There is something out there that costs most people in money and time, but it is unnecessary. I see it all over the place, in TV commercials, at auto parts stores and on signs in front of the "quickie change" places. It is the 3,000 mile oil change. The myth says "if you change your oil every 3,000 miles your engine will run and wear better", but it has been proven many times that this is just not true.
If you follow the money, you can see where this comes from. It is very good marketing, not some conspiracy, that uses the common sense of most motorists. When you hear the this, it seems to make sense that changing your oil often will do just what the marketers say. Instead of listening to marketers, I would like to give you some info that will help you understand why spending up to an hour in time and extra $$$ for extra oil changes can be avoided.
I believe most people are misled by where their information comes from. As I said before, the marketers want you to change your oil every 3,000 miles, but to find out if that is really necessary you need check your owner's manual that comes with the automobile. There are some cars that require a 3,000 mile oil change, but today that is few and far between. When you think about it the people who built your car are going to know much more about what it really needs than anyone else. If your manual calls for a 7,500 mile oil change, then that is what they have determined is optimal.
As an example of how much of a difference this can make, I will use our cars. In our household, we have three cars. Car 1 is a six cylinder car, holds 4.5 quarts of oil and costs $40 per oil change. Car 2 is a six cylinder, holds 9.5 quarts of oil and costs $80 per oil change. Car 3 is a V-8, holds 7.5 quarts of oil and costs $65 per oil change. My oil changes are a little more expensive because I only use Mobil 1 synthetic oil in our cars. If the average on all three cars is 15K miles per year, then I would spend $925 on 15 oil changes. Keep in mind I do my own oil changes so they would cost a good bit more if I took my cars somewhere and had it done for me.
If you look at the owner's manual for the cars, Car 1 calls for an oil & filter change every 6,000 miles. Car 2 calls for one every 15,000 miles and Car 3 every 7,500 miles. With those intervals, I should have only changed the oil in Car 1 2 1/2 times, Car 2 only once in a year and Car 3 twice in a year. My total expense for what is called for in the owner's manuals would be $322.50 for 5 1/2 oil changes over the year. I saved $602.50!!
So what is the proof that this causes no more engine wear or degraded oil? First was a test done by Consumer Reports a few years ago. They took two identical cars and ran them 100K miles. In one car they changed the oil every 3,000 miles and in the other they changed it when the owner's manual said to do it. At the end they tore down the engines and measured the wear on both. The engine wear was the same on both cars so their conclusion was the 3,000 mile oil change was not necessary.
My own proof for my cars comes from the oil reports. Since I do all of the work on my own cars, every time I complete an oil change I send a sample in to Blackstone Labs. They test it to see if the oil has degraded and also list any metals or contaminants they find in the oil. My reports always come back saying the oil is still performing to standards and the contaminants and metals are normal. In fact, in Car 1, because I use Mobil 1 oil those tests actually came back saying the oil was still like new and I can extend the use. That car is up to a 9,000 mile oil change now and the reports always say the engine is in great shape and so is the oil.
So don't listen to marketers when it comes to your automobiles. Save yourself time and money by listening to the manufacturer and changing the oil when they recommend. On the other end, never extend your oil changes past the manufacturer's suggested cycle without proper oil testing that shows it does not harm your engine to do so.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Darn, Slow Computer!! (Part 2)
I talked about bloated anti-virus programs in my last blog so next up are the toolbars; those little “handy” gadgets that are installed in your browser or even on your desktop. The problem with toolbars is they use a lot of your computer’s resources and most of the time they are unnecessary.
The most used functions of toolbars are quick searches, pop-up blocking and auto-fill. All three of those functions are already built into Internet Explorer and FireFox so they are unnecessary. The problem caused by toolbars is a slow Internet, especially when several computers with toolbars installed are using the same Internet connection. While you’re surfing around, the toolbar is constantly sending information back and forth to their servers. They do this to help websites you visit determine what ads should show up for you while you are there. They can also allow hackers a portal to get into your computer and record information that you type in when you visit sites. So if you have a toolbar and you’re tired of your slow Internet, get rid of it.
The last of my top three things that slow your computer down is spyware. Spyware consists of little programs that install themselves when you install other programs or in the background when you visit some websites. They can also be disguised as a program you think is good and you install them yourself without knowing it.
