I thought this worth posting since I know some of you know and love Page CXVI as I do. They've allowed everyone to stream their hymns for free on blogs. So enjoy some great rendition of hymns if you want below:
Album: Hymns II (favorite in this album is Battle Hymn of the Republic)
Album: Hymns I
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
A tear-jerking novel and free hymns.
I'm breaking my tradition (just this once, maybe more in the future) of only posting on Sundays a recap of the whole week.
Les Miserables
I finally finished Les Miserables by Victor Hugo this afternoon and, I must say, I agree with Jonathan Leeman that the last few pages of the book leaves the reader bawling. Many tissues were required as I savored every last word. I agree with Jonathan on a second point: read the abridged version. I read the unabridged version and I did not enjoy reading pages and pages about the history of the Parisian sewer system.
Red Mountain Church
I've known about Red Mountain Church music for a while; for those of you who don't know the group, they reproduce contemporized hymns. This is all the fad these days in the Christian music scene, but what's cool about RMC is that they primarly do renditions of little-known hymns. So why do I post about them? The fact that you can get one of their albums for free (there's an option for tipping) at NoiseTrade, here. I've had the album on loop for the past few days.
For those of you attending the Mountain-band hymns Reformation Day celebration at CHBC this Sunday, I'm jealous.
Les Miserables
I finally finished Les Miserables by Victor Hugo this afternoon and, I must say, I agree with Jonathan Leeman that the last few pages of the book leaves the reader bawling. Many tissues were required as I savored every last word. I agree with Jonathan on a second point: read the abridged version. I read the unabridged version and I did not enjoy reading pages and pages about the history of the Parisian sewer system.
Red Mountain Church
I've known about Red Mountain Church music for a while; for those of you who don't know the group, they reproduce contemporized hymns. This is all the fad these days in the Christian music scene, but what's cool about RMC is that they primarly do renditions of little-known hymns. So why do I post about them? The fact that you can get one of their albums for free (there's an option for tipping) at NoiseTrade, here. I've had the album on loop for the past few days.
For those of you attending the Mountain-band hymns Reformation Day celebration at CHBC this Sunday, I'm jealous.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Week 7: Cairo
Last week I was unable to update this blog because I was swamped with work. My parents visited me last weekend for four days and three nights. We were able to visit Petra, the Citadel in Amman, and the Masjid Al-Husseini market. Unfortunately, the all-day hike in Petra knocked all the energy out of my parents and they spent whole day after recovering in the hotel. It was my first time visiting the Citadel, which was cool--in a very small museum on the premises were a few fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Peer Language Tutor: Ala'a
I had a good time with my peer language tutor, Ala'a, this week. He took me to the older downtown area and we sat at Jaffr cafe, an apparently historic site and popular expat spot. I had iced lemon-juice with mint (Arabic: na'na') and also some "Arabic pizza". We had a 1.5 hour long conversation about evangelical Christianity, it's difference from Roman Catholicism (what he's used to seeing in Jordan) and from Islam. Naturally, because he was raised in Saudi Arabia, religion is naturally a very interesting subject for him and he said it was a "very enjoyable conversation."
Cairo...
The highlight of the weekend was of course Cairo. I went with Daniel, Stephen, Merri, and Cindy. We left on Thursday night and spent our nights in Wake Up Hotel (highly recommended for anyone independently travelling to Cairo). The first night we were there, we went on a medium-sized boat down the Nile. People apparently rent small boats on the Nile for evening parties and stuff, the one we were on had left-over decorations from a birthday party.
Cairo: Friday - Pyramids, Sphinx, Horses, Market
Friday was CRAZY! We had to squeeze as much as possible into our only full day in Egypt. So in the morning we woke up early and headed to the pyramids with Ayman and Badr. We met Ayman during our hike in Wadi Kerek during the second or third week in Jordan, and he told us to contact him if we were ever going to visit Egypt. Badr's his friend who was kind enough to drive us around the entire weekend--he's awesome! We sat 7 people in one car the entire weekend and every speed-bump was passed over slowly with held breaths accompanied by sounds of scraping. The Giza Pyramids were fantastic although we were constantly asked whether we wanted to ride camels--after hours of camel riding in Wadi Rum, riding camels was not appealing. We also went to the sphinx, which is right next to the pyramids, which was a lot smaller than we were expecting. While we were at the pyramids, one of the camel owners told Cindy that he would be willing to trade her for 50 camels. We assumed this was a high honor and a great compliment!
