Wandering Through the Judean Desert

We spent the next two nights at a kibbutz in the Judean Desert, on the coast of the Dead Sea.

Our adventures in the desert were my favorite part of Israel. It was beautiful and warm. We hiked through dirt, floated in the Dead Sea, and rode camels.

Ahhh, take.me.back.

 

So the Dead Sea. Super awesome. Except it BURNS your eyes and well, other things too. Scratches you didn’t even know you had. And if you ever go, whatever you do, DO NOT get a drop of it in your mouth.

Unless you have a death wish.

Oh man, what I wouldn’t give to be floating in that sea again.

 

But Greece is pretty cool too, I guess. (wink)

 

 

Hear O Israel

On our second day in Israel, we visited the Valley of Elah from 1 Samuel17, where David fought Goliath.

The highlight of the day was visiting the city of Bethlehem. Our tour guide, Yossi, was an Israeli citizen and therefore could not enter Bethlehem with us because it is Palestinian territory. That was so bizarre to me.

We visited the Church of the Nativity, a church the Catholics built over the location of the manger. Inside, people were proclaiming, “Merry Christmas!” and singing carols. Our group joined in, singing ‘Joy to the World’ and ‘Away in a Manger.’

   

For lunch, we had the opportunity to be fed by the local Christians at their restaurant. My favorite part of the meal was baklava! And yes, I ate all four of those. Gooooood.

The third day would have been easy to get discouraged over. It was pouring rain and freezing cold when we left our hotel. But I didn’t know our agenda for the day, and had I, no complaints would have ever entered my mind.

Our first stop was Temple Mount! Our group snuck a Bible past security so that we could read it while touring.

 

We saw the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the man who had been an invalid for 38 years (John 5). Just to even type that sentence takes my breath away. This is a place where Jesus HEALED! Anyway, so my mind is blown.

And the most spiritually touching place we visited, the Garden of Gethsemane. When we had time to quietly reflect on our own, I turned my Bible to Mark 14:32 and began reading. In verse 35, Jesus said, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.”

In verse 35, “Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. ‘Abba, Father,’ he said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.’

It was so overwhelming to be there, reading the words Jesus prayed to God, and realizing his anguish. You couldn’t help but feel the Spirit, and that was something that brought tears to everyone’s eyes.

Remember what I said about the rain? When I was sitting on that bench in the Garden, the clouds parted and the sun beamed down. It was incredible.

After we left the Garden, we went up to the Mount of Olives. No big deal, it’s just where Jesus would go to spend time with God. (It does offer a great view of the city.)

When the rains came tumbling back down, we took shelter in the Upper Room, where many believe is the location of the Last Supper:

THEN, we feasted on schawarma, and I hereby declare that my life will never be the same.

 

But not just because of the schawarma.

 

 

“Shalom, and welcome to the Holy Land.”

Israel is not a country, it’s an experience.  Every alleyway offers different smells—burning incense, bold spices, frying falafels. Standing on the sidewalk in Jerusalem immerses you into different religions, with thousands of Orthodox Jews passing you and the melodic Islamic call to prayer echoing around the buildings. There is snow at the tops of the mountains in the northern tip, while the Judean Desert boasts warm weather—perfect for a dip in the Dead Sea. The colors are bright, the fabrics are wild, and the foods are spicy.

I just spent nine days falling in love with Israel. The richness of the cultures flavor and history kept us going from sun-up to sun-down, walking where the Lord walked and collecting memories along the way. This week, I am recapping those memories.

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Day #1: Shalom, Israel!

Our entire day was spent exploring the vast city of Jerusalem.

We started with prayers at the Wailing Wall: 

The Wailing Wall is a Holy site in the Jewish religion. They write their prayers down and stuff them into the cracks of the wall. They also come to read the Torah. I scribbled down my prayer and crammed it into the wall with thousands of others.

We got to explore the Old Jerusalem marketplace, where I ate my first FALAFEL and drank my first Hebrew Coke Zero:

And of course, we visited Christian Holy sites. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built over the believed crucifixion location by the Catholic church in 330 AD.

Another location that some believe could be the site of the crucifixion is at the foot of this hill. Jesus was crucified at Golgotha, or the “place of the skull.” If you look closely, this rock looks like a skull, thus leading some archeologists to believe that this was the place.

Our next visit was to the Garden Tomb:

Honestly, where the crucifixion took place isn’t important. What’s important—where our faith lies—is that the tomb was empty! Praise the Lord!

       

The first day was a day of culture shock, Chaco blisters, and adventure. But most importantly, spiritual enlightenment. And oh my, it was only the beginning.

 

 

 

AdventureTown on Monday

 

1. Finally, the sun came out in Greece and it was warm enough to open the balcony door, throw on some shorts AND WEAR MY CHACOS!

2. Today, we leave for ISRAEL! There was cleaning to do and packing to be done. Check and check. Jerusalem, see you tonight!

 

3. I’ve finally decided that Pride & Prejudice must be really good if people are still reading it. So, I downloaded it on my Kindle for the flight to Tel Aviv. If it’s a bust, I’m re-reading The Hunger Games.

4. During lunch, all I could do was stare at the basket of dessert on the table. It was my favorite Grecian pastry. Waiting, wondering when I was going to break and devour. SO instead of eating bread and pasta, I ate 4 pastries. And I’m feeling pretty ok with that decision.

5. When all was prepared for this next adventure, I watched the sun sink behind HUG mountain.

 

6. ISRAEL! I’m ready to eat falafel’s, shawarma, and everything that is 100% kosher.

 

 

Linking up with:

 

 

I amand I’ve posted twice today, so if you want to hear more about my Peloponnese adventures, read below! And if not, well get outta here.

Tolo, Napflion, & Olympia – Sunrises, Gelato, and Rain

What will I remember about Tolo, Greece, you ask?

A sky burning with oranges and yellows as the sun rose over the sea and mountains.

What will I remember about visiting the ancient city of Mycenae?

The Lions Gate (famoussss), exploring a cave and singing at the bottom, and how unbelievably cold and windy it was on the side of that mountain.

Oh, right. I’ll also remember the Tomb of Agamemnon—where the acoustics were just right, and Do Not Fear bounced beautifully around the rock.

Sweet Napflion, with its creamy gelato—“the BEST in Greece!” they boasted—and it’s Italian-style streets, narrow and romantic. Beautiful and seaside, we ate sandwiches for lunch and tossed our bread crumbs to the fish.

 

Olympia. I have a letter for Olympia, actually.

Dear Olympia,

Even though you provided us with torrential downpour and 30 degree weather, people still braved the 200 meter dash down the original Olympic track. We still marveled at the fact that we saw one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. So you can take your atrocious weather and shove it, because we were more than happy to swim through Olympia.

Sincerely,
I didn’t run the 200m because I knew I’d bust it.
(but hey, I did run a half-marathon)

 

Then, with sopping wet socks and jeans, we rode 5+ hours on the bus back to Porto Rafti.

And guess what?!

WE LEAVE FOR ISRAEL TODAY! Please keep our group in your prayers as we travel around Israel for the next 10 days.