Be Like Grandpa

This is Grandpa

Grandpa hurt his back closing the heavy gate at the church

Grandpa was in a lot of pain.

Grandpa got out of bed and went to his church meeting in Amman anyway.

Grandpa helped a man push his stalled car even when Grandma said "you'll die in the road!"

Grandpa said it doesn't matter if you're helping someone.

Be like Grandpa.

Be Like Raad

This is Raad 

Raad fixes heating systems.
He fixed the boiler at the church. 

Raad isn't afraid to get his hands dirty.
He knows people waiting for prestige jobs are getting hungry.

Raad doesn't worry about prestige.
Rod makes a good living.

Raad takes his family to the Dead Sea and stays in the Marriott.

Be like Raad.

Forget the Diet

Our friend, Dr. Bourhan, invited us to his home for dinner and it was an extravaganza!  We ate so much we thought we would explode! 

Chicken

Rice

Mashed Potatoes

Hamburgers

Crab Salad

Fatoush - tossed green salad

Potato Salad

Pickles

Greens

Juice

Sodas

Herbal tea

Cake

Bananas, apples and oranges
What--no pita bread???

Dr.  Bourhan met his wife when he went to the Ukraine as a young man.  She combines her Ukrainian cooking skills with the Jordanian traditional food (except for the vodka!)  We didn't eat a small portion of what was on the table.  Sometimes we feel guilty to be eating like this, especially when a refugee camp is within 100 meters.  (about a block). 

Our Own "17 Miracles"

The family of an 8-year old girl from the ex-pat branch in Amman asked to have her baptism in Al Husn because they don't have a font in Amman.  Ella didn't want to get baptized in the Jordan river because she was afraid the water was too cold.

Getting ready for the baptism was a series of 17 miracles:

Miracle #1.  We found a place to rent a water  pump to get the dirty water out of the font.  We had no idea where to go, but then remembered going past a shop in town that had jackhammers and equipment in front.  We couldn't read the sign and there was no one to ask, but we found it!

Miracle #2.  The shop owner was able to understand what we wanted and let us rent a pump.  

Miracle #3.  The pump worked perfectly and most of the water was out in 14 minutes.  No bailing.

Miracle #4.  Sister Tolley went barefoot in January.  She took off her shoes, rolled up her pants and went down into the dirty water in January.  This has never happened before--and probably won't happen ever again.

Miracle #5.  The water didn't feel cold. 

Miracle #6.  The font was cleaned and ready.  Two old people like us were able to do it--with only a few sore muscles, aches and pains.

Miracle #7, 8, 9.   The font was filled.  Water to fill the font was delivered to the right place at the right time by two guys who don't speak English but understood what we wanted.

Miracle #10.  The weather was good.  On the day of the baptism the sun was shining and it was the warmest day in the week.   

Miracle #11.  The water in the font got warm.  This is the system that heats the water.  It took 5 hours and two bottles of propane to get it warm.

Miracle #12.  The wall heaters worked.  The boiler to heat the chapel went out and everyone was freezing cold for Sacrament Meeting, but later we were able to get it warm by using two wall heaters that hadn't worked all winter.  

Miracle #13.  We didn't burn the church down.  The chord for a portable heater in the chapel caught fire, but Lynn just happened to walk into the room and saw the flames.  He was able to prevent any major damage.

Miracle #14.  There were no injuries.  A disaster was avoided when the kids from Amman were running wild and broke a florescent light bulb on the front stairway.  They cleaned it up.  The children were banished from going up on the roof. 

Miracle #15.  All the little kids managed to "get reverent" and settle down for the baptism.

Miracle #16.  After making sure a floating bug was out of the water, and after some fearful screaming Ella managed to get up the the courage to go into the water and get baptized.

Putting the lid back on.

Miracle #17  Elder and Sister Tolley survived.  Maybe we should produce our own "17 Miracles" movie!

"...My beloved brethren, have miracles ceased?  Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men."     Moroni 7:29

Community Free Health Day

Being a Mormon in a Muslim country isn't easy.  For instance, when it's time to marry, you don't have a lot of choices--the Muslims are definitely out, and many Christian families don't want their children to marry a Mormon.  There's a lot of misunderstandings and prejudices.

Recently we have been trying to improve the image of the Church in the Al Husn area where the North Jordan branch meets.  We've had two projects to help the local schools.  Last weekend we had a project to provide medications to poor Jordanians and Syrians at a Free Health Day sponsored by a group of  local community leaders.

These are some of the medications donated by LDS Charities.  The most common meds are for hypertension and diabetes.

22 doctors and medical students from the nearby Jordan Medical school participated in the event which was held in a school very near to the North Jordan Branch Chapel.

Is this scary or what!!

The classrooms were turned into examination rooms.

"arabic arabic arabic arabic arabic arabic arabic LDSCHARITIES arabic arabic arabic arabic arabic"

(We got thanked--we think!!)

