A Man
Who Brings Rain
Amman, the capital of Jordan, is a dry city with a
rainfall of less than 300 millimeters per year. So
it is difficult for people to see rain in Amman. But
on April 30, the people of Amman had to use their
umbrellas because it was raining. Was this rain a
coincidence? Dr. David Cho arrived in Amman on that
day. Someone who knew that Dr. Cho had just arrived
said, "He is a wonderful man who brings rain."
A Special Day
During the last meeting of the conference, Dr. Cho
prayed for people who wanted to be healed. After
prayer, many people had to wait in a queue to testify
about their healing. Then Dr. Cho said, "Today
is a wonderful day. Someone here is healed who has
been deaf." Soon a woman came forward amidst
a thunderous clapping of hands and shouts of joy.
She was on tiptoe with excitement. She will remember
that special day forever!
The Vendors are Gone
Most of the Jordanian people are Muslims. Only a
small percentage are Christians. Of those Christians,
there are Roman Catholics and members of the Orthodox
Church. Therefore, it is difficult for people to
have an understanding about this conference. To
clearly understand this situation one should look
around outside. Because of the recent visit of the
Pope, the vendors outside of the conference venue
were selling accessories for Roman Catholics, cigarettes,
and books of Orthodox rituals. But after the first
day of Dr. Cho's conference, the DCEM staff noticed
that the vendors were gone because they had no customers.
Minister Becomes a Tour Guide
We knew Jordan was a biblical land. and especially
Mount Nebo and the baptismal site of Jesus Christ
seemed to tempt us to visit. We were very exuberant.
The day after the conference, we went to the baptismal
site of Jesus at last...how wonderful it was! After
awhile, a few cars were driving up and then a familiar
face got out of the car, Minister Akel Biltaji!
He is the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities. He
became our guide and explained enthusiastically
about the baptismal site to Dr. Cho. He had a lot
of energy even though his hair showed he is in the
evening of life.
Going into Israeli Territory
Jordan has been known as an arbitrating country
between Israel and the Arab states. This may be
because of the geographical position; Jordan and
Israel have a common boundary. But as gun reports
between Israel and the Arab states were making top
news recently, the Israeli feelings for Jordanians
were not good either. A steward said that the baptismal
site of Jesus had been the territory of Israel until
last year, so it was off-limits because of the army.
He whispered, "This zone we are flying in is
the territory of Israel. We can be fired upon."
Petra, a Rose-Red City, Half as Old as Time
Petra has been widely known because of the visit
by the Swiss explorer, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.
Petra is the stage for the Old Testament; the neighboring
district is mentioned in the Bible many times. For
example, during the Exodus, Moses and the people
had to detour around Edom and went to Mt. Nebo,
because the king of Edom refused them passage. The
summit of the Umm el-Biyara mountain in central
Petra, with its 7th B.C. excavated village, is identified
by some scholars as biblical Sela ("rock").
Ancient Sela is also identified with the mountaintop
stronghold known today as Sele', north of Petra.
Today Petra is a rose-red city, half as old as time.
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