What a trip. We left Bloomington at 4pm on the 12th, drove to Indy [Indianapolis], flew through Minneapolis (Where my luggage stayed) to Amsterdam, stopped during our 7 hour layover to wander around central Amsterdam and eat a meal, then arrived in Amman and drove to our lodgings. It’s 2:30am [making it a 34 hour trip]. But the trip is only the prelude to this great week. I call it great because I know God called us here. It’s me, Ben Martin, Ryan Schnitzer, Kate Wilson, Audrey Liljestrand, Christine Gulick and Gwyn Hamrick. I need to stop now because I’m so exhausted it hurts. It will be exciting to see what God does with us this week. I miss Mandi already..
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As I was showering this morning- a fine, long, hot shower- I started singing, “I Can Only Imagine,” [Mercy Me] as a way of worship, and it occurred to me that one day I will face the Lord face-to-face, one day my own chariot of fire will come, and it will be glorious to see what our real home looks like. “Will I sing Hallelujah, or in awe of You be still?” What a great day that will be! What hope we have in Christ Jesus! In the meantime, how incredibly blessed I am? I love my life… I have a loving wife, adorable children, the respect of family and friends and foes alike. I have [done] all there is to do in this world, all I want to do anyway, with few exceptions. I have lived life to the full and only one thing remains, namely, to persevere, to see it through to the end, to see the kids grow up, get saved, glorify God with their lives, to grow old with my beloved Mandi, and to continue in the faith. Nothing more, nothing else do I desire.
We had a nice traditional Jordanian lunch today: 15+ people, huge amounts of traditional foods, desserts, tea, a nice game of chess (I lost) [badly], and a wonderful time w/warm hosts. Later we went to a church service. I couldn’t understand anything the pastor said, but we shared communion and our group did the special music at a moment’s notice. Some things transcend language barriers.
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3-16-04 Amman, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
We spent our second day with the kids at the Amman Baptist School. We’ve been able to share our testimony now with a couple of hundred kids. Of course, we haven’t been able to ask for a response, but at least we’ve shared and at least they’ve heard. We also got to visit The Citadel. There are a maze of ruins from several centuries B.C. to about 800 A.D., representing at least four different cultures. [This is the place David sent Uriah the Hittite to die in combat.]The team is holding together nicely. Everyone is getting along great, everyone feels positive about our work, everyone has enjoyed our tours so far.
Tomorrow we’ll be working at a university and everyone is really nervous and excited at the same time. We’ll go out in pairs, hope the U. lets us inside (it’s a gated facility) and try to just talk to people with the hope of turning a conversation into a relationship and a witnessing opportunity.
Tragedy did strike today in Iraq. Four IMB M’s were killed in a cross-fire and a fifth was medevaced [sp] to Europe with 11 bullet holes in her. Mom and Dad are probably worried, but we’re as safe here as we were in Bloomington. Still, our host m’s [Names withheld for security purposes] were friends of the victims. B helped open the work in central Iraq after the war. Really, he’s an amazing guy. The school we’re helping represents the largest concentration of Christians in Jordan, and he’s picked out the site for a second school in Baghdad. Both are multi-million dollar facilities and I wonder at times what someone of his stature is doing w/a paean like me.
Their loss today was sharp; friends, but also the entire Board strategy for Iraq. Our own contribution to the recovery was minimal, (we distracted the regional director [Name Withheld] from his grief over dinner), but hopefully meaningful. At this point I don’t believe the strategy will alter our plans at all.
[In hindsight, it was an incredible experience. Surreal, almost. Our mission plan was altered radically for those few hours around dinner that night. Our job during that window was to provide a distraction, a stress-free moment, for the man who would be responsible for processing the bodies, refocusing the Iraq team, comforting and soothing the grieving, among whom he was perhaps foremost, and finding a new strategy for reaching the Iraqi people.]
