A Small Slice of a Big Pie

What happens when two Heather's go hiking?  I had the privilege of finding out last week.  My Mom's best friend Heather had been wanting to hike a few sections of the Appalachian Trail for quite a while.  When she approached me about doing some sections inside Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, I happily assisted with the planning and offered to tag along.  Fortunately, she had most of the camping gear we would need so all I had to do was provide another car for vehicle shuttles and trail maps so we wouldn't get lost.  We also got lucky on lodging!  Huge shout out to AMC Camp Mohican in New Jersey for letting us tent camp and use their facilities for 3 nights.  They have a great program up there and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay!    

The first day of the hike dawned hot and humid.  By the time we got on the trail it was already in the 80's and very hazy as well.  We hiked from Camp Mohican to Millbrook Road. Fortunately, the first day was the shortest at approximately 3.5 miles. The views were beautiful but a bit short sighted because of the dense, hot air.  The highlight of Day 1 was the Catfish Fire Tower!  I had heard about this amazing tower from many of my co-workers but this was the first time I had seen it in person.  Climbing up to the top provided stunning views of the surrounding landscape.  I already have plans to come back in the Fall to see the leaves turn from this amazing vantage point.

After completing the first few miles of our hike, we set up our tents and took a shower.  Shortly after eating dinner it became clear that a big storm was brewing.  As it turned out, we wouldn't be needing our tents that night because the weather threatened a tornado and the rain, lightning, and thunder got so bad that the staff offered us a key to a cabin for the night. We gratefully accepted.

Day 2 of our hike was approximately 5.5 miles long.  The photo to the right shows a nice, flat section of the trail which we enjoyed for a good distance and which enabled us to make some good time.  I highlight that flat trail because the entire rest of the distance we hiked was the exact opposite!  In fact, I will be happy if I never see another rock again for the rest of my life.  The terrain was a nuisance and we are lucky that neither of us twisted an ankle!

Millbrook Road to Crater Lake was a beautiful section of the trail.  Probably the most memorable part was right at the end when we encountered the rock wall.  As it turns out, we almost missed it completely because we had taken a wrong turn.  When we figured that out, we turned back and got on the AT again which immediately greeted us with a nearly vertical wall of rock to scale!  With some determination and careful foot placement, both Heather's made it to the top successfully.

 Day 3 of the hike took us from Crater Lake to Brinks Shelter Road in Stokes State Forest (5.5 miles).  Out of all four hiking days I was the most nervous about that one.  I knew that there was a possibility that we may have to do a water crossing at the end to get back to the main road where I had parked my car but I was in denial and hoping against actually needing to.  Unfortunately, that hope did not pan out.  The thing was we had finished our AT section for the day.  We were both incredibly tired and our feet hurt quite a bit from the rocks and the steep nature of the trail that day.  We were only about 1 mile from my car but all of a sudden we were stopped in our tracks by a giant SWAMP.  The funny thing about the swamp was that it still looked a bit like a road.  You could see where the road used to be but you could not actually see where the road picked back up on the other side of the water (or even if it did at all!).  Upon consulting with my map, we had no other option.  We would have to walk THROUGH THE SWAMP.     

Heather and I took off our shoes and socks and ventured slowly into the murky water.  I went first.  At first, it was not that deep and I could see my feet.  However, as the trek wore on, the water got deeper and deeper until it covered my knees!  At that point I could not see my feet or how deep the water got so I asked for one of Heather's hiking poles.  Fortunately, this helped me judge whether or not to take the next step.  What it did not tell me is whether there would be a fish or a turtle or a snake waiting there for my foot.  I'm glad we made it through without the local wildlife making my foot its next snack!

For Day 4 of the hike, we turned south.  Camp Mohican to Sunfish Pond and down the Garvey Springs Trail for a total of 5.5 miles. The last day was the least eventful but definitely the most rocky and steep.  At the end of the hike, we were both happy to be done.  We felt extremely accomplished! I wanted to note how many times this hike reminded me of Route 66.  Danielle will remember the main similarity.  I reminisced about how dependent we were on the little brown signs to confirm to us that we were still on the right road.  It was the same thing on the AT.  Only, instead of looking for little brown signs, the endless search was for the next white, rectangular paint blaze.   