Afterward we broke for lunch and then went to the edge of Cairo to rent seven horses. I must say this was my least favorite part of the trip, but at least I can say I have galloped in the desert into the sunset. My horse was a bit giddy and we trotted through the edge of the city in a pack, sometimes bumping into each others' horses. Once we got out of the city, I was already screaming for the horse-owners to stop my horse because I was deathly afraid of falling off (my feet had fallen out of the stirrups and I was holding onto the saddle for my dear life). The owner thought it would be amusing to whip my horse into a gallop a few times before he had mercy on me and allowed me to simple maintain a trot. I was glad to finally get off of the horse at our destination, which was an outpost right outside of Cairo which had a nice view of the city and the pyramids on a secluded hill.
At night we went to a souq next to the famous al-Azhar mosque. It reminded me a lot of night markets in Taiwan with lots of shops and haggling prices, but not as much food. I bought a new wallet as a souvenier and also because I simply needed a new one. They had some nice shops, mostly selling the same things. We also sat in a cafe within the souq and had some coffee and tea with mint; Ayman smoked some nargeela (shisha). Afterward, we were very hungry, so we went to an Egyptian restaurant where I had "fatta with trotters," an Egyptian dish of rice, tomatoes, and sheep feet! Along with some good Egyptian falafel.
Saturday: Egyptian Museum, Nile River Bend
The Egyptian Museum was pretty big and incredible to see. So many artifacts! The sheer number was overwhelming, coupled with the wonderful way they've been preserved so well. I was able to see the opened mummies and see what mummified human flesh looks like...yum. No photos allowed inside the museum though. Sad day. Afterward, we didn't have too much time left to do anything, so we went to a nice spot on the Nile with a good view and took some photos before heading to the airport.
Amusing Incident:
While I was in the famous souq near the al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, a shop-owner waved me over. I said that I didn't want to buy anything, and he insisted that I just visit the shop to look at things (not to buy) because I was Chinese and would bring him luck by merely stepping foot in his store. They love me! I feel like the lucky cricket in Mulan.
Prayer Requests:
Peer Language Tutor: Ala'a
I had a good time with my peer language tutor, Ala'a, this week. He took me to the older downtown area and we sat at Jaffr cafe, an apparently historic site and popular expat spot. I had iced lemon-juice with mint (Arabic: na'na') and also some "Arabic pizza". We had a 1.5 hour long conversation about evangelical Christianity, it's difference from Roman Catholicism (what he's used to seeing in Jordan) and from Islam. Naturally, because he was raised in Saudi Arabia, religion is naturally a very interesting subject for him and he said it was a "very enjoyable conversation."
Cairo...
The highlight of the weekend was of course Cairo. I went with Daniel, Stephen, Merri, and Cindy. We left on Thursday night and spent our nights in Wake Up Hotel (highly recommended for anyone independently travelling to Cairo). The first night we were there, we went on a medium-sized boat down the Nile. People apparently rent small boats on the Nile for evening parties and stuff, the one we were on had left-over decorations from a birthday party.
Cairo: Friday - Pyramids, Sphinx, Horses, Market
Friday was CRAZY! We had to squeeze as much as possible into our only full day in Egypt. So in the morning we woke up early and headed to the pyramids with Ayman and Badr. We met Ayman during our hike in Wadi Kerek during the second or third week in Jordan, and he told us to contact him if we were ever going to visit Egypt. Badr's his friend who was kind enough to drive us around the entire weekend--he's awesome! We sat 7 people in one car the entire weekend and every speed-bump was passed over slowly with held breaths accompanied by sounds of scraping. The Giza Pyramids were fantastic although we were constantly asked whether we wanted to ride camels--after hours of camel riding in Wadi Rum, riding camels was not appealing. We also went to the sphinx, which is right next to the pyramids, which was a lot smaller than we were expecting. While we were at the pyramids, one of the camel owners told Cindy that he would be willing to trade her for 50 camels. We assumed this was a high honor and a great compliment!
