The Temple Mount

The days here seem to be spreading out and becoming their own, but there are still some times where I seem to push everything together in my mind and forget what day is what. Yesterday, Monday, we went to Bethlehem all day. It was nothing I was expecting at all... We had to cross the border into the Palestinian part of Israel (fact: Palestine is not really a land but a group of people who own parts of Israel therefore calling themselves Palestinians and NOT Israeli citizens while still living in the country of Israel). We could not bring our tour guide and bus driver because they were Jewish and Israeli's, and Israeli's are not allowed to go into Palestine. We walked across the border and hopped on another bus, friends of our tour guide. Bethlehem was a dump. It was so dirty and there was graffiti everywhere. We went into the church that is over the spot where Jesus was born and it is owned by the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Syrian churches so all three are competing for ownership within one building. It was a little upsetting to see such a holy place be defiled with these things. It kind of brought to mind how Jesus must have felt when people were selling things in the temple.
Today we went to the Dome of the Rock (which is the big gold dome on top of a beautiful building that most people think of when they think of Israel). This day was probably the first day that I felt so attached to the ground that I was walking on. As we walked in we were told we were not allowed to bring anything that resembled Christianity; I only brought my camera. I walked in and was told I must cover myself more (which I thought I was, I had on a short sleeve shirt and Capri's) so Dr. van der Laan gave me his sweater. We walked through and it was so amazing because this is the spot, the absolute spot where both the first and second temples were built. The steps I walked up and down were the steps Jesus took numerous times to go in and out of the temple. As I walked in and saw the Dome of the Rock, I was a little hurt at first because the place where so much glory was brought to God was now filled with the worship of a foreign god. As I stood and looked up at the gold plated dome I realized that God does not dwell in a building nor does he need a spot to call his own. There were so many things there that fulfilled what is said in the Bible that I was in awe of everything around me. We have been learning and trying to picture the old city of Jerusalem and it's been difficult because the city is so built up now- but today I was walking through the second temple period. It was amazing to walk where the outer courts would have been all the way into where they believe the holy of holies was. This was also the same place where Abram was told to offer his son Isaac. How amazing is it that on one mountain so many generations would pass through? After we left we went to an archaeological dig in which we were digging through remains that the Muslims had bull dozed off the temple mount. I have decided that I will never be an archaeologist. Ever. We found lots of remains of pottery and I did however find an old brass button. We are not sure which time period it dates back to, but its anywhere from the first or second temple period through the Byzantine time period. The archaeologists seems excited when I found it so it MUST be important! :)
Tomorrow is an early morning. We are leaving at 7am which means breakfast is at 6am which means I am waking up at 5:55am!
I am having a hard time understanding the legalism here. The tension surrounds the streets and even when people are happy they are not joyful. It's all in God's timing... hearts are hardened and will be until the coming of the Jesus.... but until then, it breaks my heart. Life shouldn't be lived in fear, but yet in freedom. I want Israel to know freedom.

En Gedi

We descended once again to the desert today near the Dead Sea to En Gedi. En Gedi is the place where David hid from Saul in the caves. It was beautiful actually seeing it. Our guide took us up the mountain and at the top was a natural spring... in the middle of the desert. It was a beautiful waterfall flowing down the mountain of rocks. There was greenery all around and life flourishing everywhere there. Our assignment was to meditate and write a Psalm.... It was quite the experience. Today has been a rough day for me. Not all day, but just this evening. It's hard when your heart burns with passion and your flesh remains the same. I'm frustrated and burdened all in the same emotion. I see the Orthodox Jewish men walking in front of me right now, knowing that they have no hope of Jesus Christ and I sit on my balcony filled with the hope and peace of what Jesus has brought and cannot "find the time" to be Jesus. They don't need to "hear" it here, they must see it. They must see hope, which is why God sent Jesus. Not that he would just be here, but people weren't getting it by hearing it, they needed to see hope in action. They needed Christ. I need Christ. I want to live in truth. Truth is more than just the absence of lies, but the very nature of who God is. If I say I am living in truth than I am living in God- am I? God help me to live in truth. Help me to breathe. I need to breathe. Love never fails, but I do so often. If strength comes from the Lord than why am I so weak? I need to breathe. Breathe love and strength. I cannot do this alone. My heart burns but my body stays the same.
Tomorrow is Bethlehem. I just found out today that Bethlehem is not part of the Israeli state, but actually part of Palestine. This happened within the past 3 years I think. Our tour guide and bus driver are not allowed to go with us because they are Jewish and Jews are not allowed to cross the Palestinian border.

