Friday Sabbath

Here I am on the opposite side of the world, in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai specifically) visiting my parents, and we are attending church while friends and family back home are ending their Thursday night. In the muslim nations, Friday is the Sabbath day. The Dubai Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has about 120 members (many Filipinos) that meet in a huge house and do everything the same way we do back home. I shouldn't be surprised that the church is uniform across the globe after living in Asia for 10 years, so I guess the right thing to say is that I was pleased... and at home. It was a great ward - friendly, smiling people, great talks, lessons, and comments. In fact, every thought that ran through my head was spoken aloud by someone else, along with many other deep and insightful comments. The topic of Sacrament meeting was The Sabbath Day, and I asked the high councilman for a copy of his talk because he included so many fantastic quotes that I'd like to have, such as:

"Because the Sabbath is a holy day, it should be reserved for worthy and holy activities. Abstaining from work and recreation is not enough. In fact, those who merely lounge about doing nothing on the Sabbath fail to keep the day holy. ... Church members attend sacrament meeting each week. Other Sabbath-day activities may include praying, meditating, studying the scriptures and the teachings of latter-day prophets, writing letters to family members and friends, reading wholesome material, visiting the sick and distressed, and attending other Church meetings." (Lds.org search info)

AND

"Our observance of the Sabbath is an indication of the depth of our conversion and our willingness to keep sacred covenants." (Earl C. Tingey, Ensign, May 1996, 10–12)

This Filipino woman (named Bless) talked about how for 8 months she worked on a cruise ship 7 days a week and couldn't attend church. She got emotional as she spoke of how much she values her Sabbath Day as her chance to worship and be uplifted and recharged. I was sitting there thinking about how I need to get in a better habit of refilling my "spiritual bucket" daily because when the baby comes, I won't be able to get as much out of church meetings as I've had the luxury of doing for the past 4 years. I don't want to starve. :-)

Anyway, those are my thoughts for now. Here's a picture from our visit. xoxo