Concluding Remarks

            Well, I’m on the plane ride home.  As of right now, I am 4 and ½ hours away from Newark, NJ.  It is both 12:22 p.m. and 7:23 a.m.  My sleep schedule is so screwed up right now that I don’t even know if I should sleep or not.  I guess I am tied, but I don’t remember a time in the past 2 months were I was not tired.  I left JUC this morning at 7:00 a.m., Jerusalem time.  I only got 3 hours of sleep, after only getting 2 the night before.  Needless to say, I am a bit whipped.  I will sleep gobs of hours when I get home. 

            I’ve just finished both my semester, an 8 day trip to Egypt, and a crazy airport experience.  First, at the airport we had to go through mass security.  The Israeli security searched each of my bags thoroughly, taking each item out and rubbing it down with a wand that my mother would love to dust with.  One of my bags passed easily, they didn’t even look though it; the other two were searched.  Because, so I thought, they took everything out of my bag and it took me a long while to put it all back in order, the airport escorted me to the front of the line at the baggage claim.  In the end, I realized that I was not escorted out of courtesy, but because I was suspected.  Apparently, because I had packed some of my bags before my Egypt trip, and because I was trying to even out weight, I placed all my desk supplies in my carry on luggage.  In this carry on was a pair of scissors, a Leatherman, a sewing kit, and all of my rocks from the semester that I had collected.  The security guards were trying to be nice.  They asked me many times if I had sharp objects in my bags, and as far as I could remember I did not.  They asked me very pointedly once if I was sure if I had any sharp objects in my bag. At this time I thought they pointed to my book bag so I mentally listed everything in my bag, and I did not have anything in there unusual.  Sure enough, they asked me to re-consider.  Next they walked towards me with the objects in my carry on and began to question me heavily as to why I would bring them if I knew they were illegal and why I would lie to them.  It was hard to explain my stupidity and brain lapse.  Before I knew what was happening, there were 5 people looking at the monitor picture of my bag, 3 security guys, and the head of security for the airport questioning me.  It was crazy; all I wanted to do is go home! All was okay after an explanation; I just decided to leave the airport a few gift from my luggage. 

            My trip to Egypt was incredible.  It was a trip of a lifetime.  I cannot even describe what kind of  cultural experience this was for me.  Egypt was much different than Israel.  The land was considerably different.  The people, the clothing, the way of life, all different.  While we were there, we saw something like 5 temples, the Valley of the Kings, the pyramids, the sphinx, some Coptic churches, tel El-Yehudia, the Egyptian History Museum in Cairo, an alabaster factory, Deir el-Medina, Hatshepsut’s temple, and many, many other things.  Also, we got to ride a boat on the Nile River, ride camels into the Sahara Desert, play with Nubian children at a local village, and climb Mount Sinai by moonlight for the sunrise.  I cannot even remember everything that we did.  We did so many things.  We were treated so well while we were there as well.  Our hotels and restaurants were first class because if they were not more than likely we would get sick.  It was on very long week, however. Twice we rode in overnight sleeper trains.  Another two nights we got less than 4 hours of sleep.  I have so many things to tell everyone, but this shall suffice.

            This semester has been a godsend.  Only the Lord knows what would have happened to me back at Taylor, but I am sure that it was in the Lord’s will for me to be in Israel for this semester.  I have learned so much about myself, the way I relate to others, the importance of relationships, what it means to rely on God’s strength, and to fully adore Him.  Not to mention, I learned so much academically.  My classes were great, and it was all information that I have never been in contact with before.  It was such a blessing.  I cannot even begin to describe all of my trips this semester.  It was hard leaving Jerusalem; it was my home.   It was hard to leave the others at JUC; they were my family.  I’ve never had such a hard time saying goodbye to other people in my entire life.  It was pretty emotional, but it was easier than expected because I know that my time at JUC was over.  God is leading me from that place to more incredible things.  I’m excited to discover just what He has in store for my life.  I thank you all for your prayers, your thoughts, and your replies.  It was good to know that I wasn’t alone over there and that I was missed.  Be that as it may; I’m comin’ home!

I'm Done.

