Al Amana Centre Newsletter 05/2026
Greetings from a hot Oman. It is the time of year when the weather heats up, and things start to wind down as we make the final push to the summer months where things typically slow down all over Oman. (Extreme heat really saps your energy! It is now over 40 C and 104 F and climbing!!) However, this summer, we are still planning on taking a group of Omani college students to Germany for the first of, hopefully, many such programs in the future. This means, for me, for the first time ever, I will be making a trip to the Oman in the middle of my summer sojourn in the US. I’ll also be on a panel this summer at the annual meeting of the Network of Centers for Christian Muslim Relations www.nccmr.org in Cairo. Usually, my year in Oman is marked with short trips to the US, this will feel strange after 13 years, doing the opposite.
The ongoing war in the region has affected and will continue to affect our programming. For some of our participants, like those from the West Bank, it has become logistically impossible to travel. For others, it is still possible to come, but the costs are too high. Yet for others, like U.S. Colleges and Universities, the risk assessment people have lumped the whole region together and halted all programs in the region even though Oman has remained safe and open the entire time. However, we are going forward with plans for programs in the fall and will continue to work as if we have a full program load.
This doesn’t mean we are going forward with business as usual.
I have seen Al Amana Centre change and evolve over my last thirteen years here. At times I have been the only “Westerner” on staff. At other times the “Westerners” have severely outnumbered the Omanis and Indians on staff. The last few years there has been more of a balance. While we plan to have full programs in the fall, we also must prepare if that doesn’t happen. To this end, we will not be bringing Ina Laakso back next year as a full time, in country staff. This means, that for the first time in almost a decade, “Westerners” will be the minority on the Al Amana staff.
Ina first came to Oman as a volunteer with the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission. She returned as a program participant, and later a 2-year contract. The contract is up this summer, and with all the uncertainty of the coming year, we decided not to renew it. It is a sad day for us at Al Amana to say farewell and thank you to Ina. Ina has brought a good work ethic and passion to both improving Al Amana operations, but also to helping us to host groups. Her attention to detail and her being available to the participants has been a valuable part of the work here. She will leave Al Amana better than she found it.
The positive side of this decision is that in the coming year we will need to offer per diem work to more local Omanis, especially in helping us to host groups. We will also be seeking to have a local entity work with our social media posts to create both English and Arabic versions to further help local Omanis understand what we do and to invite them to join us in promoting peace and understanding between people. Other permanent staff will be picking up the work Ina has been doing, but they are able to do so because of the work Ina has done to set up the systems we now use. In the end, Al Amana will have more flexibility to adapt and meet the changing needs of the work we are called to do. Thank you Ina!
Lastly, a few years ago, a friend of the Centre was here with a group of high school students. His son was part of the group. His son asked him, “What will Justin do after we leave??” My friend responded, “Plan and get ready for the next group!” The son replied “Well that stinks!” It doesn’t stink, it is part of the never-ending cycle of doing, preparing, evaluating, and repeating. There is a lot that goes on between programs, and even more so as we try to adapt to an ever-changing world. Below we will give you a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes and between the groups. Al Amana Centre is an effort and much happens that people never see. Thank you team for all your hard and good work.
Peace,
Rev. Justin Meyers
Executive Director
Reflections
Maybe you are curious what Al Amana Centre does behind the scenes, when we are not actively hosting groups on site? Well, it’s your lucky day! Here is a glimpse of a day in the life of Al Amana staff. Much of our work requires whole team involvement across all levels of programmatic and operational needs. We are blessed to have such a diverse and talented staff.
These days, Justin and Mohammed are meeting and networking with Omani colleagues and local contacts, coordinating a group of Omani students to Germany this summer, in addition to planning other summer travels and engagements. Also, Justin attends to staff matters, spends time writing, and he is applying to New Brunswick Theological Seminary for his D.Min. Both often have collaborative zoom meetings with current and future partners. Justin and Mohammed prioritize planning for the future of Al Amana Centre.
There is daily administrative work. We all have a part in keeping Al Amana Centre functioning and organized at a high level. Ina mainly focuses on program development, social media and communications, and manages our internal platforms. Ina will also be planning and connecting with partners in Finland this summer. Often, Josh and Catherine are collaborating on budgets. Catherine keeps track of financials coming in and going out and all the details that that entails. Josh prioritizes policy development, staff training, and ensuring good governance in all aspects of Al Amana. Currently, Stephanie is focusing on grants, scanning historical documents, organizing physical and digital documents and gathering reflections from past participants. Ali and Asok play an important role in providing hospitality, maintaining and overseeing the maintenance of the buildings, grounds and vehicles. Asok also cleans, and runs necessary errands to the bank, post office, and government buildings. Ali manages day-to-day business administration, including obtaining visas and other required government documents, and is up to date with all our contract and insurance renewals. Ali represents Al Amana as our public relations officer.
During our time in the office we sometimes take breaks together – mainly to do some tea runs and stretch our legs a little around the block. Sometimes we even get Ashok’s homemade tea (don’t be jealous). In our big garden we also have different kinds of plants that Ashok takes care of. Once or twice a week we harvest some vegetables from there too, as a little break between our tasks and when we are courageous enough to go out in the sunlight (if you know the Oman heat, you know what we are talking about!).
We keep busy, but miss our groups! Thank you for your continued support!
Weekly staff meetings- a time for connection, to share updates, reflections, learning and discussions of future plans.
(Missing from photo: Ashok-he is on annual leave)
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