Saturday, January 7, 2012
The blog got skipped yesterday – as you might have
guessed. I planned to do it last night
but I was exhausted and chose to go to sleep instead. It was great to have a little extra sleep
after a long flight and many busy days. So
the report on Saturday is going to be rather short.
We began on the bus and headed for the Judean hill
country. When we stopped Emily, our
instructor, encouraged all of us to take the hike down the hillside. It was a bit of a challenge with a rocky path
and uneven steps but the whole group made it down to a place that the Israeli antiquities
set up. It is in a part and down on the
hillside. It isn’t a historical site but
it does give an idea of what life would have been like in the days of the
Judges. There were olive trees and grave
vines growing there – although it is winter so there isn’t any green on
them. Emily read from 1 Kings 5 where
the people were blessed by God and in relationship with him so that they would
experience the blessing of sitting under their own olive tree and grape
vine. She then related that to John 15 with
Jesus as the true Vine. She also
contrasted the concept of having enough and trusting God for what we need to
the culture we live in where people always seem to want more and more and more.
After the climb back up, which seemed to go even better than
he walk down, we loaded up on the bus and headed to Beth Shemesh which
overlooks the Sorek Valley. There we
heard the stories of Samson. He was
supposed to confront the culture of the Philistines but he often seemed to be
attracted to it. We also took note that
the Philistines were more advanced and the Israelites were more the “hill
people” of the day. It was surprising
how close the communities were. We could
look from the tell and see the different areas were the towns would have been
or recognize that it was just over the hill.
From there we headed over to the Azekah Tell which overlooks
the Elah Valley. This is another place
where the Israelites faced the Philistines.
It is perhaps best known for the conflict between David and
Goliath. While we were on the Tell we
got a taste of current culture. Emily
was trying to talk and then had Tina read the Bible story. A group with young children came up and
wanted to sit where we were. Emily told
them we would be there a few minutes and they stood behind us and became quite
a distraction so that it was hard to hear Tina read. When we left the Tell we stopped at a Wadi to
pick up a few stone with which to remember the story.
From there we headed to the coast at the city of
Ashkelon. Most everyone had to at least
feel the waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
Eric, Amy and Tina felt the call to go all in. The bath house was closed but they were able
to use the bathroom in the park to change into dry clothes.
Once again the Lord blessed us with beautiful weather. It may not have been warm enough for everyone
to go swimming but it was a beautiful sunny day. We also have a bus similar to a Grey Hound
type in the USA. We only have 16 on it
so there are a number of extra seats which makes it extra comfortable. Our driver, Johnny, has been doing a great
job.
We returned to the hotel before 6:30 pm which is the time
the dining hall opens. After another
wonderful meal part of the group headed over to the Church that commemorates
the death and burial of Jesus. (at least
one of us went to bed)
Thank you for your continued prayers.
Sunday, January 08, 2012
A few in the group decided to make an early start once again
and head over to the Temple Mount before gathering at Christ Church for a
worship service in English. The rest of
us had a little extra sleep and a later breakfast than normal. The rest of us walked over to church which is
just inside the Jaffa Gate of the Old City.
Just after we went through the gate I paused and told the group that one
of my classmates from 2009 stayed at a hotel just down the road and pointed in
that direction. A policeman came over
and asked if I was a tour guide. I told
him, “No, I am a pastor and we are heading to Christ’s Church.” He asked to see my passport and then let us
pass. I assumed you need to be licensed
to be a tour guide. It made for an
interesting start to the day.
We were blessed with the worship service at Christ’s Church
which in many ways was similar to our style of worship. Today is a free day that we may use as we
wish for the most part. From 4-6 pm we
need to be at JUC for our preparation for our upcoming trip. Most of the group hoped on the rail car and
headed to the Holocaust Museum. We only
had a couple of hours there which was nowhere near long enough. How
sad to see man’s inhumanity to man once again.
One quote that struck me was: “A country is not just what it does, it is
also what it tolerates.” (by Kurt
Tucholsky) We are often challenged to be
more tolerant of other people, ideas and thoughts. But when I look at what Germany “tolerated” I
am reminded that one can carry that too far.
I was also challenged to think about how we “tolerate” certain attitudes
towards other people groups that have moved into our communities.
At 4 pm we gathered at JUC for our preview lecture for the
upcoming trip. Tomorrow morning we are
scheduled to leave at 6:30 to head down to the Dead Sea. We anticipate seeing Masada, En Gedi, and
swimming in the Dead Sea. Then we plan
to make our way north and stay in Jericho.
(Hopefully no one will be marching around the city while we are
there.) Then on Tuesday we head up to
Galilee where we plan to spend three days.
After class we walked back to the hotel for supper. Earlier we learned that the coordinator of
our trip did his study on the current Arab-Israeli situation. We invited him to join us for supper and
spend a little time giving up a quick lesson on that topic. That was very helpful and we appreciated his
time and knowledge.
Well it is now about 10:30 pm and 5:30 am will be here way
too soon.
Blessings to you all.
Pastor Dave
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