Tamil Congregation Picnic: Saturday 18th July 2015

Yesterday both Simon at the Friday morning and I at the Tamil service in the evening took Jesus’ invitation to the disciples following their return from their mission to towns and villages in Galilee and following the news of John the Baptist’s execution on Herod’s orders in prison which must have hit both Jesus and the disciples hard: “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” (Mark 6: 31) Of course the quiet rest never happened. Their boat trip to the other side of the lake was spotted and the crowds were there to meet them when they came ashore and Jesus has compassion on them “because they were like sheep without a shepherd” and it leads to a days teaching and the feeding of the 5000; but surely the intention is there.

Well I headed off for a day of recreation with the Tamil congregation and friends; leaving at 8am, collecting Robert and Pushpa and family and heading out to a villa set up for such a day in an area of Bahrain I had not been in before not far of the Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Highway heading towards the Formula One circuit. We began with worship and breakfast and then had a passionate game of cricket and I was glad that I hadn’t totally lost my eye for a ball, given out hitting the ball over the boundary wall, and then cooling off with a lengthy swim before lunch. It was clearly a day much enjoyed by all and for families with children, who have been cooped up in apartments through Ramadan, and those who work outside in the heat of the day whose accommodation is in labour camps, this was a very welcome break.