Day Thirteen: Flight Home, 7/22/11

Everyone was up by 3 a.m. to get their luggage ready to be loaded onto the bus and be on our way to the Tel Aviv Airport by 4 a.m. We arrived there at 5 a.m. thinking 3 hours for security should be plenty. Well, it worked but several in our group arrived at the gate 5-10 minutes before the flight was scheduled to depart. John & Reg were questioned separately about our trip and we assume security personnel compared their answers. There were many, many security checks and many from our team members were required to go through extra security. We were all a bit tired of luggage since we had packed around 300 school kits for the students in Zarqa besides all of the food we had packed for the ladies to cook while we were there. We loaded that luggage onto and off from the tour bus more times than any of us care to count. Many of us also carried it up several flights of stairs since elevators were small and often slow. I guess it seemed fitting that we haul this luggage around a bit more on the last day. Sheila McCauley's dream (nightmare) on Saturday night after returning home spoke volumes: she was waiting at the luggage carousel only to find her clothing arriving one article at a time with no suitcase in which to put it! The flight home was fine and we were all happy to see the U.S.A! We arrived in Richland Center around midnight. It took John & I (and it sounds like many others) several days to recover from the jet-lag and long, hot days of work and touring while in Israel/Jordan.

A few days after the trip we were discussing how it was difficult to find the right adjective to describe this work & witness trip to Israel/Jordan. I think we decided one adjective wouldn't be sufficient and settled on the description that it was a wonderfully fulfilling trip in every way, socially, physically, mentally & spiritually. We met many new Nazarene friends and got to know others at a much deeper level. Unfortunately, for safety reasons, I can't share names and pictures of the people we met in Israel/Jordan. We were certainly challenged physically with all of the work at the school & the walking tours. And our brains are definitely on overload from all of the information we took in during the trip. I wish I could remember it all! Our spiritual lives will never be the same after walking the many places where Jesus walked and seeing how the Nazarene Christians are ministering to the people in the Middle East. What a wonderful privilege to be part of this group!

Day Twelve: Border Crossing from Jordan to Israel & Garden Tomb

We left early this morning to head back to Israel for a last day of touring. We enjoyed the final escort by our Jordanian tour guide as he shared more historical information about the countryside and we sang songs, accompanied by Pam Peterson-Kintz on the guitar, at his request. Although Muslim, he seemed to really enjoy the Christian hymns and choruses we sang. The border crossing went fairly well although Shirley came through minus one suitcase. After much searching and a final request to authorities, it was recovered and we were on our way back to Jerusalem. We made one stop on the return trip. That stop was at Jericho, the oldest city in the world. Interesting to see the site where, as the old song states, the "walls came tumbling down".

Our final bit of touring was the alternative site of the crucifixion and burial, where evangelicals believe these events may have occurred . I am reminded it is not important where Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected but that he was crucified, buried & resurrected! We saw where Jesus may have been lowered into the dungeon in Caiaphas' house the night before his crucifixion and were able to walk down stairs (that would not have originally existed) and gather in that small dungeon where Rachel Greenawalt read a very moving passage from the Psalms. From here, we went to the steps where, all experts agree, Jesus would have climbed to Caiaphas' house. Our final stop was the Garden Tomb where we were able to walk inside. At a quiet place near the tomb, one of our Nazarene missionaries to Israel led us in a communion service. It was a wonderful time in God's presence and a perfect ending to our tour.

Our final night (if you call waking at 1:30 a.m. a night!) was spent at the Holyland Hotel in Jerusalem. We enjoyed local dishes at a buffet in the hotel. Dessert was medicine to eliminate any parasites we may have ingested since one of our team members found a live worm in her water bottle. The doctors on our team advised we take a little preventative medicine. The pill form had run out by the time the doctor reached our table, so we had a "toast" to conclude our evening with a tablespoon of liquid medicine!

Pictures include: A street vendor selling the daily newspaper within the lanes of traffic, a herd of Bedouin goats in Jordan, Bedouin homes/huts, border crossing sign, a date palm tree loaded with dates, John & I at the Elisha Spring Fountain in Jericho, the steps leading to Caiaphas' house, the hole through which Jesus may have been lowered into the dungeon, the dungeon where Jesus may have been held the night before His crucifixion, the Garden Tomb entrance, inside the Garden Tomb and our group prior to receiving holy communion.

Day Eleven: Last Day of Work at the Zarqa School, 7/20/11

Today was a very bittersweet day. It was wonderful to see the completion of the many projects that were started just one week ago and hard to believe how much work 35 people could do in only 5 days! After working 10-12 hour days in the heat of Jordan, I'm not sure many of us would have been very productive if we had to work another day. We were exhausted!

Despite the satisfaction of seeing the physical transformations that took place in the school and church, we were very sad to say goodbye to our new friends in Zarqa. We will continue to stay in touch through email/Facebook and will definitely keep them in our prayers, that God would continue to work in their lives/community and help them deal gracefully with the many challenges they face.

