Hi everyone!
So this is my first blog post for our short-term missions trip to Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
The first part of our trip didn't go too well, in fact, it didn't really happen. We were scheduled to fly out of Toronto Pearson Airport at 4:00 to Washington D.C., and then catch our connecting flight to Dubai. Unfortunately for us, our flight got delayed by an hour and 15 minutes, so if we stayed on that flight, we would've missed our connection. But God was obviously on our side as we managed to get on a better flight, one that would've cost us more to begin with, but we had to take out all our luggage and then re-check in, which was a pain.
*Fun Fact*
We were technically in the USA for about an hour because we passed through US Customs.
Luckily for us, we were switched to an Air Canada flight to Frankfurt, and then a connecting flight to Dubai with Lufthansa. We were extremely blessed as Nora and I got bulkhead row seats with an empty seat in the middle. I was also fortunate to be able to sleep through both flights. We finally made it to Frankfurt at 6:30 AM local time, where we had an extremely long 6-hour layover. We struggled to get wifi, but once again, we had God on our side, and we were finally able to connect and email everyone, as well as contact our host family to let them know we were delayed.
Eventually, we were able to board the flight to Dubai. We arrived shortly before midnight on the 17th but we couldn't drive to Abu Dhabi right away and disturb our host family at 2 AM. So we went to visit the pastor of the Chinese church in Dubai. He and his wife were extremely welcoming and we ended up spending what was left of the night there before we headed out for Abu Dhabi. Something I found interesting about that particular building was the unit numbering. The five floors were marked G, 1, 2, 3, and 4, G being the ground floor with no units. However, when we got off at the fourth floor, the units were marked in the 500s. This was confusing to no end but we found where we were going, regardless.
The next morning, we drove to Abu Dhabi, where we met our host family. The route to Abu Dhabi was quite uneventful, but I was extremely surprised to find one of my favourite Japanese drinks at the gas station convenience store! Turns out that the UAE really is that multicultural. They have everything, from Tim Hortons, to Carrefour, to Daiso!
Our host family is wonderful. They have 2 kids: a boy who is a year older than me, and a girl who is a year younger than me. I also learned that the parents are originally from Manitoba and that the mom actually taught at Spirit of Math for a period of time while they were living in Ottawa. They are a great family and are so generous for taking our whole group of six into their home.
Anyways, when we got to their house, the first thing everyone wanted to do was to take some time to unwind, unpack, and shower, after our 2 days of travel. Today was really a day to get whatever we needed to get done done and running errands. Of course, we started a with a team devos and prayer time, discussing Jeremiah 29:11. We talked about God's plan for us and all the local people we will be meeting. Then, we headed out to run errands. Our first stop was the Mushrif Mall, where we had a quick lunch before going to Carrefour. At Carrefour, we were able to stock up on fruits (ESSENTIAL!) and other breakfast items, as well as buy dates as souvenirs (the fruit, not a person). I was very surprised to see Carrefour, a French supermarket, in Abu Dhabi. I also got to add to my Coca-Cola collection! Yay! I found 2 special edition large cans in honour of the Brazil Fifa World Cup, as well a mini can with Arabic writing on it. I was very surprised to see Carrefour, a French supermarket, in Abu Dhabi. Speaking of surprised, I was also in awe at all the Western franchises that have found their way to the Middle East, including our favourite, Tim Hortons, as well as Wendy's, Subway, Baskin-Robbins, etc. Then in the afternoon, we went to the framing shop to get the painting framed (which was absolutely gorgeous, just saying). Another shock to see that you can bargain with the framers, which you wouldn't be able to do at a similar shop in Toronto. Finally, for dinner, we had Popeyes chicken. We really need to cut down on junk food. Luckily for me, I did find my favourite Chinese Fuji apples at the supermarket, so that helps. After dinner, we went back to the house and everyone decided to settle down earlier in to help with the jet lag. Busy day ahead tomorrow.
Thanks for reading! Please continue to pray for our team; we will need all the support we can get!
-Lydia :)
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