This is a picture of a duck keychain that my little sister gave me before I left for Jordan. It has nothing to do with this post.
Today was my first real day off. So, I took a bus back to Amman and indulged myself.
Visited my favorite coffee shop in the city (not saying much, since I only know like three)...
Visited the famous King Abdullah Mosque...
The mosque’s entrance faces a Coptic Orthodox Church across the street, signifying the peaceful coexistence of Muslims and Christians in Jordan.
And, best of all, visited with friends!
(There were better pictures. But I liked this one.)
Wil Maxey, a Wheaton student who is working in Bethlehem for the semester, was visiting Amman with his parents. They graciously invited Agnes Chen and me to join them for lunch and then for a walk to (and in) the Roman amphitheater! A blessed time.
Recently, I realized that I haven’t really mentioned what I’m doing at the school. Figured I should probably do that. So...
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday at the cafeteria with the students, volunteers, and some of the staff. Although breakfast starts at 7:30, I usually wake up in between 6 and 6:30 to squeeze in an hour of time by myself before the day begins.
Monday through Thursday, there is a short chapel service after breakfast, just before classes start. In addition, there is a prayer meeting on Tuesday night, a Bible study on Thursday night, and a longer chapel service on Sunday night. I attend all of these religious functions.
Regarding work, I have a different schedule for each day of the week. Instead of writing out each day’s schedule, then, I’ll just list the five responsibilities that I have been given, and you can imagine them scattered randomly throughout the week. The first item takes up the greatest amount of time, the fifth the least.
1. Administrative work for the school’s director, Brother Andrew de Carpentier. This fascinating man deserves his own blog post, but that’ll have to wait. For now, I’ll just say that he is involved in several massive projects (in addition to running a school), and I’m doing some communications work for these projects. Really cool stuff, actually. I’ll write about it later.
2. The deaf-blind unit. This is also really cool. And crazy. Beautiful. Horrifying. I’ve only done a couple hours’ worth of observation so far. There will be much to share in the future, I think.
3. Student supervision. On the playground and in the boarding house, which I’ve already mentioned. Tiring, but oh so rewarding.
4. English library. There are piles of books that are waiting to be classified, registered, and shelved. As it turns out, I dreamt of being a librarian for like half my childhood. This job is actually fun for me.
5. “Sports teacher” for the high school boys. Basically, this means that I play basketball or soccer with them twice a week. Sounds good to me!
Prayers as I continue to adjust to life at the Holy Land Institute are appreciated.
Grace and peace.
though my lack of presence on your blog doesn't show it, we ARE praying for you willy. i am so glad for the opportunity to see your life. and hear more specifics about your responsibilities. it seems like a good mix of things you are doing to both stretch you and use your gifts.
ReplyDeletei am glad you got a day out with friends. what amazing sites. though, ashamedly, the picture that i was "oohing and aahing" over the most was the frothy coffee and les mis. the duck is hilarious and delightfully random like your little sister.