Pictures include: The wall, sporting all of our hand prints, welcoming students to the Zarqa Nazarene School, the courtyard walls after being painted, some of the team admiring the cement project, one of the painted classrooms, the completed youth room, the drop-ceiling in the foyer, George in his spotless, now functional bathroom (wish I would have had a "before" picture of this!), our entire team in front of the "Welcome" sign and John with the police officer who accompanied us on all of our Jordan tours.

Day Ten: Work at the Zarqa School & Shopping at the Market, 7/19/11

Today we really started to see some of the projects come together. The men are making good progress on the drop-ceiling, the youth room just off the foyer is a hot, stuffy project with much repair done from water damage, 2 1/2 classrooms were painted, the painting on the "courtyard" walls of the school is well underway, the desks are finished, George has worked feverishly to get the bathrooms in working order, and the men were finally able to pour the cement to extend the parking/driveway area (that we started on the first day). Today was also the 2nd, and last day, of VBS. Again, there was a great group of children that attended and the VBS volunteers did a super job. I'm sure I missed something! It was a full day of work!

However, as was the case yesterday, a small group of us were able to take a couple of hours to go shopping at the local markets in Zarqa. It is very unusual for the people of this area to see tourists, so we looked rather out of place. I would have loved to show photos, but we were advised not to take our camera for safety reasons. It was fun, but a bit uncomfortable as we were definitely a sight for the local people. Yet, when John extended a hand of greeting to the shop owners, they seemed very pleased. Women are not supposed to extend a hand of greeting. We bought fresh-ground Turkish coffee & a pot to brew it in, Bedouin coffee cups, za'ater spices for dipping bread after it's been dipped in olive oil and some candy treats. It was definitely an experience!

Pictures: I couldn't resist the first picture. It was a perfect example of how many projects in Jordan are done. At the school where we were staying, the corner of the window was broken out to run wires into the building! Other pictures are the men as they continue the drop-ceiling, a picture of the courtyard before painting it, a VERY dirty Jamey Dickman after tearing the steel roof off an awning and the last 4 pictures show the progress and completion of the paving project.

Day Nine: VBS and Work at the Zarqa School, 7/18/11

Today several members of our team held a Vacation Bible School for the local children. Kathy Yanchick did most of the planning/preparation for it. I don't know just how many attended, but the 20-passenger van looked like it had twice that many kids in it! The lesson was about Noah & the ark. We surprised the kids by spraying them with water when the "water burst forth" to initiate the flood. They seemed to enjoy it! Joseph & Anna Dickman were the hands behind the puppet scenes and John was "God" during the reading.

The first three pictures are of our team presenting the Bible School lesson. The next two are of a classroom before the paint projects began. As you can see, the walls were scraped up and dirty from the desks rubbing against them. The chalkboards were also in bad condition. Pam Kintz worked today painting black trim around all of the chalkboards. Many others helped paint the lower half of the walls in each of the upstairs classrooms. Susan Baranek is shown in the last as she begins the project of painting the courtyard walls around the school/church. What an improvement! "After" pictures will be posted as the projects are finished.

Day Eight: Ashrafiya Nazarene Church & Trip to the Dead Sea, 7/17/11

We left early this morning for a church service at the Ashrafiya Nazarene church in Jordan. It was an incredible service with people from 10 - 15 different countries attending. A member of our team, Tom Tarver, had the privilege of preaching and had an outstanding interpreter for the Arabic-speaking people. They are doing wonderful work ministering to the Middle-Eastern countries. Following the service, we left for our trip to the Dead Sea. It is the lowest point on earth, 1300 feet below sea level and is 1300 feet deep. There is no life in the Dead Sea as it approximately 25% salt/minerals. Only floating is recommended in the sea since the minerals & salt are very painful to get into the eyes. The "water" had the feel of floating in a bathtub of vegetable oil mixed with mud. It also leaves a film of oil on the skin. The water was very warm as the air temperature is extremely hot & humid. Several from our group covered themselves with the mud. It is supposed to be very good for the skin. Many lotions, etc. are made from the natural products from the sea. We returned to the Zarqa Nazarene church for our evening service. It was a very full day!

Day Seven: Working at the Zarqa School, 7/16/11

Saturday was a work day at the school. Some of the men began the drop ceiling in the foyer area of the church. Others jack-hammered cement from the area that will eventually be paved. Painting was started on windows, doors and walls. We began staining desks that the previous team had stripped. The days are always hot, between 95 and 110 degrees. While there is little humidity, the sun really penetrates and we spend a lot of time outside. We had an evening service with the youth at the Zarqa church. A few from our team led in some songs as well as presenting a skit. There was a group from Korea who participated in the service as well. We played a game of "sharks" with the youth. Some of the "old men" from our team played basketball against some of the youth at the church. They held their own very well and had a lot of fun.

Pictures are: Tom Tarver painting in the church entrance, Jerry Campbell, Maynard Staskal & Fred McCauley jack-hammering cement, Scott Swan, Tim Burns, Forest Greenawalt & Nick Henderson working on the drop ceiling, Sarah Yanchick, Pam Peterson-Kintz, Nick Henderson & the resident drummer leading worship in the evening service, the games of "sharks" and basketball following the service.