Braving the elements, admiring the views, peeing in the woods, and experiencing being one with nature for 4 days was more fulfilling and renewing than I would have expected.  No wonder so many hike the entire trail from Georgia to Maine.  I am truly in awe of the people who accomplish the entire thing!  We met a large handful of those people along the trail and each one of them had a different story and reason for hiking the trail.  It was cool to interact a bit with all of them and I wish them the best in completing their endeavor.  

Maybe one of my future posts will tell tales of a section hike of the AT in Shenandoah NP!  It's already in the works. Stay tuned to find out...

26 en Francais

I've had some pretty cool birthdays in my time, but I must admit not one has been quite as adventurous as 26 was for me this year! On my flight from Miami to Martinique all I kept thinking was, "I can't believe you're actually doing this!"  Now, looking back through all the pictures I took, I keep thinking, "Wow.  I can't believe you actually DID that!!"  See?  Sometimes I even impress myself.

Everyone who found out about my travel plans usually asked me some form of the question, "Why there?" My answer was slightly difficult to explain in French but, honestly, I saw an advertisement on Instagram last year sometime and tried to make it work then.  Plans fell through and I forgot about it for a while.  Then, earlier this summer my supervisor and I were driving around the park and he asked me whether I had any vacations planned yet.  I told him I did not because I figured all hands were needed on deck to keep all hell from breaking lose once schools let out for the year.  His response essentially pushed me to go on the adventure of a lifetime.  I doubt he expected me to take his advice to such an extreme, but the pieces fell into place and I booked a flight which would land me in the French Caribbean for one week in late July.
  

I learned a lot on this trip.  Chief among those lessons was that island life is EXPENSIVE.  I had planned on spending a certain amount on the flight and hotel but had not factored in forgetting my beach towel, lunch and dinner every day, transportation to and from the airport (because the FREE shuttle didn't exist), and other miscellaneous expenses.

I also learned that although it was definitely peaceful to travel alone, next time I will try harder to find a travelling companion.

I was pleased to discover how much of my French education I have retained over the years. Reading is my strongest suit, next is speaking, and last is comprehension.  All three were rusty when I first arrived but with practice and a good translator app on my phone, I managed to maneuver the island with success.

 During my stay in Martinique, I quickly discovered that exploring the entire island would prove to be cost-prohibitive.  Instead, I spent a lot of time by the hotel swimming pool and sitting on several different beaches within walking distance of the hotel.  Fortunately there were also many restaurants across the street from where I was staying so I never got bored with the food selection.  These were also significantly less expensive than the restaurant on the hotel grounds which I ate at on the first night.  Let's just say I learned that lesson quickly!

The highlight of the entire trip was definitely my birthday!  My parents encouraged me to pick a special activity to do for the day and offered to sponsor it.  Now that it wasn't my own wallet taking the hit, the world became my oyster.  I located the pile of brochures which I had picked up on the first day in the hotel lobby and I found one for a day-long catamaran cruise.  It looked like a lot of fun!  So the next morning, I woke up early, ate breakfast, and headed down to the marina.  I ended up getting on the boat with a group of 22 other folks who quite obviously knew each other already.  I found out that they were all friends and family who had gathered for a mutual friend's wedding on the island the day before.  They were from Aix-en-Provence in the south of France.  One girl in particular, Martine, really befriended me and introduced me to the whole group.  She spoke English very well and was even able to translate some of the tour for me!  It was such a blessing to meet these people and spend the day with them.  They made my birthday the best one yet!

The cruise took us around the southern part of the island.  I got to see beaches I would not have otherwise seen and I got to go snorkeling three times!  The first two times I saw multi colored fish and the third plunge treated us to views of a sea turtle eating a fish!  At one point on our way back to port, we stopped and got onto a dingy in small groups.  The dingy operator took us into a cave with bats hanging on the ceiling, crabs skittering along the walls, and brightly colored coral visible just under the water.

Despite the terrible sunburn I got on my back from all the snorkeling on my birthday, I wouldn't have changed a thing.  Well, maybe besides putting more sunscreen on!  And for the record, in case anyone else isn't sure, women can travel on their own just as well as men can! 

Au revoir et a demain,

Noelle   

Rivers in the Wasteland

I had the privilege of leading a short devotional for the group one morning while we were in Israel.  Some requests have been made for me to write it down, so I will record it here...

