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What
would it be like to get married in the American Midwest, then move halfway
around the world to spend a year working in the Muslim Middle East? We
asked Matthew and Mary Ann Bates, who did just that!
Matthew and Mary Ann Bates recently took on the responsibility of working in Amman, Jordan, on the longest United Youth Corps project that the United Church of God currently conducts. They arrived in Jordan in the summer of 2007 and will be staying for one year.
Mary Ann grew up in New Jersey, Texas, Germany and Ohio, finishing her degree at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, and embarking after graduation on a Fulbright Program in Switzerland.
Matthew grew up in California, where his family still lives, and attended California State University at Long Beach as well as Ambassador Bible Center (ABC) in Milford, Ohio, in 2005. Mary Ann also attended ABC, but a year earlier, in 2004. They met at the Challenger II rock climbing camp in the mountains of Arizona, and in August 2007 they were married in Ohio.
Shortly after their wedding they began their journey to Jordan to gain a new understanding of the Middle East, its people, religions and the complexity of the current political situations.
Vertical Thought (VT): Leaving so soon after your wedding for Jordan, how have you adjusted to married life in a new culture?
Matthew: It hasn't been a problem. I think that it has been much easier being here with my wife than it would have been even if I were here with a close friend. We have a support structure, and we know we can rely on each other. We are also both adventurous and flexible people, which helps a lot.
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