Bombs over Bet She'an – A Trip to Jordan

Went to Jordan last night, it’s not much to write home about. We were getting 3 kids across the border to go home into Iraq, altogether the journey was an exhausting 13 hours. It was quite an ordeal, lots of red tape and a bureaucratic nightmare. One of our beautiful baby girls going across, Alaa, is required to be on oxygen almost all the time, and we (I) had to lug an 80 pound oxygen machine through the border. We had quite the time explaining what it was to the border guards, but you would be amazed frankly at the compassion and grace the guards on both the Israeli and Jordanian side had on us because of the children. It’s not every day they let a massive machine through the border, let alone tax free. We were worried about getting Alaa across in time as she is reliant on her oxygen supply, we brought two tanks worth that had to last her whole journey into Amman. To not pass in time was quite literally a matter of life and death.

The ride there across Israel was beautiful as we parted the kibbutzim of northern Israel through the Sumerian hills, a flock of large birds flew off the railing as we crossed over the Jordan river on a border bus. What was on the radio on the Jordanian bus you ask? Johnny Cash of course.

Standing outside getting luggage together for the mothers while Dorothy (another volunteer) handled the visa negotiations inside I realized some deep pops I was hearing were not fireworks. Most of the attention on the war going on now is on Gaza but there have been rocket attacks coming from Lebanon as well and I can't imagine what else but mortar and rocket fire could produce these noises. The border was probably the safest place to be as any ordinance would fly overhead to the respective sides rather than in the middle. During the hour or so I was alone packing luggage on the Jordanian side I was serenaded by the sound of hounds baying at every thump in the distance.