I was planning on getting on here and writing all about Israel as soon as I got back because it was such an amazing trip and I experienced some things I will never forget. Then I got back and of course put it off for a few days but, I also realized that I really can't put into words some of the things I experienced in those 10 days. We have been back now for almost a week which is crazy to me because I feel like we just got back while at the same time I feel like half of the things we did were forever ago. Confusing I know but, what can I say? Every trip this whole semester just runs together which is why it is flying by so fast. I guess I should say flew by so fast considering it is basically over now. We have 5 days of classes left which is crazy to me. I'll get back to Israel now. Before I went to Israel I honestly had no idea what to expect. To be honest I was getting a little tired of going from place to place being exhausted all day long and having to write notes in my moleskin (the notebooks we use for on-site notes) all day long. To my surprise as soon as we got up the morning after our 11 PM flight into Tel Aviv I was in a good mood and ready to go. One of the best parts about the trip, like Egypt, was our guide. Our guide's name was Yoni. This was his first Harding group and it was certainly an experience for him. One of the first times we started singing he just sat there and listened and enjoyed it. A couple nights later Leslie Teague, a girl who is helping out with the program this semester, shared some things on her heart and we sang and prayed for a while. Yoni was pretty much in awe as he watched what was going on. Leslie had a conversation with him later about how he could see something in our faith and had never really seen anything like that before. He kept wanting us to sing more and more as the week went on and it was so awesome being able to be an example to him like that. He was such an amazing person to that he was even an example to us. One of the last nights we got together and prayed for Osman, our guide in Egypt, because he had contacted our director about needing some prayers. Yoni sat with us again and prayed and even sang with us. It was so incredible sitting there next to him listening to him try and sing with us and learn the songs and hear the prayers. The last night we got together with him and prayed for him and of course sang some more upon his request. It was one of the most uplifting experiences I have ever been a part of.
Being an example to people is something we are called to do and, when it is that evident that what we are doing is really touching someone who has never really even seen anything like that it is such an amazing thing. I'm not going to sit here and talk in detail about everything we did because I would be sitting here for the next week. I just want to share some of the things we did that I enjoyed the most and just mention the other things we did. The first day we went to Caeserea Merritema, Meggido and Nazareth. My favorite place that day was Nazareth. We went to the Church of Annunciation and it was so beautiful. Being in the town where Jesus grew up was when it first hit me that we were literally walking in the footsteps of Jesus. I never imagined I would actually be in the places that I have read about and heard about my whole life. The next day was one of my favorite days. We went to the Mt. of Beatitudes first and then went to Caperneum and the last thing we did was go out on a boat on the Sea of Galilee. Being up on the Mt. of Beatitudes listening to the same sermon Jesus preached on that same mountain was pretty incredible. The same thing goes for being out on a boat in the Sea of Galilee. Knowing that Jesus walked on that water and also telling the apostles to cast there nets on the other side of that very same water was just crazy to think about. (Being in the same place that Jesus was ends up being a common theme throughout the week....we where in Israel....go figure.) Over the next 3 or 4 days we went to places like: Dan, Caeserea Philippi (Banias River), Ram Pool, Nimrod's Fortress, She'an, Qum'ran, Mt. Sodom, Masada, Ein Gedi and of course the Dead Sea. I really enjoyed Qum'ran because it was cool seeing the place where they found the Dead Sea Scrolls since I have actually already seen a lot of the scrolls when they were on tour in the States. We watched a movie about Masada before we left and heard plenty about it so it was inte
resting being there, especially considering the fact we were there for 4 hours (which is way to long to spend there). Masada is where the Jews had there last stand against the Romans after 3 years of escaping them. They ended up killing each other on top of the palace so they wouldn't be enslaved by the Romans. One of my favorite things of course was getting to swim, float rather, in the Dead Sea. I won't lie, it did burn a little bit especially once you got out but it was certainly worth it. We also covered ourself with the mud that is supposedly so good for your skin. It was an experience thats for certain and one that I'll never forget. On Sunday we woke up and went to a place called Beit Guvrin. From there we went to Jerusalem where we stayed the last 3 days. We took communion together in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was such a beautiful place and again just being in the garden where just prayed during his final hours of his life was incredible. I was kind of at a loss for words. Granted we don't know the exact spot or place that Jesus and his disciples were but it was close. It was an amazing time of reflection and prayer. The last thing we did that day was go to the Holocaust Museum. We only had an hour there where we needed about 6 but it made us all pretty speechless seeing the