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Adventures Across the Ocean

In August I had the amazing opportunity to visit friends in Jordan! My dream has always been to go to the Middle East and I was so, so happy when God opened the door for me to spend 3 weeks in Jordan. Our friends that live over there have 3 children and the fourth was born during my time there! That was very exciting for the family. Among other things, I enjoyed helping around the house. We also did some shopping and touring which was a big highlight of the trip! Oh, and the food… let’s just say that I love Middle Eastern food!! It is great to be home with my family although I enjoyed my trip immensely and wanted to stay longer!

My little brother was sad to say goodbye. It was mutual!

Here are a few pictures of some of the amazing food we ate! I think my favorite is Mutabal, which is a dip for bread made from eggplant. Being amazing cooks, our neighbors supplied us with so many delicious meals. They were way too generous! If you ever go to Jordan you definitely need to try the popular Kanafeh. It is a pretty good dessert although very interesting!

Today we went to the suk (a shopping place). It was very cool- so many shops and people! It wasn’t at all touristy either, so that’s nice. We got lots of stares, questions, etc. I bought a bunch or souvenirs for my family. One of the coolest shop was the perfume shop where I got perfume for my sisters. You just tell them what kind of scent you want, pick out the bottle you want and then they mix it to make the perfume right there in front of you! We ran into one of ******’s good friends. A 17 year old Muslim guy and he bought slushies for all of us. The fruit and vegetable part of it was cool, very crowded, and loud! I tasted cactus fruit and raw dates. The cactus stuff was pretty good but the dates not really! After that we went to a souvenir shop in the mall. While we were in the mall I got to watch a lady doing henna! We also went to a sweet shop and bought all kinds of good dessert! We then went home and ate a good supper of the neighbor’s delicious food. Great day!
an entry in my traveling journal

While I was there I got to do some touring. That was so exciting! I was at places mentioned in the Bible such as Mt. Nebo, which is the mountain on which Moses died. I also saw the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. It brings the Bible stories to life when you see exactly where they happened! I saw many old roman ruins like amphitheaters, old towns and other impressive structures.

Here are some pictures of daily life which mostly included preparing meals and doing dishes, cleaning, doing laundry, crafting with the children and taking them to the park, holding the baby, trips to get groceries and everyone’s highlight in the evening; going to the roof of our apartment building! The family I stayed with and helped for the 3 weeks I was there is so amazing and I love them a lot! They are most of what made me love my trip as much as I did because they welcomed me in as family, took me so many places, and taught me so much about the culture, history, and language of Jordan. Hopefully I will be able to see them again soon!

Jordan is a Muslim country and the whole experience was kind of a culture shock. It makes me sad to see how much Muslim’s put into the religion, with all their feasts, prayer times and strict rules and yet I know that at the end of their lives they will receive no reward for what they are doing now. Without God all we do is nothing. I didn’t know any Arabic either, so that presented its own set of challenges. Although I am happy because I did come home with a very slight knowledge of Arabic!

Post by Kinza

Tips and Tricks (in the Flower World)

Hi! Today we are bringing you all something a little out of the ordinary! We decided to make a video on flower arranging for everyone to enjoy. Kylie; Ginger’s and my little sister, is the one who will be explaining all the dos and don’ts. She is the flower expert of the family and keeps our table well supplied with flowers! -Kinza

Hey! Thank you so much for watching this video! I hope that you feel inspired to make something beautiful with flowers. Here are a few tips that I didn’t add:

1. Zinnias don’t like cold so it is best not to keep a bouquet with zinnias in a cooler.
2. If you use hydrangeas in a bouquet, dip the ends in alum powder or put a little in the vase. Hydrangeas wilt very fast but alum is a very good preservative.
3. Keep practicing! A great bouquet doesn’t make itself.

Floret Flower Farms and Love n Fresh Flowers are two blogs on raising and arranging flowers that I have found very helpful.
Have fun and don’t forget to thank the One who made flowers and bouquets possible! -Kylie

Peach Syrup

Who doesn’t love a good cold drink on a hot summer day? Some of my favorite summer drinks are sweet tea and lemonade. Here’s a recipe you can use to make these traditional drinks a little fancier!

