Holiday, Apostle, Camels, and More

So much to blog about… so here we go. Monday, February 16th was a Presidents Day, which meant that I actually had a day off that wasn’t a Sunday! I cherish those days! It was a great day… I got to sleep in until 7am and then I met up with some co-workers to see the sites. We first went to the Kuwait National Museum, the Planetarium, and another museum that I cannot remember the name of. They were all free and took about 20 minutes each to walk through. I couldn’t help but think as I was walking through the Kuwait National Museum, that all the stuff (hoe, needles, pots, art, etc) was probably old enough to have been on the earth when Christ walked this area (okay, not Kuwait, but the Middle East). I got a picture of the bone dice before I was told there are no pictures in that room- who knew? This sign cracked me up that they have "Winter Hours". It was a nice reminder that we really are in the Winter season- easy to forget when it is 70 degrees out! Anyway, we ventured across the compound and went into a 15 minute show in the Planetarium – yeah, I’m sure it would have been much more exciting if I was able to understand it! We learned our lesson to ask when the English version is showing!

This picture is of the co-workers I was with and it is of the whole Museum compound area.

A big, cool looking door at the Museum

Noah's Ark? Also at the Museum

This is the day we went to the Museum. The yellow & black curb means no parking, but if that wasn't enough there is also a no parking sign. So, where are the cars parked? People park wherever they want!

I laughed when I saw this... you can't park any closer then that!

After the Museums we headed to the Kuwait Towers. Notice the balls which represent the Pearl Industry which is how Kuwait first made their money.

This is on the Tower Grounds. This picture is for you Ashley- they do have pretty flowers here, but they are far and few between!

There are restaurants in the Towers, so we eat at the café. Kind of different how you just sit in this lobby area and they come and serve you. They had good pizza, too! I was so excited to finally have good pizza. Seriously, their cheese here is kind of nasty and good pizza is hard to come by!

The day was rather overcast and foggy, so the view from the Tower wasn’t as good as I was hoping for, but it was still cool to be there.

I think every holiday I have a picture of me with the ocean in the background! Got to love it!

From there, we went to a mall- one I had not been to before. It was fun to go shopping… I bought a new pair of black dress shoes and a jacket- what more could a girl want? I was surprised to find anything I would actually buy to be honest with you. After all, things here are quite expensive and their style is a little different. After walking the mall we went to a little café and ordered drinks and just enjoyed the afternoon visiting. I got the mintonade. It had an interesting flavor, one that I probably will never get again, and it looked absolutely disgusting! I’ve probably mentioned this before, but I love ordering drinks here. There is no alcohol allowed in Kuwait, so I don’t have to worry when ordering drinks… it is fabulous!

Nasty looking drink, huh?

We spent a good 3 hours in the mall enjoying a very leisurely afternoon. We then went our separate ways for a short time before meeting up again to do dinner at a Lebanese Restaurant. Seriously, I was home for all of 30 minutes before heading out the door again. You eat Lebanese food by getting a piece of pita bread, putting a little humus inside, placing a piece of chicken on the humus, adding a French fry, and then dipping it in a garlic sauce. I did exactly what the waiter told me to do, so know I can officially say I have tried Lebanese food. Let’s just say I probably won’t be trying that again! Overall it was a really fun day. I was out pretty much from 8am-10pm and it reminded me of all the fun days back in Denver just hanging with friends all day! I miss that! I have to tell you about my 20 minute drive home on President’s Day. In that 20 minutes I got cut off, I saw someone without their lights on (it was pitch black, but the freeway is well lit), I saw a Super Duper Sweeper (the car turned from the far right lane when there is a turn lane and 3 lanes of traffic- granted they had a protected turn arrow, but still- are you serious?), oh, and I saw a car exit from the far left lane and cut across 3 lanes of traffic to barely make the exit in time. Nice! All in 20 minutes! I don’t think you would see that many crazy things in 10 hours if you were driving in the states. On Thursday, 19 February, I rode home with my co-worker (who also happens to be my neighbor). We passed two accidents that night. The 3 lane freeway became a 5 lane freeway as everyone cruises down the shoulder lanes. To the credit of the drivers here, when there is an accident it doesn’t shut down the freeway for hours. People just push right on past it, it is pretty much chaos, but at least traffic is still moving! Also, accidents happen so frequently that they are pretty fast about moving them to the side of the road. Did you know that USAA, who insures worldwide, will not provide car insurance in Kuwait? I wonder why?

The same night as the accidents I also got video of the street that we drive down once we exit the freeway. You’ll notice that there are no lanes on the street and that we drift from one side of the street to the other side of the street to accommodate the incoming merging lanes. It really feels like a video game every time I drive home. Traffic wasn't too bad this night I, but hopefully you get the idea.

