Thoughts from Israel

I decided that instead of posting more pictures this time, I would just write a little reflection on my time here. Really, this is more for myself than it is for anybody who still reads this.

When I got on the plane at the end of August, I had no idea what was ahead of me. Now that I’m coming up to the end of the semester, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I’m going to answer the question, “How was Jerusalem?” There is so much that I’ve learned and experienced in the past three months that makes it really difficult to answer that question.

There are so many aspects of my semester here and I’ve been impacted by all of them. I’m writing a brief synopsis of each aspect so that I’ll remember later and so that you can ask more specific questions when I get home. J

CLASSES – The classes I’ve had here are unlike any classes I’ve had before. My Physical Settings and Ancient Egypt classes have made reading the Bible a lot easier for me. I can understand the setting of the Bible a lot better and the people seem a lot more real. My Christian Communities class has given me a broader perspective of the Body of Christ. It isn’t just Protestant America. I also have a Rabbinic Thought class taught by a Jewish Rabbi. This class has taught me about Judaism and made me think about the role the people of Israel have today.

BEING IN A DIFFERENT COUNTRY – This has had a big role in my experience this semester. I’m convinced that spending 3 months in a different country with a different culture, away from close friends and family does a lot to mature anyone. I’ve definitely noticed this in myself and in the other people here. It really forces you to figure out who you are and what in the world you are doing with your life.

 

VOLUNTEERING IN PALESTINE – Not only am I spending 3 months in a different culture, I spend half of a day every week in another setting and culture. Helping Arab kids learn Scripture and math on Wednesday afternoons has given me a broader perspective on the Israel – Palestine conflict. I walk by the separation wall every week and read the messages written in graffiti, looking for recent cries for freedom.

 

MY QUIET TIME WITH GOD – I was expecting this aspect of my semester in Jerusalem to be the easiest, but I was very wrong. I’m not going to go into much detail here, but I will say that what God has been teaching me here is very ironic.

 

THE PEOPLE AT JUC – I’ve become good friends with people here on campus. We’ve spent the past 3 months together and our time is coming to a close. I already know it will be hard to say goodbye to my friends when we head to the airport in December. These people are the only ones who will truly understand my experiences here, and there are so many inside jokes that no one will get when I go back home. I’m thankful for the chance to get to know the people here and hope that a lot of my friendships are continued back in the States.

 

I'm back!

I'm back to the blogging world, after being gone for month.

I'll post a longer blog soon, but I just uploaded a ton of pictures to facebook, so you can check out my photo album here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2027720&id=55101813&l=0c477ba146
I also wanted to let my mom know that I made it out of the West Bank safely on Wednesday, even though I didn't have my passport. I walked through three checkpoints and the girl I was with had her passport, so I just walked behind her.
I love you all and can't believe that I'll be back in the States next month!

HAPPY SUKKOT!

This week is a huge party in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. There are little sukkahs everywhere on the sidewalks because Jews are supposed to eat and live in them, so businesses build them in the streets so that the Jewish people can party in public areas and still be in sukkahs. It is so fun to walk around the streets and hear live Jewish music and see all of these men dancing together.

This is a video of the Jewish men dancing on the street in the Jewish quarter of the Old City. They were having so much fun. I don't know why the women aren't allowed to dance, but they were all watching from the side. 

Student Activity Day

Yesterday (Saturday) was our “student activity day.” We took a 3 hour bus ride to Golan, a little bit past the Sea of Galilee, and went on a hike. We had packed lunches and a hot, sunny day.

This is Naomi, Jessica and I a little past the beginning of the hike down.

At the bottom of the valley, there was a waterfall. The water was freezing, but we managed to get into a little nook behind the waterfall and jump into the water.

On the climb back up, I used photo-ops as an excuse to stop and breathe before continuing to the top. 

This is when I was very close to the top. You can kind of see how far down the bottom of the valley is. It was definitely a hike back up.

And in case anyone is worried about my safety, don’t worry. All of the minefields that surrounded our hike were well marked with yellow signs and barbed wire.

Friday Field Study.

Last Friday, our class had a field study to Samaria. We went to Shechem, Mt. Gerazim, Samaria, and Shiloh.

