Monday 6/30
Gotta first start off with some good news and an apology. The good news is that MICHAL is feeling much better and was able to join us at full strength today! You prayer warriors are something else... first the gale force winds and now this! The apology is to Michal... I've been misspelling his name all this time! I won't go into why I thought it was spelled Mikel... lets just leave it with my bad.
After breakfast this morning, Ron asked each of us to tell about one particular thing that had impacted us this week. Levi's comment was particularly poignant... he said that during the day on Sunday when we were wearing our "dostum/friend" shirts, one of the men he was working with pointed to the word "dostum" and said, "friend... no... no friend... brother!" What a blessing it is to know that some of the men of Barek Aub feel that way about us AND feel comfortable enough to tell us so!
Then it was off to Istalef, a village about 50km northwest of Kabul and almost due west of Barek Aub across the Shomali Plain, where our partner organization has been active since 2002. In the 1970s Istalef was a lush, scenic foothill town, not all that unlike Boulder, with approx. 50,000 people living in the town and surrounding district. But following the Soviet occupation and particularly after the Taliban came through and destroyed all facets of the infrastructure, the population dropped to zero... everyone fled the area. After the fall of the Taliban people started returning, but had to deal with a critical lack of water, power, food, schools, jobs, and health care facilities. That's when our partner organization stepped in and began supplying emergency aid as well as committing to a long term development program... exactly what they've done in Barek Aub.
In just a few short years, Istalef today has 12-16,000 families in the district (approx. 30,000 people) and our partner organization has played a big part in many areas, particularly regarding public health. They have helped build and staff the health clinic that now serves a large number of the residents. The clinic's main services are in health care education, vaccinations/innoculations, emergency first aid, ongoing treatment of communicable diseases like leishmaniasis and tuberculosis, and all aspects of family planning including contraception, childbirth, and pre/post natal care. They also can and will transport patients who need more significant care to hospitals in Kabul or elsewhere. And this is all done for no charge to the residents -- it is fully funded by donations to our partners.
It is hoped that -- although Istalef has a couple things going for it that Barek Aub does not, namely year-round natural water supply, proximity to power, and a history of self sufficiency in the region -- Barek Aub will someday flourish as Istalef has. If nothing else, seeing the way our partner organization has worked in the community, allowing the local elders decide how best to pursue development, gives us a vision of how progress in Barek Aub will be made and hope for a viable future.
We got a full tour of the clinic today which sees about 60-70 patients each day and was bustling with activity... women with their children filled the hallways waiting to see the doctors and other health care workers who were there. The area around the clinic, once burned to the ground by the Taliban, is now lush with hundreds of fruit trees and evergreens. Dr. Qahar even shinnied atop the boundary wall and picked a few ripe mulberries for us to eat from a tree right outside the clinic.
After leaving the clinic we toured a large hotel that was once an exclusive resort, which now lays in ruins. From the deck you could easily see many of the new homes in the town which have been built among the destroyed homes and lush greenery that dots the area. We then walked through the "business district," a 3-4 block long area with shops selling everything from pottery to shoes, shovels to cabinets, and everything in between. Then it was back to the guest house for lunch and a brief break before heading out again.
In the afternoon we traveled across town to see the Darul Aman Palace... built in the 1920s by King Amanullah Kahn (yeah, I looked it up) but destroyed by rival mujahedin factions fighting for control of Kabul during the early 1990s. Even as a bombed out shell of its former self, it is an imposing structure that serves as a reminder of what Kabul used to be like and perhaps will be again someday. We then stopped by Chaila, a casual coffee house favored by ex-pats. Chaila would be just as comfortable in Boulder or Cherry Creek as it is in Kabul. Our host treated us all to milk shakes, which we sucked down in record time.
Then we headed back to the guest house to get cleaned up before our host treated us AGAIN to a wonderful courtyard dinner at The Intercontinental Hotel in the hills overlooking Kabul. The Intercontinental is where news crews and visiting dignitaries stay when in Kabul and their traditional Afghan buffet, complete with chicken and lamb kebobs, is a royal treat... especially after days of eatin' dust out at Barek Aub.
