Category Archives: Middle East

Israel, Middle East

Life Prevails – Lessons from the Negev Desert of Israel

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“Boom!…Boom!…” the earth trembled with hollow echoes from a distance.

“What is that?!” I gasped.

“Bombings from artillery.”

Wide-eyed with disbelief, I stared at Steve. He didn’t say anything more, and so I kept silent.

“Ta ta ta ta a ta….ta ta ta ta ta…ta ta ta ta…”

I whipped my head around again and asked, “What is that sound?”

“Machine gun sound—”

Before I even had a chance to respond, a loud noise boomed from the sky overpowering all conversation. Four F-161 fighter jets streaked right above us in a straight line over the orchard.

Steve looked me and smiled: “Don’t worry, you’ll get use to it.” Continue reading Life Prevails – Lessons from the Negev Desert of Israel →

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Egypt, Ending, India, Middle East, South Asia

Joani, My Second Chance

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Being stuck together with your family for a year is quite a feat. When I say “stuck” I don’t mean the staying in the same house for 18 years kind of “stuck” (because I already did that). I mean really stuck. For a whole year as we traveled around the world, we shared the same food, slept in the same beds, used the same bathrooms, fought for the same computers, watched the same TV shows, and all suffered the invasion of our private space. But being “stuck” is also what brought my sister closer to me. This trip not only gave me back a sister, but also a friend.

Continue reading Joani, My Second Chance →

Ending, Israel, Jordan, Middle East

Willing to be Humble – My Mom

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My mom picked up her needle and thread and started working on the hole on my jeans again. This was her 5th time working on the same hole. Because of the length of our travel and the restraint in space, our limited clothing wore out quickly. Within months my jeans thinned out to the point of no return and everyday new holes would appear or old patches would break again. Despite this hopeless cycle, my mom was still willing to put time and effort into fixing my pants when even I had given up. It is such a spirit that kept me going many times in life when I wanted to give up. My mom is far from perfect, but willingness and humility are two qualities of hers that has left a deep impact on my life.

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Middle East, Turkey

A Matter of Perspective – Cappadocia, Turkey

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Joani panicked.

“What do I do? What do I do? Tell me please.” Joani cried out desperately to me as I reached out my hands trying to grab her feet. “I don’t see anything.”

“Put your weight on your hands then reach down with your left foot as far as you can,” I coached her as she cling tightly with her two hands on a shallow indentation on right side of a sandstone shaft. “You will find a small foothold then go down more with your right foot.”

“I am going to die!” Joani yelled. Continue reading A Matter of Perspective – Cappadocia, Turkey →