friend visits = wonderful!

One of my closest friends from home came to Amman for a few days. Catherine became a part of an elite group of people who have now seen my life here: walked the streets with me and seen the faces that make up this season of my life. It was so wonderful to see her, share with her stories of joy and pain and listen to her verbal reflections of life. Loss. History. Religion. Politics. Claims to land. Family. Boys. There is something irreplaceable about talking to someone who knows me outside of this experience, while sharing a plate of hummus as women in hijab hustle by and the call to prayer rings out across the city.

Mother's Day Celebration at School

Monday marked one of the most important holidays here in Jordan: Mother's Day. To celebrate, the schools invited all the mothers to a special performance. Each grade prepared a number of dances, skits, and songs [in English, Arabic, & French]. It was quite the program and all of the teachers were very proud of the students. Here is a video of our youngest students performing, I'd say, one of the cutest things you'll ever see:

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thoughts on church

As I walked out of church last week, I had a familiar sinking feeling in my stomach.

I miss my church. I miss leaving church feeling rejuvenated by the Holy Spirit. I miss listening to a sermon that is expository and Gospel centered.

The church I attend here in Irbid is an Arabic speaking congregation. As part of my SALT experience, I wanted to participate in a body of believers here in Jordan, hearing their stories and learning about living as a religious minority. I desired to partake in a community of believers and live life alongside them.

Thus far, I have succeeded in that goal.

The problem? It's an Arabic speaking congregation. Which is great because it allows me over an hour of uninterrupted "listening to Arabic" time. However, let's be honest here... my Arabic is still at a level that within a half an hour sermon, I understand maybe five words. On a good day the number could be up to ten. That lack of understanding leaves much to be desired.

The time I spent last year attending Redeemer Anglican Church in Chicago made me familiar enough with a liturgical service that I understand and follow the structure of the service and the prayers:

Jesus said: "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it, "you shall love your neighbor as yourself." ... Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy. ... Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly king, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise your for your glory. ... We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God...

Partaking in this community of believers, in this faith tradition, has made me even more aware of the beauty that comes through experiencing Christ through different faith traditions. Having spent my early church years in a Covenant Church congregation, and then my teenage years to adulthood in a non-denominational large Evangelical community, it wasn't until the past two years that I participated in an Anglican, liturgical based service. Saying the same prayers each week, knowing that Christian communities all over the world are praying the same, Gospel based prayers, is a beautiful reminder to me of the global family of believers.

There is so much to learn about God through different faith practices. The fact that people have a broad spectrum of ways they understand, experience, and interact with God is a testament to the character of God: He has created us all as individual beings whom He loves. He has given us all different passions and gifts and different mediums to connect with Him.

As I sit each week listening to my Arabic speaking brothers and sisters praying and worshiping our Lord Jesus, my thoughts sometimes wander to memories of church back home... listening to beautiful choirs sing at Moody Church Candlelight Carols each year, weekly singing beautiful hymns in College Church, learning from Biblically-based sermons. As I leave church each week, the sinking feeling in my stomach, I think, is mostly from a void felt from the lack of opening up the Word each week and being lead through a section of Scripture. This is done at the church I attend...or at least I think it is...again the entire service is in Arabic. This sinking feeling is not due to the lack of the Gospel being preached, but rather my lack of being able to understand the message.

This experience has made me even more aware of the power that comes through simple hearing and understanding something in your own language and cultural setting. Again, I do believe there is deep insight and understanding that can occur when one steps out of their normal faith practices. However, there is also great growth which can only occur through studying God's Word within a community of believers and in understanding the message in your own language.

I know there is still much to be learned through partaking in life and worship with my Arab brothers and sisters here. However, some Sundays I simply miss home.

a Franciscan blessing

As a part of observing Lent this year, I'm participating in World Vision's Lent Bible study called Lent 2011: Relentless Acts of Justice. It is comprised of emails exploring "the Gospel narrative through the lens of six different injustices using stories and experiential activism". It is simply daily reminders of the season we're in and the importance of seeing the world through the eyes of Christ and the Gospel. It is daily stories to guide my actions, thoughts, and prayers throughout the weeks leading up to the death and magnificent resurrection of Jesus. Yesterday's email included a familiar, but beautiful, Franciscan blessing:

May God bless you with discomfort. Discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. Amen

May God bless you with anger. Anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace. Amen

May God bless you with tears. Tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their pain into joy. Amen

May God bless you with foolishness. Enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen

And the blessing of God, who creates, redeems and sanctifies, be upon you and all you love and pray for this day, and forever more. Amen

"Peace, in the sense of the absence of war, is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove the pain of torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who have lost their loved ones in floods caused by senseless deforestation in a neighboring country. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free."