Well, I’m done. . . . kind of; I am leaving for a trip to Egypt tomorrow, and then I’m done.  All of my classes are done.  I finished exams this week and I have had two days to do nothing and enjoy the last few days in Jerusalem.  The last few weeks have been a whirlwind.  Ever since the trip to Jordan, I have been on the go.  It has been a rush to finish some large papers, and study for some exams.  The work is so much different here than at Taylor.  At Taylor my whole semester is building up my grade, and the last week’s assignments have a little less weight on my grade.  Here, at J.U.C. my whole semester’s grade is based on the mid term and the final, and sometimes a paper.  To say the least, this last week has been a lot of work; it had been very stressful but then again, it is the end of the semester and the ends are always stressful.  I have nothing to complain about though, for Taylor would have been a lot more work, and I got to be in Jerusalem.

            It will be hard to leave Jerusalem.  I have come to love and enjoy this city.  I have never been in a city before.  I’ve went from Archbold to Upland; those aren’t quite large “cities.”   I will miss all the walking to get to the New City; I’ll miss all the car horns and the lights of the city; and I’ll miss looking off the roof, over the city.  As an ancient scholar once said, “When God gave ten measures of beauty to the world; He gave nine to Jerusalem and one to the rest of the world.”  I don’t know what my future holds, but I would really like to come back to Israel.  I wouldn’t mind living here; it is a place of such strife and conflict, but at the same time such love and peace.  One cannot fully understand this unless he or she has spent significant time in Israel, but it is true. 

            It will also be hard to leave everyone at J.U.C.  The people here have become my family.  There is only 45 of us here, and we see each other everyday.  Sometimes when I wake up and I don’t see Laura, or I don’t give Ashley a hug, or I do not say “Shalom” to Alex, or I do not have awkward moments with Seth, or I cannot poke fun at Christina, or I do not see Willy walking barefoot, etc. my day isn’t really a day.  This semester, I have learned to love the people here as brothers and sisters in Christ.  In this way, I believe this semester is just what the Doctor, or God, ordered.  Coming off of the summer and the hard relationships of the past semester, I needed people to love me.  I needed real, physical display of God’s love.  I have gotten that, and more.  At J.U.C, my faith has been tested, stretched, and shaken, but I have not fallen.  I don’t exactly know what things I have learned here yet, it will take sometime to process and reflect to know this, but I would place this time in my life as a third “standing stone” in my life.  God met me here, differently than I had expected, and differently than I would have liked.  I should have known this, however, for when have my plans been carried out; the Lord directs my steps, and His way is a way of life.  Mine are only fleeting. 

            I have learned so many things academically this semester.  My knowledge of the land, the things I’ve seen, and the different perspectives that I have encountered have grown and expanded my intellect.  If one would ask me, though, I think what I have learned most is none of this knowledge that I came here for.  I have learned how much I do not know.  Immediately upon arriving at the college, I realized the limited views that I carried and the little amount of intellect I actually possessed.  I realized how different my background has been from those around me.  I had to go through a process of humbling myself; much of my speech ceased, and I tried my hardest to listen to those around me, to glean from there intelligence.  A lot of my reading this semester has been in the book of Proverbs.  As I began to think about what wisdom actually is who possesses it, and how these people carry themselves, my mind was blown away by the simple truths that the Lord provided me with. 

            Overall, this has been one of the best experiences of my life; I would not trade it for anything.  The Lord has blessed me in so many ways upon coming here.  I think I needed it more than I though; to get away from Taylor, home, and see what more the “world” has to offer, or not offer.  I am excited to come home, though, not until this trip to Egypt is over.  I am so stoked for this trip.  It’ll be a good way to end the semester.  The hard part will be going from weather in the 80’s to being in the 20’s.  Owell, though, I guess I do miss the snow and the cold.  In some ways I feel like I’ve been stuck in this never ending summer season.  Please pray for my trup to Egypt and my trip home. . .              

Hey everybody . . .I'm sorry I haven't blogged in a while. . . I haven't even posted my Galilee trip yet.  Geez.  Well, here is a little from my Jordan trip:                                                                             

11/13/2008

             Today was very exciting.  I entered my third country ever (besides the United States).  It was actually a very smooth process.  I was very thankful that we were able to cross at the Allenby; it would have been a very long trip north to Beth-shean.  We’ve had so many checkpoints and other checks along the way that his was just another stop.  One thing that I wasn’t happy with was that we had to leave Tony and the NET bus behind.  On the other hand, we did get Zefer to tickle our ears with his sweet stream of words.

