This was our first time to travel through Dubai. After out last visit in ’13, British Airways stopped flying to Lusaka, so we had to change things up a bit. Emirates flies the Airbus A380, and it is an ingenious modern marvel. We're pretty in love with this monstrosity that can fly. 15 hours to Dubai was no joke, but having that much room made it somewhat bearable. The Emirates staff is incredible too!
The baby slept decently for being in a plane for so long. He was given a little bassinet that he could sleep in, and it worked some of the time. The rest of the team slept as we could. It's never easy to get comfy on a plane after that many hours.
We landed in Dubai just shortly before sunset. Emirates puts passengers with overnight layovers in local hotels and provides meals, so made our way to our assigned hotel. Someone on our team noticed that there was an evening bus tour of the city for a decent price. As tired as we all were, none of us wanted to pass up the opportunity to see a few of Dubai's sites.
During dinner, before the bus tour, Isaac saw a kid, sitting with his family, who was wearing a Mays School of Business shirt. Isaac mentioned to me that an Aggie was sitting near us. I got up to go say Howdy because that's just what Ags do when we're thousands of miles from Aggieland. Turns out the kid and his parents and sister were on their way to Lusaka as well to work with another ministry. His sister was also in the same sorority as me, so that was fun. It's hard to hear Ags say they graduated in '13 or will in '17 because it makes me feel old! Ha.
The bus tour was amazing. Dubai was lit up for Eid, the last night of Ramadan. Everyone was out, celebrating the end of the fast. Ramadan is always a time Isaac and I pray for our Muslim friends and neighbors. During their fast, they pray that Allah (the Arabic word for God), will reveal himself to them. We pray for Truth to be revealed to them during their earnest searching. To be in Dubai, watching families and friends celebrate the end of the holiday was a humbling experience. We will always continue to pray that the God of all reveals His Truth to those who are seeking Him.
It was 98 outside at 10:00 PM, and with the dew point and humidity, it felt more like 114. All of our cameras fogged up each time we stepped out of the bus. Still, in the moonlight and the city lights, we saw the Jumeirah Mosque, the Palm Jumeirah, Atlantis, and Burj Khalifa. We also stopped at the public beaches of the Persian Gulf near Burj Al Arab, so I have a seashell from there and stuck my feet in the water. The Arabs call the Gulf the Arab Gulf because of their cultural differences with the Persians (Iran). That very much intrigued me as I’ve never heard the Persian Gulf called anything else. It also struck me that my toes in the water on the Dubai coast of the Gulf might be the closest my little feet ever get to being in Iran. It’s a nation that is always heavy on my heart, and one I pray for constantly. It was heartbreaking earlier in the day to fly over it and see it from the air as we skirted around Iraq and Syria. Someday, we’ll all live in peace!
It was a pretty restless night for many of us. The hotel was nice, but out poor bodies were so confused, especially Man Cub’s. Isaac and the baby walked the lobby much of the night. Man Cub made friends with all of the hotel staff, endearing them to himself rather quickly. Shine, kiddo, shine!
The plane ride from Dubai to Lusaka wasn’t so nice. It was a smaller plane and very crowded. We managed though, thank You, Lord!
I want to visit Dubai again someday for the sole purpose of visiting Dubai. It’s beautiful, and I want to really see and experience it while not jet-lagged and in more than 2 hours.
1 comment:
Glad things are going well! Your little guys is such a trooper!
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