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3-17-04 Amman, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Today was a full day. We went to the U. of J. (Amman) and tried to witness to the students for about half the day. Of course, we don’t know the language, or the culture, and it is illegal to share Christ, so we were all intimidated. I spent a good thirty minutes just walking around and trying to get a feel for the place while I overcame my fear. This being a Muslim culture, the men talked only to men and the girls only to girls. –Watch some revisionist idiot call me prejudiced or chauvinist or something for saying ‘girls’ instead of ‘women.’-- Anyway, it was a really interesting lesson.’
I shared with 9 people, the team total was 46. Of course, some people talked for an hour, others for a matter of seconds. No one came to Christ, but the local campus ministry [Name Withheld] garnered enough contacts to keep them busy for weeks.
As I shared I was asked about my family several times. In normal American fashion I pulled out my wallet and showed them pictures of Mandi and the kids. All of them were interested in Nate. It got to the point that I was a little irritated by their cultural bias against women. However, it was later explained to me by [Name, Position Withheld] that they were trying to be polite by not looking at my women. It was their way of showing respect. Talk about cultural differences!
Later on we were heading to the m’s for dinner when we saw a woman stranded in her rental car in the middle of 8 lanes of traffic. The guy behind her got out to help, then I joined him. Together we pushed her up the street a block then went our separate ways. Back in the van V. informed me that the guy was ‘Brotherhood’- an ultra-conservative political party dedicated to the spread of Shari’a law, very anti-American. Perhaps I gave him something to consider. He can never again badmouth all Americans or say they’ve never helped him.
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3-18-04 Amman, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Not a lot to report today. Kate racked her knee pretty bad and may not go to Petra tomorrow. Lord, why Kate? She’s been a perfect servant all week long, and now this. Anyway, today was our last time to minister to the kids. I’m not sure we were effective, but I know we were affective. It will be fun to talk to B in August about how things go after we leave. One sure thing: I miss my wife. I love Mandi so much, and I hate being apart from her. Of course I miss the kids also, but its not the same. I can’t wait to hold them all in my arms again and to snuggle w/my Woobie in bed. If you ever read this, Mandi, I love you.
One cool thing: I got my bird book today. I can finally start identifying what I see. [That was a big deal since I am an acknowledged ‘Bird-Nerd’. I also purchased an ostrich egg that has been painted decoratively with an antelope of some kind. Beautiful, but I had to gift it to my mother since I couldn’t justify the expense on myself.]
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3-19-04 Amman, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Today was a good day. [Terrific understatement!] We hiked all over Petra and had a great time.
Its amazing to see an entire culture embedded in the rock face. Kate even felt good enough to come. That, as much as anything, made the day. [In fact, I wept in prayer with Kate the night before when it seemed impossible for her to make the excursion.] She couldn’t do everything, but really had a blast seeing the Treasury and the Amphitheatre. 
Audrey and I even hiked up the trail to the Monastery. THAT was a climb. I should’ve bought a map. We didn’t have near enough time to see it all, but another group saw the ‘High Place’ altar, and we saw a lot together. On the way to the Monastery Audrey and I were offered several chances to ride donkeys up for 3 Jordanian Dinars (about $4 USD). Like ignorant tourists, we said no. By the time we reached the top we were out of breath, and out of time. We walked to the bottom where its located, then definitely took the first 
donkey ride that came along back to the amphitheatre where the others were supposed to be waiting. Of course, we were over an hour late, so they had gone back to look at other stuff. Good for them. Now, I am dog tired. It seems odd that we’ll be leaving Jordan tomorrow. I would love to bring Mandi back here for a visit sometime.[In those last two days we saw not only Petra, but also the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, Mt. Nebo and the baptismal pools where it is claimed that Jesus was baptized. Although Israel has a cla
im on pools on the opposite side of the Jordan, the Bible itself says that John was baptizing at Bethany-Beyond-The-Jordan, which would put it on the East shore, which is modern Jordan. Sorry Israel. What a magnificent trip! I wish I could do it again.]
