Samaria - Joseph's Inheritance

This impression report is rather long. I apologize. I will try to add some pictures to help break up the monotony, though. If things decide to work better than they have been. Bear with me. :) I might have to post first and come back and add pictures tomorrow.

Samaria Field Study (Ephraim and Manasseh)
September 28, 2008

These days are so full; when I come to write it down it is difficult to clearly and cohesively organize all the random swirling thoughts in my head. Perhaps I should start journaling as we ride along.

I would have to say that today was one of my favorite days in the field so far. I must admit that part of my enjoyment probably stemmed from the break in the unrelenting heat – I really enjoyed the clouds and wind and even a couple rain drops. The rest of my enjoyment, though, was based in two areas. The first is the land itself. Of all the areas we’ve been in, I think that this area of Ephraim and Manasseh is one of the most beautiful. It’s not majestically beautiful with high mountains and sweeping vistas, nor is it exotically beautiful with tropical plants and flowers. Actually, it was rather rocky with brown, prickly plants. Some plants were green, though, and in spite of the drought, there were still little yellow and purple flowers that bloomed on the rough hillsides. Then there was the fresh scent of the wind. It reminded me a little bit of eastern Montana – beautiful in a lonely, deserted sort of way. Of course, that area is anything but deserted. It is contested territory to this day.
My dad may want land in the Judean Wilderness:

But if I were to choose a place to live, the hills of Ephraim and Manasseh would be higher on my list:


The second thing that made today enjoyable might sound a bit odd, but it was the emotional response I had to some of the stories and places. I will explain that further as I go along.

The first major stop of the day was at Elan Moreh, a Jewish settlement overlooking Shechem. It was a high point and we were able to see various towns (Tirzah, Sychar, and Shechem, surrounded by the Mountains Ebal and Gerizim)


and routes/valleys (Michmethah Valley, Wadi Beidah, Wadi Faria, Salim Valley, and the Shechem Route) through the region of Samaria. It is clearly a much more open area than the Judean hills, or even the Benjamin plateau. It makes sense that many would try to rule a kingdom from this region. It also has good soil and better water than most of the region ‘down south.’ Lots of advantages, and yet for some reason, its position in history was usurped by Benjamin and Judah and Jerusalem. I wonder if the failure of the Northern tribes to follow God (as compared to the rare but occasional success of the Southern tribes) is due in part to the land. Life in the north would almost certainly be easier. In the south agriculture is more difficult, trade is more difficult, and the desert is ready to gobble up the fertile land. Perhaps this difficulty in life made the southern tribes more dependent on God by necessity whereas the northern tribes found it too easy to trust in the richness of their inheritance.

One of the unique opportunities at Elan Moreh was Phineas (I think that would be his equivalent name in English, it was pronounced more like “Pinkus”). He was the guy who allowed us onto the settlement and who then showed us around. He mostly told us what we were looking at (for the views) and gave a little bit of the Jewish history in the region (or at least his version of history…I’m sure there are many who would disagree). He did not talk very much about his own ideology or the ideology of the settlement to the group, but a few people asked him questions about that so we were able to hear a little. It was interesting. And rather tragic. I’ve always had sympathy for the Jewish point of view, but I’ve been trying to see all points of view and remain mostly neutral for now. The thing is, Jews and Arabs are not all that different in many ways. They both value the land, and have somewhat similar reasons why it should belong to them. Perhaps one side is more right than the other. Perhaps not. I really feel that I know too little to be saying anything, but my impression is that both sides have this attitude: “The land is our and ours alone. We should not have to share with anyone. Our claim takes precedence. Our rights are the only ones that count – you are not even human and therefore don’t matter.” It reminds me of 3 year olds trying to hog all the cookies. There are enough cookies for each child to get one or two, but each child is trying to take all of them and will not be satisfied with only one or two. I suppose this is true of most interracial conflicts. There is room for everyone to live and there is really no reason for segregation - only the human propensity to hate anyone who is different from you. It’s tragic.

