How do you function when you “land” in a new community? Does the thought of not knowing anyone intimidate you or get you excited?

What about “landing” in the tribal areas of Northern Pakistan where you have no idea what you’re going to see, what you’re going to experience nor who you’re going to meet? How do you prepare yourself for something like that?

When we arrived in Jabba we were surprised to find five Pakistani Army personel stationed there. We were told beforehand that Jabba, being a tribal area, had no military presence. Reason being, in the tribal areas, they are their own government and their own military. This meant that the villagers served as soldiers. However, due to the earthquake, the government deployed the military to help head the relief effort.

Shortly after the greeting of Mumtaz (more to come later) we were quickly introduced to the four other Army personel along with the three Americans that we were replacing. There was already a strong friendship between these three (all from Minnesota) and the military which was exciting yet caused a bit of anxiety as well. What was it going to be like when the three Minnesotans left the next morning? Is the friendship that I saw existing between them going to form between us–a new team–and them? Will they know our names like they knew the names of this first team?

Wait a second…I picked up on FRIENDSHIP existing between three random Americans and Pakistani Military personel. I watched laughter–I saw hugs. They KNEW each other’s names.

Why did something so simple catch me so off guard? What was I expecting to find? Perhaps I was hoping that relationships would form but was pessimistic about it actually happening. Can Muslims and Christians actually get along. Can FRIENDSHIP really exist between these two worlds?

What about your friends? Do you have FRIENDS that don’t believe the same thing you do? Do you have FRIENDS that look differently than you?

If you don’t–WHY NOT?

Our first glimpse reminded me of Machu Picchu–a Peruvian mystery community–in its landscaping. Jabba (pronounced not like Jabba-the-Hut but the emphasis on the second syllable) was a village built right into the sides of two mountains with a babbling brook trickling through its relatively insignificant valley. These weren’t your typical mountains with a gradual incline; these mountains went straight up. Thus, the villages had learned (a couple of thousand years ago) how to landscape in such a way that levels or tiers were created to support not only their homes but their corn fields as well. I was suprised to discover that this was an agricultural people who survived on the corn and wheat that they were able to grow and harvest before the winter set in.

Jabba was a village of 1500 people and 120 homes. Due to the earthquake, I later discovered that over 300 of their people had died and they had lost 100 of their homes, leaving several hundred people homeless. Many of them were living in donated tents, the old school buildings, or barns that had not fallen. Every building that was left standing was significantly damaged, however, and will likely be torn down and rebuilt once the spring comes.

Imagine this….You have never seen an American before. What’s more, you likely have never seen anything outside of your small village or valley. All of a sudden, a huge flying machine lands in your most spacious corn field. What do you think that must have been like for the people of Jabba?

By the time we landed, there were about 100 men and boys squatting just out of reach of the helicopter blades watching with wide-eyes as this “thing” hovered above them before landing gently into the ice-cold mud below. They must have thought the world was coming to an end–and then the “thing” opened and out came four Americans dressed in colorful jackets.

We were greeted with a wave of ice-cold air, confusion, anxiety, and the warm welcome of Mumtaz–a Pakistani Army Commander who was stationed in Jabba.