Listen to Marc Broussard "My God"- its beautiful. Also "You Are For Me" by Kari Jobe.

It seems to be all catching up.

Shabbat Shalom. I love Friday nights and Saturday for the simple fact that I can say "Shabbat Shalom" everywhere I go. haha. It's quite fun.
Yesterday we woke up at 10:15 (woo hoo!) and at 11:15 went to the Ethopian quarter of Jerusalem to do a community service project of picking up trash. We are partnered with a Messianic Jewish church here run by John and Calev Myers (Calev spoke at SEU graduation last year about Israel). I'm not going to lie, in the beginning I was a little non-supportive of the whole activity. I was tired and sore from our bedouin experience just the day before and all I wanted to do was rest. We got there and were given XL bright blue shirts that said in Hebrew "Citizens of Jerusalem" of which we are not and made the community members very confused as to why we did not speak Hebrew. We started picking up trash on the side of the road and then moved into a parking lot of an apartment complex. It was very run down and overgrown with bushes. There was a HUGE mess in the corner and it was in dire need of some assistance... so that became our first project. As we were cleaning, different people started to come out and look at what we were doing. I found out very quickly here that Israeli people are natrually VERY curious about everything! As we finished with that job, we started on the sidewalks a little closer to the house. This woman walked up and somehow we communicated through the assistance of Dr. van der Laan and she asked us to clean up the mess in front of her apartment. It was crazy. There was trash imbeded into the ground all along the front doors of these apartments. We found some pretty interesting things. As we were working a young woman came out of her apartment with a liter bottle of coke and some cups and gave it to me. I said "thankyou so much" and she said "thank YOU." It was then that I realized that we weren't just cleaning up, but we were being the hands and feet of Christ. I never really understood the reality of that statement until I came here. I may have mentioned this before, but in Israel you aren't able to openly declare your faith if you are a Christian, therefore you have to SHOW love to the people of Israel. I've never experienced this because I've always been able to show love through service but than talk about Jesus but because of the language barrier here there is nothing I can do but love and serve.
After we left the neighborhood we got on the bus and were ready for a falafal!!! There is a woman who lives down the road from us and makes the BEST spicy falafals.... but she is jewish- she wasn't open because Shabbat was about to start. That was quite disappointing, but it worked out well. That night we had a debriefing session in the common room and had a guest speaker, Jordana and Shannon McMillen. They are recently married and Jordana is actually from Southeastern. They were speaking about why they are in Jerusalem and they got on the topic of the people, particularly the Orthodox Jews. It was crazy because I learned so much about them and just have such a burden to pray for them. It seems almost impossible for them to know or see Jesus but as Shannon said, just as God can make a green grass grow in the rockiest parts of the desert that has no rain so can he change the hard hearts of even the most orthodox jewish man. Today was a lazy day and we went to the Messianic church again tonight. We were singing a song and I was watching the people worship God and it moved me to tears. The earnestness that these people seek God with is so overwhelming. Not with an overconfidence, but a humble and unworthiness to come before a king. I pray for Israel.. that they would see that this is God's chosen land and they are God's chosen people. I pray they would see the Messiah, Yeshua. Father, you are my hope.

"boka tov"

So I lied in my last post... kind of. I said we climbed a stteeeppppp mountain which now in retrospect, is NOTHING compared to today's journey. It seems like it's been a week packed full of stuff, but in fact it's only been two days so I'll start from the beginning and try to not make it painfully long.... (but no promises)

Wednesday morning we got up and went to Qumran where they found the Dead Sea Scrolls. We saw a movie and zipped through a quite ghetto museum and got out. From there we went to the Dead Sea!! That place is absoloutely crazy to me! As Alexis and I walked down to the shore we saw all of our classmates COVERED in mud. Completely covered from head to toe.... that doesn't sound exciting to me one bit. Aparently the mud from the Dead Sea is supposed to be AMAZING for you skin, which, is why everyone was black. We stepped into the water but because of the splippery-ness of the mud, it was more of a "fall" into the water. We got in and... well... decided to rub the mud on ourselves. By the end our our time we were covered with mud, sitting out so it would dry and then washing it off. That was also definitely hard because in the Dead Sea you float constantly! It was so amazing! (One of my friends INSISTED that he cannot float and it turns out, he can in the Dead Sea!) Have I mentioned how SALTY the Dead Sea is?!?!? It's ridiculous. It's disgusting. I'm glad I went, but probably wouldn't mind if I never went back :)After the Dead Sea we went the a Bedouin camp. What is a Bedouin?