Sunday, the 22nd of February was an amazing day. Not very often does one have the opportunity to eat lunch with, visit with, and listen to an Apostle! I had the privilege of meeting Elder Holland and Elder Caussé that day and it seriously was an awesome experience.

We met up at the Dining Facility to have lunch. Elder Holland came up to me and shook my hand and asked where I was from. I told him I had been in Denver for the past 4-1/2 years, but I grew up in Utah. He asked what part of Utah and when I said, “Tooele” he replied, “So, you are a buff?” Yes I am! He then went on to talk to others. After lunch we walked to the building where the meeting was going to be held. We thought we would have a chance to visit with and take pictures prior to the meeting, but no, we had to wait until after the meeting. During the 30 minutes prior to the start of the meeting we just listened to prelude music and Elder Holland pulled out his scriptures. I wonder if he was preparing for his talk! Our Stake President spoke first and he gave a good talk about the growth of the church in that area. Our stake covers all of Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, etc. His other main point was to stay close to the Lord and you will have joy in your life.

Elder Caussé spoke next. He is the only member of the 70 who is from France. He told a story of when he did his year of military service he was a chauffeur for an American General. Well, one particular Sunday the General needed him to drive him to the airport. This also happened to be the Sunday where Elder Maxwell was to be presiding at a stake conference. He was pretty bummed that he probably would miss the meeting, but he decided to try and make it and catch the last 5 minutes of the meeting. He drove extremely fast, parked, and ran into the meeting. When he walked in the first words he heard was, “Now, I will leave my apostolic blessing upon you.” He said we gain a testimony from very small things. That was one of those small things that he will always remember and that helped his testimony grow. He also talked about being good and “we should not fear to do good!” He also touched on being missionaries, “The day we enter the waters of baptism we are missionaries and our mission is never over!”

Before Elder Holland spoke a couple people were invited to bear their testimonies. One guy’s Mom and Dad were here as a part of the official party who came with Elder Holland. He was called up and he said that lately he had been struggling and had asked his Dad for a blessing. His Dad asked if he wanted Elder Holland to be a part of the blessing and he said, no. It was funny because as he was saying this he turned and said, “No offense to Elder Holland, but the priesthood is the same and I just wanted a blessing.” Well, later when Elder Holland got up one of the first things he said was, “Thank you bother, there is no greater tribute then that which you could pay me or your father (by allowing him alone to offer that blessing)- thank you!” It was touching and it made me realize just how important and powerful the priesthood is. How blessed I am to have grown up with a Dad who was a worthy priesthood holder!

Elder Holland was funny, he called on another individual to come share his testimony. As he sat down waiting for this brethren to come up he said, “Officers need to be taught a thing or two sometimes!” We all laughed.

Elder Holland talked about how the church is in Iraq and Saudi Arabia. He mentioned that the saints there have to come at staggered times and leave at staggered times so it doesn’t appear there is a group of people plotting something. He also told a story of a guy who didn’t know where or how to find the church in that area, so for 17 years he went to the mall and hummed “Come, Come Ye Saints” hoping someone would overhear him who would recognize that hymn. Someone did and he was able to find the church.

“ It’s tough everywhere”, Elder Holland said, “ this is not the only combat zone in the world.” He shared some scriptures with us- and I’m sure you can imagine the scriptures he chose came with some pretty incredible insight- he is amazing! One scripture he read was Alma 53:19-20 and substituted the word "nephites” with "church”. He went on to say “how can we contribute in a strange land?” He specifically said don’t do anything to be a disadvantage and to not do anything to hurt the church.

Thought number 2 in Elder Holland’s talk was about “power”. If you read JSH 1:15-16 you find that word 4 times. He said, “We underestimate how much power we have. Joseph Smith did not yet have the priesthood at this time, but he had the power at 14 years old to withstand and triumph over the adversary. With Divine help we can have the power and triumph.”

His third thought was D&C 50: 13-14; 23-25; 34-35. In reference to verse 25 where it says, “you may chase darkness from among you” , Elder Holland said, “this is a proactive stance, an aggressive stance where we do not simply withstand darkness, but we chase it away!” Then in vs 35 he pointed out that “we have the power to overcome ALL things.”

His fourth thought was about the time when Christ visits the Nephites. He mentioned that it was probably the first time in the history of the church that Home Teaching and Visiting Teaching really worked, how they knocked on every door and recruited (3 Nephi 19:2-3). He went on to say that Christ did not appear , probably intentionally, the morning of the next day. So, what do newly ordained Apostles do, but kneel and pray. He said, “It is interesting to note that they pray for the Spirit, not for Christ to be there, even though they probably wanted that! We underestimate the Holy Ghost and it is a tragedy. The Holy Ghost is the GREATEST gift Jesus could give us!”

