Waves and Stars

We're finally back from our four-day trip in the Galilee area and let me just say, Galilee is so beautiful! I apologize in advance for the massively long post that's about to come your way...

Sunday 6/27:
Today was the beginning of our Galilee trip. We started out at Caesarea, right on the Mediterranean. It is truly amazing, all the place Herod built. Caesarea is yet another huge masterpiece constructed by him during his reign as King. Caesarea is where Paul was imprisoned and eventually appealed to Caesar for his release. We read this passage while at Caesarea and took time to think about all that Paul went through and the extreme faith it took him to get through it all. It's incredible that after Paul was unjustly imprisoned for two years, he was still able to testify in Rome. I think we are so quick to doubt God's goodness in times of trouble, but the reality is that God is always good, no matter how hard things get. It's simply that when we're in the midst of the storm, we can't see the good that God will bring from it. This is where we are called to cling to the truth that God is good, and Paul very clearly understood this. He was so sure of God's goodness that he was able to stay strong through his hard life. How much different we wound be if we truly believed that God is good!

From Caesarea we moved on to Mount Carmel, where Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal. Here onh Mount Carmel, Elijah asked the people to choose who their God was, instead of shallowly wavering between two. He goes on the challenge them by building an alter and having them do the same. Then, both Elijah and the prophets of Baal called on their respective God to set fire to their alter. Nothing happens to the alter of Baal, but Elijah's alter to God bursts into flames which proclaims God's glory. (this is all in 1 Kings 18) A woman on our trip, Bev, talked about how we are presented with Elijah's question every day. "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him." Do we choose God, or do we choose to follow our own ambitions and successes? God calls us to give up everything, our vaery selves, to follow Him completely. How often do we only give up half? How long will we waver between two opinions?

After this we stopped at a rolling tomb that looked similar to what Jesus' tomb would have looked like. Then we went on to Megiddo, where the final battle will take place at the end of days. For this trip we are staying at a hotel resort type place run by a kibbutz right on the Sea of Galilee. It is so amazing here! We went for a swim in the lake before dinner, ate AMAZING food, and watched the sunset over the lake. It's definitely different than what we are used to in Jerusalem!



Monday 6/28:
We started off today at Hazor, then stopped at Bar'am on our way to Tel Dan. Dan is mentioned numerous times in the Bible and is home to the Canaanite "Gate of the Three Arches" which is remarkably still intact, preserving it's full height of 7 meters. We moved on from Dan to Caesarea Philipi (Banias). Here we took a hike to some beautiful waterfalls where we got to relax a bit and take tons of pictures. Once back at the hotel, we went for a refreshing swim in the Sea of Galilee before eating another fantastic dinner.

In the evening I just spent time sitting on the beach watching the sunset and, eventually, watching the stars. The Sea of Galilee is basically gorgeous all the time. It was amazing to look across the lake at the huge city of Tiberias all lit up, but to be sitting alone on a quiet beach. I got to thinking about how huge the world really is and how small we each are. But the beauty is that even when we are in the midst of thousands of people and we seem so small and insignificant, God sees us just as clearly as if we were sitting alo0ne on a quiet beach. Out God is a personal God that knows us and loves us all so deeply. I am not simply part of the masses, I am this precious child that God knows and loves. (ps, psalm 139 is all about this...)

And this idea of being God's child is awesome in itself. A child is fully reliant on it's parents for everything. It doesn't know anything about the world and it doesn't have a clue what to expect. It simply grows up unknowing of all it is learning and all it is being prepared for. Yet it is constantly growing and being made ready to face the world. As God's children, we aren't supposed to know everything or be able to figure it all out, we are asked to simply follow and trust that God is preparing us for what is to come. How much rest this gives us! Children don't worry about their future and what steps to take next, they just go where their parents take them, and trust it is the right way to go. What a great relief it is to stop worrying and just follow!

Our God is so amazing! With faith like a child we can follow a beautifully good God that loves us and we can be certain that He is leading us, teaching us, and growing us every second of every day.















