New Year

Hey All, just wanted to write and tell everyone Happy New Years. I'm not sure why we celebrate that as a holiday, but we do. Some of the people here celebrate it as well, but it is not really a big deal.
كل عام و أنتم بخير
kul 'aam wa antum bikheer
(every year may you be blessed)

Merry Christmas

I hope this finds everybody having a wonderful Christmas and holiday season. It sure is different thinking about Christmas and the holidays in a foreign country, especially one with completely different traditions and enviornment. It seems wrong to even call it Christmas without snow, christmas carols, decorations, or spruce or pine trees...but that is the way the christmas cookie crumbles (or doesn't crumble as that case is here)
I told myself I was going to try and avoid thinking about the holidays too much, and so I wasn't going to listen to Christmas songs...but last night I gave in a listened to all my favorites, and as expected it made me cry. Not crying because I was sad to be away from friends and family, but because I was so happy remembering all those memories I have, and that I cherish so much. The part that is sad knowing that I have chosen to leave that behind in order to follow something greater than those joys. And though the memories bring joy, it carries a certain pain and sorrow with it. And while I listened to the words of these beloved songs God reminded me that 2000 years ago a baby was born who traveled much farther from home than I ever could, who gave up more than I can ever have, and who sacrificed more than I will ever be able to imagine. I feel priveleged to feel, in an infintesmally small way, what Christ must have felt when he left the glory of heaven and came to dwell with us lowly sinners...I will never understand how God could love me so much, but I thank him and praise him for it.
Merry Christmas, and "God Bless you with a 1000 blessings this year and every year" (thats a translated arabic holiday greeting)

Another Holiday...

I started to feel guilty about not writing for almost two weeks, but then I checked the blogs of my friends, and realize that they update about as often as I do, so I don't feel so bad. Yes, that is a terrible excuse, but it seems to appease my conscience, so I am using it.
Things have been going really well here in Jordan. I am finally starting to feel like I know what I am doing. I know a fair amount of people that I can spend time with when I am not studying or running around the city trying to take care of retarded bureaucratic issues. I have also managed to finally figure out the bus system here, more or less. Of course part of figuring out involved realizing that there really is not much system at all...Wednesday is an Islamic holiday, so clssses are canceled Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Which means the University will also be closed from Tues. - Sat. Most of the time during these holidays families gather together and celebrate the holiday together. I am not sure what that means for me, but I think it means I will have lots of time to study alone at my house. I am still hoping to go to some friends house, but I don't think it is common to invite foreigners over to celebrate the holiday. Also, most of the stores and shops are also closed, or at least the small ones, so I need to make sure I buy plenty of humus, falafel, and bread (which has become my replacement for peanut butter).
I will try to write more later, but right now I have a meeting at the physics department. Hope every one is doing well.

Finally some pictures

Hey everyone. Thank you to all the people who have posted comments, or sent emails. You don't know how much something that simple means to me. Most of the time I don't feel homesick, mostly because I manage to stay exceptionally busy. But nevertheless it is very comforting and encouraging just to hear from my friends.
I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. As it turns out I got to go camping Friday. My roommate and a friend of mine went up north to a place called Umm Quais. It is an ancient Roman city. At the time of Christ it was one of the cities of the Decapolis. It was almost completely destroyed (as were most of the ancient sites in this area) by a major earthquake in the middle ages. After seeing the ancient ruins we took the packs and headed into the hills to try and find a nice camp site. My roommate has never been camping in the mountains/forest, so I figured I better teach him. We had a great time and got to see some really neat stuff (we also almost got in trouble with the army, because we were 'trespassing' on military land, which was only an issue because Umm Quais is only about 2 km from the border with Israel).

This is picture of the main Roman road that used to run through the middle of Umm Quais. The original name of the city was called Gadara. If that name sounds familiar, it should.

This is a picture of the ancient city center. Originally the was a large state building and courtyard with a giant statue on this site.

This my friend Dylan, my roommate, Ihab, and me at the campsite. We walked about two hours across the mountains/hills to find a nice little grove of pine trees where we set up camp.

