Merry Christmas

Hello family and friends!

I can't believe that it is December 17th already! 8 days until Christmas! This Christmas season has been like no other Christmas season I have had before. Obviously I am celebrating in a place that I have never previously celebrated, but it is so much more than that. Without all of the crazy consumerism my heart has been awakened to grand statement that God made when He sent Jesus to earth. But even more than that, I have noticed Mary's response to the craziness happening inside her body. Her soul responds in magnifying the Lord! As I sit and reflect about Christ's first coming, and the glorious news of reconciliation, my heart longs for my friends here to have the response to Jesus that Mary did.

On another note, even though I am having a wonderful time here in Jordan, I am still missing all of the fun family and friend functions. It was difficult to be away from home for thanksgiving, and I am anticipating Christmas to be all the more difficult. I actually kind of like that I feel my heart is in this dynamic tension. Every day I am reminded how much family and friends mean, and how I could not be doing what I am doing without their love, support, and prayers. However, at the same time I couldn't be more excited about the work that is going on here. God is so good, and I am so thankful to be serving in this part of the world in this season of my life. This Christmas I will be celebrating in a very unique way, and I will share about it on the flip side.

Have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Tina G.

Happy Thanksgiving

Today has been a weird, emotional, introspective day for me so far, so I thought that I would blog about it! That sentence sort of sounds like I am depressed, but really I couldn’t be more the opposite right now. Allow me to try to explain myself.

This morning started out like many other mornings (except for the part where I didn’t get out of bed until 10!). I turned on my kindle (thank you Joyce) to read what Dietrich Bonhoeffer had to say for the day. Today was astounding. Here it is:

“When God casts the spell of His love, it binds us not only to Him, but also to His passion for our world… If God’s Word simply adds a bit of information to our knowledge, and if God’s love simply adds a bit more warmth and security to our lives, then we are hardly likely to make great changes and commitments in their wake. But where God’s Word challenges us to the very core of our being and God’s love radically transforms us, then great commitments and sacrifices can be expected. God does not charm us with His grace and love so that we will remain mesmerized by His presence, but so that we will serve Him freely and boldly in our world.”

Today as I reflected upon this I became very thankful. I am thankful that God has mesmerized me by his transforming love. I am also very thankful that I have a family at home that loves me so much as to accept that the repercussions of this transforming love is to be obedient and sometimes that means be TOO far away. So, as Thanksgiving Day is here I miss my family and friends deeply. However, in missing them I realize that the reason that I am not with them is far greater than my momentary discomfort, that His Name might be known among the nations.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hungry for God's Power

Hello All. It has been a great last week here in Amman. We had a women's breakfast at our center that turned out wonderful. The women that came enjoyed a wonderful meal and then heard some truth in Arabic from the pastor's wife at our church.

When the event was drawing to an end I asked one of my friends what the message was about. She told me that the lady spoke about a watch. It was a special watch and it stopped working. The person took it to many places to try and get it fixed and no one could figure out the problem. Finally the person took the watch to the man who made the watch. He was able to fix it quickly. He said that he knew what was wrong because he had made it. Then she continued to relay the message that our creator created us uniquely and we should go to him in all situations. I am not sure if that was actually what was said, but I thought it was a beautiful picture! We are having lunch together tomorrow and I am very excited to hang out with her.

After seeing the reactions that the women had to the message, and their pure joy in being invited to such an event, my heart is becoming desperate to see God work powerfully in their lives. :)

Today I spent time with another friend. We were doing some reading and she was prompted to tell me about her childhood. She is from Africa and grew up in an orphanage. In her country education is a huge privilege that not many have. She told me about many cases where people would just hold the bible in hopes of understanding, and in many cases they were able to read and understand the message. She has experience God in a way that is hard for me to imagine. Today I was encouraged in the miraculous.

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time there was a girl who was teaching english in a foreign country. She was on her way to class, but needed to run back up to the office for a second. She decided to take the elevator so that she could have a few last sips on her coffee during the trip. As soon as the elevator started to rise it suddenly got stuck. Yup. It sure did. Welcome to my morning! :) Today I am thanking the Lord for my cell phone! :)

Happy Birthday Blake!

