Elke's Boring! [tm] Blog

The Many Dimensions of Elke

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 20:00:00 +0000

The Many Dimensions of Elke

My husband told me today I had become one-dimensional, meaning that all I cared to discuss was God or the Bible, which no surprise, hurt me.

This one is for you, Honey. Talk to me about any or all of them.

Your wife is a:

lover of God, my forever Love, most important part of my being and what makes me tick
lover of you, my Love, my second most important part of existence
lover of our family, the third in sequence
lover of people
lover of animals
lover of plants
lover of Israel and the Middle East
lover of Africa
lover of India
lover of the rest of the globe
lover of travel to all of the above
lover of art, in particular Dutch and Flemish painters
lover of books
lover of music, from classical to hip hop, well some
lover of all things technology
lover of adopting cool technology early and learning all about it
lover of social media
lover of movies, admittedly especially of artsy-fartsy European ones
lover of food, all foods, especially exotic ones
lover of museums (art, history, natural, technology, you name it...)
lover of archaeology
lover of nature
lover of mountains
lover of the ocean (when it doesn't involve hours in the hot sun on a crowded beach)
lover of solitude
lover of crowds
lover of cities
lover of quaint little towns
lover of sports (baseball makes my heart tick, but so do basketball, football, tennis)
lover of the Bible
lover of poetry
lover of novels
lover of history and everything about it, including places where history happened
lover of writing, in particular scholarly stuff
lover of learning
lover of studying culture and, in particular, cultural mores
lover of languages, especially weird ones like Hebrew and Greek, but Arabic is high on list

That should be a good start, no?

So talk to me. About what makes me tick. I might watch the occasional golf game on TV with you in turn.

Birth Day

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Mon, 09 May 2011 13:01:00 +0000

Birth Day

31 years ago today, JoAnne was born - my first child.

I had barely passed childhood myself, turning 19 only a few short weeks earlier. I was a little over two months into my marriage and quite frankly very excited, but also very scared of what was ahead.

We knew she would be born on May 9th, even though her due date was May 15th, but the little stinker had turned upside down, and so the doctor had decided to schedule a Caesarean.

So on May 8th, I was admitted to the hospital for an early morning birth the following day. In those days, moms were knocked out for a Caesarean, so I just remember coming to slowly and hearing my mom joke "they didn't have to cut anything off" as I had hoped for a girl. :-)

I didn't get to see JoAnne Marie, born at 7:44 am and weighing 6 lbs 2 oz, until quite some time later when they brought her to me. I was still in and out, but I remember thinking two things: "She is beautiful." and "She is so tiny!"

The next two weeks were a hospital stay with JoAnne just carted in at first for feedings. My breast milk didn't come in until six days after her birth, so nursing was a frustrating exercise for both of us ... and the nurses were trying to talk me into bottle feeding, which I did not want to do. It was a rough time for all of us!

At long last, we got to go home.

JoAnne grew and got to be cuter and cuter. This is my beautiful girl at about two years old:

So now, here we are, 31 years later, and JoAnne is a Yale graduate, a wife, a mom of two beautiful young boys - and as gorgeous as ever.

P.S. Another favorite (many years after the) birth story:
My obstetrician, Dr. Schmitt, who delivered JoAnne became a believer late in life - and we used to see him when we were back in Germany at our church in Giessen (Freie Evangelische Gemeinde). He went into the presence of his Lord and Savior a few years ago - and I, for one, look forward to seeing him again.

Fogel Family Massacre

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 20:32:00 +0000

Fogel Family Massacre

The brutality expressed here is beyond belief. This is what hatred breeds.

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New Year, New Bible

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 19:13:00 +0000

New Year, New Bible

It is January 1, 2011.
It is the shot from the divine starter pistol to another year of reading through the Scriptures for me.
This year, I have chosen the NET (New English Translation) and the Chronological reading plan from Youversion.com.
I am excited to start afresh and to begin where it all starts - Genesis 1:1 on 1/1/11. How wonderfully fitting!

I chose the NET because it is a faithful translation with amazing study and translation notes (see example of Gen. 2:18 above). I have a hard copy of it, but you can easily find it online (see link above). It was translated by a number of scholars I have the highest respect for. 2010 had me using the HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible), in particular the Apologetics Study Bible. It was good, but not great. So far, my favorite translation remains the ESV (English Standard Version), which is amazing in the ESV Study Bible version thanks to its outstanding study notes and images.

I have found as I have read through the Bible for the past six or so years that it requires the same kind of discipline as exercising. As much as I love God's Word, it is so easy to have other distractions take over. If I don't purposefully set aside time every morning, I fall behind. If I fall behind (which I do), I have to purposefully sacrifice something else to get caught up again.

In 2010, I read my last 14 chapters of Revelation on the morning of January 2011, but I think it's still fair to say I read through the Bible in a year. It is an awesome feeling to put the Bible I used for that year's reading back on the shelf and to pull down another one (the "chosen" one for that year) and to break out the markers and start afresh. I love jotting down thoughts or highlighting important (to me) passages and have started using six pens (red, blue, yellow, orange, red and green) to mark what seems worthy of marking. I am not always consistent in how I apply the colors (there are suggestions if you google), but I can still go back into last year's Bible and find things quickly.

I would love to do learn the Precepts inductive Bible study method one of these days. Maybe I will try for it this year - not sure I have the time with seminary work load.

In the meantime, I am just plain going to enjoy being in God's Word every day. I sometimes think of it as the Holy Spirit lid that keeps the lid on what could be the trashcan of my life without it (slightly adapted from Beth Moore).

And into Genesis I venture...

Leaving 2010 Behind

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 05:57:00 +0000

Leaving 2010 Behind

Entering 2011 means leaving behind 2010. It happened to be a year I really liked.

Although there were many things not to like, it was a year where God grew me by leaps and bounds. And for that I am so grateful.

I can't wait to see what God has in store for us in 2011.

And I do hope you know him and can come along for the ride.

God, the Gospel, and Glenn Beck

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 21:22:00 +0000

God bless Dr. Russell Moore, Dean of the School of Theology and Senior Vice-President for Academic Administration at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, for eloquently saying what I have been only able to stutter about when reflecting on the Restoring Hope rally in Washington, DC, on August 28, 2010:
God, the Gospel, and Glenn Beck

Coming Out of a Bit of a Funk

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 02:16:00 +0000

Coming Out of a Bit of a Funk

This weekend, I realized that I have been in a bit of a funk over this past year.
What happened? I lost my job in late January 2009. *SHOCK* *HORROR*

It never truly dawned on me what an emotional toll losing my job would take on me. Now that I have been through this rather unpleasant experience - well, technically I am still not employed -, I can tell you that your psychological well-being takes a beating. If you had told me this a little over a year ago, I would have politely smiled at you.

No, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is a very real downer. In retrospect, I can see how the emotional voyage I was sent on has great similarities with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross' five stages of grief. While she mainly studied terminal illness or catastrophic loss, the stages are all too recognizable also for those who have lost a job, especially one they held for a rather long time (11 years in my case).

The stages she identified are as follows:
1. Denial — "I feel fine."; "This can't be happening, not to me."
2. Anger — "Why me? It's not fair!"; "How can this happen to me?"; "Who is to blame?"
3. Bargaining — "I'll do anything for a few more years."; "I will give my life savings if..."
4. Depression — "I'm so sad, why bother with anything?"; "I'm going to die . . . What's the point?"; "I miss my loved one, why go on?"
5. Acceptance — "It's going to be okay."; "I can't fight it, I may as well prepare for it."

Here is Elke's application of these stages:

1. Denial: "I am a rock star in this organization - everybody respects and likes me. I'll have another job before the week is out."

2. Anger: "How come no one else is affected in my group? How come the troublemaker is safe and sound? Why would they let someone like me go? I have all the values, ethics, training, etc."

3. Bargaining: "Can I stay through the end of the month? The quarter? Will you think about creating xyz position for me? Will you retrain me?"

4. Depression: "I suck. They hate me. I am such a loser. Who ever gave me this responsibility to begin with? Did they really think I could do that? I am such a moron. Maybe I should just dig a hole and hide from the world. I am old. Who'd want me?"

5. Acceptance: "It has happened. It also happened to almost 4,000 others in the company. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, just as I have been in the right place at the right time many times before. Life will go on. Let me think about where my passions truly are. Let's investigate how to get to a happy place again. Let me make a plan."

Wow. Just writing this took me through another loop of emotions. I am now over a year beyond that day, but the other day, I made the mistake of re-reading some old e-mails from around the time I left the company, and I have to admit, I just bawled. Had to catch myself all over again.
Would I want to go through this again? Absolutely not.
Have I learned from it? Oh yes.

Here are my learnings:
1. The very key learning: God doesn't let me go. He doesn't care about my title, my career trajectory or my professional accomplishments. He cares about my soul being in right relationship with Him.
2. Extremely important lesson: My husband loves me without abandon despite a fat paycheck suddenly having gone missing. He doesn't care about my paycheck - it reminded me that he loved me long before I ever made any kind of money.
3. Resting is good. My exhaustion ended when I didn't have to worry about late nights and early mornings as much anymore (still had some due to my work on my master's).
See:

4. There are so many others in my boat - and they are an inspiration and a joy to behold as they encourage each other in unemployment groups.
5. Friends couldn't care less whether I can throw money around or not.
6. We have been faithful to give to our church and charities despite a much reduced cash flow. God provides where we don't have.
7. I had time to become a table leader for our women's Bible study.
8. I could cook for my husband almost every night.
9. We walked the dogs together and talked with each other more than in many years.
10. We are alive and well and thriving as believers, as a couple and as a family.

I have experienced above all things and despite my sometimes real "in a funk" moments one truth that God meant when He said:
Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

All glory to God.

Update on Ed Stetzer's Facebook Page

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 01:18:00 +0000

Update on Ed Stetzer's Facebook Page

I did it. Not because I wanted to, but because I couldn't ignore Ed's pleas on Facebook and in his blog - plus he promised to post family photos. But that hurt:

Why I Am Not Un-Friending Ed Stetzer on Facebook Unless Forced

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:20:00 +0000

Why I Am Not Un-Friending Ed Stetzer on Facebook Unless Forced

Ed Stetzer jokingly says he has become a big deal on
his blog. For those of you uninitiated, Ed Stetzer is kind of a big deal. And Ed has gently begun asking people to un-friend him on Facebook now that he has a fan page. Who is Ed, you might say?

Truth be told, I didn't know Ed Stetzer from Adam before I went to my summer intensive on Personal Evangelism in May at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, where I am currently working on a master's (see also my other blog, which describes that experience in gory detail). As part of my intensive, we were asked to sit in on several sessions of InnovateChurch '09, a conference, which was taking place at Thomas Road Baptist Church, aligned with Liberty University.

Ed was speaking at the conference. I learned from the program that Ed Stetzer heads up the Research division of the Southern Baptists' LifeWay, serving as providers of Christian products and services. Ed is also a church planter. I don't worship in a Southern Baptist church, so some of this was truly new to me. Ed's topic was supposed to be on a completely different topic; I remember having to change the topic on my iPhone as I was attempting to take notes. What Ed actually did speak on wound up being one of those God moments in life, when the world suddenly disappears, and I was Isaiah saying "woe is me, I am lost! For I am a (wo)man of unclean lips and I dwell amidst a people of unclean lips". Ed addressed the issue of unaddressed personal sin and personal holiness that morning. In total disclosure, his words shone a bright light into areas of my heart that had not been yielded to God and where I was hiding some personal little pet sin.

