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National Bands & International Teams
Friendship in Troubled Times
A Watermark Member Shares His Experience with an Iraqi Student in Denmark
by Doug Mauss
So you're at a
Danish boarding school. You've led a workshop on worship with the ninety or so
students, and one has caught your eye. He's confident, strong, and darker
skinned with wavy black hair. He's the shepherd of this particular flock; if he
approves of the band, the rest of the students will also. If he decides to have
fun on the sing-a-longs, the others will enjoy themselves as well.
The students
then invite you to play football with them (read soccer, you crazy Americans). That same student comes up and makes a
point of speaking to you in English, even though it seems to you that his
English is not as good as some of the others. Throughout the game, he
commiserates with you when you miss a shot, and congratulates you by name when
you score a goal.
[FULL STORY]
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Greetings from Malaysia
New Dawn Ministers in Hong Kong and Malaysia
by Sandy Wittman
The roads are a little bumpy as we travel in a van that our
contact has procured for our transportation in Malaysia. He apologizes
for the bumps, very sure that our roads in the US are much better. I
instantly reassure him that the roads in the US can vary and the roads that we
have been traveling on were average in comparison. This makes him
laugh. I turn to look out the window and I am struck by just how diverse
the people of Malaysia are. There are at least three prevalent races here
including Malay, Indian and Chinese. And then there's everybody
else. Walking through a mall, it's not uncommon to hear at least five or six
languages spoken. Most of the people we meet can speak at least four
languages (usually Malay, Mandarin, English and another Chinese dialect-usually
Cantonese), some can speak six or seven. Fluently. It floors
me.
[FULL STORY]
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Eternal Hospitality
Thoughts from the Rainbow of Promise Team to India
by Paul Nichols
We are welcomed with handshakes and "Vannakam"s.
Sit down. Have a cola. Meet the pastor of the church and lay leaders. Eat
snacks. Coconut water. Full stomachs. Music program. Dinner. Munch munch
munch!! This is typical Indian hospitality. It’s just about overwhelming it’s
so nice. Lamentably, it’s also very easy to get used to.
So on this Sunday evening it was very surprising to get only
a small amount of this hospitality, far more than necessary, but far less than
usual. We were at a countryside church, in Pranthanery Village outside of
Nagercoil. Surrounding Zion Lutheran Church are beautiful fields. Most of the
men of the congregation work in these fields.
[FULL STORY]
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More With Watermark
by Seth Gibbon
[FULL STORY]
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