Go Beyond

Amman, Jordan

My friend Jamal Hashweh, Director of Global Hope Network’s Middle East and North Africa humanitarian initiatives, and I returned to Amman today after a quick trip to the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. This trip to Lebanon gave me greater insight into the magnitude of the suffering of Syrian refugees. My hope is that we can continue to love these people as Jesus would and by so doing bring glory to God.

I asked Kelly Boldt, one of our adult sponsors, to write about how God used our students today to brighten lives in Jordan. I appreciate Kelly’s help, especially since I have been battling some heavy-duty congestion the past couple of days and need to get a little rest tonight. Thanks, Kelly!

We will spend the day in Petra tomorrow and then spend the night in the desert at Wadi Rum. I will post an update on this final adventure in Jordan on Thursday. Thanks for following our journey.

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By Kelly Boldt

One of the things that we have all found inspiring is how much our visits have brightened the day of the families that we have gone to see. Just that little break in what sometimes seems like hopeless monotony is such a blessing to them. We all agree that we love that feeling.

Today our quest to brighten lives took us in a different direction. Our main guide, Rami, helps a small church in a neighborhood of refugees from Syria, Palestine, and Iraq. It’s a Christian oasis in an otherwise Muslim neighborhood. At one point, the church was going to close its doors because its members wanted to go to bigger churches where they “have good music and play the drums” — Rami told us using his most animated motions and expressions. Attendance was down to only 4 people in church so its future did not look promising.

Rami has persevered and spent many hours keeping the church alive. Now the services are filled to capacity, which is about 45 people. The building is very old and run down so we spent the day painting and doing yard work. This was a perfect activity for our last day of serving since we all said this couldn’t be a true Kingsland trip unless we painted something!

By the end of the day, we had painted both inside and out and cleaned up the grounds all around the church. We were in the business of brightening once again. The church is now a beacon of hope shining brightly to guide anyone who’s lost.