remains and the stories of the Jews. The worst part about it all was realizing it was less than a century ago. The next day we went to Mt. Zion, Temple Mount, the Western Wall, the City of David and the Kidron Valley Tombs. To be honest I just feel like talking about those things I would be repeating myself with words about how incredible it was to see those places and walk where Jesus walked so I won't really expound on those things. Just know that if you ever get the chance to go I would highly encourage it. We actually saw a virtual model of the Temple which was really cool being able to see what it would have actually looked like where the Dome of the Rock now stands. Since the Jews are not able to pray on the Temple Mount they found the closest place which is the Western Wall which is where we got to go also and pray and stick our prayers in the wall. The next day was our last and longest day. We started out at the top of the Mt. of Olives and worked our way down passing the churches along the hill. We crossed Kidron Valley and entered Jerusalem's walls through the Lion Gate. We went to the Pool of Bethesda and then walked the Via De Larosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This is the path along the streets of Jerusalem that Jesus supposedly walked carrying is cross and ultimately died on the cross where the Church of the Holy Sepulcher now stands. After that we went to the Garden tomb which is where Jesus was supposedly buried. The funny thing about all of this is that we don't know for sure about any of these places being the exact place. We know it was close and it was in the City but thats all we know for sure. It is like someone said though, if people knew the exact place and the exact spot where some of these events occurred people would come to worship the place instead of the person. To me it was just so amazing being in the city and close to these places. It truly made the Bible come alive to me. It made me realize where these cities and places were that I had heard about my entire life but never really thought about. The week was a long one but it was truly one of the best weeks of my life both physically and spiritually. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to see the things that I saw and be in the places I went to but also, just to feel the things that I felt watching Yoni witness what he did and being so uplifted when we sang and prayed together. It was such an amazing experience and I beg anyone wh
o has the same opportunity to not let it go to waste. I will remember this week for the rest of my life because it has already effected the rest of my life. We have just been trying to get back into the hang of things since we have been back although I don't really think it is possible to do that with the way our schedule works over here. We leave on Friday for our cruise to the islands which is our last trip before free travel which is in two weeks. Tomorrow we have a service day which I am looking forward to. Not only is it a day of no class but its a great opportunity to give back which is something I myself have trouble with at times. I will continue to update as often as I can but for now I continue to thank God for this incredible opportunity and the blessings that he has poured down on us daily.
I was planning on getting on here and writing all about Israel as soon as I got back because it was such an amazing trip and I experienced some things I will never forget. Then I got back and of course put it off for a few days but, I also realized that I really can't put into words some of the things I experienced in those 10 days. We have been back now for almost a week which is crazy to me because I feel like we just got back while at the same time I feel like half of the things we did were forever ago. Confusing I know but, what can I say? Every trip this whole semester just runs together which is why it is flying by so fast. I guess I should say flew by so fast considering it is basically over now. We have 5 days of classes left which is crazy to me. I'll get back to Israel now. Before I went to Israel I honestly had no idea what to expect. To be honest I was getting a little tired of going from place to place being exhausted all day long and having to write notes in my moleskin (the notebooks we use for on-site notes) all day long. To my surprise as soon as we got up the morning after our 11 PM flight into Tel Aviv I was in a good mood and ready to go. One of the best parts about the trip, like Egypt, was our guide. Our guide's name was Yoni. This was his first Harding group and it was certainly an experience for him. One of the first times we started singing he just sat there and listened and enjoyed it. A couple nights later Leslie Teague, a girl who is helping out with the program this semester, shared some things on her heart and we sang and prayed for a while. Yoni was pretty much in awe as he watched what was going on. Leslie had a conversation with him later about how he could see something in our faith and had never really seen anything like that before. He kept wanting us to sing more and more as the week went on and it was so awesome being able to be an example to him like that. He was such an amazing person to that he was even an example to us. One of the last nights we got together and prayed for Osman, our guide in Egypt, because he had contacted our director about needing some prayers. Yoni sat with us again and prayed and even sang with us. It was so incredible sitting there next to him listening to him try and sing with us and learn the songs and hear the prayers. The last night we got together with him and prayed for him and of course sang some more upon his request. It was one of the most uplifting experiences I have ever been a part of.
