Mansef - Meal of Champions

Four families and the short-term team all gathered as one last night. We sat around the floor around two classic and coveted Arab dishes, called Mansef. Since I arrived in Jordan, I have been hearing about Mansef all the time. It is a huge dish served at big celebration meals like Weddings and graduations. So last night, one of the ladies prepared Mansef for us and we made a party out of the deal. Mansef is served on a huge platter and you can only use your right hand to eat it. This is the best excuse to just be dirty. It is served on a base layer of bread, followed by rice, then covered with either Chicken or Lamb (traditionally Lamb). Then you pour this special sauce on it to make it soupy. So to eat it, you grab a grip of the stuff into the palm of your hand and work it around it a special way till it forms a ball. Then you use the outside of your thumb to pop it into your mouth. 

Might sound easy, but this is where the true foreigners are separated out, turns out I am still a foreigner. Me and three Arab guys were the primary devourers of our dish and when all was done only the part in front of me was still left. But I left satisfied and dirty as can be. After the meal we washed it down with some drinks, as you do not drink during the meal. Then we had brownies and ice-cream.

After we played some serious Wii boxing, where I was dominated by multiple children under 10. We also busted out the Wii Fit, which was absolutely hilarious. And finally, the young guys put together a band and put together some songs for the people. Great night, finished with a game of seven stones in the tiny backyard. Miss you all, cannot wait to see you.

Petra

(Look closely and Hannah Banana is leaning back in this photo)

Went to Petra with my English class on Friday. It is about a 2.5 hour drive and twenty students went. For those of you who do not know, Petra is a historical site in Southern Jordan made by the Nabatean people about 2200 years ago. It is an incredible collection of tombs, temples and chiseled caverns, with the main seek (Pathway) running all the way to China. It was a fun time with the class, running, walking and singing through the beautiful landscape. Best of all, I had my friend Hannah Banana, a monkey doll that Emily gave to me, joined me on my journey. I was lucky enough to take some great pictures with her and my buddies. Oh yeah, and for reference Petra is were Indiana Jones was filled and is the place where they found the Holy Grail. I wish someone would have told me that it did actually not exist.

 

Amman

This weekend, our team went on a trip to Amman, the capital city of Jordan. Amman is a bustling town, with about 5 million people in the greater area. From Aqaba, it is a four hour drive through desert, with an occasional speed bump to spice things up. We left for Amman on Saturday at noon and we arrived shortly before 5. We had the chance to see the Wolskey's old house in a small city outside Amman as well as the old center that has since been shut down. The drive itself was a little frustrating, as the youngest child was screaming at the top of his lunges for the duration of the trip. However, besides momentary frustration and a headache, we were ready for an exciting weekend in Amman. 

After quickly settling into the guest house, we made our way over to another workers house for Papa John's pizza. Most of the pizza here is Lebanese, so to have Western Style pizza was a blessing. During the meal, we had  the chance to meet most of the Amman team as well as the other students doing similar things as us. It was fun to hear stories and to see the passion that filled the room. On the trip we definitely eat like kings, so the meal was followed by the best brownies and ice-cream. After meeting the workers, us and the other students went out to watch Transformers 2. This was a riot as a large portion of the movie is filmed in the area. In fact, the majority of the final fighting scene is filled in Wa

di Rum, which is where we went on a jeep excursion the day prior. The audience was a little disappointed at the point when one of the guys says, "The Jordanian's are here" and only two helicopters rush in and get smoked after 5 seconds of combat. And now that I am part Jordanian, I could empathize with the pain.

Upon our arrival to the guest house, Tim and I moved our mattresses out to the roof and slept under the night sky. The temperature is substantially cooler and the cold breeze felt incredible, so good in fact that we slept right through the morning call to prayer at 4 in the morning. 

In the morning we made our way to the best falafel and hummus shop in Jordan, in fact, this is the place the King goes to get his share of hummus. Then we went and shopped around the old downtown area of Amman, followed by a trip to the ancient Roman ruins. We saw ruins that were from 2nd Century AD which was one of the craziest experiences I have ever had. Just the fact that the sites we were seeing and walking through were so old was unreal. We first walked through the ancient Roman theatre, which could sit 

6000 people and was built right into the side of the hill. From the top of the theatre, we could see the citadel, which is most known for being the place where Uriah the Hittite was killed. After walking through the various museums around the theatre we went up to the citadel. 

