So day 4 for us had an interesting start. Relatively early in the morning, we made our way to Mt. Ben Tal, which means "son of the morning dew." From the top of the mountain, you can see Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. The view is like being on a plane. You can see everything. I could probably have seen everything better if I had my glasses, but oh well. So what I found interesting about what we learned at Ben Tal was the way Israel is dealing with the Syrian refugee problem. Yes there is a fence between them. No it is not electric. It is electronic. Meaning if someone touches it, they don't get zapped. Instead Israel is alerted and if they see that the person is injured they will let them in and treat them at field hospitals they have set up. Unless they're so bad off they need to be flown to a major hospital, in which case that will be done, all with Israeli taxpayers money. Also, fun fact: Israel was one of the first countries to set up field hospitals in Haiti and Nepal after their disasters. But you won't necessarily hear about that because Israel didn't do it for publicity. In fact, if it wasn't for an organization called Stand With Us, nobody would know about it at all. That's because Israel not only understands the sanctity of life, it is where the idea originated. The world's religions are so focused on a culture of death, but it's from Judaism that we get the idea of the value of life.
So after Ben Tal, we went to a place called Banias. Another one I'd never heard of. Or at least I thought I hadn't. So it turns out Banias is what used to be the Roman temple of the god Pan. It is also called Caesarea Philippi. Oh, hey, that sounds familiar. So that was where Jesus talked to His disciples and asked them who people said He was. This was when Peter declared Him to be the Son of God. So I remembered something about this location being near a cave which was why people called the place "The Gates of Hell." So we get there, we're looking at these cool ruins and this gorgeous stream and fig trees and whatnot, and oh that's a cool looking cave. I take a picture, I move on. The gears turn, I turn, and I freak out. Click. So turns out this cave used to have a part of the temple in front of it, and a river flowing out of it. This was where sacrifices would be made to Pan, and if the blood of the sacrifice came back in the water, then it hadn't been accepted. Fun fact. But yeah, so that's why they called it the Gates of Hell. And that's why when Jesus told Peter that the gates of Hell wouldn't stand against His church, He was again, not just saying words. He was tying everything into what was around them. Cause He was just brilliant like that.
So after Banias came one of many first time experiences for me. "Kayaking"/"white water rafting." On the Jordan River. So I was freaking out all day cause I don't think I'd be very good at kayaking. Also white water sounded dangerous. But basically it ended up just being rafting on not so white waters. There was like one "rapid" that was like... ah. Haha so it was pretty chill. Minus that one point when this one Israeli guy swam over to our raft and climbed on and wouldn't stop talking to us. Then two of his friends joined him. Then they started doing backflips off our raft. And they kept coming back. Like ok, it was funny at first, but after a bit even our tour guide was like ok, stop. (Shout out to Yogev, coolest tour guide ever. The dude knows, like, everything.) Oh and then there was a raft that had this older Arab family. Like they were all old. No kids, no teenagers, no young adults. And this family made it their primary objective to splash us every time they saw us. Like, ok first time it was funny, but when it happened again... it was war. Can't really tell you who won that war. I think they just got bored. They were actually pretty friendly at the end when we got out. All in all, it was a pretty cool day.
So that's day 4. Never mind the fact that it's like day... 12 now. I'll catch up eventually. Shabbat shalom.
Friday, June 19, 2015
Monday, June 15, 2015
Israel Experience Day 3
So these days have been super packed, so I'm like 4 days behind, my bad. But here we are at Day 3 of my Israel Experience.
Just kidding, now I'm 5 days behind... I think. I literally just had to look at our itinerary to remember what we did on day 3.
Our day started with the Mount of Beattitudes. First of all, it is absolutely gorgeous there. The hillside is covered in red, white, and pink flowers, and palm trees are everywhere looking over the Sea of Galilee. We of course sat together and read Matthew 5. But there was a little more light shed on some of the things Jesus said there. For example, when He says "a city on a hill cannot be hidden," that's not just a nice analogy. From where he was standing, He could point directly to a city right on the next hill. Also, when he says that if someone asks for your shirt to give him your cloak also - to do that would leave you basically naked. But this would not be to your shame, but rather the shame of the one to whom you've given more than they asked. Again with walking the second mile - this refers to the law that stated that a Roman soldier could force a Jew to carry his belongings for up to one mile. For the Jew to go beyond what is required and voluntarily walk a second mile with his oppressor, is to force the Roman to see humanity of the one he has oppressed.