From there we went to Mt. Gerizim and listened as Brad proclaimed the blessings from Deuteronomy 28.
“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God.”
This almost made me cry. God promised the people of this land so much, and they failed so bitterly. We were overlooking modern day Nabulus with the attached refugee camp. We heard the blessings of peace and prosperity promised on this hill over 3000 years ago, only to see the reality of conflict and poverty (at least for some people). How badly the fulfillment of those promises is needed! Also, what a warning it should be to us as Christians: the grafted in olive branch is easily cut off again. May God use us to bring His truth and peace to this region.

On Mt. Gerizim we also talked to the High Priest of the Samaritans and saw where they sacrifice the sheep every year for Passover. He told us that the five tenets of their faith are (as I understood them):
1. There is one God
2. Moses was the prophet of God
3. Mt. Gerizim is the holy place (it is where Israelites built their first alter after entering the land, its where the Temple of Moses stood and where the temple will be rebuilt, and it is where Abraham brought Isaac for the sacrifice)
4. The five books of Moses (the Torah) are true
5. In the last days another prophet like Moses will come
There are only about 700 Samaritans around today. Their story is also rather tragic, in many ways. They are so close to the truth, and yet so far.

The last stop of the evening was at Shiloh: the location of the Tabernacle and the cultural center of Israel following the conquest. I really liked that area. It may be considered the remote interior of Ephraim, but perhaps that’s why I liked it. We talked about the Philistine capture of the ark and the evidence that they then came and destroyed Shiloh. Later Jeremiah uses the example of Shiloh to warn Jerusalem that they too will be destroyed if they don’t repent. Yet another tragedy: they don’t listen.

To sum up the lessons from today: it is absolutely vital to obey God and to teach the next generation to fear and obey God. The land of Ephraim and Manasseh, both past and present, gives numerous examples of what happens when God is pushed aside, forgotten, or even used selfishly. We must take Him on His terms, not ours. Only in Him is there hope for Shalom.

Happy Holidays!

"Wait, what?" all of you back in the states are thinking. "The Holiday season doesn't start until November or December. Maybe the end of October if you count Halloween for some reason. What is she thinking?!"

Not to fear! I have not gone crazy or completely lost track of time. Over here, though, this week is kind of a big deal.

For Muslims, today was the last day of Ramadan! To celebrate the end of the fast they basically have a 3 or 4 day party. (Which also means that the school I've been volunteering at is closed for the rest of the week.)

For Jews it is the beginning of the high holy days. Tonight begins the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, which, with my basic Hebrew, I think literally means "Top of the Year." It's their New Years celebration. From here there are nine days until Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). They have a tradition of some sort where they say that the very righteous and very wicked are judged tonight (the sort of year they'll have, rewards, punishment, etc.). However, the average, on-the-border type person has nine days to repent and convince God of their goodness before Yom Kippur. So these first couple days are quite celebratory, but I think the mood shall get more solomn as the Day of Atonement approaches and the people want to make sure they are right with God. It is good to have a reminder like that built into your holidays. Of course, we should always be striving to be right with God, but it is too easy to forget or place less emphasis upon it. If you have done that this year, take some time now to get right with God!

The celebration of this holiday also means that two of my classes (History of Israel and Hebrew), both taught by semi-orthodox Jews, are cancelled tonight, tomorrow, and Wednesday. Hooray for more time to read! :) And write papers!

Weather and such

The land of Israel has been in a drought for the past several years. The rainy season is the winter. The early rains generally start in October (if they're lucky) and the late rains end the season, somewhere around March or April, I think. This year, the last rain was in April. So, you can imagine the excitement when last night and today (September 27, 2008) it rained! And rained a fairly good amount! Amazing. We're hoping it's a sign of things to come.

The Rhythm of Life

School has been in session for nearly 4 weeks now. I can't believe how the time has flown! Normally, back home, I would have developed some sort of routine by now. When I was in school, I would know the schedule of my classes and other events. When I taught I would be at school every day at the same time and I would know the order of my classes. Here, however, life has not really settled into any such rhythm.