            We stopped at a few places today, after the border crossing.  We stopped at Succoth,Pella, Gadara, and Ramoth-Gilead.  The most impressive archeological sites were definitelyPella and Gadara.  Both Succoth and Ramoth-Gilead did not have much, if any ruins or any sort.  Pella had a very impressive OT tell.  It was massive, like a mountain.  I found myself a bit disappointed, however, for the site was massive, but not much of it had been excavated.  It seemed that one could dig anywhere and they would hit ancient ruins, but none of it had been done yet. 

            Gadara was definitely the best ruins.  The theater at Gadara was beautiful.  The theater was made out of basalt, and most of it was still very well preserved.  Also, both the cardo and decumonous were visible with different things here or there with some pillars lining the roads. It was a very impressive view looking to the north at Gadara.  I could just pick out the water of the Sea of Galilee.  This is very fitting for when Jesus healed the demoniac and cast his spirits into the pigs; it was in this region of the Garadeans.  Other than this, however, there wasn’t much Biblical connection to the city. 

            Succoth was probably my favorite site today.  There was very little remains that we could see, but it was the placement of the site that made me enjoy it.  Succoth appears in the Bible as a place passed by Gideon. Also, mention is made because of its skilled bronze smelting.  Succoth had so many connection in the Rift Valley.  It was connected to both the trans-jordan and the cis-jordan.  The surrounding land, also, was very fertile and provided a great view for us to see the agriculture that modern-day Jordan does in the Rift Valley.  Plus, because this was our first stop in Jordan, I think that it added to my liking this site the best.

            I loved the hotel that we stayed at in Ammon.  I think that this might have been the nicest hotel that I had ever stayed in.  Dan and I shared a large room with three beds.  We even had a heat lamp to help dry us after we got out of the shower.  Our time in Ammon also consisted of a stop at Starbuck’s and Subway.  In many ways, Ammon is very much like an American city.  It was a nice change for a night. 

11/14/2008

             I was very impressed today by many ruins.  I was a bit disappointed, however, that more was not linked to the biblical text.  The places that we visited today were mentioned in passing, but they were not main Biblical sites by any means.  With this disclaimer out of the way, I can say that today was great; we visited Ammon, Jerash, the Jabbok River, and Tyre of Tobias. 

            Ammon was really great because they had a museum with a lot of very significant items. The Copper Dead Sea scroll, the Mesha Stella, and the Deir’ Alla Text were here.  Ammon also had some great ruins from the Roman time.  There were some massive pillars still standing from a temple to Hercules, as well as the theater.  The temple pillars were the tallest stone object I think I have ever seen.  One of my favorite parts of the ancient Ammon site is the fact that it was located in the middle of modern-day Ammon.  We had a great view of the city from the tel.  I got some great pictures with, what I was told, is the largest flag in the world. 

            I don’t even know if I can put Jerash into words.  There were so many pillars.  This town would have been incredible to see in its hay-day.  It was very impressive to see the Nimphfium, the round-about, and the temple to Aphroditie.  I could not believe the sheer size of the temple.  I can not even imagine the top of the temple set upon the pillars.  It would have been so tall.  It blows my mind to think of them building these large structures.  It was definitely a beautiful site to see.  Also, the time that our class had in the theaters was priceless.  The guys playing the drum and bag-pipes were awesome to listen to. 

            We, also, stopped at the Jabbok river along the highway.  This was a very random stop to me.  It was just under a bridge were a lot of Arabs were hanging out.  Little kids kept throwing rocks in the river, and their red soccer ball floated away.  Our whole class was so distracted. The water of the Jabbok was a disgusting brown color.  It was hard to picture it as anything else, but it still had a very forceful flow.  At the Jabbok we discussed Jacob’s wrestling with God.  It was a very fitting place for it could have been very close that this actually happened. 

            Our last stop was a “mystery.”  It was a very cool site that we had to identify ourselves. Our class did a very good job, I thought.  It was hard for us to nail it down to the correct answer, but we did come up with chunks that would support its identification.  The site was actually Tyre of Tobias.  It was a very neat site for there were many large rocks cut to the shape of animals.  The whole top was surrounded by different animals.  For a second I thought that the site might have been a zoo. 