After the few scriptures and thoughts he shared with us he opened it up for a few questions. I asked a question, and it was funny when he called on me he said, “Yes, Sister Tooele”. It was pretty cool. Anyway, the question I asked was “Being here in Kuwait we do not have a temple close, what can we do to keep the spirit of the temple with us when we cannot attend?” He told a story of when his son went though the temple for the first time. He had always planned on being the escort for all his sons, but this particular time he was called away on an assignment and was out of the country and was unable to be the escort. He said he set his watch to the same time as his son would be going through the temple and in his mind was there with him every step of the way. He said he envisioned his son handing his temple recommend to the front desk and being welcomed there. He said he could see all the temple workers smiling and waiting there ready to help guide him through. Elder Holland reenacted the entire temple experience in his mind and read the doctrine found in the scriptures at the same time as his Son was experiencing it. He said this was one of the sweetest temple experiences he had ever had! Elder Holland went on and said to read the doctrine in the scriptures and study agency, love, purity and all the topics the temple teaches. He said to remember the marks in the garments and what they stand for. He said that “Remember was the underlying theme and it is even the theme found in the sacramental prayer.” He said it is one of the most painful things knowing that people don’t have the opportunity to attend the temple. He finished up by saying"bless you sister for your willingness and wanting to keep the spirit of the temple in your life."

Another question asked was “As military, what can we do to grow the church here?” Elder Holland answered, “be an example, bear testimony when you get a chance, read your scriptures. Never in a self-righteous way, but share the gospel!” He went on to say that the Church has gotten into places in the world because of war. “Don’t underestimate what you can do to build the Lord’s kingdom.”

The forth question (there were only 4 and I don’t really remember the answer to the first, so I didn’t share that one with you) was from an individual whose wife has been teaching him the gospel but is still not a member himself. He asked what inspiration he could give to become a member of the church. Elder Holland started by saying, “Bless your dear wife for being that example and teaching you.” He also said that his own experience was one where he was the most unlikely member of the church to amount to any stature in the church and to be in the position where he is. His Father was not active in the church, but his mother was. He then said, “I am now a witness.” That was said with such clarity and he even paused for a brief second to let that statement sink in. He went on to say that “Joseph Smith saw the Father, and the last words I utter will be that the truth is back on the earth.” He was pretty emotional when he said this. He continued, “This church is it! (the truth back on the earth) We say it with a sense of burden, a sense of inadequacy, not arrogance, but we say it. I am here to witness it! He continued to bear his testimony of the priesthood and the Book of Mormon. He said, “The Book of Mormon is its own Witness! Immerse yourself in reading that book.” He was funny, because he said he has spent his life with good books, he was even in charge of a pretty good university (BYU), “but there is no other book that has commanded my attention and awe as the Book of Mormon has." He talked about how we beg for help to find the author of this book, but of course no one can step forward because “it happened just as Joseph Smith said it happened.” He told a story of his Great, Great grandfather who said, “No wicked man could write this book, and a good man would not write this book unless directed to do so by Divine Inspiration.”

He concluded by leaving an apostolic blessing and said, “ I am authorized to speak in the name of the Lord. I speak as if I have laid my hands directly on each of your heads. This blessing extends to others at home.” After the beautiful blessing he again bore his witness that “this is the truth, not a cunningly devised fable.”

After the meeting ended he and Elder Caussé stood by the door to shake everyone’s hand and to take pictures. When I shook Elder Holland’s hand he said, “Sister Tooele, we sure love ya.” I said thank you for being here and I asked him if he knows the name Glen Behling. He said, “Why Yes!” I told him that was my Grandpa and Elder Holland replied by saying “Well, you come from good stock!” It was an incredible meeting and that event alone made it worth coming to Kuwait!

I went straight from Stake Conference and headed to my cousin’s (we are second cousins) place where I spent the evening with her and her two cute kids. Her husband is out of town, so it was just the four of us enjoying a nice evening. She made an excellent meal and mostly we just were entertained by the two year old! I felt pretty loved when I found out that normally the two year old doesn’t like strangers and is extremely shy, but she warmed up quick to me and came and sat next to me on the couch. Made me miss my cute nieces and nephews! Okay, this is an extremely long post, so the last thing I am going to share with you is my camel sighting! I was at work and a co-worker told me to meet him outside and it had something to do with camels. I was so excited! Come to find out there was this whole herd of camels walking by and they were only like 20 feet away from me! My stay here is complete- I saw my camels!