Due to the nature of the school, the class schedule is really quite eclectic. Most of the teachers here also teach at other area schools or have jobs elsewhere, so the schedule has to be made to accommodate them, first of all. Add to that the fact that there are three different religious systems here, all with their own holidays, and we have teachers that adhere to at least two of those, so some days they can't be in class, which means we need to have make-up classes scheduled. Further more, most of our field studies take place over the weekend (I haven't had more than half a day off on a weekend since my first weekend here), but occasionally we have longer ones where we'll be gone for three or four days, again requiring make-up classes. As a result of this, I have had 5 hours of Hebrew in the past 3 days, which I personally find rather excessive. The concepts are fairly easy thus far, but I haven't had time to digest what we've learned or memorize the vocab, which makes it a little overwhelming. Of course, I don't think we have any Hebrew at all next week, so I'll hopefully be able to catch up (either that or forget everything). :)

At any rate, between the skipped classes, the make-up classes, the various field trips, and everything else going on, I still feel a bit like I don't know quite what I'm doing. Oh well, life's always an adventure. :)

This week has flown by...and I'm not quire sure what I've done. It seems like I've been busy all week but have accomplished very little. However, I think I have this Saturday off, which means that maybe I'll have time to do some catch-up.

Tonight I went with my roommate, Ada, to get some stuff a friend had left for her. We took a taxi to Mt. Scopus, where we meet with the roommate of Ada's friend and got the stuff. We then took a taxi back to Jaffa Gate. I think I've ridden a taxi only once or twice before...and that was in Bolivia. I'm pretty sure I've never taken a taxi in the states. Anyway, it went fairly well. All these little adventures! :)

Oh, and tonight was cookie night. You have no idea how much I miss cookies. They made rice krispies tonight. If you've worked with me at Clydehurst, you probably know how I feel about making rice krispies. But I watched. Actually, I'm not very good at watching other people cook. I keep wanting to tell them how to do things better or more efficiently. So I try to keep my mouth shut. :)

Well, this is an ecclectic post, but I, at least, enjoyed writting out some of my thoughts and experiences here. :)

The walls of Jerusalem

Yesterday three other masters students and I took a walk around the walls of the old city. Technically, I should say we took a walk ON the walls of the old city. Whenever we've had a field study in Jerusalem our professor would ask, "Have any of you done the ramparts walk yet? You should." Well, now we have. We got on at Jaffa Gate, walked to Zion Gate where we had to get off because of the Temple Mount. We walked outside the wall through the Arab cemetery, got back on the wall at St. Stephen's Gate, and walked all the way around, back to Jaffa Gate. Of course, when we got there, the door out was locked. So we walked back to New Gate where we were able to get off.

All in all, it was a fun time. We had a few adventures along the way, but managed to make it through mostly unscathed. :) I didn't have a whole lot of time to think along the way, but there were a couple things I thought rather interesting. One of those things was the Muslim Cemetery, right by the Golden Gate. Unfortuantely, I know absolutely no Arabic, and was therefore totally unable to read any of the tomb stones (except possibly one or two with some English on them.) I'm sure it would have been more interesting if I could have read them, but I had to content myself with more superficial observations. Of those, the one that lept to the eye was the fact that it looked more like a trash heap or a place for homeless people than a cemetery. It wasn't garishly decorated like most of the graves I saw in Bolivia, and really, it could have been a nice place, but it seemed like no one cared enough to clean it up a bit. I do not at all mean this as a racial slur, but it is often observed that the Arab sections of this city and the rest of the country are generally dirtier and more littered than the Jewish sections. The Jewish sections can be rather "trashy" too at times, but usually not to the same extent. At any rate, it makes one think.

Another thing that is always striking me here in Jerusalem is all the different religions and symbols of faith. From the wall we could look across the old city, as we've done a few times before, and the horizon line in riddled with various crosses, crescents, domes, towers, and turrets, all representing different religions and sects. It's overwhelming. I also find it vaguely ironic that next to these huge edifices of religion there are all sorts of people living -- there's laundry hanging in the courtyards, water tanks of some sort on the roofs, and satellite dishes all over. There are roads and corners that smell of urine and are full of trash. There are kids playing on fields or play grounds next to the wall, laughing and yelling; possibly the same ones who will try to pick your pocket. There are shop keepers, hawking their wares to unsuspecting customers. All this in a place that is under a square mile in area.