Happy Birthday buddy! I can't believe that you are 7 years old already! STOP GROWING! I love you soooo much, and I am sorry that I am missing your birthday this year. I know that you will have a lot of fun skating with your friends. Just know that I love you and I wish that I could give you a big hug and go for a ride with you on your razor! Thanks for praying for me and sending me the great drawings. I love them. Keep playing the drums so that we can play together when I come home. Have a great day!

Awkward moment

I realize that I have been quite the slacker in updating my blog as of late. This is actually good news! It means that I have a life! :) It seems that when life gets too busy to accurately update the blog then I just shut down and decide that if people can't be accurately updated, then I will not update at all. I realize that this is not the correct attitude to have, but it is reality. HOWEVER, something quite funny happened today and so I thought that the blog was the perfect place to describe the situation in all its glory!

Once upon a time (today), in a land far far away (Jordan), there was a girl (me) who was calling on every dendrite and synapse within her brain to correctly conjugate her newly acquired verbs. In the midst of saying, "he left his big, green, new ball at home on the table" the arabic tutor stopped all aforementioned dendrite expansion when she said, "women in Jordan should shave their arms." All of this was said while pointing at said students hairy arms! The student sat quietly to take in every ounce of awkwardness in the small classroom and vowed to write a blog as soon as possible.

Good times! :)

I'm a Teacher

Just a quick note before I go to bed....

Tonight was my first night teaching English. I can not even explain to you how much fun I had! I used to think it was math that made me this excited, but now it is confirmed that I really just like being the center of attention.... I mean, I like teaching! There is something about being able to come up with fun examples on the spot to help students understand a concept that lights me up inside.

After class tonight I hung around for a while and ended up talking to three ladies. We chatted about life and cooking (don't laugh at me!). The were fighting over who was the better cook and who I should learn from. They are now determined to help me be successful in cooking Jordanian food. I've never been excited about cooking before, but this sounds fun.

Anyway, I am pretty sure that I am currently on Cloud 9 and I thought that I would let you in on it.

I Love High School Students!

Thursday was a great day! I met with a high school student to help her with English. We got into contact with each other through a mutual friend, so we had never actually met each other until yesterday. We hit it off straight away. I knew it was the beginning of a beautiful relationship when she told me that math was her favorite subject! :) The great thing is that she just wants me to talk with her. No need for lesson plans, just conversation. What could be better than that? I am very excited to get to know her, as well as her family better. I left after the first session with an arm full of home made Iraqi goodies!

New Favorite Song

Hey guys! I found the chords to my new favorite song called "Forever Holy" by The Glorious Unseen. This song was new to me about a week ago and I love it, so I thought I would promote it along with the whole cd. Enjoy!

Refusing the words "home sick"

People often ask if I am getting home sick. What does that even mean? Do I find myself physically ill because I miss family and friends? No. Do I miss family, friends, students, Diet Dr. Pepper (from McDonalds with extra ice!), math, youth ministry, my actual home, worship, fellowship, etc. ABSOLUTELY! Would I come back home if given the opportunity? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Is it hard? ABSOLUTELY! I have always looked at being home sick as a weakness which is why I never utter the words. I prefer to call it "missing the familiar" (note that I just made that term up).

As I ponder this whole topic I am coming to realize the huge blessing in missing home. What a great blessing it is to have a place and a people to miss! Also I realize the crazy phenomena that a good number of these people that I miss actually miss me too. This is somehow great comfort knowing that they (probably whoever is reading this) are actually remembering to pray for me. In addition to this, it seems to me like I am going through a "purification of motives". When I am having moments where I am really missing something about Da Hood I tend to ask myself if it is worth it. Would I choose this path again? Every time I come to the same conclusion that I am right where I should be. AND, each time I am a little more convinced as well. If I did not have anything to sacrifice then I can imagine that it would be a lot easier to lose focus.

