Dear Supporters,
Marhaba! Hello!
I write to you from the comforts of an internet café in Amman, Jordan, no more than 5 minutes from the home where our team is staying. I thought we would be staying in some log cabin or a tent, but we actually have a very nice house that is owned by one of the directors of Habitat for Humanity – Jordan (HfH-J). The nights here are amazing, something you could only dream of back in New York at this time. The day times are full of flies and sweat, as we are working on a house in the outskirts of Amman for HfH-J. The food here is quite wonderful, not really something that I needed to be concerned about. It is mostly things we all have had in the states, including chicken and rice (much better than 53 rd and 6th =P). They like to serve piping hot Ceylon tea throughout the day and after meals which is absolutely delicious, so I bought 200 bags. Hopefully, I will have the chance to share a cup or two with all of you. The locals are all pretty friendly, and though Arabic is not an easy language to pick up, interaction is easier because most of them know a little bit of English. They like to lock arms and put arms around shoulders in public, but I guess that's not really a change considering where I lived this past year.
For the past two days, we have been helping the HfH-J team with the construction of one of their homes. The homeowner Hussein is married and has 7 children and is waiting for the construction of his 3 room 55 square meter home. Each room is only 4x4 and there is a small bathroom (which has the simple restriction that the toilet must not be faced such that your backside is facing Mecca when you take a number two.) Most of the framework of the house was already finished when we got there with just the roof work needing to be completed. So far, in the two days that we worked, we have launched ourselves half a day ahead of schedule with two more days of work, so progress seems to be going very well. Tomorrow, we will hopefully finish the ceiling supports and pour the ceiling concrete over it.
My current project with HfH-J is more of a construction management project than a design project. While we are helping with the construction of this one house, we are more concerned about how HfH-J can improve their building capacity around Amman and surrounding communities. We have been meeting with Phillip, the director of HfH-J, who has an incredible heart to serve the poorest of the poor here in Jordan. Currently, he oversees the construction of 70 houses, 40 in Amman and 30 in three surrounding communities. Next year, he hopes to produce 100 houses total, 60 in Amman and 10 in each of the four poorer surrounding communities. Our aim has been finding changes that Phillip can implement in order to reach his goal. This has proven immensely difficult because of the social limitations implanted in the people here. There's so much more to say, but I'm afraid I need to get to sleep soon =X.
As for Lebanon, after speaking with a missionary in Lebanon and the KCHAG ministry president, my team leaders have decided to take their advice and proceed with the trip. This is not to say that the situation in Lebanon has gotten any better or worse, but for now, the in country contacts are very optimistic. If things get bad over there, we have until Friday to cancel the trip. In this case, I will mostly likely travel with my team leaders to Cairo, Egypt in order to vision cast for future eMi trips.
I would like to thank all of you for your prayers and for all your support. It is truly a blessing to know that I am being backed up. There have been many things that have happened but I haven't been able to share. Hopefully, I will share more with you in the next update letter and when I return to the US. Please pray for the following:
1. That God would be glorified in all that I do
2. That I would have a missions minded heart to serve the people
3. That God would open paths to administer the gospel both through our words and actions
4. That God would open my heart to the relationship opportunities before me.
5. That God would protect the Jordan and Lebanon team from danger.
Shukron! Thanks!
With the love of Christ
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