(Which reminds me of a joke. The area of Vatican City is about .5 square miles. Which means that there is an average of 2 Popes per square mile there!)

At any rate, it was a good walk. Not really that long, but we took our time, and it ended up taking us nearly 3 hours. I'll try to upload some photos. They won't do it justice, but hey.

This is my roommate, Ada, on the wall:


This is the picture that Ada took of us...our "band photo"...and you should have heard the songs we were making up as we went along!


Here are a couple pictures of the Old City Skyline...see how many domes and such you can pick out? They're kind of small pictures, but you should be able to get an idea.


Here's a picture of the decoration on top of a small, family mosque, with, I believe, a French Cathedral of some sort in the background.


And just for fun, the is the four of us near the end of the walk:



...and in other news, the weather is definitely cooler. I was very excited when it was partly cloudy this morning. I'm starting to want long sleeves in the evening, and I've been sleeping with a sheet (and sometimes even a light blanket!) more often than not. I think this has maybe helped cut down on the incidence of bug bites too.

Also, the fixed the pump that pumped hot water to the women's bathrooms, which means that I've now had two showers here that were actually warm. :)

So, there's another taste of my life here in Jerusalem. Oh, and by the way, if anybody reads this, I'd love to have comments from time to time, so don't be shy. :)

Benjamin

...and here's another posting from another field trip this weekend. Today actually. Yeah, we don't get much in the way of a break here. The week is generally more relaxed than the weekend, though. Anyway, we went all over the territory of Benjamin today and talked about how important it is in the Bible. I think that something like 60% of all events in the Bible occur in Benjamin (partly because Jerusalem is in Benjamin). So, here are my thoughts from the trip today.

Sunday, September 21, 2008
Benjamin

We started the day looking out over the Judean Wilderness again, specifically at Nahal Og, which drains the east side of the Mount of Olives. While still pretty barren, this area seemed to have a little more plant life than the wilderness we saw yesterday. We also saw a couple lizards and a locust. We didn’t eat any of them, but I suppose it’s nice to know of that option, in case I’m ever lost in the Wilderness. Of course, even then, the wilderness we’ve seen is rather small, comparatively. One could easily cross it in a day, assuming, of course, that nothing untoward happened. Also, I’ve yet to see a place where there is no cell phone service. That’s just crazy. 

From there we headed down (way below sea level) to Jericho, specifically the Old Testament Site. We discussed some of the history of the site (Joshua, Hiel, etc.) and also the history of the excavations there. We then discussed the problem of having a Biblical account that is apparently not at all supported by the archaeological evidence. It is a problem, though not a devastating one. Problems like that make me wish I could find a solution, though.

I think the thing that struck me the most is the fact that after Joshua destroyed Jericho he cursed it, and as a result of that, Jews have not tried to settle there. Therefore, there is relative peace in Jericho. That is terribly ironic, and rather sad.

As a side note, I have to say that one of my favorite parts of field studies is getting to climb around and explore a little. It was really fun to be able to go down and climb on the tower in Jerusalem – the oldest (known) man-made structure with stone. There were other places throughout the day where I got to climb or explore a little, and that was always fun.

Before lunch we stopped at Mitzpah Danny from which we could see Geba, Michmash, and sort of Ai. We talked more about Joshua’s campaign and also looked at a Philistine attack. Warfare in the Bible (or really anywhere) is something I’ve never given a whole lot of thought to. The closest I’ve come is playing capture the flag or paintball. Looking over the land from the high points as we do gives a whole new perspective on how these campaigns work. It’s still an incomplete perspective, but it is at least improving.

