Jordan Service Trip - House of Ruth and Goats

The House of Ruth is a Community Center located in a poor little village named Ma'in.  They offer English classes, and skill building classes so that people can have more opportunities to get a job.  There is also a Christian Church located just a few doors down the alleyway. 

 

Rami runs the House of Ruth and he was an amazing Christian man and pastor of a small congregation in Amman (the capital city).  He does so very much for people in need in Jordan - the local people and refugees alike.  He was an amazing role model of how Jesus would want us to love others and take care of those in need.

 

We spent one morning at the House of Ruth and we accomplished much.  See for yourselves...

The House of Ruth

The backyard of the House of Ruth was overgrown with weeds.  First plan of action was for all the kids to pull weeds and clean up the yard.



Working hard pulling weeds

We added this canopy to provide shade over their patio and donated and assembled all the tables and chairs to use for various functions.  We broke them in for lunch.  :-)

Speaking of lunch...we enjoyed a traditional Syrian dish of lamb on rice with a yogurt sauce to pour on top.  Delicious!! 

We also donated and assembled several small desks for their use in the English classes

 

Nicholas and Jaden were big helpers putting the desks together!

This Jordanian girl was excited to help with the finishing touches on her desk for her English class.



The desks were assembled just in time!  They were starting English class as we were leaving.  Their teacher, Ms Rachel was a wonderful Christian woman from Oklahoma.  She was another amazing person we were blessed to meet on this trip!!

Leaving the House of Ruth to tour the church next door...  This "road" was so narrow, our vans barely fit!  They had to reverse all the way back out as there was no place to turn around.  Glad I wasn't driving!!



Goats grazing among the crumbling ancient walls next door

Can you see the cross imprinted on the middle rock?  It's hard to see in the picture, but this ancient wall proves that this was a Christian community dating back many hundred years.

Apparently one of the goats wandered over to the House of Ruth.  The kids had fun with him.

 

Jaden with the goat



Nicholas and Ethan feeding the goat





Our team meets inside the current and growing Christian church in Ma'in.  The pastor spoke no English, but his remarkable story was translated for us. 



Frank (our service team leader) with the pastor of this church in Ma'in.  Two fabulous Christian men.

 

Praise God for the growth of this humble church.  They have been able to purchase and remodel the space next door.  The sanctuary is still under construction, but it is already stunning with stone walls and wood ceiling.  We also donated and assembled a bunch of tables and chairs for this church.

 

A few of Ma'in from the rooftop of the new church

 

Our mi$$ion team on the rooftop of the church

 Another ministry that Global Hope and the House of Ruth are involved in is the "Loan-A-Goat" program.  We were blessed to deliver 3 pairs of mother and baby goats to families while in Jordan.  The Jordanian families must agree not to sell or eat the goats they receive in this program.  But they are allowed to use or sell any milk or cheese that they get/make.  And when the time comes to reproduce, a male goat is provided and the families get to keep all the offspring.  It is a way for families in need to have even a small source of income.  After two years, the original goats are returned to the program and loaned to another family in need.

Goats ready to be delivered

Goats grazing in their new home

 At our second stop, one of the baby goats tried to get away, but Ken saved the day and nabbed the goat just in time! 

Ken scoops up the baby goat before he gets away. 

Jaden gets the honor of carrying this goat to the family's house

Sorry, but I have to include this one ... check out Nicholas' face!!!  He was one grumpy boy when Jaden got to carry the goat and not him!!!

 

Jaden was a nice brother and let Nicholas have a turn!

The goat was too heavy for Nicholas to carry ... almost too heavy for Jaden too!

 

Goats grazing in their new home



Happy to hold the goat one more time!



Feeding the baby goat

Milking the mommy goat...  :-)

Jordan Service Trip - Global Hope and Syrian Refugee Camp

I finally got through all the pictures from our spring break trip and sorted out some of our favorites.  I thought I'd start with the service/mi$$ion trip pictures first ...

We started the week at the Global Hope International office in Amman, Jordan.  Here we sorted food, snacks, and clothing to be distributed to Syrian and Palestinian refugees throughout the week. 

One room was making food bags with rice, beans, lentils, and other dried goods to take to refugee families (enough food for a family for approximately 2 weeks).  That's Ken in the back...I think he was responsible for rice - very fitting for the Asian.  :-)

Another room was sorting donated clothes we brought with us from Doha to hand out to refugee families

I helped the kids in the snack room.  Making hundreds of snack bags for the refugee children.  We lost count somewhere in the 300s...

Jaden and Nicholas were the youngest members of the team, but they still helped a lot.  They were in charge of the chips.  :-)

After sorting food and clothing, we loaded up in several vans and drove out to a refugee camp just outside of the city...

Children came running when they saw our vans arrive.