Like, guys, Jesus knew what He was saying. He wasn't just telling them to let people walk all over them, but rather to be human and discover the shared humanity between enemies. That's how to love. And it's so beautiful. Gah.
There was another thought that occurred to me at the Mount of Beattitudes. When we had free time to roam the place, I wanted to sit around and think. Meditate on what was said there, try and feel closer to the One who had said it. Of course, with a group of friends, a camera, and a ton of pretty flowers, we ended up goofing off and taking pictures. And part of me felt wrong for just playing around but then the thought hit me: Jesus and His disciples spent 3 years together. It would take less than three days, maybe one, to read through what we know about what they did. There is so much that happened in the middle. And I get the feeling that Jesus would have goofed off with His friends. I think I've too often thought of Jesus as completely stoic and emotionless (unless He was angry, but with righteous anger of course). But what I'm learning/being reminded of a lot on this trip is that Jesus was fully human. Humans laugh. Humans have fun. Humans interact with the people they love and those interactions are not always solemn and reverent. They're full of joy and laughter. I don't think Jesus was upset that I goofed off on that mountain. In fact, considering its location, I think He and His friends were there more than once, and I'm sure at least one of those times, they shared a good laugh or two.
Anywho. After the mountain. Ok sorry. I just have to interrupt this and mention the donkey that just started braying a few feet away. Hahahaha I can't even handle these things hahaha. More on that to come in a couple days. We now return to our regularly scheduled program. Ahem.
So after the Mount of Beattitudes, we went to Capernaum, which is where Jesus' ministry was kinda based for the years he traveled. Also where Peter and his family lived. There's the remains of a large synagogue there, right across from the remains of one of the first churches. There are some people who say that the synagogue is so big because the Jews were trying to appear to outnumber the Christians, when the most likely reality is that the Christians never stopped going to the synagogue. Again, we see that the early church did not see itself as separate from the Jews, but rather as Jews who saw and believed that the prophecies of old had been fulfilled. Capernaum was one of those places where you just stood on the shore and imagined Jesus standing there before going out onto the sea with His disciples.
And we interrupt this program once again to bring you.... porcupines. No lie. Two just walked past me. What is life. I can't even.
And we're back.
So in order to truly walk in the footsteps of Christ, we ate lunch the way He did. At a place near Capernaum called En Gev, we had what is called the Peter Fish. Aka tilapia. Aka Fred. Freshly Caught Fred. I got fileted Fred. I can't eat things with eyeballs still on em. Nope. Sorry Jesus.
After our fish lunch was one of my favorite experiences of this trip so far. A boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. The boat looked like a small ark too, like it was straight off the pages of my Bible coloring books haha. The water was so beautiful. The waves were gentle and the wind was calm. And as I stood on that boat and looked out on the hills surrounding us, I had a very distinct thought. Jesus knew I would be there one day. And I believe He thought of me. I honestly felt as though He looked on those same hills and left me a thought there. A thought that waited there for 2000 years until I would one day look at the same spot and make that connection. He knew who I was and who I would be and where and when I would be. God is amazing.
We checked into Kerei Deshe, a youth hostel on the shores of the Galilee. As in, my back porch led out to the Sea of Galilee. It was cool. We had a meeting there with an Israel Experience alumni who now interns here. Of all the things he said, one comment in particular stuck out to me. It is that being here in Israel both hits you and doesn't hit you. And it is so true. When coming here, you expect that being where Jesus, and the apostles, and the forefathers of the Jewish faith, and thereby our own, have been should strike you with awe. But when you arrive, you find that there's just something so ordinary about it. Something so human. And yet it's an extraordinary experience.
And I'll tell you more about it later. It's 1am and I gotta be up in like... not a lot of hours. I wanna see the sunrise. Shalom.
Just kidding, now I'm 5 days behind... I think. I literally just had to look at our itinerary to remember what we did on day 3.
