Status

I finally went to the Kuwait Towers! There's the picture. it wasn't very impressive & the Horizon Restaurant was overpriced, having to pay for the bread they brought & the bottle of water- the bad kind of water that gives you kidney stones from all the sodium that we get for FREE where I work. Want a cup of salt? LOL! Most classy restaurants I've been to in Kuwait bring the bread & bottled water free of charge, but since Kuwait towers IS the main tourist destination, it is no wonder they overcharged.

Though the towers themselves weren't impressive- still, I was very happy to be there. Inside the towers they had 2 viewing sections within one of the spheres. There were pictures hung on the walls of all the damage the 'Iraqi Invaders' caused. It was crazy to eat at such a nice restaurant- the Horizon- and then see the pictures of the place completely tore up....and all of this was about 21 years ago! 1990 wasn't too long back. But growing up in America- very safe from outside war- it was wild to see the residuals of a war torn country. So given the history & recent events of Kuwait, I felt privileged to stand there in the towers where the Iraqi army invaded, destroyed, but did not succeed in overtaking Kuwait (thanks to America of course).

Now in regards to how I'm doing.

My job is on a contract basis. My current contract ends in about 2 1/2 weeks. A new company is taking over & I have accepted a job with them. It's been crazy at work because there were rumors that we were going to get a 6 month extension which ended up NOT being the case. Then we have been told that EVERYONE has to be repatriated to their Home of Record, even those who will be working with the new contract, because something about the Kuwait Immigration law stipulates that in order for new sponsorship, the current resident visa needs to be cancelled, repatriation is required, and then we have to start the whole process again to get my residency back & then the company has to fly us all back into the country. Whether or not that's going to happen I still don't know. So far all I know is that I will be staying beyond the current contract & will transition in with the new company.

But this whole situation has been stressful because even the new company who hired only a small portion of the workforce already here, has said our jobs are not guaranteed yet. There are about 2500+ jobs right now that the new company is taking over. Only about 500+ are being given to Americans and the rest will be given to Indians who will be paid pennies. This, for a company who underbid to begin with & has a started a terrible transition.

Now on to the next topic.

Living in this part of the world is crazy. Everyday, like in the States on tv, I hear about bombings here & there. It's so dark in this part of the world. Christians are being targeted, even innocent Shiite Muslims on their way to the Mosques are targets. Seriously, I am so mad to my core of all the wicked stunts pulled. In Moscow a bomb went off yesterday killing 35.....my heart literally hurts! It's like the wicked are winning & the people of God? What are we doing? To speak out against evil will make us bigoted, non-tolerant, or targets of some psycho's rage. I sincerely cry out to the Lord: COME QUICKLY LORD JESUS! But I know that MILLIONS of people are not ready for eternity....

Sometimes I feel like David- not that I'm being chased by a psycho & have my life threatened (not that I know of at least), but when King David cries out to the Lord saying that the wicked are successful in their schemes, that the Holy name of God is being trampled upon, appealing for God's intervention to bring back justice.....that's how I feel! I pray saying "God why don't you
stop this? Please foil the plans of those who plot to do evil & murder people who are not yet ready for eternity! Prevent every bomb from being detonated, cause the bullet to miss its target and avoid causing harm to people!"

I speak of terrorism so much because even though conceptually we all know it's a reality- It never ached my heart when I was in America. It was so easy to be in denial of what was going on in the world, so easy to just forget about it & go on with my own world. Not like there was anything I could do about it anyway right?

Even sitting in the Middle East I feel helpless....I have the spirit of an activist...a protestor...a representative....a crusader....but I haven't joined any human rights group yet...what I do is pray. My face has been pushed in the dirt of the persecuted church, terrorism, & social injustices (human trafficking, domestic abuse, mistreatment of servants, etc). Even with Westerners who work for our same company going to different countries like Thailand or even here in Kuwait, getting their 'needs' met by prostitutes....I mean, it's none of my business & who am I to judge? But some of those prostitutes have most likely been forced into prostitution, drugged up, or been so sexually abused that they no longer feel any intimacy in sex but see it as a business or straight up pleasure they need for themselves. Every prostitute has a story.

So I pray- for the victims. That's all I can do....though I wish I could do more.