Mission to Jordan
Our Children's and Youth Worker, Maria Stephenson, recently joined a team of people on a short-term mission to Jordan. The mission involved a team of 6 people working in conjunction with Highway Projects in a village called Jofeh in the Jordan Valley at a centre for young people and women with learning and physical disabilities. Maria spent her time working in the embroidery workshop with young wome
n who all have speech impairments. Her ability to use British Sign Language came in handy as it is not dissimilar to Arabic Sign Language, which the women used. From this useful tool, Maria was able to have conversations with the women about families, friendship and faith, both Islam and Christian.
n who all have speech impairments. Her ability to use British Sign Language came in handy as it is not dissimilar to Arabic Sign Language, which the women used. From this useful tool, Maria was able to have conversations with the women about families, friendship and faith, both Islam and Christian.
"I found the culture very different to what I was expecting. It was a very strange but wonderful experience to be living in a village of Muslim people working for Christ. As well as discovering a hidden talent in embroidery, I found a passion to work with these young women. God taught me an extraordinary amount about the culture, my faith and my walk with Him in this short 2 week period and I will use and think on this experience for the rest of my life."
If you wish to know more about Maria's time in Jordan she will be holding an evening in St Aidan's Church on Sunday 5th December at 5pm. If you wish to know more about the work Highway Projects have been doing over the 13 years it has been working in the Middle East please visit their website http://www.highway-projects.org/
