) and we made our way out to the desert. We’re pretty much already in the desert but we just drove further out into the desert!! We drove to the first stop and they let us get out and take some pictures of the sand dunes. Then we headed off on the dunes! Brittany and I were stuck in the back so we got rocked around quite a bit more than everybody else!

Nat, Britt, and Amy!

When I laid in bed that night, I still felt like I was riding in the car over the dunes! You know that feeling after you spent the day at Six Flags or an amusement park riding roller coasters? That feeling that you are still going? That's how I felt! It was tough getting pictures because we were bouncing everywhere, but I tried my best!

Natasha screamed a few times and so to make it more fun, Hamoud drove a little crazier! On our way, we even saw some camels! A baby camel too!

Then more dunes! We got to stop and run around and take pictures, then we loaded back up and headed to the camp.

Amy and me

 Britt, Nat, and Amy all running in the sand!

St. Patty's Day 2012!

The camp was in Bedouin style and had tables set up all around a little platform stage area and we sat on cushions for the dinner.

Then they have a things to do around the perimeter of the camp. You can try on the abaya and the dishdash, try the Sheesha (Arabic smoking pipe), and falafel. A lady also does henna tattoos.

You could also hold a falcon. The falcon is the national bird here in the UAE.

They also had sand-boarding and camel rides outside the camp.

After a little while, the belly dancer came out! She was good, but I could go without seeing that again!!

The dinner came next; salads, Arabic bread, hummus, rice, chicken, fish, spaghetti, and more! It was a huge spread! And very good! After dinner came another dancer. I don’t know what he would be called, but he was probably the highlight of the night!

He was so good!

All of us girls!

Nat, Britt, me and Amy

Overall, I would give the Desert Safari 5-stars!! Definitely a must if you come to Dubai!

I wanted to share a video with you. It has nothing to do with Dubai. I was recently introduced to David Dunn’s music. He's a brother of a girl I went to college with. He also auditioned for The Voice this year. Unfortunately, he didn't make it. But I really like his music. This is a video of a new song off his new album that will come out tomorrow the 22nd. I love the message of the song. Check it out!

 

Last night I got home, climbed into bed and had mixed feelings about how the night had gone. It was a night that started off on a high but sort of ended on a low. A few girls and I went on a Desert Safari, and that part was great! I’ll write another post about that in a couple of days. The interesting part of the night was in the couple that we spent the evening with. Jill is Australian and living in Dubai. Steve is from the UK and was visiting.

I know, not the best picture. But this is Jill and Steve.

We got to talk to them and hear their story while at dinner. There is a lot to their story but, essentially, they are having an affair. They both were very open and trusted us enough to share their story. Steve also opened up a lot to my friend, Amy, and I. While Jill was away from the table, Steve shared that he was diagnosed with liver cancer 3 weeks ago and the doctors gave him 6 months to live. Jill does not know. But through this conversation, Amy and I were able to ask some hard-hitting questions about what he believes life is about and what happens when we die. He’s confused. I think he’s still trying to process the news. It was such an incredible experience to meet them and to hear their story and hopefully show them the love of Christ. They kept talking about us judging them and we tried to assure them that we don’t judge, that that’s God’s job. Amy got to speak with Steve more throughout the night and got to share her heart and her faith with him. It shouldn’t surprise me that God met us in the desert of Dubai, but it’s still so great to see clearly how people are put in our lives. We don’t know what part we played in their lives, whether they were just hearing the news for the first time, or that God had already been working in Steve’s heart and we were just reinforcing what somebody else had already shared with him. It’s not for us to know. Only God knows where his heart is. It was just sad to me seeing him get so emotional when opening up about his diagnosis. It’s sad that he doesn’t have the hope about going to Heaven. It’s sad that he’s looking for hope in the world and other people. I felt a little defeated and inadequate after leaving Jill and Steve. I was just thinking over the night and the words that were said and hoped that I had said the right things to show them Christ. I know that is Satan. It’s hard not to know where Steve’s heart is and if we made a difference. But that’s where our faith and trust in the Lord come in. Most of the time, we won’t know. We just have to trust that God used us and pray that Steve will come to find the Lord and trust in Him, pray that he will find peace about leaving this world and hope in what is waiting for him in Heaven. As you can imagine, this put a more serious feel of the evening and definitely took precedence over the other events of the evening.

As if that was not enough, I also found out that a guy I met here in Dubai passed away suddenly about two weeks ago. His name was John and he played on our volleyball team for the Beach Fest the other week. He was from North Carolina and was over here working. He left behind a wife and a daughter who is in college. John was here in Dubai working so he could provide for his family. He had not seen his family in many months, if not longer. He was 43 and healthy. One Tuesday, he was at the gym and went to catch a taxi and had a massive heart attack and died right there. When my friend, Amy, shared this news with me, I was shocked. I couldn’t really believe that it happened. I didn’t know John very well, I don’t even know his last name, but I had spent a little time with him.  He was very nice, friendly, and funny. And he loved his family. It’s hard to believe that he was gone so fast. I can’t imagine how his wife and daughter feel. It has to be horrible. I pray that they will find comfort in the Lord and His plan and that they will find peace. Another friend said that John went the best way possible; loving life and happy one minute, the next in the precious of the Lord in Heaven. No pain or suffering. That is the way to go!

 John serving up the ball!

 The green team! The beach volleyball tournament champions!

It definitely makes you think about how precious life is and makes me reflect on my own life. We aren’t promised tomorrow, so we should live our lives like we are leaving the earth tomorrow. Last night, reminded me to be bold in my faith, to share my faith with those people around me, to live out the love of Christ, and to not be afraid, but to trust that the Lord will use me. How selfish of me to keep quiet and not to share the good news with everybody I come into contact with. Yes, it is easier said than done. But I pray that God will show me the opportunities to share, and give me the confidence and words to do so. 

My time in Dubai is quickly coming to a close. I have about a month left here. I will be sad to leave, but I am excited to get back home! I've also been a little anxious about going home. And not in a good way! Yes, there are a lot of people and things that I want to get back to, but there is one that I am dreading. The fact that I will not have a job. It's had me a little stressed and worried. I really should have started looking for a job in December when I first got here, knowing it takes several months. To be honest, it's a little daunting to think about searching for a job, filling out all the applications, and sending out emails. I have done this all before, with really no luck, so it's hard for me to justify spending all the time when I haven't seen results in the past. So, readers, I would love your help!! If you know of any job or know of anybody who would know of something, please pass it along to me!!! It would be greatly appreciated! And I'm open to anything. So no matter what type of job it is, send it my way! Thanks!!

Okay so the other week I went to the Gold Souk and Heritage Village which are two local marketplaces here in Dubai. They are both right by the Dubai Creek. The Heritage Village is on this side of the creek and the Gold Souk is the opposite side of the creek. I first went to the Heritage Village. It was earlier in the morning so there weren't a whole lot of people there and I was one of maybe 5 girls there so, of course, as soon as all the vendors saw me coming, they came out to meet me, saying, "Madam, come to my shop. I have pashminas, tops, shoes (etc.). I give you good price!"

After Heritage Village, I rode a dhow boat across the creek to the Gold Souk. I did this a few weeks ago with my friend Brian. I wanted to do a little shopping so I decided to go by myself so I could take my time.

Me on the dhow boat. I know, another picture of me by myself!

The Gold Souk (pretty much same as Heritage Village)

The shoes were so little!

Spices

Here are a few other pictures from around town

Speed limit sign

UAE flag