This field study was not my favorite. It was mostly boring, and we spent a lot of time looking down onto the cities rather than being in them. So I’m not going to write about all of the places we went. Just the ones I’m going to post pictures of.

This is one of two towns in Samaria. Apparently there are only a couple hundred Samaritans and so they marry their cousins. Ew. Oh, and the big building in the back-right is a private home.

We also went to Mt. Gerizim. The gate was closed, so we had to go through the fence. I chose to go through the hole on the right, but some people wanted to go underneath.

My favorite place of the day was Jacob’s well. Scholars and archaeologists are pretty confident that this is the same well that Jesus sat at with the Samaritan woman. We got to draw and drink water from it. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed at the actual well, so this picture will have to do.

In the Land of Benjamin.

*Many of you have commented about the brownness of my pictures. This is just to show you that some parts of the country are green. In this case, it is Jericho - a true oasis in the desert.

Anyways, we took a field trip day this Sunday to Benjamin. Our class started out walking through some of the Judean wilderness to get a feel for what it would have been like to travel between Jericho and Jerusalem - something Jesus did many times. This is our group walking up the ridges of the wilderness. 

Not exactly the kind of wilderness I pictured Jesus being tempted in, or the wilderness that the Israelites wandered around in for 40 years. We stopped at the top and had class. You know, in our normal, very brown, classroom. :)

On our way back from the top of the wilderness some of the Bedouins were waiting by our bus to try to sell us stuff. This man brought his camel to sell us camel rides. I didn't get a ride, but at least I got a picture.

After the Judean wilderness we spent most of the morning in Jericho - both the Old Testament and New Testament sites. We went to Herod the Great's winter palace in Jericho. As we walked around the ruins, Bedouin children came out and played with us. They were so cute!

Of course, we had to see the old walls of Jericho. (Go back and read the story, apparently the whole wall didn't fall down, maybe just a part of it.) Notice the palm trees in the background. The Bible calls Jericho the city of palms. 

Our last stop was at Gezer - the "front door" of Benjamin. Gezer is important because it gives Jerusalem access to the Coast and the trade routes to the sea port at Joppa. I didn't really get why these were important, but they are standing stones of some sort and no one really knows what they were for. After Dr. Wright made a comment about how girls were better at climbing them than guys were, some of the guys had to make sure that they were the first to get to the top.

The last thing we saw in Gezer was this city gate constructed under Solomon's reign. It had six little chambers inside and a casemate wall. This picture was taken after we took a group picture and then all began to explore the site.

It's been a while.

Ok. So I admit that I haven't been a very good blogger lately. I've decided that I hate taking pictures. I often forget that I should be taking them, and then its just annoying to have to dig in my backpack to find my camera and pull it out for one or two pictures at each place. But whatever, these pictures are from the limited amount that I took on our field study in the places immediately surrounding Jerusalem.

We started off at the Mount of Olives and saw these first century tombs on the hillside.

Then we headed to the traditional site of the garden of Gethsemane and saw all of the olive trees. There were a bunch of guys selling olive branches outside of the garden because people aren't allowed to pick them from inside.

After Gethsemane, our group hiked up the Herodian and stopped by Herod's palace.

After seeing Herod's palace, we went down into the cisterns and tunnels underneath. It was so deep and there were so many stairs. It felt kind of like a maze.

We made a group stop in the cistern to talk about the history of Herod and also to enjoy the coolness of the underground.

On the way to Bethlehem we stopped at an ancient threshing floor next to grain fields. It was so weird to have learned about these in Sunday School and then to actually be standing in one. This is probably only a little less than half of the one we went to.

Our last stop was Bethlehem where we visited the Church of the Nativity, which remembers the place where Christ was born. The entrance was super small, and only one person could go in at a time.

So that was our last field trip, and I'll hopefully be getting pictures from my hiking trip in En Gedi to post later. That's all folks!

Quick trip to the Temple Mount.

This morning nine of us took a quick trip to the Temple Mount. Its like a ten minute walk from campus and free. The Temple Mount is where the Dome of the Rock (a muslim mosque) is today. It was interesting to me that Jews are not allowed to go up to the Dome of the Rock because they might walk near where the Holy of Holies used to be, and according to the big sign, it is "Against Torah Law." We also were not allowed to bring our Bibles because apparently the Muslims there do not tolerate the Jewish history of the area.

