So, here we are almost 7months after our last entry and finally about to head back home to what we still consider to be the greatest country in the world, the United States of America.
Even though we have missed our loved ones dearly. We are so thankful for the past 9 months abroad.
It wasn't easy to decide to head to Doha, Qatar with all the turmoil surrounding the Middle East, knowing we would give birth to Jincy Rose far away from family and friends, and step back into the world of professional basketball. But we felt like it was a leap of faith we were supposed to take.
I'll never forget arriving to the Doha Airport, and feeling like we landed on Mars. The men were all dressed in Thawbs , gahfeyas, and ghutras (long white garments with head coverings) and the women were wearing abayas and hijabs (long black garments with head or full face coverings). Once we made it through customs with a short hold up due to my husband insisting on bringing a large bottle of hot sauce, we stepped outside and it felt even more like Mars with the extreme heat.
Nine months later, abayas and thawbs seem more normal to us than wearing a tank top in public and prayers over the city loud speaker are as ordinary sounding as the never ending car horns. We have learned so much about so many cultures due to Qatar having the largest expat population of any country in the world.
One of the most interesting cultural experiences we had was when we had the pleasure of being invited to dinner at the house of theteam captain, Yaseen Musa who has been playing for Al Rayyan for 20seasons! He is one of the most decorated athletes in the world, enough gold medals to land him a place in the Guinness World Records, but also extremely generous, and has a beautiful family and home.
The coach's wife and I were the only ladies in the dinner party and were invited upstairs to meet the team captain's wife. She's a beautiful and sweet woman from Saudi Arabia who explained to us she wouldn't be coming down for dinner because in their culture they don't believe in mixed company, meaning men and women, unless its immediate family. This and other things she kindly explained about their culture was intriguing to me. After dinner we went back upstairs to say goodbye to her and she had dresses ready to give us that were similar to the one she was wearing which I had complimented. It's not very often a woman opens her closet up to complete strangers to give them memorable gifts. She also sprayed us with her best perfume after dinner as a part of one of their traditions. I hope we are as welcoming to guests as they were to us.
But more importantly than learning about other cultures is that we have gained more love, respect, and empathy for other people. To see how hard people are working in less than good conditions to be able to provide for their families has cultivated a great deal of admiration for the working people here...
For example, when we got news of the earthquakes in Nepal we couldn't just brush it off as something that happened in a far away land because we now had many acquaintances from Nepal and could see the grief on their faces and hear the worry in their voices as they told us about the tragedy and tried to contact their families back home. It hurt us to see that despite how hard they work here most of them couldn't afford to go back home to Nepal. I had seen where one of my Facebook friends posted "Why is Facebook asking me to donate to the people of Nepal? If I wanted to help people I would help out my own country." I felt ashamed, not because of how this person felt but because regrettably, I felt like that was a statement I might have made in the past.
Being here has helped us to care more about ALL people and empathize with the difficulties they face.
We have made so many fond memories here like accidentally driving to Saudi Arabia thanks to my husband refusing to call the beach resort and ask for directions like I encouraged him to do. -Sigh
The people we have got to spend time with this year will always be etched into our hearts. From Uncle Nana & Uncle Marsh ,D.Bolds and Will, Patrick, Katie and Trey,to all of my husband's Rayyan teammates, coaches (and coach's wife), staff, and even opposing teams and their families like Boney, Beata and Bray, Moni & Omar, Emmanuel, Andrea, and their sweet boys, and many more, we couldn't be more thankful for these new family & friends. When you are in a foreign country away from your loved ones, people like these can and did make all the difference.
If any of you know me you know I am the crazy dog lady and treat Nola and Pip like babies. It's very rare that I trust them with anyone so when my husband got the offer to go to Kuwait and had his request granted to bring Jincy and me, my only concern was what will I do about the pups while we travel?
I have grown close to a sweet French girl who married one of Dominic's teammates and knew I could trust her with the task.Thankfully, she was willing to help.
When I tried to bribe her with money her answer amazed me. "I don't want your money, I will do this to help you and for God." And she did, sending me pictures of them everyday, feeding them like Queens and even letting them sleep with her, not for money or anything else but simply to help. People like that are few and far between and very refreshing. She is actually a Muslim and once told me
I was the first "real Christian" she ever met who actually acted Christian. (I took that as a huge compliment)
I could go on and on with stories about the lovely people God has placed in our lives since being here but I think you get the point.
