Independent Consultant with a Hawaiian Shirt

Today's message from the chaplain was from Luke 5:1-11 titled, "Growing Deeper in Your Faith". He noted four stages of growing deeper based on the text: 1. Growing in my faith begins with obedience. (vv.4,5) 2. My obedience unleashes God's blessings. (vv.6,7) 3. God's blessings inspire worship: It's a heart issue. (vv.8,9) 4. Once God has our heart, the Real Adventure begins. (vv.10,11) After the service, I walked across to the gym for a good workout. These days, good is defined as exhaustion to the point of nausea. I showered and dressed, and went for Subway for lunch. I then returned to church for the Gospel service at the invitation of my students. I was blessed by the enthusiasm and participation of the attendees. In the evening one of my students hosted a get-together at her place for all of us in the class. We enjoyed a catered Soul Food dinner, followed by time around the swimming pool. Eventually I made it back to the hotel to get to bed. I've got ...

Shoes just don't last in the desert. Within a couple of weeks of being out here, my Dr. Scholl's dress shoes came apart. I took them to Dubai and had them repaired, only to have them come apart again. My black Reebok basketball shoes have filled in as desert boots, only to have the leather wear down due to the constant rubbing of the sand. The new running shoes I bought in Dubai are starting to come apart from the bottom piece by piece. I don't know what to do. I've looked around at what most people do here. And most of the desert natives go with sandals. There are sandal shops everywhere, and people seem happy to wear sandals with just about everything. Maybe I just have to go with sandals until I get back to a friendlier terrain. Just a little bit frustrating.

Happy Birthday Mom! This evening's food adventure involved Argentine beef at The Gaucho Grill, courtesy of Leo. He invited me out to this place, one of his favorite restaurants here in Kuwait. We arrived a bit early, and took a moment to walk around the property. From the beach we were able to see what has been certified by Guiness as the world's largest dhow (traditional Arabic sailboat) in drydock, which is used for functions by another adjoining restaurant: The steak dinner was a welcome change from Room Service Hammour, and it was nice to sit with Leo and Nina and enjoy dinner conversation. After dinner we retired to the Starbucks next door for coffee and more conversation. It's not hard to find a Starbucks here. In fact, according to the Starbucks web site, there are 45 stores in Kuwait. While that doesn't sound like a whole lot, I can assure you that as small as Kuwait is, it seems that there is a Starbucks just about everywhere you want to be. Tomorrow is a rare ...

No takers on naming my dish buddy from 2 days ago. So here's what I had: Lawrence the Lima Bean. Speaking of responses, I must say that they have been the highlight of each day. Each comment, no matter how small, serves to reconnect me with you and, by extension, everyone at home. Every note, e-mail or thought has been most welcome. I have filed every response in a special folder just to remind myself that there are a lot of people who care about me, as I care about them. But there is one writer who understands the effects of separation on the heart, and he has been the most prolific writer of all: My father. He's replied to even the most mundane of posts. He's been able to hear the loneliness in my words. And each time he picks up on a tinge of sadness or loneliness, he's quick to respond with a kind word. He knows me better than most, and he loves me a lot. But he's not the only father looking out for me here. Our Father in Heaven is also looking out for me. He h...

Nearly 2 hours of racquetball did me in today. I'm hitting the shower and turning in early. Be home in eight days.

I finally figured out room service. Today after another devastating loss at the tennis court (2-6, 3-6, 2-6 and two pounds), I trudged back to the room for dinner and a shower. I was tired of the same old thing on the menu, so I tried the Kidz Menu. Not much irritates me more than the spelling of "Kidz", but that was one page I hadn't yet ordered from. As I read through the standard offerings - hot dog, hamburger, spaghetti - I found the Grilled Hammour listed. Great, a smaller portion and it comes with a side salad instead of French Fries. I called down and ordered it up along with a Fresh Fruit Salad. I popped in the shower and, after drying off, the food arrived. Take a look at what arrived: Not a bad spread! The French Fries were not helpful, so I left them as they were. I put the bread basket to the side. But the best part is the plate with the hammour and steamed vegetables. Look closely. Do you see that? Here's a close-up: Isn't he the cutest? I was so temp...

Driving around today, it hit me: I'll be home in ten more days. What will it really be like to be home? I've gotten quite used to high temperatures, blowing sand, eating and sleeping by myself. What about the family? How will they take to having me back home? Will they be happy to have Daddy back, or will they dread the return of Law and Order's prime enforcer? That last thought made me smile. Whether they like it or not, I'll be home soon. After work I came back to the room and ate some leftovers from Saturday's dinner. Then I met Gil on the tennis courts for a sound thrashing. The first set was promising, but then he got wise to my lack of serve and began to place shots in the corners. Final score: 5-7, 0-6, 3-6. Following the tennis match I went to fill up my car with gas and pick up my laundry. The lines were so long at the gas station I decided to not wait. Fetching my laundry, I returned to the hotel room. A short Skype session with home gave me enough time to...

