February 9

Today was a kind of uneventful day. It started off by having a lecture with a professor from Jerusalem University about Islam. We learned about Islam’s background and the similarities and differences between Muslims, Jews, and Christians. The lecture was interesting in some parts, but I felt like I was in class again…different from what I’ve been used to recently! Haha! We got out of the lecture around 10 and I went to the market with some friends from then till about 12 noon. We had to be back at the house to go to the Rockefeller Museum. It was cool to see all the things in the museum, but many of us had a really short attention span at this time. =]  Needless to say, we weren’t there for too long. After dinner, we had a debrief over the lecture with the Professor from Jerusalem University and Dr. Hemby spoke about the three religions, saying things that really stirred my heart. He said that Christianity is not just another world religion. A religion always trys to work it’s way into God’s favor, but we don’t have to do that because of the resurrection of Jesus. All the work has been done for us because Jesus is alive. Examples of why Judaism and Muslim are considered religions is in the way Jews go to the Western Wall to pray and Muslims pray at a specific time, 5 times a day. He said that what we do, we do not to gain God’s favor, but because we have favor already. He made two points that really touched me and made me think. He said that 1. It’s impossible for God to love us any more than He loves us right now, and 2. God loves everyone else on the planet just as much as He loves us. I obviously knew this before, but after being in this land and becoming more acquainted with these cultures, I’ve taken a new outlook on these people. Like most of this trip has been, I’ve learned and grown so much here. SO, after another pretty easy day, I’m now here writing to each one of you. I can’t believe that I’ve already been here for almost 3.5 weeks and only have 12 days left here… It has definitely been an incredible experience for me. I don’t necessarily want to leave, but am starting to get to the point where I’m ready to come home. It will absolutely be a bittersweet emotion when I have to come home.

 As an extension of when I spoke about writing my Psalm, here it is. It’s not like most of my writings, but it’s what God was speaking to my heart that day as I was sitting cliff-side in En Gedi, looking out onto the Dead Sea. I hope you enjoy!

As I look out at this body of water,

I can’t help but think about the beauty of all your creations.

Even though this sea may be called dead,

You have made all things beautiful.

You have made all things for a purpose,

These mountains,

That sea,

This sun,

Me.

 

Not until now have I realized how much you love me,

And how much you want my love.

Not until now have I truly listened to the sound

Of your deep, soothing voice

Softly whispering my name.

Give me the strength to follow your voice;

To hang on to each word with every ounce of my soul.

 

With each gust of wind, I feel you hold me.

With each crash of the waves, I hear your voice.

With each sparkle of the water, I see you smile at the sight of my face.

You are my father, the one who comforts me through it all.

You are my one and only, the one who will never let me down.

You are my love, the one desire of my heart.

Make me; mold me, Oh Yeshua, my Lord.

 

Much love from the Holy Land! <3

February 6-8

This past weekend was my 3^rd Shabbat since I’ve been here is Israel. Usually we don’t make plans for Friday and Saturday, but this Friday was a little different. If y’all remember, I mentioned not too long ago about how our group goes to John and Calev Myer’s church every Saturday night. Once a month their church reaches out to the Muslim community by going to a neighborhood and picking up trash. We just happened to be here the one time in February they would be going! So, early Friday morning we met up with the group and picked up bags and bags of trash for 2 hours. I wasn’t prepared for what I saw when I was there… I had no idea things could get that dirty. We went into the dirtiest and most trashed neighborhood around. I took some pictures of it, and it just blows your mind, the piles and hills of trash that have accumulated throughout the years. It looks like for years, these people just throw all of their trash over this hill, and that is exactly what has been happening. Supposedly, the people around there don’t have any way of disposing of all their trash, so they would burn it. But whenever these people would burn their trash, the city would fine them. So, these people pretty much have no other choice but to throw their trash on the hill. I don’t even want to know the different things I was picking up that day. It ranged from everything between diapers to animal bones. My friend Sarah and I found this backpack and it took both of us to pull it out of the ground because it had been there for so long that grass and roots had started to grow on and in it. After we were finished with that community service, we went back to the house and just chilled, which was really nice. That night we had our Shabbat service, and as an extension of last weeks talk about being the salt of the earth, a leader in our group spoke about being the light of the earth. My eyes were really opened about how much influence we truly have on other people in this world because of the calling God has put on our life.

Saturday was an easy-going day and I got to rest, which was really nice. As usual, we went to the Myer’s church service this night and afterwards went to dinner.