Our day started with the Mount of Beattitudes. First of all, it is absolutely gorgeous there. The hillside is covered in red, white, and pink flowers, and palm trees are everywhere looking over the Sea of Galilee. We of course sat together and read Matthew 5. But there was a little more light shed on some of the things Jesus said there. For example, when He says "a city on a hill cannot be hidden," that's not just a nice analogy. From where he was standing, He could point directly to a city right on the next hill. Also, when he says that if someone asks for your shirt to give him your cloak also - to do that would leave you basically naked. But this would not be to your shame, but rather the shame of the one to whom you've given more than they asked. Again with walking the second mile - this refers to the law that stated that a Roman soldier could force a Jew to carry his belongings for up to one mile. For the Jew to go beyond what is required and voluntarily walk a second mile with his oppressor, is to force the Roman to see humanity of the one he has oppressed.
Like, guys, Jesus knew what He was saying. He wasn't just telling them to let people walk all over them, but rather to be human and discover the shared humanity between enemies. That's how to love. And it's so beautiful. Gah.
There was another thought that occurred to me at the Mount of Beattitudes. When we had free time to roam the place, I wanted to sit around and think. Meditate on what was said there, try and feel closer to the One who had said it. Of course, with a group of friends, a camera, and a ton of pretty flowers, we ended up goofing off and taking pictures. And part of me felt wrong for just playing around but then the thought hit me: Jesus and His disciples spent 3 years together. It would take less than three days, maybe one, to read through what we know about what they did. There is so much that happened in the middle. And I get the feeling that Jesus would have goofed off with His friends. I think I've too often thought of Jesus as completely stoic and emotionless (unless He was angry, but with righteous anger of course). But what I'm learning/being reminded of a lot on this trip is that Jesus was fully human. Humans laugh. Humans have fun. Humans interact with the people they love and those interactions are not always solemn and reverent. They're full of joy and laughter. I don't think Jesus was upset that I goofed off on that mountain. In fact, considering its location, I think He and His friends were there more than once, and I'm sure at least one of those times, they shared a good laugh or two.
Anywho. After the mountain. Ok sorry. I just have to interrupt this and mention the donkey that just started braying a few feet away. Hahahaha I can't even handle these things hahaha. More on that to come in a couple days. We now return to our regularly scheduled program. Ahem.
So after the Mount of Beattitudes, we went to Capernaum, which is where Jesus' ministry was kinda based for the years he traveled. Also where Peter and his family lived. There's the remains of a large synagogue there, right across from the remains of one of the first churches. There are some people who say that the synagogue is so big because the Jews were trying to appear to outnumber the Christians, when the most likely reality is that the Christians never stopped going to the synagogue. Again, we see that the early church did not see itself as separate from the Jews, but rather as Jews who saw and believed that the prophecies of old had been fulfilled. Capernaum was one of those places where you just stood on the shore and imagined Jesus standing there before going out onto the sea with His disciples.
And we interrupt this program once again to bring you.... porcupines. No lie. Two just walked past me. What is life. I can't even.
And we're back.
So in order to truly walk in the footsteps of Christ, we ate lunch the way He did. At a place near Capernaum called En Gev, we had what is called the Peter Fish. Aka tilapia. Aka Fred. Freshly Caught Fred. I got fileted Fred. I can't eat things with eyeballs still on em. Nope. Sorry Jesus.
After our fish lunch was one of my favorite experiences of this trip so far. A boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. The boat looked like a small ark too, like it was straight off the pages of my Bible coloring books haha. The water was so beautiful. The waves were gentle and the wind was calm. And as I stood on that boat and looked out on the hills surrounding us, I had a very distinct thought. Jesus knew I would be there one day. And I believe He thought of me. I honestly felt as though He looked on those same hills and left me a thought there. A thought that waited there for 2000 years until I would one day look at the same spot and make that connection. He knew who I was and who I would be and where and when I would be. God is amazing.
We checked into Kerei Deshe, a youth hostel on the shores of the Galilee. As in, my back porch led out to the Sea of Galilee. It was cool. We had a meeting there with an Israel Experience alumni who now interns here. Of all the things he said, one comment in particular stuck out to me. It is that being here in Israel both hits you and doesn't hit you. And it is so true. When coming here, you expect that being where Jesus, and the apostles, and the forefathers of the Jewish faith, and thereby our own, have been should strike you with awe. But when you arrive, you find that there's just something so ordinary about it. Something so human. And yet it's an extraordinary experience.