            It really struck me today how much different the Israelites were from the culture of the day.  I know that many sites were heavily influenced by the Romans, but it is crazy for me to think of Jesus surrounded by these cities of “1000 pillars.”  It puts a lot of different thorough into my head when I read His teachings.  Jesus was surrounded by pagan peoples, yet was uncorrupt.  I don’t think I can conceptualize the Roman rule, but I know that I can relate Jesus’ response to the Romans in my own life.  This all raises thoughts as to the exact time of Chrsit’s coming; it was perfect.    

11/15/2008

            I don’t know where to start.  Today we woke up and went straight to Petra.  We later followed up by visiting the Dana Wadi and Bozrah.  Basically, though, the whole day was Petra. We spent six hours at Petra.  It was incredible, and I have so many stories to go along with it.  I am very glad that we got to see Petra, but it did strike a chord of interest in me that we spend the most time from any field study on a site that wasn’t even Biblical.  I understand, however, for Petra is worth the time, and is huge. 

            The rock at Petra never ceased to amaze me.  There was such a mix of reds, pinks, browns, whites, and purples that it seemed like a fairytale land.  Also, in many places it looked like the rock was melting.  I presume that this was because of the character of sandstone after years of rain and erosion.  The vast amount of structure and homes made out of the rock was incredible.  The hills were just covered in homes and tombs. 

            I did not realize that Petra was as large as it is.  The Seq (the narrow walkway to the village) was even a lot longer than I had imagined.  The leaders were telling us that it would take a good seven days to visit everything at Petra; our group wasn’t even given 7 hours.  It is because of this large size that I and another girl got lost.  We climbed a whole bunch of stairs to get to the high place at Petra with a group of people.  She wanted to take a couple more pictures and I waited for her.  After that, we never saw them again the rest of the time at Petra. The two of us ended up wandering through desert and the surrounding Petra wadis for almost two hours without seeing another person.  Although we could have seen more, it was kind of a cool experience.  We got the true desert experience of Petra.  Also, we got to do a lot of really fun rock climbing.  Eventually, though, with my good sense of direction, and the shoddy little tourist map, we made it back. 

            After a while of being at Petra everything started to look the same.  The only thing that I didn’t get to see that I wanted to was the monetary.  I heard it was really cool, but it also was something like 800 stairs to the top.  The best part for me, was the way out.  We had to go out the same way we went in, so the first, and last thing that we saw was the treasury.  The treasury was the most impressive remains of the village.  It has the most delicate and well preserved rock. 

            The other site at which we stopped for the day was at Bozrah.  Bozrah was a capitol ofEdom on Biblical days.  It was a very impressive site just because of its surroundings.  The tel is located on top of a raised up place surrounded on three side by deep, steep valleys.  Also, there is a nice, yet very protected access to the Rift Valley.  The best part of Bozrah was the little kids.  Because not many groups come to the town of Bozrah, we are the talk of the town and all of the children follow us around.  I didn’t hear much of my teacher’s lecture because I was trying to keep the kids from distracting our group.  They found a scorpion and threw it at a girl in our class.  Also, they were just being very annoying while we were trying to learn.  It was cool, though, because it was a change from the normal flow of events.         

 

11/16/2008

            Well, it was our last day in Jordan.  It was kind of a sad day.  We all really enjoyed out trip, and wouldn’t have minded staying longer.  However, we were also all very tired and ready to return.  Today we visited the castle at Kir, the Arnon Canyon, Dibon, Medeba, and Mt. Nebo.

I, personally, enjoyed today more than any other day.  It was a very sad, and also fun day for it was our last day of field study for the semester.  Our teacher was great this year, and we had the privilege to pray for her on Mt. Nebo, were we last stopped. 

            The castle at Kir, Arnon Canyon, and Dibon were all great stops.  The castle was massive.  It was fun climbing through all kinds of tunnels and rooms that lead around the castle.  I got lost so many times.  From the castle, we could see the most southern end of theDead Sea.  It was a great view from the top of the castle.  We drove our bus on a very snake-like path down and then back up the other side of the Arnon Canyon.  It was the largest canyon/valley I have every seen.  The cuts in the rock were quite impressive and went on what looked like forever.  Dibon’s site wasn’t too impressive, but it was neat to read the Mesha Stella together at the site in which it was located.  This gave us a greater perspective on the relations of the land in Biblical time. 

