"Rain is a Blessing"

I can't wait to get home to tell you about this one.

Day 1 of Pre-Screen (In Jordan they do screening a little differently)
- Over 175 of the most friendly, shy, smiley and BEAUTIFUL Children I have ever seen in my life. I wish that I could post pictures but ther isn't a place to put my card in the computer. Wow. They are amazing.

- Gave out hundreds of stickers (Papa Johnson- they LOVED them). They Eyeball balls were a HIT. The BK Crowns were amazing. Lin bean- the necklaces were soooo awesome. Tanner- the two toys-- they kept some kids from crying during the whole process... but you won't be seeing them anymore haha sorry. I can't believe it. It was everythign and about a million times more than what I thought it would be. There are SEVERAL kids that I wanted to take home with me. One girl and I, Rahba- we had this crazy connection. I just fell in love with her, and she definitley loved me too. It was amazing. I also heard so many stories and just everything.. wow. So amazing. I can't believe I am here. HEaring everyone else's stories.. but having my OWN.

There is one boy- his name is Yousef. He is an Iraqi that had a bilateral cleft lip and has NO palate. Which means that there is nothing on the top of his mouth. It's a straight up hole. He has had surgery twice, since his parents could afford it- but it didn't work. He came to Jordan in June of '09 to get surgery with Op smile. They cancelled his surgery because his recovery and everythign would take longer than the team was in town- so they told him to come back when the local mission was here. The Jordanian team is SO well organized and everythign runs so so so smoothly that they thought it would be alright. Well, they came on their 2nd trip from Iraq over, and the operation was too complicated for the team- Thus, Yousef is back for the 3rd time to try to receive surgery. His parents have made the journey from Iraq so many times, and his mom was saying that they are hoping that he gets to go this time. He is such a handsome little guy. I am really hoping he gets to have surgery this time.

A lot of the parents are really shy, but all of them are so gracious and nice. They all know what a smile means, and all I have to do is show mine and they do too. They know that we want to help them and make their kids happy with our stickers and bubbles. They appreciate it. I know it. Some of the parents I've had special connections with. They write in my little journal their names and ask me where I'm from (They ALL think 'I'm from China ahahahahah not much different from home;) They tell me "Shukran" soooo much and most of them speak some or pretty good English. A lot of the women here are covered up except for their faces, most of them everything but slits in their coverings for their eyes. One of the women had everythign covered. She had a black veil over her whole face and I couldn't see her reaction, but she had the CUTEST little girls. I have great pictures of them I can't wait to show. They were dressed in the most darling outfits and I just couldn't stop giving them flowers I made out of pipe cleaners, stickers, barrettes for their hair, necklaces- They just had the most adorable faces! I couldn't resist! The culture here is so different. Like, there is a lot of smoking, and driving is pretty crazy. But It is so incredible and we have so many things in common. We all love to laugh, to smile, to have fun, to tease.. A smile is something so profound. No matter where in the world you are, it transcends all language barriers. It is the same for each and every language, for every single person. A smile is a sign of love.

One thing that I have yet to hear is the call to prayer. Some people on the team woke up from it this morning at like 5 or so and they sound it throughout the city a few times a day, but I haven't heard it yet! I guess I'm not listening for it so.. but I will try to listen for it;)

One big thing: Taylor and I-- our bags went missing for wquite a few hours. our passports, over $800 in cash, Taylor's journal-- we misplaced them for a while.  It was a learning experience, but here is the story in a sentence This mornign on our way to the hospital, they were explaining that it was a little delayed due to the weather but that rain was a blessing in Jordan. Well, LONGGGGGGGG story short: RAIN IS A BLESSING. Our money and passports and bags all showed up about 2 minutes before we were going to ship the letters they wrote in Arabic for us to the Embassy, our parents, and headquarters. I feel like a failure of a student volunteer.. it was stressful and emotional, but the whole time I knew it was going to be ok-- (Mousa Moushkala) so I kept my goal of staying positive- NO negativity.

The team is fantastic. There are 6 different countires represented on Team Amman: Italy, South Africa, America, Morrocco, Jordan, and ... ahh... I forgot. I'll let you know. But the team is so friendly and we feel as if we are family. Everyone has been on so many missions, and just hearing their stories is shaping my own. What an inspiration to hear of such selfless people.
Tomorrow is pre screen day 2. The Palestinian kids are coming!!
Anyways, it hasn't stopped raining since we got here. I love it. I love it here. I am safe, I am happy, I am healthy, I am thankful, I am changed.

Always,
Lis