I want you to hear his words. A summary of his talk can be found here. If you have the time, please watch him speak here. Please find the time. It is a critical message for us all to hear as we travel along this Christian journey with God. Ed spoke into my heart that day and, of that I am sure, into the hearts of many of the men and women listening to him. Instantly, Ed became a big deal to me. Not because he is bigger and better and smarter than anybody, but because he spoke God's truth in great boldness. Let's just say, I became an instant Ed Stetzer fan.

To get back to the title of this blog, I started following Ed Stetzer a bit closer after that morning. I friended him on Facebook and found him on Twitter. I realized quickly, he is not a leader with a blown-up ego, and he pokes fun at himself in liberal doses. It was truly refreshing to see this servant of God. Ed is definitely as much of an "exhibitionist" as I am (at least my husband tells me that about myself from time to time). I enjoy Ed's version of personal exhibitionism. I soak up looking at his life. I love seeing the photos of his wife and of his daughters playing. Ed has become real and tangible to me and is giving me hope that I am not alone on this tilt-a-whirl, as N.D. Wilson recently called life on this planet.

Of course, the whole topic of Internet privacy finds itself in the cross hairs these days. My husband is big on his concern for privacy issues (yet I talked him into being on Twitter and Facebook successfully ;-) ), while his wife is much more liberal in the policies of what is disclosed on the Internet and what isn't (as my Twitter stream, my Facebook presence and my four blogs will attest to). But in all fairness, have you 123peopled yourself recently? Look at what I pulled up for Ed! Don't worry, Ed, I don't know where you live and won't be calling you, but case in point is, we are all fairly visible these days on the internet if we have participated in anything from Amazon purchase reviews to speaking at events to participating in the latest fashion in social media. I think if you google me long and hard, you will even find wise things I said in 1994 or something like that on a bulletin board for WordPerfect experts.

So Ed, I am sorry, but unless you force me to un-friend you like Mike Hyatt, another truly fascinating person, recently did (and I understand it and am not saying it's bad per se, but boy I miss feeling like a friend already), I still would like to be your friend on Facebook. You are a big deal to me, not because you are a celebrity of sorts, but because you are a Holy Spirit indwelled brother in the Lord who puts a smile on my face when I follow your fun-filled life of plowing the soil for our holy God. I pray for you, Brother, and thank you for sharing your life in Christ with us!

Israel and Jordan Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:31:00 +0000

Israel Photos

Some of my favorite Israel and Jordan photos are now online at http://www.speli.com/israel/.

The PowerPoint show can be seen at http://www.speli.com/israel/israel.pps.

Enjoy!

Israel 2009 Trip Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 02:42:00 +0000

Israel 2009 Trip Blog

I have started a new blog to write specifically about my 2009 trip to Israel as part of a group from Liberty University.
You can find this blog at http://www.sar-shalom.org/.
Enjoy!

Random Thoughts on Not Fitting In

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:42:00 +0000

Random Thoughts on Not Fitting In

It has happened again - feelings of being a total alien flooded through me this morning with raw force.

The trigger: my Dad's 85th birthday being celebrated today in Pohlheim-Hausen, my hometown.

I have been in Germany for five days now - you would think it is time enough to get back into the "German swing". But nothing could be further from the truth. This morning began by getting ready for many guests, neighbors, friends, a city representative, photo group representatives, a volunteer fire department representative, you name it - most of them dressed up in their Sunday finest, including Dad in jacket and tie.

Now mind you, dressing up is a very German thing. Most Germans from my parents' social circles would never be caught dead at such an event wearing casual clothes. Maybe that was my first point of alienation: I do like my casual jeans and sweatshirt most days. However, I am perfectly capable of dressing up when the occasion calls for it, so this morning I had put on nice black dress slacks and a rather expensive Michael Kors top with my beautiful antique coin necklace and earrings. I thought I looked rather nice. Apparently my Dad didn't - or maybe wasn't expecting it and thus failed to recognize it. At any rate, he proceeded to compliment my sister on her outfit when she walked through the door, but never said a word to me, which, honestly, hurt. My first point of feeling very out of place.

Then the procession of people calling or walking through the door began - I thought it wouldn't end. Is it just me or is it a bit much? Maybe I have been married to Nick too long who doesn't hold much of a great love for such grand-scale events for birthdays. Then again, what gives, I didn't even get a birthday cake this year, and Nick certainly heard about it. ;-) So maybe I do like celebrations, but not in that big of a mode. Regardless of being there and being in the moment, I felt out of place again. Just not cool or German or whatever enough to hang with the crowd.

The one moment when I felt normal was when a woman my parents know arrived with two of her horses to wish Dad a happy birthday. This was real - two tangible creatures of my God who had arrived to bring me something I could think of as normal. And much to my great happiness, I was able to touch them and talk with them without a serious allergy attack - maybe my bucket list will get shorter now that I realize I can be in the presence of horses without almost dying from sneeziness, hives and shortness of breath. Dude ranch, you are now a vacation option after all! Praise God.

More recently, my point of alienation with most of the German world around me has been punctuated by two simultaneously occurring changes in my life: one is my very ardent love for my Savior, which has put me in a place where all that I want to think, do or say has to do with Him - so great a salvation is mine! For Germans, that is a very strange concept and puts me in serious danger of belonging to a sect. At any rate, not something you talk about in fine social circles. In a way, it is that way in the US as well, but it is still more socially acceptable to be a "church goer". And the second, my love for the nation and the people of Israel has put me in a precarious situation of having to defend not just where I live (the US) but also my friends and their country from most Germans who think Gaza incursion and Israeli atrocities when they think Israel.

Most days, I am not sure where I belong - am I American, German or even Israeli? All this boils down to one thing: I feel out of place, alien, not fitting in many times in my life, and I sometimes wonder whether there actually is a place where I do fit in. To me, the one place where I feel loved and accepted is in the body of Christ, yet even there from time to time I feel like the odd ball out, especially when I long to talk about the Old Testament and Israel and what it means to me. So where do I fit? Lord, help me find my place in this world. And remind me that this world is not my home, but that my eternal destination is with You in a heavenly country.

In the meantime, give me the ability to fit in where you place me, so I can engage those around me with Your Good News.

P.S. Also Lord, please extend my beautiful Mom and Dad's life for many more years so they can also meet the Love of my life. I love them with all my heart and want nothing more than for them to know my Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

A Death in the Family

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 02:33:00 +0000

A Death in the Family

Katelynn Hunt died one week ago today, Saturday, February 7, 2009, in a horrific car crash through no fault of her own when her vehicle was struck head-on by another driver as she was going to visit friends.

Kate was a beautiful, intelligent, lively and God-loving 23-year old (or rather young) woman, youngest sister of Aftan and Justin and the daughter of our friends Carolyn and Ken Hunt. You can see her on the left at her college friend's wedding. A dear member of our church family died last Saturday.

We heard about the accident while on our way to the Phoenix Zoo to celebrate our grandson's first birthday. Here we were off to celebrate life in Phoenix when death had encroached on our lives back home in Downingtown. The shock was rapid and deep. Our son Nick had been to China on a mission trip with Kate back in 2006. While I had met Kate on occasion at church, I cannot say I knew her, but Carolyn and Ken have been part of our church family for many years, and Nick and I had had many occasions to spend time with them.

On Saturday night, I found it almost impossible to find sleep. Thoughts of what Carolyn and Ken must be experiencing emotionally and how her siblings might be dealing with losing their baby sister kept running their course through my mind. I rejoiced that Kate had known the Lord, yet I asked God how this could possibly be in His will and to help me understand when I could not. I also was struck with sudden fear that such a thing might happen to my children.

Throughout our stay in Phoenix, this wouldn't let me go. Even after flying home, I felt fearful and was almost afraid if either I went out for errands or my husband or son left. Suddenly, life seemed less secure. It was good and almost a security blanket to find out about the memorial plans and to be able to send a card and prepare food for the memorial service. I spent a lot of time reading in the Scriptures.

I spent more time pondering Job and what had happened to him (in case you don't know, God allowed Satan to mess with Job, God's servant - killing his family and destroying his possessions in the process). I know that God was showing Satan that His true servant Job would not waver no matter what, but what if this was the reward for serving Him closely, as Ken and Carolyn (and Kate!) undoubtedly were doing, what confidence could I have that my family would not be affected if we continue on closely with the Lord?

I have to admit that these were thoughts I hadn't pondered in a long time. In the end, Scripture helped me come to grips with what had just happened. First and foremost, God tells us in Isaiah 55:9 that we cannot and will not always understand Him:
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth,so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Yet we should not despair as in Psalm 62:1-2 we read:
"For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken."

Psalm 62 continues in verses 5-8:
"For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us."

I have to rest in that promise - that we will not be shaken. Or at least not greatly.
Unlike those who have no hope for a future together, we know we will see Kate again. Her memorial service drew almost 1,000 people - I have never seen our church as packed. Wonderful testimonies of this amazing young woman who lived a full life in the 23 short years she had here filled the room and our hearts. What a joy to relive her experiences, her relationships with her friends - and with our Lord. To hear of the impact she had on her three trips to China and as a Bible study group leader at college filled my heart with joy - hers was a true servant heart. A beautiful video captured her outer beauty, which was a direct representation of the Holy Spirit residing inside of her. For those of you on Facebook, you can see it here.

The Gospel was shared in all clarity and an invitation was given to accept Christ as Savior in light of the witness of such a God-following life as the one Kate led. I don't know how many people came to the Lord this past Thursday, but from where my heart (Joy! Peace! Beauty!) was after attending the memorial service, my soul sensed that there was great rejoicing in the heavenly realms over sinners saved and brought into eternal relationship with their Creator.

Go Kate! And may you rejoice in the presence of your Savior now while we will linger for a little while longer here. We will miss you for now, but will get to rejoice in eternity in the presence of our great Savior Jesus Christ. And I am certain that, like Job, your parents, brother and sister will be doubly blessed somehow somewhere yet in this life.

Elke's Bucket List

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:55:00 +0000

Elke's Bucket List

Things to do before I die in no particular order

1) Experience zero gravity.
2) See Mount Rushmore.
3) Cruise to the Galapagos Islands.
4) Travel through India.
5) Travel to Ethiopia.
6) Revisit Chartres Cathedral on a "Cathedrals of Europe" trip.
7) Walk the pilgrim's path to Santiago de Compostela.
8) Go to Hawaii - haven't been, can you believe it?
9) Take Nick to see the Teakwood Palace in Bangkok with a tuk-tuk taking us there.
10) Visit Iran and Iraq - that might have to move to the back of the list due to current situation in both countries.
11) Be part of a trip to Israel to help the needy (instead of just touring).
12) Go on an archeological dig in the Middle East.
13) Learn all I can about my ancestors and put it into a format my descendants can enjoy and be proud of.
14) Visit a station at Antarctica.
15) Tour all the museums that feature paintings by Jacob Jordaens and in general Dutch and Flemish painters of that era.
16) Read all the books on my book bucket list.
17) Vacation at a dude ranch.
18) Share Christ with my grandchildren and see them come to love the Lord.
19) Write a book about my personal turn from sin to following Christ aka Elke's autobiography (would have readership of one - me).
20) Go to an ulpan in Jerusalem and really learn Hebrew.
21) Learn Arabic.
22) Go trekking in Patagonia.
23) Repeat my reverse Exodus of last year (read about it starting here, then work your way back datewise) at my own pace and with a maximum of four people - and stop to meditate.
24) Tour Greece with my husband (who will have to brush up on his Greek for the occasion).
25) See Ireland and Scotland.
26) Revisit some of my favorite places around the world.
27) ...will add more.