And I'll tell you more about it later. It's 1am and I gotta be up in like... not a lot of hours. I wanna see the sunrise. Shalom.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Israel Experience Day 2
I still can't believe I've only been in Israel for 2 full days. We've been doing so much each day that I can hardly keep track. It does not feel like it was only this morning that I woke up to breakfast by the Mediterranean for the second day in a row. But it was indeed only this morning that I last stood in Tel Aviv, before heading out to a much more ancient port city. The "Tel Aviv of historic Israel" one might say. Or did say. Or said something like it. Anywho. Today we went to Caesarea Maritima where we watched a very... interesting animation on the construction, destruction, reconstruction, redestruction, and reconstruction of the city. There might be one or two more in there. The city was first built by Herod the Great (same one who killed hundreds of innocent infants trying to kill Jesus).
The city was built as a tribute to Caesar, hence the name, and was designed to make travelling Romans find a place to feel at home in Israel. It included a hippodrome, aka horse racing track, as well as a lighthouse, Roman baths, a temple to Roman gods, and a prison. A prison which held both Paul and Peter. And we're not talking like house arrest this time. We're talking about a pit. Literally just a deep dry hole in the ground inside the palace. Oh and also, there stands in Caesarea the remains of a Roman theatre, that is actually still used for concerts of very exclusive artists. Remember that a capella group I mentioned? Guess where we had our first performance. Yeah, we're kinda a big deal. Jussayin.
No, but really though, Caesarea is another one of those places that has a very deep significance for any Christian who is not of Jewish descent. It was there that Cornelius, the Roman to whom Peter was sent to speak the gospel, accepted Jesus and was filled with the Holy Spirit. Also, interesting thought about Cornelius... the Bible doesn't often mention specific times unless they have a certain meaning. So when the Bible tells us that Cornelius has this vision of Peter coming to him at a certain time, what it's saying is that he was so "devout" and "God-fearing" that he, a Roman centurion, worshipped like the Jews. Makes you wonder how we got so separated from our roots. Anywho, just a thought.
SO, after Caesarea, we made our way to Mt. Carmel. This is where Elijah had the face-off, or as it's been called, the God-off with the priests of Ba'al. Something you don't think of when you read that story is how high up that location is. When the fire of God came down and consumed that sacrifice, everyone around saw it. Also, can we just talk about how sassy the whole situation is? Ba'al is supposedly the god of thunderstorms, and Elijah's all like, I'ma stop the rain until y'all end up showing the whole country who the REAL God is. We won't even comment on how sassy he was to the priests. Just go read 1 Kings 18:16-45, particularly verse 27. So. Much. Sass.
After Mt. Carmel, we went to Megiddo. Possibly better known as Armageddon. This is most notably the place where the final battle at the end of time occurs. But also, it is a very curious archaeological city. The term "layers of civilization" is so literal. This place was taken over by so many different people in history, until one day they just abandoned it and left us with a gold mine of archeology. And a great place to end the world apparently.
Our final stop for the day was Mt. Precipice. When I saw that on the itinerary, I was like ummm... that's not in the Bible. What is this place? So I Googled it, found out it was near Nazareth, so I was like ok cool. We get there, get off the bus, and first of all the view is breathtaking. From Mt. Precipice you can clearly see the city that was once the ever so tiny town of Nazareth sitting on the hills. But as we made our way to the top of Mt. Precipice, I was struck with a memory. When Jesus came home to Nazareth and preached in the synagogue, He made the whole town mad when He told them that the carpenter's son that they had watched grow up was in fact the Messiah they read about and waited for. He made them so mad in fact that they drove him out of town in order to stone him. And a lot of people say that part of what that entailed was being thrown off a cliff. And as I walked up the path on Mt. Precipice, I realized this was where it happened. This was where Jesus was taken to be killed. This was where He vanished without ever being hurt. And while they say it's just a traditional site and it's not 100% sure that that's where it happened, I could just feel it when I was up there. I mean even if that's not where that one event took place, it's still just across a valley from where He grew up and lived a majority of His life.
