Gurgey3an (Traditional Kuwaiti Holiday)

Assalamu alaikum,
I am very happy for many reasons, and I am always happy, but today I am extra happy because I spent time with a wonderful family and I finally had the chance to do a little community service here in Kuwait and because I tried out for my university soccer team here. I am a baseball, softball, and tennis player, but I have not played soccer since I was like 8 years old so I was a little nervous about even trying out. I knew the girls in Kuwait would be good because most of their brothers play and are very very good at it. I wasn't mistaken. The tryouts for the American University of Kuwait soccer team were last night and when I arrived I saw many of the girls playing and they definitely knew what they were doing. I was very excited to join them. I have been wanting to do something active since I arrived in the middle east since I am normally a very active and healthy person.

I was not too afraid to try because I feel very comfortable with sports and athletics in general and I know how good it can be to play a team sport for your own development as a person. I knew I would also get to meet a lot of nice new people through it. So I first played goalie position for a few minutes and enjoyed it very much. I like it because it reminds me of fielding grounders and making catches like I did in baseball. I just had to make sure to keep my eye on the ball and I had a lot of experience with that through my other sports. But I felt like I wanted to try to play forward or mid-fielder because I really wanted to try kicking a goal. and do some running.

So for most of the game I was given the chance to play forward on the right side. I had such a good time. It was a great challenge. I was very aggressive and I pushed myself to do well. It was a big learning experience for me because I don't know much about the rules or technique of soccer. But I managed to do well just out of my determination to do well. I actually ended up kicking the most goals out of the entire team so that was a surprise I kicked 2 of the 3 goals of the game. AlhamdulEllah. After the game, the coach named of the 16 girls who would make the team out of the 30 something that came to try out. I was selected for the team!!!!! So I am now a member of the AUK official team!! I can't believe it. I'm really excited for this experience. All of the girls on the team were very welcoming and nice. I look forward to getting to know them better.

Today I went to my friend Salma's home. Today is the full moon and it is half way time through the holy month of Ramadaan. During this time there is a traditional Kuwaiti holiday called Gurge3an. It is a time of gift-giving and zakat and making fun for the children. Salma and her mother had a great project in memory of their beloved mother and grandmother, Allah yarhamuha, a very admirable lady, just as Salma and her mom and family are too. It is clear this wonderful lady was an excellent woman to develop such a beautiful family.
They had a project of giving clothes and every other necessity you can imagine from detergent to dates, from shoes to hair brushes, from pretty outfits to baby clothes. You name it, they had it to give to the needy. I was so impressed with what they have put together. Masha Allah. May Allah greatly bless all those who have contributed to this amazing annual project. I felt so privileged to be a part of it. I wish I could do more. May Allah help me to know what else I can do. I was so happy to be there them and their friends working together.

Salma's mom even made for us personalized cupcakes. It was so cute. There home is so beautiful, it is done in Japanese style with a very artistic and creative twist to it. Salma's mom is a great artist mashaAllah. Her photography of Japan was breathtaking. She really captures the soul of that which she photographs. It left me speechless. Her children are more amazing still. All of her kids are spectacular and admirable. I wished they were really my family as I am an only child and felt a very close bond with them instantly. What is very ironic is they actually lived in Japan for two years and Salma even went to school there and speaks some Japanese just like me!!! :) What a small world. That is sooo cool.

It is so clear that this family really loves ALLAH. It is obvious through their fruits and through their warmth and through their words. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks as Jesus said in the injil (Pbuh), and you shall know them by their fruits. I felt so at home there, the time just flew by. Salma's mom gave me some very inspiring words about Islam. She told me about how our duty to our parents is even stronger than duty for jihad in battle according to Mohammad (SAAWS). I hope to find the hadeeth that talks about that so I can further elaborate on it in a later post insha Allah.

I am home now and ready to get some rest. See you tomorrow insha Allah.