Things that used to be on my bucket list, but have dropped off

1) Skydive (cangaroo jump) - have gotten too squeamish, but did do one of those amusement park jumps with my daughter.
2) See Liberty University - trip planned for the end of February.
3) ...will add more.

Things to do after I die

1) Hear "Well done, good and faithful servant" that very day from my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

2008 Lights Out

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:50:00 +0000

2008 Lights Out

About 9 days earlier than last year, but it has happened: the light switch has been turned off for my garden. We had our first frost last night.
By far the coolest sight was when the sun began hitting the grass and its green color immediately reappeared, while the parts still in the shade had the frosty look of winter.
Goodbye, my Garden, until the spring!

My Funeral

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:57:00 +0000

My Funeral

Lately, I have been giving some thought about how my funeral should be conducted, should the Lord tarry. Obviously, I won't be able to actively direct it once I have gone home to be with God.

My friend, Mathias, already wrote about his funeral in his blog (sorry, only in German).

Well, I haven't gotten very far with the rest of my funeral planning because I sincerely desire to the see the Lord return in the clouds to call His saints home, but just in case He does decide to give more people time to come to a saving faith, here are three songs that I would like to have sung (by clicking on the titles, you can see/hear the songs).

The main purpose of choosing these songs is to share with those who would come to my funeral my utter dependence on Him who saved me by grace through my faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach. If you don't know what it means to have assurance of eternal life, click here or here. My German friends can click here or here.

Please read the lyrics of the songs below - I cannot begin to share more truth with you than what is contained in these few lines.

To my husband: since I always tell you that all there is to know about me is in my blog, you will be able to find this, should I suddenly be called to go home with the Lord! (Kidding, Honey!)

Before the Throne of God Above

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea
A great High Priest whose name is
Love Who ever lives and pleads for me

When Satan tempts me to despair
and tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there,
Who made an end to all my sin

Because the sinless Savior died
my sinful soul is counted free
For God the Just is satisfied
to look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me

Before the throne of God, I come
Before the throne of God, I come

Behold Him there, the risen Lamb
my perfect spotless righteousness
The great unchangeable I Am,
the King of glory and of grace

My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in Heaven, He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart

One with Himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased with His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God
With Christ my Savior and my God

I Come by the Blood

You are the perfect and righteous God
Whose presence bears no sin
You bid me come to Your holy place
How can I enter in
When Your presence bears no sin?

Through Him, who poured out His life for me
The atoning Lamb of God
Through Him, and His work alone
I boldly come

I come by the blood, I come by the cross
Where Your mercy flows
From hands pierced for me
For I dare not stand on my righteousness
My every hope rests on what Christ has done
And I come by the blood

You are the high and exalted King
The One the angels fear
So far above me in every way
Lord, how can I draw near
To the One the angels fear?

Through Him who laid down His life for me
And ascended to Your side
Through Him, through Jesus alone
I boldly come

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I’ll begin;

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;

How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;

Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.

Day 14: Where the Pharaohs Live(d)

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:09:00 +0000

Day 14: Where the Pharaohs Live(d)
April 23, 2008

Photos from Day 14 are here.

The last full day of our 'reverse Exodus' journey had arrived.
It was with a degree of sadness that I got ready for the day - sad that our amazing trip was coming to a close. At the same time, I was really excited because today I would not only see the pyramids at Giza and the Sphinx, but something I had looked forward to for many months now: the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, home of the mask of the mummy of undeniably the most well-known pharaoh, King Tut, or rather Tutankhamun, as well as many, many other treasures of ancient Egypt.

After breakfast, Shymaa and the crew picked us up to take us to our first stop: the Great Pyramid of Giza, also known as Khufu's Pyramid or the Pyramid of Cheops. To think we were standing in front of the only remaining member of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World made me smile. For a second, I felt transported back in time. The moment only lasted for a second as the noise and bustle of the tourists and tourist police around us got me back to reality.

One of the tourist police men, on a camel, came riding towards the fence at the entry gate, and as soon as some of us had taken photos of him, the hand came out for "baksheesh". If you don't know what that is, it means "give me money for doing a very minor thing, such as posing for you". You can probably find this request in most of the Arabic speaking countries I have traveled to - possibly with the exception of Jordan, where I didn't encounter it yet. Nevertheless, the photo with the uniformed police officer on a camel in front of the pyramids is simply great. So it was a small price to pay for a great photo - plus Jack paid it!

After the obligatory photo of our group in front of the pyramids, which sadly didn't turn out as the photographer had turned the camera to an angle where the pyramid was cut off, Shymaa explained to us how these pyramids may have been built and what is inside of them - not much of anything here in Giza. We climbed up a small set of stairs up to the entry of the pyramid to take photos, but no one wanted to try the fifteen minute bent-over claustrophobia-producing walk through the entry chamber into the pyramid. Shymaa had told us that this is worth it at the Valley of the Kings, but not here at the Great Pyramid. As it was getting very hot without any shade, we made this a very quick stop. I can't fathom having to work on such a structure in the merciless heat of the Egyptian sun.

A short bus ride later, we were viewing the amazing sight of the three pyramids of Giza, the Great Pyramid and the two "lesser pyramids", the Pyramid of Khafre and the Pyramid of Menkaure. Along their flanks are some smaller structures that were probably for the Pharaoh's wives. The view was truly spectacular, and camels carrying tourists passing by a short distance away just gave it the extra illusion of being in another time and place. What is probably the thing that most amazed me about the pyramids is how close they are to modern-day Giza! I always thought that the pyramids were off by themselves somewhere outside of the city, but these days, you can practically walk over from the perimeter of the city to the pyramids.

On we went to our next stop, the majestic Sphinx. Another surprise for me, as I thought that the Sphinx was actually bigger than it is.
It is amazing though to stand in front of this structure and realize the artistry involved in building it. Before seeing the Sphinx, we stopped at mummy preparation chambers, and Shymaa explained the process of mummification to us. Not sure I would have liked to have that done to me! According to the Scriptures, both Joseph (Genesis 50:26) and his father Jacob (Gen. 50:1-3) would have been prepared after their death in that fashion. The good news is they wouldn't have felt their brains being pulled out with a hook through their nose anyways. Yikes. Not a pleasant thought at all...!

We took a short walk from the Sphinx to pick up our bus again. Shymaa wanted to show us how papyrus was made to appreciate the papyrus scrolls that the ancient Egyptians used. We stopped at a shop that specializes in the production of papyrus and creates very beautifully painted scrolls on the papyrus. It was truly interesting to see how the natural fiber is formed and pressed and woven to become a very strong material that could be used for containers, baskets or scrolls. It suddenly was easy to imagine Moses' mother putting him in such a tarred papyrus basked and putting this basket into the Nile to float downstream to where Pharaoh's daughter would find Moses. Needless to say, I wound up buying two scrolls myself, one depicting the Hebrew slaves working at making mud bricks, the other showing the Ten Commandments in Hebrew on the stone tablets.

Excitement was growing for me when we were leaving the papyrus manufacturer, as we were nearing the highly anticipated stop at the Egyptian Museum. For many years now, this has been a dream of mine - to see the museum, which houses so much of Egypt's amazing history. We wouldn't have much time, but I was determined to see two things: King Tut's mummy's golden mask and an Egyptian chariot. Why the chariot? Much of my thinking over the past few days had centered on the miraculous parting of the Red Sea described in Exodus 14. Pharaoh's army and his chariots and horses drowned that day when God miraculously led His people through the Red Sea, parted so they could walk on dry foot through it, but then collapsing on the pursuing army of Pharaoh.

The exhibit around King Tut was amazing to behold - how many times had I wanted to see this since reading a book in my father's house on the finding of his mummy in Egypt. I still remember the horror the photo of his mummified face created in my young mind. I noticed that the mask had holes in the earlobes. Interesting! These big holes in the earlobes seem to be back en vogue with some of today's young men. Again, nothing new under the sun, to quote my friend Yael (and King Solomon)! The exhibit had many more of the articles found in King Tut's tomb. His mummy has since been returned to its burial chamber in the Valley of the Kings. King Tut wasn't a terribly important Pharaoh in the grand scheme of things Pharaonic, but he certainly has left the most visible legacy of the splendor of the period of the Egpyptian Pharaonic dynasties. The items recovered from his undisturbed tomb give us an incredible insight into how life was lived and what the people of that age believed.

Shymaa did a fantastic job walking us through some of the highlights of the remaining parts of the museum. I have a completely new appreciation for life during the reign of the pharaohs in Egypt. I got to see my chariot - another moment on this truly magnificent trip that made me pause and reflect on the Exodus and what it took to make the journey from Egypt to the Promised Land - wouldn't have been doable without the Lord! He provided miraculously for His people along the way. How much more can we trust that He will provide for His adopted children, us who have believed in the atoning sacrifice of His only begotten son Jesus. Scripture tells us in Galatians 4:4-7: "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir."

My heart hadn't stopped racing yet with excitement, when Shymaa told us what was to me the most exciting stop yet: for $20 extra, payable in Egyptian pounds, we could go into the "Royal Mummies" exhibit. Oh my! Yes, please! Now mind you, I grew up around at least one mummy (think before you click on the link!), the one we would as kids regularly visit with our school classes in the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt, so I knew what was expecting me. The only other taker was Carl, up until January 2007 our senior pastor, so he and I went into the exhibit. We had spoken to Shymaa before going into the exhibit about who, according to her knowledge, was the pharaoh of the Exodus. She told us that many scholars believe this to be Ramses II. Carl and I walked around independently, and he was stopped at one mummy. As I walked up, I realized it was the mummy of Ramses II, and I looked at him, inches away from his over 3,000-year old face, and told him "Let my people go!" Carl looked at me, paused, and then said: "I just told him the same thing." This moment, to be standing face to face with the man who might have been the one speaking to Moses, was truly overwhelming - an outright spiritual whammy to the walls of my stomach.

Since returning, I have done some more research on who the Pharaoh of the Exodus might have been, and I have come to the conclusion that it may have been Amenhotep II instead, centuries earlier. I also saw his mummy (careful if you want to click on the link!), as well as the mummy of Hatshepsut, or "Hot Chicken Soup", as Shymaa told us the Egyptians call her, the female Pharaoh, usually depicted as a man. Her mummy has only very recently been identified. Some Bible scholars think she may have been the Pharaoh's daughter who raised Moses after fishing him out of the Nile. I didn't want to leave the Egyptian Museum, but our day was coming to a close, and the rest of the team seemed ready to go. With a great deal of reluctance, I walked out of the museum, hoping to return some day soon. I couldn't resist buying two postcards of the mummy of Ramses II on the way out (don't click on the link if you are squeamish).

Our final stop of the day was at the Golden Eagle perfume shop, where we were introduced to the fine art of Egyptian perfume essence manufacturing. To me, this was great fun (and I left some of my last remaining Egyptian pounds there). I think our men had had enough shopping fun for one day. After another quick stop to buy some Egyptian cotton t-shirts (wonderful!), the bus took us back to the hotel for our last evening. It was a strange feeling to have that final dinner with my travel companions. The next morning, and therefore our departure back to the United States via London, would come early, so we said our good nights. Very mixed emotions ran through me as I packed my bags one last time, carefully handling all the wonderful memorabilia I had gathered along the way. This trip, my seventh to Israel, third to Jordan and first to Egypt, had been so special and spiritually challenging in many ways, and I knew it would take me more than the usual 1-2 days to get back to normalcy, whatever that might mean. God had increased my knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures yet again, and He had shown the power of His mighty works in the things we saw and experienced along the way. It was now a time to be still before Him, and let His teaching sink in. A long plane ride was ahead of me to allow me to start processing all I had seen.