Sunday marked our 20^th day of travel since I’ve been here in Israel. We started off the day by going to Bethlehem. It was really interesting to go here in the way we had to change busses at the entrance of the city. I found out this was because the city is under Palestinian control and Jews are forbidden to enter. So, since our bus driver and tour guide are both Jewish, we had to switch busses and get a new tour guide for the afternoon. We first went to the Shepard’s field, where the angels appeared to the shepards and told them that Jesus was going to be born and he would preach the gospel to all people. This was a huge event for them because shepards were considered low on the social status, and so when they heard they were going to be considered equal, it was an important moment. We also went to the Church of the Nativity, where the place of Jesus’ birth and where His manger had laid is commemorated. I’m not sure if the spots are exact, but even just being in the same vicinity of where those events took place is absolutely incredible. I mean, that’s my savior we’re talking about!! After Bethlehem, we went to Herodian, where the remains of Herod the Great’s palace are located. We walked to the very top and looked over Israel. From there, we could see Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and it was just crazy to think about and picture Herod standing up there after receiving the message that Jesus was just born. After Herodian, we went back to the house, starting off this next week nice and easy.

Archeology

Alright, so today we went to an archeological sight and instead of digging, we sifted from about 1015AM-4PM... we got there at 9AM and were briefed on the history of why they started digging in the first place, some things they have already found, and what we were going to be doing. The sight started because of the Temple Mount. The mount itself is owned by the Muslims, but underneath it is owned by the Jews. Supposedly a while ago, the Muslims started secretly digging underneath the Temple Mount at nights without anyone knowing and the Jewish government ended up finding out and they had to stop. It took a couple years for these archeologists to get the permit to go through all the dirt and land, but they finally did. The unfortunate thing was that they couldn't dig at the actual sight, they had to move everything somewhere else. So that's where we were. Since all the dirt and land had to be bulldozed and carried in huge trucks in order to be moved, there were lots of small pieces. So, for those 6-7 hours, we dry and wet sifted through all the dirt they brought to the sight from the Temple Mount. Overall, our group found 12 coins, a bronze ring, a couple bullets, and lots of mosaic pieces and pottery. It was a fun job to do for a little bit, but it did get a little repetitive after a while, just being perfectly honest. But, it's what I should have expected. I sifted for a good 5.5 hours and about the last hour we were there I sat in a tree and talked with a group of girls on this trip. It was a fun time. The only other thing I did today was go out to a restaurant with a large group for a girl's birthday that is on the trip. We already ate dinner at our house, so we mainly just had appetizers (for those who wanted them), desert and drinks. Even though the day wasn't as eventful as some of the other days, it was a really great day. =]

P.S. Happy birthday Matt!!! Hope you had a great day today!

News

Hey y'all! Since I haven't put any pictures up of my trip yet, here are links to two guys' websites who are taking pictures on this trip. Enjoy!

http://williamjonathanphoto.com/index2.php?v= v1under

OR

 http://picasaweb.google.com/MrMutz

ALSO, there has been a huge change at Southeastern since we have been here. As of June 30, Dr. Mark Rutland will no longer be the President of Southeastern University and on July 1, he will be the new president of Oral Roberts University. As a result, Tommy Barnett has been appointed the transitional chancellor of SEU. If you want to know the whole story or more about what happened, you can go to Southeastern's website: seuniversity.edu. It's a very sad change, but I know that God wouldn't have done it unless He had a greater plan for the school in mind. That is why we are trusting in Him during this transition!

love you all <3

February 4, 2009

Today was a short but sweet day. The only place we went to was the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve. On one side of the reserve we looked at a synagogue that had original mosaic floors that were almost fully complete still in it. On the other side, we hiked up the mountain to David’s Waterfall, or the Ein Gedi Waterfall, whichever one it’s called. The mountains we were hiking on were the same mountains David hid in when he was running from Saul when Saul wanted to kill David as a result of his jealously. The reason the waterfall is called David’s Waterfall is because it’s where David and his men would come out to drink and bathe while they were in hiding there. It was a gorgeous reserve and waterfall. After having our daily spiritual lessons from Dr. Hemby, we hiked back down the mountain. Because the main person of today was David, we were required to read Psalm 57, 63, and 142 – all Psalms that David wrote. So, our “assignment” for the day was to write our own Psalm, the “151^st Psalm”. Because we were given an hour to write, 3 of my good girlfriends and I walked to a desert area a little walk away that overlooked the Dead Sea. It was a beautiful sight to see that definitely inspired my writing. I’m not completely done with my Psalm, so I’m not going to type it up and post it quite yet. But as soon as it’s complete, I will put it up. Even though we only went to one place today, we didn’t get done until around 2PM. Once getting back to the house, I went to a coffee shop near by with some friends and hung out for about an hour to just chill. And now I’m here! Sorry once again for being behind on the blogs, but I can now say that I am all caught up! =]  Now I’m going to bed because tomorrow is a long day of archeological digging! Good night all! 

