I love living and participating in an international community because there are so many opportunities for a variety of activities. You get to meet so many interesting and entertaining individuals and share in some of their experiences.
Wednesday night, Don and I spent the evening at PCO (Protestant Church of Oman) for Fanfare, A Musical Dinner. Musicians from all around the world--Italy, Azerbaijan, Russia, Scotland, Europe, Canada, America, South Africa, India, Scotland, Great Britain, Oman, and more--that live here in Oman were on the program to share their musical talents. The music was outstanding and covered a wide variety of musical styles. Can you imagine young Omani men playing bagpipes with their teacher (from Scotland!), or a multinational mix of people playing West Indies steel band sounds. Or how about a classical musicologist/composer/performer playing a flute accompanied by a pianist from Azerbaijan?
The three Russian female professors from a local university (two violinists and one pianist) played phenomenally. Vocally, Italian opera and a local community-wide choir were represented nicely as well. There was even audience participation through singing and even in dancing at the end of the program. All in all, it was a superb evening!
Why, you ask, did PCO host this musical dinner evening? For a very good cause: fundraising for the building project on another PCO campus here in the Muscat area. If you remember from an earlier post, PCO runs about 8,000 people through its facilities during any given week. These facilities are shared by numerous congregations. The main campus right now is in an area called Ghala. They are wanting to build a much-needed facility in the Ruwi area in order to reach even more people.
I would like to share the personal story of just one of the many people who come to the Ruwi church right now, and for whose benefit this new building is so badly needed. I will give her the name "Mary."
Mary attends the Phillipino Pentecostal Fellowship, one of the church's attached congregations. She came from a small village in Andra Pradesh to Oman in 1999 after her young husband died. She's the only bread winner for her 3 children who live with her 75-year-old mother in India. Mary is a housemaid for an Omani family and earns a little over 40 Omani Reals (approx. $104) by working 17-hour days with one day off per month. Though the work is tiring, she is happy about her employers because they treat her well. Previously she was from a different religion and just came to the church to meet friends from her village. After her daughter got married, Mary believed it was church and Jesus that had blessed the work of her hands. Ever since then she has believed in Jesus and has been able to feed her children and build a small house for herself. In Mary's own words: "Coming to church gives me peace of mind and strength for the whole month. Otherwise, working the whole month makes me feel lsad and lonely. For me church is the fondest place. God is my best friend and comforter."
The church is not a building, but its people. However, the church here does need a building in which to meet. If you have been touched by Mary's story, you too can be part of the Ruwi Building Project by donating to this worthy project. You can contact PCO directly, or leave me a message on this blog and I will be glad to help you!
Wednesday night, Don and I spent the evening at PCO (Protestant Church of Oman) for Fanfare, A Musical Dinner. Musicians from all around the world--Italy, Azerbaijan, Russia, Scotland, Europe, Canada, America, South Africa, India, Scotland, Great Britain, Oman, and more--that live here in Oman were on the program to share their musical talents. The music was outstanding and covered a wide variety of musical styles. Can you imagine young Omani men playing bagpipes with their teacher (from Scotland!), or a multinational mix of people playing West Indies steel band sounds. Or how about a classical musicologist/composer/performer playing a flute accompanied by a pianist from Azerbaijan?The three Russian female professors from a local university (two violinists and one pianist) played phenomenally. Vocally, Italian opera and a local community-wide choir were represented nicely as well. There was even audience participation through singing and even in dancing at the end of the program. All in all, it was a superb evening!
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| Dancing to the steel band music |
Why, you ask, did PCO host this musical dinner evening? For a very good cause: fundraising for the building project on another PCO campus here in the Muscat area. If you remember from an earlier post, PCO runs about 8,000 people through its facilities during any given week. These facilities are shared by numerous congregations. The main campus right now is in an area called Ghala. They are wanting to build a much-needed facility in the Ruwi area in order to reach even more people.
I would like to share the personal story of just one of the many people who come to the Ruwi church right now, and for whose benefit this new building is so badly needed. I will give her the name "Mary."
Mary attends the Phillipino Pentecostal Fellowship, one of the church's attached congregations. She came from a small village in Andra Pradesh to Oman in 1999 after her young husband died. She's the only bread winner for her 3 children who live with her 75-year-old mother in India. Mary is a housemaid for an Omani family and earns a little over 40 Omani Reals (approx. $104) by working 17-hour days with one day off per month. Though the work is tiring, she is happy about her employers because they treat her well. Previously she was from a different religion and just came to the church to meet friends from her village. After her daughter got married, Mary believed it was church and Jesus that had blessed the work of her hands. Ever since then she has believed in Jesus and has been able to feed her children and build a small house for herself. In Mary's own words: "Coming to church gives me peace of mind and strength for the whole month. Otherwise, working the whole month makes me feel lsad and lonely. For me church is the fondest place. God is my best friend and comforter."
The church is not a building, but its people. However, the church here does need a building in which to meet. If you have been touched by Mary's story, you too can be part of the Ruwi Building Project by donating to this worthy project. You can contact PCO directly, or leave me a message on this blog and I will be glad to help you!
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