Tuesday 6/29:
Today we visited a bunch of churches that have biblical significance. First was Kursi, which commemorates the place where Jesus healed the demoniac, sending the demons into the swine that then ran into the sea. Then we went to Korazim, which isn't a church, but contains some amazing ruins of a synagogue built in the centuries after Christ. From here we went to the Church of the Beatitudes, where Jesus preached these words. We took some time here to read the passage and process it a bit before moving on to the Church of Heptapegon. This is where Jesus fed the 5000 with the bread and fish. Soon after, we went to the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter, which commemorates when Jesus appeared to Peter after His resurrection. Our final stop was at Capernaum, where Peter lived and where Jesus spent a lot of His adult life. Jesus performed many miracles here, including healing the paralytic.


We ended the trip with a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee from Tiberias over to the other side where we have been staying. It was awesome to see how big the lake actually is and get a feel for what it is like out there. At one point we stopped the boat and got to experience how still and calm it was on the lake. It was so quiet, it gives an amazing picture of what it would have been like after Jesus calmed the storm.



We finished the day with yet another phenomenal dinner and a great time swimming and goofing off (which included a chicken fight and an epic game of nighttime monkey in the middle). Our stay at Galilee has been incredible! I can honestly say this is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

Wednesday 6/30:
Today we packed up to go back to Jerusalem. We began the journey with a walk up to the Arbel Cliffs to overlook the Sea of Galilee (picture to the left). Then we moved on to Zippori, which was a major Jewish center following the destruction of the second temple. Along with some ruins, there is some incredible tile work that has been preserved here at Zippori which really shows the souls of the people that lived here long ago. Our final stop before our long drive home was at Beth Shean. I'll admit that I wasn't too excited due to the heat and the numerous other cities we have seen already, however, the city turned out to be very cool. It was huge and the structures would have been so remarkable back in their prime. It would have been a major hub of commotion as it sits right at a major crossroads (picture below).















After we got back, we topped off the day with an adventure to the German Colony in Jerusalem, which is basically just a hip area with restaurants and shops and whatnot. It was a nice walk despite the roundabout way we took to get there (which probably added a solid hour to our trip). All in all, today was long and tiring, but it feels good to be back at JUC. The trip as a whole was absolutely amazing and filled with so much incredible stuff.

Food and Friends

After an exam, a lecture, and a meeting, we had a wonderful evening in the Old City. A bunch of us went into the city to go to dinner at a rooftop restaurant, which ended up being closed. But nevertheless, we ended up at a great little restaurant and enjoyed some excellent food and had a great time hanging out! Then we ventured over to a place to watch the USA/Ghana game which was a lot of fun. It's so hilarious when a goal is scored and everyone in the place goes insane.

We are off tomorrow on our second overnight trip to Galilee, where we will be staying right on the Sea of Galilee, which is supposed to be gorgeous! That said, you won't being hearing from me again until Wednesday when we get back. Love you all!

Free Day 2

So for our second free day, our first day in a long time to sleep in, we made the insane decision to wake up super early (4:45 am) and watch the sunrise over the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives. While we were really tired, it was SO worth it. The view was gorgeous and we had such a wonderful moment of reading a few Psalms together and enjoying God's beautiful creation. We got some fresh baked bread on our way back to the school, made it back in time for breakfast, almost fell asleep in our food (which we didn't eat most of because we had eaten so much bread), and took a nap. When we awoke at a more decent hour, we made our way into the old city to do a little shopping. We finally met Shaban, the nicest shopkeeper ever, who is good friends with many of the people here at the college. It's such a busy city with the small streets and the hustle and bustle of shopkeepers and customers.

This evening, the director of the school and his wife had our class up to their flat for dessert and tea. It was so cool to hear all about how God had led them here to Jerusalem in such a unique way and has worked in their lives in some very amazing ways. They are such sweet people, and they can sure make some excellent cookies!

Southern Israel

For the last three days we were on our first overnight trip, seeing the southern parts of the country. We saw so many amazing places, so I'll try to stick to the abridged version...

Tuesday 6/22:
We stood today in the Elah Valley, where David fought and conquered Goliath. We reenacted the event with a skit and then moved on to Tel Azekah, where we overlooked the whole valley from above. It is amazing to me that, as young as he is, David still has no hesitation to go and show the people what God can do through him. He gives the glory to God and and does not fear. He declares that God will deliver him with certainty. Nothing, and no one, can defeat God. Being led by the Spirit, David defeats Goliath in the name of the Lord. Why is it so rare to see this sort of faith today? God can use us to do great things and we should be confident and certain of that fact! It was awesome to be where this happened, where the young David defeated the Philistine hero with the Spirit's guidance. All odds were against him, except the one that mattered--He was working for the Lord.

