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I was just online searching for some information about Muwaqqer and found some interesting articles...

The first one is an article from 2000 about Operation Mercy, the NGO that we teach English with.

The second one is from an online Helsinki news source that talks about the Iraqi police training camp in Muwaqqer, which appears to still be in existence.

Actually, the reason I was searching for information about Muwaqqer is because this morning when we arrived at the school our Jordanian helper, Suha, pointed out the window to a car accident. Apparently, two westerners were in one of the cars, a man and a woman, and they are here working with the Iraqi police. It was hard to see because it was so far away (the school sits on a hill) but she said that she thought the woman was killed, so I was looking online to see if there was any information about it but it is probably too soon.

Lastly, here is a map that shows where Muwaqqer is.

Wadi Rum

It's late here and I'm pretty wiped out from a long day, but I wanted to put up pictures from our weekend trip to Wadi Rum, which was amazing. Check it out:

camel crossing signs on the desert highway (the same route taken by the Israelites on their way to the Promised Land)

Ridin' in style on top of our desert vehicle... we all took turns on the luggage rack :)

We also took a short camel ride...

my camel :)

one of our bedouin guides, Salaam...

we hiked a ginormous sand dune... see how small the people are at the bottom! then ran down the steep side, which was a lot of fun despite the intense heat.

a view of the well protected desert... no roads or power lines here...

we climbed lots of rocks... i'm the one waving up there...

watching the sun set near our camp...

what our bedouin camp looked like:

some of us slept outside under the stars, which was amazing. this is from the morning, around 6:30...

after breakfast we drove back to the entrance, and our other bedouin guide, Audoeh, decided he would say hi to the people on the luggage rack while driving...

the scenery was amazing and we all had a blast. on thursday night we went to a nearby town with a Christian hospital and got to meet the people who work there, which was also really cool.

this is our last week of teaching... the time has really flown by. the following week we will visit Petra and have some debriefing & packing up time. i can't believe it's all ending, especially now that I feel like I can finally communicate in Arabic. please pray for the relationships that we have with people here and that we would use the rest of our time wisely. part of me is looking forward to coming home but part of me really wishes i could stay for a few more weeks, and i think everyone on the team feels the same way.

Pslam 107:4-9

Some wandered in desert wastes,
   finding no way to a city to dwell in;
hungry and thirsty,
   their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
   and he delivered them from their distress.
He led them by a straight way
   till they reached a city to dwell in.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
   for his wondrous works to the children of men!
For he satisfies the longing soul,
   and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

I just wanted to write a quick update to let everyone know that I am fine, and so is the rest of the team. A lot of people have been writing me to ask if I am safe here, and the answer is absolutely. Not to minimize the terrible conflict next door, but there is no threat to or in Amman whatsoever. I check the news about three times a day so I am aware of what is happening but I am not concerned for myself here. Remember to pray for all of the people caught in the middle of the conflict who have nothing to do with it--I've already heard many stories of people fleeing from Lebanon or unable to flee because most ways out have been destroyed.

Also, our team is going to Wadi Rum (i.e., the Lawrence of Arabia desert) this weekend which sounds like a neat experience. We have some sort of bedouin guide and we get to camp out under the stars on Friday night (Thursday night we're staying with some people that our team leader knows). 

Lastly, our time here is quickly coming to an end... I hope to be able to visit more of my students before I go, so please pray that God would make that happen if it is His will. Also pray that I would be able to process all that I have experienced, because I think that we have been so busy I haven't been able to reflect on a lot of what I've learned.  Thanks so much for all your emails and prayers, I really appreciate all of them.