Finally In Jordan

I have a picture (hopefully will upload in the morning) of some local church family that came to our hotel to share dinner with us. They face many challenges and dangers. We should keep them in our prayers.

We had a great flight from NY to Amman. We're to the point that any flight that takes off and lands where it's suppose to is a great flight. You never know why you get delayed, but I'm sure there was a reason and maybe Sarah was our reason. On our crazy on and off flights on Monday there was a Muslim lady from Jerusalem that was trying to get on the same Jordanian flight we were in Chicago. She didn't speak English and when she heard us saying Jordan and Amman, she got very excited. We called her son who lives in Kansas City and had dropped her off at the airport and used him as translator. We were able to watch over her all afternoon and change her flight arrangements for her so she could be with us. We assured her we would help her get to the gate. Unfortunately all flights got cancelled and she decided to stay in Kansas City until Saturday. Her son, Sam, has cancer and Pastor Steve asked if he could pray with them and they said yes, so he prayed for Sam and for safety for his mother, Sarah. Sarah was kissing on us and hugging on us. She was so appreciative of the help. Sam called us in NY last night to make sure our flights were going as planned and to wish us well on the final portion of our trip. Steve is going to follow up with him when we return.

Security is very tight here. We even had our bags scanned as we were leaving the airport. And again as we were entering the hotel. It does make you feel secure good knowing they watch things this closely. Tomorrow we leave Jordan and head into Israel. We will go through security again at the Israeli border. Dr. Anderson has reassured us that everything is fine and has been calm in the cities we plan to visit.

Today when we landed I knew we weren't in Manhattan any longer. It is very barren and brown. Amman is the capital city of Jordan and has a population of about 3.5 million. The airport is on the outskirts of the city and as we drew closer to the city the flat, dry land turned into rolling hills of sand beige apartments and traffic. Tomorrow is Kumran - where they found the dead sea scrolls, Nazareth, Beth Shan, the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee. Baptisms will be done in the Jordan River for anyone who wants that experience.

It's kind of cold here, in the 50's. I know that doesn't compare to what you have there. But we did pass through airspace that was -79 degrees F. Brrr. Of course we were at about 35,000 feet.

Hope to post tomorrow!