This final picture is a view looking north west towards Israel. The valley in the forefront of the picture is the border with Israel. To the North East (not in the picture) about 15 km is the Golan Heights. The lake is called the lake of Tiberias, but better known to us as the Sea of Galilee. Nearly 2000 years ago there was a village called Gadara built here, and somewhere near the shores of this lake lived a madman, who spent his days in torment and anguish. He had no home, save the graveyard in which he resided. No friends, save the cold, silent tombs. Many nights he spent in chains of iron, which eventually he would break. But never could he break the chains with which Satan had bound him. He lived a life of hopelessness.
But one day, a day which seemed like every other day, a man came to the shore and entered the deserted graveyard. He was a man like he had never seen before...perhaps he was more than just a man. When the possessed saw this Man he ran towards and fell at his feet, and the devil within cried out, "What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high?". Then something happened to this man who had been a slave to Satan longer than he could remember...he felt the spiritual chains come off and for the first time he felt freedom, true freedom. As he lifted up his eyes from the dusty ground he saw only Jesus. And realizing who is was who set him free he requested only that he might be allowed to stay with him, but Jesus responded '"Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee". And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.'

I wonder how we react when we look into the eyes of the One who set us free?

Its Thanksgiving???

Hey everyone, Happy Thanksgiving...eventhough I had forgotten about thanksgiving until about four days ago, when Mike sent me an email asking if I was doing any special. I didn't even know that today was Thanksgiving, cause I never keep track of which is the 4th Thursday in Novemeber. In the states everyone knows, and you don't have to keep track. Also, I still confuse Thursday and Friday here. Thursday is the last work/school day and Friday/Saturday are the days off. So if you count presenting your research proposal as something special, then yes, I am doing something special for Thanksgiving. Oh, and I had a chicken sandwich for lunch...chicken is kind of like turkey, right? unfortunately though, pie does not exist in this country. However, all in all, it does not bother me that I am not celebrating the holiday (I know, how cold and un-American of me). I prefer to just live here and try to be as much of a Jordanian as I can...although I don't do a very good job of it most the time.
Anyway, I hope everyone back in the States has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Feel free to eat my share of pie, I know that is a tough task, but I am sure some one will step up the challenge (if no one else does, it is Dave's job...you have to eat the ice cream too...it will help your guns grow). Hopefully it was not too cold for the traditional hockey game. By the way it dropped all the way down to 45-50 yesterday. I got a good laugh looking at people wearing more winter clothes than we do when it is -20...I wore a T-shirt, and got lots of strange looks. OK, I have to go to my meeting. take care everyone,

Noah (sorry the internet is still not cooperating with pictures...)

a little of history

Last weekend was the first time I have had a chance to really get out of Amman and see some other parts of Jordan. I went with my roommate and another friend (whom I studied with in Wisconsin) to Jerash, where my roommates uncles owns a small olive orchard. We stayed there the night and then went to the ancient city of Jerash. It was originally an old roman city, and it still one of the most complete roman sites in the world. It was quite amazing.
Sorry this is the only picture I had time to upload. I'll post more later...I hope

a great poem

I don't really have any new news...but the other day I rediscovered this great poem by Longfellow. He says so eloquently what I feel so often.

Tell me not in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou are, to dust thou returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each tomorrow
Find us farther than today.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, - act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sand of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solenm main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us then be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

A Psalm of Life – Longfellow

Some Quotes

These are a few of my favorite (secular) quotes. I limited myself to only 20, but there are so many good ones out there. Enjoy

The best thing to do with the best things in life is to give them up.
- Dorothy Day

Compromise is never anything but an ignoble truce between the duty of a man and the terror of a coward.
- Reginald W. Kaufman

Nothing great will ever be achieved without great men, and men are great only if they are determined to be so.
-Charles De Gaulle

He who lives without discipline dies without honor.
-Icelandic Proverb

Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice.
-Woodrow Wilson

Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul.
-General Macarthur

People do not lack strength; they lack will.
-Hugo

A man can do what he ought to do; and when he says he cannot, it is because he will not.
-Fichte

Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love
- Charles Shulz(this I like just for its reverent reference to PB)

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.
-Leo Tolstoy

Verily, the lust for comfort murders the passion of the soul, and then walks grinning in the funeral
- Kahlil Gibran from the Prophet

I have seen the freest among you wear their freedom as a yoke and a handcuff
- Kahlil Gibran from the Prophet

“The Roots of Violence: Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice, Politics without principles”
- Mahatma Ghandi

Hammer the iron that lies on your anvil instead of daydreaming about working silver.
- Robert Jordan…in memory of his work
(you’ll only understand this one if you know the books…can you guess what character said it?)

In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends
- Martin Luther King Jr.

"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower

"Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right."
- Henry Ford

"If you are going through hell, keep going."
- Sir Winston Churchill

There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness.
- Josh Billings

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." - Mark Twain

October thus far

Hey folks,

Life in Amman continues to go on. I have been able to meet a number of people in the last couple weeks, most of them Jordanian students. I am still generally surprised how nice the people here are. Almost of them think that it is very neat that somebody is trying to learn their language. Then when you tell them that you would like to live here because you love the culture and the people, they think that it is incredible. One of the most common questions that come up when you first meet someone is inevitably “why are you learning Arabic?”. It is not really an interrogative question, as much as it is one asked purely out of curiosity. The only downfall is that I have answered that question so many times it starts to become boring (on my part), so one time I just told them I was working for the CIA…my roommate was laughing pretty hard, but the other guy didn’t think I was joking. We thought it was funny anyway. The other questions that almost always come up when you first meet a person are: how long have you been in Jordan, are you married, and are you muslim (which I think is emphasized during Ramadan).
Speaking of Ramadan, it has been a pretty neat experience actually (besides not eating and drinking during the day, and actually the not eating is pretty easy, but not drinking water seems incredibly counter-intuitive). Usually I am able to go with my roommate to one of his friends house for dinner (called iftaar). I have never seen so much food on a single plate before. One instance there must have been at least 20 pounds of rice and probably 5 whole chickens on a huge platter, plus salad, sauce, yogurt, and other stuff I am forgetting…which may be reasonable for a large group, however, there was only four of us. The host kept telling me to “eat, eat!”. I tried to say no, but I learned no doesn’t mean anything. By the end I was the only still eating (slowly and painfully) and he told me that I was a good guest. I earned it. Ramadan is over in 5 days I think. It ends with a big holiday (of course). We’ll see how that goes.

Well, that is about all. I’ve gotta get back to work.
Take care everyone

This is a picture of Amman from Google Earth.
I know you can't see alot, but maybe someone thinks its interesting

in Amman

Well, I guess I should write and let everyone know that I am still alive and kicking. I made it to Amman without any real problems, got moved into my apartment (which doesn’t take very long when your whole consists of one duffel bag, a backpack, and your laptop.) Anyway, the apartment is really quite nice…way better than any thing you could ever find in the states for 280$ a month. Plus I get to live with a really nice Jordanian guy. He has been a big help so far, just getting stuff figured out. We decided that we are going to speak Arabic only in the apartment (he speaks fluent English), and so far we’ve held up to it.
Ramadan (the holy month for Muslims) started last week, which makes trying to get situated kinda difficult because everything closes early, really early. Also, most places are closed on Friday and Saturday, but I think that is common year round. It also makes it difficult to eat and drink, since most people here are muslims it is considered rude to eat or drink in front of people that are fasting, so on average I go from about 7:30 am until about 5 pm without food or water, unless I can sneak away and get something to drink. The food part is pretty easy, but not drinking water is pretty difficult.
My classes started this week. I have class for three hours a day, in the morning. But again, this is the Ramadan schedule…so all the classes at the University finish by 2 pm. After Ramadan the schedule will change. My job at the physics department has been kind of postponed. The class I was going to teach is at the same time as one of my language classes (again partially due to Ramadan). But also, the person who was the department head when I came in the spring is no longer department head. So right now I am working on a nanotechnology research project with one of the professors, which helps get my foot in the door for next semester. However, it doesn’t really help me meet students, so I am working on other approaches to try and make Jordanian friends.
I would try to explain what it is like here, but I don’t know where to start. There are so many things that are different, and amazing, and strange…I never thought crossing the street was something I’d have to learn over again. So far I have only met one Jordanian that wasn’t nice (she worked in the Registrars office). Most of them have been incredibly friendly.
Sorry I’ve not sent more emails…I am still trying to get a schedule down, plus I don’t have internet at the apartment. To make up for it I will post a couple pictures of Amman taken from the roof of my apartment, where my roommate and I have dinner each night. The forested area is where the University is at.

