They shall come from the East, they shall come from the West and look for Jobs in the Middle East. Jeff and I had the amazing privilege of serving the expats in the Middle East either working or looking for work. When we first arrived in the Middle East we were the only Officers covering the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait. This continued for a few months until Majors Doug and Janet Newman arrived to take over as Regional Commanders based in Kuwait.
We, traditionally have four Officers in the Middle East – two Officer couples. One Officer couple is based in Kuwait responsible for the Region as well as the Corps in Bahrain, Kuwait and soon Qatar. The second Officer couple is based in the UAE and runs Oman as well. They are appointed as the Assistant Leaders of the Region. (It was divided along the timelines).
Jeff and I had the privilege of serving the soldiers and friends of the Army in the UAE and Oman. The UAE is made up of seven Emirates and the Army has active work in three. We lived in Shakhbout, which is about a thirty-minute drive from the capital Abu Dhabi, the political capital and seat of government for the Emirates. This is a Muslim part of the world governed by Sharia Law. When we arrived, the weekends were Friday to Saturday and with Sunday being a normal working day. By the time we left this had been changed to Saturday and Sunday.
We arrived in the middle of Summer, so we were exposed to temperatures starting at 29 degrees and going up to 58 degrees. We lived from airconditioned area to airconditioned area. It was also right in the middle of Covid which meant tests, and more tests. Abu Dhabi was very strict with Covid tests and Jeff and I have been poked and prodded more in that year than at any other time of our lives. To enter Abu Dhabi, we passed through a border checkpoint they checked our Al Hoson app (Arabic for Fort) which tells them our COVID status. If it’s clear they will let you in, if not you have to go back to Dubai or Sharjah. Needless to say, that was a bit hair-raising.
We were responsible for three corps in the UAE and three Corps in the Royal Sultanate of Oman. The three Corps in UAE began meeting online but once Covid restrictions were eased the Abu Dhabi folk met in our villa. Once it was open we met at St. Andrews Anglican Church every Sunday morning. We hire a room from them so that we can meet for 1 and ½ hours every Sunday. Not having your own hall can be a huge problem. As an Officer, you have to bring everything that may be needed for the meeting and then pack up ready to go to your next appointment which is Sharjah Corps on a Sunday at 4.30 pm. Sharjah is 140 km away from Abu Dhabi. We also ran a Corps in Dubai which meets at the Holy Trinity Compound in Bur Dubai. This service would start at 7 pm and finish around 9.30 pm. Driving home to Shakhbout would mean we got home past 11 pm.
We travelled to Muscat in Oman every second month. They have their services on a Thursday evening. We would leave early Thursday morning and arrive in Oman after a 4-hour journey. We would meet up with some of the local leaders for a time of encouragement and a chat regarding the work in Muscat which is a lovely coastal city. Friday morning, we would conduct a meeting in Sohar. This is a house church which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. We were blessed to enjoy a trip out to the famous Muscat Dolphin schools that swim along the Arabian Coastal line, especially in the Gulf of Oman.
Every other month we would travel to Salalah which is on the border of Yemen. Here the Corps meets on a Friday at 4.30pm. This is a long trip of over 1200km. We would again leave on Thursday morning and leave Salalah on Saturday to be in time for the UAE services.
Highlights for us were the enrolment of a Senior Soldier and two Junior Soldiers at Abu Dhabi Corps as well as the enrolment of Local Officers. Abu Dhabi Corps has a Corps Sergeant Major, a Women’s Ministry leader, a Corps Treasurer, and a Corps Secretary. They are a multinational congregation which really does give a picture of what heaven will look like one day.
In Dubai, we have a strong group of very committed Salvationists who attend when work allows them to. They come to a midweek meeting and have been such a blessing to us. Sharjah Corps has had a struggle for a few years because there is a strong Tamil group in the region that wants to have their meetings only in Tamil. As we have members attending from Pakistan, Zimbabwe, India, UK, and South Africa we hold all our meetings in English. A very strong group left a few years ago and started a rouge Army in another hall. God has still blessed this Corps who are very faithful. I trust that we will be able to see this Corps flourishing again.
Muscat Corps is a strong Tamil group who are humble and faithful soldiers. We would start church at 8 pm and finish at 10 pm and then enjoy a Bryani together (we learnt to eat spicy food here).
Sohar is a church group that gets over 30 people in attendance when they meet for a service once a month and have a weekly prayer meeting. It is also a Tamil group.
Salalah is also made up of strong local leaders with a faithful group of people who meet every Friday afternoon. They also have weekly prayer meetings.
On top of all of these amazing blessings, we got to see so much of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Rasal Kama, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain. I had the added blessing of visiting Jordan for a conference on Anti-Human Trafficking.
Whilst we were there the Dubai Expo happened. What an amazing experience to see almost every country around the world displaying their specialities. Added to that blessing, and because we were over 60 years of age, we had free entry.
Our theme song is found in Jeremiah 32: 17 “Ah Lord God, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for you”. That has been our experience over and over again. God gave in great abundance. Yes, we were tired, and yes we were lonely, but God gave us blessings upon blessings. Of course, there were times when we were severely challenged but through it all God was faithful. We took to heart the message of Jeremiah to the people of Israel in Jeremiah 29: 7: “Pray for the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you.”
I would encourage our young Officers to consider International Service. It’s an amazing experience for which we will be forever grateful.
Thank you for allowing us to share a little of our amazing adventure of being sent by God with you. He has an adventure planned for you too. His plans are good. Be gentle with Officers, they leave a little bit of their heart every where God sends them.