The Dome of the Rock is where muslims believe Muhammad ascended into heaven. We obviously weren't allowed to go inside the mosque, but we were allowed to go up to it and touch it and walk around the Temple Mount. It is so hard for me to grasp the fact that the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy of Holies were once in (or very near) the place that I walked around this morning.

Here I am in front of the Dome of the Rock. My black jacket is not because I'm cold, it's to cover my elbows for modesty.

And here it is by itself.

A walk to the laundry room.

So while I'm working on getting pictures from last weekend, I thought you might like to see a little bit of where I'm living. This is a video of about half of the walk to the laundry room.

An OT and NT view of Jerusalem: Part 1

Whoa. Two full days of field trips back-to-back and I haven’t even updated about Hezekiah’s tunnel on Thursday. I have a lot to catch you up on. J

BUT I didn’t bring my camera to Hezekiah’s tunnel because of the water, and then on the first day of field trips I took about five pictures before my memory card was full, and even though I deleted all of the pictures from the card, it still said it was full. L So I’ll have to get pictures from friends and update on those things later.

Luckily, my roommate, Joanna, had an extra memory card, so I borrowed hers for today’s field trip.

We left campus at 7am to start the day. This field trip was about Old and New Testament locations in Jerusalem. Because we were just going around the city, we walked everywhere we went. And let me tell you – Jerusalem really is a city on a hill!

Our first major stop on our trip was the Western wall. In this picture, you can see the Wailing Wall to the very left and the Dome of the Rock above it. (I’m pretty sure you can click any of these pictures and they will show up larger.) 

The Wailing Wall is separated between men and women (the men have a much larger side). I was a little surprised that we were able to go up to it. I prayed in the chair to the left of the girl in the blue!  It was nice to be able to sit there and thank the Lord that in His divine will He has united Jews and Gentiles together in the opportunity of being His people. 

The next place I took pictures of was the pool of Bethesda. This is the place in John 5 where sick, blind, lame or weak people would wait for angels to stir up the water and then they would all run in. It is here where Jesus healed man who had been sick for 38 years and wasn’t fast enough to get to the waters. Its also called the “sheep gate” pool because people would wash their sheep in it before sacrificing them. 

St. Anna’s Church is just around the corner from the pool of Bethesda, so we got permission to go inside and sing. We sang a few songs (Doxology, In Christ Alone, I Love You Lord, Amazing Grace, and Come Thou Fount) and the acoustics were so good. I mean, we weren’t anything close to a choir, but it sounded amazing.  

Then we went to Mt. Moriah, which Jewish people believe is the same Mt. Moriah as the one Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac. It is also where they built their temple before it was destroyed. Now there is a mosque on top of it.  

Around Mt. Moriah, we saw around where the old Temple used to be. The floor here is the same level as it was during Jesus’ day, but it was repaved later. You can see where shops used to be in the upper left of the picture. This is where they sold animals for sacrifice to the pilgrims coming to the temple.  

An OT and NT view of Jerusalem: Part 2

We also got to sit in an ancient Byzantine home. It is just one small room, and the bed is made of stone. 

These are the main stairs up to the Temple Mount. 

This is where Gamaliel taught and where Paul and Jesus taught from at one point in time. I’m pretty sure this was my favorite place that we went today. Here I am at the top of the stairs where Paul and Christ have almost certainly been. 

This is an old house. Notice the toilet in the lower right hand side. 

We went to Hezekiah’s tunnel, which I will explain in greater detail in the next post when I get those pictures. But we only walked through the dry tunnel, called the Canaanite tunnel. This is one of the wider sections of the Canaanite tunnel. 

Our last stop was the pool of Siloam. This is the place in John 9 where Jesus healed a blind beggar by putting mud on his eyes and telling him to wash it off in the pool. Here I am inside the pool next to the steps leading down to it. (They haven’t excavated it all the way.) I’d say that this was a close second for my favorite spot of the day. 

