Yesterday and Today..

Tuesday was a gooood day. I very much enjoyed it. We went swimming near Gideon's Spring at a natural spring that stays around 80 degrees all year long. We arrived and the day was perfect. The sky was blue and the sun was out and the water was crystal clear. My curiosity got the better part of me as there was a cave across the water and I decided to go exploring. It wasn't anything exciting, but I got my hair wet which wasn't my favorite thing in the world. After that, it was all fun and games. haha. We swam around there for awhile until we found out there was a waterfall on the other side. We went over there and as I stood under it the water felt like a pounding massage on my shoulders- an overdue massage! Ryan, Alexis, Kara-Leigh, and I were swimming around the other side and I found a caveish thing I wanted to go in. The water got colder as I swam closer (I couldn't touch the bottom the whole time by the way) and I held on to the rock to catch my breath. As I sat there for a second I suddenly felt a FISH MOUTH around my WHOLE BIG TOE!!!!!! At that point I couldn't get out of the water fast enough! I have never felt so awkward in my whole life!!! It makes for a great story though... who else can say they have had their whole big toe in a fish's mouth? This was the last day for our felafel... ohhhhh what a sad day. We have this felafel spot down the block and it might be- no, it IS the best spot in all of Israel. Alexis, Kara-Leigh, Katie, Ryan, and I go there quite often and have become with the guy there named Eyal. He is super sweet, very kind- hearted. When we came in he said "I have been thinking about you all" and we said "We are really going to miss you!" and he said "I am going to miss you all as well..." Yes, this was the point I started to tear up. hahaha. We have wanted to get a picture with him for awhile but didn't want to be really weird-haha- but that day he said "I want a picture and you can e-mail it to me" and we were SUPER EXCITED! We took the picture and he wrote us a note with his e-mail address and a note that said:

"To all of my friends from U.S.A. My email is..... my name-Eyal. Miss you all. I hope that you enjoy of your stay in Israel." When I read this I started to cry and gave it to Ryan and he as well started to get emotional and as the paper passed the tears fell. It's crazy that out of all of Israel, the man at the felafel spot down the block would be the thing I miss most. God works in crazy ways. ALSO- "spicy" is the stuff that makes this felafel so amazing. It's green and well, spicy. He knows we love it and I was going to buy some to bring home and he gave me a huge container of it and said "it's on me." I'm in love. hahahaha

Today was definitely a walking day. We walked all over Jerusalem- when I say all over I mean we went from tip to tip. It was awesome though to see all the different parts all in one day. We walked the Via Dolorosa and saw the church of the Holy Sepulchre and I was very disappointed in that. It was so frustrating to me to see people kiss and touch and hold things in such reverence in that church as if it was that thing that died for them!!! I can understand that it is an emotional moment, but when an elderly woman who can hardly walk uses all her strength to bend down and kiss a rock that they say Jesus' cross was on but don't know for sure.... stand UP and praise the Lord. Jesus said "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe" John 20:29. There aren't things in this world that will allow one to be closer to God, and I understand that it's sentimental, but I guess I just have grown up in an independent christian generation that runs far away from everything that even resembles idols. After the church we had lunch and a little time to shop in the Arab Market. I just love hasseling all the guys there... I guess I'm a natrual arguer- I seem to be pretty good at it! A tour guide from a few weeks ago asked us to come to his house for a "tea party" which turned out to not be a tea party at all because there was no tea. We walked about 4 miles to his house and walked through an ultra-orthodox neighborhood. Before we walked everyone had to completely cover their shoulders and knees and put jackets on so we wouldn't offend any of them. We walked down the street and there was a HUGE sign that said "No tourists or groups allowed- we have been offended in the past!" but our tour guide kept on walking- so I followed. As we walked deeper into this neighborhood it was as if you could almost feel the tension in the air as we walked past Jewish men that cannot touch another woman and refuses to look at girls. It is the beginning of Pesach (passover) so everyone was out in the street with massive pots boiling all of their dishes and pots and pans since everything must be completely clean, including their houses, before Pesach. One man walked up to our tour guide and began yelling at him in Hebrew and our tour guide "took care of it" and we kept walking. You could tell that they wanted nothing to do with us. Even the signs were all in Hebrew- usually in the city they have signs that are in Hebrew and English, but in this spot they did not want anyone who spoke English around! (I asked our tour guide later what he said to the man and he said "I just told him to mind his own business." haha) We arrived at Ely's house and put together a passover dinner table on the lawn outside of his apartment. His wife had prepared all of these amazing dishes that they use at passover. It was awesome to experience that and that he invited 43 of us to his home! Afterwards we called a cab (I wasn't really up for another 4 mile walk back) and this was probably the most worried I have been for my life since I've been here! We got in the cab and he immediately sped off. Have I mentioned drivers in Jerusalem are probably the equivalent of the drivers in New York City..maybe worse. We were driving on a street in the neighborhood and the car in front of us was apparently going too slow so he passed around him super fast. The girls in the back, as well as I, were trying to be discrete in how crazy nervous we were! I decided to try to start conversation to ease the tension but turns out he didn't speak ANY English. Awesome. We got back the house and the headed to the Legacy (ugh- the Legacy. Probably the equivalent of Chartwells, for all of you who understand. haha) for the Pesach dinner. There was a point that I was laughing as someone while Dr. van der Laan was doing the Sader and I immediately reverted back to being 7 years old and sitting at the dinner table laughing so hard and not being able to stop (Dad, I'm sure you remember this haha). It got so bad at one point that I had to walk out of the room and pull it together enough to walk back in. I got it together and SOMEHOW made it through the rest of the meal. Phew. What a night.