Today we also went to Bet Guvrin (aka Maresha) where there are huge caves that date back to the Byzantine period. During the Roman persecution of Christians, it is said that many of them were exiled here to these caves to live the rest of their lives here. After a stop at Lachish, we made our way to Ashkelon, where we spent the afternoon swimming in the Mediterranean. It was awesome to just relax and hang out for a bit after being out in the heat (which was brutal). After swimming we went up to some ruins from the Canaanites, where we saw the first arch ever built and got to lookout from a high point over the Mediteranean. It was so beautiful! (see the video below!)

We finally made it to our home for the next two nights: a youth hostel in Arad. To our surprise, the dinner at the hostel was SO good! They served us some very traditional food, and SO much of it! It was definitely an excellenet end to a long day. We eventually went out to a local spot to watch the Argentina/Greece World Cup game, which was a lot of fun.


Wednesday 6/23:
Today we focused on studying different areas of the Negev (which, by the way, means "dry" and "south") Our first stop today was the ancient city of Arad. This was actually so cool. It is the ruins of an Israelite citadel, which had a temple in it. It was actually fascinating to talk about the implications of the Holy of Holies (the inner most part of the temple where God was said to dwell) at this particular temple because there were 2 alters, rather than the one you would expect in a temple of God. Archaeologists have also found tons of small statues of what seems to be a form of an idol from another religion. While this could be frustrating, it is actually very cool because this temple would have existed during the time of the prophets that were condemning Israel for adopting pagan ways and being influenced by secular religions. So these sorts of discoveries actually strengthen the accounts we read about in the Bible. It's so crazy that all of these places that have been found and excavated align beautifully to what we read. They make the text come alive because these places actually exist and significant things so clearly happened here. And, by the way, archaeologists haven't found any evidence of idols from the time of the exile or beyond, which eludes to a huge change in the ways and hearts of the Israelite people. It is amazing how God's glorious works can be preserved by things and places like this. These places aren't just piles of ruins and rubble, but they reveal God's glorious unfolding plan for His world and His people.

After Arad we moved on to Beersheba where we talked a little bit about the time of the judges, and Samuel's sons who were judging Beersheba very poorly, which prompted the people of Israel to ask Samuel to appoint their first king, which ended up being Saul. Next we took a hike up the canyon of Wadi Zin, which is in the Wilderness of Zin. This is where the Israelites wandered for 40 years, receiving manna from heaven to sustain them. It talks about how the people complained in the desert, and let me tell you, I can understand. Just being there for an hour was rough because of the intense dry heat. However, its was gorgeous in the canyon and it felt like quite an accomplishment when we got to the top (picture below, yay!). Then we trekked over to Avdat, where there are ruins of a Navitean city. These people were pagans that converted to Christianity and built churchs right on top of their pagan temples. We saw where their sanctuary type room would have been as well as a baptismal fount.

We made our way back to Arad where we had another great dinner and then some awesome conversation between a few of us girls in the part right across from the hostel (and we found swings!). Then we topped off the day with a card game and some gross cheetos (they were peanut flavored, do you know how weird it is to taste peanuts when you think it's going to be cheese?) and went off to bed.














We climbed all the way up this crazy thing!

Thursday 6/24:
Today was our Dead Sea field trip! We spent all morning at Masada, which is beyond amazing. Masada is one of the fortress' Herod built in case his people tried to rise up against him. The fortress is right on the dead sea, with a beautiful view from the top. You can still see a lot of the original structures, including the siege ramp used by the Romans when they attacked the Zealots that took over Masada after Herod's death. You can even see the places where the Roman camps were located around the base of the mountain. Herod was no minimalist, that is for sure. the buildings are large and elaborate, with detailed architecture, painting, and tile mosaics. Architects today still can't figure out how he built some of the things he built. His palace would have been absolutely stunning, with the most amazing view over the Dead Sea looking across at the mountains of Moab. He had three levels to his palace with large patios that look out over the land, which you can see there today. The craziest part was climbing down. The climb up was on the side by the seige ramp, which is 300 ft from the base to the top, so it wasn't too terrible. The way down on the other side, however, is a solid 1300 ft from base to top. To walk it you take the "snake path" which is exactly what it sounds like. It winds all the way down the side of Masada (picture below). Now, going down doesn't seem like it would be hard, but let me tell you, it was brutal. It definitely felt like quite the accomplishment!