Over 350 poor Jordanians and refugees received free treatment and medications.

This is Dr. Bourhan, the leader of the community action group that sponsored the event.  Dr. Bourhan is the department head of the school of engineering at JUST University, and on the local school board.  A busy man!

We met the mayor of Al Husn, the President of JUST University, the Dean of the College of Medicine and other dignitaries at the event.  

We hope this event was positive public relations for the Church.  Two guys told us they would like to come to our church.  Somehow they made the connection that LDS Charities is the Mormons.

The Women's Clinic in Tafila

Several months ago we heard about the National Women's Health Care Center in Jordan and made an appointment to go and see them.  During our visit with the administrators we learned that the center deals specifically with women's health under the direction of Queen Noir (one of the royal family members).   It sounded like a good organization and we made an appointment to visit their clinic in Tafila, a very poor area in southern Jordan.

An employee named Rhamen speaks very good English and knows the way, so we were happy to have her go with us.  

Tafila is tucked in a secluded valley east of the  Dead Sea.  

It's a beautiful setting and a peaceful little town.  Remember--the people in the area are very poor.

We were expecting a humble little center in need of a lot of help.  

What we saw was completely the opposite:  

Everything they showed us was very modern and new, starting with the reception desk.

The center's pharmacy is well stocked with vitamins and drugs.   All medications are free.

Laboratory with state-of-the-art equipment.

x-ray machine for mammograms.

Modern ultrasound equipment.

 More x-ray equipment

Bone density scanner 

 Dental equipment better than our dentist has at home.

 Slit lamp for eye examinations

A mobile health van

They also offer a variety of services, including family planning, family counseling, etc.  There's a large auditorium for classes.  Even the restrooms had real toilets--and paper too.

We looked around and noticed only a handful of patients.  "Where is everyone?"  We were told that  the women come early in the morning to the center and then hurry back home to take care of their families.

This is an organization that needs help from LDS Charities???  We can't figure it out.  The facility we saw must have cost millions and wasn't lacking in anything.  It was the finest facility we have seen ANYWHERE in a developing country.  We have a meeting with their administration next week.  It will be interesting to see what they have to say.

Osama from Madaba

Several years ago a missionary couple in Jordan became acquainted with Osama Abu Al-Ganam, a prominent and successful businessman who lives in Madaba (south of Amman).  One of his businesses is a mosiac shop.  Madaba is famous for having an abundance of ancient mosiacs from earlier civilizations.  Today, the craftsmen in the area still produce beautiful works as souvenirs.  

Through the years other missionary couples have nourished the friendship of the LDS Church with Osama.  We have also made friends with him and visit his shop when we are in the area.  (That's Osama next to Lynn).

Last Tuesday Osama invited us to his home for lunch and to meet his family.  He and his wife have two severely handicapped boys and a new baby girl.  The problem they  have is genetic and is related to cystic fibrosis.  Osama's wife is very busy taking care of the children because they can't find a school for the disabled that will take them.

The extended family don't want Osama and his wife to bring the children outside their home because they're ashamed to have disabled people in their family.  They are afraid prospective husbands and wives for other family members wouldn't want to marry into their family because of the genetic issues.  So all they can do is keep the children inside the home out of sight.  The children are very loving and smart.  They have been inside for so long, they are afraid to go out.

When Osama has business in the U.S. he visits the missionary couples in Utah and attends our church there.  He likes what he hears and he likes the Mormon church.  HOWEVER, it would be very very difficult if not impossible for him to join the church right now in Jordan.  Maybe he's one of the people the Lord is preparing to be ready as soon as the barriers are down and people are free to think what they want to think and do what they want to do.  

All is Forgiven

Last week one person came to church and we were feeling very sad.  This week 18 people showed up and we're happy again.  All the people who went AWOL because they couldn't make it to church after staying up all night celebrating the new year have been forgiven.  We had a good spirit, great lessons and everyone was "nourished by the good word of God."

The Church is true.  We're so happy for the principle of forgiveness which applies to everyone, (especially us).

Fajitas at the Pyramid

Last week we went to an Egyptian-style restaurant in Jordan and ate Mexican fajitas prepared by a Chinese cook.

 They weren't too bad! 

Al Husn Medical Clinic

The Al Husn Comprehensive Health Clinic (very near where we live) serves approximately 76,000 people in the surrounding communities, including approximately 4,000 uninsured.  The service area includes a large number of refugees, primarily Syrian and Palestinian.  According to the data we were given, the clinic serves about 7,000 patients per month.

A lot of Muslim women keep their faces covered, but Dr. Bassam is the first man we've met who was covered!  Maybe it didn't have anything to do with his religion.  Maybe it had something to do with infections diseases......Hmmmmmm......

The clinic needs an ultrasound machine and a blood analysis machine, emergency room kits, 12 blood pressure machines, a sterilizer and a washing machine.  They promised to prioritize their list and to give us some prices.

As usual, we are required to meet with the government and get their approval before we can do anything.