Spyware is vicious and can wreak all kinds of havoc on your computer. It can cause ads to pop up all over the place uncontrollably. It can record where you surf and what you type into your computer, even when you are not online. It can worm its’ way through your private information and report it back to a remote server. Finally, if several spyware programs are installed they can use a tremendous amount of resources bringing your computer to a very slow crawl or even make it unusable.
As with viruses, there is a great program that will take care of spyware problems. Spybot Search&Destroy by Safer Networks not only finds and deletes already loaded spyware programs, it allows you to “immunize” your computer to keep you away from known spyware websites. It also has a runtime program called TeaTimer that asks you to confirm Registry and System Configuration changes before allowing them. That keeps those nasty auto-install programs from doing damage in the background without you knowing it. This is a great defense program, but it does use about 40MB of RAM so if you run the Spybot checker pretty often you don’t have to install this. If you always forget to check things out, install it and have peace of mind that nothing is installed without you knowing about it.
Spybot Search&Destroy is a free program available at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html and there is a good write up on the previous version of the software at http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0200024r2k1o (the new version, 1.60, just came out so there are no reviews of that version yet). The program is free, but if you would like to thank the makers of the software you can donate to their efforts at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/donate/index.html BE CAREFUL!! Don’t go to search engines and just grab any free “spyware detection” program. There are a ton of them that are fake and actually install spyware on your computer. They are sneaky, like the one that is called “SpywareBot” playing off of Spybot to try and get you to download and install their junk.
The most used functions of toolbars are quick searches, pop-up blocking and auto-fill. All three of those functions are already built into Internet Explorer and FireFox so they are unnecessary. The problem caused by toolbars is a slow Internet, especially when several computers with toolbars installed are using the same Internet connection. While you’re surfing around, the toolbar is constantly sending information back and forth to their servers. They do this to help websites you visit determine what ads should show up for you while you are there. They can also allow hackers a portal to get into your computer and record information that you type in when you visit sites. So if you have a toolbar and you’re tired of your slow Internet, get rid of it.
The last of my top three things that slow your computer down is spyware. Spyware consists of little programs that install themselves when you install other programs or in the background when you visit some websites. They can also be disguised as a program you think is good and you install them yourself without knowing it.
Spyware is vicious and can wreak all kinds of havoc on your computer. It can cause ads to pop up all over the place uncontrollably. It can record where you surf and what you type into your computer, even when you are not online. It can worm its’ way through your private information and report it back to a remote server. Finally, if several spyware programs are installed they can use a tremendous amount of resources bringing your computer to a very slow crawl or even make it unusable.
As with viruses, there is a great program that will take care of spyware problems. Spybot Search&Destroy by Safer Networks not only finds and deletes already loaded spyware programs, it allows you to “immunize” your computer to keep you away from known spyware websites. It also has a runtime program called TeaTimer that asks you to confirm Registry and System Configuration changes before allowing them. That keeps those nasty auto-install programs from doing damage in the background without you knowing it. This is a great defense program, but it does use about 40MB of RAM so if you run the Spybot checker pretty often you don’t have to install this. If you always forget to check things out, install it and have peace of mind that nothing is installed without you knowing about it.
Spybot Search&Destroy is a free program available at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html and there is a good write up on the previous version of the software at http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0200024r2k1o (the new version, 1.60, just came out so there are no reviews of that version yet). The program is free, but if you would like to thank the makers of the software you can donate to their efforts at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/donate/index.html BE CAREFUL!! Don’t go to search engines and just grab any free “spyware detection” program. There are a ton of them that are fake and actually install spyware on your computer. They are sneaky, like the one that is called “SpywareBot” playing off of Spybot to try and get you to download and install their junk.
Darn, Slow Computer!! (Part 1)
Does it take forever for your computer to boot up? Do you twiddle your thumbs while a web page loads even though you have DSL or broadband Internet? Several things can cause your computer to slow down, but three of them are quick and very easy to fix without buying new hardware.
So what are these three things? Bloated anti-virus programs, Toolbars and Spyware.
We’ll start with the A/V programs and cover the others in future posts. Did you know most of the anti-virus programs you buy at the store are so bloated with unnecessary junk they can actually slow your computer down more than the viruses they protect you from? It sounds crazy, but it’s true. The problem is, due to wonderful programmers around the world with too much time on their hands, you really can’t afford to be without anti-virus software. It's so bad out there, when I searched for reviews of anti-virus programs the first link was a virus that was caught by my anti-virus software.
