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.