Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter to all our loved ones---Ours was very interesting, as Sunday is the beginning of the work week, but Waldo had it off (it was Easter Sunday, after all!) We took a tour of the Jumeirah Mosque, which is right down the road from our house. We got to go inside and have a presentation about Islam and the customs that we see around here. It was revealing, and an ironic thing to do on probably the most important Sunday in the Christian calendar. The irony is because Muslims have to pay for their own sins. There is no-one to step in and help out. Muslims may tip the scales of Justice by praying, going to the mosque, by giving to charities, by living right, by saying their prayers, and by obeying the commandments. However, whatever sins are still on the books they must pay for by spending time in **** until they can be accepted into Heaven. This is my understanding, from listening to the lecture and from a book we got. I have no wish to offend anyone, but I am SOOO grateful Jesus died to pay for our sins!!! Christianity gives us so much hope!!

It was truly beautiful inside. This of course is the room reserved for the men. There is a side room that is for women's use, but as it was explained to us, women can fulfill the requirement to pray by staying in their homes. Their sins can be paid for in this way, and men need to go to the mosque. The woman in the photo is British, and was explaining things to us, and the man demonstrated how Muslims pray, as well as answering questions.

OK--In the previous post, that I was unable to finish, I was talking about our recent adventures. The trip to the mosque was the most recent, but we did a few other things,too! so to continue with our visit to the Burg al Arab, we went window shopping, and this vest caught our eye.. Don't know what it would weigh, but I bet it was pretty heavy!(Notice the sign--24 karat gold!)Flat Stanley was pretty impressed!
Standing on the 20th floor inside the view of the Palm Jumeirah is pretty good. On the other side is "The World" (more man-made islands), but it was too difficult to see.

The evening at the races was sponsored by a dealer here, so Waldo got to give the jockey his prize, and the winner got to wear a Ford blanket!

The event was marked by the attendance of the Ruler of Dubai who owns a lot of the horses in the race and is the official sponsor of the Richest Race in the World the "Dubai World Cup"...for that race, you really have to dress up!! We decided not to go to that one.

This month marks the end of my schooling ... All I've got left before applying for a provisional Michigan teaching certificate is student teaching, which will happen next fall. It will be a huge relief when it's over, because on-line classes, while I'm grateful are available,provide the extra challenge of the computer!
Waldo is already planning what he's going to do when he retires!

Waldo keeps working hard and trying to keep up with a growing market and responsibilities. Since the begining of the year he has gone to Europe twice, traveled to Saudi Arabia twice, been to Jordan (got lost and took a mid-night tour of the Dead Sea). Now he is planning a trip to Saudi Arabia for two weeks to visit every city where Ford has representation. He promises great pictures from the Red Sea, all the way to the mountains bordering Jordan as well as Damman and Ryiadh...we'll see hiow good a photographer he really is :-) This trip will help Cay to finish the final two weeks of school without any interruptions from him... :-(
Sigh....the weather is changing, back to hot and humid (today is 95F)...the windows now have condensation on the outsides, hair is droopy, sides of buildings are beginning to turn green from algae growth...One good thing about summer is that in July we can go on vacation! We are really looking forward to seeing our family then.
Enjoy life, we'll talk to everyone next month!
Love, Waldo and Cay