Where are We?

Where are we this week? We’re in a country that is not too crazy about folks who do the kind of work we do, so to be safe we won’t name it, but we see no reason you can’t know it. A quick google search of these clues, from the fun to the tragic, will get you the country’s identity. Just don’t name it in a comment, here or on Facebook! Thanks.

---

1. It has one of the world’s tallest flagpoles (531 feet)—the flag itself is as large as a soccer field!
2. A singer from here won the Eurovision competition in 2011, which meant that it got to/had to host the competition the following year.
3. Its capital is the lowest-lying capital city in the world, at 92 feet below sea level. Its name means “wind-pounded city.” It is indeed quite windy here.
4. They are the proud hosts of the first-ever European Games, next month. A flurry of building has been going on, including a brand-new airport and several stadiums.
5. Bus-drivers here pay a daily fee upwards and then are paid by the number of riders, so they literally race each other around the city to get to the stops first and scoop up all the riders.
6. Pew Research pegs it at 99.2% Muslim. They are somewhat casual about practices—you’d see more women veiled on the streets of London than here, and we’ve not heard one call to prayer. But their loyalty to the faith is fierce; conversion rates are very low.
7. Tragically, it has been in a low-level but entrenched conflict with a neighboring nation whose people have become dear to us on our journey, for over 25 years. There were 72 deaths in 2014 along the border of the contested region. Please pray for peace to come, and we welcome your prayers for us but do not worry—we are completely safe here, and enjoying some great chances to invest in students, young couples, and others who do similar work as us, here.