Bon Voyage

Well, this has been the fastest four months in my life. It really seems like yesterday that I left Alaska to go to North Dakota. Everything is still kind of a blur. It feels like I did so much in so little time that I can’t remember any of it with any precision. Even the language school is kinda fuzzy. If you have every traveled for long periods of time then you probably know exactly what I am talking about, and if not you probably think I am a lunatic (which may be true nonetheless).

This will most likely be my last post from the US. I leave Friday morning to head over to Israel, where I’ll stay with the Shakkours for a couple days before heading over to Jordan. Lots of people ask me if I am nervous, or scared…no, not really. Considering I am about to move to a completely foreign country I am actually pretty calm. It definitely helps that I have been there before. I am planning on moving into my apartment by next Tuesday, as long as I can find it. I asked my future roommate if he could give me the physical address of the place and he reaffirmed to me that they really don’t use physical address in Jordan, but that he’d give me the best directions he could. I am to take a placement exam on the 13^th and then classes begin on the 16^th. I am looking forward to it.

My time in Oregon has been very nice; pretty busy trying to get around and see all the different people, as well as making the various speaking appointments. The other day I got to see my great grandmother. She is 92 I believe. I have seen most of my aunts and uncles, and even a few of my cousins, which has been very nice. Yesterday my mom, my sister, my niece, and I spent the day with my grandmother and my two aunts (on my dad’s side). It was very special. My grandma is 75, and is still just as sharp as ever; I think her memory is better than mine.

Here are a few pictures of my family (they even have me in them…)

Good bye America,

Me, Hannah, and DevynnMy Moms side of the family (some)

My dad's side (some)

Yes, I am out of school...briefly

Man, eight weeks goes by really fast. I had a lot of fun at the language school in La Crosse, and learned a lot as well, although I'm sure I've already started to forget what I was learning. If you have never learned a foreign langauge you have no idea how fast it begins to fade. I have been trying to keep up some of it by reading childrens books (that is the highest level I can read without serious problems), but lately I've had about zero time. It was possibly the hardest school I've been to, but that is probably because I am not remembering my junior and senior years in the Physics department. It was the equivalent of taking 10 credits in eight weeks, so like taking over 20 credits in a semester. five hours of class a day, and at least an equal time dedicated to study and homework, plus having to use Arabic all the time (which I learned to actually enjoy quite a bit). I also made some friends while I was there, one of which I am actually going to go see today. He lives in northwestern washington...pretty cool I think. It is strange the connection you gain from being with the same group of people and sharing everything together for 8 weeks.

When I finished the school in La Crosee I went over to eastern Wisconsin to be with a church in Kaukauna, then flew to Seattle. After a few delays I finally got into Seattle, waited 5 hours for the bus to take me to the amtrak station, hopped on the train to Portland where my grandfather met me and went to his place, about 45 minuets away. There I picked up my uncles spare car (which is much cheaper than the 330$/week the rental car companies wanted!). After talking for a couple hours I headed out for Washington, made it about 12 miles then broke down...which is about par for my experience with cars. As it turns out it was just the alternator, so I was able to limp it back into town and buy a new one and replace it at my grandpa's place. It actually felt really good to do some mechanic work after being stuck behind a desk for so long. Anyway, every is working out well, and I have made all my appointments and had a wonderful time meeting new people.

