Ajloun Castle

Saturday I went on a little adventure around Jordan with the Mangham family. We went north to Ajloun to see the castle, stopped for a picnic in the Jordan Valley, stopped in Pella (one of the decapolis cities) and ventured back to Amman (another decapolis city fyi). It was a GORGEOUS day! I was shocked at how green everything was! Here are a few pictures.

The castle:

Our tour guide, Ibrahim, at the castle:

Here is the castle from afar (taken from the car with the point and shoot)

Jordan Valley

On their way to find green grass

from our picnic spot

Pella:

Cell Phone

Last Thursday I took a taxi to visit my friend in Abdoun. I navigated to the regular drop off point, got out of the taxi, and went to phone my friend when I noticed that I had left my cell phone in the taxi. The taxi was now gone. Bummer. I did a little positive self talk and decided that I needed to find a phone quickly to call my own phone and see if the taxi driver would be kind enough to return to the place where he had just dropped me off.

I spotted 2 women on the opposite side of the street. I found some boldness deep inside and asked the women if they had a "mobile" that I could borrow. I explained the story and they had compassion on me. I called my phone and there was no answer. The kind younger lady redialed my number and the taxi driver answered. All of the sudden she started speaking arabic really quickly and forcefully while pacing back and forth on the street. She would frequently make eye contact with me, smile, and return to arguing with the man. In my limited arabic I pick up the following.... America girl.... American embassy.... police... she will pay.... American embassy...

She finally hung up the phone and said (through a laugh) that he would be back in 10 minutes. Apparently she told him that I worked for the American Embassy and that they had called and said that he must return my phone or they would call the police.

She then continued to stay with me, invite me into her aunt's home, invite me to dinner, and offer any and every service that she could. Even dental service. It turns out that she is an oral surgeon, and a pretty big deal in Jordan.

So, the taxi driver returns, and he is not very happy. Dr Maya told me to pay him 5JD for his time, so I went to the pharmacy that was near by to get some change. While I was doing that, she talked to the taxi driver, got my phone, then took the money from me and returned it to him.

I am so thankful for Dr. Maya and Jordanian hospitality. This is one of the many reasons why I love this country.

UPDATE

Much has happened in the last few months that I have neglected to update my faithful readers about, so now that the weather outside is rainy/snowy, I will spend some time getting you up to date. I feel like this one could be a long one, so I will weave pictures throughout to keep your attention!

MOM AND AMANDA CAME TO VISIT!

This was of course a highlight in my time over here. It was so nice to get those big hugs at the airport! I'm so proud of my mom for having the courage to enter another world for a few weeks. I have incredible friends here, but nothing compares to having someone from home come and experience your life along with you.

I kept them quite busy while they were here. I rented a car and we drove all over the country. Our first stop was Petra. We were anticipating getting there in the early afternoon so that we could relax at the hotel for the evening and then hike around Petra in the morning. When we got to the hotel we were informed that there would be a "Petra by Night" tour that evening. For the Petra by Night tour, they light the siq leading to the treasury with candles. It is quite a beautiful site. Once you get to the treasury, you are met with a beautiful site, with a bedouin playing a rababa and singing. You sit in silence, drinking tea, and soaking in the moment. I had not been able to have this before, so I sort of coerced my mother and friend into doing this. (It wasn't too difficult). However, I hadn't thought through the plan too well, because my mom had just had knee surgery and Petra demands a lot of walking in one day, and my plan required it two days in a row! Mom and Amanda were troopers though, and we had a great time.

Day two in Petra:

This was an incredibly long day. We had many firsts to say the least. Mom and Amanda coerced me into doing things that I had resolved never to do... like ride a mule. I like my own two feet! Anyway, it ended up being a great day filled with many memories.

One of my favorite things was when a bedouin family invited us to sit and have tea with them on our way up to the monastery. Their hospitality and nice conversation reminds me of the importance of slowing down in life enough to enjoy the people around you. The mother of the family proceeded to charge my mom and Amanda WAY too much for some necklaces, but I think it was worth it! :)

We also took a trip to the Dead Sea. We floated in the sea, had great food, took lots of pictures and had many laughs. I had been to the Dead Sea several times before, but every place seems like a new place when mom is around! :) The weather was not so nice, but the rain held off long enough for us to go for a float.

We had some special time in Amman with some friends of mine. We had a friend over for tea, went shopping downtown, and also were invited to a WONDERFUL meal. I loved for my mom and Amanda to meet the people that I have been so blessed to call friends. I think it became evident as to why the Lord asked me to come to this place at this time.

Unfortunately the 20th rolled around and they had to leave. However, I think that we made memories that will last a life time! I'm so thankful for the time that we had together.

OTHER NEWS:

I moved! Some circumstances changed and we had another female teacher coming to join us, so we are now renting a really nice apartment in a different part of Amman. This apartment is much closer to the rest of my teammates, which makes visiting very nice. I am not sure if you all are aware, but one of my regular service activities is to tutor a young man in math and science. It has been a huge blessing for me to be able to assist this family in such a way. There were some circumstances which lead to his family making the decision to home school him, but they needed someone to teach math and science. Of course I am always looking for someone to sit still long enough to do math with me, so it was a perfect fit! I now live within walking distance of their house, which makes it all quite convenient. Isn't just like our Father to set up such unique circumstance for us to serve each other?

SPRING SEMESTER HAS STARTED:

February 1st marked the first day of our new semester at our English Center. I am teaching a morning conversation class for women, and an evening class of mixed gender. I love both of the classes! Most of my students from last semester are continuing this semester, which I love. My morning class retained the few from last semester and added a few which is really encouraging. I love the freedom that comes from that class. The last lesson was a conversation that followed from a youtube video that I showed them about the tragedy in Haiti. It was a powerful time where we were able to talk about things in life that really matter!

FUTURE PLANS:

After much prayer and contemplation, I am now ready to announce that I will be returning to Oregon in May. I have loved my time in Jordan, but it appears that this chapter will close in May. I am very excited about the next chapter in my adventure of following the Lord. I have a feeling it will be just as exciting as the last. I am very thankful that I will be able to step back into my position at the High School. It will feel good to be teaching math in the classroom again!

Well, that is the short of it. Please shoot me an email if you have a chance and let me know what is going on with you. I can't wait to schedule massive amounts of coffee dates when I get back to catch up on your lives. Thanks for being part of my journey!

Blessings,

Tina G.