From the top of the mountain, you could look out to the largest residential area of Amman along with the largest free standing flag waving in the background. We continued on to the citadel, were ancient columns stood towering a hundred feet in the area. Most of the columns were ruined but the b

ase still stood firm. We proceeded to the Amman historic museum were pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, this is actually were the Scrolls were originally kept until they were moved to Israel. However, seeing part of the scrolls made the scriptures come that much more alive.  We walked around for a while in the museum finding many incredible artifacts, including an old Roman statue of Marcus Aurelius. After leaving the museum, we walked around the ruble of the main part of the citadel, next to the gigantic columns. 

Next we went to Fudruckers, home of the only American beef in the country. I think that it was so good that it actually gave everyone on the team the stomach sickness, but others say it was just bad meat. I thought the place was legit, as the restaurant provided valet parking as well as luxury burgers. After this, we went to an Arab church located a few miles outside the city. This was a special experience as we were able to experience the gathering of believers in a Muslin country. During the message, I was thinking how cool it would be if the Lord gave me the ability to understand the message so I could interpret to the team, and I honestly thought it would happen. Well it did not happen, but we did sing a song that said Hallelujah over and over so I could understand that. Honestly, it was sweet just trying to engage in another form of worship and gathering with the church. Afterward we meet with some of the members and pastors for tea and dinner, were we prayed and I shared my testimony. 

After a fun time of meeting with the members of the church and the young guys, we left to meet up with the Amman team from the previous night. We caught up with them at the local smoothie shop and enjoyed some laughs and stories of their time in Amman. Finally, after a long day Tim and I slept outside once more. We woke up at the crack of dawn and went to a home visit for a guy whose father had just past away. It was a little awkward sitting in the somber living room of a guy, with 9 of us looking at him, but his story was so powerful. Turns out he is a convert and has totally been blacklisted from everything as it is illegal to covert here. Just a testament how it is often a sacrifice, yet how we gain what we cannot lose. Then we eventually made our way to the Dead Sea.

On the way there, I was driving and was humbled as I passed through holy ground. As I drove I saw signs pointing to the Baptism site of Jesus, Jericho, Jerusalem, Mt. Nebo and Arron's Tomb. Places that I have only heard stories of were within eyesight and I just could not believe that I was in the vicinity of such places the God used to shape history. As we drove past Jericho, the Dead Sea filled the horizon with a beautiful blue shade that went beyond the eye could see to the south. It is actually about 60 miles long and 2 miles wide. As the weather was about 110 degrees outside, the water was also about 80 degrees which did not make it the most refreshing experience, but it was the first time I could float on water in my life. It was truly a powerful experience and again it just makes the scriptures become more alive as I put an image to the scriptures I read about. Praise Him.

No Title

Yesterday, I took my friend to the border. At one point, I was in-between two countries and this was a unique experience. As I dropped off my friend at the border of Israel, I had to drive myself back home to Aqaba. Reading in between the lines, this means that I had my first driving experience in Jordan. Now you must understand the car that I was driving. It is a 1980 busted van, that we call "Chuck." Now here I am, cruising in-between two countries, quickly approaching an armament at the border of Jordan, wind blowing through my tourist style hat that folds up on the sides, and feeling like a true Arab. At that moment, I felt that I could see myself staying here. My head rocked with the ruggedness of the road and I sang lullaby about Jordan. 

Later in the evening, we celebrated the 1st birthday of one of the kids here. Honestly, I do not understand why we buy one-year olds presents, but I cannot complain about the cake that also accompanied the party. Thanks Lathe. 

At about 6:00, we headed to the beach to meet up with a few families at the local spot. This was my first time really hanging out with an entire Arab family and it was incredible. Well rather than just talking about what has been happening I will share some verses that have really affected me recently. First, I have been reading through the book of Isaiah and although it has been a challenge it has been pretty amazing to read the prophecies spoken by the prophet Isaiah. 

In Isaiah 25:4 it says, "For you have been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy is his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. Being here in the desert, this last line floored me. Often, shade is impossible to come by and one can feel the life being sucked out of them by the unbearable heat, yet our God is a God that provides shade.

In Isaiah 26:3 it says, "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in you. Then it goes on to say in verse 9 that, "With my soul I have desired to You in the night. Yes, by my spirit within me, I will seek you early." This is a great picture of consistency, through the active pursuit of our Lord in all times of the day. Verse 3 also reminds me of the necessity to constantly dwell on the statues of the Lord and His word and how we can do nothing on our own. Miss you.

Morning Swims, Deserts, Engineering and Weddings

First, if this is Emily reading this, STOP IMMEDIATELY! Do not proceed as I will tell you these stories live, or as live as Skype can be anyways.