Last night we sang some hymns in church. It is amazing how the words hit me totally differently being away from home. I was struck by the following lyrics:

Great is Thy faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness

Morning by morning new mercies I see

All I hath needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness

Lord unto me

When I sing this song now I have a little different perspective to sing from. Thank you Lord for your faithfulness to me!

Switching gears a little.... Two of the little people that I miss the most are featured in the following video. It looks like they are having a blast! I hope they save some tread on the tires for when I am back in town. Enjoy!

Let's Get Started!

Ramadan is now over and it is time to get our English program started! I have been assigned my teaching load which consists of 4 classes a week. I will have a morning class specifically for women twice a week, and a level 3 class two nights a week. I am very excited to get started. We have registration Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and then our classes will start the next week. I am a little nervous about teaching english, but I am 99% excited. 

We also have some fun social activities planned for our students. I am in charge of putting together games for our first coffee shop evening. If you have any fabulous ideas of group games that we can play and practice english with then let me know. I am working on adapting Taboo! 

Mom, here is a picture for ya ;)

Journey to See Mary

Here is the next Beirut entry:

My second day in Beirut my friends took me out to see some sights. One of these sights included a trip up to Harissa which is about 20km north of Beirut. This is the site of the largest statue of the virgin Mary in the world. She is huge! She is known as "Our Lady of Lebanon". She weighs in at 15 tons of bronze. You can take the circular stairs to the top and catch a great view. I got a bit dizzy on the way up. This is quite a popular place of pilgrimage for many catholics.

 This next picture was taken from the top of the Mary's stairs.

Also, there is a very large cathedral which has a spectacular view of the coastline. The cathedral has a really funny shape and I asked my friend what the meaning behind it was. He thought that it was built to look like a ship. I think he said some more stuff, but I forgot! :(

Another attraction at this site is the gondola lift called teleferique which takes you from Mary all the way down to the sea (not actually in the water!). We opted to drive the very steep and winding road up to the top. It was a very beautiful drive with fantastic views around each corner.
This next picture is taken from the view point by Mary. The church is the Melkite Greek Catholic basilica of St. Paul. 

It was a beautiful day spent with beautiful people. I actually have 2 more posts to do just from this one day in particular. More to come soon! :)

Dr Pepper

I have been trying to figure out how to blog about Beirut. There are many things that I would like to share and it seems like a lot of pressure to make it one entry. SO, I am going to spread it out for a bit. Here is entry number 1:

Before I start tell you too much about my trip to Beirut I need to tell you a bit about my habits in Oregon. I love Diet Dr. Pepper. McDonald's has the best Diet Dr. Pepper EVER! It is so amazing that there have been times when I have been in bed sick and someone calls to see if they can bring me anything and I will ask for a Diet Dr. Pepper from McDonalds. No 7 up or soup, just bring the Dr. to me. 

Anyway, I had a feeling that Jordan would probably not support my habit of the Dr so I was not too disappointed when I was unable to find it anywhere. Then came my trip to Lebanon! My friends picked me up at about 10pm from the airport. We dumped off my stuff at the apartment and went to a grocery store in a mall. Yes, in a mall. After picking up the essentials I proceeded to the checkout counter. As I approached the counter I heard something like angels rejoicing. I looked to the right to catch a glimpse of the gloriousness and there sat a Diet Dr Pepper in a small refrigerator. After counting the cost of buying such a luxury I grabbed it up and proceeded to the checkout. I immediately began contemplating when I was going to partake in the heavenly refreshment. 

Upon arriving back at the apartment I put the Dr in the fridge (after taking a picture of course). 

I decided that night two would be the night. I had the sense that waiting a bit longer would some how heighten the experience. 

Since I was staying alone in an apartment I wanted to figure out the best way to share the experience with all of my fans (sometimes I pretend that my blog has a large viewing audience). So I decided to take some pictures to capture the actual moments. Here is my picture right after opening up the can and getting ready for the first drink. Can you see the excitement and anticipation?

Then I took a drink. It was HORRIBLE! 

This picture doesn't even begin to describe the awful taste that had just entered my mouth. I felt like my taste buds had been violated! You might wonder what I did with the once thought "heavenly juice" but more accurately described as something that you would make your children drink after saying a bad word. I drank it. That's right. I am so cheap that I couldn't let it go to "waste" even though it tasted like acidic waste. I paid around 2 bucks for the can so I finished it. 