Ezekiel 37: The Valley of Dry Bones

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.  And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.  And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord God, you alone know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.  Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.  And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord." So I prophesied as I was commanded.  And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.  And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them.  But there was no breath in them.  Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live." So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

As I reflected on these words, I was reminded of the change in landscape as we drove from the Golan Heights, an area of lush green pastures and agricultural abundance, into the desert landscape surrounding the Dead Sea.  Honestly, as the scenery changed to desert, I thought to myself that the land there matched very closely to the landscape of my heart over the past year and a half.  My spiritual walk with God has been more like a desert than an oasis.  

But in the middle of the desert, God began to speak whispers to my heart.  First, at the caves of Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, He reminded me that great treasure can be found in the most unexpected places.

Next, at En Gedi, He showed me that even in the middle of a desert He is able to provide streams of fresh water to quench our thirst.  He is able to do even that which seems to be impossible to us.

Finally, He showed me several times throughout the trip, through the words of hope and encouragement of many new friends, that what we see as bad, He can use for good.  He spoke through others to remind me that there IS a light at the end of my tunnel.  That He is still here and that there is meaning to be found in the pain.

Before I left to go on the trip I read a book by C.S. Lewis.  A quote stuck out to me that fits this analogy perfectly.  He says, "Ah, the Saved... what happens to them is best described as the opposite of a mirage.  What seemed, when they entered it, to be the vale of misery turns out, when they look back, to have been a well; and where present experience saw only salt deserts, memory truthfully records that the pools were full of water." (The Great Divorce, 69)

 My prayer for each and every one of us, whether we are struggling through a desert or we have been blessed and led by quiet waters and rich pastures, is that God would breathe new life into each and every one of us. May we recognize His voice no matter where we find ourselves in life.

Amen.

"Some of the Rock"

You all know the famous mosque, pictured above with the golden roof, as the Dome of the Rock.  Well, I accidentally renamed it when I sent this picture to myself in an e-mail.  It was a typo and I had a pretty good laugh when I realized that I called it "some of the rock" but then again, that's really not so inaccurate!  The mosque is built on the site (or at least pretty close to it) where the first two temples of Jerusalem once stood.  All three places of worship were built over a stone called the foundation stone which is the top of Mount Moriah.  Today, we just call it a rock and we put a very pretty golden dome over the top of it as a shelter.  So this piece of rock seems to be pretty important.  This photo was taken from the Mount of Olives which was our first stop on Day 8. 

You can barely see it in this picture, but on the right hand side there is a double arched gate.  Today, the East Gate/Golden Gate, which is located in the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem, has been sealed by that community and a graveyard has been planted directly in front of the gate in an attempt to prevent the second coming of Jesus from taking place. The graveyard is because priests from the order of Melchizedek cannot defile themselves according to Biblical law by entering a graveyard, which would make themselves unclean.  The theory therefore, is that Jesus, being a priest in the order of Melchizedek, would be unable to return simply because of these two physical barriers... How small a view they have of God! No human could possibly hinder the plans that God has set in motion.  

The Mount of Olives was historically covered in an abundance of olive trees, hence its name.  It would have been much more remote back then, of course, but still covered in trails which would have been used as a popular route to travel between Jerusalem and Bethany and other towns on the other side of the mountain. We retraced one of those paths (which is paved now) from the top of the mountain, past the graves of three minor prophets (whose names escape me now), and to the Garden of Gethsemane.  The garden was small and unassuming.  Today it stands next to a church which is dedicated to the agony of Christ. Without a proper introduction, I would have walked right by it without thinking twice! And that's what almost happened! Fortunately we clarified its identity with Jeremy and were able to then appreciate it for what it is and was.  

The image I had in mind of the garden where Jesus prayed so hard that his sweat came out as drops of blood was much different than what I observed here.  Maybe it didn't feel right because today it's located right next to a busy street with cars zipping by.  Or maybe because salesmen are loudly selling maps and photos and trinkets just outside the wall.  Either way, I was impressed by the fact that some of these olive trees were probably witnesses of the very night when Jesus was arrested.