I started with good news about Michal, but I have to close with maybe-not-so-good news about Ron... he wasn't feeling well enough to go to dinner with us tonight and that's never a good sign. OK prayer warriors... you know what to do! We need Ron fit as a fiddle tomorrow!
That's it for today... time to get some rest as we've got a big day tomorrow, our last out at Barek Aub.
Please pray for Ron's health and an effective day of working with our new brothers at Barek Aub.
--Bob Tunnell
Istalef... a glimpse into the future for Barek Aub?
photo by Jordan Kejr
Inside the Community Training room at the clinic.
Dr. Qatar discusses local training with Ron, Michal, Levi, and Jeff.
photo by Jordan Kejr
Darul Aman Palace... a shell of its former self.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tuesday 7/1
For those of you in a hurry, here’s the elevator version… we went to Barek Aub today, said ”thank you” to the elders, they thanked us, we planted a couple trees, we prayed to Jesus, they prayed to Allah, yadda yadda yadda, we went back to the guest house, and we fly out tomorrow.
The End.
OK… if you want to read more about one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever witnessed, let alone participated in, read on.
This morning Ron, our team leader, was still not feeling up to par and didn’t think he should make the trip to Barek Aub with us today. He asked if I was comfortable leading the team by myself and, even though I knew this would involve speaking to the Barek Aub elders, in a fit of gross overconfidence I said, “Sure!”
Upon arrival at the village our host called the village elders together to give us all a chance to express our thanks to one another and say our goodbyes. He first spoke to the elders thanking them on behalf of our partner organization for their cooperation in the project and thanked Flatirons for funding the water well project, school, and clinic and for coming all the way from the US to work here in Afghanistan.
Then Abdul Zahir, the eldest and Team Leader of Barek Aub, expressed his thanks to the crew and all of Flatirons for their funds, time, and effort. Then Maijnoon, the religious leader of Barek Aub, thanked us and said God will bless us for our devotion to the children of Barek Aub for providing the school and clinic. Then Bashir, who is confined to a wheelchair and has donated his home for the current temporary clinic, praised us for working so hard to bring a first-class permanent clinic to Barek Aub because he knows how much it will mean particularly to the children of the village. Then Abdul Baqi, one of the 12 elders and the engineer who is on site 24/7, spoke in glowing terms about how much it meant to all the people of Barek Aub that we would come all the way from the US and work with their men, side by side, and stayed through the heat and dust. Over the next 15 minutes or so each of the elders present (I think there were 9) took their turn thanking Flatirons for helping their village with the well and for our investment in the future of their children in the form of the school and the clinic, which are now well on their way to completion. The gratitude being expressed, from these people who have nothing by US standards, was very specific and totally overwhelming.
Then our host asked if I would like to say anything and I jumped at the opportunity. I thanked the elders for allowing us to come work with their men. And because we all knew that we weren’t as skilled at bricklaying as they are, I thanked them for putting up with our inexperience as we worked with them. I then said that we would take the memories of our week home with us to keep permanently and I hoped the clinic and school would be a permanent reminder to them of the bond we feel with the people of Barek Aub. At that point I know Michal and Jeff added their comments, but to be perfectly honest I was higher than a kite at that moment and all I remember is the elders nodding in agreement. I’m sure it was good.
We then located a good spot to plant the two trees and began to dig the first hole. Each Flatirons team member dug a little and each of the elders wanted to dig a little, too. We all took turns and it was amazing to watch as each of these impressive Muslim men, many rather formidable looking , took turns with the pick pounding it into the earth so we could shovel it out. It was quickly apparent none of them was a stranger to manual labor. We then noticed that one of the elders had a prosthetic leg, but that didn’t stop him (it didn’t’ even slow him down!) from digging out his share. And then we watched as Bashir, the elder in the wheelchair, hoisted himself out of his chair and crawled over to the hole and began whacking away with the pick. NOTHING was going to stop him from doing his part in staying connected with Flatirons.
