As we all know, Jordan and United Arab Emirates (Dubai) are primarily Muslim countries. Israel is, of course, a Jewish state and home to the whole Palestinian mess. So the most frequent question we get when we tell people we just returned from a trip there, "Did you feel safe?" The answer is, yes, we felt safe. There was an obvious military presence in Israel because of the Annapolis meetings happening simultaneous with our trip, but it made us feel more safe, not less.

Now for the real unasked question to be answered; Yes, where-ever we went people knew that we were from the United States and still they were very friendly. In fact, several places in Jordan preferred American currency over local currency. About 90% of the residents of Dubai in the UAE are foreign born. They may not be Christian but religious tolerance still is a pragmatic response to, "who's going to do that job." Our Indian driver proudly pointed out his place of worship, a Hindu Temple. It was close to a mosque, in downtown Dubai. There was also a church near by.

Since we went during December, signs of Christmas were everywhere. We saw our first Christmas tree of the season in Amman, Jordan...even bought a few Christmas ornaments in Amman. We also bought Christmas ornaments in Israel, from a shop run by a Turkish family (98% chance they were not Christian, but the ornaments were handmade and the prices were fair.) In Dubai, we saw even more elaborately decorate trees and saw Merry Christmas signs everywhere. Oddly enough though, the only place we saw any sign of Santa Claus was in Israel. Most places, the religious aspect of Christmas was respected.

While we were in Jordan, our Jordanian tour guide, Adnan, pointed out the spring where Moses threw his staff to the ground to find water during the Exodus. He also pointed our the mountain where Moses first saw the Promised Land and another peak where Moses' brother Aaron died. There is a memorial to Aaron at the top of the mountain. He told of the Exodus proudly, explaining that it is a part of his heritage too. The Jordanians are pleased to have these and other more famous historical sites in their country. They are pleased to have Americans experience their hospitality.

In Israel, I toured the area around the Sea of Galilee, Nazareth, the Jordan River and of course Jerusalem, with two different Jewish guides. Both were respectful of my beliefs and I learned a lot about my own Savior's life from them. The Kibbutz on the Jordan River, Jewish run, has a concession for baptisms. The local Christians perform the actual baptisms, but it is tasteful and respectful. We were allowed into Palestinian territory as we were permitted onto the Temple Mount. There we were, two Christians and a Jew. They didn't invite us into the mosque but everyone we encountered was pleasant and polite.

The lesson is that we all have a shared heritage and need to respect that. God's presence is there in the Middle East; it is up to us to reconcile our differences and feel his presence everywhere.

Merry Christmas ya'll, with love.

From Mark
OK here goes, every Texan knows that BBQ is life and life is BBQ. I’m a Texan who was born in Iowa and has lived the world.

Now, I live in Taiwan with my soul mate (BBQ loving Kathleen). So, with all these influences and in full appreciation of whom I’m striving to please. I decided to BBQ, so far, so good. Of course we live in a high rise appt building so my grill is no longer the outdoor kitchen we left in Plano. Instead it is a small Webber grill which I set on top of our clothes dryer on our back porch.

Well, tonight we decided to have lamb chops grilled. Kathleen and I worked together (she worked I was together) for the non meat part of the meal while I focused on the meat.

As I plated the meat a cacophony of sirens hit our ears. Kathleen announced “I have never heard so many sirens”. I said in jest “I hope it is not over our BBQ”.

Well, it was! First 6 firemen barged into our apartment flooding out of the two fire trucks they brought. Then they inspected my BBQ. We looked out over the street to see the fire hoses laid over the street to put out the clear and present danger. The firemen left so we settled back to our dinner.

Then, the aggressive knock at the door. It is the police this time. Along with the fire Marshall. Honestly, in Taiwan, when someone who has access to legal guns shows up to your door it is not a good thing. Since the Copper asked for and noted my green card I’m expecting that I’ll be expected to pay for the field trip of our local fire brigade.

Lesson learned:

Next time BBQ out by the appt. pool.

She Said, from Kathleen:

She (Kathleen) Says: Oops, here we go again, Anyone who knows me well knows that I’d rather eat Mark’s BBQ than anything else in the whole wide world. So today was a perfect day and how would you top off the perfect day other than by barbequing something. We were able to locate the perfect Christmas gifts for Mark’s parents today by 1:00 in the afternoon and we didn’t even start until 10:00. Plus the sun shined the whole day and it didn’t even rain. We got to take a long walk and ride our bikes to Costco. Really when you are fifty, traveled all over the world and been married for 30 years, it was an amazing day. Mark grilled lamb chops and I made the rest of the dinner. We drank some nice wine. Then we heard the sirens. I said to Mark, “Gosh, I haven’t heard so many sirens in a long time. I hope nothing bad happened.” We sat down at the dinner table and prayed. Is that a knock on the door? Mark said. Sure enough. I retreated into the kitchen, laughing. No fewer that 6 firemen in full firefighting regalia burst through our front door. Where’s the fire? Well actually, it was pretty much over by then. The lamb chops had already been served and prayed over. “Oh BBQ” the firemen all said as they paraded back out to the door. We sat down, still laughing and started to eat…another knock. This time the police were at our door. They wanted our ID and how long we lived in Taipei. I think that the police weren’t humored. We’ll probably be fined. Mark’s BBQ is always worth it. There is none better, excitement and all.

pps: from Mark, Got to say it was a great day. I'll leave you with some wise words from my favorite (and only) mother in law Donna Mae Whitaker "Be good, and if you can't, be careful"

Our most recent trip was to Israel, Jordan and Dubai, UAE. Mark needed to go to Israel for work and I wanted to go to Dubai out of curiosity so we combined the trips into one lovely ten day trip.