We met with the director of immunizations, the health director, our friend Dr. Bourhan, and the head of purchasing for the directorate to explain who we are and tell them about LDS Charities.

Signing MOU's for school project

Did you see Lynn's picture on Facebook?  For those of you who can't read Arabic (that includes us), the posting explained that we signed papers with the director of education for the local area to make a donation to two of the schools in Al Husn.  We agreed to donate the stuff and Dr. Fawazel agreed to allow us to do it.  Nice agreement, don't you think?

Signing the papers....

 

The director is shorter than me!!  Isn't he cute?

We donated a copy machine, playground shelter, classroom heaters, copy machine, classroom window coverings and clean drinking water dispenser to the primary school.  The secondary school received lab chairs, classroom chairs, a laptop computer, classroom heaters and clean water dispensers.  FUN!!

One Project Leads To Another

Several weeks ago we were sitting in the principal's office of the Khidija Primary School in Al Husn, discussing the progress of our donations to the school.  It's not unusual for other people to walk in and join in when we have meetings like this.  On this day, two men came in and sat down by Lynn.  Of course, he started up a conversation with them.  It was good that they spoke English.  

Come to find out, the gentleman on Lynn's right a pretty important guy!  Dr. Bourhan is his name and he's a member of the school district board as well as head of the Mechanical Engineering department at JUST University.  He also leads a local community action group called Al Husn Initiative for Public Help.  Talk about well connected!

Dr. Bourhan invited us to his office at the University to discuss his public service work.  We learned that he is a "get things done" kind of guy--a person that LDS Charities calls a "Champion."  Recently he's been responsible for getting road improvements in Al Husn and repairs to the lights on main street.  Now he wants to build a shelter for people waiting for buses.  We discussed other projects--a free health day for the poor and some equipment for the new health clinic in town.

Most of these projects fit very nicely with the objectives of LDSC.  If all goes well, we see a great future working with him.  Our hope is to do some good things in Al Husn to improve the image of the church and be seen as a contributing member of the community.  We also want to do something for the poor.

Exams are Over! Let's Party!

In Al Husn we live next door to a college.  Most days the streets are full of young people and cars.  Last week we heard a big commotion down the street and went to investigate.  We could hear loud music playing, so we knew it must be a celebration of some sort.  Someone told us the dancing was to celebrate the end of semester exams.

Yes, they're holding hands.  No, they're not gay.

The street was full of young men (no girls) dancing to arabic music and throwing each other up into the air.  Alcohol and drugs aren't allowed for Muslims--it was just good old-fashioned guy fun!  

 This old man came riding up on his horse and joined in.  Everyone loved it.

Even the hot buttered corn man.

It this a crazy country or what?????

P.S.  There are no organized sports here, so the end of exams is the only thing they can get excited about.

JOHUD = Good People

On Sunday (not the Sabbath) we were invited to visit Jordan's largest and oldest non-profit, non-governmental organization, the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD).  We went with the new couple, Reed and Sandi Phillips.

JOHUD places emphasis on working with the most vulnerable groups such as women, young people, the elderly and the disabled.  We like the fact that they encourage people to play a leading role in their own development needs.

Today we saw groups of  children--mostly refugees--learning how to play and accept each other, expressing their feelings through various media, participating in discussion groups, and developing their own talents.  It was heartwarming to watch teenage girls participate in fun activities that build their self-esteem, and to watch young boys talk and learn social skills.  What a great organization.

This group of underprivileged girls were learning computer technology.  

JOHUD also runs a medical van that goes to impoverished communities all over Jordan, offering free health services and medications.  Volunteer doctors, dentists and other professionals participate in the program.  Their van is 16 years old now and they need a new one.  Will LDS Charities buy them one?  It's not cheap, but does so much good.  Many lives have been saved by this service.

Customized inside

We are constantly amazed at how many really good people there are in this world, going about trying to help the less fortunate.  LDS Charities isn't the only group trying to help their fellow man.  There are many many others.

Lonely Sabbath Day

It was lonely in the North Jordan Branch today.

This is the total attendance (3)  Most of the members were up all night celebrating the new year and they were too tired to come.  Somebody cancelled the bus/that picks everyone up.

HOWEVER, we pressed on.  Dad conducted Sacrament meeting, blessed and passed the Sacrament and gave a talk.  We all sang hymns.  The whole service was conducted in English.  There was a beautiful spirit there.

NOTE:  Our hair is a mess because we were wearing scarves over our heads.  (it was raining)  Actually the scarf was quite warm.  We are not turning Muslim.

Christmas Day

What did we do on Christmas Day?

We went to Church (it was the Sabbath in Jordan).  A young family from Dubai visited the branch.

We ate star cookies after Sacrament Meeting.  Then we all went home.

Our "coat tree"

The two of us had a special afternoon, reading about the birth of the Savior out of the scriptures and singing hymns.  Then we wrote Christmas greetings to friends and family.