So essentially, this was the first place that we went that I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus had once been. Beyond that was the view from both Megiddo and Precipice. Which by the way, are actually quite close to each other. From there you can see just a few miles away the city of Nain, where Jesus raised a boy to life. (Also where one of my favorite fictional characters is from - Hadassah from the Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers. Perf.) And next to that is a perfectly dome-shaped mountain called Mt. Tabor. Aka the Mount of Transfiguration. Now while I am not in any way, shape, or for downplaying the transfiguration itself, I couldn't help but think when looking over there that somewhere at the bottom of that hill took place one of my favorite conversations with Jesus. When the man who had a demon possessed son told the story of my life. "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
So... yeah... after all these places we finally got to our hotel, which is actually a youth hostel, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Like I walk outside my room onto the porch and backyard and there it is. But more on that to come in the next post. Sorry this ended up coming so late. Had a lot to say :) it's 2:30am. I need to sleep. Night.
The city was built as a tribute to Caesar, hence the name, and was designed to make travelling Romans find a place to feel at home in Israel. It included a hippodrome, aka horse racing track, as well as a lighthouse, Roman baths, a temple to Roman gods, and a prison. A prison which held both Paul and Peter. And we're not talking like house arrest this time. We're talking about a pit. Literally just a deep dry hole in the ground inside the palace. Oh and also, there stands in Caesarea the remains of a Roman theatre, that is actually still used for concerts of very exclusive artists. Remember that a capella group I mentioned? Guess where we had our first performance. Yeah, we're kinda a big deal. Jussayin.
No, but really though, Caesarea is another one of those places that has a very deep significance for any Christian who is not of Jewish descent. It was there that Cornelius, the Roman to whom Peter was sent to speak the gospel, accepted Jesus and was filled with the Holy Spirit. Also, interesting thought about Cornelius... the Bible doesn't often mention specific times unless they have a certain meaning. So when the Bible tells us that Cornelius has this vision of Peter coming to him at a certain time, what it's saying is that he was so "devout" and "God-fearing" that he, a Roman centurion, worshipped like the Jews. Makes you wonder how we got so separated from our roots. Anywho, just a thought.
SO, after Caesarea, we made our way to Mt. Carmel. This is where Elijah had the face-off, or as it's been called, the God-off with the priests of Ba'al. Something you don't think of when you read that story is how high up that location is. When the fire of God came down and consumed that sacrifice, everyone around saw it. Also, can we just talk about how sassy the whole situation is? Ba'al is supposedly the god of thunderstorms, and Elijah's all like, I'ma stop the rain until y'all end up showing the whole country who the REAL God is. We won't even comment on how sassy he was to the priests. Just go read 1 Kings 18:16-45, particularly verse 27. So. Much. Sass.
After Mt. Carmel, we went to Megiddo. Possibly better known as Armageddon. This is most notably the place where the final battle at the end of time occurs. But also, it is a very curious archaeological city. The term "layers of civilization" is so literal. This place was taken over by so many different people in history, until one day they just abandoned it and left us with a gold mine of archeology. And a great place to end the world apparently.
Our final stop for the day was Mt. Precipice. When I saw that on the itinerary, I was like ummm... that's not in the Bible. What is this place? So I Googled it, found out it was near Nazareth, so I was like ok cool. We get there, get off the bus, and first of all the view is breathtaking. From Mt. Precipice you can clearly see the city that was once the ever so tiny town of Nazareth sitting on the hills. But as we made our way to the top of Mt. Precipice, I was struck with a memory. When Jesus came home to Nazareth and preached in the synagogue, He made the whole town mad when He told them that the carpenter's son that they had watched grow up was in fact the Messiah they read about and waited for. He made them so mad in fact that they drove him out of town in order to stone him. And a lot of people say that part of what that entailed was being thrown off a cliff. And as I walked up the path on Mt. Precipice, I realized this was where it happened. This was where Jesus was taken to be killed. This was where He vanished without ever being hurt. And while they say it's just a traditional site and it's not 100% sure that that's where it happened, I could just feel it when I was up there. I mean even if that's not where that one event took place, it's still just across a valley from where He grew up and lived a majority of His life.