And in case you are wondering how I've been treated as an American woman in the Middle East, my answer is- better than I expected.
I've been shown so much respect from Al Rayyan management , president, and team as well as from Al Gharafa, the team we traveled to Kuwait with. Jincy and I were the only wife and child to make the trip and were treated with so much kindness as we rode the team bus, dined with the team, and were brought strawberry daiquiris (non alcoholic of course) at the tournament games. 
(Jincy and the team aka Snow White and the 7 dwarfs)
(At the game enjoying the royal treatment)
I'm grateful when I say I always felt respected and even honored as a woman here, minus the time Katie Ewing and I weren't allowed on the court to take pictures of our husbands with their championship medals by a man we didn't know. (I asked him why we couldn't go on the court because their were many men taking pictures and he responded by saying "because you're women." I still LOL about this one)
We've learned that the Midde East isn't exactly how the media portrays it to be and just like anywhere else there is good and bad, beautiful and ugly.
Now let me be a proud wife for a moment. As a former basketball player who knows how much hard work, dedication, and perseverance the sport requires, I'd be lying if I didn't say I was over the moon proud of my husband for what he accomplished on the court this season.
He was able to do amazing things like lead his team to a first ever Arab Championship, earned the title of Qatar League Champions, was named Defensive Player of the Year and Qatar League First Team. He played so well he earned the opportunity to travel to Kuwait with last year's league champs to play for them in the Gulf Coast Club Championship. After playing over 50 games this season he still found the energy and heart to contribute greatly to his team, averaging 32 points per game during those 5 games including a tournament high 44 points against Kuwait. (I'm sure he will tell me to leave this part out but I'm sure our loved ones will want to help me congratulate him on his fantastic season!)
(Arriving in Kuwait City with the Al Gharafa team, coaches, and management)
There is no doubt God had his hand on my husband all season to allow him to accomplish such great things physically and more importantly, spiritually. See, we knew us coming to Qatar was about more than basketball and finances. We just weren't sure how God could use us in an Islamic nation that doesn't allow you to hand out Christian tracts- because we all know the only way to share Jesus is by gospel tracts right? Do you sense my friendly sarcasm? ( Yes, I'm making fun of US evangelical Christians)
While we thought He may have wanted to use us to help in the Christian Church here He chose to remind us that church isn't a building but a body of believers that should exist to show God's love in such a way that people will exchange ordinary living for an extraordinary life through the transforming power of Jesus Christ. (This was the mission statement of our Atlanta church home, Piedmont)
To see my husband live this out with his teammates and everyone he came in contact with during the season was beautiful to say the least. I literally saw the power of God's love through him as he got to share his testimony and pray with so many guys.
To see him huddled with one or two guys with their heads bowed as he led them in prayer after each game never got old.
(Praying with Marshall Henderson and Nana Harding)
(Praying with Amu Saaka after a game in Kuwait)
Hearing him explain to a curious teammate why he didn't play basketball last year and knowing they saw how God had changed his life never got old.
To hear him humbly telling them about his job last summer of remodeling houses as we struggled financially after losing every material thing we had to give glory to God for where he was now never got old.
Being able to pray together for his teammates, the dejected laborers that we saw but didn't know, the acquaintances we made in passing, as well as loved ones back home cultivated my faith and love for God's people.
And last but certainly not least, to experience him loving Jincy and me everyday and putting us before himself has made my love and gratitude for him and Christ soar to new heights. This has definitely been one of my favorite seasons, not just in basketball but in life.
The thought of returning back to the States, our loved ones, and our church family with our precious new addition is beyond exciting.
We want to sincerely thank each of you who have prayed for us, reached out to us, and supported us during our time overseas. We are forever grateful!
And just a quick word from the husband..."What she said, thank You Jesus, and to God be the glory forever and ever. -amen
Here are the few words of Arabic we learned:
Inshallah- God willing (the most commonly used word here, said after pretty much everything)
Mashalla- expression of joy and praise, recognizing that God willed it to happen
Yalla- come on or let's go
Khalas- finished
Habibty- sweetie
And here are a few more pictures:
City)
(Happy to celebrate 8months)
Skype is a life saver!
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