Two Things Thursday

Firstly:

Wow... crazy run-around... that's usually the pace in Jordan and this trip's been no different.  I'm rooming with Nathan, who has been an ideal roomie... perfectly happy to hang out in his space with his Mac and me in mine.  And he makes a mean banana bread or chicken fried rice.  Definitely a domesticated dude.  So, knowing that I haven't put in my time in Petra quite yet (insert heavy irony here), I offered to play guide and introduce him to the Rose Red City.  

This was to be, I believe, my sixth time to venture through the hallowed walls of the siq and stand before the majestic Treasury.  We kicked off at an ungodly 7.30AM and were on Abdullah's camels by 11AM (yep, I've got a Bedouin guy on speed-dial).  It was a GORGEOUS day with blue skies, cool breezes.  We explored up the mountain behind the buffet restaurant, rode the donkeys up to the Monastery and even got some time in on the Urn Tomb.  I'd not been up on that side of the park before and was amazed at the size of the rooms.  We were back in Amman by 9PM and gratefully collapsed into bed.

And Second:

So, the whole reason it's been crazy run-around is that our national conference wrapped up on Monday night.  This year we had services in Amman, Husn and Marka.  This required some schlepping of gear from one location to another, but overall seemed much less harried than previous years.  (This  is heavily influenced by the fact I arrived two days prior and thus had very little to do with the prep work).  Brad Reed did a fantastic job in pulpit and we had great services all around.  For an added bonus,  Adam came in to visit for a few days in the midst of it all.  I was especially happy with the turnout for Husn, which was held at the YWCA in town.  Four were baptized after that service.

This week I've been prepping to leave, cleaning out closets and running errands.  I went with Mylen and Nathan to OWWA (the Filipino woman's shelter) and had the opportunity to speak to them.  It was beautiful to see over 50 ladies worshiping the Lord.  There's over 120 ladies living in a 4-story building, with more coming every day.  The employees requested us to pray that they would have favor with the government to stop the illegal trafficking of domestic workers into the country.  It's a massive problem all over the globe.

I'll be preaching in Friday and Sunday's services, so I appreciate your prayers.  God's doing awesome things in the Middle East!