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Hermano pequeño

Arabic.
English.
French.
Spanish.
German.
Chinese. 

And he's only 19.

Amr and I became good friends in Jordan.  In fact, I "adopted" him as a Hermano pequeño (little brother).  We discovered that both of us speak Spanish, so just for fun, we would converse occasionally in Spanish.  It was great, he is very good!  Amr speaks 6 languages, fluently.

Amr wants to be a tour guide at some of the great sites in Jordan.  I think he will do even more amazing things than that.  He's a thinker, a friend, and a leader.  And he can rock light blue sunglasses. 





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Stache

So amazing. 

Painted by a high schooler in Lebanon.  Apparently, he is a famous Lebanese comedian. 

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Double Refugees

What does a refugee "look like"? 

Never assume that you know these things, you'll be surprised.

Wissam and Nasheek have an incredible story.  They are both Iraqi Christians.  Nasheek is Iragi Armenian, born of a long line of Armenins living in Iraq from 100 years ago.  "They are more Iraqi than most Iraqis" she teases.

Wissam is an accomplished pianist, who has studied music at high levels for over 5 years.

And they are double refugees. 

Having fled from Iraq during the most recent war, both of them found refuge in Syria.  They lived in Alepo, Syria for 7 years, registered as refugees in the UN Refugee Services, trying to find a new home.

They met in Alepo, through a church choir.  Nasheek was just 18.  They dated for several years, and got married last July... just one week before the war in Syria began.

They tried to wait it out.  See if things would calm down.  They waited in Alepo for 6 months, but finally, afraid for their safety, they fled to Lebanon.  Thankfully, they were connected to a group in Lebanon who has been able to help them.  They had to leave all of their wedding gifts behind in Syria.

I stayed with Wissam and Nasheek.  They are joyful, they are fun.  Nasheek taught me to curl my hair with a hair dryer.  Wissam fixed my phone situation. We laughed a lot, and shared stories.

Their families are all over the world, scattered on the wind by war.  Yet they cling to home that one day they will be able to settle in a new home.    
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Wrong like Weeds


I found this flower in Wissam's garden.  A beautiful explosion of color, creative, breath taking.

And I am told that this flower is a weed.  A weed!?  How can something so beautiful be considered a weed.  And so I start to think more deeply...


This flower is a weed, considered wrong, not wanted.

How many people see others as "wrong", like weeds:
Muslims are wrong.
Christians are wrong.
Atheists are wrong.
Middle Easterns are wrong.
Africans are wrong
Westerners are wrong.

We see so many 'others' as wrong.  We don't want to see them; they are a weed, they are wrong.

But how can that be?  How can a human life be wrong?  How can we be so blind to see the unspeakable beauty inside you, inside me.  And when I put up walls of being right, how can I ever know the beautiful things I can learn, ways I can grow, the joy I can gain from ... when all I see as "wrong". 

This flower is beautiful.  How can it be wrong?   A life is beautiful, faith is beautiful, culture is beautiful, life is beautiful.  Get to know people, you'll be surprised how similar you are inside... it's hard to look a friend in the face and tell them that their existance, experience of life, understanding, is "wrong". 

We all hurt.  We all heal.  We all love.  We all feel.  So if the 'other' is a weed, then what does that make me?  Let me change how I see.

Let's learn to see more, let's stop judging before we've seen, the unspeakable beauty hidden underneath. 
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Learn from you


Rawan.

I learned so much from her; about Islam, about faith, about being a woman, about prayer, about Jordan, about life.

We shared many things, openly, honestly, plainly.  I was not scared to ask my questions, and she unafraid to ask hers.  We cleared the air, our eyes were open and suddenly we both could see.

We are not different, her and me.  We are the same, like sisters, from other mothers, places and times.  But the same, her heart beats and so does mine.

Her love for God, language about Him, understanding of faith, ability to simply explain, friendly spirit, and loving heart was inspiring, beautiful, and unashamed.  Rawan is, and will continue to be, a great leader. 

I learned so much from her.  I hope you can learn to see more too. 

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Sameer: Be like that

Sameer Petro;  Father, Founder, Friend

I wish I had more time to visit with Sameer.  But even the little time I had with him was enough to inspire.

I have met men like him in different parts of the world.  Visionary, patient, slow to speak, quick to listen, understanding, strong, kind, fun and with an incredibly ability to empower young people. 

Sameer is the founder of East West Initiatives, and continues to mentor, encourage and inspire to this day. 

I hope that I can learn to be more like that. 
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Cherbin

Cherbin cares for the Greek Catholic Church in the center of Beirut, Lebanon.

He is also a bar tender.

And he has a 10 month old son.

His wife is Ethiopian, and he carries lots of photos with him of his wife and child.  He is incredibly proud of his family. 

His wife is Greek Orthodox.

He helps with the church choir.  

He talked non stop to me for over 30 minutes. 





Cherbin is a great, and interesting, person. 
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The things you'll see


As seen in an administrative office in Jinja, Uganda. 

The trophy was for a golf tournament, somewhere not in Uganda.
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Generous Women


 Generous Hearts
Generous Women
Smart and Joyful
Full lives livin'
Food and Fun
 Laughter and Adventure
Strangers now Sisters
Love always
Given

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Mosaic


 Mosaic; like life
Combining shapes, sizes, color
 Beautiful
Created with vision of that not yet known
Farsighted; make the mosaic your own
 How much time and pain staking labor to create
Small stone, small pieces
huge picture
Oh the time it'd take!
Do I take time to create? 
Like the ancients before do I sit and imagine
Then put my hand to action
towards somethings
that's lasting?
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The Blue Pearl


I find that I have great respect for someone who drives a blue VW bug, and proudly names it.

I would have liked to meet the owner, and shake their hand. 
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