Alright, the Nitty Gritty

"Because God is funny, that's how He is.
And He likes taking total misfits and using them so that everybody knows who did it.
There can be no confusion about who gets the glory
when He's using a bunch of wing-nuts to get something done."
-Mark Driscoll

The name of this blog is Arkansawi. It comes from the idea that if you're from Iraq, you're Iraqi. If your come from Saudi Arabia, you're Saudi. Thus: Arkansawi. The thread is quite logical, and proceeded from a conversation I had with my friend Yassir about a year ago. In the conversation this fact was more mentioned in passing, and afterwards the conversation turned towards subjects of greater importance as we established that the Booty Booty Rockin' Everywhere song was not about cars honking.

So there you have it. I've heard that old-timers from Arkansas prefer to call themselves 'Arkansawyers.' I feel this attempts to create a false state affinity with Mark Twain and does little to conceal the fact that when Huckleberry Finn visited Arkansas he experienced the most hickified, plug-a-tobacca-chawin', hog-stealin', ignorantest turd-bog this side of indoor plumbing. Mark Twain was Missourian. I will say nothing more.

And I guess we all could be 'Arkansans' too, but the name just seems to piggy-back off of Kansas's reputation. Nothing against Kansas, but let a tree be judged by its fruits. The fruit of Kansas is corn. I will say nothing more.

This blog is intended to be the chronicle of my trip to Jordan and what I see and learn there. If the below post is any indication, this blog will assume the characteristic rhythm of my life: vast periods of desolate boredom interrupted by inappropiately manic frenzy. It's not all my fault, either, lest it be assumed that as a blogger I should take responsibility for something. Responsibility is so 2006. Whining is the new voting. Get with it, democracy.

If you're still reading, and this little blog still stands bravely defending its small patch of blog-space, then maybe you can pray for me. A dude named Paul asked a church in Ephesus, "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. That's my request too. 'Gospel' literally translates 'good news,' or 'evangelion' or 'injil,' and this good news thing is the treasure of my life.

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I'm leaving the US in two days. Some say I will end up in Jordan. Some say I will end up in the Mediterranean after a freak whale attack. But they would be wrong. Dead wrong. Just like the whale after the attack.

*cue explosion*