After Masada, we moved on to En Gedi, one of David's stops during his flight from Saul, where he may have composed a good number of the Psalms. Here we actually got to swim in the Dead Sea for a bit (the 2nd picture below)! At 25-30% salinity (salt content), they aren't kidding when they say you bob liek a cork. It takes work NOT to float and every single tiny open wound an your body stings like crazy. It was so cool though!

Our last stop was Qumran before we made our way back to Jerusalem. This is where they found the Dead Sea scrolls, which are the earliest copies of the New Testament books we have (except Esther, they didn't find any copies of that). It was so cool to walk around here and see some of the caves where the pieces were found.

Once back in Jerusalem, and still so tired from the last few days, we made a grocery store run for snacks. This turned out to be the most entertaining grocery store experience ever and we discovered these weird biscuit thingys that the cashier said were "the best thing ever" that are now my new favorite thing. He was so right. So all in all it was a great few days! Now it's time to study for the exam tomorrow!















The side of Masada we walked down, it's ways taller than it looks.















floating in the Dead Sea

Video from Herodian

I've been trying to post this video for days...it goes with the post above about Herodium!

Exam day number 1

This morning was another free morning, with our exam and a lecture in the afternoon. I finally got to sleep in a bit which was so excellent! It was great having a break from waking up at 630, as we have been almost the whole time. The exam wasn't too bad at all, a bit tricky, but not bad. It was a nice day just to hang around campus doing a little studying and taking it easy. We didn't even leave campus til 7 pm! We've been out and about every day so far and we are exhausted by days end, so it was refreshing to not have a schedule and just hang out. A few of us girls walked into West Jerusalem to a little coffee shop and had some snacks and whatnot for a bit which was so nice. The we came back and topped that off with an awesome game of cards out on the patio at the school. It was a very pleasant day if I do say so myself!

Tomorrow we are off on our first overnight trip, down to the Negev (the southern area of Israel). I don't now how much internet access I will have (probably none at all) but I promise to update you all when we get back to Jerusalem on Thursday night! A little preview though: I am pretty sure we get to swim in the Mediterranean tomorrow, and the Dead Sea on Thursday :)

Free Day!

Today we had a free day with no classes and the freedom to do whatever we wanted! It was awesome to just get to relax without and schedule and wander around as we pleased. In the morning a bunch of us went to Christ Church, just inside Jaffa Gate in the Old City. It was so cool. It was all in English, some of it was more traditional while some of it was very contemporary, and I'm pretty sure the pastors were Americans or Canadians because they didn't have an accent at all. It was really cool though singing worship songs in both English and Hebrew.

Then we trekked into the Jewish Quarter to have some authentic falafel, which, let me tell you, is no joke. Seriously. It's legit :)

We spent the afternoon wandering the Old City learning to barter with shopkeepers and buying fun things for family and friends (and ourselves...). We eventually headed back to campus to do a little studying (exam tomorrow...) and eat some dinner. Then we went back into the Old City to watch the Brazil/Ivory Coast soccer game which was so so fun. I don't even follow soccer, but it was a great game to watch and we had such a great time just sitting around eating and drinking coffee and hanging out.

Now it's time for sleep. Breakfast at 7am, then we have a free morning which basically translates to studying until our exam at 1.

