Gone so long!

Dear Family and Friends,

I apologize for the 3 week delay in updating. Glenn and I ended up having to add an additional trip to our already packed schedule and this has meant I've not had any "down" time in as many days! Often when we had time in our schedule to work on emails, internet wasn't available. If internet was available, it was hard to find a break long enough to take our computers down to the lobby to work on emails and the blog.

Right now I am in the Sahara Mall in Dubai of the United Arab Emirates to download emails and work on this blog. The family we have been staying with for the past 3 days does not have internet. (The repairman is coming sometime today. Hopefully.)

Glenn and I fly back this evening, flying through the night, and getting home about 6:30 am, Budapest time. We will have 4 days before we leave for our next trip. But I get ahead of myself... So, where have we been for the past 3 weeks???

We went to Spain to do member care appointments at the Western Med meeting. While we were there, Spain played against the Netherlands to win the World's Soccer Cup! It was cool to walk the streets the night of the finals and see folks watching the game wherever they could find a TV! These folks were watching it outside a store that was closed but who had left the big TV playing all night. Glenn and I aren't really into sports but we watched the last 45 minutes of the game so we got to see Spain win 1-0.

We had the pleasure of seeing one of our MK's from our days in Ivory Coast who is now all grown up, married and serving with our organization. Her name is Julie and the last time we saw her she was in high school!

Glenn and I found a place to eat dinner around the corner from our hotel on the night that meals were not being provided for us. We found a Mel's Diner that was straight out of America. They had great hamburgers and fries!!!

We didn't do any sightseeing while in Madrid, but we did get to take some walks during the evenings. I loved these trash bags that were lined up and down the streets, waiting on the trash company to come take them away! Very different from anything we've seen so far!

After LESS than 24 hours in Budapest (just long enough to run a load of laundry and repack), we flew to Jordan to meet with one of the couples who helps us with member care in that part of the world.

This is a piece of mosaic work on the floor of one of the churches there in Aman, Jordan. It dates back to about 500 years after the life of Christ. It is basically a map of the area in tiny pieces of tile, although not to scale in relation of one city to another. But hey, they didn't have the advantages of satelite images to help them design their maps!

We saw some Roman ruins throughout the city. It was strange to see the old right next to the new!

I LOVED looking in all the pottery stores! Well, I loved looking in ALL the stores!

The city of Aman is hilly, and it was a beautiful sight to see houses on top of each other as your eyes ascend to the top!

Lots of copper-work too! Some looked old enough to be genuine antiques, and some of the prices supported the possibility!

This is a typical city street. Kinda run-down, but lots of interesting things to see!

This is an old amphitheater from the Roman time period that has been restored. They use it today for small concerts and plays. Mostly in the evenings when it cools down, though!

This is a LARGE amphitheater that is in the heart of the city. They are building up the area right around it with modern architecture, which I think is a shame!

We ate dinner with Dave and Yvonne one evening truly "on the town". The view of the city was incredible as the buildings reflected the glow of the setting sun!!!

One afternoon we drove out to the Jordan Valley to visit the baptism site of Jesus and Mt. Nebo where Moses stood shortly before he died. We passed many Bedouin tents on our way. They fascinate me. Sometimes we even saw camels tied up nearby.

This is one of the hillsides looking out over the Jordan Valley.

This road snakes its' way down to the bottom of the Jordan Valley.

I took this picture on the side of Mt. Nebo, overlooking the Jordan Valley. Just to the left, around the other side of the mountain and down in the valley is the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized by John.

But as I was on the top of Mt. Nebo, I thought about what it must have been like for Moses to stand here, look out over to the other side of the Jordan Valley and see the Promised Land that God was giving to the Israelites, but that he would never be able to enter. I thought about how God had brought the Israelites through so much during those 40 years wandering in the wilderness, and how God had used Moses to lead them. How Moses had interceded for them many times before God, and how disappointed Moses must have been to be denied an opportunity to go into the Promised Land. Even though we have a God who forgives us over and over, it hit me again that sometimes we don't get a second chance to do it right! Moses was supposed to speak to that rock to get water to come forth for the thirsty Israelites, but Moses and I are alot alike. How many times have I thought, "Oh, I've done this before God. I know how to do it myself", and wham, I do something on my own strength, out of my own initiative, and don't listen for God's detailed instructions as to what He wants me to do.

My experience on Mt. Nebo was a very intimate and timely reminder to me to wait on the Lord's instructions.

We boarded a shuttle in the heat of the day (I think the guide said it was about 110 degrees that day out in the desert) to ride down to the baptism site of Jesus.

It was neat to realize that just a year ago Glenn and I stood on the OTHER SIDE of the Jordan River when we went to Israel with Jay and Pam! In fact, we could see the spot we stood on the other side!

I just wanted to stick my toe in the Jordan River just to say that I did it, but the water was too green and too warm to want to put any more of my body in it!

This wooden bridge off in the distance is supposed to be where Elijah was taken up. Locations such as these are passed down through the ages as oral traditions, but I sure wish I could know for sure how many of these traditions are true. I've always wanted to see the twelve stones that were stacked on top of each other, one for each of the 12 tribes, as a memorial of God's faithfulness at bringing the Israelites out of bondage and across the Red Sea! The Bible says that the stones will be a lasting testimony to future generations. Where are those stones?

And since we are in a highly Arabic area, the dress and clothing styles are quite different from what I am used to in Europe. (In fact, I had to have several items of clothing made (shirts with 3/4 length sleeves and long summer pants) to wear outside of the tourist areas before coming to this part of the world. Here in UAE where I am now, women's arms are to be covered, at least to the elbow, out of respect for the culture. It is weird, even though I've only been here for two weeks, but each time I see a woman with short sleeves or a tank top, I feel myself go into shock at the brazenness of the woman and her exposed body! As I look around, I see many women wearing the full black burkas with nothing but her eyes showing. The modesty of this culture is quite refreshing as opposed to all the flesh we see in Europe and America!)

Well, I'll save my pictures of our time in the United Arab Emirates for the next update, which I hope will be in a couple of days. After I've unpacked, done laundry, responded to work emails and before I head to Paris to visit with another member care couple.

Thanks for your patience! Don't give up on me. If my absence has caused you to be concerned and to pray (in case something was wrong on our end), I'm sorry, but I appreciate the prayers!! Do pray! I heard from one lady who was concerned and it meant a lot to me to know someone enjoys the blog and cares. Thanks, Janey!