Afterward we broke for lunch and then went to the edge of Cairo to rent seven horses. I must say this was my least favorite part of the trip, but at least I can say I have galloped in the desert into the sunset. My horse was a bit giddy and we trotted through the edge of the city in a pack, sometimes bumping into each others' horses. Once we got out of the city, I was already screaming for the horse-owners to stop my horse because I was deathly afraid of falling off (my feet had fallen out of the stirrups and I was holding onto the saddle for my dear life). The owner thought it would be amusing to whip my horse into a gallop a few times before he had mercy on me and allowed me to simple maintain a trot. I was glad to finally get off of the horse at our destination, which was an outpost right outside of Cairo which had a nice view of the city and the pyramids on a secluded hill.
At night we went to a souq next to the famous al-Azhar mosque. It reminded me a lot of night markets in Taiwan with lots of shops and haggling prices, but not as much food. I bought a new wallet as a souvenier and also because I simply needed a new one. They had some nice shops, mostly selling the same things. We also sat in a cafe within the souq and had some coffee and tea with mint; Ayman smoked some nargeela (shisha). Afterward, we were very hungry, so we went to an Egyptian restaurant where I had "fatta with trotters," an Egyptian dish of rice, tomatoes, and sheep feet! Along with some good Egyptian falafel.
Saturday: Egyptian Museum, Nile River Bend
The Egyptian Museum was pretty big and incredible to see. So many artifacts! The sheer number was overwhelming, coupled with the wonderful way they've been preserved so well. I was able to see the opened mummies and see what mummified human flesh looks like...yum. No photos allowed inside the museum though. Sad day. Afterward, we didn't have too much time left to do anything, so we went to a nice spot on the Nile with a good view and took some photos before heading to the airport.
Amusing Incident:
While I was in the famous souq near the al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, a shop-owner waved me over. I said that I didn't want to buy anything, and he insisted that I just visit the shop to look at things (not to buy) because I was Chinese and would bring him luck by merely stepping foot in his store. They love me! I feel like the lucky cricket in Mulan.
Prayer Requests:
- We had a good first study in the book of Jeremiah last week and will be meeting again this Monday night. Please pray for wisdom on my part in the way I contribute to the discussion in regards to when to correct possible misunderstandings of biblical teaching, and when not to, and for charity throughout.
- Please pray for consistent time in the Word, that it won't be squeezed out by any excuses of having a tight/busy schedule.
- Please pray for good follow up conversations with Ala'a.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Week 6: Asif!
Asif = sorry.
As you may (or may not) have noticed, I didn't post this week. I was swamped and didn't have time to put together anything. Main things were that my parents were in town this past weekend. And now I'm heading out to Egypt! YES! It's going to be a blast, insha'allah. So expect next week to be a brief recap of what happened this past week and some updates from my Egypt adventure.
And in terms of quick prayer requests: 1) safety in Egypt, 2) building good relationships with the friends I'm going with (e.g. Daniel, Stephen, Merri, Cindy).
As you may (or may not) have noticed, I didn't post this week. I was swamped and didn't have time to put together anything. Main things were that my parents were in town this past weekend. And now I'm heading out to Egypt! YES! It's going to be a blast, insha'allah. So expect next week to be a brief recap of what happened this past week and some updates from my Egypt adventure.
And in terms of quick prayer requests: 1) safety in Egypt, 2) building good relationships with the friends I'm going with (e.g. Daniel, Stephen, Merri, Cindy).
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Week 4: Chugging Along.
This week was pretty low-key as most students were recovering from the long weekend in the South. Things chugged along quite smoothly.
Sandstorms
I've experienced three sandstorms since being in Amman thus far. They usually come in the late afternoon/evening and the city looks as if a fog has descended upon it. The dust/sand comes from the West and eastward winds bring them in. Interestingly, sometimes it has a red tint, which gives the whole city a red tint as if you're watching a movie where the director has decided to add a little red cinematographic flare. Apparently it gets so bad downtown that you can only see ten feet in front of you.