From there we traced our way backwards in time to the place where the physical birth of Christ happened in Bethlehem. The city of Bethlehem is currently held by the Palestinians and they have built a wall around it with security check points at the entrance.   Israeli citizens are not even allowed to enter the city! I had no idea it was like that. Fortunately, the area is still open to tourists so we had no problems getting in.  We didn't stay long but just enough to see the church which was built around the cave where Jesus is said to have been born.        

The church, which marks the location of this momentous event, is mostly under construction still.  There is scaffolding set up everywhere and most of the floors and walls are covered up while construction crews complete work on it.  The tour guide mentioned that the czar of Russia gave three chandeliers (left) to the church as a gift.  They are incredibly beautiful and ornate but then we all had to laugh because of the modern fluorescent light bulbs they had screwed into the candle holders.

Eventually we made it down into the underground cave area.  Our group was led into a small chapel (pictured below) where we sang Christmas carols acapella.  The acoustics were amazing and I got chills as we sang O Little Town of Bethlehem and Silent Night in praise to our Savior who was born in that very same city.

 At the end of the day, and for our last stop of the trip, we got to visit the site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial and resurrection!  It was a powerful experience that I cannot even begin to describe here but we worshiped again in a small chapel on site and had the privilege of celebrating these sacred events by taking communion as a group there.

This is a trip that I will remember for the rest of my life.  It was a privilege to walk where Jesus walked and to experience it all with the 43 wonderful individuals who joined me on this adventure! If any of you that are reading my blog ever get the chance to travel to the Holy Land, please take my advice and don't pass up the opportunity!

Adventure Camp: Israel

The sun rose on day 7 over Jerusalem in a stunning shade of deep, blood red.  I've seen blood moons in the past, but never a blood sun.  The pictures I took are far from doing it justice but the sight is one that I will probably remember forever. In fact, I half expected it to signal the onset of the fulfillment of some Biblical prophecy but Jesus didn't come back yet, so I will continue to wait. ;)

Our first stop was to the western wall of the old city of Jerusalem.  It is more popularly known as the Wailing Wall but the locals simply call it the western wall.  I never knew before why the wall was so famous but I learned on the tour that it is the wall which is closest in proximity   

to where the Holy of Holy's was in the old temple and is therefore the most popular place to pray.  The part of the wall which is accessible is divided in two by another wall which designates where the men go to pray and where the women go to pray.  The whole experience is segregated by gender.  I am not a big fan of gender inequality but it served to reinforce how lucky we are in America to be considered equal, no matter what race or gender a person is. 

In the picture on the right you can see there is a woman praying by the western wall.  Surrounding her are pieces of paper containing prayers which are stuffed into small cracks in the wall.  The reverence and dedication with which people pray here was impressive!  Most people eventually start to bob up and down in fervency.  It looks a bit silly at first.  I am by no means making fun of them but it made me wonder how much of their prayer is for show and how much is actually genuine.  The Bible says when you pray to go into your room and shut the door.  To do nothing for human praise and not for show and to focus on your Father in Heaven.  The idea of public prayer like this seems a bit contrary to this command, but that's just my opinion.  

The picture above was taken underground and my camera flash makes it hard to see some of it clearly but it is a diagram of what the city of Jerusalem used to look like historically.  I believe the tour guide said that this is what it would have looked like during the second temple period (after it was rebuilt for the second time.  

After our tour of the western wall, we moved on to some more adventurous activities for the rest of the day.  First, we joined a team of archaeologists for a couple hours and helped them dig through three rooms of a cave to look for artifacts. Our team found pieces of bone, pottery, and shells! After we were done digging in the caves, we took the buckets of dirt up into the sunlight on the surface and used sifters to double check the dirt and make sure that we didn't miss anything.  We each got to take home a piece of pottery as a souvenir of our efforts.

The final stop of the day was rappelling!  I probably had the most fun out of everyone at this stop.  Unfortunately, most of the group was pretty scared to go over the edge but I was really proud of those who tried it for the first time despite their fear!  I do this all the time for work but I remember the first time I rappelled... I was really scared too!  The guy who belayed me had his nails painted bright pink!  I never got to ask about that but it was certainly an interesting choice.

