Go, Hang Out and Bring Hope

Rob texted me: “Have you eaten? D’you want to have a kebab on the Indian Avenue?”. Although I’d just eaten, I was still keen to go for a chance to chat in Arabic. Rob works in the university with graduates who want help setting up businesses. He has a relaxed manner and makes friends easily.

The Indian Avenue is just up the road from our flat, one of the reasons we chose this location. Most people in this area originate from the Indian sub-continent but there are also lots of Middle Easterners and North Africans. There’s been suggestions that the “Indian Avenue” should be renamed the “Kebab Corridor” as one third of the food places there now serve Middle Eastern food. The latest is an Afghan restaurant.

We arrive at the designated café only to find it overflowing with customers, so we cross the road on the look-out for another. We don’t have to go far to find a place and order kebabs.

Our friends are more interested in a shisha. This is smoking Arabic style. They say it’s safer than cigarettes as the smoke goes down the central pipe, bubbles up through the water in the bowl leaving the tar behind, then comes out of the mouthpiece. It’s also said to be nicer as many different flavours are used.

We order tea - real mint tea! And we talk. Arabic sometimes. We just hang out together. All Rob’s friends that night were Arabs from the Middle East, mostly here to study. One is studying water management – we had an interesting discussion about the desperate need in his homeland for good water management. A North African friend that I met another day was at the end of his course in civil engineering and hoping to find a job here. Of course these outings are “Men Only” affairs. The team here recently had a BBQ to get to know their Arab friends better.  They also hoped their friends would bring along their wives, for the women on the team to befriend.

Every conversation is different. One evening Rich got onto talking about Abraham sacrificing his son. That same night I took an opportunity to show some calligraphy in Arabic that I had on my PDA.  It graphically portrayed the Lord being my light and salvation (Ps. 27:1). That is of course our aim - to share our Best Friend with those who have had so little opportunity to hear about him, and to know the freedom and hope that he brings.