So who are the big offenders? Unfortunately the most bloated anti-virus programs are the top sellers because they spend a ton of money on marketing and “coop” agreements with computer makers. Every time I get a call from a friend or family member who is having trouble with a slow computer my first question is “Do you have McAfee or Norton Anti-Virus?” and the answer is most often “Yes”.
Since you really need an anti-virus program, and you already paid for the one you have, what can you do? I’m glad you asked.
There is a fantastic program that protects you from viruses, rootkits, some spyware and more. Best of all, it’s absolutely free for home users. The program is called Avast Anti-Virus. Avast does a great job of protecting your computer while using very little of your computing resources (memory, CPU, etc). PC Magazine has a great review of the software along with reader reviews here http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2282704,00.asp#member_rating
All you have to do is register the software each year and you can keep using it for free. They don’t send you any spam because they make their money from business users. Just go to http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html to download it and install it. If you have another virus program, make sure you uninstall that one after installing Avast so you can get your resources back. I personally use Avast on all of our home computers and I have also purchased it for the Windows SBS 2003 server and all of the client computers in our office.
If you feel like you just have to pay for a home anti-virus program but still want a good one, you can get AVG anti-virus at http://www.grisoft.com/ww.store It's easy on the resources and does a good job. Your computer geek friends would approve of either of these.
So what are these three things? Bloated anti-virus programs, Toolbars and Spyware.
We’ll start with the A/V programs and cover the others in future posts. Did you know most of the anti-virus programs you buy at the store are so bloated with unnecessary junk they can actually slow your computer down more than the viruses they protect you from? It sounds crazy, but it’s true. The problem is, due to wonderful programmers around the world with too much time on their hands, you really can’t afford to be without anti-virus software. It's so bad out there, when I searched for reviews of anti-virus programs the first link was a virus that was caught by my anti-virus software.
So who are the big offenders? Unfortunately the most bloated anti-virus programs are the top sellers because they spend a ton of money on marketing and “coop” agreements with computer makers. Every time I get a call from a friend or family member who is having trouble with a slow computer my first question is “Do you have McAfee or Norton Anti-Virus?” and the answer is most often “Yes”.
Since you really need an anti-virus program, and you already paid for the one you have, what can you do? I’m glad you asked.
There is a fantastic program that protects you from viruses, rootkits, some spyware and more. Best of all, it’s absolutely free for home users. The program is called Avast Anti-Virus. Avast does a great job of protecting your computer while using very little of your computing resources (memory, CPU, etc). PC Magazine has a great review of the software along with reader reviews here http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2282704,00.asp#member_rating
All you have to do is register the software each year and you can keep using it for free. They don’t send you any spam because they make their money from business users. Just go to http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html to download it and install it. If you have another virus program, make sure you uninstall that one after installing Avast so you can get your resources back. I personally use Avast on all of our home computers and I have also purchased it for the Windows SBS 2003 server and all of the client computers in our office.
If you feel like you just have to pay for a home anti-virus program but still want a good one, you can get AVG anti-virus at http://www.grisoft.com/ww.store It's easy on the resources and does a good job. Your computer geek friends would approve of either of these.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Heroes
All of us have heroes of one sort or another that we look up to. They are so important to us that almost all stories have a hero of one sort or another as a main character. There's Spiderman, a regular guy whose’ spider bite gives him the power to spin webs and super strength. Batman, the man who uses his wealth to create the tools he needs to save Gotham City. Then there's my favorite, Superman. The man of steel who can fly, deflect bullets, run down a speeding train and so much more.
With all of the great heroes to choose from, the greatest hero in my life can't fly, or spin webs. He's a real hero rather than just a comic book wish.
My hero is a REAL man. By that I mean he’s a man’s man. He is man of strength and integrity who has strong, traditional values. He is tough when he needs to be but also loving, though not a “push over” like so many “feminized” men of today have become. He loves this country, has an incredible work ethic yet has a very humble heart. He regularly sacrificed himself and his wants for his family. He is my dad.
So what are the things he has done to make him worthy of hero status? I'm glad you asked.