Internship @ Aljidara
Instead of taking two "area studies" classes, I'm taking one International Relations and Diplomacy in the Middle East class--which will double-count as a general education credit and major requirement--and a for-credit internship. I was placed with Aljidara, which is a leading Jordanian economic development and institutional reform consulting firm. Their clients are predominantly governmental organizations or projects funded by USAID. They've done work mainly in Jordan and the West Bank, but are currently in an expanding phase to become a regional player and are in the process of opening a new office in Abu Dhabi. Elizabeth, another intern from CIEE, and I are spear-heading the content development of their new website that they're hoping to launch at the end of November (they're current website was developed in 1994!), that reflects this new expanding phase. Other than content development, we'll be completing random editorial tasks for staff members. Office environments and work ethics are more personal than in the US, with the social-professional divide largely dissolved. To work well together, it is assumed that you know each other personally. It is not uncommon to talk a lot about family and significant events that happen in personal lives.
Calligraphy Club
Yes, I am part of an Arabic calligraphy club. I've only attended twice thus far because we only meet once a week in the CIEE office. A doctoral student in Arabic named Nazir is teaching the club; he's also a poet and teaches one of the Jordanian dialect classes. Hopefully by the end of the semester I shall be a calligrapher!
Souq Jara
I didn't do very many things this past week, other than catch up on sleep, go to classes, and do homework (I did also meet my peer language tutor, below). But I was able to visit Souq Jara, which is downtown on the famous Rainbow Street, on Friday afternoon. Souq Jara is only around during the summer and once it starts getting cold (usually at the end of October), it hibernates. Located on a relatively short street, most of the shops are boutique merchant stalls with handmade bedouin crafts, jewelry, and art. I purchased a little gift for my mom since she we won't have time to visit too many souqs since most are open only on Friday (when we'll be in Petra). It was nice to do something in Amman with some friends that didn't require a lot of travel. The weather is also getting very nice with the air getting cooler, so it was perfect for a nice stroll in Souq Jarad. Reminded me of walking in Eastern Market during the Fall!
Parents Visiting
As alluded to above, my parents will be visiting me in Jordan next Thursday till the following Monday. We'll be visiting Petra on Friday and staying overnight there and exploring Amman on Saturday and Sunday. This is just a pit stop on their way to Paris, but luckily they have a son in the Middle East which gives them an excuse to do some tourism!
Peer Language Tutor
I finally met my peer language tutor, who's name is...'ala...I'm not exactly sure how to transliterate it. For those of you who know Arabic, there's a hamza at the end of the name. He's Jordanian, but grew up in Saudi Arabia, where is family is currently. He's a fifth-year engineer student at the University of Jordan (most engineers take five years to graduate). I met him at the library and he took me out in his car to a restaurant called Jabri for lunch. He was incredibly warm and welcoming (as all Jordanians have been) and bought my lunch--mansif! Mansif is lamb in a buttery/milky sauce that's pretty thin, over yellow rice. Very popular. Right when we met, he said he was just going to give me a monologue about his entire life from birth till present, which he proceeded to do. As we walked to his car, he pointed out random things along the road and gave me new vocabulary--of which, to be honest, I don't think I remember anything except for "sidewalk". He's really flexibile, and I'll hopefully see him twice a week or so for lunches. Right when we were parting ways, he told me that I should treat him like a brother and ask for help if I ever need it. Thank God for common grace!
Future Travel Plans
I'm hoping to hit three places before I depart in December. First, Cairo. The weekend after my parents are here (that is two weekends from now), some friends and I will, Lord willing, be going to Cairo over the weekend to see the touristy sites (e.g. pyramids, sphinx, museum, etc.). Second, Beirut. This is still up in the air, but will happen sometime in November or early December. Third, Dubai. I will have a long 9-day break during Eid al-Adha (early/mid-November), which I will utilize for a trip to visit friends in Dubai! It will be good to see Kaia, Brinton, Tristan, Mack, and the FOCUS crew there. Another treat will be that Kaia's family will also be visiting during that time, so we'll all be able to hang out. And on top of all this, I've heard that Mark Dever, Lord willing, will be visiting UCCD while I'm there. Hopefully I'll see him at church!
