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Mafraq, Jordan

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Eerie stillness all around. No music, no vehicles on the road, no talking, just quiet. And then it starts. Four o'clock in the morning and the broadcast of prayers begins, the solo male voice calling out over the loudspeakers from the mosque a few blocks away. The faint echo comes back from far across the land. The picture above was shot from the walkway on the fourth floor of the Alliance church, where I spent a week with four other Oklahoma lads, visiting Syrian refugees, working in a local school, and learning about the situations and daily lives of the displaced people housed in Mafraq. It was an eye-opening experience, and one that will not soon recede from my memory. I will not say much about my time there, as many others express the situation much better. I will, however, share a couple of photos and explain them. The first photo includes Trait and two others working in the area. We were doing a home visit, which includes taking a box of food supplies, visitation, som...
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Catching up...   Lots has transpired since last post...end of January Mom Gardner joined Dad and the heavenly host, a couple weeks later we lost a young colleague at school. Spring break and COVID 19 hit at the same time and school was completed online for the spring semester. The Floyd murder, Taylor shooting and a couple other events triggered nationwide protests against police brutality, with the President throwing the proverbial gas on the fire with his rhetoric. The fall semester began with classes, but we've cancelled choir one week already, due to the pandemic and two more creative arts students are dealing with it this week. But things are looking up. Kids are doing fine, grandkids are growing up, all seven of them, and spring is only five months away. Maybe I'll write again before the spring equinox?
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The Mockingbird Conference

     The past week was chock full of interesting learning and inspirational moments, culminating in a Fall Break of relaxing and chilling, my favorite pastime. Wednesday evening I accompanied my father-in-law to a worship service at the Christ At The Checkpoint event in Midwest City, where we heard Grace speak of her experiences and appeal for prayers as she and her husband deal with separation due to Visa issues. Dr. Munther had prepared us by leading some songs in Arabic, which went well in my humble opinion, and set us up nicely to hear from Grace, and then from the featured speaker, Archbishop Elias Chacour. Dr. Chacour also had several stories to share, stories of the struggles faced daily by Palestinian Christians in the face of the Jewish-Palestinian conflict. That whole situation bears its own unpacking, and so it will be.      The weekend before, I had attended the Mockingbird Conference held at All Souls Episcopal Church in Oklahoma City. It was...
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