Matt and Tony after the graduation ceremony
Friends from our church at the graduation
Sarah and Michael with their daughter Peace.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Graduation
On Friday we attended the graduation of our friend Tony from JETS--Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary--where he received a bachelor's Degree in Theology. He is part of the Sudanese Church we attend here in Amman that is made up of students from JETS, people who came here to work and others who have fled Sudan because of persecution. We really enjoy being part of this community and find it encouraging to see how God is blessing many from our church. Many of the students plan to return to Sudan after their studies, and Tony will be leaving Jordan in two weeks to return to Khartoum where he wants to work with youth. Pray for our Sudanese brothers and sisters here in Jordan. Pray also for those who are working in Sudan, as the country is in the process of rebuilding and reconciling after two decades of war in the south, and a continuing war in the west. Below are some pictures of the graduation celebration.
Matt and Tony after the graduation ceremony
Friends from our church at the graduation
Sarah and Michael with their daughter Peace.
Matt and Tony after the graduation ceremony
Friends from our church at the graduation
Sarah and Michael with their daughter Peace.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Wanted: A Proportionate Response
As you are probably aware, a cease fire has been agreed to in the war between Israel and Hezbollah. As we wrote before, this short war--which may or may not actually be over--dominated the news here, and from what we have seen on the internet and satellite television, it was big news around the world too, as it should have been.
Despite my obvious interest in the region, though--since I live here--I am left somewhat amazed at the intense level of interest and amount of news coverage that the war generated. This is not meant to minimize the very real suffering that people experienced and continue to experience because of the war. After all, around 1000 people were killed, and many parts of Lebanon were simply destroyed. That is big news, and beyond that, it is obviously very sad.
However, from my point of view--and it seems almost like heresy to admit this if this part of the world is one of your great focuses in life--I think the war received a disproportionate amount of interest, news coverage and attention from the United Nations and various governments from around the world. Actually, maybe it is better to say that it received the appropriate attention, but in comparison, other conflicts do not. For instance, an estimated 400,000 people have died since 2003 in the war in the Darfur region of western Sudan. Another 1.8 million are said to have been displaced. It is also said that around 500 people continue to die every day there, which means that in two days the number of dead about equals the total number of deaths in Lebanon during the nearly 40 days of fighting there.
One would think that a war in which the number of monthly deaths is equivalent to the population of the town in which I grew up would garner a lot of attention. However, I don't think the average person is really aware of what's going on in Sudan. News stories are scarce, and I can't remember when I last saw a televised report on the situation. I think it's also safe to say that diplomatic activity to end the war could be more intense. After all, the conflict is over three years old now. In contrast, I am guessing that nearly everyone with a TV or a computer knows at least something about what's been going on in Lebanon. While the fighting went on, BBC Television--as well as the American stations we've been able to see on satellite--led nearly every newscast with the war, the local newspaper here devoted basically the entire front page to the war and governments around the world fell all over themselves trying to negotiate an end to the fighting. In fact, the negotiating continues, as just today, after days of wrangling, the European Union agreed to send 7,000 troops to help police the cease fire.
Now, this is not meant to be a game of numbers. I was stunned when I heard Israel had bombed the Beirut airport, and I continued to be stunned and saddened as Israel bombed and destroyed cities and villages in southern Lebanon, as well as parts of Beirut. I live near Lebanon and Israel, and so I care immensely about what goes on in this region. I don't want people to ignore what goes on here. I am just amazed that a three year old war in which 400 times as many people have been killed doesn't receive the same amount of attention. My hope is that we continue to carefully watch the situation between Israel, Lebanon and Hezbollah, without forgetting the trials and tribulations of the rest of the world too.
Despite my obvious interest in the region, though--since I live here--I am left somewhat amazed at the intense level of interest and amount of news coverage that the war generated. This is not meant to minimize the very real suffering that people experienced and continue to experience because of the war. After all, around 1000 people were killed, and many parts of Lebanon were simply destroyed. That is big news, and beyond that, it is obviously very sad.
However, from my point of view--and it seems almost like heresy to admit this if this part of the world is one of your great focuses in life--I think the war received a disproportionate amount of interest, news coverage and attention from the United Nations and various governments from around the world. Actually, maybe it is better to say that it received the appropriate attention, but in comparison, other conflicts do not. For instance, an estimated 400,000 people have died since 2003 in the war in the Darfur region of western Sudan. Another 1.8 million are said to have been displaced. It is also said that around 500 people continue to die every day there, which means that in two days the number of dead about equals the total number of deaths in Lebanon during the nearly 40 days of fighting there.
One would think that a war in which the number of monthly deaths is equivalent to the population of the town in which I grew up would garner a lot of attention. However, I don't think the average person is really aware of what's going on in Sudan. News stories are scarce, and I can't remember when I last saw a televised report on the situation. I think it's also safe to say that diplomatic activity to end the war could be more intense. After all, the conflict is over three years old now. In contrast, I am guessing that nearly everyone with a TV or a computer knows at least something about what's been going on in Lebanon. While the fighting went on, BBC Television--as well as the American stations we've been able to see on satellite--led nearly every newscast with the war, the local newspaper here devoted basically the entire front page to the war and governments around the world fell all over themselves trying to negotiate an end to the fighting. In fact, the negotiating continues, as just today, after days of wrangling, the European Union agreed to send 7,000 troops to help police the cease fire.