The Lord Loves His Broken People

Today we saw the the Old Testament tell of Jericho (which is basically a place where city upon city has been built on top of each other for generations and formed a large hill). The site itself is a big hill that they have excavated to reveal some parts of the city. It is amazing how you can see right to the place where the Israelite camp would have been prior to the fall of Jericho, the people of the city would have been very aware of the Israelite army's approach (Joshua 2-6). But Joshua trusted the Lord, who promised him the he would give Jericho to them. It is fascinating that God chose to use Rahab to help his people. She was a prostitute in Jericho that hid the two Israelite spies so that the army could take the city. She then instructed them to go hide themselves in the hills for a few days to stay safe. The spies promised Rahab that her and her family would be safe and treated kindly when the Israelite army finally took control. After the 7 days of marching around the city, the walls finally fell and the Israelites rushed the city, killing everyone but keeping the promise made to Rahab. She stayed with the Israelites from then on. This is such an amazing example of how God uses the unexpected to do His work. He used this woman to protect His people and assured that she would become one of them in the end. Isn't this how God uses us? Before we even knew it and acknowledged God's work, He was preparing us and using us to bring about His will. There is never a moment where we are not guided by Him and not being used for His glory, whether we know it or not. He chooses to use His broken people to do incredible things. Rahabs life was changed forever because of how the Lord chose her to do His work. How are we being changed everyday?

Zacchaeus is another person drastically changed by God in Jericho, except this time, the Lord used Jesus to bring about the change (this would be in New Testament Jericho, where we had gone before Old testament Jericho and seen the remains of Herod's royal palace). Zacchaeus, a short man, climbed a sychamore tree so that he could see Jesus walking through Jericho. Then, for no explained reason, Jesus comes to the base of the tree and asks Zacchaeus to come down so that He could eat with him. This was unheard of because Zacchaeus was a tax collector, and was thus a sinner and declared unworthy to be in Jesus' prescence. This show of love towards Zacchaeus, dispite his position in the community, radically changes him, and his response is amazing. We see him immediately change his ways by giving half of everything He owned to the poor and paying back 4 times everything he had cheated from people. What a change! He is immediately a different person; he was once a theif and now he is a "son of Abraham" as Jesus declared (in Luke 19). And through this whole event, even as he was looking at Jesus from afar, God is using Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus had no idea that he was being used as an example of God's love that knows no boundaries and has no prejudices. He was likely one of the lowest people in that place at this time and yet he was chosen by God to show the people how radical love can change a person so drastically.

The place of Jericho is an amazing place to study how the Lord works in ways so opposite of how our world thinks. He is unique in all that He does and the results are unimaginable. Being in this place, knowing all the things that happened here, was awesome. We went to a few other sites too: an old crusader church that is now a mosque which overlooked Gibeon, the Michmash and Geba and the pass between where Jonathan moved his troops, the edge of the wilderness where Jesus would have wandered (which is a dessert, not the wilderness with dense forest like we would easily think), and Gezer. Overall, it was a good day studying the Benjamin area, even though it was brutally hot and exhausting.

Tomorrow we have a free day! I think we plan to explore the old city, do some shopping, and fianlly get some good authentic falafel!

"...But Our Eyes are Upon You"

This is the end of Jehoshaphat's cry to God after he was told the Edomites were on their towards Jerusalem, ready for battle. It is so amazing that his first reaction is to "inquire of the Lord". He faith and trust in the Lord's sovereignty was truly amazing here. The Lord the responds to his cry through Jahaziel, by sending his spirit down to speak through him. The Lord assures Jehoshaphat of His control, "For the battle is not yours, but God's", says Jahaziel. After the Lord tells him the they will not have to fight this battle, Jehoshapaht appoints people to go out ahead of the army singing and praising God for what He would soon do. The crazy part is that he didn't wait for it to happen to praise God, he praised him right then and there. He was THAT certain that God's word to him was faithful, that God would definitely keep them safe that day. So the promise of it happening was as good as it actually happening! In 2 Chronicles 20:30, it then says, "and the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side."

Why do we not have this peace? This feeling of certainty that God's promises will be fulfilled? What reason have we to doubt? If this king could be so sure of God's faithfulness, what is it that we are missing?

Standing on top of Herodium today (King Herod's mountain fortress), our professor shared this story with us. The battle described in 2 Chronicles 20:1-30 happened right at the place where Herodium stands today. Now this is interesting, right where this incredible display of God's love and faithfulness occured, Herod built a huge complex fortress he could escape to if anyone ever tried to rise up and overthrow him. See, Herod seemed to have lived his life in fear, without rest and peace from the things that could ruin him and take away everything he had lived his life for. But he also was the one that began the building of the Second Temple, which shows an obvious care for the God he worshipped and served. One can only wonder if he chose the site for Herodium because of the great faithfulness and love that had occered there years and years before while King Jehoshaphat reigned. Could it have been not only a place for physical refuge, but spiritual as well?