My mom and sister are scheduled to come into Portland in a few days. I can't wait. It will be good to see them one last time before heading over seas. I leave for Israel on the 7th of September. I'll spend a couple days with the Shakkours then catch a taxi over to Amman and move into my apartment, which I found online about a month ago. Hopefully everything will go well with that and then registration for the University in Amman.

I am sorry I didn't take very many pictures while I was at language school. Here are a couple though: one from the last night of the program and one from a trip we took on the Mississippi.

Take care and ma'a salaama

catch ya on the flip side

As promised, I am making one last update before I go into silent mode. I actually sign the language contract today, so what I am doing is semi-legal, but I feel I ought to make one more post.

I finished up the first part of my deputation with brother Harbin in Dubuque. I had a great time with him. I also wish I could spend more time with the pastors and churches that I visit, but I only get the time that God gives me. At least I got to see brother Harbin play some softball; that was pretty fun – just watching I mean.

As of yet I do not know how much support I have acquired, as there are some churches that I am still waiting to hear from. However, I am confident that I will have no trouble going back to the Middle East in September as planned – the Lord always provides. I have decided for sure to go over to Washington before heading over seas. My mother is coming for sure, and possibly my sister. I talked to my grandmother and she is going to set up a date for my dad’s side of the family to get together so I can see them all (some for the first time, others for the first time in 17 years). I will arrive in Seattle the 14^th of August and spend two full weeks visiting churches there before my mom arrives and we head down to Oregon. I have not purchased my ticket for overseas, and am debating whether I should go see the Shakkours on my way over or go straight to school.

I am looking forward to all of it, but right now I am thoroughly engulfed in language study. I found out I did make it into the advanced level at the school here. I was complimented by two of the teachers on my speaking ability (largely because of my pronunciation)…God receives all the credit for any abilities I have. I am so blessed to have Him as my Helper and my Strength.

Before I started school I talked to all of my family; mom, dad, sister, and brother. I think I cherish the time I talk to Monk the most. Tomorrow is his birthday. I can’t call him then, so I took care of it already.

I don’t have much else to share except a kind of funny story about arriving in La Crosse: Brother Harbin dropped me off on Thursday, and insisted I have a hotel for the days before I could check into school (Saturday). I told him I would not stay in a hotel for more than a day (I had already been in a hotel the last two nights and could feel my Alaskan identity wearing off), so he agreed and I was able to spend that night finishing up all my emails and checking out the city briefly. However, Friday I took my pack and grabbed a bus to within 2 miles of a nearby park. After walking a while I finally got to the park, but I couldn’t find any camp site, so I stashed my stuff in the woods and went to find a place to get water and some food. The park was nice, situated right on the bank of the Mississippi. I found a small store across the road, that also happened to offer campsites…for a price, which was 20$. Well being the stubborn, cheap person I am there was no way I was going to pay 20 bucks to sleep in my own tent. So I took my stuff a little deeper (about 70 feet) into the woods and set up my tent. There happened to be a Frisbee golf course in the park, and since I still had my disk from when I was playing with James Norberg in Grand Forks I found some other guys and decided to play a round. Well I didn’t even finish because at hole 16 some juvenile delinquent stole my Frisbee. How low and pathetic is that! I wasn’t gonna use it anyway, so I hope he does as well with it as I did (I was at 7 under at the time of ‘the incident’). Once it started to get dark I decided to go back to my hide out. It was the first time in my new Cabelas tent with my new Cabelas mattress (both which I got an awesome deal on). The tent and mat were great…the humidity was not, but I am not that picky so I was asleep without much problem. All went great until I awoke at about seven to the sound of thunder followed quickly by a torrential downpour. The tent held up well, and even stayed dry inside (thankfully since I had 3,000$ worth of electronics inside), but the rain didn’t stop. Once it slowed down a bit I decided I better just go for it, so I wrapped up all the electronics in plastic bags (part of my survival kit) and headed for the University. I made it in about two hours, only half way wet.

So the question is: would I have taken the offer of the second night in the hotel if offered? Well everyone who knows me a little already knows that answer to that…Attached is a picture of the Mississippi as well as my portable home.

