No thanks, I had camel for breakfast!, Philosophical Troops, Anand Nagar

I passed by a herd of camels that was on either side of the road in this desert country I'm in. It was funny because the camels all stopped to stare at the vehicle, as if they were saying: 'what are THEY doing here?', or 'aw - look at the cute humans!'. They really are funny looking. God must have had fun creating them! Here, they are even raised for milk and other camel products. Actually, the tastiest yoghurt I've ever eaten is here... and loving yoghurt - I eat alot of it. But here - it just seems to taste better. I wonder if I'm actually eating a camel product? That would be new! In driving out in this new place I traveled out to (still a Muslim country), I was touched to see a carpet mural of The Immaculate Heart of Mary hanging for sale at a roadside stall. It was quite beautiful to see such a warm and familiar face in such an unexpected way. I saw her face after having passed dozens of Mosques set with sand dunes as a backdrop. There seemed to be a mosque on every street corner (NOT and exaggeration) - and there were always people coming and going from them. I imagine many places were like that in formerly Christian countries with churches at each block with the Blessed Sacrament reserved in each of them. I guess the boom of Islam is because everyone for the most part prays... 5 times a day. The voices from the loudspeakers atop the Minarets of the Mosques remind everyone of that obligation.  I admire the Muslims for their zeal and their dedication to prayer. Even in the most insignificant to the biggest Shopping Mall, they will have a male prayer room, and another for females. .. and just as an observation, they are well used.  We as a Church used to have prayer as a part of our social fabric. Somehow that seems to have been lost, and many of those pillars of Christendom seem now to be reduced to ruins with only streets and places named after saints to attest to a former love for God. is it all over?  I don't think so.  It's up to us to spread the fire of Christ's love.  If we have the Truth, it is up to us to share it.  But - as with all things - prayer first. Anyhow - If we had stopped, I would have wanted to purchase that image of Our Lady. Many people believe that soldiers are a bunch of thick headed grunts that walk around dragging their wrists and speaking in one syllable sentences. I must say - there is nothing further from the truth! Some of the deepest conversations I've had were with soldiers while sitting on a cot cleaning weapons, polishing boots, or something. Take the other night for instance - I introduced myself to a guy and told him what I do 'in the real world'. He responded that he studied theology and philosophy - which surprised me! He then handed me a book on Theology written by a Jesuit! What a surprise! Happily, we then launched into what must have been a 2.5 hour discussion about theology and philosophy, a priori, Aristotle, Nitsche, Mao Tse Tung, etc., etc., etc.. What a great guy! I find that when I listen to even the private soldiers in the ranks that they too have the same types of discussions. Nope - Canadian Soldiers are a cut above the rest. I've heard of armies around the world having to teach their troops to read the field manuals... rather - in our army, the troops use their head to analyze and critique the merits of the document! Anyhow - this conversation I had with this fellow soldier was quite surreal and unexpected. This one chance meeting made me thing - Canadians should be proud of their troops! We grow a different breed of soldier to create an army, not a mob. I was saddened the other day as I watched a soldier drilling holes into the monument. He was making space for the new plaques of the latest troops to have died in theatre. It would be a dream if he doesn't have to drill any more holes for new plaques. We've got a long way to go before that. I made some friends here in my new location.  As such, they dressed me up in a 'Dishdasha' and 'Gothrab'... the type of men's clothing popular in this area - complete with head wrap!  I wanted to place a pic to show you, but for some reason I can't get logged on to a computer that would allow that.  The friends I made here were very warm and welcoming.  This whole trip has been a blessing in meeting all sorts of peoples from around the world!  They allowed me to walk around dressed as one of them.  Many people payed no attention to me - thinking I was a local.  Funny thing - I tried jogging a bit to get some speed to climb some stairs, but the material was restrictive at the legs and I nearly wiped out!  Now I know why men here look like sultans when they walk around... perhaps its the clothing.  Nevertheless - it was really cool walking around in that! I'm reading a book called 'City of Joy' (Anand Nagar - the poorest of the poor area in Calcutta where Mother Teresa did her work).  What an awesome book!  (It was made into a movie starring Patrick Swayze).  It teaches a lot about how much more we need to love, and to care for others.  It's thought provoking, but also prayer provoking.  What the priest does and how he sees Jesus in the poor through prayer is wonderful.  I recommend it - it makes you really reflect when you want to whine about some 'difficulty' in front of you.... at least it has done that for me.