We started out flying EL AL airlines to Israel under code sharing with Thai Airlines. It was a direct flight to Israel from Bangkok, Thailand, but the route was anything but direct. There is a lot of the Middle East that an Israel-based airline is simply not allowed to fly over so we flew south until we were past Saudi Arabia and then our route followed the Red Sea north over Israel into Tel Aviv.

From Tel Aviv, we drove south through the Negev Desert to Eliat, a resort town on the Red Sea. The area is called the Gulf of Eliat by the Israelis but the Jordanians and the Egyptians who share the same chunk of real estate, call it by two additional names. From our hotel, we walked to Egypt but were discouraged from crossing the border by Israel's border patrol. The drive through the desert is beautiful thanks to the abundance of interesting geological formations. We only stopped at one set of Roman ruins on the way down. It was impressive and just lying out there for anyone to walk around in unsupervised. On our way back north, we visited copper mines and smelters dating back over 3000 years. When you are out walking in one of the harshest environments imaginable, you really have to stop and wonder what these ancient people were thinking, not just being there but living there and operating mines so far from little things...like WATER! The we saw Masada. It was a city built on a mountain top near the Dead Sea. Well in the US, we would call it a butte. The city was originally built by good ole King Herod but the zealots from the second rebellion moved there to escape Roman capture and slavery or death. The Romans persisted and the Israelites eventually chose death, becoming martyrs for freedom. The immense size of the city ruins really told the story better than words. Entire families watched as the Romans built a siege hill, knowing for certain what the eventual outcome would be and yet they persisted in living their lives until the final assault occurred. Anyone who thinks the Israelites are being stubborn now, should seriously consider Masada and then they will know what stubborn is. The Dead Sea is devoid of any living creatures and of course beautiful. The water is a perfect color of azure. Isn't it something how life seems to muck-up perfection.

From there we traveled to Hertzliya, a lovely coastal town just north of Tel Aviv and about 50 km from Jerusalem. It was named for the father of the movement of the Jews back to their Promised Land. It was probably the most Jewish place we visited in Israel. If you like the sea shore, I highly recommend Hertzliya. It is quiet and the beaches are the cleanest I have even seen.

Mark worked, but I took the "Jesus" tour. I visited Nazareth, Cana, and Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee. These places are largely untouched by the Christian churches so I could really get a sense of what it must have been like to be a follower of Jesus and see him where he began his ministry. I saw the spring where the water came from that Jesus turned to wine at the wedding, his first miracle. I saw the Mount of Transfiguration and where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. I saw where he multiplied the loaves and fish and the ruins where he might have worshiped as a young adult. I saw caves similar to the one he grew up in (About 80% of the residents of Nazareth lived in caves during that time according to our guide.) I saw the ruins of the village where Mary Magdalene came from and walked along the Sea of Galilee where Jesus himself might have walked. I saw the Jordan river but political realities being what they are, we only saw the first seven miles. After that it forms the border with Jordan and tourists are forbidden to visit it. Also, since about 90% of the water is diverted for human consumption, I wouldn't exactly describe it as deep and wide, but a lovely, calm, serene stream.

Jerusalem was another story. The various churches have so cluttered the place up with monuments, statues, mosaics, candles, etc that I had no sense of what the topography was even like. The hills and valleys were obliterated in the clutter. Many pilgrims were genuinely moved but I just mostly felt pushed along by the crowd. As a historic location though, there is probably no place that even comes close. So much of what we all are today throughout the world has been effected by the events happening in Jerusalem over the past 3000 years. It ids no wonder that the collective Jerusalem is anxious and weary. No place else can be held responsible for how the world has turned out and where it will go in the future.

So now we get to the Muslim part, the West Bank and the Palestinians. We were very lucky when we went to Jerusalem because we hired a private tour guide and he was able to take us to the Temple Mount which is controlled by the Palestinians. I really liked what they had done to the place, mostly because it wasn't covered over. The Temple Mount is the largest man made platform in the world and has been since it was built. With only two major structures on it. one got a sense of the size and there was enough room to feel closer to God. So there we were, two Christians and a Jew, wandering, breathing in the sense of our history, looking out over the Mount of Olives and seeing what people saw during Jesus' time. Then it was prayer time for the Muslims and we had to leave. But no one was rude or unfriendly. We were just asked to leave.

This entry is long enough so Jordan and Dubai willl wait until tomorrow. Too many impressions for one time.