Follow-Up Conversation
I was able to have a brief follow-up conversation with Keith, the CIEE student who randomly sat with me on the bus who is from a nominal Roman Catholic background. I was able to get him a copy of the Word and he was genuinely excited to receive it and said he was going to read John and Romans. He seemed interested in meeting together regularly, either to go through a book of the Word together, or just talk about what he's read.
Amusing Quote/Proverb:
"If you drink your (turkish) coffee quickly, you will not be scared of your mother-in-law" - Umm Salaam
Prayer Requests:
Sandstorms
I've experienced three sandstorms since being in Amman thus far. They usually come in the late afternoon/evening and the city looks as if a fog has descended upon it. The dust/sand comes from the West and eastward winds bring them in. Interestingly, sometimes it has a red tint, which gives the whole city a red tint as if you're watching a movie where the director has decided to add a little red cinematographic flare. Apparently it gets so bad downtown that you can only see ten feet in front of you.
Internship @ Aljidara
Instead of taking two "area studies" classes, I'm taking one International Relations and Diplomacy in the Middle East class--which will double-count as a general education credit and major requirement--and a for-credit internship. I was placed with Aljidara, which is a leading Jordanian economic development and institutional reform consulting firm. Their clients are predominantly governmental organizations or projects funded by USAID. They've done work mainly in Jordan and the West Bank, but are currently in an expanding phase to become a regional player and are in the process of opening a new office in Abu Dhabi. Elizabeth, another intern from CIEE, and I are spear-heading the content development of their new website that they're hoping to launch at the end of November (they're current website was developed in 1994!), that reflects this new expanding phase. Other than content development, we'll be completing random editorial tasks for staff members. Office environments and work ethics are more personal than in the US, with the social-professional divide largely dissolved. To work well together, it is assumed that you know each other personally. It is not uncommon to talk a lot about family and significant events that happen in personal lives.
Calligraphy Club
Yes, I am part of an Arabic calligraphy club. I've only attended twice thus far because we only meet once a week in the CIEE office. A doctoral student in Arabic named Nazir is teaching the club; he's also a poet and teaches one of the Jordanian dialect classes. Hopefully by the end of the semester I shall be a calligrapher!
Souq Jara
I didn't do very many things this past week, other than catch up on sleep, go to classes, and do homework (I did also meet my peer language tutor, below). But I was able to visit Souq Jara, which is downtown on the famous Rainbow Street, on Friday afternoon. Souq Jara is only around during the summer and once it starts getting cold (usually at the end of October), it hibernates. Located on a relatively short street, most of the shops are boutique merchant stalls with handmade bedouin crafts, jewelry, and art. I purchased a little gift for my mom since she we won't have time to visit too many souqs since most are open only on Friday (when we'll be in Petra). It was nice to do something in Amman with some friends that didn't require a lot of travel. The weather is also getting very nice with the air getting cooler, so it was perfect for a nice stroll in Souq Jarad. Reminded me of walking in Eastern Market during the Fall!
Parents Visiting
As alluded to above, my parents will be visiting me in Jordan next Thursday till the following Monday. We'll be visiting Petra on Friday and staying overnight there and exploring Amman on Saturday and Sunday. This is just a pit stop on their way to Paris, but luckily they have a son in the Middle East which gives them an excuse to do some tourism!
Peer Language Tutor
I finally met my peer language tutor, who's name is...'ala...I'm not exactly sure how to transliterate it. For those of you who know Arabic, there's a hamza at the end of the name. He's Jordanian, but grew up in Saudi Arabia, where is family is currently. He's a fifth-year engineer student at the University of Jordan (most engineers take five years to graduate). I met him at the library and he took me out in his car to a restaurant called Jabri for lunch. He was incredibly warm and welcoming (as all Jordanians have been) and bought my lunch--mansif! Mansif is lamb in a buttery/milky sauce that's pretty thin, over yellow rice. Very popular. Right when we met, he said he was just going to give me a monologue about his entire life from birth till present, which he proceeded to do. As we walked to his car, he pointed out random things along the road and gave me new vocabulary--of which, to be honest, I don't think I remember anything except for "sidewalk". He's really flexibile, and I'll hopefully see him twice a week or so for lunches. Right when we were parting ways, he told me that I should treat him like a brother and ask for help if I ever need it. Thank God for common grace!