The things that happened all over this land are amazing. They weave together so beautifully that you can't possibly take it all in at once. In addition to Herodium, we also saw sites on the Mount of Olives: The Church of the Ascension, the Jewish cemetary, the church where Jesus wept for Jerusalem, Gethsemane, and the Chruch of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Gethsaemane was so awesome, the olive orchard doesn't contain any of the original trees dating back to Jesus' time, but it is one the site where the orchard that he prayed in definitely would have been. The Orchard itself is beautiful, with the Church of All Nations right next to it, commemorating Jesus' time in the garden before his arrest. It was also cool to be in Bethlehem, however I find it sad that some of the the most amazing places have had churches built on top of and around them, like Jesus' birthplace here in Bethlehem (and also calvary, at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, is like this). It is very hard to wrap your head around what happened there when it looks nothing like it would have looked back when the events actually happened. I am learning so much that the reality of a place and knowing the history and significance behind it gives it so much more meaning. Knowing the details adds a certain amount of solidity that leads to a deeper understanding of what actually happened. Nevertheless, this place is amazing and it never ceases to amaze me.

We topped off the day with a visit to the Western Wall around sundown, since today begins Shabbot. That was amazing. There were so many people just singing joyful songs and praising the Lord in prayer and laughter that you couldn't stand there with out being awestruck. Even not being Jewish doesn't take away from how awesome this was. The people here were praising God with all their might, you could see it everywhere. It was simply beautiful.

Jehoshaphat's army praised God by singing, "Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever", as they rode out to meet their enemies, with great faith that they wouldn't have to fight. When they finally came to the place where their enemies were, every single one of the opposing army was dead, God had sent other forces to attack before Jehoshaphat and his men could reach them. God fulfilled His promise, kept His word, and protected His people. He is faithful, He is good, His love endures forever and some of His greatest promises have already been fulfilled!

So tomorrow we start day one of our Benajmin field study which takes us to major sites in the area of tribe of Benjamin, one of them being Jericho! All I can think of is the veggie tales version where the peas throw purple slushies at the Israelites as they march. I should probably get this out of my head before tomorrow...

and also i think we get to ride a camel :)

Where it all Happened

Today was our New Testament walk in and around the Old City of Jerusalem. We walked SO much today and it was so hot out, but it was still so awesome. We started out walking through the area where the Upper Room where the Last Supper and Pentecost happened. The house itself doesn't exist anymore, but they rebuilt where it would have been located. Then we moved on to the Temple Mount. We entered on the western side, by the Western Wall. The bottom portion of the walls are still the original stone that was built by Herod the Great and there are still remnants of the original structure which is so cool. Inside the wall there is a lot of empty space and a mosque and the Dome of the Rock, where the Temple used to stand. This is the place where Jesus turned over the tables of the money changers. The coolest part is that in the original structure this event would have happened in the first "layer" of the Temple Mount, called the Court of Gentiles. The Gentiles were allowed to go no further than this area into the Temple. So by turning over the tables Jesus was not only making a statement about keeping the Temple area holy, but also that the gentile area WAS supposed to be holy. This was a radical statement from Jesus about how the gentiles should also worship in a holy place. So crazy!

Then we went down to the Western Wall. There was actually a Bar Mitzvah going on so it was really cool to hear them singing and chanting and everything! Then we went and saw the archeological site where they found the Herodian Mansion that could potentially be the house of Caiaphas, where the Pharisees ploted to kill Jesus, where Jesus was questioned and beaten, and where Peter denies Jesus. This mansion fits the description in scripture and is in the area close to the Temple Mount, where the priests would have lived. We made our way around to the south side of the Temple Mount wall, where one of the major entrances to the Temple would have been in Jesus' time. There are still a few of the pieces of stone in the walkway that would have been there in Jesus' time, so it's almost certain He would've walked there. We moved around to eastern side of the Temple Mount wall, to see the Muslim Cemetary, the tombs of the priests, and the Golden Gate. In the distance we could see the Mount of Olives, where Jesus prayed in Gethsemane and was arrested. There is also the church commemorating when Jesus wept. We ended at the Pools of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the man who had been an invalid for 30 years in John 5. The best part about this is that there are ruins of a church that was built right on top of the pools which helps to authenticate the pools themselves. People go to worship at places of significance, so the fact that people wanted to worship here at these pools makes it almost certain that this is exactly where that healing happened!

