Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind

By workers in Central Asia

It was July 6, a day to celebrate in the capital city and also the president’s birthday. We heard rumors of a fireworks display and a concert at the new government center. Since we did not get to see any fireworks on the fourth, why not the sixth?

Because of terrible traffic we were not allowed to get across the bridge to where the events were located. Frustrated, we walked instead along the river’s edge opposite the festivities. It was dark, quiet and we were alone. Just us and a billion mosquitoes. We waited...10:00, 10:30, 11:00, 11:30...and still no stop in the concert across the way and no sign of fireworks. We decided that if nothing happened by midnight we would leave. But just then we saw a nice little display of fireworks next to the President’s house across the river. That’s when the excitement began.

From a position of perhaps a hundred yards away the BIG fireworks erupted. The display was amazing as rockets exploded directly overhead and showered our heads with plastic and paper while loud booms shook the ground. At one point we had to make a run for it; a shell landed nearby and exploded while other airborne fireworks hadn’t yet extinguished before their sparks rained on us!

The next day we asked some local friends who had attended the concert how they enjoyed the fireworks. They told us they hadn’t been able to see a thing; all the buildings were in the way. God gave us the best seats in town.

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