Day 13: Mount Sinai to Cairo

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:35:00 +0000

Day 13: Mount Sinai to Cairo
April 22, 2008

Photos from Day 13 are here.

Morning came early.
At 12:30 am, the phone rang - our wake-up call to go climb Mount Sinai before sunrise. We would make a climb up the mountain that Moses had already done before us not once but twice when he received the Ten Commandments from the Lord. A couple of quick decisions on what to take and what not to take (we had been warned it can be very cold at the summit before sunrise), I was ready for an adventure! The others from our group apparently were, too, as we excitedly climbed into the bus for a quick ride to the starting point of the hike. Already, there were many other people assembling at the entry. Not sure where they all were coming from as not that many people were in our dining room the night before. Shymaa had explained to us that the options were hiking up the mountain all the way or taking a camel for the first 1 1/2 hours. I wasn't going to be cheated out of my camel experience as I had never ridden a camel in all my trips to the Middle East. And $20 seemed a very cheap price for renting a camel!

At the entrance, we met Youssef, a young Bedouin man, who would be our guide up the mountain and back. Shymaa wished us a good hike and told us they would be back later to pick us up. Our hike for the first 20 minutes or so led us past Saint Catherine's Monastery, the beautiful old Greek Orthodox monastery, which we quickly left behind us to our right. The night was dark, yet moonlit: we were two days beyond a full moon. In the distance, the dim outline of the stark mountain landscape was discernible. Youssef told us that he would take us just beyond the camel station where he would find just the right camel for each of us. I expected the camel station to be a few camels standing around, but what I found instead was a scene directly out of my wildest imaginations of One Thousand and One Nights. Off the path to our left were what appeared to be one hundred camels resting in the night, their humps visible in the moonlit night, making moaning camel sounds. Like sparkling lights in between, the ends of cigarettes lit up as Bedouins took another drag. I felt transported to another world.

The moment was brief however, as Youssef directed us to our own camels just beyond the camel station. He quickly sized each of us up and paired us with our camel. Not that I know much about camel picking, but apparently each of them is capable of certain weights or heights of its riders. Youssef picked great camels for us - Patsy even got a beautiful white one. At the end, each camel turned out to be the right animal for each one of us. I was a bit apprehensive, as I had no clue what to expect. I used to be an avid horse rider in my teens, but haven't done much riding since.

My first lesson, as Aswur, my 7-year old male camel rose: riding a camel is nothing like riding a horse. A horse stands on all four legs when you get into the saddle. A camel is on its knees and rises back legs first, then the front legs, all in a rolling, yet somewhat jerky movement. All you can do is hang on for dear life! Wish I had watched this video first. Once 'aboard', Youssef informed us that we should trust our camels and our camel driver even if he went up a different path as the rest of the people hiking up the mountain, as he was going to accompany the two who had chosen to do the complete hike (iron legs, I tell you!), Laurie and Jack. Off we went!

It took some getting used to the strange sway of riding a camel. The saddle seemed uncomfortable at first, but after a while Aswur and I developed a synced rhythm. The only disruption to our ride came from two sides: Aswur loved to walk exactly on the side of the steep mountainside, and the camel driver liked throwing little rocks at Aswur's hind legs to motivate him to keep climbing. Every time he did that, Aswur lurched forward, threatening to propel me down the side of the rocky mountain. On the bright side, due to the bright moon light, I would have been able to see where I was falling to, so I wasn't quite in the dark (pun intended) about my fate. To my great mental comfort, Aswur's saddle had a nice big horn to hold onto and a raised back, so I was mostly feeling like an infant in a high chair, somewhat secure.

For one and a half hours, we quietly rode up the mountain side, listening to the squishy, sloshy sound of the camel's hoofs on the sometimes rocky, sometimes sandy path up the mountain. Our Bedouin guide had taken a road away from the other hikers, which made for a beautiful and reflective ride up a moonlit landscape. Aswur and the other camels had to climb many steps along the way, always making me want to hold on tight as Aswur's big body maneuvered across the obstacles. I had developed a level of trust in him, when we suddenly stopped since Patsy's camel's saddle had become loose and needed tightening. After Patsy dismounted (for the camel a reverse operation, front kneel first, then back), the camel driver tightened up the saddle, which led Patsy's white camel to moan loudly and make me worry the poor animal was either sick or had severe indigestion. Patsy later told me that it was Aswur who had a gas problem - she was riding behind me. Oops. So sorry. On we went. The Bedouin accompanying us told me that the camels can only take the strain of the hike at most three times a week.

At the "camel unloading station", the place where the camels cannot continue the climb, we dismounted, another one of those unique camel experiences! Yet another one was apparent as we took the first steps: we had developed camel legs, a similar effect as counting a herd of pigs through the center of your legs - we just couldn't seem to get our legs to connect on the insides, as if we were permanently bow-legged. Our two hikers and Youssef had arrived at about the same time we had, and we had a brief moment of sharing our experience versus theirs. Jack was telling us later that hiking, while enjoyable, had the downside that they had to keep lighting the path ahead of them to avoid stumbling in the dark. This did not allow them to look much at the moonlit mountain beauty around them.

We continued on to a plateau about 15 minutes hike below the summit. The hike from the camel unloading place to the plateau is a very strenuous one as it is up about 150 stairs. Stairs is a very generous word here - in reality we walked up roughly hewn rock steps. Youssef was bounding up the steps, but some of us (including yours truly) literally had to stop every few steps to make it up. My heart was beating so hard, I thought it would jump out of my chest! My foot surgery and its resulting immobility for a few weeks just prior to this trip definitely did not help my being conditioned for this hike. I was just glad my foot was holding up!

We finally reached the plateau, where several vending stations were set up. Youssef led us into one tent-like structure, where long benches, covered with blankets, were set up for weary hikers to drink some coffee or tea before making the final climb to the summit. We relaxed as we had about an hour before sunrise. The tea was strong and sweet, and some of us grabbed a candy bar to get some energy for the rest of the hike. Several other hikers from other parts of the world started joining us, and we spent the time laughing and joking with them. Youssef was talking to the man in charge of the little rest place, and before too long he was burning something over a makeshift waterpipe. Whatever it was, it must have been good...his eyes were very glassy. He told us we would go to the summit by ourselves, while he would rest. He stretched out on a bench and went to sleep. Later on, when I talked some more with Youssef, I realized why this is actual downtime for him. He has long days that start in the middle of the night.

Feeling somewhat rested, we packed together our gear and got ready for the final summit climb. Once we reached the summit, we found quite a few people already in station to wait for the sunrise. There was a little chapel on the summit, but it was locked. We found a big round boulder on which we climbed and scooted close together since the morning was cold. I was glad I had taken my windbreaker after all. It was so warm when we left, but up here, the air had a bite to it. Bedouin men were walking around, offering blankets and mats to those who hadn't brought the appropriate clothing. We were all very excited to experience the sunrise over the mountain where Moses received the Ten Commandments directly from God. Little by little, more hikers arrived. I was truly amazed at the age of some of these pilgrims - some old ladies with their canes had made the strenuous climb. I always stand in awe of such pious devotion, even while not being sure whether these women showing such dedication to God truly know Him. But here they were, and I prayed that whatever their motivation to be here was not to "do something for God" but to simply worship Him for what He had done for them.

The sun took its time to come up - early morning clouds were making its rise a slow one. Finally, it rose above the low cover and immediately the dusty colors of dawn on the mountains around us turned to sharp and crisp ones, illuminated by bright early morning light. It was a spectacular sight to behold. Carl pulled out his Bible and read the passage to us of the giving of the Law. We prayed and just meditated some more on the significance of this mountain in the course of the history the Lord of History has painted. Finally, we got up to make our hike back down the mountain. On the way up, we had noticed locked rectangular wooden boxes along the way. Now we came to realize that these were actually vendors' supplies of all sorts of souvenirs. I bought myself a small alabaster camel, which now adorns my fireplace mantle, to commemorate my climb up Mount Sinai. I smile and think of Aswur every time I look at it now in the course of the day.

The hike down was more strenuous than I had thought, but my Dad's warning that mountain climbing is harder going down than up came to my mind. The knees take a huge beating going downhill. We tried to take our time, but Youssef, who was a riot to walk with ("Come on, Grandma, faster!") would grab us and more or less drag us down the mountain. He had decided that I was a worthy target to pick on and so I got the "treatment" of being left behind while he stormed down the mountain with someone else. That was quite alright with me. Along the way, we saw Elijah's Basin, the place where by tradition the 70 elders waited for Moses to come back down from the mountain. Once we reached the bottom, we waited for everyone to come down. Carl was slow in coming, and we all started praying that he was alright, as he had had knee surgery not long before the trip. He finally showed up, and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

While waiting for Carl, Youssef and I did some bonding over my BlackBerry - he was totally enthralled with the photos on it and wanted to trade me for his mobile phone. I have to admit that I totally fell in love with Youssef (alright, minus the inhaling part on the mountain...). What a great kid! He told us he was 24 years old, not yet married. Youssef lives about 15 miles away from the mountain and either hikes, rides a camel or hitches a ride to get to work. He told us he hikes the mountain every day! His shoes were more or less threads hanging from his feet. On the way out, I stuck a little extra money in his hand so he could buy some new shoes. Hope the money didn't go up in smoke in the water pipe near the summit the next day!

We said our goodbyes to Youssef and climbed back in our bus waiting for us to take us back for showers and breakfast. Even though the shower was anything but inviting, I was happy to feel water run across my tired body. Refreshed, we headed to breakfast, where we ran into an American family who lives in the Middle East and had climbed the mountain as well. It was fun to compare our experiences of the night before.

After packing, we were on the bus for a quick stop at Saint Catherine's Monastery before our long ride to Cairo through the Sinai peninsula. Saint Catherine's is a Greek Orthodox monastery, one of the oldest in the world. The monks here are the guardians of Saint Catherine's bones and also are the maintainers of the burning bush, made famous in the book of Deuteronomy in the Scriptures when God spoke to Moses through it. Jack provided us some entertainment factor when he realized that the Greek Orthodox monks were serious about no shorts, even for men. He got to wear a white sheet wrapped around him for the duration of our visit. The Greek Orthodox monks managed to keep us all in line while we visited the church. Good thing, too - we were way too noisy, as usual. Leaving Saint Catherine's, we saw a rock formation that resembles the golden calf idol Aaron formed from the gold donated by the Israelites when they lost hope that Moses would return from the mountain.

Ahead of us was a seven hour bus ride to Cairo. However, there were sites to see between here and there. Our first stop was Rephidim where Joshua defeated the Amalekites because Moses raised his arms, supported by Aaron and Hur, as described in Exodus 17:8-16. Carl re-enacted this scene with Patsy and Laurie holding up his arms. It became quickly clear why we had an armed guard with us through the Sinai, as Bedouins came out to greet us - and sell us things - as soon as the bus door opened to let us off. Since there is Al Quaeda activity in the Sinai, you sadly cannot always be sure about the intentions. Americans make great terrorist targets - sad truth in today's world.

