Update #3 Middle East

Hey! Alina here. Our travels were long with just a few rough patches, but overall it went pretty smoothly. Praise God for safe travels. We are so excited to finally be here and experience this beautiful culture and country.  

Our partner organization is absolutely lovely! The library is amazing. It is not a huge library, but it gives a very homey, welcoming and comfortable feeling. There are rooms dedicated to different subjects like fiction, science, family and kids. They even have some of my favorite books that I don’t usually see in libraries. Also, the staff is so kind and knowledgeable. I’ve loved getting to talk to them. 

I am so thankful that God has allowed us to be here to impact the people in this country and experience their culture. We’re praying for God to use us to bless them and trusting that he will according to his purpose. 

We had a wonderful dinner all together with our field workers and afterwards, we got some delicious ice cream. It was nice walking around the city and spending time with each other. 

We can not wait for the rest of our trip!

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Hey friends and family, Emmalee here! Thanks so much for keeping us in your prayers, and for checking in here for an update on our trip so far! ❤️ We certainly miss you all, but the excitement of being in the Middle East and altogether is REAL. We can’t wait to see how God moves in our lives and here at the library! He’s been so good to us already by getting us here safely, providing rest and comfort as we settled in after all our travel, and shining his light and love through our new friends at the library. 

To kick it off, let me tell ya about our travel. There were many ups and downs, that’s for sure! (Literally ups and downs with 4 flights, HA!) Nonetheless, we made it, after about a day and a half of travel… at least I think; it gets kind of confusing with the time changes and such. It was so sweet once we finally made it into the city and where we’re staying, and got a chance to clean up and get some quality sleep. The library and our rooms are GREAT! We were all happily surprised to see such beautiful floors, art covering the walls, and loads of books and movies all over the library. We can’t wait to get to work and get to know some of the locals that come visit. ☺️

For me, it’s hard to highlight just one thing since pretty much our entire first day here has been awesome. I was able to sleep in (more than I planned, but I think I really needed it), then get up and grab some coffee and get ready for the day. After a bit, we got some info from the library staff about what all we can expect on this trip, and all the things we’ll get to do! A new wave of excitement came over all of us again at that point. Then we went to a local restaurant and had our first authentic meal altogether! It was so yummy, and to top it off, we went to a local ice cream shop for dessert. 😋 Pretty soon here, we’ll all catch some z’s again and kick off our second day. YAY!

Thanks again for checking in, stay tuned for our next update! And please keep praying for our all-around health individually and as a team. There’s a lot more in store for us, and we can’t wait to share about it next time! 🤗

AMAZING views flying over Canada 🤩 This was a great start to our long-haul, 9-hour flight.
We finally made it!! Our field worker and the director of the library, met us at the airport with a couple vans and a luggage truck to take us to the library.
Beautiful building! This is where we get to stay and connect with the community for the next week and a half or so.
Free time = photo opps! The library is gorgeous inside and out, and the weather today was so nice. A great start to our time in-country!
Dinner with everyone! We were so ready for this.
SELFIE WITH ICE CREAM!!! This was such a sweet treat after our tasty dinner. We just couldn’t resist after multiple locals told us we had to try it. 😋

4 responses to “Update #3 Middle East”

  1. Nana J. (Alina’s grandmother) says:

    Great updates everyone, I am really enjoying reading them and can even feel a little bit like I’m there with you. Keep them coming!!
    It looks like the Lord took great care of you to get you all there and great blessings are coming to your servant heats already.
    May God continue to strengthen & bless each one of you.My prayers continue for you all.

  2. candice joy says:

    Emmalee, I love seeing your happy, smiley face enjoying your time in-country! This trip has been a long-time coming and I’m excited to learn more about the trip through these updates and when ya’ll get home! I’m extremely proud of this whole team of world changers and movement makers!

  3. Carol Hadjiandreou (Kayla's mom) says:

    Thanks for all the updates! I love reading them and gaining a fuller perspective of your daily activities especially with all the photos. We are continuing to pray for the teams time together. May He use each of you in a mighty way.

  4. Kim Efting says:

    Wonderful updates Alina and Emmalee! It’s neat to hear all about how you and your team are doing and to see some fun pictures! It looks absolutely beautiful there! We’re so thankful the Lord brought you all thru a tough day and a half of travel and has given you precious people at the library to serve with. Keep up the great work!