June 8, 2018

Today we woke up in a wonderful hotel near Petra, Jordan. After breakfast we boarded the bus and made our way to the ancient site. Once there, several made arrangements for a horse-drawn carriage to take them to and from the archaeological site. It was a smart move for a 4 km summer walk in Jordan (at the end of the day, I amassed 22,394 steps!) Now before you imagine a quaint leisurely carriage ride, it seemed closer to being something like harness racing over rocky ground! Before the description of Petra, let me just get one thing out of the way – the flies. Not just a few, but many, many flies. However, the hot and rugged walk through the flies was absolutely worth it to get to a former Seven Wonders of the World. The walk through the narrow canyon finally gave way to an ancient treasury building. There were several other places including tombs and a massive theater. The structures were impressive! After Petra we drove back to Amman for our hotel and dinner. Most of our group was leaving to head back to the States, so before their departure we gathered for communion and prayer. Tomorrow, several of our group will land back in the States while a few of us will take a flight to Cairo, Egypt!