This morning I was reading Daniel 3 in preparation for our fellowship time. Nebuchadnezzar's response in verse 28 seemed particularly applicable - "who trusted in God, did not heed the king's command, and yielded their bodies." I suddenly asked myself, "Why did I come here if not to yield my body?" A verse came to mind soon after, "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me." As much as I struggle knowing that my family is going through a hard time without me, I must walk confidently here, letting go of all else, in the knowledge that this yielding is part of obedience to His call. It was encouraging to compare the three parts of his statement with Romans 12 - "present your bodies a living sacrifice," "be not conformed to this world."
Walking into fellowship feels like walking into a second family. Our study in Daniel was really edifying. As we looked at the idol that Nebuchadnezzar set up in order to unify the nation, I realized that we can set up idols in the name of "good things" to disguise our true idols. Nebuchadnezzar's idol appeared to be a symbol of nationalism, but later in the passage, it becomes evident that the idol was really a means of demonstrating his power. When the three defy him, and he orders them to be cast in the fire, he taunts, "who can deliver you out of my hand?" In my situation, it is easy to be deceived that I would better serve my family than in any capacity I might serve here. But I was reminded, as we sang to close our time, "we walk by faith and not by sight."
A few other notes from Daniel: we looked at how the people were influenced to worship the idol - fear of punishment and manipulation through music - two tactics used in many cultures and religions. Another encouragement came out of the fact that Daniel is not mentioned in this chapter (he stayed in the king's palace). This is the second part in Nebuchadnezzar's recognition of Who God is, and God uses three other men, apart from Daniel. As we see in the following chapters, the change in Nebuchadnezzar's heart comes from God, men are merely the instruments.
After fellowship, we stayed and visited over snacks. The men went on a walk with the kids, and the five of us ladies had a lively conversation around the table. Around 3, I headed to Andy and Lisa's where we met up to take our friends on a hike up Zawa Mt.
After driving to the top of the mountain, we walked down to these Assyrian carvings:
Sennacherib and his attendants presenting offerings to the gods:
Our team (minus John who was at home with flu) and fellow teachers from Erbil:
The sunset was beautiful:
At the carvings, it started to sprinkle and we decided to head back before the rocks got too slippery. A couple places were a little difficult, but we made it back to the car before it really started to rain. For dinner we went to a really good, inexpensive shwarma restaurant. We were a little conspicuous - 10 American adults and three kids, but we still enjoyed our meal.
My little buddy, Henry:
After dinner we went to Andy and Lisa's to hang out until about 8, then Andy drove us back to our apartment. I caught up on correspondence, then crashed into bed a little before 10 and just before city power went out.
Saturday, January 26th:
This morning I got an email from Mom that was encouraging - things back home have taken a turn for the better. God is faithful to direct our thoughts to Him, then give us the desires of our hearts. I wrote out my test for Sunday with the hope that I would be able to copy it at the school today. At 10, Sarah, John and I went to the auditions for CSM's Got Talent. (The copy machines weren't working, but at least I didn't have to write the tests later in the afternoon.) Sarah and I introduced ourselves as Sharon and Paula - the other judges thought that was pretty funny. One of the local teachers took on the role of Simon :) We had 15 contestants, and all of them talented. Some needed to improve their acts (a lot of the singers needed to project their voices), but we decided to move all of them on to the next round. In one month they will perform again and we will eliminate half; on the same day the finalists will give a second performance and we will choose the top three to go to "Nationals" where they will compete against the other two schools. It was fun to see a different side of our students.
The judges:
One of the teachers gave us a ride home. I started a load of laundry and then the city power went out :( Mary came over and we watched part of the 5-hour BBC version of "Emma." I finished my grading, then took a nap. When city came back on, I finished the laundry, ate dinner, and Skyped with my friend Jess. A great way to end the evening.