This is the same situation for the hill of Calvary, which we visited at the Church of the Holy Sepulchr after dinner this evening. This is the place where the hill of Calvary is preserved and Jesus' tomb is believed to stand. The church is a very ornamental Greek Orthodox church that was built around these sites to keep Calvary and the tomb safe. It is definately not what you would expect to see, since it looks nothing at all like it would have looked when the Crucifixion actually happened. And trust me, it is crazy to know you are standing on the place where Jesus was crucified, however I think the church really showed me how much I don't need objects and places to feel close to God. It was awesome to see it, don't get me wrong, and it's so cool to learn he history behind it, but it was hard for me to feel any spiritual connection there. In a sense though God was speaking through that, showing me that I simply need nothing but Him.

It definitely is very cool to see so many different types of Christians worshiping God in different ways here in the city of Jerusalem though. Just because it wasn't for me, doesn't mean these people are worshiping with a true and deep faith, which they cleary are if you simply watch them for 3 seconds. Though we may all be different, it all breaks down to the same roots, which seem to have began here at Calvary.

It was a very long day packed with so many sites that held so much significance. To be in these places that Jesus walked and preached and led His people is amazing. It makes it real and tangible to be literally walking in His footsteps over 2000 years later, knowing how different the world is because of Him.

Here's a picture of of the west side of the Temple Mount. The Western Wall is past the covered ramp walkway in the middle. And that's obviously the Dome of the Rock up there. The stones jutting out from the wall all the way to the right is the remnants of one of the main entrances to the Temple Mount that would have been intact in Jesus' day. It was a large staircase supported by arches leading up to the Temple Mount.

As the Mountains Surround Jerusalem...

...so the Lord surrounds His people. I'll confess, I have never been a person who loves poetry, but more and more I see how the Psalms give us a beautiful impression of God, through others that came before us. We see how these people had joy, peace, love, and awe for the Lord in the midst of great prosperity and blessing, but also during the trials and tribulations that life gives us. Psalm 125, from which the above quote comes, is an amazing declaration of the love and power God has for His people. As we stood today right outside the walls of the Old City, in the City of David (which is the place where Jerusalem was located in the time that David reigned and many years after), we looked around at all the hills surrounding the place where the city would have been when this Psalm was written. The hills are literally a huge natural barrier of protection around Jerusalem, the city God's people. The people of Jerusalem would be able to see anyone coming towards the city as they entered the valleys at the bottom, giving them an enormous upper hand of defense. God's power comes to life when you see these mountains. According to this Psalmist, the Lord surrounds His people like these hills, with power, might, and majesty. How can we ever be fearful or insecure when we hear this!? The first line of the Psalm reads, "those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever". I'm living on Mount Zion and I promise, it definitely doesn't move. Mountains cannot be moved, as God cannot be moved, and He is surrounding His people.

We also got to walk through Hezekiah's Tunnel. This tunnel was built by King Hezekiah during his reign which began around 715 BC. The tunnel was built so that in the occurrence of an attack on Jerusalem, the city would still have a source of water to sustain it's people. Hezekiah did an impressive job of keeping this water a secret by builging a wall arounf the spring itself, then digging a long tunnel to route the water into the city. It took about 30 minutes or so to walk this dark tunnel that was about 2 feet wide and ranged from just about 5 feet to areas where the top was way above us. There was water up to about mid-calf the whole time, and at one point it came all the way up to our hips, which I must say we appreciated because the water was cold and we were so hot. It's amazing to think that the people of Jerusalem chisled this tunnel by hand and it took over 10 years to complete. All to help provide for the people of Jerusalem.