He is a man of love, true love. I saw the way he loves his wife. Not a fake kind of "everything's perfect" and "rose colored glasses" kind of love but a real, solid love. The kind of love that admits things are not always perfect, but when you stand by each other you can work through anything together. A love so true, when watching James Garner read to his wife every day in "The Notebook" my wife said "that reminds me of your dad" explaining "I can see him loving your mom that way if they were ever in the same situation". She even quoted advice he gave us when we were married 23 years ago recently in a marriage talk we did. She said “Whatever may happen between you, no matter how mad you get, never take your anger to bed.” great advice that we have tried to live by in our marriage.
He also showed that love to his children. Every day he made sure to tell us "I love you" and mean it, and give us a hug and kiss goodbye. Yet another thing my wife admiringly noticed when we were dating. When necessary, he disciplined us out of love to teach us integrity and right from wrong...even when it tore him apart inside to have to do it.
He sacrificed himself for us. One example of this was when he turned down a great opportunity for promotion in his company in my high school years. It was a promotion that would offer more money, greater security and make him a top manager in a very large company, but it would involve a move. He sacrificed that to allow us to stay with our friends through high school and not have to "start over" creating a real home that we can all look back to throughout our lives.
One of the greatest memories from my childhood was my first concert. I absolutely love music and I have always been interested in electronics and graphic design. My favorite band at the time was ELO (Electric Light Orchestra). They had an amazing stage show with their trademark UFO and they had something brand new incorporated into their show…laser lights. They released a new album called “Time” and I mentioned I would like to see them in concert but never expected to actually go since I was just thirteen and could not get there on my own. The next thing I know I am there with my dad sitting next to me. I knew he didn’t like the music very much and had never been a big rock fan, but he sat there for over three hours so I could see my favorite band in my first concert. That spoke volumes to me.
There are so many “little things” through my life I could list that made a huge impact on my life. He would never see his life as “exemplary” because he is truly humble man, but my dad, Al Schilling, is the greatest man I know and my hero. I will consider my life to be a success if I am half the husband, dad, son and friend he is and has been.
I hope your hero is half as amazing as mine.
With all of the great heroes to choose from, the greatest hero in my life can't fly, or spin webs. He's a real hero rather than just a comic book wish.
My hero is a REAL man. By that I mean he’s a man’s man. He is man of strength and integrity who has strong, traditional values. He is tough when he needs to be but also loving, though not a “push over” like so many “feminized” men of today have become. He loves this country, has an incredible work ethic yet has a very humble heart. He regularly sacrificed himself and his wants for his family. He is my dad.
So what are the things he has done to make him worthy of hero status? I'm glad you asked.
He is a man of love, true love. I saw the way he loves his wife. Not a fake kind of "everything's perfect" and "rose colored glasses" kind of love but a real, solid love. The kind of love that admits things are not always perfect, but when you stand by each other you can work through anything together. A love so true, when watching James Garner read to his wife every day in "The Notebook" my wife said "that reminds me of your dad" explaining "I can see him loving your mom that way if they were ever in the same situation". She even quoted advice he gave us when we were married 23 years ago recently in a marriage talk we did. She said “Whatever may happen between you, no matter how mad you get, never take your anger to bed.” great advice that we have tried to live by in our marriage.
He also showed that love to his children. Every day he made sure to tell us "I love you" and mean it, and give us a hug and kiss goodbye. Yet another thing my wife admiringly noticed when we were dating. When necessary, he disciplined us out of love to teach us integrity and right from wrong...even when it tore him apart inside to have to do it.
He sacrificed himself for us. One example of this was when he turned down a great opportunity for promotion in his company in my high school years. It was a promotion that would offer more money, greater security and make him a top manager in a very large company, but it would involve a move. He sacrificed that to allow us to stay with our friends through high school and not have to "start over" creating a real home that we can all look back to throughout our lives.
One of the greatest memories from my childhood was my first concert. I absolutely love music and I have always been interested in electronics and graphic design. My favorite band at the time was ELO (Electric Light Orchestra). They had an amazing stage show with their trademark UFO and they had something brand new incorporated into their show…laser lights. They released a new album called “Time” and I mentioned I would like to see them in concert but never expected to actually go since I was just thirteen and could not get there on my own. The next thing I know I am there with my dad sitting next to me. I knew he didn’t like the music very much and had never been a big rock fan, but he sat there for over three hours so I could see my favorite band in my first concert. That spoke volumes to me.
There are so many “little things” through my life I could list that made a huge impact on my life. He would never see his life as “exemplary” because he is truly humble man, but my dad, Al Schilling, is the greatest man I know and my hero. I will consider my life to be a success if I am half the husband, dad, son and friend he is and has been.
