The Final Countdown

Although I am already home, I thought I would catch you up on what happened during the last part of the semester since I slacked on the blogging then. 

One of the first things we did when we got back from Jordan was trying the Jesus trail (from Nazareth to Capernaum) for the second time. Now we were determined to do it before we left, and to do it right. If you remember, we tried it once before but got terribly lost and had to go home before we finished.

Our journey up the hundreds of stairs to get out of Nazareth.  Do not let the smiles fool you, we are miserable. 

We ran into the literal land of the Bible while we were there....

Hosea 2:6 says, "Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes; I will wall her in so she cannot find her way." (In regard to Israel's unfaithfulness). These are the types of bushes (seerim) that God was talking about. Walking in them hurts and actually traps your foot in. I love living in a land that is so relevant to the text. 

We even came across a shepherd with his goats. There was a mother goat and her kid. The kid was not even 24 hours old and the cutest thing! The mom goat had gotten loose and was running away from the shepherd. The boys in our group ran with the shepherd and finally caught the goat after about half an hour. It was such a great image of God as our shepherd, running after us when we are trying to go our own way. 

We walked through a lot of harvested wheat fields with the unharvested wheat right next to the path. I felt like Jesus walking through the fields and plucking the heads of the wheat! 

A little rest stop on the Horns of Hattim, overlooking the Cliffs of Arbel and the the Sea of Galilee. Ian is having a deep time in reflection.... probably.... :)

Me hiking through Galilee. Walking in the footsteps of Jesus not just spiritually, but physically!

Reading John 2 (water into wine story) at Cana, where the story took place! Wow!!! Throughout the trip we also read the Gospel of Mark together. I love my friends here. One example of why they are so amazing is that every single one of them had a Bible with them at all time.... such awesome people.

We camped the second night on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. This is literally a picture taken from where we were sleeping, right when we woke up. Surreal!

This is my favorite picture from my entire time in Israel. It describes my time. I am with wonderful friends, on an adventure, in an unreal place, the Sea of Galilee.... almost like it's no big deal!

WE MADE IT! 40 miles later we are in Capernaum all sweaty and sore and smelly but feeling so accomplished! 

Here are a few of the fun, random things we did towards the end of our time in Israel.

We walked through Hezekiah's tunnels one afternoon. These were underground tunnels that brought water from the natural springs to the city of Jerusalem built during the time of Hezekiah to bring water to the people during the siege of the Assyrians, meanwhile keeping the water out of the hands of the Assyrians who were outside the gates. I cannot believe they are still intact!

I got to visit the Temple Mount/Dome of the Rock. Do you see my funky tights? I had to put them on because I was dressed too immodestly to go onto the plaza. Also, because I am not Muslim I could not enter the actual building, I had to stay in the courtyard area around it.

Went to the Tower of David Citadel and overlooked the city from a new perspective. The Temple Mount is behind us. 

The final trip we took after all classes were over and some of the students had already gone home, was Cultural Backgrounds. We had been learning about this subject in class all year and finally got to see it in action. We went to Jordan because Jordan, more so than Israel, is a place where time has stood still. There are still real bedouins (nomads) that like in the middle of the wilderness living like Bible characters such as Abraham Isaac and Jacob. So, all of the Biblical imagery in the Old Testament was still true on this trip. The trip was a week long and we stayed with bedouins in remote places each night.

Our bedouin guide showing us how to make soap out of local plant life.

A bedouin man making us Arabic coffee (fresh!) Personally, I hate Arabic coffee, but when they offer you it, you drink it, all of it. 

I am plowing! It is way harder than it looks.

Sitting under my own fig tree, just like Micah! 

The mother that hosted us and her baby. There was the main side of the tent and then the woman's side of the tent.

He is scraping salt from the rocks in the caves where his family lives.

Sunset in Wadi Rum. Beautiful, yeah?

Bedouin tea is the greatest thing ever. I drank about 50 cups of this throughout the week. They always offer you tea... always. It is hospitality. 

We drank milk straight from the goat. It was warm and foamy and not really that good....

Grinding grain with Rachel. According to this picture, we would make wonderful bedouin wives.  There are many passages in the Bible that talk about the grinding stone being a pleasing and comforting sound, especially because it meant that there was food for your next meal!

Our host's son, Fad, about to cut the sheep corpse with a machete. Yikes!

The tent that we stayed in for a few of the days.

I rode a camel! Three hours later and I realized that I never want to ride a camel again. 

Abu Fad, our host, and his youngest son.

Silently lead to the slaughter, just like Isaiah 53. The biblical imagery!

Slaughtering the sheep. Aw, so gross. I gagged.

Just kissing a beautiful goat head.... post slaughter.

Where we stayed the first night.

Riding in Jeeps in the wilderness with bedouins and these lovely girls.

The camel bit Rach..... and we got it on camera.

We got one luxury night in the ecolodge that is run on solar panels and is in the middle of a bedouin area. They had candles in little nooks in the wall with mirrors that reflect the light. 

Eating mansef, the traditional dish of Jordan. It is a "coming together" dish. You eat it at events such as weddings where two groups of people are coming together. This is because mansef it eaten around one plate and you cannot share a meal that close with your enemies. When King Abdullah, King of Jordan, took the throne one of the first things he did was have mansef with the most powerful bedouins, to create unity during his reign and to show cooperation. 

One of the most amazing places I have ever had a quiet time. 

They put the seasoned lamb in a barrel, cover it in sand, then put a fire over the top of the sand and let it sit and cook for four hours. It is wonderful!

The view when I woke up in the morning!

Our little camel caravan. Amazing that I did this, yeah?

Re-enacting the Jael story from Judges. It makes perfect sense how she could have put the peg through his head. The pegs are huge and sharp!

We put up and took down a bedouin tent just like the imagery in the Bible that talks about God pitching His tent among the heavens as a metaphor for creation. These tents are super heavy and made of pure sheep wool.

We got back from the trip and the next morning I was off to the wonderful USofA!

When each person leaves, the rest see them off at the gate. What wonderful people!!

Layover in Newark, last time with any Israel friends!

FIrst meal in America. A non-kosher burget from IN-N-Out! YUM!

My roommates picked me up at the airport then we met my papa at In-N-Out in Burbank. It was so wonderful to see them and be able to actually hug them instead of just seeing their faces on a Skype screen. But, the re-entry will be in the next blog post.... this one is long enough! Shalom!