Dear Friends and Family,
Here is installment #3 to finish up this long newsletter. Aren’t you glad I didn’t send it all in one email? I’m sure no one would have wanted to read it all at once…it would have almost been a small book!
Monday night we finally went to the Dubai Mall…the largest mall in the world. And I BELIEVE IT! It was HUGE…four floors high and about the size of 10 regular sized malls put end to end. There were over 1500 stores in it. We didn’t even walk through 1/10 of it that night. They have a big aquarium in it too. We didn’t go into it, but they let you see a sample of it from the mall corridor. There is a 20 foot high and maybe 80 foot long glass fish tank with hundreds of fish in it (maybe thousands) including Manta rays and sharks.
Just a couple of blocks away from the Dubai Mall is the Burj Dubai, currently the tallest building in the world. (Burj means “tower” in Arabic). It is 2684 ft high. It is more than two times as high as the Empire State Building (1250 ft high). The Taipei 101 was the previous title holder of the tallest building at 1671 ft high. So it passed that up by over 1000 feet. Anyway, I have never seen anything so massive going straight up in the air! It was like looking at something out of a science fiction movie that might be descending down on you from outer space! I’ll try and attach a couple of photos again, but I’m sure you would get better pictures off the internet.
Between the Burj Dubai and the Dubai Mall are the Dubai Fountains…by the same designer as the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas (which I got to see when visiting Heidi while they lived there) The fountains go off every 20-30 minutes and the water “dances” to the accompanying music with amazing accuracy. Although, I have to admit I liked the accompanying music at the Bellagio much better. I’m afraid it may take awhile for me to gain an appreciation for Middle Eastern music. I didn't get a good photo of this because it was dark when we saw it, but it was lit up by underwater lights.
My final story to share is that Tuesday night we went out to experience an Iftar Feast…the big dinners they have each night after sunset to break the daily fasting during Ramadan. The people in Kent’s office thought it would be an interesting cultural experience for us all to have, so we went to the Hilton hotel where they had set up a gigantic “tent” outside in a parking lot (air-conditioned thankfully!) It was lit with beautiful lanterns and complete with comfortable tables, chairs, couches, etc. You almost forgot you were in a tent. In the center were tables with an amazing array of food. There were 15 in our group from Kent’s office (including three children as this really is a “family” event). We tried some interesting foods, most of which were very tasty. I don’t know what most of the foods were called but they had a couple that I recognized (like mashed potatoes and Waldorf Salad, which I doubt are traditional Middle Eastern foods but they probably cater a little to the westerners that come to these things). Even their beautiful desserts were actually as good as they looked. A new drink that I tried and would like to make sometime was a Mint Lemonade…just finally chopped mint leaves in lemonade. Quite tasty! Mom Wheiler will have to try that one since she grows mint in her garden!
It’s probably not very likely that you would see Muslims attending church because according to Islamic laws, there are legal and social sanctions for Muslims who convert to another faith. But I don’t know if it is okay for them to just come out of curiosity.
Below is a clip from an article I found at: http://globalmormonism.byu.edu/?page_id=33 It gives more info if you are interested:
The presence of Church members in the Gulf is a result of the relocation of Latter-day Saint expatriates for temporary residence and work. Government officials in Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Yemen have allowed foreign residents to hold religious services on condition that these activities remain low-key and that Islamic laws and traditions, including the restriction against proselyting, be respected. Dubai granted legal status to the Church in 1993, and Bahrain officially recognized the Church in 1997.
Despite its reputation for vigorous missionary activity in other areas of the world, the Church has observed religious restrictions in the Middle East by making nonproselyting commitments to government leaders and by issuing strict instructions for members to honor these commitments. In the 1990s the Church adopted a formal policy of not proselyting, teaching, or baptizing Muslims who either live in or plan to return to the Middle East. This step was taken to accommodate Islamic laws that stipulate legal and social sanctions for Muslims who convert to other faiths.
Now for an update on our family...everyone is happy and healthy. Heidi and her husband, Alan, have two highly active little boys Ryan (3) and Caleb 1 1/2) and own a house in Rexburg. They go somewhere different every summer when Alan sells home security systems for APX. This summer they were in Minneapolis and loved it there. Now they are back in Rexburg putting in their yard. Jennifer and husband, Nick, have one daughter, Taylor (5) and have been hoping to get some siblings for her, but nature isn't cooperating just yet. They live just 20 minutes from us here in WA. We will really miss getting to see them often once we're gone. Nick works for Quadrant Homes and Jen keeps busy tending a neighbor's baby three times a week and also waitressing one night a week at Mike's Cascade Grill in Snoqualmie. Nick is seriously thinking about going back to school and get a Master's soon, so they may be moving in the near future too!
Lindsay and her new hubby, Nate, are finishing up at BYU and also (like Heidi and Alan) are spending their summers in different places working for a home security system company (Pinnacle rather than APX). This summer they were in Georgia and Michigan. They are very happy and loving their new lives together.
Preston is very happy serving his mission in Peru. He has about five to eight baptisms a month so far. He loves it down there even though it's really hot in the jungle area where he is serving. He's learned to eat foods he thought he'd never try and is learning patience with the challenges of living with companions, which for the most part he has actually really liked all of them (just some more than others). He has learned to not let little things bother him. He has a positive attitude about everything because he knows he's where he should be! We know he is being protected and blessed by his desire to love, teach and serve the people of Peru.
We are now back in Seattle and plan to head back to Dubai in mid-October to settle in.
Love, Karen
This photo was taken from the metro train as we went by. Dubai Mall is on the left (showing one entrance) and it goes back several blocks behind this. The Burj Dubai is the tall building next to it that you can't see the top of.
One tiny section in the mall (where there were only 3 floors instead of 4) As you can see, not many people it this section. But I can't imagine it being crowded because the whole mall is so huge!
A view of a part of the big aquarium in the mall.
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