Being an example to people is something we are called to do and, when it is that evident that what we are doing is really touching someone who has never really even seen anything like that it is such an amazing thing. I'm not going to sit here and talk in detail about everything we did because I would be sitting here for the next week. I just want to share some of the things we did that I enjoyed the most and just mention the other things we did. The first day we went to Caeserea Merritema, Meggido and Nazareth. My favorite place that day was Nazareth. We went to the Church of Annunciation and it was so beautiful. Being in the town where Jesus grew up was when it first hit me that we were literally walking in the footsteps of Jesus. I never imagined I would actually be in the places that I have read about and heard about my whole life. The next day was one of my favorite days. We went to the Mt. of Beatitudes first and then went to Caperneum and the last thing we did was go out on a boat on the Sea of Galilee. Being up on the Mt. of Beatitudes listening to the same sermon Jesus preached on that same mountain was pretty incredible. The same thing goes for being out on a boat in the Sea of Galilee. Knowing that Jesus walked on that water and also telling the apostles to cast there nets on the other side of that very same water was just crazy to think about. (Being in the same place that Jesus was ends up being a common theme throughout the week....we where in Israel....go figure.) Over the next 3 or 4 days we went to places like: Dan, Caeserea Philippi (Banias River), Ram Pool, Nimrod's Fortress, She'an, Qum'ran, Mt. Sodom, Masada, Ein Gedi and of course the Dead Sea. I really enjoyed Qum'ran because it was cool seeing the place where they found the Dead Sea Scrolls since I have actually already seen a lot of the scrolls when they were on tour in the States. We watched a movie about Masada before we left and heard plenty about it so it was inte
resting being there, especially considering the fact we were there for 4 hours (which is way to long to spend there). Masada is where the Jews had there last stand against the Romans after 3 years of escaping them. They ended up killing each other on top of the palace so they wouldn't be enslaved by the Romans. One of my favorite things of course was getting to swim, float rather, in the Dead Sea. I won't lie, it did burn a little bit especially once you got out but it was certainly worth it. We also covered ourself with the mud that is supposedly so good for your skin. It was an experience thats for certain and one that I'll never forget. On Sunday we woke up and went to a place called Beit Guvrin. From there we went to Jerusalem where we stayed the last 3 days. We took communion together in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was such a beautiful place and again just being in the garden where just prayed during his final hours of his life was incredible. I was kind of at a loss for words. Granted we don't know the exact spot or place that Jesus and his disciples were but it was close. It was an amazing time of reflection and prayer. The last thing we did that day was go to the Holocaust Museum. We only had an hour there where we needed about 6 but it made us all pretty speechless seeing the remains and the stories of the Jews. The worst part about it all was realizing it was less than a century ago. The next day we went to Mt. Zion, Temple Mount, the Western Wall, the City of David and the Kidron Valley Tombs. To be honest I just feel like talking about those things I would be repeating myself with words about how incredible it was to see those places and walk where Jesus walked so I won't really expound on those things. Just know that if you ever get the chance to go I would highly encourage it. We actually saw a virtual model of the Temple which was really cool being able to see what it would have actually looked like where the Dome of the Rock now stands. Since the Jews are not able to pray on the Temple Mount they found the closest place which is the Western Wall which is where we got to go also and pray and stick our prayers in the wall. The next day was our last and longest day. We started out at the top of the Mt. of Olives and worked our way down passing the churches along the hill. We crossed Kidron Valley and entered Jerusalem's walls through the Lion Gate. We went to the Pool of Bethesda and then walked the Via De Larosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This is the path along the streets of Jerusalem that Jesus supposedly walked carrying is cross and ultimately died on the cross where the Church of the Holy Sepulcher now stands. After that we went to the Garden tomb which is where Jesus was supposedly buried. The funny thing about all of this is that we don't know for sure about any of these places being the exact place. We know it was close and it was in the City but thats all we know for sure. It is like someone said though, if people knew the exact place and the exact spot where some of these events occurred people would come to worship the place instead of the person. To me it was just so amazing being in the city and close to these places. It truly made the Bible come alive to me. It made me realize where these cities and places were that I had heard about my entire life but never really thought about. The week was a long one but it was truly one of the best weeks of my life both physically and spiritually. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to see the things that I saw and be in the places I went to but also, just to feel the things that I felt watching Yoni witness what he did and being so uplifted when we sang and prayed together. It was such an amazing experience and I beg anyone wh
o has the same opportunity to not let it go to waste. I will remember this week for the rest of my life because it has already effected the rest of my life. We have just been trying to get back into the hang of things since we have been back although I don't really think it is possible to do that with the way our schedule works over here. We leave on Friday for our cruise to the islands which is our last trip before free travel which is in two weeks. Tomorrow we have a service day which I am looking forward to. Not only is it a day of no class but its a great opportunity to give back which is something I myself have trouble with at times. I will continue to update as often as I can but for now I continue to thank God for this incredible opportunity and the blessings that he has poured down on us daily.
1 comment:
Hi Brent. Reached your site via Jason Bybee. Noticed my nephew Ben in your first picture here.
Hope you guys are having a great experience over there. Tell Ben he needs to write something on his blog!
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