Sept 26-From Tom: Preparing to Go
When Brent Strong asked if we would like to come and work at the American University of Madaba, I seriously thought that Ronna would look at me and say "H--- no!!" I had asked her if she would like to visit Jerusalem and she said it was too dangerous. So I was expecting a rejection. When I explained the request she said she thought it would be interesting, considering the historical, religious, cultural, educational interest and challenges. We thought about it for about a week, seeking confirmation in our own way. Both of us felt very peaceful about it. And what's more, miracles started happening.

We still needed to rent our house to cover ongoing costs. Matt and Jen Holste, a wonderful family in our ward needed a home to rent to stay in the ward. Matt worked for me and was very talented at fixing  things and we knew they both would care for the house. My office offered to pay in advance for having me remain as a consultant to them for the year. Little did we know that we would need just that amount to get set up in Jordan. AUM was going to pay me, but it was about 1/3 of what I was making and we needed to cover the difference. It was happening.

When I announced our decision in the City Council, some had tears in their eyes and they gave me an ovation. The headline in the Herald Journal the next day read " PEACE MISSION". It was beautifully written about how Ronna and I were going to teach in Jordan and that somehow that might contribute to peace in a troubled land.

There were so many people that expressed support, hope, love and well wishes it was incredible. I had three people approach me in a two hour period saying they were praying for us. I did not know these people. I had many calls and emails also giving supportive messages. Many looked at us like they thought it would be the last time they saw us. Obviously, it all sounded crazy considering the horrible conflict going on in neighboring Syria plus Iraq and Egypt, all neighboring countries. Yet we felt a peaceful feeling about Jordan. I described it as a "lillypad of tranquility within a sea of insanity". It has proven to be true.

When I started looking to give away instead of getting, it caused a significant change in me, personally. For example, we had about 6,500 old sets of drawings in our basement archive. I was almost paralyzed trying to figure out what to do. This was our work for over 33 years. It included most of the work done in Cache Valley for a significant period of time. It was hard to consider throwing it out, but I needed to empty the basement. I sometimes would walk back and forth going from one rack to another.

Then I started grouping them into what we would take to the Salt Lake Archive,  those I would take to past clients and some files that needed to be shredded. As I took many of the drawing sets to past clients it was a "closure" that allowed me to move on. I believe I delivered hundreds of sets; some were to small clients with a single project like Dr. Jon Landeen and some were hundreds going to IHC or the LDS Church. These were all wonderful, healing experiences. Instead of looking to get projects, I was letting go, giving things back. I think it was necessary for me, even though it took weeks to accomplish.

The bigger effort was clearing our house!!!

The most underrated phrase is, " we'll just move it to storage"
Ya, right! Just move 43 years of life to a small box with a door. Both Ronna and I can't get rid of stuff easily, and we both think the problem is caused by the other person. We are both in a big case of denial.  We also said it would be easy once Chandi and Geoff moved their stuff. Right!! We kept finding new boxes marked "Ronna to sort" or "Tom's memorabilia" or "Urgent papers" dated 1972. Boxes of Sunday School Lessons, yarn for future crafts, photos, letters from someone, birthday cards, lesson manuals, clothes that don't fit, wires for technology we don't have, etc. This was good for us to be forced to face it. We had marvelous help from Chandi and Geoff, Lindee and Justin, Cori and Johnny and Cami. Each went way beyond expectations in getting the job done. Lots of stuff was thrown away and given away but a lot is still waiting for us to deal with it when we come back. Maybe that will delay our return.

Now that we are here in Jordan, having only brought two suitcases each, we are learning to live lightly. Sure we miss some of the stuff, but we are focussing on just a few things, our learning, preparing and teaching. I left behind not only "stuff" but connections and responsibilities with church, Architectural Nexus, Rotary, Cache Valley Center for the Arts, Downtown Alliance, Logan City Council, Envision Utah and a number of other committees. It was enjoyable but starting to become too much. Ronna and I miss the family, friends and especially our grandkids. We now are focussing on: trying to figure out how to understand people who have only a tiny ability in English, finding places when there are no addresses and no one to advise us, getting connected on our phones and internet when neither of us knows what to do, teaching in a foreign university when neither of us has the remotest idea what we are doing, cooking strange foods with water that you need to purify, using toilets in ways that were unknown to us, driving on streets where two lanes accommodates three or four lanes of honking drivers, hearing wild packs of dogs rule the neighborhoods at night and having in the back of our mind the fact that the cruelest conflict in the world is less than 100 miles away. Yes, we have something on our mind. But it is refreshing.

This is the Holy Land, truly. Moses came through here and had visions here. John the Baptist prepared here, taught here and was martyred here, Jesus taught, did miracles and was baptized just a few miles away. Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, Israelites, Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, Alexander, Suleiman, the British and the Arabs all fought and controlled this land. This is the birthplace and the crossroads. It is desolate, haunting, mystical. The people have deep and complex roots.

We have so far heard of unimaginable atrocities next door in Syria and Iraq and we have been the recipients of the deepest generosity and kindness here in our neighborhood. What a contrast. We have much yet to learn.