So essentially, this was the first place that we went that I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus had once been. Beyond that was the view from both Megiddo and Precipice. Which by the way, are actually quite close to each other. From there you can see just a few miles away the city of Nain, where Jesus raised a boy to life. (Also where one of my favorite fictional characters is from - Hadassah from the Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers. Perf.) And next to that is a perfectly dome-shaped mountain called Mt. Tabor. Aka the Mount of Transfiguration. Now while I am not in any way, shape, or for downplaying the transfiguration itself, I couldn't help but think when looking over there that somewhere at the bottom of that hill took place one of my favorite conversations with Jesus. When the man who had a demon possessed son told the story of my life. "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
So... yeah... after all these places we finally got to our hotel, which is actually a youth hostel, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Like I walk outside my room onto the porch and backyard and there it is. But more on that to come in the next post. Sorry this ended up coming so late. Had a lot to say :) it's 2:30am. I need to sleep. Night.
Monday, June 8, 2015
Israel Experience Day 1
Our first full day in Israel was beyond phenomenal. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it was. We started out bright and early, and I mean it was super bright for how early it was, by having breakfast on the deck overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Which was gorgeous.
Afterwards, we headed into the heart of Tel Aviv to see Independence Hall where, despite the threats and the terrible odds against her, Israel declared herself an independent state. We stood in the room in which occured "the most significant fulfillment of prohecy since Acts 2" (Michael Onifer). Yes, I just used a parenthetical citation.
So anyway, afterward we headed towards Old Jaffa, the port town from which Jonah tried to flee from God's command to go to Ninevah. Which just so happens to be the same city where quite the significant event took place in the New Testament. We saw the house which claims to be the home of Simon the Tanner, where Peter was staying when God spoke to him concerning sharing the word with Cornelius, a Gentile. Notice both of those stories share a theme. Joppa, Jaffa, Yafo, whatever you wanna call it, is a clear representation of God's amazing grace. A grace that did NOT begin in the New Testament, but has existed since the dawn of time, and has been extended to those of us who were not born children of Israel. If it weren't for the events that took place in that city, there would be no hope for us.
Also, check this out. God made two promises to Abraham. He would give him land, and descendants to inhabit it. Though perhaps unconsciously, the church was affected when God's chosen people were separated from their chosen land. But at the same time that Jews began returning to Israel in the early 20th century, revival began breaking out in the church across the world. As they came back to their land, we came back to our God. And when the Hebrew language was revived in Israel, guess what starts happening in the church? As they return to speaking in their native tongue, the church returns to speaking in tongues. It's all connected!! God is so cool!!! GAH. So after having our minds blown with that little thought, we had lunch in Jaffa. Falafel and tahini on a rooftop in a middle eastern city when the call to prayer sounds from the mosque down the street. If THAT doesn't scream "you're not in America," I'm not sure what will. Afterwards we made our last stop for the day at IDC in Herzliya, Israel's only Ivy League school. There we had a lecture with their vice president of external affairs, Jonathan Davis. He is a devout Jew who loves Christians who love Israel. His military history is pretty legit, although it was a little bit weird to think that he fought in the same war that I'm pretty sure some distant relatives of mine might have fought in... only on the opposing side. Way to go Egypt. Anywho, so we got back to our hotel, but I crashed so hard on the bus ride back. Just saying. But we got back then spent an hour and a half on the beach playing volleyball (or attempting to) and taking photos as the sun started to set. After dinner, we went up on the rooftop (I am seriously loving these rooftops. Like I can't even...) and had a small worship service. That ended. Then started back up. That moment when you say let's worship for another half hour then go back to the beach for half an hour. Yeah no. Don't tell God how long you're gonna worship Him. He's got other ideas. We finished over an hour later. It was awesome. Jesus is awesome. Oh and we still went to the beach after. And we kinda discovered that we're basically an a capella group. So stay tuned. Anyway, it's 1am and I need to be up in 5 hours. Love y'all. Laila tov from Tel Aviv.
Afterwards, we headed into the heart of Tel Aviv to see Independence Hall where, despite the threats and the terrible odds against her, Israel declared herself an independent state. We stood in the room in which occured "the most significant fulfillment of prohecy since Acts 2" (Michael Onifer). Yes, I just used a parenthetical citation.