I am so thankful for the girls that are in my room here. It's funny because at first I thought it would be alright, but I definitely couldn't have made it without them.

Tomorrow is the Garden Tomb.

no-picture-day

Today was a day for no pictures.... for two reasons actually. One is I ran out of film and every store except for one only carries 200 speed, which I usually shoot with 400. Two is because it might have been a waste of a day. :-/ We left at 8 and drove 3 hours to Beer Sheva (which is the southern most point that the Bible speaks of about Israel) to see a crater. This crater looked like the rest of the desert, and I'm not too thrilled with holes in the ground as it is. I've never really had a desire to see the Grand Canyon either... guess it's just not my thing. We stayed for about 20 minutes, got back on the bus and drove an hour back the other way and stopped by the house of Ben Gurion. He was the first prime minister of Israel and his house looked a lot like a normal middle class family of the 1940's. We stayed there for 20 minutes and got back on the bus to drive another 30 minutes back the Old City of Beer Sheva. We went to a museum for about 10 minutes and saw "Abraham's Well" which was not Abraham's well really at all. It was just a well.... We had some time (obviously) to kill before we had to go home so they told us to walk around Beer Sheva for awhile. Beer Sheva might have been equivilently as dumpy as Bethlehem... I spent 10 sheks on a CAN of Dr. Pepper (which is about $2.50... you gotta do what you gotta do for the DP) and called it a day. A group of us just waited in the parking lot until people got back to the bus. It was also weird because it only rains about 2 inches in the desert each YEAR and today was that day. It was oddly dusty and foggy out. I would probably say the highlight of my day was when I saw a man, (this makes number 6) peeing on the side of the road right by our bus. Don't worry folks, I wasn't close enough to where it was completely awkward, but it was funny all the same. On the way home, a group of people decided it was open mic day and tell jokes on the bus... some were funny and some were ridiculous.

The first picture is me walking across "Abraham's Well." It was QUITE boring, so I had to do something fun.... Mrs. Rina said no, but Dr. van der Laan said go for it!! So I did... haha. The second is of Me, Katie, Alexis and Mrs. Rina. I do love those girls :)

I hope tomorrow is a dress day. I miss wearing dresses!

Jesus Walked

We need to catch up....
It's been a few days, so this may take awhile.