I volunteered to rappel first.  When I got to the bottom I was surprised by the amount of local rock climbers that were there!  I thought we were the only group there but it was far from the truth.  This seems to be quite a popular spot! I enjoyed comparing and contrasting the differences between American rappelling and the rappelling systems that the Israeli's use.  Most of it was the same but not entirely.  I look forward to April when I get to go to West Virginia for a week to practice and refine the high angle rescue and rappelling techniques even further.

Stay tuned... there are still two more posts to go.  But for now I need a break (and you probably do too)!  

Playing Catch Up

 Well, I started out strong at the beginning of the trip but then kind of ran out of steam at the end.  So get ready for blog overload because I'm home and have lots of free time now! I decided that the opportunity to experience the country of Israel and its culture was too rare to pass up. I'm really glad that I didn't.    

Our first stop on day 6 was the ancient city of Masada (pictured above) which means "the stronghold".  Interestingly enough, the city is at sea level despite its appearance of being a tall mountain.  This is because the Dead Sea is the lowest place on Earth and is located approximately 1,350 feet BELOW sea level! So really, climbing to the top of Masada just makes you break even.

  

The story of Masada is quite fascinating.  Essentially, the city was built by Herod the Great and served as a fortress to house the Jewish people who were living in rebellion of the Roman empire.  When the Romans arrived to take control of the fortress, the inhabitants decided that suicide would be preferable to slavery and everyone except for 2 women and 5 children killed themselves.  When the Romans finally broke in, they found the place eerily silent and realized what had happened.  Would you have chosen suicide or slavery if you were in that same position?  I'm pretty sure I would have taken my chances with slavery but it's really hard to say...

 The siege ramp pictured to the right was built by the Romans on the side of Masada to assist their chariots and weapon systems to scale the side of the mountain.  This is the view from the top of Masada looking over the side of the wall and down on one side of the ramp.  This was the shortest side of Masada and therefore the easiest to scale.

There are two options for getting to the top today.  The first is a cable car ride.  The second is a long hike with lots of stairs.  I chose to ride up on the cable car and hike down on the trail.  I think I got the best of both worlds that way!

After Masada, we drove down the road a little way to a small oasis.  In the middle of the desert expanse was a small stream fed by a waterfall coming out of a mountain!  What a surprise to see fresh water in such a desolate place.  All around the water there were plants growing and animals living.  We hiked the trail up to the top to see the biggest waterfall in Israel.  It was worth the hike!

Hiking made us very hungry!  I had to snack on the bus ride to lunch because I couldn't wait to eat and there was a lot of traffic. Then, before we were allowed to eat, we were herded into a small store full of souvenirs and told to shop.  We all milled around inside and picked out some items made out of olive wood to purchase.  Once we had all bought something they brought out pizzas and we stood around eating and chatting for our lunch break.  When they finally unlocked the door and let us back out onto the bus I left with a magnet and three other beautiful reminders of my trip.  It was a funny way to accomplish the task of souvenir shopping but I suppose it was pretty effective.

 I don't have a good picture of our next activity (Hezekiah's tunnel) because it involved hiking through a dark tunnel with only headlamps for light and sloshing through a few feet of water on the ground!  So instead I have this picture (on the left) of myself with a friendly police officer who was standing near our bus on the way out of the tunnel.  We had an option of hiking through a dry tunnel or a wet tunnel but I had brought my water shoes with me and of course also my sense of adventure so I picked the wet tunnel.  It had been chiseled out of stone and was not very tall in most places so we had to duck down and carefully watch our heads while we walked.  Most of the tunnel was also only wide enough to walk with your arms down at your sides.  This was definitely not an activity suitable for the claustrophobic!  But I'm a big fan of caves so I loved it!!!

Directly outside of the tunnel was a small pool of water called the Pool of Siloam.  This pool was the place where a blind man was healed in the Bible.  Honestly I cannot remember anymore who it was that actually put mud on the man's eyes in Jerusalem and then told him to go wash so that he could see again, but honestly it doesn't matter.  The man who was healed couldn't see the person responsible either!  All he knew was that his life had been changed in a real and dramatic way in the name of Jesus and that he would never be the same again.  After his transformation, he lived his life as a living testament to the power of Jesus Christ in his life. Some people didn't believe he was even the same person.  Not everyone has that kind of a testimony but each and every one of us should truly not be the same as we used to be after being saved by grace!  May our lives not ever be the same again.  