February 3, 2009

Today was an overall awesome day! Other than no longer being dehydrated, we went to some pretty cool places. The morning started off in Caesarea Maritima. I’ve realized that there are like 3 different Caesarea’s in Israel and this one gets it’s name not just because it was in the time of Caesar, but because it is right next to the Mediterranean Sea. In Caesarea Maritima, we went to the famous theatre that was excavated in the early 60’s and became a national sight in the 70’s. To learn about every nook of this theatre and what took place there was incredible. Not only did shows go on at this theatre we were sitting in, but it was also the place where Herod Agrippa most likely died. (That’s actually a really interesting story! If you want to read it, its in Acts 12) This theatre is also most likely the place where the Apostle Paul stood in front of Agrippa and his wife for a trial while he was under house-arrest for being Roman citizen who lived in a Jewish community (story is in Acts 26). After spending some time there, we walked over to the remains of Herod’s palace. The reason why Herod’s palace was in Caesarea Maritima was because Herod grew up as a Jew and when we got older converted to Romanism. Because of this, he wanted to live somewhere far enough away from the Jews so they wouldn’t rebel against him. I was surprised at how many remains there actually were from his palace. Along with the palace, we saw where his private pool was and where he had built a port on the edge of the Med. Of course, because of the dry seasons, the water drops significantly each year, so the port doesn’t even come close to the water. But we could see the main outline of where it was and what it looked like. It was the biggest port in the eastern part of the city and 3^rd in the world at that time, having the capacity to hold 60 boats at once. Even though I don’t think Herod was the greatest guy, I strongly feel that he was one of the greatest builders this world will ever see. After finishing with Caesarea Maritima, we drove to an old aqueduct that was on the beach of the Mediterranean and we had about 15-20 minutes to spend on the beach at the Med. It was so much fun! One of the best parts of the day =]  After our play time, we headed to Nazareth and had lunch. The first place we went to in Nazareth was the Church of the Annunciation, where remains of Mary’s house is located and a commemoration of when the angel appeared to Mary telling her she was pregnant with Jesus. Next we went to the Church of the Synagogue, where Jesus went to and preached from the book of Isaiah, after coming out of his time of the devil tempting Him. This story is in Luke 4, and the main theme of what Jesus preached about was how He told the Jews that the gospel was not just for them, but the Gentiles as well. Our last place to visit today was Mount Carmel. Many events occurred on Mount Carmel, most of them involving Elijah. Many of them had to do with Elijah challenging the prophets who believed in other gods to prove themselves, and of course Elijah always won. For example, calling the fire down onto the sacrifices and challenging Bale, the god of the storms, to a lightening contest. In the end, God proved himself and the Israelites slaughtered all the prophets. Aside from the importance of Mount Carmel, the view is unbelievable. You can see for what seems forever! It was a great sight to end a long day with.

Short and Sick (2/2/09)

Today honestly was one of the worst days on this trip so far for me. Ever since I woke up, I have felt horribly nauseous and could barely go anywhere. But, I fought through the crappiness and went ahead and traveled with the group instead of staying at the house, even though today was the one day this week we walked to our destinations. The first place we walked to was the Western Wall, or Wailing Wall as I usually call it, by walking through the Damascus Gate, through the Muslim quarter, and then to the Wall. Instead of having free time by the wall at first, we went into the Western Wall tunnels. Here we saw the very bottom, original stones from the time of Kind Herod and tunnels that the Roman soldiers used to walk through. It was pretty cool but unfortunately because I felt like I just wanted to crawl in a ball the whole time I wasn’t paying much attention. Once we got we through with the tunnels, we were able to have some free time at the actual Western Walls. I went up to the wall and said a small prayer and then looked over the small separation wall between the men and women’s side of the wall and watched 3 barmitzvas! Its so crazy how different cultures can really be… After all that jazz at the Western Wall, our guide took us through the Jewish quarter and explained all it’s history. Once we were done with that, we went to our next destination – the Temple Mount. We weren’t able to go into any of the mosques because we weren’t Muslim, obviously, but all the detailed décor of the buildings were pretty awesome to see, especially the Dome of the Rock. I actually found out on this trip that on his deathbed, King Hussein donated $7 million to put real gold on the dome of the Dome of the Rock. While we were there, there was a worker putting the gold on the roof. Only one time you’ll be able to see something like that! Once leaving the Temple Mount, we walked to the Old City into the Muslim quarter. There, we had lunch at the “greatest pizza place in Israel.” It definitely wasn’t as good as pizza in the states, but as for Israel, I’d have to agree with their motto. After eating I was luckily able to find people to walk back to the house with me so I could lie down and feel better. I ended up sleeping for 3 hours! It was great =]  I ended up finding out the reason behind my nausea and sickness all day…dehydration. Who would’ve thought?! Julie’s lesson for the day: DRINK TONS OF WATER!!

