Dubai

A few weeks ago, Sophie, Jen, Oriwa and I escaped the Kingdom for a short 60 hours. We flew to Dubai and shopped, spa’ed, ate out in leisure, drove and dressed freely. We inhaled the salty sea air, I ran, we commiserated together, laughed together and recharged. I think we all felt this way, but it takes leaving it all behind sometimes to realize how badly you needed to step out of it (Saudi, motherhood, the daily grind etc.), even if for only a brief moment. I also, forgot how lovely and splendid Dubai is. I could live there for a decade and be happy. Ole Saudi, bless her. If we end up here for a decade, the Kingdom and I might become a cantankerous old couple.

We got to meet up with some friends from Dubai one night for dinner and Global Village. Oriwa and Sophie know many of them as well, as they too, lived in Dubai for a period of time. Seeing them was like seeing family. It was wonderful.

As chance would have it, we booked our trip the same weekend President Holland was to be in Abu Dhabi dedicating the new Stake Center. The first LDS church owned building in the Middle East and the Muslim world. It was the most remarkable thing I have been able to be a part of thus far into our Middle East experience. While we have had wonderful opportunities as a result of this move, I had, had a hard few weeks and attending this conference was a profound and perspective changing experience for me. President Holland shared some of the details on how this miracle was brought to pass, how the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi had donated the land himself, how a process that normally takes 4 years to accomplish was finished in 18 months, how the hurdles of Middle Eastern culture were nearly abolished.  And then he told the congregation the following, "You all think you are here for work. I am here to tell you that you are not. You are here for a much greater purpose and we're going to let you make the best living you can while fulfilling this greater purpose (always so witty :)" He told us essentially that our jobs, our work, were just a vehicle for us to be in the Middle East to help in the work of pushing the Gospel forward. It was a wonderful and emotional experience for me to not only see prophecies being fulfilled before my eyes, but also to have a re-confirmation that our little family did indeed make the right call and are in the right place doing the right thing despite the difficulties. I understand the role we play here may not be evident for decades to come, but it will help me through my hard days knowing that this experience was worthwhile. He then went on to announce that they had just received approval to purchase a building in Amman, Jordan to remodel and use as a meetinghouse. I could not hold back my emotion. The confirmation of Wade and mine’s decision so many months ago, the Gospel rolling forth into the Muslim world. We sang The Spirit of God and there were some excerpts that will be extraordinarily meaningful to me for the rest of time.

The Spirit of God like a fire is burning!
The latter-day glory begins to come forth;
The visions and blessings of old are returning,
And angels are coming to visit the earth.

The knowledge and power of God are expanding;
The veil o'er the earth is beginning to burst.

We'll call in our solemn assemblies in spirit,
To spread forth the kingdom of heaven abroad,
That we through our faith may begin to inherit
The visions and blessings and glories of God.

How blessed the day when the lamb and the lion
Shall lie down together without any ire,

A Christian church in the Muslim world is a phenomenon. A building owned outright by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a miracle and a triumph and evidence that the Lord will fulfill his promises. That this Gospel will be preached in every land, in every tongue. Saudi Arabia is a long ways behind the UAE and proselyting is still strictly prohibited throughout the entire Arab world, but the fact that some countries are now willing to let you worship how you wish in their land, when it’s not Islam is an enormous step in the right direction.

(This is the only LDS Church signage in the world that is missing, ‘visitors welcome’.)

I thought my facial at the Address Hotel would be impossible to one up, but attending that meeting was a marked and exceptional experience and one I shall hold dear for many years to come.