            In Medeba, our group stopped at St. George’s church.  This church marks and preserves that place of the incredible mosaic map of the Middle East.  This is also the site of theJerusalem map that pictures the city during the Hadrian rule.  The map was quite impressive, and obviously one of the focal points of the floor.  I, also, took many pictures of all of the walls for they were covered with pictures of saints and Bible stories done in mosaic.  The church was actually pretty small, but it was very impressive. 

            Our last stop, of our last day, of our last field study was Mt. Nebo.  This was the mountain that Moses stood on and saw the promise land before he died and the Israelites crossed over the River Jordan.  We actually had a very clear day.  We could see the dome of Gilead to our north, the entire Rift valley directly west, the rise of the cis-Jordan mountains, and we could even make out the towers on the Mt. of Olives of Jerusalem.  It is said on a very clear day that people can see the Mediterranean Sea just through the saddle in the hills of Benjamin.  Moses very well could have seen the entire land that was promised to him by God. 

            It seemed very fitting that this was our last stop because it is a means to an end and a beginning.  It is a means to the end of our time at JUC, and an end to these relationships.  Yet, it is a beginning of the future.  We can see into the future at bit for we might know of what we might do next but we cannot see the future and this makes us a bit antsy.  We cannot see all, for it is a bit hazy, just like the horizon as we looked out; but, we go on with God grounded in what he has promised us.  We go in trust of God for what he has done for us to this point, and knowing that he will provide for us in the future.  There is a new land for me to conquer as I go back to the United States, but it is only with the Help of the Lord that I may accomplish this. Praise be to the Lord for a blessed, and safe year, of field studies.    

 

Thoughts . . . (Sorry so long!)

I figured I would let everyone know how I’m doing apart from all of these trips.  It is true that the field-studies are a large part of the schooling here, and that they are crazy-fun, but there is more that has been on my mind besides seeing the country-side.  Yesterday, I guess, prompted me to let those of you know of this part of my time here because I have not yet mentioned it.  I had a difficult day yesterday to say the least.  No worries, for I am going to the surrounding area of the Sea of Galilee for the next four days, trips always made the difficult things seem smaller, although not go away. 

Yesterday, I had a tough day of classes.  I started my day with a Rabbinical Thought and Literature Class.  This class has always been troubling for me.  Parts of me think that the only things that I can take from the class were learned in the first two class periods.  We are continuously going over Classical Rabbinical teachings (Mishnah), and have just gotten into reading the Talmud.  Our teacher obviously has a biased being a Jewish Rabbi.  Recently, I had to write a response paper about the influence of Midrash in the New Testament.  It is true that Jesus, as well as the writers would have lived among the Rabbinical teachings of the Jews, but it has been hard for me to draw a line of how much.  Were the writers of the New Testament include Midrash on the Old Testament within their N.T. writings?  Did Jesus, being a Rabbi, think that there was more than one source of truth for each of His teachings (we learn that every aspect of Scripture can have 70 different meanings, even opposing interpretations, and that it is all truth)?  Is Paul, being a Jew most of his life, a product of Jewish thought, and refer to many O.T. references that we don’t notice?  Is the entire book of James a Midrash upon five verses in the 12th Psalm, which is it’s own Midrash upon a chapter of the book of Hosea?  These are the things that we are being taught, and proven through many “tools” that Rabbinic Literature uses.  Honestly, I’ve had a very harsh reaction to all of this teaching.  There is no way that I believe that Christ rode the same donkey into Jerusalem, that was the same donkey that Abraham used to go to the place where he was to sacrifice Isaac, that was the same donkey that was used in an O.T. story, that was created in the 6^th day at twilight, and just chilled between each of its divine uses.  That is crazy!  If I cannot accept this, then I wonder how much of the seemingly legitimate claims I can believe.  In thinking this through, I’ve kind of said that it is all nonsense, and take the fact that this was the background that the N.T. authors would have lived and written in, along with Jesus.  I do wonder, though, if my idea of truth is confined to my western world-view of one truth, and the rest being false.  Eastern world-views can accept many opinions, all being equal truth, even if they oppose.  In my mind there is one Truth, and that is Christ, He permeates throughout all Scripture including the O.T. as he showed the two on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24. 

