To All Who are Weary and Burdened
"Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest."
Matthew 11:28
As we write this, it is 8:50 PM in Jordan, 1:50 in Hunt Valley. This is the earliest we have returned to the guest house, and we wake up early. There are eight of us, including Clara, our World Relief friend, two men, six women, one bathroom. We have relearned how to wait our turn. Our housing provides us with what we need, a place to sleep, and our corner shop provides us with water. God provides us with what our soul needs. We can then go help the families we meet.
The 8-12-year-olds of the community, Jordanian and Syrian, who have experienced trauma and loss participated in an interactive awareness presentation provided by our team members. They were given some tools to help them begin to heal. These children are the future of the city; by providing some coping skills, they can start to move forward.
More women were pampered today through loving manicures and facials. Building their self-esteem and providing an opportunity to relax in a women’s only environment strengthens their homes and family. While the time is too short, they are very grateful for the intimate care that was showered upon them. We were able to pray for each woman individually. Although this is optional, each woman was eager to have her worries and concerns carried to God in Jesus’ name.
The “teaching of the teachers” continued with an overview of the verb tenses. The English teachers nodded and laughed when they were told that in English that the rules are more like guidelines because of all of the exceptions to the rules. After a four-hour grammar-thon, the teachers have a better understanding of how the verb tenses cross a timeline. By perfecting their verb usage, they will be able to teach the curriculum more confidently.
In case you were concerned about our cockroach issue, here is the update… the exterminator was unable to make an emergency house call Monday night. After Rodger’s foot was attacked in the bathroom, and a shelf was a casualty of the incident, David and Clara bravely came to the rescue. They purged the bathroom drains…kitchen pipes…the gaping hole in the bathroom wall…and the drainage abyss in the kitchen floor of our pest problems (just a reminder we are sleeping on the floor). Here’s to David, the cockroach slayer!
And of course, we ate today. Food in Jordan is very exciting and surprisingly inexpensive. Since we were eating at the center for dinner, we ate lunch at a restaurant around the corner. We had the chance to talk with some “college guys” who showed us how to eat Mansef by throwing the rice in the air and catching (FYI, that’s not what we ate for lunch, nor did we throw our food). Dinner was a special treat of مقلوبة (pronounced maglooba) which means “upside down.” We also found gelato around the corner from the office. Here you can get “six scoops price of one!”
PS: Despite what you may have heard, this blog is a joint effort of the entire team. It could not be written without the team, nor could it be written without God