After being out late last night I slept in until 7:30am this morning. Shaking off the sleepy dust I headed down for breakfast. It was there that I decided to forgo church this morning in favor of getting caught up on some schoolwork and study for the upcoming conference. Overall I had a productive day studying. Later in the afternoon, I took a break from studying and went downstairs for a workout. About halfway through the second set of today's InnerFight workout I felt my stomach heave and I thought I was about to revisit lunch. I stopped to catch my breath and wait for everything to settle down. After a few minutes the nausea subsided, but my legs were very much jello-like. I went to the locker room, exchanged my workout clothes for a swimsuit and headed to the beach for the first time. As I was walking towards the water the sun was setting behind the hotel. When I stepped into the water, something was missing - the initial shock you get when you step into cold water. This water ...

Today is Saturday, and the last one that I'll spend teaching. After class today I went back to the hotel for a bit of a rest before heading back and meeting the students for a field trip. Because the Kuwait Towers are closed during the day for Ramadan, we skipped them and went for dinner at Mais AlGhanim. There, we enjoyed another fabulous meal with great conversation. This group of students is a lively bunch, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time together. After dinner we headed over to the Marina Mall, and walked around for quite a while. Nothing unusual in this mall crawl, and I've already been through the maze of shops here before. But it was fun to see the students enjoy the time outside of class and on the town. Tomorrow is church, and I'm so looking forward to it. I certainly need the refreshment. Talk to you soon! Blessings, Khalaf.

To celebrate 50 days of being in the Gulf, and looking to be home in 13 days, I've compiled a list of 50 Things I'll Miss When I Leave the Gulf: The desert The sand The wind Open roads for driving My little Toyota Corolla Jazeera Airways Cheap falafel sandwiches Good shawarmas Hammour Rugby practice The view of the waterfront from my hotel room The breakfast buffet The friends I've made - Keith & Leah, Leo, Nina The students I've met Figuring out Cricket - that "baseball"-like game which schedules breaks for lunch and high tea Al-Hallab - the best Lebanese sandwich shop in Dubai Shuttle bus service from the parking lot to the classroom The hotel staff that knows me by name Duty-free shopping in Dubai Dubliner's - authentic fish & chips across the street from my brother's house Watching sports coverage with Arabic play-by-play (soccer goals are just as exciting in Arabic as they are in Spanish) Western stores with translated logos Crazy drivers ...

It's almost unfair that I haven't introduced you to my sidekick on this Kuwaiti adventure. He's been a faithful companion, always there for me and keeping me cool in the most challenging of situations: My rental car - the Toyota Corolla. Recall when I first landed in Kuwait, the hotel shuttle was nowhere to be found. So I rented a car from the airport. At the rental counter I was offered a Corolla for about KD 165/month (roughly US$625), or the Camry for KD 220/month (roughly US$840). Being somewhat frugal I opted for the Corolla. Once I saw what I asked for I began to wonder whether I should have gone with the Camry. The Corolla looked so small as if it could have fit into my suitcase. I thought about legroom, safety and prestige. Could I really be seen driving this tiny little 4-cylinder tin can? Setting aside whatever reservations I had in favor of getting to the hotel, I tossed my suitcases in and headed for the hotel. I noticed immediately, much to my delight, that I h...

The sandstorms are something quite remarkable. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I've posted these photos to express the difference between a "clear" day and a "dusty" day. I took the "clear" pictures from the same spots as the "dusty" pictures, just to give you a frame of reference. Enjoy! http://picasaweb.google.com/khalaf.writes/DustStorms

A long day at the office with nothing spectacular to report. The dust storms have calmed considerably, and visibility is a lot better. I'm pretty tired, so I'm going to bed early tonight.

This morning as I was getting ready to go back to work I looked out the window and saw...nothing. It was as if a beige fog had settled in as far as I could see. Making my way to the car I strained to see as far as I could. I reckoned that my visibility was less than a mile. A massive dust storm was underway, and fine particulate sand was up in the air. Unlike dust devils, which whip the sand into a funnel cloud and stings upon contact, this dust storm just hung as far as the eye could see. As I felt the wind blowing I couldn't help but wonder how much sand was going straight into my lungs. I met my new group of students today. They are a quieter bunch than the previous ones. Hopefully over the next couple of days I'll figure out where they're at and be able to better connect with them. After class I went out to the bus stop to catch the shuttle to the parking lot. The dust was so thick I couldn't see the sun. The effect of the dust blocking the sun was that it was easie...