After my time 2 ½ hours in Rabbinical Thoguht, I had to quick study for a Greek Mid-term exam, which I’m petty sure I bombed; it was so hard.  And then I had 20 minutes to regroup and got to my History of Ancient Israel class that was also 2 ½ hours.  In class we talked about the Patriarchs, the Exodus, and the Joshua’s account of the conquest of the land of the Levant.  At the end of he hour our teacher, who is a practicing Jew, basically told us that the Patriarchs are just a myth that were to represent the actual people of Israel during the divided monarchy, and the tradition was fashioned to give them a history to the right of the land of Canaan.  The stories were to show that God had followed through on His promise and it was now time for the people to follow with their part.  Along with this, out teacher, also, pointed out that the Exodus also couldn’t have possibly happened.  He was not just telling is these things were wrong, he is a very, very intelligent man and “proved” it to us through ancient documents, archaeological records, and the by the holes in Scripture.  Basically, he gave us three possible views on each.  In each case, though, none seemed quite satisfactory.  I, at times, am feeling naïve in my belief that it is just all true.  He told us that the only way that it is possible to believe that the exodus happened is by having complete faith against all the unproven evidence. 

In both cases, I just wonder if my thoughts on Scripture are too narrow.  Even Christians here have a bit different takes on the historicity of the Bible than I would say.  Are we too closed minded in America?  An even bigger question for me had been, “When I continue to teach these passages to youth of whomever, how will I approach the teaching with all these things in mind?”  Can I really just say that against all opinions we have faith that these events happened.  I would say yes, but these kids aren’t stupid.  They, at some point, will have to come to grips, like I am, with their faith in the Bible and in the Lord.  I’ve seen many people back away from faith because of some of these issues that they couldn’t just accept them under faith.  Should one force them too, or it is ok to say that these ideas might be true, and still have faith in the Lord that supposedly wrote all these stories?  Our teacher has no problem in still believing that God’s sovereignty is over the Bible despite these issues.  He says that God’s revelations to the people (the authors of the Bible) were written in these narrative forms so that the people would understand and be able to remember and pass the traditions on.  God’s purpose was to remind the Israelites that they still had to follow through on the covenant that the God had followed through with. 

As you can see, some of these things have ruffled my feathers a bit.  Nothing is shaking me to my core, but one has to decide how he or she thinks of their faith and Scripture through these views.  I wanted to let you know a little about some of the ideas I’m learning and the classes that I am taking.  Also, I wanted to let you know of these ideas so you, yourselves, can roll over the possibilities in your minds.  My pray for myself, and for your is that you would be “quick to listen, slow to speak [and believe]” and to “not be deceived” for the father of lie can work through bent truth better than recognizable lies.  Also, remember that “the man who perseveres under [spiritual] trial will receive the crown of life.”  For trials will produce an abundance of faith and spiritual endurance.”  Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord who follows through on his promises!  

3 days, 3 regions, 3 water sources. Need I say more. . .

I’ve arrived home from my 3 day field-trip.  Our days were packed with visiting sights and long bus rides.  In all, we visited Bet-Shemesh, Azekah, Lichish, Ashkeloh, the Mediterranean  Sea  the “Super Bowl,” Avdat, Beer-sheba, Arad, Masada, the Dead Sea, En-Gedi Springs, and Qumran.  In doing so, we visited the Israel’s Shephelah (region between the Judean Hills and the coastal plains), the Biblical Negev, the Greater Negev, and the Dead Sea region.  There is just so much I could tell everyone, but without visiting it also, most of it can be very hard to picture.  I had an absolutely amazing time. 

Some of the highlights of the trip were watching the sun set over the Mediterranean Sea, looking over the edge of the “Super Bowl” (a large depression in the rock) at night, swimming in the Dead Sea, racing up the Roman seize ramp at Masada, hiking in the Wadi Zin, and the nights at the youth hostel.  Each day we woke up and left by 7:00 am, and where back to another place to sleep by 7:00 p.m.  Today, my body is so sore.  3 days of running, hiking, climbing, and lots of walking in the hot sun has taken a toll on my body, but it is so worth it. 