The field study lasted all day and it was a lot of walking in the heat. We took a few stops like the one below for our guide to explain some things and for us to catch our breath. Chris, a grad student, was our guide and Dr. Wright took all of the first year grad students and married people. So our group was all of the undergrads. It was a lot of fun. (P.S. I think the guy in the bright blue shirt and sunglasses looks a little bit like Kyle.)  

Other places we went to, but I didn’t take pictures of include the “broad wall” that Hezekiah built, which increased the size of Jerusalem by five times, and the arches on the Via Dolorosa route.

Overall, it was great day and I can’t believe I do these almost every weekend that I’m here!

I hear Jerusalem bells ringing...

Today was an exhausting day. It was the first day of classes and I only had two classes, but I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night and they were both morning classes. Then, after lunch I couldn’t get back to sleep for a nap, so I just laid on the bed for a while. This afternoon about 6 of us went into the marketplace and I tried this chocolate pastry thing that was really good. I also got a free sample of sesame paste and it was very sugary and disgusting. Good thing I had a bottle of water to wash it down. The fruit seemed really cheap, so if I ever need a good snack I know where to go! (Well, I wasn’t paying that close of attention as to how we got there).

Anyways, on our way back we ran into a group of the guys going to get school supplies, so we turned around and went with them. I ended up getting a couple more spiral notebooks because I only had one and I have four classes. They weren’t cheap like the walmart ones though, they were about $2.50 for two of them. Luckily, on our way there we stopped at a moneychanger so that I could get some SHEKELS!!!

Shekels are about the equivalent to the U.S. quarter. So the notebooks were 10 shekels. This is what 10 shekels looks like.

Here are my 50 shekels. (I’m a high roller, I know.)

And this is 5.

I’m hoping to be in good shape soon. Every time I go to class and come back to my room, I have to climb like 60 stairs. I’m not exaggerating. To go to the bathroom I have go up and down 33 of them. I counted. They’re pretty steep too. Now that its been a couple days, my legs are kind of sore.

I’m also hoping to get better pictures up here. I’m stalling with these lame ones until I remember to take my camera into the city. I’m putting my camera in my purse right now…

I made it!

I made it here and it is absolutely beautiful! Most of the buildings are super old and made of stone. This is a picture I took from the roof of our building. In the very center of the picture you can see the city wall around the Old City of Jerusalem. It's actually a lot closer than it looks. My room is right next to the roof. I have to climb a lot of stairs to get there, but it is so worth it. 

I've tried to upload pictures for the past couple days and it takes like a year to get each one up, so I'm only putting these two up for now. The picture to the left is my dorm room. There were two bunk beds for the two of us, so we took the top mattresses and put them on the bottom for extra cushion and then used the top for storage. There is a mural of Jesus on the ceiling, I'll have to post of a picture of that later.

Anyways, the campus is absolutely gorgeous. The building is so old and its all made of stone. There are gardens with grapes growing over the little patio area. I didn't realize how close the school was to the Old City. It is like a 2 minute walk because we are right outside the wall on Mount Zion, but we have to walk to Jaffa Gate to get in. Today we had a little tour through the Old City and it was AWESOME. We walked a ton of stairs and got on rooftops in different places to see the valleys and buildings around us. We also went to the site of Christ's burial (or where most people believe it to be), the believed site of the Last Supper, and other really neat places. I got to walk in a tomb that would have been like the one Jesus was put in. There were so many places to see and so many great views of the city. Too bad I forgot to bring my camera. :( I'll get pictures later, since all of the places were free to go in and they're like 5 minutes away.

We went on a scavenger hunt through the city and I tried a falafel. It wasn't great. I don't think I'll be getting another soon. The pita bread in the market was good though. I went to church this morning at St. Andrew's Scottish Church and it was good. We all drank out of the same cup for communion and I had never done that before. There was also wine instead of grape juice, so that was pretty nasty. But overall it was a great experience.

I start classes tomorrow, but I only have two and I'm done by noon.

Sorry this update is so scatter-brained. I'll try to make them flow better in the future.

Anyways, I'll update later when I have better pictures to put up, but for now this will have to do.

the day before.

