Home from Jordan

We had a wonderful trip to Jordan that went too fast! We left Tuesday, March 11 and arrived in Amman, Jordan on Wednesday, March 12. We had an amazing time with our friends (the family we went to visit, pictured here) They are such a neat family with 3 great kids! They own a wood shop business in Amman which carves products out of olive wood, and also makes knitted fabric products. Through this business they provide economical support and stability for families in Jordan. Check out their website if your interested. http://holylanddesigns.com/

Our trip was always on the go, but a great balance of getting immersed in the Jordanian culture where God is alive and working, and even seeing some tourist sites!

Day 1: We had a great breakfast at the shop that the woman workers made. We were able to develop meaningful relationships with many of the native workers at the wood shop right from the start, thanks to some help with translating english with arabic. Then I (Lisa) got to see what a dentist office in Jordan was like. (I had a terrible toothache the entire journey to Jordan). Thankfully, the pain subsided the next day (answered prayer!!). Then we got to go to the high point in the city of Amman, which was amazing. It was where the ancient city, Philadelphia (city of brotherly love) was. There is still ancient ruins there.

The view was amazing and to think about all the homes on each of the 7 hills that the city is built on was unique and overwhelmingly wonderful.


Then we checked out downtown where there was an ancient Roman amphitheatre





We ended the night with one of the highlights from the trip. Friends of the family came over to make Jordan's traditional dish- Manssif. We had it served with lamb. Tasty! They were such a neat
family! We got in some great conversations with them about the kingdom and it was such a blessing to talk with them. We are not so sure about sitting on the floor though. That would take some getting used to. That ended a packed fun-filled day!

Day 2:
We headed out of the city of Amman and started our journey to Mt. Nebo, the place where God showed Moses the promise land. Pretty Sweet huh!
It was another amazing view from a high point. Then we traveled through the country side towards the Jordan River valley, where their were flocks of sheep, goats, and camels all around being shepherded by the bedouin (a nomadic Arab people of the desert) This got us pumped to hopefully ride a camel.

Then we drove to the Jordan river and saw the site of Jesus' baptism. Over History, the course of the Jordan river has changed so it didn't look the same as it did back in Jesus' day. It was kinda hard to imagine, but still we touched the Jordan river, and were walking on the HOLY LAND! Cool stuff!
Then we headed DOWN to the Dead Sea. Something like 1300 m. below sea level. Important fact: most ocean water may have about 3-7 % salt- well, the Dead Sea has 30%. It was CRAZY. We just floated. We didn't need any of those neat floaty devices, we could have read a magizine if we wanted to. So Cool! Although, it was hard to lay on your stomach. You felt like you were going to tip over. As you can see I'm struggling in this picture. Then we added the famous Dead Sea mud that is supposed to be revitalizing to the skin. I don't know about that, but it was fun!


Towards the end of the day, we headed to the home of one of the workers from the business for a traditional meal and friendly conversation. Again, sitting on the floor was not one of our favorites, but was also a neat cultural experience. They were a very traditional Muslim family that loved having visitors, hosting them, and serving them. Andy and I fit in quite well, because the more you eat the more honored they feel! We truly felt at home with them, and were again amazed at how God works cross-culturally. Can you believe we have only spent 2 full days in Jordan!




















Day 3:
We didn't take many pictures on this day because this was a day where we tried to help out the business with some different things. While the men were at the shop putting up lots of shelves and organizing, the women were having their own fun. We invited some friends over for a mom's study, while me (Lisa) and another girl on our team (Melissa) provided childcare for the mom's who were in the study. I also did jewelry/crafts with both the kids and the mom's. It was fun! Then we joined the men at the shop and did some packaging of some of their products all afternoon. They were SO appreciative of our help around the business. Andy was even able to provide Physical Therapy services to a couple of the workers at the shop who had been having some problems!

Day 4:
We started off early in the morning and made our way to Petra (one of the 7 wonders of the world) Check out the history at http://www.atlastours.net/jordan/petra.html
























We also made the climb up to The High Point in Petra which was where the ancient people sacrificed animals and humans (like in the old testament) to have their sins forgiven. Wow, thank you Jesus!





Finally, a Camel Ride! SO FUN! What facinating animals!

Press play to view this video and HOLD ON! The 3 hour trip to and from Petra was a great time to talk to our friends about their lives in Jordan, and how God is working there. We can see ourselves living our lives like this someday. Insha'Allah (God Willing)

Day 5:
We spent the last day at the shop again trying to be a blessing by helping them with odds and ends and buying some of their olive wood designs. We ended the night with one of the only foods we didn't like on the trip. I don't even remember the name of it but it tasted like sour yogurt. There's not much we don't eat, but that was tough to swallow. Our night's rest was short as we had to get up at 3 am to catch our flight the next morning. We arrived back home at about 11 pm on March 18 (the same day). What a blessing to get the chance to go on this trip to Jordan.

God is so good!


The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. - Matthew 13:38

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. - John 3:16