Our next quick stop was Elim, a place described in Exodus 15:27 as having seventy palm trees and twelve springs, where the Israelites rested on their way through the desert. It is very unique to find a collection of palm trees such as these in the middle of the Sinai, and it is easy to see that they would have to have a water source. One can only imagine the multitudes of tents and animals resting here, having found a place to quench both human and animal thirst. God clearly provided for His people on their way through the desert, despite their non-stop complaints. He is a very merciful God; I am not sure I would have this kind of patience!

Making our way out of the rocky desert scenery of the Sinai peninsula, our next stop was Marah, near the ocean, where the Israelites only found bitter water and grumbled to Moses about the lack of water. Moses spoke with God who told him to throw a stick of wood into the water, and it became sweet. This is described in Exodus 15:22-26. Again, God's provision for a people who cannot stop their complaining. What a good Father we have - taking care of even ungrateful humans. We also took a stroll down to the shore where Shymaa showed us caves which the pharaoh used for sauna purposes. Apparently the inside of the cave gets gradually hotter and is very suited for medicinal purposes. We didn't make it very far as it was very hot and very smelly in the caves.

Along the shore, we continued towards Cairo. We didn't see terribly much of the Suez Canal itself, but, after seeing one ship enter it from a distance, drove through the tunnel underneath it. Heading into Cairo, the scenery changed dramatically from what we had seen during our time in the Sinai. You could tell there was water readily available here - the Nile was close. Our driver tackled the busy Cairo traffic, crossed into Giza and safely delivered us to the Zoser Hotel, our stop for the final two nights. We were happy to get there as we had had a very long day, and after a brief freshening up, we met up in the nice hotel restaurant for a quick dinner and an ensuing jump into nice crisp bed sheets for some well-deserved sleep. As you can imagine, it didn't take me very long to be in dream land. We had experienced so much of the Israelites' journey in one day, and a day of understanding their plight under the Egyptian pharaohs was ahead - much to dream about!

Day 12: From Jordan to Egypt

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:59:00 +0000

Day 12: From Jordan to Egypt
April 21, 2008

Photos from Day 12 are here.

After once again battling herds of hungry Italian tourists at the breakfast buffet (with slightly sore muscles from the exercise of walking Petra the afternoon before), we packed our bags and had them loaded on the bus. One thing I forgot to mention - my favorite hotel observation in both Jordan and Egypt: at the entrance, there are metal detectors, but you can pretty much take anything through them as they either do not work, are not turned on or the guard sitting there thinks, hey she looks like a tourist, and doesn't care much. So much for feeling safe. Interestingly enough, Israeli hotels didn't feature this outward appearance of protecting their hotel guests. Somehow, I still managed to feel safe and protected. Go figure.

Our mid-day destination today was the port city of Aqaba where we were to catch a ferry to take us from Jordan across the Gulf of Aqaba to Nuweiba on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. Leaving the Petra Panorama Hotel, we got a last glance at the mountainous beauty of this part of our planet. Our journey towards Aqaba took us along very arid looking land with few signs of life. Nevertheless, some of the hillsides showed just the slightest hint of green on them, and so it wasn't too much of a surprise to see a herd of goats with their shepherd walking alongside the road. We stopped to get off and admire the multi-colored goats. Their shepherd indulged our photo passions by allowing us to take photos with him in front of the animals.

Closer to Aqaba, we stopped at a the equivalent of a Wawa (or 7-eleven for those of you not from Pennsylvania). Not quite what you see in an American store, but it featured what we needed to keep our guide Steve happy: a phone card as he needed to make that crucial call to have us be on the right ferry at the right time. And for the rest of us, the store had ice cream and cold water - very nice things to have when you are in a desert. That is exactly where we now found ourselves: in Wadi Rum, the desert where "Lawrence of Arabia" was filmed. It is truly an amazing landscape, and it allows a completely new view of the beauty God created on this planet. Climbing back onto the bus, we continued on to Aqaba. Before you get to Aqaba, God reveals another one of his paintings in nature: the multi-colored mountains along the highway. The scientific explanation for the colorful stripes in the rock is that mineral deposits have given the rock its color, but I know it was God during a playful moment of creation, when He felt like getting His paintbrush out and giving His creatures a visual delight. I love when God has fun!

Driving through Aqaba showed us a very well-kept seaside resort with parks, trees and plants, which was a blast of green and color to our eyes after driving through the desert for hours. The harbor where we would find our high-speed ferry, "The Princess", proved to be quite a drive from downtown Aqaba, and it literally took us within less than 12 miles of the Saudi Arabian border. After some searching (even Steve didn't seem sure), we finally found the right port dock. We enjoyed the adventure of Jordanian public bathrooms and waited for Steve to handle the logistics, which for him included buying gigantic packs of cigarettes at the Duty Free). Finally, after all needed steps were completed, we boarded "The Princess".

We were surprised that there seemed to be reasonably few people boarding with us. A friendly ship worker helped us stow our luggage against the side of the ship's belly, ensured us it would be safe there and showed us upstairs to the main deck. This is where realization set in: we were the last few boarding! The main deck was packed with travelers almost exclusively in Arab dress, men, women and children, sandwiched into rows of seats. It didn't appear that there were many seats left, so we spread out. I got bumped out my first seat by an Arab man, even though a head nod by his neighbor seemed to indicate it was free. I found another seat in a row with just men, only to have them all get up and walk away. I felt bad. Fortunately, they came back eventually.

I found an interesting write-up online about riding "The Princess"; thought I would share it with you:
Two ferries run between Nuweiba and Aqaba, One is a standard speed ferry, the other a so-called 'Fast Ferry'. For travelers interested in bypassing Israel by crossing the Gulf of Aqaba from Egypt to Jordan directly, these ferries offer some degree of convenience. Patronized mainly by Arab nationals prohibited from entering Israel, the ferries will save other travelers little time and hassle over the land route from Taba through Eilat to Aqaba.
Fare about 70 USD + departure tax.
Though its marketing materials say, "On time departure, first class service," that is not quite true of the high-speed ferry, named the Princess. The boat departs daily from Nuweiba at 3PM, or so its schedule says. However, the consensus among regular travelers is that the real time of departure is more like 5PM. (Schedule of Aqaba to Nuweiba trips unknown.) For trips departing Egypt, passengers must arrive at the station in Nuweiba and purchase tickets by 1PM. AB Maritime, the company that owns the Princess, does not offer any baggage handling service; indeed, luggage must be stacked against the walls of the vast cargo hold beneath the passenger deck, and cannot be taken as "carry on." And, non-sensically, dirty crowded buses transport passengers from the customs terminals in both Nuweiba and Aqaba to the boat, meaning an extra busride on each end of the trip adds time to the schedule.
If you get a bad break, it`ll take you 24 hrs from arrival at the ticket office in Nuweiba till you get off the boat in Aqaba.
So think twice before you incur such stresses and strains.

Being that we had a greater Tour Operator than most, watching from on high, we did eventually ride in more comfort and style. After a collective prayer by all the ship's passengers as the ship departed from the harbor (how come we can't do that in America?), we had been riding only a short while when Carl came around to all of us, motioning us to meet him in the back. It turned out that our friendly shipmate had invited us to the First Class compartment on the next floor up. Needless to say, we put together money for a tip for him. On the upper deck, we found only a handful of people, a few well-dressed couples and some officers. We got to take the seats in the center section and actually were served food - cheeseburgers - not great, but better than nothing and quite cheap. To our left, we saw the coast line of Saudi Arabia slowly fall back as the Sinai Peninsula came closer and closer to our right. It was quite a pleasant boat ride, even if it wasn't quite the scenic ferry ride our tour operator, Pilgrim Tours, had advertised.

Once we reached Nuweiba, we spent about another hour on the boat until we were allowed to disembark. This gave Carl the opportunity to chat with one of our fellow Egyptian passengers who told Carl he lived within view of the pyramids. Carl took his phone number, as the gentleman had offered his assistance in case we needed someone to help us in Cairo. Our passports had been collected from us on the boat, and now the challenge was to figure out where we would get them back. After some back and forth, we finally met our Egyptian bus and its crew who informed us that we would have to get several stamps and visas. Most people have to do this by walking back and forth between buildings and the ship, but due to our fantastic Egyptian crew, we were simply being shuttled back and forth in the comfort of our bus. Our luggage likewise had to pass through some sort of inspection station, but eventually all of us were happily reunited with our luggage and - best of all - our passports.

The port of Nuweiba is a fascinating study in Egyptian busyness. People running back and forth, trucks being loaded, people yelling, overloaded carts passing, people waiting with their eyes closed in whatever shade can be found, buses with many passengers pushing out their smog exhaust on their way out the harbor. What an introduction to Egypt! The noise and busyness wouldn't last long though as right outside of Nuweiba the Sinai Peninsula offered up the beginning of its seemingly never-ending desert scenery.

We were headed towards St. Catherine's Monastery, a Greek Orthodox monastery right below Mount Sinai and, according to Wikipedia, "one of the oldest continuously functioning Christian monasteries". It is the traditional site of the Burning Bush. It would be one of our destinations tomorrow. For now, we would stay not far from the monastery in one of the guesthouses around Mount Sinai.

Upon reaching our destination, we realized that our Egyptian guide Shymaa's warnings weren't unrealistic. She had told us that these guesthouses were built in the early 1980s after Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and Israeli president Menachem Begin shook hands at Camp David in 1978 - and not to expect too much: "it's only for one night". While the rooms themselves were okay, the bathroom fixtures were the same color avocado green as was popular in Europe in the early 1970s, and they looked like they hadn't been scrubbed since having been put in. It was definitely a day to get out the Purell! The hotel's location and dining room easily made up for the bathrooms though - the view was spectacular and the food delicious.

Before dinner, I got the chance to just sit outside, study the Scripture passage of the day and marvel at God's creativity. From the beauty of Petra's marbled rock to the amazing richness in color and shape in Wadi Rum and the mountains ahead of Aqaba to now the simple and stark beauty of the mountains of the Sinai Peninsula. Shymaa had already briefed us that our wake-up call to hike Mount Sinai in time for sunrise would be at 12:30 am, and I simply couldn't wait for my phone to ring and begin preparations for the hike. Shortly after dinner I turned in - thankful for this so wonderful experience given to me. I wanted to soak up every moment of the time I had. Most of all, I was praising God for letting me see a small glimpse of His glory in the beauty around me.

Day 11: From Amman to Petra

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 00:15:00 +0000

Day 11: From Amman to Petra
April 20, 2008

Photos from Day 11 are here.

Leaving our hotel in Amman after a delicious breakfast (as always in Jordan being careful to avoid anything fresh for fear of a reprise of last year's digestive commotion), we got a brief tour of rich Amman. We passed the American embassy where we were not allowed to take any photos and guards were eyeing us with suspicion as we slowly drove by. Steve showed us several wealthy homes in a neighborhood, some of them still being built or under renovation. It is apparent that there is quite a bit of prosperity in Amman.

Leaving Amman, we saw some towns who are not nearly as prosperous and where people lead much simpler lives. Jordan is an interesting contrast between beautiful countryside and trash-strewn streets in many of the towns we passed through. Jordanians have a completely different understanding of what it means to keep streets clean - definitely not the German idea of clean! But it is not Germany or America, so you take the good with the bad, and I believe there are many very kind and gracious people in Jordan.

Along the way to Petra, we stopped off at Al Katrana Castle - the structure looked like just an old square brick building, but it was amazing how well built out it was on the inside. We spent some time looking around the castle, imagining what life might have been like in the days this castle, which appears more like a small fortress or outpost, served its purpose. Regrettably, I haven't been able to find any more information on it on the web. Steve showed us the impressive pool-like cistern where water would be kept back then. The system in place to filter water was quite interesting. I am always fascinated by the ingenuity of the people who walked the planet before us.