This morning, Tim and I joined our Jordanian friend Annes for a swim downtown. Due to the incredible hot weather, Annes wanted to beat the crowds and the heat and hit the water early. We brought tea and water and meet down at the downtown flagpole in a area called "The Gondor." It is a pretty worn dock with missing planks and boats often drive through the swimming area. However, between laughing and attempting high dives into shallow water, it was a morning worth waking up early for. And after we feasted on my favorite Jordanian meal, the falafel sandwich from Muhandes. 

Next, Tim and I went with a student from class to Wadi Rum. Wadi Rum is a Jordanian National Park and is known for its incredible colors, especially at dawn and dusk. Our student is an engineer for the Aqaba Water Company and we joined him on a few site visits to broken wells. Tim earned his bachelors in mechanical engineering and is invested into the subject and I went along for the ride. However, as water is a critical issue, especially in this part of the world it was a great experience to learn about how the well systems operate. However, the "work day" left some to be desired. 

After a lighting tour of the Wadi Rum area, we arrived at the work site to watch 8 guys ineffectively attempt to screw in a massive pipe into the ground.  Our friend told the guys that we were specialists from America, but I am sure they soon found out that I was far from knowledgeable in the area of water irrigation and filtration. We ended up sitting in the cool car, listening to Egyptian music while the guys worked which did not fell so good. Honestly, I felt pretty lazy. Lunch followed soon after, after which Tim and I explored the nearby Bedouin camp and desert hillside. Shortly after, we left to find some shade. Seriously, it was ridiculous in that we had not do anything and were resorting to shade. However, we did go off-roading and found this incredible cavern that overlooked the desert and camel racing course. Thats right, a camel racing course.  

Needless to say, we did not do all that much work but mostly performed observational work that like any good white collar worker. In fact, after hours of hard work in the blistering sun, the project that the workers were putting together ended up not working. After this, we headed off the wedding of a local Bedouin guy that is a colleague of our students. Upon our arrival, the groom approached the three of us and greeted both Layth and I with a kiss, but left Tim out in the cold. Honestly, I totally messed up the traditional kiss and felt totally uncomfortable, but know I have finally been initiated into Bedouin society. After I exhausted my limited knowledge of Arabic, the groom quick realized I was not an Arab and after our short visit, I did not depart to the kiss. However, it was an incredible experience, sitting beneath a hand-knit Camel hair tent, drinking Bedouin Coffee and sitting with the native nomads of the Arab Lands. 

On our way home, we decided to take the car deep into the desert. As we started to pick up speed, the sand kept getting deeper. As we ventured farther from the road, we often needed to stop and reverse to maneuver out of the deep sand in our path. After about ten minutes of driving deep into the desert, we stopped to take some pictures of the complete isolation that surrounded us. After taking so snapshots, we realized that we were completely stuck in a foot of sand. As we tried to engage the tires, the wheels kept getting lodged deeper into the sand. As Tim and I started to let out the pressure of the tires, Layth walked to find a local Bedouin that might be dwelling in the nearby camps. Luckily, a Bedouin guy came to our rescue with his pickup and we found ourselves back on the road again. After we refilled the tires with air, we ran back to the original work site to pick up a worker who needed a ride to Aqaba. The Tim and I were soothed to sleep by the foreign sounds of Arabic being spoken loudly the whole way home. What an adventure. 

The Beauty of Dichotomy

We stood on the roof of a house in the area of town called Mohandas (literally translated as The Engineers), overlooking the city of Aqaba. This city is beautiful at night, and as we looked at the faint mountain ridge line behind the city scape, the full moon began to light up the backside of the mountain as it was moments from rising into the night sky. It blows my mind, that this is the country and place that the Israelites trekked through so many years ago and now we stand in this same barren land, over looking a small metropolis. As we looked out from the roof, we could see the "christmas lights" used to decorate wedding locations, a large illuminated picture of King Abdullah II on the hillside, and the mosque towers that rise above the rest of the city buildings. At night, the towers of the mosque are lit with green lights, standing in stark contrast from the night sky. As we stood, we noticed the ridge line of the mountains that acted as the backdrop of the nearby mosque. While an ordinance declares that the tower of the mosque must be the highest point of a building in a city, the mountains dwarf the tower. While regulations declare that no point be built higher than the mosque, no one can control creation and it stands superior to any man made creation. The skies declare His glory!

As we spoke words, the moon crested the mountain line, casting light upon the city. It was a glorious spectacle, the moon casting light onto a dark and barren city. Miss you all.  

