Letter from Abu Dhabi

August 19, 2006 

Hi there, 

 

Greetings in the name of the Lord from the land of camels. We have been living in Abu Dhabi for over a year now. By God’s grace, we have settled in well and are getting used to the local weather and lifestyle. Despite what many people think, we do have good churches here and my family is greatly blessed by the fellowship here. More info about the church can be found at the website http://www.eccad.org/. My children, Amelia and Aidan, both enjoy the children church very much. The church is following the Awana programme from the United States and I must say it is an excellent one and I would strongly recommend it for churches back home. The website address is http://awana.org and below is a quote from the website: 

 

“If you’re looking for the premier program to change kids’ lives, you’ve come to the right place! Awana is the leading ministry to help local churches reach children and youth for Christ. 

 

“Awana blends Bible teaching, Scripture memorization and tons of fun. Your church’s Awana ministry will impact kids, families and entire communities! 

 

“More than 11,700 American churches and 4,100 churches overseas run the Awana program. Get on board! Regional missionaries will kick start your children’s ministry today.” 

 

Like any other children’s programmes, volunteers are needed to ensure the smooth running of the many activities organised throughout the year. The programme is held on Sunday evenings whilst the church service is on Fridays. Some churches use the program for their Sunday School due to lack of resources.  Shu Hui serves as secretary and she also helps out in the cell group meeting held at our apartment on Wednesdays. 

 

I was back in Malaysia early this month and was glad to find out that CBC is focusing more on missions and prayer. A lot of people do not realise much of the good work done by Christian missionaries in the Arab world. I was very encouraged to know that Christian missionaries set up the very first hospital in UAE and helped save many lives in the early years. In fact, most of the royal family members in Abu Dhabi today were born at the missionary hospital in the royal city of Al Ain. At that time, there was hardly anything in the land. Old photos show the abject poverty and that people lived in atrocious conditions. 

 

According to a retired missionary who served in the UAE in the 1960s, the infant mortality rate was as high as 50% and about a third of women died during childbirth!  The principal cause was lack of hygiene in the desert. Water was really scarce and the naturally occurring salt from the desert was used as antiseptic. But often the salt itself was infested with germs, hence many women died of wound infection. Any wonder why there are currently only over a million locals but more than four million foreigners in UAE? My junior local Arab engineer told me that people starved to death during that time and his grandfather had to sail to Qatar to earn a living and support the family back home.  

 

I believe the good works of the early missionaries have greatly influenced the people’s perception towards Christians and Christianity. The current church premise is a gift from the King and people enjoy freedom of worship and may choose their own religion, as long as they are not too outspoken in reaching out to the Muslims.   

 

Therefore, missions work is imperative as part of Christian witnessing. We are saved to do good works (not do good works in order to be saved, which is salvation by works). This is especially important in countries where direct witnessing is banned by the government. By and large, no government would ban people from doing good works.  

 

I thank God for the opportunity to work in this part of the world, to learn a new culture and to gain a better understanding of the Middle-Eastern people.  I must say my perception of the Arabs, Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians, Egyptians, Jordanians, Libyans, Algerians, Qataris, Omanis, etc, has changed significantly since I moved here. Though most of them are Muslims, I realise they are very much like us in many aspects, and generally they are quite easy to get along with. It has been a life-enriching experience.  

 

Due to rapid development in Abu Dhabi, we are seeing more and more Malaysians coming to the city. There are currently some 200 Malaysian pilots based here, employed by Etihad, the new UAE national carrier. We are hoping to network with some of them and try to get them to church. 

 

Lastly, we would like to encourage everyone, including ourselves, with God’s Word from 1 Cor 15:58: “Therefore, brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” 

Love in Christ,

Aaron, Shu Hui, Amelia and Aidan  

 

Aaron Tee and family were members of CBC, SS2 Centre, for many years before they were posted overseas.