Talk to everyone in two months,

With Love,

Noah

Near the end

Looking at my blog makes me miss my niece. In fact it makes me miss all of my family...my brother the most.
I am currently sitting in a motel room taking a break from studying Arabic, trying to get ready for the language school that starts in five days. Sunday morning I was with the Sickmeyers in Worthington, MN (of which I had a incredibly good time with them, and with the church). Brother Sickmeyer asked what I did in my leisure time...I told him I'll figure it out when I get some haha. All my church visits have been wonderful. I so much enjoy meeting new people. My only regret is that I don't get to spend more time with them, but the lost, unreached world cries out and I dare not linger.
Tomorrow brother Martin and I are going down to Dubuqe, or rather he is taking me down there (I am such a mouche). Actually he was planning on going down some times soon anyway, and this gave me convenient reason to go down. I am excited to meet brother Harbin.
I am now almost positive I will be going over to Washington and Oregon after my language school in La Crosse for about three weeks before I leave for the Middle East. I am almost positive that my mom is going to come down at the end of August, and maybe my sister and Devynn as well. That would be really neat. I am trying to line up meetings for the whole time I will be there. I am confident things will work out...they always do with God.

I will post again before I start the school, since I will out of contact for those two months due to the nature of the language school. I will try to post some pictures next time. Until then,
مع سلامة

نوح

Off to South Dakota

I cannot believe that I have been in North Dakota for almost two weeks now. The time has gone by so fast. I guess that is a good sign that I have not been bored. I wondered how much empty time I would have, and as it turns out I've had about zero.
Before I left Alaska I read a paper about deputation in which a preacher said (in large bold letters) that deputation will be the hardest thing you ever do. Now, I know that I have not been "on deputation" (I still feel weird saying that) for very long, but I don't know how this could be so hard. I can understand that with a wife and family it would be more difficult, but come on. Some people spend their whole lives waiting for a chance to travel around the US. I not only get to travel around the US (or a small part of it) but I get to meet all kinds of incredible people. If there is one thing that is difficult it is meeting people who you wish you could stay with longer, but know that you have to move on. There are so many people already in Grand Forks that I consider true friends. Pastor Custer had to leave on Saturday, so I didn't get to spend tons of time with him, but the little time I did I enjoyed greatly. I hope I will get to see him again before I leave. I was out in Larimore all day on Sunday with Pastor Shaffer (that is the church the Taylor's came from), and had a marvelous time. He let me take all of Sunday school hour to do my presentation, and it went very well. After the services I went to brother Shaffer's house. I had an awesome time getting to know him and his family, or part of it, only his daughter, Cherith (which I thought was a very cool name) still lives with them. Oh and I got to meet brother Silcox and his wife...I felt like I got wisdom just listening to them; it was really neat.
Last Tuesday I drove down to Fargo and met the Langes and the Paulsons and dinner with them and another family from the church in Fargo. Brother Lange had just come back from Thailand. I also got to meet Mark's family (Mark is the guy I stayed with in Chicago) and hopefully will get to spend friday evening with them. Monday, Memorial Day, the church in grand forks had a big picnic at one of the parks. I wish I could accurately describe how awesome it is to meet so many great people. And then to be told that I have been a blessing to them, when they have been such a blessing to me...well it is humbling to say the least.
I go to Fargo on Saturday and from there to Sioux Falls. I found a bus that will take me there for 55 bucks, which is cheaper than the gas it would cost to drive (gas is 3.25 here).
Thanks to everyone who has emailed, called, or left comments...I appreciate it.
Until next time
Sorry I don't have any pictures...

NOTE: Since this website is public domain from now I am not going to be including any specific details about the Middle East. Most notably peoples real names, city names, locations, or dates. Not that it is dangerous now, but it could be in the future, and it is a good habit to get used to. So, please don't include any "sensitive" information in the comments you post.

On the road again

Hey everyone, as promised I am going to start updating my blog again. I am currently sitting in the Seattle/Tacoma airport. You all won’t see this until sometime later, because the wireless internet is not free here, and there is no way that I am going to pay eight dollars for internet. I only have a three hour layover here in Seattle, then I fly to St Paul where I have a five hour layover there, then finally over to Grand Forks.