Future Travel Plans
I'm hoping to hit three places before I depart in December. First, Cairo. The weekend after my parents are here (that is two weekends from now), some friends and I will, Lord willing, be going to Cairo over the weekend to see the touristy sites (e.g. pyramids, sphinx, museum, etc.). Second, Beirut. This is still up in the air, but will happen sometime in November or early December. Third, Dubai. I will have a long 9-day break during Eid al-Adha (early/mid-November), which I will utilize for a trip to visit friends in Dubai! It will be good to see Kaia, Brinton, Tristan, Mack, and the FOCUS crew there. Another treat will be that Kaia's family will also be visiting during that time, so we'll all be able to hang out. And on top of all this, I've heard that Mark Dever, Lord willing, will be visiting UCCD while I'm there. Hopefully I'll see him at church!
Follow-Up Conversation
I was able to have a brief follow-up conversation with Keith, the CIEE student who randomly sat with me on the bus who is from a nominal Roman Catholic background. I was able to get him a copy of the Word and he was genuinely excited to receive it and said he was going to read John and Romans. He seemed interested in meeting together regularly, either to go through a book of the Word together, or just talk about what he's read.
Amusing Quote/Proverb:
"If you drink your (turkish) coffee quickly, you will not be scared of your mother-in-law" - Umm Salaam
Prayer Requests:
- Some CIEE students are forming a Bible Study that will meet every Monday night. We'll be going through the book of Jeremiah. Pray that we would all benefit spiritually from it and grow in Christian fellowship.
- That Keith and I would be able to get together regularly to discuss the Word.
- That I would be a blessing and encouragement to my parents this upcoming weekend.
- That I would be an encouragement to AJ. I was able to Skype with him this past week, but with a relatively bad call quality that really impaired our conversation. Please pray for AJ that God would sustain him in Germany during his study abroad trip.
- That I would find favor with my internship supervisors during my tenure at the company.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Week 3: The Golden Triangle.
This week was golden triangle week--that is, we spent half the week travelling in Southern Jordan to Wadi Rum, Aqaba, and Petra. Unfortunately, we had no buffer day between our adventures and starting the school week. This has made for a very exhausted day at school, sitting through three hours straight of Arabic instruction.
Wadi Rum
Beautiful! Definitely reminded me of the science-fiction classic Dune (shout out to Paul Miller and Wade Marks). We rode camels for about three hours through the desert, which was littered with huge rock formations that were speckled with craters and looked as if they were melting. There is one particular formation that T.E. Lawrence named The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, which he eponymously titled his book. Apparently the rocks/mountains look they way they are because the area used to be covered by water, which later receded. We spent the night in a bedouin camp, which was more like a semi-bedouin camp since there were really nice bathroom facilities and we slept on cots. The stars were beautiful; haven't seen so many stars in a long time!
Aqaba
We didn't spend anytime in the city itself, but went straight to the boats. We rode in 4-wheelers for about 3 hours through Wadi Rum, which was an adventure in itself. 6-people per car sat in the back with a little cloth roof to protect from the sun. Speeding through the desert was definitely a highlight--we had a good view of the Wadi. After a while though, we got bored of seeing the rocks. We realized near the end that we had taken so many photos and people back home would think we were really weird taking photos of so many rock formations that all looked the same. We also saw a few wild camels running aroun. Aqaba is a port city on at the gulf of the Red Sea, East of the Sinai Peninsula. You could see an Israeli city at the mouth as well, neighboring Aqaba, as well as the Sinai Peninsula as we moved further out. We snorkled at one of the shores with some nice coral reefs and tropical fish. It was a pretty relaxing boat trip, which allowed me to rest from the camel riding the previous day.
Petra
Definitely the most tiring part of the trip was walking for about eight hours through Petra. The Treasury, where they filmed Indiana Jones, was amazing. They carved it out of one piece of rock in the face of the canyon! What's also interesting is that within "Petra" is Wadi Musa, which is where Moses struck the rock to gush forth water. We also hiked up a steep mountain-side that led to the ruins of a monastery, which, like the Treasury, was carved out of the rock and still in good condition. There were also two peaks that provided panoramic views of the Negev Desert, aptly named The Top of the World and the View of the End of the World. Breath-taking. Too bad, by the time I had walked up all 850 steps, I was exhausted.