It all began around 9:00am Thursday morning when we arrived to a nature preserve somewhere in Galilee (I'm not quite sure where because it seems that every time I get on the bus it has a soothing effect and makes me fall asleep.) We were going to plant a tree! The Jewish people really have a heart for rebuilding and replanting in Israel since it says in Amos "I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit." Amos 9:14. Israel is now the country that has the most trees planted in the world. We were taken out into a field, read this verse, and were given a choice of an Oak tree, Carob tree, or an Olive tree. I really wanted an olive tree, but there was only one and a girl snatched it before I could get there. But my second choice was a Carob tree, which I got! A Carob tree is native to Israel and is quite amazing. They call it the tree of life because as they grow, they produce this fruit that is green, and when it's ripe turns a dark brown/blackish color. This tree is mentioned several times in the Bible. When you eat the pods off of the tree, they taste like chocolate and has all the necessities to survive on that alone if one was starving, especially in the desert. The way they grow in harsh elements is amazing! They were already starting to grow in a pot, so we kind of just transferred them into the ground. Ryan, Alexis, Katie, Kara-Leigh and I all took our trees and planted them next to each other. We figured when we came back to Jerusalem with our kids, we would pick which ever one was still alive and say "That's the tree your mom planted!" After that, we hopped on the bus and went to the Knesset, which is the Israeli Parliament building. I have not had good lunch with flip flops here seeing as one pair had already broke and now, another is gone. If you really knew me, you would know that I cannot live with out certain things and one of them is flip flops (another is Dr. Pepper and thank GOD for "Super24" store, which I'm pretty sure is the only store in Israel that sells it!) We were walking into the Knesset past the crazy security and I trip over a rock (imagine that) and my flip flop breaks. I'm so worried about my shoe that I am walking through the metal detector with all kinds of jewelery on and it keeps beeping and through broken English the men are telling me to go back 3 or 4 times. It was quite the ordeal. One of the security women fixed my shoe as much as possible and it lasted until the way home from dinner, in which I had to wrap a hair tie around my shoe. I bet you will never say you went barefoot through the Knesset though!
After the Knesset, we drove to a look out right about the TRUE Old City (The City of David) and it was then that I finally understood what the city looked like in the time of Jesus. We walked down a few steps in a church and ended up in an old cave that was Caiaphas's' house- one of the High Priests in Jesus' time. The tour guide was explaining to us that there are very few places that they can say absolutely sure that Jesus was in an exact spot- but this was one of them. We walked down to a room that was an old water cistern that had a hole in the roof of it. We were told that this was the place Jesus was taken to the night he was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was lowered by his arms through the hole in the roof and was left here over night. Being in there was so overwhelming... the dark room with the cold corners. I could only imagine what Jesus was thinking as he was sitting there alone after he just prayed "Father, if you could, take this cup from me." We walked out of the cave and on to a set of white steps that was right outside of the house. On either side of the steps were the ruins of the High Priests' house including Annas. I sat on the steps and looked out on to the City of David and the current Old City and Jerusalem and while I heard the guide saying "These steps were the very steps Jesus took to the Upper Room, dragged up to Caiaphas's' house, to Annas' house, and down to go to Pontius Pilate. They have not been touched, rebuilt, or fixed since that time." I sat there in awe and reverence of everything I just heard. To step out of being a tourist for a moment, to step out of problems and worldliness... these were the last and first steps of eternity. We will soon be no longer burdened by sin and sacrifice and will step into an eternity with the Father. Out of everything I've seen in Jerusalem, this has surpassed everything. To sit there for 30 minutes realizing that from those steps I can see where the temple used to be, the Garden of Gethsemane, the City of David, and the hill Christ was crucified on. Jesus could see his fate on one step.
Friday, before Shabbat, we had a man from the International church come to lecture. He was a Japanese-American-Israeli. Quite a few nationalities in one man! He spoke about Israel and the Jewish people along with his testimony and why he was called here. It was awesome just to hear people speak who have such a passion for the Israel and the Jewish people that they would dedicate their lives to live in Israel. Israel is a beautiful place to live, but you must realize that to live here, you are sacrificing much of what we call "freedom" in America. The way you dress, speak, act, and which days you do things suddenly change. I pray God blesses all those who are have a passion for the Jewish people and have given their life in hopes they the Jews will find new life.
Saturday was shabbat. Praise God for Shabbat!! It might be my favorite day of the week. This week was a true shabbat. We did NOTHING!! I woke up and had lunch and then went on the roof to take a nap. After 3 weeks it is still amazing to me that I can fall asleep to the view of the temple mount and Dome of the Rock.
Today is Sunday and we are taking it a bit slower this week. We walked to the East Gate of the wall today and then up to the Mount of Olives. Now, when I say we walked up the Mount of Olives, I don't mean it was a stroll in the park, this mountain might be the steepest, longest road I have ever walked up in my life. They did not warn us that we would be doing this today, which made it even worse!!! It was so crazy. I wish I had pictures, but I was too focused on breathing than snappin a shot! Good news is, I'm going to be in great shape when I get home- Actually, I wish I could say that would be true, but with all the Gelato, Falafel, and Twix, I think I might be coming home the same. :-/ When we got up to the top, we realized that our new tour guide brought us to the same place we had been a few days before, but that time we took a bus... I think I will opt out for the bus next time. We walked back down and went to the Garden of Gethsemane. That was an amazing place. I am a little disappointed by how commercialized they make many of the sites, but to see Olive trees that were over 2,000 years old was completely unexplainable. The twisted and deformed shape almost screams of the agony of Christ. Lunch was falafel again today- I think I'm in love. We have made friends with the Jewish people down the street that run the falafel place and he hooks us up when we come in. It's a beautiful thing. We were asking him what a falafel actually is (since all we know is it's a fried ball and the inside is green) and it turns out that the majority of it is crushed up chic peas! They use chic peas for everything here! He was telling us that Pesach (or passover) starts in 3 days and they will be closed for 7 days. By the time they open again, we will be back in America... This hurts my heart. Yes, because I DO love falafels, but also because we have really become friends with these people. I will truly miss them. We went to a church service tonight the a sketchy building on Jaffa St. It kind of reminded me of the medical hatch (for all you LOST fans out there haha). We walked in and immediately I felt like I was back in America. There were lights and curtains and a loud worship band... it was good, but it just made me think of the drastic change that had just happened just by walking into a building. I did miss Shemen Sasson this week, which is the Messianic Jewish church we have been attending here. You would think because everything has to be translated it would be annoying, but God really has his hand on that congregation. We have become pretty good at the Hebrew songs too, so that makes it a little easier! If you want to check out their website it's http://shemensasson.com/ The pastor of the church, Calev Myers, is also a lawyer that helps Messianic Jews come back to Israel since the Israeli government denies them citizenship because they said they have "turned away." The messages that we have heard have been awesome and the way I feel the church was called to be. They are very theologically sound and very encouraging.
I can honestly say that I am not coming back to America the same.