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!