Hello? It’s reality calling… anyone home?
The hole was now deep enough so one of the local kids ran over to the well and brought back a pail of water. He handed it to one of the elders who began pouring it in as I added the soil we’d brought from Colorado while our host explained what I was doing to a chorus of Dari oohs and aahs. They backfilled the dirt, finished pouring in the water, and we all started clapping. We planted the second tree about 20’ from the first, also at the clinic. We decided to save planting a tree at the school for another team so they can share in a similar celebration with the elders.
After the tree planting was finished, I felt the appropriate thing was to say a prayer so I asked our host if it would be appropriate and he said it would be OK.
So I said a short prayer asking God to solve the bureaucratic issues that were holding up use of the new well and for His blessing on the clinic, school, and entire village of Barek Aub. Our host translated for me and I closed asking everything in Jesus’ name. I wasn’t sure if that was OK to do in public in front of the elders, but gave it a shot anyway.
As soon as I was done and our host was done translating, Maijnoon, their religious leader, stepped to our host and said he wanted to pray, too. So he started praying in Dari then recited a number of portions of the Qur’an before concluding. Our host translated and said that he prayed to God (not Allah, which we all found fascinating) to bless the village and especially the people of Flatirons that God would grant us safe travel back home to our families and that we would return again.
Heavy duty stuff. And something I don’t think any of us on the team will ever forget.
We said our goodbyes to the elders and construction team at the clinic and headed over to the school to say goodbye to the construction team over there. No formal ceremonies this time, just a few very difficult goodbyes and a lot of “tashakors” (thank you’s).
Before we left, and with our host’s approval, we gave one of the men a pair of decent work shoes. The man is Nawroz, a 55 year-old who was severely wounded in the stomach and nearly lost his left leg when a bomb went off in his office building during the civil war. Nawroz (pronounced nah-ROOS) was probably the hardest worker on either job site. He was a tough, crusty old man when we arrived, but due to the unconditional love shown him by Jordan, Levi, and the rest of the team this leathery old soul melted into a funny, playful old softie who was so gripped with emotion at the gift of a pair of new shoes that he could barely make eye contact with us as he walked away.
I’m glad I’m sitting at a typewriter right now because if I were trying to tell you these stories in person I wouldn’t be able to get them out – such was the effect the men of Barek Aub had on us. But that’s the way it often goes… you do something to try to help someone and you receive twice the blessing yourself.
As we left the village for the last time, we took note of all the changes we could see just from our week out there: the first floor of the school is nearing the halfway mark for the bricklaying, the clinic is about one-third complete, and 5 new roads have been cut in at the west end of the village. There is still much work to be done in terms of pouring the concrete columns and installing the roof structures, but it’s not hard to see that a lot of work has been done since we arrived for the first time last Thursday.
We headed back to the guesthouse where Naiem had lunch waiting for us. After lunch we spent the afternoon buying last minute souvenirs on Chicken Street, relaxing, and packing for the trip home.
This will be my last update till we are back on the ground in Denver Thursday evening. Our final prayer requests would be for Ron’s comfort on the trip home, safe travel for everyone, and for continued prayer for the people of Barek Aub – their needs are unfathomable and our work there is just beginning.
We can’t thank you enough for your prayer support so far. I know I speak for everyone on the team when I say this has been the experience of a lifetime and it would not have been possible without your support. God bless you all till we see you again in a few days!
OK, now… The End.
--Bob Tunnell
Our host translated as I expressed our sincere thanks to the elders of Barek Aub.
photo by Jordan Kejr
Abdul Zahir, the top elder in Barek Aub, takes part in planting the friendship tree.
photo by Jordan Kejr
Bashir, one of the 12 elders, was not going to let his wheelchair stop him from helping plant that tree!
Arm in arm with the elders of Barek Aub... it doesn't get much better than that.
photo by Micah Kirkwood
Many thanks to all the guys on the team who shot great photos and especially to Dave P. for hosting them and giving me whatever I needed for the updates.
###