Leaving Al Katrana, we continued on to Petra. Steve's plan was to get to Petra in the later afternoon to avoid the heat of mid-day - good plan! We stopped off in the small town of Wadi Musa at the Ain Musa Spring, the Spring of Moses, which by tradition is where Moses struck the rock and water sprang forth from it. Steve filled a plastic cup and wanted us to drink from it, saying the water was clean and fresh. Trip reports by other people say it isn't so, so I am very glad none of us took him up on it. The funniest story was that Patsy had been listening to music while Steve was explaining our next stop, so she had no clue what we were looking at. So instead of respectfully admiring the rock, she put her foot on it and tied the string on her pant leg! I could have died laughing.

Lunch was at the Petra Zaman restaurant. It is run by the only Christian in all of Petra, so I was pretty happy about Steve's choice, as I like to support brothers and sisters in Christ in countries where they are the minority, and often times a persecuted minority, although I don't believe this was the case here. The food was quite good, but in retrospect not filling my belly as much before hiking into Petra might have been smarter. I do love Middle Eastern food though, so it was just as well. We exchanged a few sentences with the owner who was happy to have fellow Christians come visit his restaurant.

A few miles down the road, we got off the bus, equipped with sun block, hats, water bottles and cameras. This was my third visit to Petra, but the first time I couldn't resist the gift shops as we waited for Steve to get the tickets for us. I bought two beautiful scarves, which Steve dropped off for safekeeping for me at the Mövenpick Hotel across the street from the entrance to the Siq as our bus driver had taken off already. We all decided to walk in rather than take one of the horses or carriages. Steve's decision to start our hike around 4 pm was brilliant as the sun was not nearly as hot as I had anticipated it to be, and the light was wonderful for photos. Three out of seven of us had seen the magnificent colors in the rocks before, but we oohed and aahed just like the other four - it is simply mind-boggling to behold!

After admiring the water channels and stone carvings along the way, we entered a narrow passage of the Siq. A few steps farther in, the most glorious sight opened up to us: the first glance of the Treasury, famously featured in Indiana Jones. It is truly jaw dropping beauty in front of you! The beauty of the facade is enhanced by the intricate detail and the rose-colored stone. I did not know that you are not allowed to go into the Treasury anymore - glad I got to see that the past few years when I visited. I am also happy that I voted for Petra to be one of the New Seven Wonders of the World last year - it won!

From the Treasury, we walked on and much farther into Petra than I had ever gone before. We walked all the way past the Colonnaded Street and the Great Temple where we met a very nice Bedouin man squatting there and selling necklaces, trinkets and old coins. He was telling us that he had been born in one of the caves around us. We had talked earlier about Marguerite van Geldermalsen, a New Zealand woman, who visited Petra and fell in love with a Bedouin man, married him, bore him three children and lived in the caves of Petra with her family. She has chronicled her experience in a recent book "Married to a Bedouin", which - needless to say - I have since picked up.

From the Great Temple we walked back up past the Treasury and out through the Siq - all in all probably a four to five mile hike, with the last part uphill, which is a killer on a hot day. Mercifully, the sun was starting to go down by then, and we were able to make it out in reasonably good shape and with only minor blisters. Our bus was waiting, and Steve stopped off at the Mövenpick Hotel to pick up my scarves.

We arrived at our hotel, the Petra Panorama Hotel a short ride later. It was not the same hotel we stayed in last year, but rather interesting in that it was built completely into the mountainside, and you had to take an elevator down to your room. The view from the room was simply spectacular as you saw the mountains of Petra ahead of you and in the distance Jebel Haroun, or the traditional Mount Hor, with the shrine of Aaron clearly visible. Moses' brother, Aaron, died along the path of the exodus and was buried on Mount Hor.

After taking a quick shower, I joined the rest of our crew in the dining room, which was bustling with rather rude Italian tourists. When I sat down at our table, I spotted a man at the table right behind us who totally looked like the mummy from the movie "The Mummy". Needless to say, I unintentionally did a double take. BIG mistake in Jordan where men seem to flirt up a storm, especially with blond women. The rest of our dinner I was being flashed the rather large-lettered room key by my mummy friend from the next table over as an invitation to join him later. Yikes! After dinner, I went up to the reception to grab a brochure of the hotel. What do you know, as I was making my way back down to the elevator to go to my room, Mr. Mummy was right behind me and stepped onto the elevator with me (just the two of us). I had a slight moment of panic as he tried to chat me up and find out where I was from and shared that he was a tour guide, taking the Italian group into the Siq the next day. Thank God, he got off a short moment later on a floor above mine (remember we had to go down!), and I got off and into my room safely. The next morning at breakfast, I saw him again, but he showed zero interest in me - go figure!

Day 10: From Israel to Jordan: Aljoun Castle, Jerash, Jabbok River, Amman

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Thu, 29 May 2008 01:38:00 +0000

Day 10: From Israel to Jordan: Aljoun Castle, Jerash, Jabbok River, Amman
April 19, 2008

Photos from Day 10 are here.

Twentyone out of twentyeight of our team had left very early in the morning to fly back to the US. The remaining seven of us got to sleep in - that is if you can call a 6 am wake-up call sleeping in. As we were having our final breakfast in Jerusalem carefully spreading jam on our dry matzah bread to increase its palatability, we were mindful that we were leaving Israel just before the beginning of Passover that night. How wonderful it would have been to be there for Seder, but, hey, "Next year in Jerusalem"!

So instead it was off to the (much smaller) bus minus Mickey and, once packed, we were on our way to the Jordanian border. Annoyingly, we were not allowed to use the much closer Allenby crossing, but had to backtrack all the way to just south of the Lake of Galilee to the Sheikh Hussein crossing. Getting into Jordan was an adventure. As a matter of fact, we saw advertising and were approached by a man who said their express service would get us through in minutes for $40. We politely declined, but in the end it might have been worth it! After standing in line on the Israeli side for what seemed like forever, I finally received my tax refund (bureaucracy is the same wherever you go on this planet) and hurried after everyone else who hadn't supported the Israeli economy in the manner I had.

After having our documents checked on the Israeli side, we stowed our luggage below the bus and rode to the Jordanian side with all other border crossers. The no-man's land in the middle always reminds me of the border that divided the two Germanies - not a good feeling at all. You feel like someone is watching you at all times. The feeling was even more eerie when we crossed the southern border into Jordan at the Aqaba border check point a few years back, where you literally had to walk across what felt to me like a death strip.

Once into Jordan, we unloaded our bags and met Steve-Ahmad who would be our guide for the next two and a half days. Turns out Steve had lived in Houston, yet you would have never known given his strong accent. Steve helped us clear immigration and customs, and we were free to go and roam Jordan. Outside, just when we thought all the strenuous work was done, we had our first surprise. The tour company had sent an eleven-seater bus that did not look like it would fit the seven of us, Steve, the driver and all of our luggage (of which there was a lot - seems like everyone took two bags this year). We were at the point of giving up and calling a taxi to take our luggage to Amman when we figured out that if we squeeze some bags under our legs, we would be able to squeeze in. Let's just say it wasn't the most comfortable ride to Jerash and later to the hotel. Getting in and out at sites became a bit of an adventure!

After driving back south towards Jerash, we carefully disassembled our travel assembly on wheels along the side of a road with a beautiful view towards the ruins of the Aljoun Castle or Qalaat Errabadh built by Muslims in 1184-85 as a military fort to fortify against Crusader troops. The view across to the castle from where we were was quite beautiful.

Steve had the driver stop the bus along the road where there was a vendor of chick peas to show us the origin of hummus. I was a bit careful eating non-cooked vegetables as my intestines didn't like that experience last year. Back aboard the carefully reassembled bus, we continued on to Jerash. Along the way, Steve shared with us that our driver had two wives and eighteen children, the oldest in his early 30s and the youngest a toddler. I am sure he likes having tourists to drive around and take him away from home!

Jerash was known as Gerasa in ancient times and was one of the Decapolis cities mentioned in the Scriptures. As Steve explained to us, Jerash is considered one of the best preserved Roman cities in the Near East. I had been here on my last trip, but it still managed to impress me anew. Jerash is much larger than Beth She'an in Israel, and one can easily imagine life in such an oppulent city. It is equally easy to imagine why Jesus would not have come to these cities - the pagan influences are visible everywhere to this day.

Two things that are definitely worth noticing at Jerash:
The first is the theater. The acoustics are simply unimaginable - there is one spot in the center where you can speak with a normal voice, and you could swear there is a microphone hidden somewhere as your voice is amplified and carried to the highest seat (and high they are!). This is something that I just couldn't stop marveling at - and trying it out by singing mini arias - strangely, everyone started leaving.
The second is the temple of Artemis. This temple was designed to be earthquake-proof. If you stick your finger between the sections of the columns, you can feel the slight pressure of the column moving as it sways in the wind. Not sure I would want my finger in there during an earthquake!

As we left Jerash, we started feeling very tired. It had been a great day of sightseeing, but I have to admit that the spiritual impact just wasn't there. Steve tried to tie back to the Bible with what we had seen, but quite frankly, what he was speaking about was more tradition than Scripture. Probably the best part of the day was when Steve started opening up about his own beliefs as a Muslim. We had the discussion around how much good is good enough, but just like with many other people I speak to about my faith, the realization that grace is sufficient and does not require our good works, didn't sink in.

On our way back north to Amman, we stopped at the Jabbok River, where Jacob wrestled with a man (really God) and was renamed to Israel. It is a place of great spiritual relevance, and we read the portion of Scripture and tried to picture the important encounter between Jacob and God. I have to admit though that the meditative aspect of the Jabbok River was greatly reduced for me by the amount of trash strewn all over the sides of the river. I found it hard to take photos that didn't contain trash. Trash is a major part of the scenery in Jordan regrettably.

In Amman, we settled into our hotel rooms at the Jerusalem Hotel and enjoyed a wonderful meal in the hotel. One of the dishes was lamb, which was quite tasty, but as was pointed out to me by a Jewish colleague, wasn't the appropriate dinner choice for a Passover meal, as Jews today use just a shankbone to commemorate the destruction of the Second Temple. Coming across Seder dinners in Jordan is tricky anyway.

Closing my eyes, I was already missing Israel. Definitely next year in Jerusalem!

Day 9 - Jerusalem: Southern Wall Excavations, Bethesda Pool, St. Anne's, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Garden Tomb

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Mon, 26 May 2008 14:19:00 +0000

Day 9 - Jerusalem: Southern Wall Excavations, Bethesda Pool, St. Anne's, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Garden Tomb
April 18, 2008

Photos from Day 9 are here.

Our final full day in Jerusalem had arrived. If we didn't think we had been where Jesus walked yet in Israel, all of us definitely got there as we visited the Southern Wall excavations this morning. To walk steps and streets that Jesus must have walked as He approached the Temple is very overwhelming emotionally and spiritually! From seeing the stones that the Romans threw down as they destroyed the Temple on the 9th of Av in the year 70 AD (a day, which is now celebrated as Tisha b'Av and commemorates the destruction of both the First and the Second Temple on the same day!) to examining the mikveh, the ritual baths for the worshippers at the Temple, it is an eye-opening view into life in the Second Temple period and the calamity of its destruction. After watching a short movie to show us what Temple worship would have looked like around the time of Jesus, Mickey took some time to explain to us the relevance of mikvah as it relates to baptism. It was truly enlightening for all of us to put the Old Testament truths against our understanding of the New Testament.