At the end of the tunnel, we came to the place where the water used to form a pool called the Pool of Siloam. This is the same pool where Jesus sent the blind man to wash, after he had put mud on his eyes to restore his sight. It was amazing to think that roughly 2000 years ago Jesus was in this very place, where we were sitting, performing an amazing miracle. God had changed the life of one of His children forever, in this exact spot, through Jesus. Is that not incredible!? To be in a place where something like that happened is incredible, it's like you know that person even though they tread those paths over 2000 years ago. It doesn't feel so ancient or foreign when you are actually there.

Needless to say, today was pretty amazing. Then it was topped off with a great dinner, great conversation, and a walk into the upscale mall area right near the college. All in all, this trip is amazing, in so many ways.

Also, I figured out how to upload photos and video to the blog! So here is the video I took at the look out point above Hezekiah's Tunnel of the hills surrounding Jerusalem! This is where there are ruins that are believed to be part of David's palace, so this is what he would have seen from his windows (which is where he would have seen Bathsheba). It starts at the wall of the Old City and moves around past the Mount of Olives (with the Kidron Valley in between), then past the Hinnom Valley and back around to the wall of the Old City.

Is this real life!?

I am finally here in Jerusalem, safe and sound at the college! It was a crazy couple of days but it was all so worth it! This city is AMAZING. Seriously, it's awesome. It's just as modern and busy as any US city but it looks completely different and old fashioned at the same time. It was insanity trying to get through the city though, traffic and people everywhere. From my window I can look out into the garden of the college and beyond into the new city of Jerusalem. The school itself it right outside the wall of the old city, on Mt. Zion. Just walking next to the wall to get up to the school was so cool, and there is a festival happening with lights and music everywhere. It doesn't even feel real that I am here right now! Now it's off to bed and then a lecture and an Old Testament Jerusalem walk tomorrow!

There's Always a Silver Lining

I pulled my first all-nighter of my college career. Unfortunately it was in the Philadelphia airport. After 7 hours of boarding, deboarding, and sitting at the gate, the flight was cancelled at 4am this morning. So I am currently in my house in Maryland, not in Israel. I never knew you could become so tired from simply sitting and staring at the wall. Because while you all were sleeping, that's what I was doing. FOR SEVEN HOURS. Around 12:30 they gave us vouchers to go get something to eat and as I was walking down to the restaurant, feeling a bit frustrated and discouraged, I was thinking about how we are called to praise God in ALL situations, not just when things are going well. Even when we can't see it through the mess, God is always good and faithful. It was frustrating (and people were getting angry, seriously, it was insane how mad people were) but it's only one night in the course of a lifetime, and that's pretty insignificant. So to keep myself from crying my eyes out from exhaustion (which believe me happened in abundance), and to keep some perspective, I made a list of good things that came from all this.
1. At 6am I was finally home and asleep in my bed
2. I got to eat my leftovers from the Cheesecake Factory for breakfast
3. I got to meet some really, really nice people
4. I get to read Karen's latest post from the DR
5. I finally got myself onto a flight today that makes a connection in Paris, then to Tel Aviv, and wouldn't you know it happens to be the same flight that my sisters will be on for their trip to Paris!
6. I can now pack the things I forgot at home
7. I don't really miss much of the program (only an orientation) and I'll be there in time for dinner tomorrow

All in all, it was a really long night, but it'll all be ok. God is good, even when we can't see it. And when we remember that, we start to see His goodness in abundance!

3 days!

Hello good friends! So I leave for my trip to Israel in only 3 days! So, since that's pretty far away and I won't have lots of time to talk to everyone, I figured making posts would be the easiest way to update everyone as to what I am doing while I am there! It's a study abroad trip, so I'll be taking a class about the geography and history of Israel, from a biblical perspective! Needless to say, I'm stoked (and nervous, I'm literally shaking as I am thinking about it, though that could be the large cup of coffee I just consumed...). I've already done so much pre-trip homework and I keep getting more and more excited about the things I'll be seeing. I'll be walking in the steps of Jesus, Abraham, Joseph, David, Moses and so many others. I can't even imagine what that will be like. I am praying that my studies there will make the Bible come alive in ways I can't even fathom and reveal things about the Lord that I never knew. I would love it if you all would lift up prayers for safe travels and deep learning and growth during my time there, that God would continue to change me, as He has been doing my whole life.

I hope to update this daily (which might be a lofty ambition, I know) so keep checking for my updates! I love you all!