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.

Day Six: Trip to Petra, 7/15/11

Today we traveled to Petra, the city carved out of stone. It is listed 2nd in the seven wonders of the world and was absolutely spectacular! The movie "Indiana Jones" was filmed here. The hike to the end, the Monastery, was at least 8 miles (but we took a wrong route that detoured us another 30-40 minutes) and included 900 steps. Our tour guide gave us all scarves to wear to protect our heads & necks from the heat. He even tied them on our heads for us. The entire walk was one beautiful sight after another: elaborate buildings carved into the stone walls, a huge amphitheater carved into stone, etc. It was very hot and sandy all the way in. There were people offering camel, donkey, cart & horse rides all along the way. Several from our group took advantage of the opportunity. We ate at a terrific buffet afterwards with many great local dishes and then had a 3 1/2 - 4 hour bus ride back. We were all ready to sit and relax! Pictures include: Joseph Dickman and John with 2 little boys who followed us for awhile as we walked through Petra (it appeared their mother was selling souvenirs at a stand along the way...she didn't seem to mind them wandering off alone), a ruined building in Petra, more homes/buildings carved into the stone, Bedouin nomads frequently seen along the highways, The Treasury at Petra (seen in the Indian Jones film), Pam Kintz riding an Arabian stallion in Petra, John & I inside the Monastery at Petra, the Monastery from the outside, John & I in front of the Treasury, John & I wearing scarves given to each of us by our tour guide, an amphitheater in Petra and camels waiting to give rides to tourists.

Day Five: Working at the Zarqa School, 7/14/11

It was a long, hot day of removing LOTS of dirt from an area in the parking lot with a pick-axe, shovel & buckets, probably a dump truck load. We loosened the dirt with the pick-axe, shoveled it into buckets and then carried it to a place where it could be dumped. It took most of us the entire day to get the dirt dug out of the area that will be cemented as it had to be about 6 inches below the level of the adjoining pavement. The dirt was packed very hard and had small rock mixed into it. This will eventually be paved like the rest of the parking area. It was really hot, but a lot of dirt was removed today. Drs. Jamey & Jim, nurse Helen and two of our Jordanian friends serving as translators began their 3 days of work at the clinic today. Others in the group painted, prepared for next week's Vacation Bible School and fixed meals for us. Pictures are of the Zarqa church, Fred McCauley sporting the rubber "buckets" used to haul dirt, Pam Kintz and others painting, the permanent awning (where we ate) and the dirt being removed from the area that will eventually be paved.