 

Beirut!

Hello All (Joyce),
I am currently in Beirut having a great time. I have had the opportunity to go and see some historical sights and also to take a lot of pictures. We went to The Dog River which unfortunately was only a puddle when we were there. However, this was a popular passage way for many armies coming through the area and they all "left their mark" (a side note: I tried to convice my friend that this is way it is called Dog River. Apparently there are other reasons! I thought I was pretty clever though). There were carvings dating clear back to 1265BC. I took MANY pictures but unfortunately there is not much wireless access around here, so I won't be able to post any of them until I get back to Amman.
On Sunday I was able to go to the very first service of an Alliance church. I brought my camera along and as it turns out it was the only one around. So, I all of the sudden became the photographer. I was able to take some video as well and put together a little movie for the pastor and this new congregation. It was a priviledge to be able to bless them with this gift.
From this little project it seems like I have some upcoming work in the movie making business. The school that I am visiting would like something similar put together, so I am very happy to do that for them. This will be a larger project which is probably going to require me coming back in April! I know, it's a tough life, but somebody needs to do it :)

My First Iftar

I had the best experience being here so far on Thursday night. I feel like that is a pretty big statement because I have done a lot of cool things. I mean... I saw PETRA! But all of that is rubbish compared to Thursday night. A few weeks ago I was invited by one of my teammates to go and visit one of her friends who is Jordanian. I jumped at the opportunity. Well, the visit got canceled and was rescheduled for this past Thursday. The excitement had kind of dwindled to be honest, but I still really wanted to go. Then the morning came and I was sort of having a rough morning. It was one of those mornings when you sort of regret asking the Lord to search your heart because He does and shows you some really ugly stuff. It was one of those days. All I saw was my own shortcomings. By the time I was getting ready for the visit I really just wanted to call my teammate and say that I could not make it. I am really glad that I was too much of a chicken to call because the night was AMAZING!

A little background information: We are currently in the middle of the season of Ramadan. To quote wikipedia for you, Ramadan is the Isl. month of fasting, in which participating Mus. refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured from dawn to dusk. Fasting is meant to teach Mus. patience, modesty and spirituality. Ramadan is a time to fast for the sake of Allah, and to offer more prayer than usual. During Ramadan, Mus. ask forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance and help in refraining from everday evils, and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds.

Given this information you can see that sundown is a big deal each day. You definitely don't want to be on the roads around 7:00 (right before sunset). The family gathers together for "Iftar" where they all eat together and break the fast for the day. It was a great honor to be invited to this dinner. 

I had been told that when you go on a visit that you should probably not eat much that day because you will be expected to "eat well." Usually when something is suggested it is a good idea to take heed because I don't know what the heck I am doing! So, I listened to the suggestion and I was glad that I did! Also, on our way to the home my teammate said, "be prepared to be kissed a lot and to eat a lot." The words "a lot" did not really even begin to describe the situation that we were about to find ourselves in. This woman, who had never met me before, was kissing my checks as if they were something sacred that were about to disappear! The joy that she was exhibiting from having us to her home is unexplainable. 

The evening just continued to get better from this point on. We shared great food, great stories (from what I understood!) and some great dancing! There is an artist called Omar Al Abdullat who was hired by the king to write some songs about Jordan. This woman played us the tape and sang/danced to the songs. It was such a good time. 

Sometime in the middle of the visit I tried to explain to my new friend how happy I was to be in her home. I told her that I had a bit of a rough morning, but that her hospitality and warm heart has turned one of the lowest days into the best. It was fun to see her light up. I think she understood me! :) 

Reflecting on this evening I have a new outlook on learning this language that seems to be very very difficult. It is to be able to communicate well with Jordanians, to spend quality time in their homes hearing from their hearts, to be able to understand how to do the crazy dance moves that she was pulling out, and to be able to walk along side of these amazing people with open communication. Thursday night I was reminded of why I am in Jordan... to be friends with Jordanians!