First day of February!

Today was a busy, long, and very rainy day. Our first stop was the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount was given. We went to the church on the top of the mountain that serves as an observation point of the mountain and it’s surroundings. I learned that the observation point on top is exactly at sea level, unlike the Sea of Galilee that we could see from the mountain, which is 650 feet below sea level. Also that there has been a lot of controversy on whether Jesus gave his sermon at the top of the mountain or the bottom. Two reasons why most think He gave it standing at the top of the mountain is because when looking down from the top, it resembles that of a theatre and since the winds blow north to south, the sound of His voice would carry to all of the people. Even though no one knows the exact spot of where Jesus gave his sermon, my professor said something that I absolutely agree with. He said, “it’s not the exact place that matters, it’s the events that happened there.” This is so true for me because even though we might not find exact spots, the fact that I’m in the land where Jesus walked and lived is amazing in itself. Anyway, just some interesting facts about that… Our next stop was the Valley of Tabgha, where the Church of Peter’s Primacy is located. This church commemorates when the disciples saw Jesus for the 3^rd time after He rose from the dead and when Jesus forgave Peter and restored him and his calling, asking him “Peter, do you love me more than these?” in John 21. Right next to the church we were at was the Church of Multiplication, where Jesus fed the 5000 Jews. Other than being near to that sight, a cool fact about that miracle is it’s the only miracle that is mentioned in all 4 of the gospels. Across the lake was the Decapolis, where Jeasus fed the 4000 Gentiles. Being close to where both of those miracles took place was an amazing feeling. Something that really touched me about the sight of The Church of Peter’s Primacy is when my professor talked to us about the conversation between Jesus and Peter. These are a few things I got from it: no matter who we are dealing with, we will always be dealing with imperfections. If and when we blow it, it doesn’t mean it’s over; we need to get beyond it. This really spoke to me because as some people know, I have a tendency to hold onto situations and let my emotions control the rest of my day, maybe even longer. Needless to say, God really spoke to me about that. Right in the backyard of the church was the Sea of Galilee, so that was our next stop for the remainder of our time there. I learned a bunch of information about the Sea, but I won’t bore you with a list of random facts. =]  We didn’t get to spend much time there, but we got to walk right up to it and take in it’s beauty. Once we left there, we headed to the Galilee boat ride. Unfortunately since it was a rainy day, the boat ride wasn’t as good as when I went on it the first time I came to Israel. There were tarps on the sides of the boat to cover the riders from the rain and they didn’t have a demonstration of how the fisherman during the time of Jesus used to throw out their nets and catch fish. It’s alright though… A cool thing I saw from the boat was a story coming straight from the Bible that involves the “evangelistic triangle”: Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Chorazim. In Matthew 11 it talks about how God put “woes” on the cities because they took the miraculous, God’s miracles, for granted and didn’t repent. They took the power and presence of God for granted. I saw the physical affect of God’s woe. From the boat, we could see all the cities and each one of them was a pile of rocks. Even though Capernaum is a city that you can still go to and visit, it’s still basically a pile of rocks. Pretty awesome to see with your own eyes! After the boat ride and lunch we went to the museum where the ancient boat is held that archeologists believe is from the time of Jesus. This was cool to see again and relearn the process of how it was excavated. Our next stop was Capernaum, where we saw the remains of Peter’s house and of a synagogue. They were awesome remains to see, but we couldn’t stay for very long because we had an appointment… Baptisms in the Jordan River! Even though I was a little disappointed in the shortened visit to Capernaum, I was SO excited for my baptism. I have been baptized two other times in my life, but this one was different for me. It was a symbol of the rededication of my life to God and His will for me. It was one of the most meaningful things I’ve ever done in my life and was a monumental point for me. A real example of God’s compassion was shown during this time because it had been raining literally the whole day and right before we were going to have our baptisms, it was pouring. WELL, right before we started the baptisms, it stopped raining and was sunny! And to make it even better, the rain didn’t start up again until we finished with the last baptism. How great is that?! God really is good!