Just as I did three weeks ago, I saw my brother and his wife off to work. I packed my suitcase, played with my niece and set off for the airport. A five-minute walk later found me inside the terminal building. I checked in early for the flight and made my way up to the business lounge to wait for the flight to begin boarding. In the meantime I helped myself to a newspaper and some lunch. Although it is Ramadan and eating in public is forbidden, inside the airport it is business as usual. The flight itself was fairly routine. The plane was rather empty. So I was able to move up to the front row and have it all to myself. Upon landing in Kuwait I went straight to the visa counter with my pre-filled application and KD 3 in exact change. I know the routine, and thought to speed things up as quickly as I could. It worked, as a few minutes later I was through Passport Control and on my way to the car I left in the parking lot. When I left Kuwait last week I noted some strong winds were blowi...

Today was a quiet day of rest marked by eating, napping, watching rugby (Australia-New Zealand for the Bledisloe Cup and the Tri-Nations Championship) and overall rest. I couldn't believe that I took another two hour nap today. I suppose deep down my body has been craving the downtime. Tomorrow I'm flying back to Kuwait. I'm looking forward to getting back to work. Less than three weeks to go and I'll be home. See you then!

This morning we woke up and got ready for church. My niece was getting over some virus, so my brother and I went ourselves to church. The message from Ephesians 1:9-14 was titled, "What is God's Plan for Your Life?" You can download it from http://www.uccdubai.com/ . After church we made our way back to the house for a low-key afternoon in anticipation of the season opener for the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union 2008-2009 season ( http://www.agrfu.com/ ). It was an away game to Abu Dhabi, so we met up at the rally point at 4:00pm. There, the team showed up and boarded a bus while my brother and I drove up in his SUV. I was invited to join the team on the bus, but I thought it better to give the players some space in preparing for the big game. For the game, my brother gave me some spare kit (uniform in American English) so that I would blend in on the sidelines. My job tonight was to be the waterboy, and I wanted to do my part. Local rules variations allow for water to ...

This morning I woke up feeling some soreness on my right side. Yes, rugby got the better of my rib cage. But I'm not complaining - it was still a lot of fun. If I can somehow find a job out here, I know exactly how I will stay in shape. Speaking of which, after breakfast I scanned through the job boards to see whether there were any opportunities. But just as quickly as I looked at them I realized how expensive it would be to live out here. Tuition for each kid would be over $10,000 and rent would be over $5000/month. So much for that idea. Instead I went to the mall just to walk around and look around. This being Ramadan, not much was happening. My brother picked me up and we had a late lunch back at the house. After lunch I took a nap which ended up lasting two hours. My body must have needed that rest more than I realized. Later in the evening we went across the street to an Iftar tent. Iftar is the breaking of the fast, and many hotels set up air-conditioned tents to host the f...

This morning I focused on prayer and study for The Grapevine Project ( http://www.thegrapevineproject.org/ ). Less than 40 days to go and there is so much to be done. I'm looking forward to spending time with the students, encouraging them to follow God wholeheartedly and live according to God's word. It's always a wonderful weekend, filled with challenges and blessings. Please pray for us from now. After lunch I rested around the house, even taking an afternoon nap. Rugby practice was at 7:00pm and I wanted to have every ounce of energy for it. After being on the InnerFight workout method for the past 2+ weeks I wanted to see if there was any difference. There was. We got to the rugby club and I was quickly greeted by some familiar faces. Most of the guys didn't know me from Adam, and that was OK. After a warmup and stretching period the coach divided the first team from the second team, as both groups are playing on Friday. Since I wasn't named to the first squad ...

Sixteen days ago I met a new group of students. They came in from all different places. Some knew each other, others didn't. It was very much like the first day of school. I came into the room, we introduced ourselves to each other and began learning about Microsoft Vista. Today, we all went our separate ways. And as I addressed them for the last time as a group I felt a twinge of sadness. This group grew on me. Their energy and the dynamic was so much like a high school youth group that I really enjoyed it. I hope and pray that they keep in touch. As I left for the airport I realized that I left a bunch of shirts hanging in my hotel closet. So I rushed back to the hotel, and housekeeping was gracious enough to have kept them to the side for me. Grabbing the shirts I darted off to the airport and made it with time to spare. The flight itself was uneventful and after landing, I made my way to my brother's house (yes, walking!). It was good to see family again, especially my niec...

I rolled out of bed at 5:15am this morning, only to realize I was 15 minutes late for the conference call for The Grapevine Project. I Skyped onto the call and was welcomed by Walid, Ash and Maya. I am exceedingly blessed to be counted as a co-worker with these beautiful servants of the Lord. Their devotion to God and their dedication to service is an enormous blessing and encouragement to me. As refreshing as it was to hear them and fellowship with them I didn't want the call to end, but it did at 6:45am. So I zipped through the rest of the morning routine and headed off to the office. This is week 3 with the second group. It is a short week, as the class will end tomorrow. It's been a good journey with this group. When I was asked to describe the difference between the two classes to this point I characterized them this way: The first group felt like family, brothers and sisters looking out for each other. The second group felt like a high-school youth group, with energy and ...