So anyway, afterward we headed towards Old Jaffa, the port town from which Jonah tried to flee from God's command to go to Ninevah. Which just so happens to be the same city where quite the significant event took place in the New Testament. We saw the house which claims to be the home of Simon the Tanner, where Peter was staying when God spoke to him concerning sharing the word with Cornelius, a Gentile. Notice both of those stories share a theme. Joppa, Jaffa, Yafo, whatever you wanna call it, is a clear representation of God's amazing grace. A grace that did NOT begin in the New Testament, but has existed since the dawn of time, and has been extended to those of us who were not born children of Israel. If it weren't for the events that took place in that city, there would be no hope for us.
Also, check this out. God made two promises to Abraham. He would give him land, and descendants to inhabit it. Though perhaps unconsciously, the church was affected when God's chosen people were separated from their chosen land. But at the same time that Jews began returning to Israel in the early 20th century, revival began breaking out in the church across the world. As they came back to their land, we came back to our God. And when the Hebrew language was revived in Israel, guess what starts happening in the church? As they return to speaking in their native tongue, the church returns to speaking in tongues. It's all connected!! God is so cool!!! GAH. So after having our minds blown with that little thought, we had lunch in Jaffa. Falafel and tahini on a rooftop in a middle eastern city when the call to prayer sounds from the mosque down the street. If THAT doesn't scream "you're not in America," I'm not sure what will. Afterwards we made our last stop for the day at IDC in Herzliya, Israel's only Ivy League school. There we had a lecture with their vice president of external affairs, Jonathan Davis. He is a devout Jew who loves Christians who love Israel. His military history is pretty legit, although it was a little bit weird to think that he fought in the same war that I'm pretty sure some distant relatives of mine might have fought in... only on the opposing side. Way to go Egypt. Anywho, so we got back to our hotel, but I crashed so hard on the bus ride back. Just saying. But we got back then spent an hour and a half on the beach playing volleyball (or attempting to) and taking photos as the sun started to set. After dinner, we went up on the rooftop (I am seriously loving these rooftops. Like I can't even...) and had a small worship service. That ended. Then started back up. That moment when you say let's worship for another half hour then go back to the beach for half an hour. Yeah no. Don't tell God how long you're gonna worship Him. He's got other ideas. We finished over an hour later. It was awesome. Jesus is awesome. Oh and we still went to the beach after. And we kinda discovered that we're basically an a capella group. So stay tuned. Anyway, it's 1am and I need to be up in 5 hours. Love y'all. Laila tov from Tel Aviv.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
The Gates Won't Stay Closed Forever
So, in honor of Mother’s Day, I want to write about my mother’s mother. Teta Samira. For some of you reading this, this may be news but, my grandma passed away about two weeks ago. I’ve been wanting to talk about her for a while…I guess today’s a good a day as any.
It’s strange… I was closer to my grandma when she lived halfway across the world, than when she lived a mile and a half away. When I was younger and she still lived in Egypt, her visits were the highlights of my year. I loved going to the airport to pick her up, and I absolutely hated watching her go through the gates to go back home.
But the time in between was always interesting. Of course, she spent most of it in the kitchen making me kahk while pretending she didn’t notice me stealing the little pieces of the sweet filling she put in her cookies. Or she was making grape leaves and I was pretending to help her.
I remember that she always shared my room when she visited. She told me stories that she would make up on the spot. There’s one I’ll never forget… about a Saidi family… it’s too complicated to write here though. Let me just say it was the goofiest thing I’ve ever heard. My dad would always get upset because I was never going to bed on time when she was there to keep me up with her stories.
Teta hated violence. I remember watching “Jesus of Nazareth” with her, and her leaving the room as soon as the crucifixion came. (One thing that will always confuse me is how, years later, she was able to watch parts of “The Passion.”) I didn’t think about it much until the funeral but, my teta really was such a cheerful, calm, graceful lady. I can’t even imagine her yelling.
When I was nine, my grandparents moved to the States. For a few months they lived in our house, but eventually moved a few blocks away. Things got awkward. Whenever I visited my grandparents, I would kind of just sit there and listen to my mom talking to them. And that was in itself difficult because of the ever-thickening language barrier.
As I got older, visiting my grandparents wasn’t really mandatory anymore. So I still went, but not as often. And when I did it was for short periods of time. I remember a few times though when my grandma and I tried to relive the story of the Saidi family. And of course every time I was there she, just like any grandmother, stuffed my face with every sweet thing she could think of.