Our first night in Jerusalem was Thursday but it felt like a Friday night because everyone was out on the streets celebrating the end of the week.  Shabbat, or the Jewish Sabbath day, starts every Friday night at sunset so the people have their "Friday" on Thursday.  The streets were busy, the shops were all open, there was music in the streets and everyone was excited. It was really cool to be a part of that!  There's nothing quite like pretending to be a local when you're a tourist.  Its in blending in that you truly get a taste of the culture in a place.

   

North to South

 Many thanks and all the credit goes to Kelly Cole for allowing this blog entry to take place! Seriously.  I’m on a plane right now flying over the Atlantic Ocean between Frankfurt, Germany and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and I only had about 10% battery life left in my laptop.  Luckily, Kelly found an American style outlet hidden between our chairs that fits my laptop charger’s 3 prongs perfectly! My device is now happily charging away.

I left off on a bit of a cliff hanger in my last post!  Day 5 was probably the warmest day of the whole trip.  The day started off warmly during our tour of Nazareth.  However, despite our wonderful guide and the re-enactors who brought the site to life, I still struggled to imagine the village as it actually was 2,000 years ago when Jesus lived.  We walked through an area of the city of Nazareth which is essentially a large park now and we made stops at different sites where the guide explained how people of that day made a living and what life would have been like back then.  But if you looked up and around beyond the park, it was surrounded by taller, more modern buildings and it became harder and harder to believe that Jesus really walked there. It’s interesting to me that some of the places we visited during the trip immediately felt significant, others were not necessarily significant at face value but with a small push became that way, and still others simply did not have much of an impact at all.

Our next stop was another National Park called Bet She’an (or Beth Shan as it is listed in my tour book).  Today there are only ruins scattered across a valley, but historically the place was a huge Roman city. Above the uncovered ruins of the city stands a tall hill which visitors can climb to the top of (at the expense of climbing 169 steps!).  Making the climb is well worth it if you are “fleet of foot” as Jeremy says.  

The view of the uncovered city from above is amazing! If memory serves me right, part of the city lies within the hill and archaeologists have identified approximately 22 layers of civilization there but have decided not to uncover them yet.  As I walked amongst the part that IS uncovered I was amazed by the enormous size of the marble pillars, some of which are standing and some which fell to the ground during past earthquakes. At my best estimate, some of them are 4 feet in diameter.  

Another thing which impressed me was the advanced nature of their various construction projects.  For example, the Romans had figured out a way to make the floors of their bathhouses heated by building two layers of floor supported by little barrels and then channeling the heat from fires in between them!

After lunch we boarded the bus and drove to the Qumran Caves which is where the Dead Sea Scrolls were first discovered!  For those that don’t know, the Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient documents that were discovered in the 1940’s by some Bedouin shepherds.  They had happened upon the scrolls inside some pottery jars which were located inside caves by the Dead Sea.  When the scrolls were analyzed, it was discovered that they were early manuscripts of the Bible dated back way before any that had been found until then.  The fact that the words have not changed and the meaning has stayed the same for that many years is extremely significant! I know I’m not doing the explanation justice because there are entire books on the details of the find and so much speculation on the meaning of the scrolls but you get the idea… They are often referred to as the greatest archaeological find of the 20^th century.

Young Israeli Army soldier who boarded our bus
by the Dead Sea and instantly became famous!

From the caves at Qumran, we drove down the road and arrived at our hotel for the night.  But the day wasn’t done!  As soon as we got to our rooms we changed into bathing suits and spa robes and hiked out to the beach across the street.  We were ready to swim in the Dead Sea for the first time!!  With strong warnings from Jeremy floating in our minds reminding us of the safest way to swim in the sea, which if not heeded would surely end in death (!), we waded out to test the waters.  At first it felt normal.  But as we headed farther and farther out, I noticed the water beginning to become denser.  By the time I had waded in up to my waist the water was trying to float me already!  Being careful not to splash or place my face anywhere near the water, I lowered my body in up to my shoulders and was immediately picked up and laid flat on my back! Without holding my breath or even trying to float, I was lying on the surface of the water.  It felt so strange! But also quite incredible. 