One of the best, and worst events of the weekend was running up the Roman Seize ramp of Masada.  Masada is a rock fortress right on the edge of the dead sea.  This is where King Herod had a palace, and is referred to as a floating city.  The Essenes lived in Masada, and it was the last location taken in the Roman invasion of 70 A.D.  Anyways. . . The seize ramp is still there.  Out teacher told out class that the record was 3 minutes from the bottom to the top or the “fortress.”  8 of the guys decided to run and challenge the record.  I ended up being in first the entire time, but got passed on the last snake turn with about 15 yards to go.  I finished in 2 min. 28 sec.  I’ve never been in so much pain in my life.  We straight sprinted for almost 3 minutes, it was our first stop in the morning, I hadn’t had any breakfast, my stomach was already upset before the run, it was steaming hot, and apparently I’m not in shape any more.  Ha.  Out of all football training, I’ve never felt as bad as I did after the run.  My legs were numb, and my head was throbbing; I swear I almost passed out.  All that to say that I did sprint up the entire ramp, and I shattered the record!  It was so worth it, now that I think of it now. 

The Dead Sea was insane.  The water was so warm.  I could only stay in for literally 15 minutes.  Our teacher told us to take off all jewelry because it would be corroded, not to go under the water, to taste the water, to be careful not to cut our feet on the salt deposits, and that a good time to get out is when it starts to burn and you can’t stand it anymore.  This sounded like a crazy thing to do, but it was the freakin’ Dead Sea.  You really do float.  It was one of the weirdest feelings in the world.  Eventually, yes, it did burn, and yes it did really hurt.  After I got out, my skin was just covered in salt.  To wash off, we drove down the road to the En-Gedi Springs.  This was a nice change in water and was very refreshing.                                                                                                                                                                                                            I’m really starting to get close with a lot of the guys here.  There are some really cool people who I really click with.  It has been hard, however, blending in with one specific group of friends.  I’ve been kind of a floater from group to group (it sounds like middle school, I know).  I think, now, though, the Lord has been showing me a lot with the friends that I choose and hang out with.  Although this is a Christian university, it is not the same as Taylor.  There are many nights that my friends go out on the city when I’m torn on to go or not.  Many times I have gone, and hung out with everyone, but have not participated.  Other times I have just stayed on campus.  I think I am more of an introvert than I think when I’m not surrounded by solid friends like the guys at Taylor.  I’ve always been upset at Taylor because I feel like it has never given me the real view of a normal college life.  I haven’t been upset because I’ve wanted to join in, but I’ve been upset because I fee like many of my friends from secular universities have a tried, true, and tested faith.  Many of them come away from a school-year with more spiritual growth than myself.  As I am here, at JUC, this is the Lord’s answer to my prayer, and I didn’t expect it to be easy.   Because of this, I often miss a lot of my friends from home.  This is good, though, for I will not be able to live with my friends at Taylor forever.

As I continue readying OT Scriptures here, it seems whatever I read is immediately worked through each of my days.  Whether it be in class, in a discussion, or read on one of our field trips, the passage that I read somehow is mentioned.  There is no way I could say that this isn’t God’s doing.  The Lord is definitely watching over me here.  I think it takes us, many times, to get out somewhere we aren’t usually for Him to get our attention. 

The best part of this trip was definitely time spend with friends.  The youth hostels at night were actually really nice.  It was like a hotel.  Dan and I shared a room both nights.  The first night they messed up out room, and we got put in a room that reminded us of a honeymoon sweet; it only had one bed. Haha.  For the first time in a long time, I was forced to do nothing.  I didn’t bring any homework on the trip, so each night was spent reading or talking with people.  It was a great change in events.  Also, returning “home” was great.  As we drove back into Jerusalem, I couldn’t help but think, “Wow, this is my home.  It’s so crazy!” 

P.S. - in case you're wondering one of the pictures is me slinging a stone (like David).  And in a picture Dan is Shouting Lamentations off the large cliff, and I'm putting the curse in physical form with a rock (don't ask . . .lol).  And in another shows the large ramp that I ran up.

Eilat, and Ancient Israel Field Study

Last Monday seems forever ago.  This past week, we had spirit week for out college here.  It is like high school where there is clash day, PJ day, crazy hair day, pirate day, and inside-out day.  I just found out last night that I had the most “spirit” for the week, and got a gift certificate to the campus store.  It was a lot of fun. 

I have been slaving over homework these past two weeks.  Because I was gone for the weekend, I had to pull almost 8 hour days in the library Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday, and Monday.  I am starting to get to the part of the semester when all my paper due dates are coming up.  It’s all good though, I have plenty of time.  I’ll just have to get back in Taylor mode for a couple of week. 