The Bedouin, (from the Arabic badawī (بدوي), pl. badū), are predominantly Muslim, desert-dwelling Arab nomadic pastoralist, or previously nomadic group, found throughout most of the desert belt extending from the Atlantic coast of the Sahara via the Western Desert, Sinai, and Negev to the Arabian Desert.

That was cool because we were able to camp out in the middle of the desert! The stars were amazing and the lights from the city shining behind the sand mountains were beautiful. We also rode camels... have I mentioned how non-crazy I am about riding animals? Probably not because when I think about it I think "wow that would be a great idea" but then when I actually do it, it seems like a stupid decision. We got up on the massive beast (which we named Speedy Gonzalez; half because he was NEVER in line with the other camels and always wanted to find his own way down the hills and half because Alexis' last name is Gonzalez.) The camel behind me (who they named Oliver) was a biter!!!!! My feet were basically wrapped around Alexis' body the whole time (in fear) and right where my leg WOULD be, Oliver bit Speedy 3 times! It was very nerve racking, but good at the same time :) We slept in the tent, and at 4am a Bedouin man walked into our tent and said "boka tov" which means good morning. Question: What is good about a morning beginning at 4am? Well, nothing really. Why did we get up at 4am do you ask? TO CLIMB MOUNT MASADA. Fact: I don't like physical activity very much at all... especially at very early hours of the morning. I went and tried to be a good sport (as good as I can be for not being a morning person) and we climbed up and down Mount Masada. It was cool after we got done knowing we had accomplished it. We then went on a 7 1/2 hour Safari through the desert. Our driver (who I named Solomon, pronounced "shlow-mo" in hebrew-which i said) decided he didn't like the roads they had made so made his own. I'm not going to lie there were a few times I didn't think we would make it. But it was beautiful when we got to the top of the highest point in the Negev Desert and saw all of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and the Dead Sea. We went to speak to some bedouins and I met two boys named Omar and Achmed. Omar asked me to ride his donkey and then to stay with him. Haha. I declined. We came back to Casa de Amistad (where we are staying) and I am here now writing a blog. It has been an amazing last couple of days and I can't believe that I swam in the dead sea, rode a camel, slept in a bedouin tent in the middle of the desert, climbed up and down mt. masada and went on a jeep safari through the negev desert. How awesome is that?! I am thoroughly exhausted now and daylight savings time is tomorrow :-/ I hate that day, and now I have to do it twice this semester!

It seems that Israel is very slippery.. haha. I have now offically fallen down a flight of stairs, tripped over the SAME bump on the way to dinner every night now, slipped on a limestone slope, and fell in the shower tonight. Awesome! Only I would do this... it makes the trip though right??

David lives in a Kibbutz with 1000 caves...