It is about 1:30 am Thursday morning. I leave today. I'm getting crunched for time.

My stuff is currently strewn across the floor of our den, far from organized. Empty suitcases are sitting in the corner of the room. The maps that I have been hastily marking up cover the coffee table with many colored markers sitting on top. In the corner of the coffee table is a white sheet of paper with a list of about 20 items that I have scribbled on it in an attempt to remember them when I wake up.

Today is going to be so exciting. I'm having breakfast with cousins in the morning. Then I'll go shopping with my list of last-minute things. When I'm done, my last hours home will be spent throwing everything that is on the floor of the den into the suitcases. Then its off to Charlotte to meet up with Elicia (another JUC student on my flight) before flying to Philly and then the day will end while I'm in the air headed toward Tel Aviv. Ah. So unreal.

Ok, well its about time for me to get some sleep, if I can.

8 days...

left of summer break.

to mark maps, to shop for next semester, to pack everything I'll need in the next three months.

to say goodbyes.

until I get on a plane headed for Tel Aviv.

Yikes. I don't know what I'm getting myself into. But I'm getting excited.

The emails from JUC are getting more frequent as the semester gets closer. Yesterday I got an email with the schedule for orientation weekend. It made me feel like I was a freshman all over again. I love it.

A photo scavenger hunt of Jerusalem? Bring it on.

The last photo scavenger hunt I did was of Oak Ridge, NC when I was in high school. (I'm pretty sure I was with Jon T., Katherine Medlin, Kyle, maybe Tyler? and I don't know who else, but on our way back to the church we recorded ourselves singing "We are the Champions," and then ended up being smoked by the other teams... We also drove all the way to the elementary school to get a picture on a playground, completely forgetting that there is a playground in the backyard of the church we started at. Oops. Good times.) Hardly the same.

Anyways, JUC sent me some maps at the beginning of the summer. They also sent a 98-page workbook with instructions on readings from the Bible with corresponding map-markings that I am supposed to complete before I arrive. And if you know me, you also know that I haven't started yet. But, like always, I plan on starting today. :)

Preparation for this trip is making me depressed that I won't be going to Taylor. That I won't be seeing my friends in two weeks. That I won't be living with them and doing all of the fun Taylor (and 1st West) traditions at the beginning of the year. That I won't see Airband. That I won't be with family for Thanksgiving.

But I've also really enjoyed preparing for this trip. The anticipation is part of the fun. Sure, I'll miss all of the great things at Taylor in the Fall, but I know that great things are in store for me in Israel.

I can't wait to meet all new people and see all new (actually, very old) places, and have completely new experiences.

A list.

This post was inspired by a recent blog I read. Thanks Amy. :)

10 things I have learned this summer, in no particular order:

1. The healthcare system. I didn't learn everything about it, but a lot more than I knew before, and enough to discuss intelligently.

2. I HATE working out. (Ok, I already knew that, but I re-learned it every time I put my running shoes on.)

3. My nephew is the cutest baby. Ever.

4. I have to apologize for talking about my Greek paper all the time. I probably should just distribute it to everyone I know so that I won't bring it up so often.

5. Praying out loud in an empty room (or car) is the best way to think through things. It also can be very emotional.

6. Philosophy is fun, but meaningless without the gospel.

7. I actually can hold a telephone conversation for longer than 15 minutes.

8. My friends are even better than I thought they were.

9. A long commute in traffic is kinda nice in the morning, but terrible on the way home.

10. I'm excited for graduation and struggle with committing to a plan for what I'll do after May of next year.

Communion. I finally get it.

This sunday I went to church with my Grandpa, and I woke up early to go to the "breaking of bread" service. The majority of this time from 9 - 10 is spent in silence, with an occasional hymn request or word of encouragement from someone in the congregation. It is a great time to hear what God is teaching others and the silence is refreshing. So often churches are focused on the order of worship that we don't leave any time for individual prayer or contemplation.