 

HSM and Gloria Jeans

So Emily is a big High School Musical fan, partly in that it is ridiculous and partly because she actually enjoys the teen drama. I myself have been opposed on principle, and until recently had not taken any part in this movement. On the 4th of July, I went to a late dinner at some friends house and the two couples have 8 kids in total. As I walked in, they had just finished playing the High School Musical Karaoke game on the Nintendo Wii. I totally desired to play, solely with the intent of building into the lives of the kids. However, we decided to move onto Wii Fitness soon thereafter and played the night away. 

When I got home, my teammates just so happened to be lounging out to High School Musical 1 and I assumed it was a sign. As I sat down to watch it I became engrossed in the music, which was actually pretty good. However, the DVD froze so I cannot speak to the entirety of the show, but I actually enjoyed what I heard. Who would have thunk? And I am anticipating many more moments with High School Musical while I am here in Aqaba.

Next, Tim and I had an awesome meeting with a guy at the local coffee shop called Gloria Jeans. Cannot go into specifics but we definitely walked through some wide open doors that were clearly not of our own doing. 

In The Thick of Things

Here is a map of the route of the Exodus that the Israelites took from Egypt. I have been reading about their journey and I connect with it on such a deeper level, as I am able to look out onto the very land the Israelites walked through. This morning, I was on the roof on the house and literally could see the Red Sea and the entire Gulf of Aqaba. Yet, it is hard to understand how in the Holy Land, most are walking in complete opposition to what was experienced so long ago. While I could see the places where part of the Exodus happened, it was blurred by the roaring speakers of the daily call to prayer of the local mosque. This is the definition of dichotomy. Miss you all.   

Coldplay vs. Backstreet Boys/Avril Lavigne

So I was mocked today for taking on the title of "Coldplay Fan." For those of you who are missing out on great music, Coldplay is a band from Britain. The conversation that led to me being mocked transpired over a delicious meal of Falafel Sandwiches with some Jordanian guys. Now when I told one of the guys that I liked Coldplay he laughed and said that he could no longer talk to me. I then responded and asked him, "Well what bands do you like?" You would not believe what came out of his mouth.

He boldly stated, "Backstreet Boys and Avril Lavigne." I stood their, bewildered and befuddled at the heresy that was spoken in my presence. We all had a good laugh, and I tried to convey to him how ridiculous his thought was. In the end, it was not so much about the artist but having a good time holding firm to our individual convictions. It will have to remain a running joke for the duration of my time in Jordan, and who am I kidding, for a while longer because you just cannot bash on Coldplay while claiming allegiance to Backstreet and Avril. 

And this morning we played basketball on the black top. The rims we played on were 9.5 feet so it was fun trying to throw down on the young Aqabawis. Honestly, I was rim checked just about every time. And most of the young guys have definetly played to much NBA Jam or watched to many All-Star game highlights for their own good. You never really know when, where, or how a shot is going to be put up when playing with the local guys. It is a hilarious time. Again, it was fun seeing different relationship come to fruition, even those with the guys from the team. 

SOS - Save our Sanity

Today we began the first of our biweekly volunteering at the local orphanage called SOS. For the first week, my teammate Ku and I had been selected as the group leaders. We were in charge of facilitating and planning out the sequence of games for the two hour slot that we would fill. We had planned for a big vacant room that would be effective for large group games. When we arrived, we were told that the kids would not be able to arrive until an hour and a half later and that we could only use a small 12x20 room that was full of tables and chairs. Needless to say, we had to rethink our approach.

Sure enough, the kids started filing into the room shortly after to beneficially give us no time to change plans. We all looked at each other a bit confused on how we would adjust to fill such a large chuck of time. We began the time with a classic hymn, "Father Abraham." It could have been the most awkward version of the song I have ever taken apart of, as the kids refused to participate in the song. And rather than having 15-20 kids as expected, nearly 65 kids showed up to add  to the chaos.

Luckily, we brought in one translator who could say something beyond "what is your name." Then we moved to the outside pavilion for the duration of the time. It was a large area but was built in four 15 X 50 foot sections so playing large group games was still a big challenge. While explaining games like red light, green light was already difficult in another language, a group home of girls was also on site distracting the kids. It was seriously a zoo, with the young guys drooling over the American girls and the troubled youth women grabbing at the young boys. Upon the first command of RED LIGHT, all the kids ran all the way to the end and in unison, yelled "I win!" 

At one point, my roommate Tim witnessed a girl full on round-house kick another little boy after he ran to steal bacon when it was her number. He learned quickly. Well Tim actually stepped in became the father figure that many of these kids have never had. I foresee this time being fruitful and a good opportunity to model discipline and love to these kids. It could also open up doors for the Life Center and give another opportunity to establish itself in the city.