Note: Sorry there are no pictures to capture this evening. I said numerous times, "I wish I had my camera!"

"Sometimes things are just more difficult in Jordan"

Let me just start this entry by saying how thankful I am to even have a shower! Also I am very thankful and in debt to my friend Ed for seeing this project to the end! Many times along the journey he would say, "sometimes things are just more difficult in Jordan." Here is the situation:

My apartment has two bathrooms, but only one of them was set up to have a warm shower. The other bathroom (my bathroom) has a shower in it, but it was not set up with a speed heater or with a shower curtain. In order to bless me with some privacy my friend Ed was willing to do the work to get the shower up and running. He thought it would not be a big deal. :)

A few days later a speed heater was purchased. The next part of the project was to get a corner curtain rod and to install it. This seems like something anyone should be able to do, but the bathroom is floor to ceiling tile, so it requires that you would drill into the tile. This however was no problem for Ed "the tool man" Mangham. The problem came into play when we noticed that the window in the bathroom is conveniently placed where the rod needs to go. We were then forced to make a decision as to make the curtain really low (keep the short jokes to yourself!) or really high. We opted to go high and then have a gap between the rod and the curtain. This way we would not need to cut the curtain as to keep it for further use. Here's where things get interesting. How do you create this gap without making the load too much for the rod? Being the genius that he is, Ed had a few ideas. One of these ideas was to find the beaded chain that is sometimes used for key chains. Well, after looking at several places over a span of a few days we found this exact thing at a hardware store. We were stoked. Then we quickly found out that they don't carry the connectors that are necessary to hook the chain into a loop. So, we went back to the drawing board (or the chain section). Ed found this beautiful brass chain. The heavens opened, and the angels rejoiced when we realized together that we could use this chain and mini zip ties to finish the project! 3.250JD and we were out of there. I brought the loot home and proceeded in putting it all together. It takes a bit of talent to get just the right tension on the zip tie in conjunction with the brass chain in order to get the desired flexibility in the curtain. It's a gift. When I took a step back and saw the whole picture of the silver curtain hooks with the brass chain and the white zip ties my eyes filled up with tears of joy as my heart said "it is finished!"

The shower doesn't look too bad from far away. My flat-mate called it "artsy". I'm not sure I would go that far. (Note the unfortunately placed window)

Grillin' on the Roof

Last night we had a little pre-Ramadan dinner party on the roof. Our friends brought over 2 chickens that had been stuffed with lemons and other "special spices" and grilled them on our roof. It was a very fun evening!

Where are the crosswalks? :)

Most of you who are following this blog probably know that I am a rule follower. I like rules. This is sort of a problem when trying to walk around in Amman. There are no crosswalks. There is paint on the roads that is allegedly distinguishing between lanes, but apparently even that is negotiable. I live near a circle or what you might refer to as a "roundabout". Trying to navigate around it while trying to catch a taxi, or simply just to get to a street on the other side has proved quite a challenge. I went out with my roommate today and she just walks out right in the middle of traffic (as does everyone else besides me!) and expects people to not hit her. My heart jumped quite a few beats, but I tried to play it off. I walked out later by myself and each time I seem to have a bit more courage. It makes me appreciate those crosswalks in H.R. even though I hate stopping at them. :)

Here are some photos from around Amman.

This is a picture of one of the circles. At night there are a lot of people hanging out at the circle enjoying each other's company. It acts as a park.

King Abdullah Mosque

Settling In

Let the blogging begin! I have probably sat down a dozen times to start this blog but then find myself at a loss for words. How do you accurately describe an experience like this? Today there was a huge mile marker in my life here in Jordan. I UNPACKED my suitcases and also made a solo journey around my neighborhood to find a grocery store. I even found my way back! It sounds kind of funny to say that, but it really does take a bit of courage to do that for the first time. Here are a few things that I learned on my short journey:

1. Shoes with traction are preferred. 

You might be asking yourself why I would comment on something like that. Well, let me tell you. I almost biffed it a few times on my little journey when I would come across store front with abnormally slick tile right there in the middle of the sidewalk. I was wearing flip-flops and about had a couple of face plants. Not pretty.

