Jazhntan Piroz Bet!

For the next 3 days we will be celebrating Jazhn by visiting neighbours and friends to mark the end of Ramadan -- a holiday also known as the "sugar holiday".

Elliana had a blast going from house to house collecting sweets.. Meanwhile, I've had my fair share of sweets and downed at least 10 Pepsi's, Fanta's and chai in the last 2 hours!!!

What fun it is to join in this Muslim holiday... As we go we pray for the Prince of Peace to fill their hearts and homes!

A Ramadan Way of Life

So much has happened here since my last blog post that I could have easily have written an entry every day, despite being sufficiently sleep deprived. As it stands it is 2am as I begin writing this update.. and so I will attempt to be brief.

What you must understand however is that I am just joining in with 90% of Soran who is most likely wide awake in the Bazaar or in their homes as I write. And in more ways than one we have certainly become well acquainted with the Ramadan way of life. 

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We got thunder, lightning and rain in July... almost unheard of!

In short, during Ramadan, which falls during the ninth month of the Islamic year, observant Muslims abstain from eating, drinking and smoking from sunrise to sunset.  

This holiday commemorates the period when Muhammad is said to have received the first recitations of the Quran from Allah via the angel Gabriel.

We quickly learnt that people will sleep during the day and feast and work and socialize into the wee hours of the morning. 

During the first week of Ramadan we had a plumber in our home working until 1:45am. We have had several water deliveries between 1am and 3am. And just this week we had blinds installed in our home at 11pm. 

Watching the sun rise from my roof-top as the water filled my tanks!!

Good thing is I am a night owl and so it hasn’t been too difficult to be up so late… I just wish our sweet children would allow us to sleep in past 5:30am.

During Ramadan there are many Muslims whose hearts are truly seeking God. Would you join with us in prayer that Jesus would reveal Himself to them in a life-changing way!

Thanks for journeying with us,

Tim