I hope your hero is half as amazing as mine.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Kill 'em All!!!
Over the past several years, in light of the events of September 11, 2001, this has become the unfortunate mantra of many people directed at the islamic community. To be honest with you, it was the call of nearly every American, including myself, in the few weeks/months right after the attack on our country. Being a very proud American it seemed to me to be the right thing to do. "They started it" and we need to finish it. In the world's view that is the answer, but should that be the case for me as a Christ follower?
Before you think "oh great, another guy who wants to just roll over and let them run all over us", please allow me fill in some blanks. Personally, I do not believe we should roll over and play dead. We need to defend our country and I support our President, no matter who he is, and our troops 100% in any time of war, therefore I support victory for our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Our brave men and women are fighting for our freedom and they should be allowed to finish the job they set out to do, not be pulled out early in defeat because of politics. I also support "taking out" the leaders and members of terror organizations who have declared war against our great country. If you declare war against us, then you must deal with the consequences.
So if that's the case, then why do I say the mantra of "Kill 'em all" is "unfortunate"? I think it is unfortunate because we are dealing with a lot of people who live in circumstances we as Americans could never fully understand. You see, in America we are free to worship who or what we want, where we want and when we want to. In the Middle East it is a completely different story.
Over the past few years I have been taking mission trips to the Middle East with my church. The first time I went my family was scared, and even though I tried to hide it from them, so was I. All we hear on TV is how much they hate Americans and think we are all "the great Satan". What I found to be the truth is they absolutely LOVE Americans and envy our freedom. So, what do you think is the number one question from people we encounter in the Middle East? "Can you get me to America?" In their countries the government is run by islamic law called "sharia" (شَرِيعَة). This means the quran (الكريم) and hadith (الحديث) are the law of the land so you either follow them or you have consequences up to and including death. Islam is very much a religion of force and has been that way from the very beginning when Muhammad had his "revelations". Simply speaking badly about Muhammad is a sentence of death when sharia is followed.
Couple that with the fact that the quran is the text book used in school to teach children to read and write and now I have a question for you. If you knew you and your family would be targeted if you do not profess the government's religion, what would you do? Really think about this. Christians, Jews, hindus, budhists, baha'i and all religions other than islam are literally illegal in your country. If you convert to one of them, you may wake up one day and your children, spouse, parents or all of them have simply disappeared. Your business is ransacked and your home set on fire in an attempt to kill you. You cannot have any form of identification because that is only given to muslims so you cannot get a job, do any banking or conduct any kind of commerce. Would you even think about being anything but muslim in that country under those circumstances? My guess would be that, as is the case in these countries, 99% of you would not even consider anything other than islam. Now consider the fact that the quran doesn't say these rules only apply to to islamic nations, but they apply to the entire world...by force if necessary.
Hopefully this helps you begin to see what the free world is up against. There is a huge region of the world where the scenario I listed above is the actual law of the land and it calls on true followers to spread it across the world. So if we don't "kill 'em all", what else can we do?
We can CHANGE THEIR HEARTS.
When our teams go to the Middle East, we are not running around on the streets, passing out tracts and trying to convert people to Christianity. What we do is show people the compassion of Christ through our actions. Our teams have done things like set up a computer lab to help people learn new skills and find better jobs, help with construction work on some churches, visit orphanages to create relationships with people and show them love. Our leader who is from the country we serve always tells us "remember, when you meet people in the streets of the city and in the impoverished areas we serve, you represent 1000 Americans to them and, since they believe EVERY American is a Christian, you represent Christ to them without saying a word.
You see, the teams are dealing with every day people who, like most people here who call themselves Christians, are really only muslim in name. Most of them are illiterate so they cannot read the quran, much less follow it. As an American, everywhere you go the people flock around you trying to say hello or shake your hand. They want to know all about you so you already have an "in".
So instead of believing the media hype, go over and show the people of the Middle East the love of Christ. If you can't go over there, there are plenty of people here who need the same love. Remember, Christ loved everyone, even the people who crucified him, all the way through the last breath he took here on earth and beyond after his resurrection.