A funny story: when I was walking down from the monastery, one of the "taxis" (that is, a donkey with a donkey-tender who leads people up and down the mountain on donkeys for a fee) asked me where I was from. I told him I was American, and he adamantly pronounced me as Japanese. I told him again that I was American, and he asked me to take off my sunglasses. When he saw my eyes, he exclaimed that I had small Asian eyes, and that American eyes were big and beatiful (unlike my own). Then he proceeded to point to a friend next to me and say that that was an American face--all Americans have beautiful faces. I bumped into him again sometime later when we had made it down the mountain, and he called me Japanese again. We had a lot of good laughs.
Good Conversations
God blessed me with a number of good conversations with CIEE program students on the trip. One on the bus ride out of Amman to Wadi Rum, I sat next to a random student who is in my Arabic classes. I pulled out my Bible to do my quiet time, which I wasn't able to get in that morning, and he asked me if I was religious. That resulted in an hour long conversation about his background of nominal Roman Catholicism, what it means to be converted, and what is the gospel. He said he wanted to figure out what he really believes (if he believes Christianity is true) and that he felt he should read the Bible. I'll be getting him an English Bible, and I invited him to read the Book of Romans with me; he didn't really commit to anything, but I'll ask him again when I give him the Bible.
Our night in the bedouin camp in Wadi Rum also led to another random conversation. A woman I had not met yet sat next to me during dinner. She said she attended Cedarville University, which instantly rang bells in my head because a cadre of Cedarville students came to CHBC this summer to check it out as they were all in DC for summer internships. Seeing that I knew Cedarville was a Christian college, she volunteered the information that she came from a conservative Baptist family. However, being in Jordan had confused her about her faith and she was unsure if she believes any longer in the exclusivity of the message of Christ. I shared a little about how I learned and continue to learn to submit to the Word whether or not it suits my fancy or aligns with my preconceived notions of God.
The same night, I had an interesting conversation with Steve about hell. He asked me a question which led to a conversation about sin and its manifestations inwardly, and how lust is considered adultery in the eyes of God. He said he imagined hell (if it even exists) as being a place where he could do as he pleased, understanding that what religious people label "sin" is just simple pleasure.
Ephesians With Alex
Going through Ephesians with Alex this week was wonderful. We spent a little over an hour going over the first ten verses, which led to another hour or two of talking about his spiritual thought-life this past academic year and how only this past summer he had felt convicted of his lack of obedience to Christ in submitting all things under Him and a renewed desire to follow Him. We had a long conversation about election, jumping off of Ephesians 1, as well as about relationships and his thoughts behind dating. He was very open and we'll definitely have several several follow-up conversations about a whole variety of things. Praise God!
There's a lot more to say, but I'm afraid this post is getting long and I'll have to save some for next week's post. Thank you all for your continued prayers!
Prayer Requests:
Wadi Rum
Beautiful! Definitely reminded me of the science-fiction classic Dune (shout out to Paul Miller and Wade Marks). We rode camels for about three hours through the desert, which was littered with huge rock formations that were speckled with craters and looked as if they were melting. There is one particular formation that T.E. Lawrence named The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, which he eponymously titled his book. Apparently the rocks/mountains look they way they are because the area used to be covered by water, which later receded. We spent the night in a bedouin camp, which was more like a semi-bedouin camp since there were really nice bathroom facilities and we slept on cots. The stars were beautiful; haven't seen so many stars in a long time!
Aqaba
We didn't spend anytime in the city itself, but went straight to the boats. We rode in 4-wheelers for about 3 hours through Wadi Rum, which was an adventure in itself. 6-people per car sat in the back with a little cloth roof to protect from the sun. Speeding through the desert was definitely a highlight--we had a good view of the Wadi. After a while though, we got bored of seeing the rocks. We realized near the end that we had taken so many photos and people back home would think we were really weird taking photos of so many rock formations that all looked the same. We also saw a few wild camels running aroun. Aqaba is a port city on at the gulf of the Red Sea, East of the Sinai Peninsula. You could see an Israeli city at the mouth as well, neighboring Aqaba, as well as the Sinai Peninsula as we moved further out. We snorkled at one of the shores with some nice coral reefs and tropical fish. It was a pretty relaxing boat trip, which allowed me to rest from the camel riding the previous day.