On we went to the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years. The man had waited for someone to put him in the pool when the angel stirred the water, but that never happened. I love how Jesus asks him: "Do you want to be healed?". Well duh! Yes! Funny how this offer stands for all of us to be healed, to drink of the living water of Jesus Christ, to knock and have the door opened. Yet how many of us choose not to believe and instead lean on our own devices to make us righteous. Boy, to I have news for you! Isaiah said that all our righteous acts are like filthy rags, and Paul wrote in Ephesians that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works. The paralyzed man was waiting for a good work, yet the answer rested in his belief that he wanted to be healed. God makes it so simple for us to find Him if we open our hearts to His truth, yet most of us run after what makes us righteous through our works.

After a walk through the remains of the pool, we entered St. Anne's Church, a very beautiful 12th-century Crusader church with the most amazing acoustics. Singing hymns here makes you get a pre-taste of angelic choirs before the throne. Everybody(!) sounds great here. A short walk through the Muslim Quarter along the Via Dolorosa brought us to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This is, by tradition, the place where Jesus was crucified and buried. It is an interesting church for all the wrong reasons in my book. Certainly not the place where I feel close to my Redeemer. People pushing, priests shoving and yelling (happened to me a few years back) and, in general, more mayhem than worship. What I do like about it is the fact that several Christian faiths have their little niches within the church, and it provides an excellent glimpse at different Orthodox worship styles. However, my absolutely most favorite part - and one that I would visit on any visit to Jerusalem - is Chapel of St. Helena below the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, down a flight of stairs that you could imagine Indiana Jones running up in pursuit of the Holy Grail, with crosses engraved through the centuries on the walls. There is a seat adjoining the altar, and legend has it that this was the seat used by Helena, the mother of Emperor Contantine who ordered the Church of the Holy Sepulcher built, while the Cross was being excavated. Regrettably, I found out about the Chapel of St. Vartan only upon my return, but it seems extremely hard to get in as it is locked. Lunch in the Muslim Quarter was one last reminder of the greatness of Israeli falafel and shwarma.

Our last stop of the day was the Garden Tomb, believed by many to be the true place where Jesus was crucified, buried and ultimately rose on the third day. Frank Sudworth led us through the Garden, explaining the rock facade, which truly resembles a skull, above a busy Muslim bus terminal. He reminded us that this area was a busy area even in the days of Christ as people entered and left Jerusalem, and it could very well be that they walked past the cross of Jesus and the two criminals crucified with Him. The tomb itself is a somber reminder of the suffering that Jesus went through to pay for our sin. But since it is empty, it is a glorious place, too, because we can be assured of life eternal and fellowship restored with God if we trust in the love He showed toward us through His Son's propitiatory death for us while we were still sinners. If it wasn't for Christ's blood shed, we would have no hope. The sign at the door as we were exiting the tomb says it all: "He is not here, for He is risen." Amen!

Our final walk through Jerusalem lets us soak in one final time the sights and smells and sounds of this ancient city, the city in which God put His name for all eternity. This is not about whose land is it - this is about Whose land is it - God's! May it be ever so.

Psalm 122:6 says:
"I rejoiced with those who said to me,
"Let us go to the house of the LORD."
Our feet are standing
in your gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is built like a city
that is closely compacted together.
That is where the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD,
to praise the name of the LORD
according to the statute given to Israel.
There the thrones for judgment stand,
the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
"May those who love you be secure.
May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels."
For the sake of my brothers and friends,
I will say, "Peace be within you."
For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your prosperity."

Day 8 - Temple Institute, Burnt House, Temple Mount, Hezekiah's Tunnel, Western Wall Tunnel

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Mon, 26 May 2008 01:38:00 +0000

Day 8 - Temple Institute, Burnt House, Temple Mount, Hezekiah's Tunnel, Western Wall and Western Wall Tunnels
April 17, 2008

Photos from Day 8 are here.

This is an exciting day ahead! Jerusalem, the city mentioned over 700 times in the Bible! So many sites to take in and experiences to digest.
After our pre-Passover wonderful-fresh-amazing-food-but-only-Matzah bread breakfast, we start off near the Western Wall Plaza to go visit the Temple Institute, a place of tremendous interest for anyone who loves the Old Testament and even more so is interested in Biblical prophecy. My first surprise on our way there: The $2 million recreated solid gold Temple menorah, made of almost 100 lbs. of 24K gold, had moved from its old location along the Cardo and was greeting us on our way up the stairs to the Jewish Quarter! Turns out that the Temple Institute folks have moved it closer to its ultimate destination: the Temple Mount! It is now found a new (albeit still temporary home) in the open plaza next to the Rabbi Yehuda Halevy stairs, which lead from the Jewish Quarter to the Western Wall plaza and the Temple Mount. The Temple Menorah's ultimate destination, the Third Temple as envisioned by the folks at the Temple Institute, is depicted below.

Most people don't get that this menorah is made of solid gold or its significance the first time they see it. I can't remember if I did. All I know is that I was completely enthralled with the Temple Institute the first time I visited it. According to their About the Temple Institute page, the Temple Institute is "dedicated to every aspect of the Biblical commandment to build the Holy Temple of G-d on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. Our short-term goal is to rekindle the flame of the Holy Temple in the hearts of mankind through education. Our long-term goal is to do all in our limited power to bring about the building of the Holy Temple in our time." They are very busy on their long-term goal! Inside the Temple Institute you can find all the instruments needed for sacrifices in the Temple, from lavers to bowls to showbread table to priestly garments to the High Priest's ephod and "Holy to the Lord" headpiece. One of the Temple Institute folks took us through each of the pieces and shared their vision with us. As we walked out, some of us were discussing how the idea of rebuilding the Temple can become a religion in itself with Messiah missing in it!

Our next stop along the walking route was the Wohl Archeological Museum, probably the best place to get a feeling for living quarters of wealthy families (such as priests) during the time of Herod and the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD (the Burnt House). The horror of that period in Jewish history can be read in the ashes and burn marks revealed in these ruins, today below the ground of Jerusalem. Jesus predicted the fall of Jerusalem, yet no one took heed, much as it is now, in which are undoubtedly the last days - no one pays attention to what Jesus said almost 2,000 years ago as recorded in Matthew 24:36-42:

"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come."

Anybody out there listening and paying attention? I pray you do!

From the Jewish Quarter, we made our way down through the security checks and onto the ramp to go up to the Temple Mount. We hit a slight snag in that several of us had articles that shouldn't be going up on the Temple Mount (i.e. the Muslim security men would take them away), mostly religious articles (Bibles, shofar, anything too overtly Jewish or Christian, etc.). Carl was very gracious and offered to stay behind and watch our things. How sweet is that!

The Temple Mount is an amazing sight to behold, not just for the eyes because of its undeniable beauty with the gold-glistening Dome of the Rock, but for the soul as it is the place where Abraham was told by God to sacrifice Isaac, the threshing floor which David bought from Araunah the Jebusite and on which Solomon built the Temple, and the place to which my Lord, Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus Christ, will return in glory. As we stopped at the Eastern Gate, which is also called the Golden Gate in Christian literature, I prayed for Jesus to make His appearance very soon - and bring His peace to this world.

Ezekiel describes this moment when Messiah, our Prince, our King of Kings, will come through it. I took a quick look around whether there were any security guards around and then made a quick sprint up the steps on the side of the gate. It is a massive structure, but it will be no problem for Jesus to break through whatever barricades the Muslims have erected over the centuries, and even though He is the High Priest, He will not be bothered by the graves right outside of it! Come, Lord Jesus!
One other place that is very special to me on the Temple Mount is a little cupola structure that covers a spot where the bedrock of Mount Moriah can be touched. We don't know whether this was where the Holy of Holies stood, but I always feel a pressing need to touch it when I am there - very much like the Western Wall. Jeff must have felt it as well - he took a push-up like stance and bent down and kissed the bedrock. It is not because we are worshipping a stone, but rather an expression of our deep appreciation of how special this place is to God - and thus to us!

Leaving the Temple Mount, we prepared ourselves to see another one of God's miracles: the provision of water during a time of siege in the days of King Hezekiah - Hezekiah's Tunnel, a 1750-foot (530m)tunnel carrying water into the city. The Bible says Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. He was able to build this tunnel during a time of siege by Sennacherib, king of Assyria. Since the tunnel itself is wet but walkable, those of us who wanted to walk it got ready by donning shorts, sandals and flashlights and giving everything else to those walking the dry tunnel. If you are claustrophic or afraid of the dark, this may not be the place for you - although I found that even claustrophobic people do okay as long as there is loud hymn singing. When we emerged, we found ourselves at the Pool of Siloam, which is mentioned several times in the Scriptures, most notably when Jesus healed a blind man by putting mud on his eyes and telling him to wash it off in the Pool of Siloam. A group of soldiers was resting on the steps at the pool when we emerged after taking a group photo.

We walked back through the Old City and out through the Damascus Gate towards our hotel. Mickey had told me where to find a Hebrew-English complete Old and New Testament, so I took an excursion to go buy one to further my Hebrew learning. However, the Bible Society in Israel on Jaffa Street regrettably was closed already. I was truly very disappointed and asked the Lord to show His compassion. Lo and behold, a few steps into Jaffa Gate, I walked right into a Messianic Jewish bookshop, Emmanuel Messianic Bookshop, right next to Christ Church, where I not only met a very kind Messianic Jewish brother in the Lord, Aaron, but also found not just my Bible but also some wonderful Messianic worship music CDs and a DVD copy of "The Covenant", the musical the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem has produced. Needless to say, God's timing was perfect as the shop closed a few minutes after I got there. On my way back through the Old City, I got another taste of why I love Jerusalem - the sights, smells and sounds are just too amazing to put into words. Walking back out through Damascus Gate, I ran into a quiet sit-down protest of some women asking for the release of Arab political (?)prisoners.

Back at the hotel, after an early dinner, we got on the bus one more time to go see the Western Wall and the Western Wall Tunnels. The size of the Herodian stones are unbelievable - how men with rather primitive tools could have quarried, transported and stacked these with such precision can hardly be imagined. We came out of the tunnels and returned to the Western Wall where the women headed over to the women's section with me. We spent some precious moments one on one with the Lord, with our hands resting on the stones of where God's magnificent Temple stood. While I realize that the Shekina Glory has long since departed from there, I know and feel with every fiber of my being that God still has His hand on Jerusalem and on Mount Moriah. And so, even though God is never farther or closer from me then His Holy Spirit living in me, it was a very special time in communion with El Elyon, God Most High.

Day 7 - Jerusalem and Bethlehem

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Thu, 22 May 2008 00:21:00 +0000

Day 7 - Jerusalem and Bethlehem
April 16, 2008

We finally arrived! We are in Yerushalayim Shel Zahav - Jerusalem of Gold!

I remember the first time I was in Jerusalem - it felt like a huge letdown after the beauty of the Sea of Galilee and Israel's north and the meditative time at Ein Gedi.
I disliked the busyness and noise of Jerusalem, but even more so the unbelievable hordes of pilgrims from Catholic or Orthodox faiths who were throwing themselves on stones, kissing crosses, lighting candles and blowing them out to take back to their countries of origin.

In the streets around the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (by tradition the place where Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected and now covered by a church) the Arab vendors hawk Christian souvenirs along the Via Dolorosa. All this was making me feel like I was at the Temple when Jesus was cleaning it out - instead of a quiet place to focus on God, I felt I had entered a religious bazaar. All I wanted to go back to a place where I could quietly worship.