If you would like more info on how to relate with muslims, check the book "Unveiling Islam". http://www.amazon.com/Unveiling-Islam-Insiders-Muslim-Beliefs/dp/0825424003/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218081071&sr=8-1
If you are going to have a relationship with someone from a different culture you need to learn what is offensive to them. Things like never greeting anyone with your left hand, what your friends are allowed to eat if you have them over for dinner. The book I mentioned will help you understand the culture. I hope to see you there, sharing love with people across the globe.
Before you think "oh great, another guy who wants to just roll over and let them run all over us", please allow me fill in some blanks. Personally, I do not believe we should roll over and play dead. We need to defend our country and I support our President, no matter who he is, and our troops 100% in any time of war, therefore I support victory for our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Our brave men and women are fighting for our freedom and they should be allowed to finish the job they set out to do, not be pulled out early in defeat because of politics. I also support "taking out" the leaders and members of terror organizations who have declared war against our great country. If you declare war against us, then you must deal with the consequences.
So if that's the case, then why do I say the mantra of "Kill 'em all" is "unfortunate"? I think it is unfortunate because we are dealing with a lot of people who live in circumstances we as Americans could never fully understand. You see, in America we are free to worship who or what we want, where we want and when we want to. In the Middle East it is a completely different story.
Over the past few years I have been taking mission trips to the Middle East with my church. The first time I went my family was scared, and even though I tried to hide it from them, so was I. All we hear on TV is how much they hate Americans and think we are all "the great Satan". What I found to be the truth is they absolutely LOVE Americans and envy our freedom. So, what do you think is the number one question from people we encounter in the Middle East? "Can you get me to America?" In their countries the government is run by islamic law called "sharia" (شَرِيعَة). This means the quran (الكريم) and hadith (الحديث) are the law of the land so you either follow them or you have consequences up to and including death. Islam is very much a religion of force and has been that way from the very beginning when Muhammad had his "revelations". Simply speaking badly about Muhammad is a sentence of death when sharia is followed.
Couple that with the fact that the quran is the text book used in school to teach children to read and write and now I have a question for you. If you knew you and your family would be targeted if you do not profess the government's religion, what would you do? Really think about this. Christians, Jews, hindus, budhists, baha'i and all religions other than islam are literally illegal in your country. If you convert to one of them, you may wake up one day and your children, spouse, parents or all of them have simply disappeared. Your business is ransacked and your home set on fire in an attempt to kill you. You cannot have any form of identification because that is only given to muslims so you cannot get a job, do any banking or conduct any kind of commerce. Would you even think about being anything but muslim in that country under those circumstances? My guess would be that, as is the case in these countries, 99% of you would not even consider anything other than islam. Now consider the fact that the quran doesn't say these rules only apply to to islamic nations, but they apply to the entire world...by force if necessary.
Hopefully this helps you begin to see what the free world is up against. There is a huge region of the world where the scenario I listed above is the actual law of the land and it calls on true followers to spread it across the world. So if we don't "kill 'em all", what else can we do?
We can CHANGE THEIR HEARTS.
When our teams go to the Middle East, we are not running around on the streets, passing out tracts and trying to convert people to Christianity. What we do is show people the compassion of Christ through our actions. Our teams have done things like set up a computer lab to help people learn new skills and find better jobs, help with construction work on some churches, visit orphanages to create relationships with people and show them love. Our leader who is from the country we serve always tells us "remember, when you meet people in the streets of the city and in the impoverished areas we serve, you represent 1000 Americans to them and, since they believe EVERY American is a Christian, you represent Christ to them without saying a word.
You see, the teams are dealing with every day people who, like most people here who call themselves Christians, are really only muslim in name. Most of them are illiterate so they cannot read the quran, much less follow it. As an American, everywhere you go the people flock around you trying to say hello or shake your hand. They want to know all about you so you already have an "in".
So instead of believing the media hype, go over and show the people of the Middle East the love of Christ. If you can't go over there, there are plenty of people here who need the same love. Remember, Christ loved everyone, even the people who crucified him, all the way through the last breath he took here on earth and beyond after his resurrection.
If you would like more info on how to relate with muslims, check the book "Unveiling Islam". http://www.amazon.com/Unveiling-Islam-Insiders-Muslim-Beliefs/dp/0825424003/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218081071&sr=8-1
If you are going to have a relationship with someone from a different culture you need to learn what is offensive to them. Things like never greeting anyone with your left hand, what your friends are allowed to eat if you have them over for dinner. The book I mentioned will help you understand the culture. I hope to see you there, sharing love with people across the globe.
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