Daron's Den

Day One In the Promise Land

We have safely arrived in Amman Jordan. I am sure many of us looked like deer looking into headlights as we tumbled off the Delta Airbus. We were immediately greeted by a guide who took us to our bus. On the half hour drive from the airport to our hotel our guide introduced himself. His name is Feras, which he told us we could remember by the words Fear Us. "That is how his name sounds in English", he said. I must admit I was a little afraid. Not because of our guide, but because of the reality that I was not in Kansas anymore. Our guide was very kind and filled us in on some of this nations history as we buzzed down the interstate. Amman Jordan is a nation of approximately 6 million people. 95% of them are Muslim. Specifically, they are the Sunni Muslim's. The remaining 5% are Christians of every kind of denomination. Jordan of course gets its name from the Jordan River which means "going down". Feras described the nation of Jordan as the intersection between the surrounding nations which have historically been in conflict. To the North is Syria, to the East is Iraq, to the South is Egypt, and to the West is Israel. The drive into Amman was beautiful. Periodically we would pass a grove of olive trees. There were people with tables set up on the interstate selling fruit and vegetables. The interstate was just like ours back home, but was a little rough. It was as if it had not been worked on for a few years. Amman is the capital city of Jordan, and as we approached the city I was struck by its size. It is a formidable city with a population of about 1.5 million. There is massive construction, and all the buildings are white and made of stone. Our hotel The Regency Palace is also very beautiful. All the comforts of home, and our dinner was excellent. After dinner we had a time of fellowship and prayer. Tomorrow we take the three hour drive to Petra. We asked our guide Feras if he would be our guide tomorrow. He simply responded with the word En - Shalla. Apparently that means Lord Willing in their Muslim language. I am very much looking forward to seeing what we will discover there while you all in the states are sleeping =) God Bless.