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. 

Planting Trees

The agreement LDSC has with the Kadija Primary School is that the girls will do a service project for the community in return for the items we donated to the school.  Last week the students planted 180 trees along the highway outside of Al Husn.  This project fulfilled their part of the agreement.

Representatives of the 650 students were selected to participate in the project.

Lynn helped.

Part of the mission of LDS Charities is to encourage beneficiaries to participate.  This project aligns with the mission.  We are very proud of the school administrators who made it possible.

Back to Reality

After our kids left it was time to get back to work.  We stopped by the Al Kadaja Primary school to check on the progress of our project there.

The classroom curtains are to block out the strong sunlight.  

They were too short--but no problem--

a cute ruffle was added to the bottom.

The water filtration system needed to be moved to a more secure location.  More money.

Now it's perfect!  No one can sneak in and steal a drink of water at night.

We arranged for 40 classroom chairs to be manufactured and delivered to the secondary school.

A new laptop computer for the teachers to share for classroom presentations was purchased and delivered. 

We've been very busy running around the area trying to get the items for our two school projects.  Someone said this is the "Jubilee" part of our mission, but it's more like the "get down and work faster" part.  Nothing is easy when you don't know the language and don't know how to find suppliers.  We've been totally reliant on the Spirit to help us.  Otherwise we couldn't do it.