Day 29
Jordan
The baptism site, also known as Bethany Beyond the Jordan, is a Unesco World Heritage site, where the ruins of Roman and Byzantine churches, a monastery and baptism pools are preserved among the wilderness near to the lowest point on earth. They were uncovered in 1995 after Jordan’s peace treaty with Israel. Prior to that, both sides of the river had been a closed military zone since the 1967 Middle East War, in which Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan and occupied it. A small cave at what is known as Elijah’s hill, is where it is said that John the Baptist lived. At the rediscovery of the site 11 huge minefields were demined and about tens of thousands of mines were taken away. Pray for Jordan’s appeal to international donors to contribute to the costs. Pray for Jordanians to draw from the living waters and live a new life in Jesus Christ (The Bible, Psalm 68:9).
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Jordan is listed in the 39th position in the World Watch report 2022 by Open Doors for Christian persecution. Despite dropping one place, hostility toward Christians has marginally increased. Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein has been King of Jordan. Bisher Al-Khasawneh is the incumbent Prime Minister since 12 October 2020. There are about 8 million people living in Jordan. In a time when the prices for food and petrol increase constantly, salaries remain at the same level, presenting a challenge. Poverty is on the rise. Jordan’s major population is Muslim; there is a small percentage of Christians. However, Jordanian Christians often live in isolation from Muslims. The Kingdom of Jordan and its people face many challenges with an influx of refugees from four regional wars and a lack of water and other resources, Millions of refugees from different conflicts currently live in Jordan.