Typical tent set up



Sitting inside one of the tents.  Meeting a man who was a school teacher in Syria before he escaped and now lives in this tent.

Life inside the tent...not much to keep them cool in the hot summers, warm in the cold winters, or dry when it rains.

These sweet girls on our team made hundreds of friendship bracelets to hand out to the children.  They were VERY popular!!

Jaden and Nicholas playing soccer with the children in the camp.  It was hard to play on the uneven ground and the tall weeds.

Playing soccer.

Kids lining up to get snacks.  It looked very orderly until the snacks were brought out and everyone started grabbing.  Kids are the same no matter what country, language or economic status. 

Nicholas handing out snacks

Jaden handing out snacks

 

Kids happy to have their snack bags.



We brought polaroid cameras to take pictures and leave them with the children and families ... a HUGE hit with kids and parents alike.  Most had to leave photos behind, so having a picture was a big deal.

Kids excited about their picture ... polaroid in hand

Lots of ladies wanted pictures with us too.

Jaden and Nicholas with Syrian kids

Jaden with Syrian kids

 



Refugee camp seen from the road as we were leaving



Happy Easter!

I can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted on our blog!!!  I think my new job is taking more of my spare time than I realized!!!  I'm really enjoying my work in the Children's Ministry at our church, but I definitely have less time for Facebook (for which I'm grateful) and less time to blog (for which I'm sad). 

I'll do my best to catch up over the course of the next few weeks on all the latest Doan family adventures ... we recently got back from our spring break "service" trip to Jordan (we can't say mi$$ion trip in Doha).  We handed out food and clothing to Syrian and Palestinian refugees with a group from our church.  And while we were busy the entire time, I can't help but feel like we did very little -- the need in Jordan is so tremendously huge!!!  I will blog more about that another day including the organizations we worked with in Jordan should you have any interest in financially supporting them. 

But before I go back over our happenings these past several weeks, I must pause to wish every one a very blessed Easter weekend!!!  One thing about living in a Muslim country, Christmas and Easter just aren't the same.  For Easter, there are no plastic eggs in the stores, no egg dying kits, no school Easter parties, no Easter bunny photos in every mall, no Cadbury eggs, no Peeps!!!  While it saddens me that my marshmallow loving Nicholas has no memory of the sweet taste of an Easter Peep, is that really what Easter is all about??   

Before you start to feel sorry for Jaden and Nicholas - let me tell you , they are NOT missing out!  The stores may not be overwhelmed with Easter candy, bunnies, and eggs, but we have enjoyed a most wonderful Easter weekend!

It started with a group of dear neighbors getting together for our own Easter egg hunt (re-using the precious plastic eggs we all save from year to year) and then dying Easter eggs (thanks to a friend who recently went to the US and brought back lots of the dye kits to share).  I took our set of Resurrection Eggs and shared the story of Easter with all the children present.  It was a wonderful afternoon!

Then on Good Friday (the start of our weekend), I was able to make it to church.  The traffic was miserable as it seems they shut off our main parking lot and wouldn't let people park.  I'm not sure if there was a legitimate reason for blocking the lot or if it was simply an attempt by the authorities to prevent as many people as possible from attending church on Easter weekend.  

After church we enjoyed a time of family devotional ... reading the story of Jesus dying on the cross and talking about the pain and suffering Jesus endured because of our sin.  He bore our sins and took the punishment for our iniquities and died that we might live.  Is there a greater example of love?  To die in place of someone else.  It was a very special time. 

This morning we made our traditional resurrection rolls for breakfast.  It's an object lesson where Jesus is a marshmallow (Nicholas loves this!) and after he died on the cross, they prepared his body for burial with oil (melted butter) and spices (cinnamon and sugar).  Then they wrapped his body in a linen cloth (crescent roll) and placed him in the tomb for 3 days (stove for 10 min).  Of course the marshmallow melts while cooking so when the rolls are done and you cut into them, you will find that the tomb (now the roll itself) is empty!  A fun object lesson and a tasty breakfast!!

Tomorrow, on Easter Sunday, Ken has to work, but the boys get the day off school.  I look forward to finishing our devotional and talking to the boys about the resurrection and the life we have in Christ Jesus our Savior.  We also have to finish our resurrection egg devotionals tomorrow too!  So 2 Bible times in one day!  What a way to spend Easter Sunday!!  Right?

The boys will also get a visit from the Easter bunny with a few small gifts and eggs hidden around the house tomorrow morning when they wake up.  It will be the start of our Easter Sunday, but it won't be the focus of our day and for that I'm grateful.  I love my children and I want them to know the real meaning of Easter.

It's late and I must get to bed but again, Happy Easter to everyone and I promise to catch up and post pictures soon!!!!