-- The Dalai Lama

"Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe."

-- Frederick Douglass

Dead2Red

Run from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea. 242km [150 miles]. 10 people. Continuous running. Start on the shores of the Dead Sea [an altitude of -415m below sea level]. Run. Through the night. Through the desert to an altitude of +120m above sea level. Arrive at the shores of the Red Sea…specifically at the Gulf of Aqaba.

That was the challenge.

Dead2Red is a race started 14 years ago with two teams. This year thirty-eight teams participated coming from all walks of life and all athletic abilities. Every team plans their own strategy to complete the race within the 24-hour time limit. The first place team was a sponsored team comprised of professional runners who, rumor has it, ran 200m sprints the whole time. They train year round for this run…pretty intense.

Our team’s strategy? Finish. Don’t die. Have fun. :) We rented two buses, had five people in each bus, brought enough food and water [although not enough Gatorade we realized] to get us through 20 hours of running with little rest, and prepared for one of the most challenging and amazing experiences of our lives. The first round we ran ten-minute rounds for 40km. Our bus then rested while the second bus ran their 40km rotations. For the next two rounds, our bus decided to run five minute segments each, making it easier to run faster. Basically, you’d jump out of the bus, grab the baton from the previous runner, run as fast as you could for five minutes while the bus followed you. When you had ten seconds left, the bus would pass the runner [always a great sign!] allowing the next runner time to hop out and be ready to grab the baton from you. Having just completed your run, you’d then jump into bus, walk up and down the aisle, stretch, then prepare to do it all over again.

By the last round we were running 1-2 minute rotations, both buses together taking turns, encouraging one another, pushing each other to finish strong. For the last 200m all ten of us ran, crossing the finish line together. Although it was a long race, I LOVED it!

There was a point, somewhere from 10pm and 1am where we were passing, and being passed, by a few teams. It was so fun to overtake a team, and then have them catch up, and then passing them again…over and over again until we finally got enough distance between them and us where we were no longer neck and neck. It was during this point when our driver, who previously thought he was simply going to be driving us to Aqaba… at the normal speed…not 12km/hour, turned on some loud, amazing Arabic music and started clapping his hands and cheering us on. His enthusiasm, along with our team’s great dance moves and the other team’s competition, pumped us up and gave us the energy we needed to continue to put one foot in front of the other.

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Throughout the race I was continually amazed by God’s creation. I was running across Jordan, next to the Dead Sea, under the stars, through the desert, experiencing the created world. My most memorable worship experiences, the times when I have felt deeply connected with the Lord, have almost all included being surrounded in nature. It is when I’m experiencing and observing what the Savoir of the world has created that I come to realize how great our God is and how worthy He is of our praise, our love, our lives.

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” [Psalm 8:3-4]

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out though all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and like a strong man, runs its course with joy” [Psalm 19:1-5].

“O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures” [Psalm 104:24].

By the time night hit, most of the teams were spread out enough that each time I hopped off the bus, I was running alone in the middle of the desert. The only light was coming from the stars and the bus following closely behind me, lighting the path. The song from childhood Sunday School kept popping into my head: “Thy Word is a lamp onto my feet and a light onto my path…” Only a small part of the road was visible with each step. Beyond the beam of light coming from the bus headlight was pitch darkness. In life we often can’t see very far in front of us. As a child of the Creator of the universe…of the stars, the camels, the sand dunes, and the olive trees… I find it reassuring that He has created all things, and yet still cares for me, still loves me, still desires for me to trust Him, even when I can only see the next step, even when surrounding me is pitch darkness.

Running with my team for the 19:41.20 it took us to complete the race was one of the coolest experiences of my life. What an amazing way to experience this land, this part of the world where people have trekked for thousands of years! What an incredible way to experience God’s creation!

sheep in the yard

Over the years my love for sheep has increased...to the point where last summer, while visiting Ireland with my parents, I was somewhat seriously considering staying in Ireland to work on a farm with sheep. Seriously. About a week ago as I was sitting in my room, I heard sheep outside my window. I looked out to discover this: