Though this entry is about Monday's activities, I did not have time to write about it until Wednesday, so there are probably gaps. Each day is so full of activity!)
I had more energy today after a good night's sleep. I ate breakfast at 6AM in order to be ready to leave by 6:25 to see the rabinical tunnels - excavation of the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. The excavation done was deep and long. The first rock we saw weighed 500 tons - more than our tour bus! The brochure about this tour reads, "Looking at the Western Wall, perspectives and points of view sharpen; the truly insignifican shrinks. These stones which observe beyond time and place have seen it all, have breathed war and seen peace, experienced calamity, and promise revival."
Perhaps a bit over-the-top description, but the tour shure gave be a new perspective of just how awesome the Temple was! That wall was 488 meters long! One also sees there rooms, plublic halls, water tunnels, arches, and cistens. I can't find a statistic about the height of the wall, but it is taller than what I would have ever imagined. I did read that the wall above ground is 25 stones tall, measuring 18 meters above ground. Below ground they have discovered yet another 19 stones of depth. By my poor math calculations, that would total 31 meters tall. That is a third of a football field!
(TO BE CONTINUED)
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
Herodion Defense System
This photo does not reflect how STEEP Herodion is. Imagine these huge stones rolling furiously down the mountain at you!
Part II of Sunday, March 9
We drove on past Bethlehem to Herodion. I don't think I'd ever heard of Herodion before, but it should be one of the wonders of the world. It is a gigantic artificial mountain built by Herod the Great. It looms much larger than Disney World's Space Mountain. It looks likke a lopped off volcano. Our bus was able to drive half way up the mountain and we hiked the rest of the way up. As we hiked we saw a huge stack of the large round rocks that they used as a defense system. The mountainside is steep. They would roll down around a hundred of those rocks towards the enemy struggling to get to the top. To see just ONE of those stones coming down would be terrifying!.
We hiked up to the palace that was hidden in the crater recess of the mountain. It served as a summer resort and a retreat in case of attack. Originally there were two stories underground and five above ground. Herod and his family lived on the top floor. The ruins included three bath houses, cisterns, escape tunnels, three towers, a sinagogue and a ritual bath. Servants would haul the water up for the baths and other needs. Herodion was built between 23 and 20BC. The synagogue and ritual baths were built by Zealots in 66 AD. Jesus surely must have known about this place!
Looking down from the mountain you can see below the remains of a swimming/boating pool he built that measured about 230 feet by 150 feet! It was also a great view of Bethlehem and surrounding areas.
We drove back through the countryside, watching the shepherds and their flocks, and all 250 of us had lunch at a banquet hall in Bethlehem. There we heard the testimony of a Christian Palestinian who was an active atheist in college, but met God through an amazing experience of awaking paralyzed and thus beginning his search for truth. All of us sang a few Christmas carols, which sounded very beautiful and were very meaningful in that setting.
After lunch the whole group had a shopping venture with assertive vendors. I bought nothing because I don't like souvenir shopping. Later I realized I should have shopped while I had the opportunity.
From there we circled around the huge walls of a refugee camp in existence since 1948. We listened to Palestinian spin instead of our usual Jewish Israeli spin. I wish I could know the truth and the insides of the refugee situation. The walls were covered with interesting grafitti. (I'll try to post a photo later.)
We went on to a Jewish museum, but were in a time crunch. They had a huge scale model of ancient Jerusalem, which was helpful to orient us to all we are seeing and to visualize Jerusalem at different stages of its history. Our guide talked just a bit too long, so the museum closed before we could see the Dead Sea Scrolls.
I was extremely tired during our evening debrief time with the Latinos, led by Mark. I bowed out and went to our room early (9:30) and slept like a rock. Between all the activity PLUS translating all day long, it has been very tiring.
We hiked up to the palace that was hidden in the crater recess of the mountain. It served as a summer resort and a retreat in case of attack. Originally there were two stories underground and five above ground. Herod and his family lived on the top floor. The ruins included three bath houses, cisterns, escape tunnels, three towers, a sinagogue and a ritual bath. Servants would haul the water up for the baths and other needs. Herodion was built between 23 and 20BC. The synagogue and ritual baths were built by Zealots in 66 AD. Jesus surely must have known about this place!
Looking down from the mountain you can see below the remains of a swimming/boating pool he built that measured about 230 feet by 150 feet! It was also a great view of Bethlehem and surrounding areas.
We drove back through the countryside, watching the shepherds and their flocks, and all 250 of us had lunch at a banquet hall in Bethlehem. There we heard the testimony of a Christian Palestinian who was an active atheist in college, but met God through an amazing experience of awaking paralyzed and thus beginning his search for truth. All of us sang a few Christmas carols, which sounded very beautiful and were very meaningful in that setting.
After lunch the whole group had a shopping venture with assertive vendors. I bought nothing because I don't like souvenir shopping. Later I realized I should have shopped while I had the opportunity.
From there we circled around the huge walls of a refugee camp in existence since 1948. We listened to Palestinian spin instead of our usual Jewish Israeli spin. I wish I could know the truth and the insides of the refugee situation. The walls were covered with interesting grafitti. (I'll try to post a photo later.)
We went on to a Jewish museum, but were in a time crunch. They had a huge scale model of ancient Jerusalem, which was helpful to orient us to all we are seeing and to visualize Jerusalem at different stages of its history. Our guide talked just a bit too long, so the museum closed before we could see the Dead Sea Scrolls.
I was extremely tired during our evening debrief time with the Latinos, led by Mark. I bowed out and went to our room early (9:30) and slept like a rock. Between all the activity PLUS translating all day long, it has been very tiring.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008 in Israel
I got up at 6AM so I could at least have a short time reading the Scriptures about Bethlehem - today's destination. I wish I could read more of the Bible each day to prepare myself! For instance, we think of Bethlehem as the site of Jesus' birth. But, Bethlehem is also the site of many more important Biblical events.
The hotel made some changes in how they are serving our groups, so it was less chaotic today. I love the pastries and eggs. Yum!
Our first conference session of the day began with good worship and then a challenging message by Mark Titley from South Africa on "My Religion Meets the Master." (You can listen to the message on the GYI website.) Both this message and the one last night by Dann lasted about one hour. This is one of the few times in my life that I've regretted they didn't stretch each message out over at least two hours. There was so much to think on and to learn! Too much great stuff packed in too little time.
We took off by mid-afternoon on our tour bus. Our first stop was the Mount of Olives for a group photo. I will try to add that to the blog soon. Once again, it was hard to have the Latinos keep up with the group, but on the other hand, they are like sponges, not wanting to miss a word. Cool!
We headed on to Bethlehem. At the Palesinian/Israeli border we traded guides. They wanted to give us a Palestinian Christian perspective. We sensed an oppressive spirit on the other side of the wall. There were walls, barbed wire, bars, grafiti and lots of trash on the streets. That was hard to see. We drove right through the town center of Bethlehem without stopping at the Church of the Nativity. I think that was a good call, because on the other side we could better visualize how the area would have been when Jesus was born. There were shepherds watching over their flocks on the hillsides.
The hotel made some changes in how they are serving our groups, so it was less chaotic today. I love the pastries and eggs. Yum!
Our first conference session of the day began with good worship and then a challenging message by Mark Titley from South Africa on "My Religion Meets the Master." (You can listen to the message on the GYI website.) Both this message and the one last night by Dann lasted about one hour. This is one of the few times in my life that I've regretted they didn't stretch each message out over at least two hours. There was so much to think on and to learn! Too much great stuff packed in too little time.
We took off by mid-afternoon on our tour bus. Our first stop was the Mount of Olives for a group photo. I will try to add that to the blog soon. Once again, it was hard to have the Latinos keep up with the group, but on the other hand, they are like sponges, not wanting to miss a word. Cool!
We headed on to Bethlehem. At the Palesinian/Israeli border we traded guides. They wanted to give us a Palestinian Christian perspective. We sensed an oppressive spirit on the other side of the wall. There were walls, barbed wire, bars, grafiti and lots of trash on the streets. That was hard to see. We drove right through the town center of Bethlehem without stopping at the Church of the Nativity. I think that was a good call, because on the other side we could better visualize how the area would have been when Jesus was born. There were shepherds watching over their flocks on the hillsides.
The Soundtrack of Life
I know. I am strange. My friend, Susan Ploughe put it this way. “You live your life to a sound track.”
Just like you one has no control over the content of one’s dreams, I have no control over the songs I wake up to. I’m not talking about our CD alarm which is currently waking me up to Jars of Clay. I am talking about songs that just come to me, dusting themselves off from decades ago.
One night I actually dreamed about a weasel nesting in the engine compartment of our Suzuki. I awoke with a song running around the carpenter’s bench of my mind. “All around the carpenter’s bench, the monkey chased the weasel…” The sad part of this whole strange side of my life is that I just cannot erase the song once it rears its ugly head. I might have just finished listening to Silvio Rodriguez on my iPod, but once the album is over, I find myself singing to myself again, “The monkey chased the weasel.”
I have thought of making a list of the crazy songs that come to my mind. One of them I recall is “Nothing could be finer that to be in Carolina in the morning.” I hadn’t thought of that song in thirty years!
The worst song, though, is one by the Monkees. It seems to haunt me, coming to me in the middle of the night or even the middle of the day. I might be totally absorbed in a task and suddenly gasp in disgust because that silly old song is running on my sound track. I can’t even tell you which song it is and I refuse to try to think of the title right now, for fear of starting up that track again. It is on the “Top 25 Most Played” on my mental iPod.
Amy Carmichael has a much more spiritual approach to “How Songs Come.” In her essay by that title she writes, “We have a little bird who has the pleasant custom of turning disturbing things into a cause for singing. The wind blows his bough and wakens him at midnight. His whole world is moving restlessly; he sings a tiny note or two then, perhaps to comfort himself. It is good to learn to do that.”
The other night I awoke to a bird that seemed desperate for attention in the middle of the night. I thought of Amy Carmichael’s observation and prayed that God might give me a welcome tune to sing myself back to sleep.
“Please, Lord. Not the Monkees - and not any monkeys chasing weasels. Let my life sound track be the one which You place in my heart, whatever my situation.”
Just like you one has no control over the content of one’s dreams, I have no control over the songs I wake up to. I’m not talking about our CD alarm which is currently waking me up to Jars of Clay. I am talking about songs that just come to me, dusting themselves off from decades ago.
One night I actually dreamed about a weasel nesting in the engine compartment of our Suzuki. I awoke with a song running around the carpenter’s bench of my mind. “All around the carpenter’s bench, the monkey chased the weasel…” The sad part of this whole strange side of my life is that I just cannot erase the song once it rears its ugly head. I might have just finished listening to Silvio Rodriguez on my iPod, but once the album is over, I find myself singing to myself again, “The monkey chased the weasel.”
I have thought of making a list of the crazy songs that come to my mind. One of them I recall is “Nothing could be finer that to be in Carolina in the morning.” I hadn’t thought of that song in thirty years!
The worst song, though, is one by the Monkees. It seems to haunt me, coming to me in the middle of the night or even the middle of the day. I might be totally absorbed in a task and suddenly gasp in disgust because that silly old song is running on my sound track. I can’t even tell you which song it is and I refuse to try to think of the title right now, for fear of starting up that track again. It is on the “Top 25 Most Played” on my mental iPod.
Amy Carmichael has a much more spiritual approach to “How Songs Come.” In her essay by that title she writes, “We have a little bird who has the pleasant custom of turning disturbing things into a cause for singing. The wind blows his bough and wakens him at midnight. His whole world is moving restlessly; he sings a tiny note or two then, perhaps to comfort himself. It is good to learn to do that.”
The other night I awoke to a bird that seemed desperate for attention in the middle of the night. I thought of Amy Carmichael’s observation and prayed that God might give me a welcome tune to sing myself back to sleep.
“Please, Lord. Not the Monkees - and not any monkeys chasing weasels. Let my life sound track be the one which You place in my heart, whatever my situation.”
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Reflections on First Day of Conference
I'm going to pause to share a few personal thoughts and prayers from March 8th.
WORSHIP: You are the true God, the God of all history and eternity, David's God, my God.
THANKSGIVING:
-Michele's example in note-taking. I'm starting to do that, too. It helps me capture so much more!
- Woody watching out for me. His great joy in seeing me laugh so much iin the Dead Sea. Also for the Ahava stuff we could buy for our girls.
- Time with You tonight.
- Able to complete the challenging En Gedi hike. Woohoo!
- Visualizing things better.
RENEWAL:
- Give me a fresh encounter with the risen Christ! A fresh love for Jesus and desire to learn of Him and through Him.
- Deepen my commitment to walk as he did, and give me vision for nurturing leaders and a willingness to step out in faith.
REQUESTS:
- The there might be true multiplication at the Latin America Multiplication Center
- Multiply our rest!
INTERCESSION:
- Help Woody in the difficult role of being at the tail end of our tour group, trying to have people keep up.
WORSHIP: You are the true God, the God of all history and eternity, David's God, my God.
THANKSGIVING:
-Michele's example in note-taking. I'm starting to do that, too. It helps me capture so much more!
- Woody watching out for me. His great joy in seeing me laugh so much iin the Dead Sea. Also for the Ahava stuff we could buy for our girls.
- Time with You tonight.
- Able to complete the challenging En Gedi hike. Woohoo!
- Visualizing things better.
RENEWAL:
- Give me a fresh encounter with the risen Christ! A fresh love for Jesus and desire to learn of Him and through Him.
- Deepen my commitment to walk as he did, and give me vision for nurturing leaders and a willingness to step out in faith.
REQUESTS:
- The there might be true multiplication at the Latin America Multiplication Center
- Multiply our rest!
INTERCESSION:
- Help Woody in the difficult role of being at the tail end of our tour group, trying to have people keep up.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Monday, April 07, 2008
Continuation of Saturday, March 8
The highway to the Dead Sea was built recently by the Israeli army - constructed on top of a special netting to keep it from falling into a sink hole. One of the scrolls found near here is called the Copper Scroll and has riddles and a treasure map. An American archeologist names Jones was looking for the Temple jewels based on this scroll. Sound familiar? That was the basis of the Indiana Jones movie.
We saw the end of the Kidron Valley - the site of Kibutz Kalyet, at 417 meters below sea level. Our guide told us a bit about life in a Kibutz. The children now grow up with their parents, but work from an early age. The teens live on their own and govern their own community.
Driving up to the shore of the Dead Sea we saw abandoned barracks and a bullet-riddled army base that belonged to the Jordanian army. It was taken over by Isarel in the war of 1967. We had only one hour at the Dead sea because of our slow shoppers.
I had a blast in the water! I couldn't believe how much one floats. I loved trying to swim on my stomach. Every time the water would roll me right over again. While on my stomach it was impossible for me to get my feet in the water. It was fun to "stand" in the water without my feet on the bottom and have my head and shoulders above the water. It was hard to keep your balance that way.
Woody put mud on my arms, shoulders and back. After it had been washed off, my skin was incredibly soft. I had never believed much in the benefit of mud. Now I do! I almost forgot my swim suit in the crowded changing room at the beach. The bus was ready to roll when I realized it. So, I put my foot to the test and RAN to fetch it while everyone waited on me.
From there we headed back to our original hotel - the Regency Jerusalem. They were not at all organized for registering around 250 of us. We waited through long, slow lines. The main conference started right after supper. Supper at the hotel was mayhem as well - crowded, with long, slow lines.
The conference began with the sounding of the shofar, worship music and an excellent challenge by Dann Spader. Afterwards we met with the Latinos. Mark spoke to our small group of about 10 Latinos until almost 10:30PM and then Woody and I looked at our photos until midnight.
LONG DAY!
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Saturday, March 8, 2008
I awoke in the Bedouin camp around 5:30 and went out to the desert to pray as the sun was rising. (Woody was up at 4AM and went out to the desert even earlier. His cell phone rang four times during the night!) When I got up it was very chilly in the tent, so I put on an extra sweater. I stepped outside and it was already getting hot out there! I saw people from our group like dots all over the desert rocks and hills - all with the same desire to spend time with God there. That was a cool sight.
There was a refreshing smell of fresh-baked bread in the air at 5:30.
We had an amazing tent-buffet from breakfast - let's see how much of it I can recall. There were at least 3 types of flat bread, scrambled and boiled eggs, spicey pickles and green olives, cold cuts, at least four types of creamy sauces (which were unidentifiable, but good), houmus, sour cream, herbed cheese cubes, eggplant, delicious tomatoes, and cucumbers. I tried as much as I could and liked it all except the spicey pickles, for obvious reasons.
We packed up to leave by 8AM. We were going along a windy road when I noticed our driver was sleepy. I was debating what to do when his head literally fell on the steering wheel! Hitting the wheel woke him up. Our guide, Corem, noticed and chatted him up to keep him awake. We stopped at a high point of En Gedi. (I wish I could remember what Dave Patty talked about there, but I was busy translating for the Latinos, so didn't take notes. Maybe I'll find them on the GYI website and share them later. It was based on 2 Chronicles 20:23. "March down to meet them. You won't have to fight." Take up your positions and I will fight for you. Put the choir in FRONT.)
At the high point we saw an interesting animal which I call a ROUS (Rodent of Unusual Size.) I think the guide called them ground rabbits, but they were actually in the TREES!
We went to another spot of En Gedi to hike along the canyon and see the Springs of David. It was a hot, hard, long hike, but my foot did great! Yeah! When we got to the spot of the springs, it was delightful. I could just imagine David and his companions frolicking in the pool underneath a small waterfall. I wished so much that I could swim there (several did), but I didn't want to hurt my foot on the many rocks or wet my only shoes. (The hike took over 2 hours, if I remember right.)
Woody was Mark's assistant for our bus and he had a huge challenge to keep people moving.
We drove on another 15 minutes to Qumran where they discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls. We ate box lunches there, though I couldn't actually eat any of the contents except the apple! They gave our group a limited shopping time there, but our group took WAY too long, partly due to the slow check-out, but mostly due to one of our Latinos who took his time.
Driving along the Dead Sea we saw how the level has dropped significantly. Along the shore lines we saw sink holes - a new phenomenon.
There was a refreshing smell of fresh-baked bread in the air at 5:30.
We had an amazing tent-buffet from breakfast - let's see how much of it I can recall. There were at least 3 types of flat bread, scrambled and boiled eggs, spicey pickles and green olives, cold cuts, at least four types of creamy sauces (which were unidentifiable, but good), houmus, sour cream, herbed cheese cubes, eggplant, delicious tomatoes, and cucumbers. I tried as much as I could and liked it all except the spicey pickles, for obvious reasons.
We packed up to leave by 8AM. We were going along a windy road when I noticed our driver was sleepy. I was debating what to do when his head literally fell on the steering wheel! Hitting the wheel woke him up. Our guide, Corem, noticed and chatted him up to keep him awake. We stopped at a high point of En Gedi. (I wish I could remember what Dave Patty talked about there, but I was busy translating for the Latinos, so didn't take notes. Maybe I'll find them on the GYI website and share them later. It was based on 2 Chronicles 20:23. "March down to meet them. You won't have to fight." Take up your positions and I will fight for you. Put the choir in FRONT.)
At the high point we saw an interesting animal which I call a ROUS (Rodent of Unusual Size.) I think the guide called them ground rabbits, but they were actually in the TREES!