Anyways, this service always ends with taking communion. As I took the bread and the cup, I thought about what I wrote in the previous blog entry, and I think I finally understand why communion is so important. Before this, I had felt that communion was just a tradition that we keep, more like a ritual than anything else. However, now that I have begun to realize the significance of knowing nothing but Christ and him crucified, I am beginning to comprehend why Christ would establish a tradition of remembering his death. Communion is way to ensure that we don't lose sight of the sacrifice Christ made for us. Its not just about remembering what happened, its also about visibly displaying the central belief of the church. Now that I understand this, communion is something I will definitely look for when I am looking for a church home in the future. A church that brings out bread and juice as a reminder of the death of Christ is less likely to water-down the gospel, as I'm afraid many churches have begun to do.

Philosophy and Faith.

Recently I have been thinking a lot about two things I love: my faith and my philosophy. The internship that I have been involved with for the past five weeks has challenged me in many ways, the most significant being how much I value these and which I value more.

Now, if you're a Christian and you're reading this, then you're probably aware that if the two were presented in a Sunday School class the obvious answer is that faith is more important. While this may seem obvious in Sunday School, it is far from obvious in my life. These past five weeks I have realized how important it is to me that I sound philosophical and that I present my beliefs and understanding of the world in persuasive ways so that anyone who hears me does not judge me as unintelligent. 

Well, this past week my pride in philosophy became even clearer to me, and I am horrified. As someone in my old youth group used to put it, I was "God-smacked".

If you don't know me, I'm a philosophy major and have been considering going to graduate school in philosophy. After this week, I've lost most of that interest. Here's why.

I re-read one of my favorite passages in the Bible: 1 Cor. 1-2. 

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1 Cor. 2:1-5

After reading this I was immediately convicted of my desire to speak "plausible words of wisdom" instead of Christ and him crucified. I get so wrapped up in making sure that my intelligence isn't questioned, that I lose sight of the only truth that I need to know, which is Christ's sacrifice.

So, like Paul, I have resolved to know nothing except Christ and him crucified. I no longer want to debate issues that are irrelevant to this truth. Wisdom doesn't come from man's intellect, but from God. I choose to reject the wisdom of men, because I already have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor. 2:16)

Happy Father's Day!

This is a not-so-flattering picture of my dad and I. :)

So today is Father's Day and I couldn't be more thankful for my dad. He has made it clear that family is a priority. My dad spends most of his time, energy and money (a lot of money) for his children. He has also taken his marriage and responsibility as a father very seriously. More importantly, he has taken his faith seriously and has demonstrated what it looks like to be a follower of Christ. Thanks dad.

Today at church I couldn't help but think that as much and often as I should thank my dad for caring and providing for me I need to thank God all the more. By accepting Christ as Savior, I am called a child of God. I can relate to God as my Father. He claims me as His daughter and has even granted me an inheritance. In fact, I am a co-heir with Christ. I am not sure it is possible to thank God enough for what he has given and sacrificed for me. I'm not even sure I can even comprehend it. However, I am sure that his grace is sufficient for me, and his power is made perfect in my weakness.

The beginning of summer.

Summer. What a wonderful thing.

Its only been two weeks, but I have high hopes for this summer.

I had the opportunity to spend the first three days of summer with my whole family. That's right, folks. All 9 of us. The following Monday I turned 20. Tuesday I watched my brother get in a motorcycle accident and cried like a baby in front of the police officer. (Kyle's fine by the way). The whole next week was spent rushing to get my online course done and turned in. The night that I got my Logic submitted, my cousin called me and informed me that she was ENGAGED! I ran down the stairs and drove to her house, despite the fact that it was 11pm and she lives half-an-hour away. I am so excited for her, but so sad that I won't be at her wedding in the Fall.

I've been sick the past few days, but I'm feeling much better and expect to get things done before I pack and leave for Chicago on Tuesday.

Stay tuned for details on my internship.

This is where I am, this is where I'm going, I'm not there yet...

Ok. So I'm not actually in Jerusalem yet. In fact, I'm still in Upland, Indiana. But I am VERY excited about this Fall.

I'm still making plans for this summer, and I still need to buy my plane tickets, but in only a few short months I will be walking onto a plane doing something I've never done before: flying OVERSEAS! Not only is this exciting, I will be going to a very old city that has so much history relevant to my own life. I get to go there. I get to study there. I get to live with the people there for four months.

I can't wait to tell you all about it.