“Can you eat sushi in Hinduism?” I asked.

He tilted his head, surprised by the question “Oh the fish?”

“Yes, I wasn’t sure if there were certain food laws you had to follow,” I replied.

“Ya, we can have sushi. The only thing we are not supposed to have is beef because we believe that a cow is a god. What about for you?”

It is time to pray, God spoke as I walked into the mall Sunday afternoon. Hunger was the motivating factor that kept me from taking the 30-minute metro ride home – the mall was just a few stops from church. My destination was the food court which sat to the left of the metro exit. Turn right, God spoke again. Suddenly my hunger was a far-off thought.

I talked to God as I walked and came across a sign that read, “angels coming soon.” I paused. This was new. I took another right and ended up down a quiet hallway. At the end of it sat an art gallery, EDEN.

The UAE is in a 40 day mourning period following the death of her president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan on May 13. There was a three day mourning period where schools and government offices were closed. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was voted in as the next president.

Saturday evening, 6:30 p.m. We walk up the stairs into the compound where we meet, face mask on (as always), and present “green status” on our country’s COVID-19 tracking app to the man at the door (again, as always). After that, we’re free to enter the place where we gather for worship. That’s the routine every week – or at least it has been the last three that I’ve been here.

A group of believers came to the UAE to visit Expo 2020 and see the sights of Dubai.  One evening they decided to go out and see who they could get into conversation with to share the Great News of Jesus.  Some were experienced in sharing their faith while others were not.  Bill, one of the younger group members, was almost paralyzed by fear to talk to strangers. 

It's Friday, one o'clock in the afternoon. Friday is the sacred day of worship in the UAE's primary religion, as directed by their holy book. On regular days, we hear the call to prayer go out five times each day, plus the actual prayer about 20 minutes after each call. But on Fridays, the day of congregational prayer, in addition to each call and prayer we also hear the Friday sermon in the afternoon.