However, it was with a very different feeling of anticipatory joy that I entered into the day ahead. I was in the Jerusalem that I knew and loved because I had explored it, knew it much better and looked forward to visiting places I enjoyed so much on the trips after my first.

After the obligatory view for any first time visitor (and a delight for "repeaters" from atop Mount Scopus, we made our first stop was at some ancient tombs just below Mount Scopus. Mickey shared with us the fascinating background of the disciple's request to Jesus to let him bury his father before following Him and the answer Jesus gave, which seems rather cold to Western ears, to let the dead bury the dead. In ancient times, the burial caves we were seeing served families to bury their loved ones - at first, by wrapping the body in spices and linen strips and putting it on a stone shelf in the cave. After an entire year had passed by, the cave would again be opened, the bones of the loved one collected and placed in an ossuary. An interesting summary of this can be found here.

We got on the bus again for a quick ride to the top of the Mount of Olives. We grabbed our gear and got off the bus and made our way down the hill past Dominus Flevit, translated "The Lord wept", commemorating Jesus weeping over Jerusalem before His arrest and which typically features the best view of the Temple Mount. Regrettably, while we were visiting, a group of Catholic pilgrims were holding mass inside, so we couldn't enter. The view is spectacular even from the outside as you glance across to the Golden Gate (or Eastern Gate) through which Jesus rode through on a donkey on Palm Sunday and will walk through again when He returns in power. Dominus Flevit Church is also a great place to see ancient ossuaries underlining the message we had heard a few minutes earlier.

Our final stop on the Mount of Olives took us to the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations. To stand next to trees that are called the Silent Witnesses because they are so old they may very well have "seen" Jesus Christ truly gives one pause. The Church of All Nations is noteworthy for two reasons: 1) it contains the rock on which Jesus by tradition prayed and 2)it was funded by donations from many nations. I like sending new pilgrims on a hunt for the American Eagle - hint: it's on the ceiling, and it is actually neighbors with the German Eagle. I wasn't too sad to leave the Mount of Olives as there were way too many bus loads of tourists there to make it a spiritually impactful time.

Our next stop took us to the Israel Museum where we spent some time studying the miniature model of Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. This is invaluable for first timers to Jerusalem, as you can clearly understand how David might have seen Bathsheba bathe (in the City of David from before the First Temple period) or how imposingly the Second Temple towered over the city.

My biggest pleasure of the day came in the form of a new film at the Shrine of the Book, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are displayed. It is called "Human Sanctuary" and tells the story of a young Essene who finds life in the community at Qumran stifling and wants to leave and travel to Jerusalem, where he meets a young Pharisee who desires nothing more than the spiritual impact of living in a community dedicated to the Lord. The young Essene shares with him the concept of the Mikdash Adam, the human sanctuary, humans being indwelled by God. This struck me hard, as I know that I am such a Mikdash Adam - my body a temple of the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit, as Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians.

During lunch at a kibbutz hotel, we visited with a representative of Idan Jewelry; they make beautiful personalized jewelry with Bible verses in Hebrew. Needless to say, my purchase of the day was a ring with Mikdash Adam written on it in Hebrew to remind me that I am a temple of the Holy Spirit.

After lunch, we got on the bus for our journey to Bethlehem. To get to Bethlehem, we have to pass through a checkpoint, which makes up part of the security fence closing off the West Bank to prevent terror attacks. Needless to say, this is an emotionally charged wall, and people have accused Israel of apartheid because of it. I don't like the fact that there is such a wall, but at the same time, consider the cost Israel has paid in terror victims.

Unlike last time, when we had to hike uphill quite a while, we were unloaded directly in front of the Church of the Nativity. Even the street vendors didn't feel as menacing and threatening as last year. The mood seemed more relaxed - a great feeling. We took our tour of the church (entering through the very low Door of Humility, seen at right, which Condi Rice recently took as well). The church is truly amazing - the original paintings on the pillars can still be faintly seen in the dim light. It is very plain until you get to the altar area, where the gold starts - a very traditional Orthodox way of presenting an altar. We made our way down to the Grotto of the Nativity with its famous star on the ground, indicating the traditional spot of Christ's birth, but due to the many pilgrims, we moved out rather quickly. We also caught a quick glimpse at the cave where Jerome penned the Latin Vulgate Bible in direct vicinity to the cave of Jesus' birth. I am so impressed by the dedication shown by Jerome to live in such conditions for so long in order to advance the Gospel. May God bless him richly! Jerome coined a very profound statement: "Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ." Amen, Brother Jerome, amen!

Our next stop in Bethlehem took us to one of three rival spots (one Catholic, one Orthodox and one Protestant...) that are traditionally identified as the Shepherds' Field, where the shepherds first heard the news of the Messiah's birth from the lips of angels. Ours was near the YMCA in Bethlehem. Outside of a swarm of bees hunting us in the cave, I didn't find this to be a place of major spiritual impact. Maybe I need to try the Catholic or the Orthodox sites!

On our way out of Bethlehem, we stopped at Good Shepherd Store, a vendor of beautiful olive wood carvings. I had bought a beautiful olive wood nativity set there last year and enjoyed revisiting the store - didn't spend quite as much money this year. The owners are Christians, and it is a great idea to support this shop as our Christian brothers and sisters in Bethlehem are the ones who are very much feeling a pinch in the sharp decline in visitors since the last intifada. You can greatly support them by buying from their store, even online. Sorry, the tea is only served in person at the store!

Leaving Bethlehem through the security fence gives me a moment to think about what it will take to bring peace. I know that only the Sar Shalom, the Prince of Peace, Messiah Yeshua, Jesus Christ can achieve this - and I pray with John "Come, Lord Jesus"!

My most wonderful surprise of the day was the visit by my friend Mosher with his daughter and son. They brought a beautiful birthday cake and some wonderful flowers to the hotel, but were promptly turned away as the hotel was preparing for Passover and wouldn't allow leaven into the hotel. So instead we drove out to Abu Gosh, an Arab town, where leaven didn't pose any problems. We had a wonderful, but way too brief, evening with each other. On the way back to the hotel, Mosher stopped at the top of Mount Scopus, and for the first time ever I saw Jerusalem by night from this vantage point - breathtaking! Thank you, dear friends, for a wonderful night. We departed with a promise to come with just Nick next time so we can spend time at their home in Tira with the rest of the family. I will be honored and happy to do so! They are the best friends anyone could hope for.

Day 6 - Masada, Tel Arad, Beth Guvrin, Gath, Jerusalem

noreply@blogger.com (Elke) — Sat, 17 May 2008 02:15:00 +0000

Day 6 - Masada, Tel Arad, Beth Guvrin, Valley of Elah, Jerusalem
April 15, 2008

Photos from Day 6 are here.

After a delightful night at the Dead Sea with a bit of a chance to sleep in (well, that's relative...), we packed once again to continue our journey towards Jerusalem.
Our first stop was Masada, a mountain-top fortress, built by Herold the Great between 37 and 31 BC.

Masada in and of itself is an amazing testimony to what architects were able to achieve in this period of human history. But what is more fascinating about Masada is the story retold by Josephus of the decision by 936 Zealots (or more precisely Sicarii) to choose death over slavery. The Romans besieged the fortress for two to three months and in that time built a rampart to enter the mountain-top refuge of the Zealots and their families. When they entered Masada, they found 936 dead bodies of men, women and children. The men had murdered their families and then each other until only ten were left. By lot they decided who would kill the other nine and then himself. Only two women and five children were found alive who retold the story. To this day Masada stands as a symbol of the indomitable spirit of the Israeli people and that they will never allow this to happen again.

Last year, we walked down the snake path - a winding path along the side of the mountain that takes you from Masada back down to the cable car station. This year, a new treat awaited us - the Roman Ramp on the back flank of the mountain. This is the ramp, which the Romans painstakingly built over the course of months to allow them to breach the walls of Masada. Our bus driver awaited us at the bottom of the mountainside, and after a brief visit to the rebuilt Roman war machines we boarded the bus to continue on towards Beersheva and through the Negev desert. We got to enjoy the view of tons of camels along the way!!!

Our routing was very exciting for me this time as it took us through Arad, a town that has been on my mind a lot. There is a group of Messianic Jewish believers in Arad, and they have been the target of much persecution and harassment. As a matter of fact, I really think you, dear Reader, should be aware of what is going on in Arad - check it out here.
Eddie & Lura Beckford have a chess club in Arad that was torched. The Orthodox Jewish group behind this is called Hassedei Gur, who I understand are somehow related to the greater effort of Yad L'Achim, an anti-missionary organization in Israel. It is sad to see how people who were persecuted and killed through the centuries and experienced Kristallnacht during the reign of the Nazi regime can now turn around and persecute people of a different belief and torch their property.

The latest victim of this insanity and persecution against believers in Jesus Christ in Israel is young Ami Ortiz from Ariel. Ami opened a Purim basket which was delivered to his family's home (his dad is a pastor ministering mostly to Arabs), only to have a bomb go off and severely injure the 16-year old. Even today, this crime is unresolved (and not due to lack of evidence - the Ortiz family had a camera at their house), and many clues point to Jewish anti-missionary activity (i.e. what you see on the clips above). Despite very pessimistic initial reports, Ami is continuing to miraculously recover from his severe injuries. Please continue to pray for Ami.

Well, on to our trip. We didn't stop in Arad itself, but rather drove through it to Tel Arad, dating back to the days of David and Solomon. Evidence of a holy of holies has been found here, indicating that this is one of the places where animals were sacrificed outside of the clear direction God had given the Israelites. It is simply mindboggling to me how the Israelites could have such clear signs and guidance from God, yet fail to be obedient to the One who took and takes care of them - nothing has changed, or to quote my friend Yael Negev Meretz, another great Israeli tourguide, who was quoting King Solomon: "Nothing new under the sun".

From Tel Arad, we continued through the Negev to our next stop: Beth Guvrin. Beth Guvrin is the ancient Maresha, as described in Joshua 15:44. We entered the Bell Caves, a hiding place for both revolters and early Christians.

Back on our bus, Mickey explained to us that we were passing ancient Lachish to our left on our way to our next stop: the Valley of Elah , the place where David, the young shepherd boy, killed the giant Goliath, whose home town Gath is not far away, with a slingshot.

We got out of the bus and took a walk down to the dried-up river bed. I am sure each and every one of us stooped down to pick up five rocks. Jesse Allem (our youngest tour member) and Steven Swymer (as the tallest) recreated what happened that memorable day. Clearly, the victory was the Lord's that day when the young David (and future king of Israel) slew a giant and experienced warrior to win the battle against the Philistines.

After a long day of traveling, we settled into our bus seats for our final leg to Jerusalem. Since five of us had to wait for our rooms, I suggested a quick walk around the corner from our hotel, the Grand Court Hotel, to the American Colony Hotel. This is by far one of my favorite hotels of Jerusalem. It is beautiful in so many ways! Horatio Spafford, who suffered the terrible loss of all four of his daughters during a ship sinking in the Atlantic and who famously penned the hymn "It is well with my soul", together with his wife Anna set out for Jerusalem where they founded the "American Colony", originally planned for philanthropic work. The American Colony is truly steeped in history. Spafford's story is depicted in a sitting room across from the reception. I simply love just walking into the registration area, the sitting room and the beautiful courtyard. Don't miss it when you are in Jerusalem.

We finally got to check into our rooms and - after another great dinner featuring our first taste of many of matzah breads in preparation for Passover - reflected on what we had seen and heard.