Peach Syrup:
6 fresh, ripe peaches
3 cups of water
1 1/2 cups of sugar
Stevia to equal 1/2 cup of sugar. (I use liquid stevia, so it’s one dropper, you can also just do another 1/2 cup of sugar.)

Peel and slice the peaches and put them in a kettle. Add the water and sugar and bring to a boil. Mash up the peaches some with a spoon or whisk. Let the mixture at a low boil for 10 minutes. Then remove from the heat, and let it cool. Strain the juice off into a quart jar. Now you have peach syrup! Store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Tips:
Use 3 T. of syrup for a 16 oz. serving of tea or lemonade.
Use 1 cup of syrup for 1/2 gallon of tea or lemonade.
When you are making your drink, you can halve the sugar because the syrup is sweet!

Ruth

Recently I have been studying the book of Ruth, using a study guide by The Daily Grace Co. This book of the Bible, which is the story of a woman named Ruth, has been very challenging to me. I’m only on chapter two. I am excited to continue studying this book and the life of Ruth.
I’d like to share with you some things I’ve learned over the past week. One of the first things that struck me was that even though the first several verses in chapter one make it look like everything was going wrong in Naomi’s (Ruth’s mother-in-law) life, God had this all planned out for the good of many people. After Naomi’s husband and two sons died, one of which was Ruth’s husband, Naomi decided to go back to Bethlehem where she was originally from. Ruth was determined to go with her. It is clear to me that Naomi must have had a really strong character for Ruth to know that she wanted to go with Naomi, even though it wasn’t her homeland. She didn’t hesitate to commit to following Naomi in every aspect of this journey.
“And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where though lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: where thou diest I will die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.” Ruth 1:16-17
Does this look like commitment to you? Reading this made me wonder if I am the kind of person that, when other people see me, they know that I have the truth they need in their lives.

When Naomi and her family first left Bethlehem, before her husband died, Naomi’s heart was full. Now, when she returns to her homeland, she says she returned empty. She allowed her circumstances to define who she was. What she didn’t realize at the time was that when she left, she was full of herself. The entire time between then and when she returned to Bethlehem, God was working in her life and emptying her of herself so she could be filled with Him. Am I allowing my current circumstances to shape my character? Or am I making myself moldable in the hands of our Creator? The one who knows everything and has a divine purpose for my life. Maybe in a few weeks, I will write another post about the rest of the book. Study this book for yourself and allow God to speak to you through the lives of Naomi and Ruth. I’d love to hear what you learned in your study.

Written by Ginger

Rubies 2021

Stretching. Exhausting. Rewarding. Exciting.
These are some words that describe our week at Rubies Girls Camp this year. Kinza and I and our younger sister all went to this camp this year, all with different responsibilities.. Kinza was a counselor, I was a Jr. counselor, and Kylie was a camper.

Prior to the campers arrival on Monday, Kinza and I and the other staff got to sit in a very well-taught training series. We studied a lot on the importance of having a vision and knowing how we will accomplish it. The weekend was very challenging and refreshing for me. I saw many ways I could apply the things I learned to other areas in life!

The Counselors and Jr. Counselors for 2021.

Monday through Friday was spent with 240 girls doing a lot of fun activities. Kinza was a counselor for ten 14-year old girls. She really enjoyed being with them and made the week very exciting for them. I was a Jr. counselor for three cabins which was thirty 10 & 11 year old girls. They were so full of energy, so I loved being with them as well as fulfilling the other requirements for Jr. counselors. Things like trash duty, cleaning, and doing some of the activities.

For the sake of time, I won’t go into detail on everything we did, but some highlights were high ropes, swimming, hanging out with the other Jr. counselors, team-building activities, and serving meals. If you ever get a chance to go to Rubies as a camper or staff, I recommend you take it. Yes, it’s a very full, exhausting week, but also rewarding in so many ways.

Written by Ginger