Do I get a T-shirt now?

So, I survived my first Arabic language Bible study! There should be a T-shirt for that or something. We met at Dawson Memorial Baptist, a huge Church in Birmingham It's so large it's more like it's own small city.

Those of us who are born into American culture have certain ideas about time. Our fast-food instant-pudding lifestyle has given us a great impatience. If we say something starts at 6PM, then we expect people to start arriving before then. This isn't so in many other cultures. Things happen at a more relaxed pace. So it was here.

We started with some songs. Pastor John Constantine played the keyboards while a Jordanian gentleman led the singing. I was very impressed with John's playing; it had a very distinctive Eastern sound.

Going into a new Church and singing new hymns can be challenging even in one's native language. Just finding the right page and keeping up is an accomplishment. I was quite proud that I was able to keep up and sing the first hymn in Arabic. There were a few words that I didn't understand, but I could read them well enough to sing right through.

The second hymn was a very energetic and fast-paced song. Frankly, they smoked me like a cheap cigar. I did find the page and move my finger along the words. When we got to the chorus I was able to sing a few words intelligibly. We sang another hymn at normal speed so I was able to recover my wits and keep up again.

Then John asked me to come up and tell the group a little about our family and our ministry. I had no warning on this, so I was very nervous. For maybe two minutes I spoke in Arabic, telling them a little about us and our desire for missions in Lebanon. I had to search for words that I knew a few times, but it wasn't a total embarrassment. So, that was my first speech, I suppose.

John was asking me questions at one point and slipped into English, so I asked him to please keep it in Arabic. Everyone got a laugh out of that. I used "Shukran" for "Thank You" several times and some of the Lebanese let me know that they prefer "Merci" from the French. I mentioned that I would have to forget what I knew of the Egyptian dialect, and an Egyptian lady seated near me said "On, no! Don't forget the Egyptian!" I would imagine that shes spends a lot of time telling her children that.

The sermon was quite good. John was discussing words of Jesus, and tonight he talked about the words of Jesus as he hung on the cross -"I'm Thirsty." Jesus was fully man -he wanted water. Jesus is also fully God. Was there a thirst there also? I think that perhaps he was thirsty for his bride, the Church.

Overall the study went much better than I feared it might. I didn't curl up into a fetal position or sit in the corner confused. I got about half of what was said -the main points I fully understood. Hopefully I can meet with this group once a month at least. I was hoping it would be more Lebanese in nature, but the Bible study is good personal contact even if it's not completely in the dialect I need.