We went to another spot of En Gedi to hike along the canyon and see the Springs of David. It was a hot, hard, long hike, but my foot did great! Yeah! When we got to the spot of the springs, it was delightful. I could just imagine David and his companions frolicking in the pool underneath a small waterfall. I wished so much that I could swim there (several did), but I didn't want to hurt my foot on the many rocks or wet my only shoes. (The hike took over 2 hours, if I remember right.)
Woody was Mark's assistant for our bus and he had a huge challenge to keep people moving.
We drove on another 15 minutes to Qumran where they discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls. We ate box lunches there, though I couldn't actually eat any of the contents except the apple! They gave our group a limited shopping time there, but our group took WAY too long, partly due to the slow check-out, but mostly due to one of our Latinos who took his time.
Driving along the Dead Sea we saw how the level has dropped significantly. Along the shore lines we saw sink holes - a new phenomenon.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Ceremonial Washing at the Western Wall
Notice the two handles on the cup. Women must have arms covered past elbows and knees covered. It was really sunny and hot that day. This is the faucet where I unknowingly filled my water bottle. The special water didn't taste so great, but at least it didn't make me sick!
Reflections on What I've Shared So Far
My Israel journal so far mainly tells about what we saw and did. Let me take just a few minutes to share some things that I was learning up to this point.
When Jesus claimed that he would rebuild "the temple" in three days, I can now better picture how crazy that would have seemed to the Pharisees. One rock I saw on the Western wall - just one rock - weighed as much as our tour bus. Yet, wouldn't it be easier to rebuild the Temple than to raise oneself from the dead.
Rocks are speaking a lot to me these days! The phrase that keeps echoing in my brain is "If these keep silent, the rocks will cry out!"
At the Triumphal Entry, people were swept up with emotion - elation. But, how did Jesus respond upon entering Jerusalem? He wept for a people that had chosen not to be gathered as chicks under the hen's wing. Do I cry when He cries? Do I rejoice over what thrills His heart? Good questions!
As I spent a day in the wilderness, I was challenged to think on this question. "If Jesus is my model, what are the implications of this experience?" The wilderness was a place of prayer; time alone with the Father; and facing temptations. The temptations were basically challenges for Jesus to value self-protection, self-provision and self-promotion.
The Scripture talks about the wilderness a lot. The wilderness in Scripture was a place of:
- Judgment
- Rest
- Provision
- God's leading
- God's refuge
- Miracles
- Testing (proving character)
- Justice
- Grace
- Prayer
- Danger
- Discipline
- Wondering
It was good to have some time to ponder in the wilderness. May I leave here ready to walk by faith like Abraham and willing to follow in Jesus' footsteps.
When Jesus claimed that he would rebuild "the temple" in three days, I can now better picture how crazy that would have seemed to the Pharisees. One rock I saw on the Western wall - just one rock - weighed as much as our tour bus. Yet, wouldn't it be easier to rebuild the Temple than to raise oneself from the dead.
Rocks are speaking a lot to me these days! The phrase that keeps echoing in my brain is "If these keep silent, the rocks will cry out!"
At the Triumphal Entry, people were swept up with emotion - elation. But, how did Jesus respond upon entering Jerusalem? He wept for a people that had chosen not to be gathered as chicks under the hen's wing. Do I cry when He cries? Do I rejoice over what thrills His heart? Good questions!
As I spent a day in the wilderness, I was challenged to think on this question. "If Jesus is my model, what are the implications of this experience?" The wilderness was a place of prayer; time alone with the Father; and facing temptations. The temptations were basically challenges for Jesus to value self-protection, self-provision and self-promotion.
The Scripture talks about the wilderness a lot. The wilderness in Scripture was a place of:
- Judgment
- Rest
- Provision
- God's leading
- God's refuge
- Miracles
- Testing (proving character)
- Justice
- Grace
- Prayer
- Danger
- Discipline
- Wondering
It was good to have some time to ponder in the wilderness. May I leave here ready to walk by faith like Abraham and willing to follow in Jesus' footsteps.
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