Now, this is not meant to be a game of numbers. I was stunned when I heard Israel had bombed the Beirut airport, and I continued to be stunned and saddened as Israel bombed and destroyed cities and villages in southern Lebanon, as well as parts of Beirut. I live near Lebanon and Israel, and so I care immensely about what goes on in this region. I don't want people to ignore what goes on here. I am just amazed that a three year old war in which 400 times as many people have been killed doesn't receive the same amount of attention. My hope is that we continue to carefully watch the situation between Israel, Lebanon and Hezbollah, without forgetting the trials and tribulations of the rest of the world too.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Jordanian Shade
All summer here in Amman the temperature has hovered around 90 degrees with occasional forays into the 100s. It is hot, dry and dusty, and many people--if they can--avoid the mid-day heat and simply stay inside. However, because the humidity is not always very high, if you are outside, it is possible to get a good respite from the heat by walking or resting under the shade of a building, a tree--really, whatever you can find. Yes, it is hot, but finding that elusive shade really can make a big difference in your level of comfort.
Of course many of the stories in the Bible are set in a climate like this, and in my mind the Jordanian heat brings those passages to life. In Genesis, for example, one story has Abraham sitting in his tent "in the heat of the day." When three men come to visit him, he tells them to rest under a tree. These are small details, but because of our time in Jordan I can imagine the afternoon heat experienced by Abraham, as well as the good shade from the heat that the tent and the tree would provide. Also, there is the story of Jonah, who after preaching to the people of Nineveh--a city in what is now northern Iraq, not all that far from us here--left and built himself a little shelter outside the city. It was apparently quite hot, so God raised up a bush to provide shade for Jonah, and to "save him from his discomfort." The next day, though, God caused the bush to die, and Jonah lost his shade. As a result, he became so hot and frustrated that he grew "faint and asked that he might die." Jonah was so hot that he lost his will to live.
Now, I've never been so hot that I wished I were dead, but again, because of our time in Jordan I can imagine how Jonah felt. I think I've felt like that while riding on a windowless bus in the Jordan Valley, the temperature outside of over 100 degrees causing those of us inside to bake, my tan pants clinging to the sweat on my legs. I think I've experienced this while walking near the Jordan River, where the hot breeze beat down on us like we had just opened a hot oven and where all the mighty power of the sun seemed focused on the naked part in my hair on the top of my head. Through these--and other--experiences, I can imagine why Jonah was so upset that he lost his shade.
So, as I said, shade can make a big difference, and it is this shade--a shade that can save you from devastating heat--that is good to think about when looking at the imagery used in other parts of the Bible. For instance, Psalm 121 calls God "your shade at your right hand," and Isaiah 25 calls God "a shade from the heat." When I read this, I remember how the other day--when I was outside walking in the heat of the day--I moved immediately into the shadow of a building as soon as I noticed it, how I sought the shade from the heat it would give me. Shade works, and I suppose it is this reaction to the heat of a hot summer day that the various biblical writers had in mind when they referred to God as shade. Like the building, like Jonah's bush, like Abraham's tent, God makes the heat we experience more bearable.
Of course many of the stories in the Bible are set in a climate like this, and in my mind the Jordanian heat brings those passages to life. In Genesis, for example, one story has Abraham sitting in his tent "in the heat of the day." When three men come to visit him, he tells them to rest under a tree. These are small details, but because of our time in Jordan I can imagine the afternoon heat experienced by Abraham, as well as the good shade from the heat that the tent and the tree would provide. Also, there is the story of Jonah, who after preaching to the people of Nineveh--a city in what is now northern Iraq, not all that far from us here--left and built himself a little shelter outside the city. It was apparently quite hot, so God raised up a bush to provide shade for Jonah, and to "save him from his discomfort." The next day, though, God caused the bush to die, and Jonah lost his shade. As a result, he became so hot and frustrated that he grew "faint and asked that he might die." Jonah was so hot that he lost his will to live.
Now, I've never been so hot that I wished I were dead, but again, because of our time in Jordan I can imagine how Jonah felt. I think I've felt like that while riding on a windowless bus in the Jordan Valley, the temperature outside of over 100 degrees causing those of us inside to bake, my tan pants clinging to the sweat on my legs. I think I've experienced this while walking near the Jordan River, where the hot breeze beat down on us like we had just opened a hot oven and where all the mighty power of the sun seemed focused on the naked part in my hair on the top of my head. Through these--and other--experiences, I can imagine why Jonah was so upset that he lost his shade.
So, as I said, shade can make a big difference, and it is this shade--a shade that can save you from devastating heat--that is good to think about when looking at the imagery used in other parts of the Bible. For instance, Psalm 121 calls God "your shade at your right hand," and Isaiah 25 calls God "a shade from the heat." When I read this, I remember how the other day--when I was outside walking in the heat of the day--I moved immediately into the shadow of a building as soon as I noticed it, how I sought the shade from the heat it would give me. Shade works, and I suppose it is this reaction to the heat of a hot summer day that the various biblical writers had in mind when they referred to God as shade. Like the building, like Jonah's bush, like Abraham's tent, God makes the heat we experience more bearable.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Views of the Middle East
Overlooking the city from the citadel in Aleppo, Syria
A desert dessert - cactus!
Spices in the market
Annamarie hanging out with her friend Suha
Prayer beads 
A beautiful Jordanian Woman
Glass lamps
Moving Day in Amman
A plant on the hills outside of Amman
Saturday, August 05, 2006
The Barbie Alternative
In the United States there is Barbie and in the Middle East there is Fulla. Fulla is the Muslim alternative to Barbie and she is sometimes sold with a prayer mat but always with a head covering. Fulla is huge here in Jordan. Everywhere you go you see her - on chewing gum, sandals and bikes. Our friends daughter even has a bedroom decked out in Fulla sheets and drapes. I took this picture at a corner store the other day - happy to see the two backpacks side by side outside the store.
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