Heart-Shaped Clock

   Many people have asked me since I returned from Jordan about my most lasting impressions from the trip. Although too many to mention, there is this one I wanted to share. This picture was drawn by a Syrian refugee child enrolled in the non-formal education program, a program that a group of generous Midlanders have funded through December 2013.
   The meaning of this piece of art? Each day, the Syrian children in Jordan go to school at 3:30 p.m. It is the time of day they feel most loved and most valued, and it is the time of day they get to share with the many others who are in the same situation in which they find themselves.
   Sometime in the next couple of weeks, the Midland Reporter-Telegram and mywesttexas.com will publish a series of stories from the trip to Jordan. I hope you will be educated by what you read. And a big thanks to all for keeping up with the trip and for the abundance of kind words you have shared. -- Jp