Over the weekend, I went down to Eilat, Israel.  Eilat is the tourist/ beach town of Israel.  It is located at the very southern tip of Israel on the Red Sea.  From the city, you can see Jordan and Egypt.  Since it was a holiday weekend for the Jews, there were tons of people there.  A group of over 20 from JUC took the 5 hour bus ride down to Eilat.  The group I was with was about 9 people.  We arrived in Eilat at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, and got back at 2:30 a.m. on Sunday. 

Eilat was incredible.  While we were there, we slept on the beach each night, and awoke with the sun-rise.  Friday was one of the best days of my life.  I was awake for the sunrise over the Jordanian mountains just across the sea; it was incredible.  After we got around, we walked about 2 hours to the Southern beach, where the supposedly good snorkeling is (We walked so much on the trip, I felt like I was a bum because we were just walking along the road, and we were carrying all of our bags).  We ended up stopping at this little oasis spot on the shore that was like a little pub.   We stayed there all day and just soaked up the sun.  Snorkeling was one of the most amazing things I have ever done in my life.  They say that Eilat has the best snorkeling and scuba diving in the world!  It was definitely work it; underwater looked like a Finding Nemo land.  Haha.  There were so many fish and coarl, and in so many colors.  I didn’t even know that some of those colors ever existed.  The water was really warm, and really salty.  After I had gotten out of the water, no more than 10 minutes later, there would be this white film on my skin from the salt. 

On Saturday morning, I woke up and went hiking/climbing on the mountains right off of were we camped on the beach.  The view was great.  I could see all the way up the Jordan Vally, the Northern beach of Eilat, and across into Egypt and Jordan.  From the top of the mountain, I could see all the coral in the water.  The water was such a bright blue color, and then faded to a deep blue.  Later when we watched the sunset, the Jordanian mountains behind up lit up with a deep red-orange color.  Eilat is absolutely beautiful.  I couldn’t help being under water, on the beach, or driving along the Dead Sea on the bus-ride there, and not think of the Bible and all the events that took place there.  The Eilat trip was definitely a needed break from my school work. 

Although the trip was great, it also was exhausting.  We only slept like 4 hours a night, sat in the sun all day, walked many miles, and hiked in the mornings.  Also, the school sent food with us, but it was just panute butter, jelly, and some vegetables.  I bet I had over 20 PB&J sandwiches over the weekend.  I was so excited for the school’s food when we returned.  Many of the guys were complaining because of the rocks on the beach as they slept, and the heat during the day.  It was soo hot.  The two days we were there, it was 95 and 105 degrees.  Doing something like this makes me want to backpack across Europe or something.  It’s be awesome.

We arrived back from Eialt, like I said, at 2:30 in the morning.  I had, then, to go on a field-study trip at 8:00 a.m.  that day.  Out field study was for my History of Ancient Israel class.  I really like this class.  It is so hard to sit through though.  Out class in 2 ½ hours long, on Monday nights, and our teacher just pours on the information.  He goes so fast, and talks the entire period without any notes.  He just says ok, then goes.  I can never get everything he is saying, and normally my head hurts at the end of the class.  It sound funny, then. that I say that I like the class.  I like the class because our teacher is so smart.  He knows so much and I am learning so much from him.  If I can only gather 10% of what he says in a class period, I’d be ok because I’d be learning so much. 

His field–study that we went on was no different.  We visited a lot of Philistine sites, as well as some of the more important Israelite sites.  We visited a museum in Tel-Aviv, the supposed site of Ebenezer, Mizpah, Gibeah, Shiloh, and a few others.  I really enjoyed this trip.  Not only did he teach the stuff our class was on, he told us many random facts as we were driving.  Between each of his lectures on the bus, I also managed to get a few naps in.  There were much needed. 

It is starting to get cooler here.  Later this week, the highs should fall with the 70’s for the first time.  We just had our clocks change over a couple of days ago also.  We fell and hour back.  It is so weird.  I find myself want to go to bed after dinner because it is so dark, and waking up super early.  I think I am now 6 hours different from the U.S.A.  Anyways. . . .all is good, and I’m hanging in there. I have a three day field trip this weekend down to the Dead Sea, the Negev, and the Shepehlah.  I was just talking to a one of the guys here and we were talking about how much we miss watching football and the changing of the trees.  We don’t get much of that here.