It's laundry day friends!!!!! What a glorious day indeed! I woke up this morning, brought down my laundry and got ready for another day. We loaded the bus around 8am and drove just a few minutes outside of Jerusalem. We climbed this stteeeeeeppppp mountain with steps made out of limestone, like everything else is, and got the top which had a beautiful view of the land. We could see in front of us hills and tels with green green grass on them and a dried up river bed and to our left off in the distance, the shore of the Mediteranian Sea. We were told that this is the very land where a young boy named David slayed a giant named Goliath with a sling and a stone. You see the very mountain I was standing on was the mountain the Philistine armies were stationed at looking down at David and King Saul. It was amazing to be there in that moment where God made history. We walked down the mountain and drove a little more but made a pit stop on the side of the road, walked down a dry river bed, and collected 5 stones from the very river David collected his from. WOOOWWW!! I can't believe it. It makes me smile to think that I was there. We then went to one of Israel's National Parks where they have the Land of 1000 Caves. There are more like 5,000 caves there, but hey. Our tour guide, Uncle Kenny as he like to be called (who, by the way, reminds me of the father on My Big Fat Greek Wedding. He doesn't look like him, but he sure speaks like him) too us into caves that were dug thousands of years ago. These caves had many different uses such as holding oil, water, etc. They were amazing. We would walk down a small set of stairs and all of a sudden it opened up into a huge cave with hundreds of pigeon holes cut out on the top for the pigeons to nest in; pigeons were a great sacrifice to pagan god's as well as a delicacy-they also served as fresh fertilizer. We went through several other caves in which one I crawled down a hole. It was quite humorous because it was just big enough that I could fit far enough in to where people thought I fell down into a pit of nowhere! I had quite the time getting out though, seeing as getting in is a whole lot easier and I was 15ft off the ground. I got out but was covered in white chalk from head to toe!!! Hey you only get to crawl in to cave holes in Israel once right?! We then went around Uncle Kenny's Kibbutz which was pretty cool. I was extremely tired, so I didn't really understand it all, but the theory of a Kibbutz is amazing. They have them all over Israel here and it is basically a community that lives together and by each one of his or her gifts contributes and they survive as a community. It seems so farfetched as an American but is so normal here. Why can't that kind of community and closeness be normal in America? I think when Jesus said fellowship, this is what he was speaking of rather than our weekly meetings of 10 minutes in between the 2 sets of worship songs at church and an occasional Bible study on Wednesday night. After the Kibbutz we came home and rested before dinner. I have learned a lot about myself as I have been on this trip: #1- I can sleep pretty much anywhere- I think anytime we have a free 5 minutes I fall asleep. #2- The sound of a bus motor lulls me to sleep- I fall asleep at least within the first 10 minutes of the bus starting everytime. #3- I need protien to survive!!!- I have had a way lack of protien while I have been here and just crave a piece of meat!! haha We went to dinner (rice and noodles again :) and when we walked out it was POURING RAIN. We walk about 8 blocks to dinner everynight, which means we have to walk 8 blocks back. As soon as I stepped out it started raining so hard, and by the time we got home the back of my pants were a definite different color from the front of them. Did I mention that it's laundry day? That means these are my last pair of pants... and they are now soaking wet. The dedication of our building is tomorrow morning at 10:30am and we will be the first students to see it! I'm pretty excited. Other than that, it's a relaxed day!

Jessica

A Day I Wish I Was Well...

Today was a busy day. I wish I was feeling better than I am, but that didn't stop me from the amazing things that happened today. We left the house at 7am and I'm pretty sure once I stepped on the bus I fell asleep. When I woke up I looked right to a beautiful view of the Sea of Galilee. It was amazing. Out of all the things I have seen, this is the only one that fit the image in my mind of what I thought it looked like. We went to the Mount of Beatitudes where a beautiful Catholic church sat and right below it was the spot where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. This place is a "Grade B+/A-" Place, meaning they are fairly certain this was the exact spot where it happened. We then went to a museum that held the 'Jesus Boat.' This boat was found in the late 80's (I believe) and it is said to have been Simon Peter's boat that Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount in, but again, there is no way to prove that for sure. Even so, it was breathtaking. We then took a boat ride across the Galilee to Caperneum. This boat ride was phenominal. It was cool to think that out of all the places that they tell us "we believe this was the spot," the Sea of Galilee is IT!! It's the same sea, with the same water, with the same sand. I sat and looked out over the boat and thought to myself "This is what Jesus saw..." We got off at Caperneum and then went around to see Simon Peter's Mother-in-law's house. This is where they had house churches, and other things and also where Jesus was at some point. We sat inside the synagogue that Jesus was at and Dr. Paul van der Laan gave an amazing message about Jesus' reading from the Torah in Isaiah that is written in the gospels. We then went to the place where Jesus returned to the disciples and found Peter fishing and expanded on the Great Comission for him. It was just amazing to stand on the beach where I knew Jesus was... this was the spot. It was like I could feel the guilt and anxiety of Peter and the compassion in Jesus' voice. Oh how I wish I could have been there for that conversation. From there we got on the bus and drove to the Jordan River. Today, March 22, 2009 I was baptized in the Jordan River. What an unforgetable experience!!!!!! While we were on our way over there, I was praying and thinking about what this meant and when I got there it all hit me at once. I can't believe that I was baptized in the same river of the one I've committed my life to. The one that I've said I am willing to lose my family, my finances and my reputation for. I've given it all. It was a great feeling to be baptized. I was baptized when I was 2mo old, but this is the first time where I made a public confession of my faith. I have been going through a time in my life when I'm realizing who I really am. I've always struggled, as most do, with finding my own identity and clinging to that no matter who is around me. The 5 weeks that I spent back at Southeastern before this trip was something that God definitely wanted me to do. The girls I was around have really taught me that it's OK to be me and only me. (If you girls are reading this you are probably laughing with how much ourselves we really are haha but it's very true in every way). I tend to conform with those who are around me and never really find myself... today when I rose out of the water I realized that God has called me a NEW creation one that is not like the rest. He formed me in my mothers womb to be fearfully and wonderfully made in his image. An image that is not duplicated or repeated but is all its own. My prayer is that I realize this.

