Cold Description

We have been tremendously blessed by God this winter. We have a house that warms up and holds the heat, (in the room where the wood fire is burning). Hamroz can arrange the wood, throw in a match, close the lid and half an hour later, the big logs on top are flaming. I can arrange the wood, care for it intensely for half an hour and burn all of the kindling without starting a fire of any appreciable magnitude. Each one is gifted in our own way.

We hold water on our roof in a big tank. The tank can be filled from the well, through the pump we operate in our front yard, or from water when it is provided from the municipality which happens for 3 or 4 hours at a time, several times per week. But now, our pipes are frozen. I went out with a torch to unfreeze them and ran out of fuel without thawing any pipes – really a special talent of mine. Neighbors told me it is not worth it – unfreezing pipes just ensures that they will freeze again the first night.

The warm room is necessary for Hamroz’ new project. She invented a business that has never existed before in Afghanistan – we call it daycare. The children are already coming. The local government can not quite understand the concept, but I’m sure she’ll get it registered soon.

We hand pump water from our well to use for flushing toilets, washing, etc. We boil water for drinking and an occasional shower. Cold well water is kept in buckets in the bathrooms and kitchen. Now, it is freezing in the buckets.

These are not complaints, but descriptions. If I didn’t describe these things, you wouldn’t know what Hamroz was talking about when she tells stories of how much she hates winter and dreads the cold. Ten degrees Fahrenheit in Philly does not equal ten degrees Fahrenheit in Kabul. We are being blessed and protected; we would not want to be anywhere else. And we are looking forward to seeing you all. In summer, when it is warmer.

Counsel

There is no market for counselors or psychologists in these parts. It is a disgrace to mention personal matters outside the family. Period. After years of war that demolished almost every livable structure, killing was not limited to the battlefields, but was a tribal, even personal, every day occurrence. More than three out of four people living in the city are returning refugees. Without grief counseling.

You can see why my wife was not super excited about pre-marital counseling. Nor did I find anyone in Kabul with the ministry of counseling. There are qualified people, but each one was here for a reason other than to offer counsel. If God wanted us to receive counseling, He would have to send someone special. And He did not. So, we are winging it.

And winging well. Loving my wife is one of the greatest privileges that I have ever had. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to live one another. We both feel blessed to have been joined together. Blessed by the many friends God has given us. Blessed to be living at this time, in this place. Life is good.

Learning

A few sharp Costa Rican boys in their last year of High School became my cultural guides. It was a dynamic relationship; I was twelve years older and the foreigner. They were a close-knit group who reveled in the novelty of my joining them. Together, we wreaked light havoc on the capitol area and beyond.

Some establishments that were glad to accomodate a browsing foreigner would not have been so patient with a group of teenage boys. My guides knew the people of their country well and were the ones who usually understood what was happening around us. But we succeeded in generating the appearance that I was the one in charge of the group and leading. Their language and so much more became clear to me. And they listened to and came to a deep understanding of the gospel. They eventually became a strong wing of our College age discipleship groups, and years later (though they had graduated) were still leading others.

All of which explains one aspect of my relationship with my wife. She knows the people of the region well and understands what is happening around us so much better than I. We maintain the appearance that I am leading, though she is the one who understands the people and their culture so much better. I follow her from in front when we shop; the high pressure shop keepers waste their energy trying to interest me, opening up space for her to quietly buy.