2. Shopping decisions are a lot more difficult when you realize that you have to carry all of your purchases all the way back to your house. 

3. Cereal is ridiculously expensive! Some of the regular boxes were about 9 bucks!

4. I need to start recognizing landmarks because I will never be able to remember the street names!! 

5. I love my apartment. The garden area in the front is pretty snazzy! After my adventure and getting settled in I feel like I can call this home for the next year.

So, let me recap what the last 11 days have been like.

I have had the privilege of staying with Ed, Julie, and their family up until yesterday. Staying at their house was really great. It was nice staying in a home for the first few days as I adjusted to the new culture. They took me around to try and get acquainted with the city, and I think it is actually working! 

Last friday I had a chance to go to the Dead Sea and Mt. Nebo with Ed and some other people visiting from the United States. It was great to actually see some of the places that you read about in the Old Testament. It has helped me get a better handle on the geography of this area which is really helpful in reading the Bible.

Saturday all of the international workers in this area met in Petra for a retreat. Petra was amazing! Check out my facebook for more pictures from Petra. It was great getting to know some of the people working in surrounding areas. I loved hearing their stories of ups and downs. It gave me courage for the year ahead of me. 

Currently I am sitting on my bed enjoying the fact that my bags are unpacked! I moved in yesterday and it feels great. Thanks for all of your emails, comments, and prayers of encouragement. I am very thankful for all of you. Enjoy my pictures!

This is the Dead Sea. Across from the Dead Sea is Jerusalem. From this point you could actually see Jericho, the Jordan River, and Jerusalem. Although they are not visible in this picture.

This monument is found on Mt. Nebo which is where God showed Moses the Promise Land. See Deut. 32:48-52. It is a cross with a snake wrapped around it. It is supposed to symbolize the verse that says, "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."

This building was built in 1st century AD memorializing the place where God showed Moses Canaan. 

These are random camels that we saw on the way down to the Dead Sea. I snapped with through the window with my little camera.

This is Petra from my hotel room!

This if from inside Petra. Check out my facebook for more like this.

This is a boy who was selling some things in Petra. He wanted to see himself on my camera.

Tough Goodbyes

Well, I leave in the morning and today has been a day full of saying, "goodbye". As I get ready to go to bed I am very thankful that I have so many amazing friends and family members to say goodbye to! A girl couldn't ask for anything more. Thank you to everyone for making me feel like a super star even though I am just a simple girl saying, "yes" to what the Lord has in store for me. 

Rainy/Black/Watum lakes

What a great day! I decided to take the day and go for a little adventure in the forest. It felt good to go and spend some time alone to re-focus before I leave for Jordan on MONDAY!!! My goal was to just hang out at Rainy lake and read for a while, but I missed the turnoff and found myself at Black lake. I took a couple of pictures and then tried to find Rainy lake. I found a sign that said "Rainy Lake, Watum Lake 8 miles". So I figured that I was on the right track. I would be wrong though! I made it 1/2 way to Watum lake before I ran into a lady coming from Watum lake who assured me that I was going the wrong way! When I back to the starting point I was another sign about 100 feet from the first one that said Rainy Lake 1/4 mile! Oops, it was a great little hike anyway. I now feel refreshed and ready to face this adventure head on one day at a time.

A fun night with friends

I had the opportunity to get away to the beach with two wonderful friend this past week. We went to cannon beach and had a great time. The tide was so low friday morning that we were able to see an incredible amount of little creatures. It was great to get to the ocean and get refreshed for the next week ahead. I look at my schedule for the next week and part of me gets anxious that I have such a busy schedule, but the majority of me is so overwhelmed  by the amount of people that love me and want to spend time with me. Thank you so much for loving me well. Enjoy my pictures! (Note: 9 days until the posts are done from Jordan!)

My New Apartment!

I have a place to live! Here are a few pictures that I just received. It looks great to me. I will be living with a girl who is 28 and has been there for 2 years. 

These first 3 pictures are of my bedroom.

It looks like there is plenty of room for visitors :)