I had a wonderful time down in Ninilchik. It was really great to see the mission work, and be able to share about the middle east with them. As well as just spending time with them. I was able to spend a bit of time with the Lamberts. They are great friends, and I love them very much. They have been so instrumental in my Christian life. Aside from my pastor Ron was the first person to congratulate me after I was saved. He was also the first person I talked to about being called to the ministry. I’ll miss them…

I also got to spend quite a bit of time with my sister. Not as much as I wanted to, because she had to work, but we were able to spend at least a little time. Plus, she let me take care of Devynn (my niece) while she was at work. She is a beautiful little girl and she has an incredible smile (apparently George girls get all the pretty genes and the boys get…nothing). She is over 7 months old now, is 18 pounds, has two teeth, and is pretty close to walking. The next time I see her she will be walking and probably talking (which she does already, just not in a language I understand…a phenomena which I am pretty used to by now).

Most of my short time there was spent with my mommy. She only had to work one of the days. We didn’t do anything special per say, but we didn’t need to; just spending time with her was special. We went to the beach and walked for a while with Devynn. The beach was really nice and it made me realize that I miss the ocean…and commercial fishing on it. I guess no matter how far a fisherman is taken from the ocean part of it never leaves him. I got to see a couple of old friends from high school. One of the meetings was completely unexpected, but incredibly delightful. I was really glad to be able to see people who I grew up with; it really puts things in perspective. Jacob Klapak was one of the friends I saw. He and his wife are running the Boardwalk restaurant for the summer.

Other than that not a lot happened. I spent a lot of time thinking, wondering how many more times I will get to see the little town I grew up in or the people I grew up with. My mom said she never expected me to be the one to leave, she always thought I would come back and live near home…I thought so too, but God has a way of changing lives. And I would have it no other way. I would give a thousand lives for Christ as long as I might serve him and further His kingdom. I think right now I am too excited to be sad. The incredible possibilities that lie ahead of me spur me on to an almost dream like state at times. I expect God to do a great work in the Middle East, and it is my greatest desire and privilege to be a tool in accomplishing that. God forbid that I would ever doubt His great plan by allowing my zeal, passion, or hope to fade. If we do not dream, then who will. If we do not yearn and believe that God is “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” then we ought not call Him the Almighty.

It will be interesting getting to the states and visiting churches. I am excited about that too. I only hope that I can relate the burden and the vision that God has given me to the churches.

I uploaded a couple of pictures of my niece, mom, and sister. I guess you could say these are the women in my life.

Until next time…

Very early in the morning they came unto the sepulchre…

Hi Everyone,

Happy belated Easter. Jerusalem was pretty lively during the ‘passion’ week. On Friday me and the two girls from Poland went to the old city where thousands and thousands of people gathered together to commemorate ‘Good Friday’. They all start in one place (which ironically is now a Muslim school) and walk through out the old city, singing and chanting the whole time. There are fourteen stations that have some special significance. The final stop is the church of the sepulchre, where orthodox Christians believe Christ was crucified, wrapped in the grave clothes, and buried. They believe all of that took place where the current church is located. The whole trip takes around two hours. While we were walking I started to get hungry so I started singing about being hungry, to the tune of whatever the crowd was singing, and the guy in front of us started laughing and turned around to ask where I was from. He said he could tell I was American from my song…because he was thinking the same thing hahaha. As it turned out he was from Alaska too, or sort of. He lived in Wasilla for 17 years. He was a pretty devout catholic and showed us all around the church and explained the significance and history of all the different rooms and what not. It was all very interesting, though I don’t know how much I believe it.

Sunday Elias’s father and I went early to the garden tomb (the tomb outside the city walls where most protestants believe that Christ was buried). They garden is run and maintained by an association from England, and they had a service at 6:30 in the morning, just as the sun begins to rise. There was about 1,500 people there. Almost all of them foreigners. The service was of course in English. It was actually pretty neat. The held services through out the day in a couple different languages. The last service was the Arabic service at 3:30, which we all went to. It also was pretty neat. There was not nearly as many people there, maybe 300 or so, but at least a hundred of them were foreigners. There were also a number of messianic Jews there. Unfortunately most of the service was translated into English. I mean it was good that it was translated so that the people could understand it…I just don’t like that everyone caters to the English language.

