The past few days I’ve been in Wadi Rum and also visited Petra which was an amazing experience. Very thankful and blessed that I was able to visit Petra (one of the wonders of the modern world). While in Wadi Rum we took some time to pour into one another as a squad. Ministering to each other and also ended up changing teams. My team now consists of Renee, Brett, Lee, Katie, Elizabeth and myself. What I enjoyed most prior to going to Wadi Rum was being able to guess who got raised up as team lead. I figured out Renee was one of the team leads because they asked me “how are you” twice in a span of 1-2 hours and I had a gut feeling she would be my team lead.
Now the first night was amazing and wonderful and it taught me a valuable lesson. We made it to Wadi Rum via different modes of transportation, had dinner and we ended up hanging out with the Bedouin who were taking care of us at the camp site. We ended up joining in traditional Bedouin song and dance. We were then allowed to sing songs as well. So we ended up worshipping God with them there. Of which I believe all of them are in fact Muslim. The first song was Raise A Hallelujah that we ended up singing. I just sat back and watched and witnessed. I didn’t sing a loud but sung in my heart instead. This is where the lesson starts to come into play, based on the lyrics of the song I thought they would take it the wrong way, simply because you never know how one’s mind works. In fact, God moved through the entire thing. They ended up saying they felt love in their hearts and almost teared up. We were allowed to do another song and it was King of My Heart. They felt the love of God in their hearts again and some even ended up tearing up. The lesson I learned and didn’t even realize that I needed that lesson was to not put God in a box. With my heart being hardened over time in the states apparently I have put God in a box and with that I repent and ask God for forgiveness and I ask you all for forgiveness.
DAY 2 & 3:
The second day at Wadi Rum was very relaxing. The day started with breakfast, it ended with worship and a candlelight service. Some of the Bedouin stayed for awhile and then left. About two or three stayed the whole time. The third day was Christmas. It started with breakfast and a white elephant gift exchange. I scored some Turkish delight after stealing it (gotta love and hate a sweet tooth). Others got very useful things like bars of soap, socks and face masks (spa related). It then led to exploring with a few members on the squad to look at a canyon with hieroglyphics very close to our campsite. I enjoyed every bit of this excursion, as we also did one of those slow motion walking videos. I can now check something off my bucket list as I’ve always wanted to do a slowmo video with friends while we are walking in a line like they do in the movies. The night finally ended with dinner and testimonies from everyone sharing what God has been doing as we end up spreading out as small teams throughout whichever country we are in. Some had testimonies of witnessing people being physically healed. Some had testimonies of God rebuilding broken relationships among family and friends while on the field. I ended up sharing my testimony about working with kids who have autism. I also shared about my experience visiting the church in Jordan. If you haven’t read about my visit with this church feel free to do so with the link provided.
Day 4 & 5:
Of course the day started with breakfast. It then followed into us finding out about our new teams and then followed by training for those who obtained new roles. The day ended with dinner and prayer. The last day we started to head back to where we are staying at. Before fully arriving back we stopped to check out Petra (one of the seven wonders of the modern world). In which it was a breathtaking experience. Below are some photos of Wadi Rum and Petra.
Petra- One of the 7 wonders of the modern world- The Treasury
The Monastery in Petra
A box used for sacrifices to their gods in ancient times.
A canyon in Wadi Rum
Hieroglyphics
A camel for camel rides (I didn’t go)
Beautiful! That is so awesome! Also look at that beard! Wild man! ??
Happy New Year nephew!
Michael, it just sounds like the lord is going deeper and deeper in you. What amazing opportunities you have had-to see Petra and Wadi Rum-awesome! So thankful that you are so open to the lessons God has for you. He has been showing me some stuff too and I always want to be yielded to him and be able to hear the lessons he has for me. Stay open, my man.