Please be praying for the people on this trip; one of my roommates is very sick and I'm not sure what to do for her! I too am getting sick but am fighting it with every part of me.

Shabbot #2

Shabbot Shalom all! Well, it's actually over but for you, your still have a couple hours left! Friday night at 4:30 a group of us walked to the Western Wall from our house. At 5:12 Shabbat was finally opened and was signaled by the ringing of bells. It was crazy because also at that time the siren for the Muslim call to prayer went off... it was quite phenominal. Being at the Wall for Shabbat was probably one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. There were so many orthodox Jewish people there to pray and the "secular Jews" (which are people of the Jewish faith who are not orthodox) had parties going on everywhere! They were mainly young kids from Hebrew University. There was so much singing and dancing; it was a very joyous occasion. I had been to the wall before, but I was more amazed by the beauty of the people there than what it actually stood for. I was more interested last time in taking pictures than realizing the significance of where I was standing. This time there was a sign that said NO PICTURES! Ugh... but this brought me somewhere where I never would have gone before. (I still snapped a few though :)). While others were watching the traditional things going on, I decided that this was a great time that God and I could have together. I walked up to the wall, very intimidated by all the people and the dress. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do, but I knew that I needed to be there. As I got closer to the wall, it was like as if everything slowed down. My steps became slower, my breaths became shorter and I was noticing things as if they were in slow motion. I walked up to the wall and because of the day, there was no room on the wall to pray; that was OK. I stood right where I was and began to pray. Since I've been here I've had such a burden for the Jewish community. One girl who was giving a devotion last night said something that really struck me. She said "It was as if they are seeking so fervently and so revrently, but they are seeking in vain." And it breaks my heart to know that. It makes my heart hurt to realize that my own family doesn't get it. That hits so close to home. I wish I could tell them "Jesus has come! Jesus has come for you! To love him, to have conversation with you! You don't have to do things to be right, you just have to BE!" Dr. van der Laan was speaking last night also and told us this story about his son and said "I don't care what my children do, I will love them anyways! I will support them in all they do as long as they just know I love them." That made me think so much about God's "perfect will" for our lives. I feel like so often as Christians, we search for the exact path that God has made for us, that if we miss the boat there's no hope. It's like we search just for God just as hard as the Jewish people, but the difference is, we've seen the hope! Why must we search? Can we not just live? It's hard for me to understand the depths of God's love, but as I've been studying within the Jewish community, I seem to grasp more and more everyday. I was readin in Psalm 120-134 which are the Psalms of Ascent. These are the Psalms the Jewish people would sing when they were making their up to Jerusalem for the holidays to make a sacrifice in the temple. As I was reading I was remembering all I've learned about the culture: The Exile, the Diaspora, the Holocaust and other things that has happened to break up this population and how time and time again God has been faithful to bring them back to Zion! These are just some thoughts...
It's 11:00pm and tomorrow is Galilee. I have to be up by 6am for breakfast and we leave by 7am. I am very excited for a few reasons; #1- I'm in Israel (still blows my mind) and #2- I'm getting baptized in the Jordan. I was baptized as a child at 2mo. but this is the first time I've been baptized having a knowledgeable relationship with Christ. I am beginning to be very sick though, and I'm thinking 60 degree water might not be the smartest idea :-/

Psalm 128
Jessica