When I got a bit braver I tried turning over onto my stomach and the water immediately flipped me over and pulled my legs up so that my knees were bent and my feet sticking straight up out of the water at a 90* angle!  The entire experience made it feel like I was flying.  The scenery around me was a mix of high rise hotels and palm trees with giant brown desert mountains filling in the background.  It was truly surreal.  I did NOT want to get out but it is advised that one not stay in longer than 30 minutes because the body is not used to being immersed in water which is 9 times saltier than the ocean!  I finished the night off with a quick dip in the hotel hot tub to take the chill off from the cold sea water. 

With that, I went to bed having checked an item off my bucket list that I didn’t know I had and with softer skin than I expected.       

Walking Where Jesus Walked

I'm currently sitting in my hotel room in the dark.  I just learned that this hotel has a strange and annoying energy saving technique where after approximately 2 minutes of inactivity, all the lights turn off by themselves.  I cannot figure out how to disable this function and so here I sit, with only my computer screen for a light. 

Yesterday began like every other day.  Wake up call at 6 AM (this may be vacation but there's no sleeping in haha), breakfast at 7, on the bus and moving by 8.  We arrived early for our appointment at the Sea of Galilee and so we had a few minutes to watch a film in the museum and see the exhibit about the ancient fishing boat that archaeologists dug up out of the Sea! The boat is a real boat from the time when Jesus lived.  Did he set foot in that very boat with his disciples?  Nobody knows but its fun to imagine.

With that in mind we walked out to the docks where we met Captain Dan and boarded his vessel for a time of worship.  He took us out into the middle of the Sea of Galilee and led our group in a wonderful time of worship and prayer.  Honestly, that's a place I wish we could have stayed at all day.  To sing praises to my God who can calm the wind and waves, in the exact place where he literally did that, gave me goosebumps!

Our next stop was the Mount of Beatitudes (reference Matthew 5).  This was where Jesus preached his famous Sermon on the Mount! There was a beautiful church on the grounds with mosaic tiled floors and a domed roof (pictured left and below).  The mountain area was very well gardened and the place smelled like honeysuckle.




After a short time there we moved on to our next stop, Tabgha.  This is the site where Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fish so that the entire crowd he had been preaching to would not go hungry.  There was a short path which led down to a small beach at the edge of the Sea of Galilee.  We had a short devotional and time for contemplation and then again headed back to the bus.  This is the pattern we have been following throughout the trip so far.  I am being stuffed with knowledge and information and each place has so much to offer that I admit I am finding myself to be a bit frustrated by the extremely small amounts of time we have to fully appreciate each place.  I feel these things should not be rushed through and I just wish we had some more time to let the feelings and the knowledge absorb.







With that being said, we again hopped back on the bus and headed out to Capernaum.  This is a place known as the Jesus city.  They call it that because Jesus spent so much of his time here in ministry.  I forget the exact statistics but if I remember correctly, He actually performed 23 out of 37 miracles in this one town alone!

 For lunch we stopped at a small cafe and out of three choices, I chose to be adventurous and try the fish.  Well, they warned us that it would have a head on it still but they did not mention that the whole entire fish would show up on the plate, bones and all!  I took this picture for proof... I ate the entire thing.  I would say this takes fish and chips to an entirely new level!

After lunch we headed out to go kayaking. When we got there, however, it turned out we were actually paddling canoes.  I am learning that the description of the activities in the itinerary should not be taken literally.  Jeep = ATV and kayak = canoe in Israel apparently.  I wonder if I will actually end up on the back of a camel during camel riding, or if it will be a horse instead. Most of us stayed dry during the "kayak" trip.  Only one boat got flipped and I must say it was entirely deserved... well done Nagahashi's!

The view to the right is from the window of my hotel room at sunset last night.  The hotels we are staying at are absolutely beautiful!  Each night keeps getting better and better.  We ended the evening with a baptism.  About 8 people in our group wanted to get baptized in the Sea of Galilee.  It was a wonderful, meaningful time of hearing how God has impacted the lives of others and watching them re-dedicate their lives to following Him.

As I write this, I am sitting in my hotel room looking out over the Dead Sea.  I have watched about 5 fighter jets fly past over the Sea heading south.  I can only imagine they are Israeli fighter jets conducting some training exercises but it is really exciting to watch!  If my dad was here he would be practically jumping up and down with excitement and he would be able to tell me exactly what type of plane they are flying just by the green light that flashes as it flies by in the dark.