I would post pictures of the Tomb, but again, the internet is not cooperating with pictures...

Monday was more or less a normal day, so I stayed home and studied and practiced Arabic. That night we went to al-ram to visit relatives. It was a lot of fun. Now that I’ve been here so long I feel much more comfortable. There was a family visiting them from Germany. The father was originally from Jerusalem, but he converted to Christianity from Islam and left for Germany because it wasn’t safe any more. Now he is a missionary in Germany. He is not Baptist, but it was very interesting and helpful to speak with him.

Well, I don’t have much else to say. I come back to Alaska late Thursday/early Friday (right when brother Harbin leaves…) I am looking forward to coming back, even though it appears that it will only be for a short while. I miss every one up there. See you all soon.

Back From Jordan

Hey everyone, I know my posts are getting farther and farther apart, but that is because I am finding more and more to do. The beginning of the last week some of Elias' friends came to visit, one American guy who is studying with him in Germany and two Polish girls. So we spent a couple days going around Jerusalem and other parts of Israel. Until now I really haven't seen any of the 'tourist' sites in Israel. We went to Jericho and to the Dead Sea. It was quite interesting. Apparently you can go see the ancient walls of Jericho, but we didn't have time since it was quite a distance from the city. However, there were some other ruins that we were able to see, and learn about the history of the region. Also we saw the sycamore tree that Zachaius climbed up to see the Lord, or at least it is believed to be that tree.
Thursday we went into Jordan. The girls from Poland really wanted to go to Petra. I had planned on going to Jordan to visit a couple Universities, so it turned out well. Unfortunately schools in Jordan are closed on Friday and Saturday, so I had to go on Thursday, and I only had time to visit one of them. Elias' parents have a friend in Amman, so that is where we were staying. The University I went to was the University of Jordan, in Amman. It is a very large University, and one of the best in the Middle East. They have a very good Arabic program for teaching international students Standard Arabic. The program is a year long and quite intensive; 15 hours a week. I also checked at the Physics department to see whether I could help out there. The department chair said there is a possibility, but it would be unofficial, and I wouldn't be able to teach a class by myself, since the official language of instruction is Arabic. That University also has a masters program for physics, as well as a masters program for teaching physics, and a new program for medical physics...all of which may be useful for future residence in the middle east.
I was actually quite impressed with Jordan. It is a nice looking country, and seems pretty stable. But probably what caught my attention the most was how friendly the people were. I met a few people at the University who were quite helpful and very happy to meet an American who was interested in their language and culture. There was also a man at a donut shop who helped us very much with travel arrangements. He said that if I come back to Jordan to come see him and he would help me find a place to stay and what not.
Friday we went to Petra. It was incredible, I would try to describe it, but I don't think I could. You'll just have to wait to see the pictures. There are alot of bedouins who live in the area. Most of them work as shepherds, living a simple nomadic life. Most of the women make hand crafted trinkets and things to try and sell to tourists. I wonder how many people have tried to reach those people with the gospel...not very many I think. They live a very hard life. I wish you could have seen them, and looked into their eyes. Surely our Lord would have wept over them.
This is Easter week, and I hear that Jerusalem is pretty lively during this time. I guess there are alot of events commemorating the Passion Week. I don't think it makes any difference. Many of the Christians here have special celebrations and fasts during the Easter season. I would rather celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord every day of my life rather than a few weeks a year. Hopefully there will be a lot of people coming to the church.
OK, I've gotta get ready for church. I'll see you most of you in a couple weeks. I leave Israel the 14th and leave Germany the 18th. I'm not sure exactly when I arrive in Alaska, but probably some time on the 19th. Until then, everyone take care...

Noah

sorry, the internet is not cooperating with pictures, so you'll have to wait for pictures.