This blog picks up from a story I started sharing in Wild Wadi Rum – Part 1. Get caught up first, and then read more of the story here.
Recap: I had just encountered a group of Bedouin men. After sharing coffee and taking pictures with them, I excused myself to go explore Behemoth, the current rock formation I was at.
As I explored Behemoth, I found a rock that was shaped like a bench and had a pillow on it. The sun was out in full force around that time, so I hung out there with Jesus for a while. To the south, there were a lot more giant rock structures hiding in a thin veil of dusty blue haze. To the north I could see the black specks that made up my camp and the stark white walls of the Wadi Rum Village. It was a beautiful setting to take in for a while.
By this point, I had been out trekking and resting around the desert for like 5 hours. Well, there was an hour left of sunlight and I decided to make the walk back to camp. It was a straight shot, so I knew I’d be able to get there easily and quickly.
Well… about halfway there I made another new friend
While I was walking, I noticed a white pickup truck driving from a small camp that’s just a little south of my camp. There are many Bedouin camps in Wadi Rum and all of them offer Jeep tours, so I figured it was some people on a Jeep tour.
I keep walking, minding my own business until the truck got close to me. The driver got close enough that I could hear him, and he said hello. He spoke really good English, so we had a pleasant conversation about where I’m from and what I thought about Wadi Rum. Then he mentioned he’s there to gather some of the dried plants that were around us for firewood, and he invited me back to his fire where he and some of his friends are having tea and coffee.
All I could see was a man who needed to know about Jesus’ love, so I didn’t hesitate to step through this open door. I said yes and started to help him pick up some firewood.
After we got some firewood, I got in his truck, and we drove over to his camp that’s a short distance away from my camp. He introduced me to his friends, one of whom was from Saudi Arabia. I was served Bedouin coffee and got to sit by a warm fire, which was amazing after wandering in the chilly desert air for most of the day.
There was some small talk, and then the owner of the camp I was staying at joined the party. Right when he showed up, the man who drove me over asked me what I thought about Islamic people. I thought maybe he used Islamic and Arabic people interchangeably, so I gave him my answer for Arabic people, which was that they are the most friendly, hospitable people I’ve met. He liked my answer, and then said it would be great if I became Islamic. Lol.
Read the rest of the story and what God taught me through it all in the final post: Wild Wadi Rum – Part 3.
