Bahrain Protests - Videos

Lots of joy last night as the army and police pulled out of the Pearl Roundabout and the protesters moved back in.  The Crown Prince, Shaikh Salman, gave two interviews yesterday, one to Bahrain TV and the other to CNN.   By all accounts, things are fairly peaceful in the roundabout, with stories of protesters serving tea and breakfast to police who are there.  I don't know if that particular story is true, but quite a few friends from church went down to the roundabout and said that things are jubilant.  We will probably swing by today before doing some grocery shopping.

Praise God:

• Peace has returned to the Pearl Roundabout
• The Crown Prince has taken a humble stance and started engaging in dialog 

Please Pray:

• That the situation would remain peaceful 
• That meaningful dialog would take place between the government and the protesters 

CNN Interview with Nic Robertson

Bahrain TV Interview

Pray for Bahrain

Our church has set up a Pray for Bahrain website.  On this site you can do 3 things:

• Post a prayer on the site's blog.
• Volunteer to sign up for a time slot to pray
• find links to up to date information about what's happening in Bahrain. 

If you are inclined to sign up, please visit the site.

pray4bahrain.weebly.com

Update on the Bahrain Protests

If you follow this blog, it means that you are probably aware of the protests and demonstrations in Bahrain.  In case you are wondering, Alison, Eva and I are doing fine.  If you weren't wondering... well, now you know.  Most of the demonstrations have been away from our normal stomping grounds, and we are avoiding areas where demonstrators are gathering.

If you are aware that things are getting a little heated in Bahrain, it probably means you have a news source. However, I'll give you another one.  I currently have a blog feed that automatically gives me any online news article that mentions "Bahrain".  You can view a search on Google news for "Bahrain" here.  Most of the articles are about the protests, and there are a lot of good articles.

Christmas and Easter Irony

One of my favorite comic strips is "Non Sequitur".  The characters are witty, the humor is biting and the author likes poking fun at the absurdities of society.  Today's strip is as follows:

Ok, so I get the joke.  Two players playing for competing holidays spending time together.  But the irony is, the holidays actually do go together.  It's not just in secret in the off-season that they 'canoodle', but by their nature they are inseparable.

The problem is that the holidays that were once cornerstones of the Christian identity in the United States have become secularized and commercialized.  This is true particularly in Bahrain.  Stores catering to westerners stock up on Santa figurines and Easter egg decorating kits.  The holidays have a very secular flavor.

But the two holidays are inherently intertwined.  Christmas, you see, is the holiday in which we celebrate God coming to earth, in the form of Jesus.  The primary purpose of Jesus coming was to atone for our sins, to provide an avenue to wash away our shame and make it possible to has a real relationship with God.  That process happened during the death and resurrection of Jesus - Easter.  Without Christmas, we cannot have Easter.  And without Easter, Christmas is meaningless.

Update on Tiny-Tiny

We've decided to give the nickname of our second child Tiny Tiny (Eva's womb nick-name was Round 2).  We have lots of nicknames for Eva that we toss around.  Chunkus is probably the most common one, but Tiny (or little tiny or baby tiny or ____ tiny) is another common one.  However, Eva is not the tiniest any more.  This has become even more apparent as more babies are being born at church and she now looks enormous, particularly compared to our friends Ross and Emily's newborn, Laila.  So we have now nicknamed the second one Tiny Tiny.  

Other than that, there really isn't a whole lot to say.  As you can see on the counter just to the right, Alison is about 23 weeks along (you'll need to go to the blog to see the pregnancy widget).  To be honest, I haven't kept that close attention.  Or at least not like I did with Eva.  With Eva, I followed the week-by-week part vigorously.  I was up-to-date with the development and how things were moving along.  I usually knew how many weeks and often how many days Alison was along in the pregnancy.  Not any more.  I (and Alison as well!) have to check my blog to see how far along Alison is.

In a couple weeks, we have big scan of some sort.  I think its the one that COULD be 3D if you're willing to pay for it.  We, however, are quite happy with a few extra dinars and a 2D picture of our child.  I'll post that picture when we get it.

And now the update from the Baby Center:

• At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, 
• your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums.  His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. 
• If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. 
• Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.