Sunday is a great day around here. It always starts with breakfast, moves on to church and ends with me doing something about my laundry. Today's sermon was another bullseye to my heart. It was titled, "How to Know God More". The chaplain didn't have one text; instead, he demonstrated inductively how to go about knowing God more. Here are the notes: Obstacles to Knowing God More - Seeking worldly ideals (peer pressure) - Self-sufficiency (sinfulness) - Losing sight of our priorities (busyness) - Getting caught off guard (life) - Poor personal leadership (entitlement) - Laziness (making comfort our priority) Think Differently! 1 Corinthians 3:19, 2 Corinthians 10:3, Romans 12:2, Colossians 2:20, Colossians 3:2 Four Steps to Thinking Differently: 1. Pursue holiness, not happiness - Happiness is an empty pursuit. Happiness will only be achieved as a byproduct of a more noble, more fulfilling pursuit. - 1 Peter 2:14, 1 Thessalonians 4:7, Jude 20, Hebrews 12:14 2. Pursue ...

Today after class I took Chris up on his offer to work out with him at the gym by the classroom. Chris is one of the students in the class, and a genuinely pleasant person. They must do something right in Texas because anyone I ever meet from Texas is nothing but sweet and polite. We got to the gym and began working out. Chris is much fitter than I am and had no problems running on the treadmill. My cardio warmup was limited to about 5 minutes to get my heart pumping before hitting the weight room for my InnerFight workout. Today's circuit was the Butterfly. I managed to make it through the first two sections with little difficulty. The wide grip pull-ups were made possible by a Gravitron 2000 machine which offered some "assistance" - a counterbalancing weight which carried over half my body weight so that I could do the pull-ups. Sadly, by the time I rolled into the third section my arms gave out and I nearly cracked my skull with the 20-lb dumbbell in my left hand. (OK,...

A routine day at the office capped with another room service dinner and a lack of desire to do anything else but crash early for the night. No exciting entry today - sorry!

After work today I lingered around the office for a while. I was in no hurry to go back to the hotel, so I poked around and treated myself to a scoop of Baskin-Robbins ice cream - some Cappucino Crunch thingy. It tasted like tiramisu in ice cream form, with little chunks of espresso chocolate and crunch thrown in for good measure. That has to be a fun job - inventing new flavors for Baskin-Robbins. I wonder how one goes about getting into something like that. I finally headed back to the hotel. Today was particularly humid, as my sunglasses instantaneously fogged up when I stepped out of the car. Undaunted, I trudged back up to my hotel room to unwind before going out to play tennis. By now I can't blame the heat, and I can't blame the humidity: 2-6, before calling it a night. My shirt and shorts were soaked through within 10 minutes of being outside. And chasing down shots added to the fun (!). Yes, this time I got my heart rate up and maintained it, all while sweating to wher...

After an unspectacular day yesterday marked by a fierce bout of homesickness, I bounded out of bed looking for a jump start. I didn't find it. So I pressed on, going through the motions of finding an ironed shirt to complement my dress pants, black dress socks and my Reebok hi-top basketball shoes decorated with drips of paint from the last assault on the walls back home. No, I'm not that clumsy and it wasn't dark. You see, between the desert heat, walking over some uneven terrain and all that sand and dust, my Dr. Scholl's super-comfortable, save-my-back-and-legs-while-standing-for-8-hours-a-day shoes finally gave out. The sole on the left shoe was detached from the boot under the heel and the right heel has strangely shifted by about 1/2 inch. Not having thought to pack a hot glue gun to make the necessary repairs, I opted for Plan B. Perhaps this weekend or next I will supplement the wardrobe through a trip to the mall. I've already split one pair of pants by jus...

Today was a rather forgettable day. So instead of boring you with the mundane, I thought to post some pictures and get you caught up with my camera. I hope you enjoy them! http://picasaweb.google.com/khalaf.writes/Day33FillerPics

Today was Labor Day, and I had the day off. I took it easy much like most folks back home. I woke up, had breakfast, went back to my room and started in on a catch-up list of reading and writing. About mid-morning I decided to head downstairs for an InnerFight workout, and made it through the entire set. As lunchtime approached I was brought face-to-face with the reality that today is the start of Ramadan. Ramadan is a special month on the Islamic calendar. The main feature of this month, as many of you know, is that devout Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. They neither eat nor drink, and the placement of anything in one's mouth is forbidden. In fact the most devout will go so far as to continually expel the saliva from their mouths for fear of violating the prophet's edict. There are several interesting side effects of this. For starters, restaurants are closed during the day as nobody can be seen eating or drinking in public. If one is caught breaking this law, they are in...