Get excited because tomorrow I'll tell all about my swim in the Dead Sea!!

A Good Kind of Jealous

(Minor side note before I get started: in my last post I briefly mentioned child sacrifices... Just to clarify, the city of Megiddo was conquered and rebuilt 25 separate times throughout its existence! The people who lived there and made those particular kinds of sacrifices were not Christians and they were directed to pagan gods.) 

Day 3 dawned gloomy and cold.  (Which was funny because the night before Jeremy had encouraged us all to wear shorts the next day!)  I am glad I made the decision not to though because we were up quite high in elevation and the wind was blowing.  I was wearing all the layers I had brought with me on the trip and was still shivering!  The wind just cut right through.  Our first stop of the day was up in the Golan Heights.  We connected with the owners of an off-road tour company. The itinerary had mentioned that we might be taking a Jeep tour but the picture below shows quite obviously that we did not end up in Jeeps. They provided us instead with these ATV-style vehicles called "TomCars" which are possibly more effective than actual Jeeps at off road travel.  The shocks on these vehicles were so efficient that you could drive over a pothole or a giant rock and not feel a thing.   The only problem was that they were open body vehicles and so the cold became worse while we were moving.  

I volunteered to drive first!  I was in a vehicle with 3 other women.  Halfway through the tour we stopped at an abandoned building.  The tour leaders had us go up inside the building.  They told us it was an old Soviet building which had been lent to the Syrians while the land was under their control but then the Israeli's took the building back when they re-acquired the land.  It has since sat empty because at some point it had been attacked with artillery and was no longer inhabitable.  Our guide gave us a wonderful summary of the Arab/Israeli conflict while we were standing around an open window looking across at the Syrian border!  The reason he said he feels so safe so close to the border is because of Israel's far superior military capabilities and technology. 

Not pictured in this blog is the Olive Oil factory that we visited after the "Jeep" tour.  Needless to say I purchased a souvenir there so that will take the place of a picture.  After that we had lunch in a Druze restaurant.  I forget if I already mentioned this, but Jeremy explained to us that the Druze are an Arabic religious group in Israel. Their beliefs may indeed be a bit strange but their food is out of this world!  I tried fried falafel and lamb kebabs at lunch and both were fantastic!

After lunch we went to another national park. We visited Caesarea Philippi.  Here we listened to Carl preach out of Matthew 16.  One particular part of that passage stood out as extremely interesting.  Jesus said that upon "this rock" his kingdom would be built and that the "gates of Hades" would not be able to stand against it.  The "rock" referenced was most likely the mountain we were sitting next to at Caesarea Philippi and the cave located in the mountain was historically called Hades by the locals who worshiped there! They believed that their gods lived in the cave and that they had to pray to certain idols and perform certain rites to awaken their gods and entice them to send rain for their crops.  (Pictured left are little niches carved into the mountain where their idols would stand to be worshiped.)

 Leaving Caesarea, we continued on to Tel Dan where we went hiking.  Part way through the hike we stopped again and heard a passage read from 1 Kings about Jeroboam building a golden calf for his people to worship.  (Are you sensing a theme here?) Pictured at right is the actual altar where the calf was placed and where people would come to sacrifice animals to the fake god.

Our hike through Tel Dan also included views of the Jordan River which originates there and some beautiful views of the country side.  In the foreground of the photo below are military trenches leftover from when there was fighting over the country's borders.  Jeremy pointed down to a dirt road just below the trenches and told us that we were looking at Syria!  He marked out visually where the borders of Lebanon and Syria and Israel are today.  It was really quite remarkable how precise they are.  So much so that a single town is split in half between Israel and Lebanon!

I have been reflecting on how I wish that idols today were as obvious and physically represented as they were back in Bible times.  I can't help but think that we might be able to recognize them more quickly for what they are and destroy them more efficiently than our modern, abstract idols of the heart.  But then again, we might choose to set them up anyway.  In our sin our hearts wander so far away from their true purpose.  Without our sinful tendencies though we might not ever recognize or appreciate the crazy, jealous love of our God (a good jealous, that is). So could sin, if it eventually leads us closer to God than we could have been without it, actually be a good thing in a way? Until next time, chew on that.......