The few weeks before Teta died were a little scary. Every now and then, her oxygen just wouldn’t work. The family would panic, the ambulance would come, and then everything would go back to normal. I knew it was very possible she wouldn’t be here much longer, but it still seemed too surreal.
On Wednesday April 20th I was leaving for a youth convention. On the Tuesday before, I went to see Teta, and she wasn’t responding to anything. My mom, uncle, and I tried to wake her up so I could say goodbye before I left. She just kept on sleeping.
On Thursday morning, Teta went through the gates to go home. This time I wasn’t there to wave her off. I can’t say whether or not it would have been easier for me. I think it may have been the best for me to have been away when it happened.
But in any case, while I do miss her, and I do wish I had spent more time with her when I could have, I know this isn’t the end. I’ve got myself a ticket to the same destination. And even though I don’t know when my flight is, I know she’ll be at the gates waiting for me.
It’s strange… I was closer to my grandma when she lived halfway across the world, than when she lived a mile and a half away. When I was younger and she still lived in Egypt, her visits were the highlights of my year. I loved going to the airport to pick her up, and I absolutely hated watching her go through the gates to go back home.
But the time in between was always interesting. Of course, she spent most of it in the kitchen making me kahk while pretending she didn’t notice me stealing the little pieces of the sweet filling she put in her cookies. Or she was making grape leaves and I was pretending to help her.
I remember that she always shared my room when she visited. She told me stories that she would make up on the spot. There’s one I’ll never forget… about a Saidi family… it’s too complicated to write here though. Let me just say it was the goofiest thing I’ve ever heard. My dad would always get upset because I was never going to bed on time when she was there to keep me up with her stories.
Teta hated violence. I remember watching “Jesus of Nazareth” with her, and her leaving the room as soon as the crucifixion came. (One thing that will always confuse me is how, years later, she was able to watch parts of “The Passion.”) I didn’t think about it much until the funeral but, my teta really was such a cheerful, calm, graceful lady. I can’t even imagine her yelling.
When I was nine, my grandparents moved to the States. For a few months they lived in our house, but eventually moved a few blocks away. Things got awkward. Whenever I visited my grandparents, I would kind of just sit there and listen to my mom talking to them. And that was in itself difficult because of the ever-thickening language barrier.
As I got older, visiting my grandparents wasn’t really mandatory anymore. So I still went, but not as often. And when I did it was for short periods of time. I remember a few times though when my grandma and I tried to relive the story of the Saidi family. And of course every time I was there she, just like any grandmother, stuffed my face with every sweet thing she could think of.
The few weeks before Teta died were a little scary. Every now and then, her oxygen just wouldn’t work. The family would panic, the ambulance would come, and then everything would go back to normal. I knew it was very possible she wouldn’t be here much longer, but it still seemed too surreal.
On Wednesday April 20th I was leaving for a youth convention. On the Tuesday before, I went to see Teta, and she wasn’t responding to anything. My mom, uncle, and I tried to wake her up so I could say goodbye before I left. She just kept on sleeping.
On Thursday morning, Teta went through the gates to go home. This time I wasn’t there to wave her off. I can’t say whether or not it would have been easier for me. I think it may have been the best for me to have been away when it happened.
But in any case, while I do miss her, and I do wish I had spent more time with her when I could have, I know this isn’t the end. I’ve got myself a ticket to the same destination. And even though I don’t know when my flight is, I know she’ll be at the gates waiting for me.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Welcome to my Blog!
So... This blog was inspired by the members of the Authors for Elyon page on facebook. I don't really know what I'm going to do here, or really much of how it works, but anyway...
This will probably be a place where I post my poetry, or if I have any random deep theological ideas I feel like writing about or something. I want to be able to dive deeper here, and to use my words to do it.
I'm going to stick to more recent things/new things I will write... so I won't be digging through my old notes on facebook to find things to post.
So this will be interesting... I don't know how much I'll think of but wish me luck and feel free to comment, reply, or whatever you do here :P
This will probably be a place where I post my poetry, or if I have any random deep theological ideas I feel like writing about or something. I want to be able to dive deeper here, and to use my words to do it.
I'm going to stick to more recent things/new things I will write... so I won't be digging through my old notes on facebook to find things to post.
So this will be interesting... I don't know how much I'll think of but wish me luck and feel free to comment, reply, or whatever you do here :P
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