Petra
Definitely the most tiring part of the trip was walking for about eight hours through Petra. The Treasury, where they filmed Indiana Jones, was amazing. They carved it out of one piece of rock in the face of the canyon! What's also interesting is that within "Petra" is Wadi Musa, which is where Moses struck the rock to gush forth water. We also hiked up a steep mountain-side that led to the ruins of a monastery, which, like the Treasury, was carved out of the rock and still in good condition. There were also two peaks that provided panoramic views of the Negev Desert, aptly named The Top of the World and the View of the End of the World. Breath-taking. Too bad, by the time I had walked up all 850 steps, I was exhausted.
A funny story: when I was walking down from the monastery, one of the "taxis" (that is, a donkey with a donkey-tender who leads people up and down the mountain on donkeys for a fee) asked me where I was from. I told him I was American, and he adamantly pronounced me as Japanese. I told him again that I was American, and he asked me to take off my sunglasses. When he saw my eyes, he exclaimed that I had small Asian eyes, and that American eyes were big and beatiful (unlike my own). Then he proceeded to point to a friend next to me and say that that was an American face--all Americans have beautiful faces. I bumped into him again sometime later when we had made it down the mountain, and he called me Japanese again. We had a lot of good laughs.
Good Conversations
God blessed me with a number of good conversations with CIEE program students on the trip. One on the bus ride out of Amman to Wadi Rum, I sat next to a random student who is in my Arabic classes. I pulled out my Bible to do my quiet time, which I wasn't able to get in that morning, and he asked me if I was religious. That resulted in an hour long conversation about his background of nominal Roman Catholicism, what it means to be converted, and what is the gospel. He said he wanted to figure out what he really believes (if he believes Christianity is true) and that he felt he should read the Bible. I'll be getting him an English Bible, and I invited him to read the Book of Romans with me; he didn't really commit to anything, but I'll ask him again when I give him the Bible.
Our night in the bedouin camp in Wadi Rum also led to another random conversation. A woman I had not met yet sat next to me during dinner. She said she attended Cedarville University, which instantly rang bells in my head because a cadre of Cedarville students came to CHBC this summer to check it out as they were all in DC for summer internships. Seeing that I knew Cedarville was a Christian college, she volunteered the information that she came from a conservative Baptist family. However, being in Jordan had confused her about her faith and she was unsure if she believes any longer in the exclusivity of the message of Christ. I shared a little about how I learned and continue to learn to submit to the Word whether or not it suits my fancy or aligns with my preconceived notions of God.
The same night, I had an interesting conversation with Steve about hell. He asked me a question which led to a conversation about sin and its manifestations inwardly, and how lust is considered adultery in the eyes of God. He said he imagined hell (if it even exists) as being a place where he could do as he pleased, understanding that what religious people label "sin" is just simple pleasure.
Ephesians With Alex
Going through Ephesians with Alex this week was wonderful. We spent a little over an hour going over the first ten verses, which led to another hour or two of talking about his spiritual thought-life this past academic year and how only this past summer he had felt convicted of his lack of obedience to Christ in submitting all things under Him and a renewed desire to follow Him. We had a long conversation about election, jumping off of Ephesians 1, as well as about relationships and his thoughts behind dating. He was very open and we'll definitely have several several follow-up conversations about a whole variety of things. Praise God!
There's a lot more to say, but I'm afraid this post is getting long and I'll have to save some for next week's post. Thank you all for your continued prayers!
Prayer Requests:
- I'm meeting my peer language tutor tomorrow for lunch for the first time. Pray that I would be a good witness.
- Please pray for follow-up conversations with those that I had this past weekend travelling.
- Daniel has been hit by two personal tragedies these past two weeks, which has been incredibly difficult. I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to share, but please pray that I would have wisdom in comforting him and that God would use these incidents, though incredibly sad, for His glory.
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