We (finally!) ate lunch at Nebi Samwil where we could also overlook the Benjamin plateau. We could see Gibeon, Mizpah, Gibeah, and Ramah. The land, while still hilly, is noticeably flatter than most of the areas we’ve been in the past few weeks. We could see the beginning of the Beth-Horn Ridge Route. We could also see Jerusalem. It’s becoming ever clearer that whoever controls the Benjamin Plateau effectively controls Jerusalem and most of the hill country.

We traveled down the Beth-Horn Ridge Route to Gezer. As we traveled we could see the land change dramatically. It grew much flatter and much greener. The rock was still Senonian, but mixed in with the rendzina soil was some alluvial terra rosa, making a great combination soil. At Gezer itself we saw the remains of a Solomonic Gate and wall. We also saw standing stones of unknown use or meaning. At least we got to climb on them. 

From Gezer we could see the Mediterranean Sea and (I think) part of the Gaza Strip. We also saw some jets fly nearby. It was a reminder (one of many today) that this land is not at peace. Shalom is still only a wish. On the way home I was talking to a fellow student and he said something about wanting to change the world. As Christians, I really think that it’s a part of our telos to work to change the world. As the only people who truly have shalom with God, it is our job to spread that peace and completeness to others – at least to individuals, but if possible, in the will of God, to entire countries and communities. As servants of the Prince of Peace, what else can we do?

Jerusalem Approaches

This is a combination of two impression reports. We did the first part of this field study last Saturday. Unfortunately, it was interrupted half-way through, but we finished it up yesterday afternoon, so here are my impressions from those days.

September 13, 2008
Jerusalem Approaches Field Study

Today was an interesting day in more ways than one.

We started on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem. We noticed that even though Jerusalem is surrounded by mountains, the mountains are closer on the east and west. The northern direction was probably the most open and therefore where attackers generally approached from.

We then crested and went a tiny ways down the other side of the Mount of Olives where we could look into the Judean wilderness. The contrast was stark. The trees and greenery end abruptly. The rock changed quickly from Cenomanian to Senonian limestone. Jerusalem and all places directly east are on the Dead Sea side of the watershed ridge, but Jerusalem is protected by the Mount of Olives. We talked briefly about how the prophet Jeremiah used the imagery of the dessert encroaching to warn the Judeans about approaching judgment.

From there we drove along the top of the Mount of Olives for a short way and stopped again to overlook Jerusalem. We walked down the mount, stopping at various tradition sights. The fist place was stopped is supposed to be the place where Jesus wept over Jerusalem.

Matthew 23:37-39
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’”

I’ve always like those verses. They show the love that Jesus had for His people. And there have been times when I have felt similarly, when people I love have shown no interest in Christ. I’m sure that even then my emotion was nothing compared to His. Lord, come soon!

From there we went to the Church of All Nations, one of the traditional sites of the garden of Gethsemane. I suppose these churches are built to memorialize and help us remember these important events in the life of our Savior. I have to admit, though, that it is hard for me to spend time really thinking about exactly what he went through nearly 2000 years ago, possibly at the very spot we were at. We spend so little time at most of the places we go, and there are so many people, that I don’t really spend time thinking about what Jesus went through. Perhaps I’ll need to go back someday (with any luck, when its not as busy) and spend some time meditating on these things.

From there we walked to the bus, passing some monuments/tombs that were probably around in Jesus’ day. It was interesting that the monuments are called “nephesh.” It seems to speak of the eternal human desire for death not to be the end, for there to be something more beyond this life.

Once on the bus we headed into the west bank on our way to the Herodian. Unfortunately, we never made it there.


Saturday, September 20, 2008
Jerusalem Approaches (Part 2)

This week’s field study was a vast improvement over last week’s, or at least the ending of last week’s.

We started the day at the Herodian. We were blessed by a clear sky – much clearer than last week – which enabled us to have a great view of all the surrounding area. It kind of amazes me how close everything is. In Montana we have to drive for hours to get to the next city. You can also drive for hours without having any drastic changes in scenery. It can change fairly quickly at times, but it’s pretty uniform in other places, especially eastern Montana. Here, however, you have four (plus) important Biblical sites (with their four modern day cities) all within walking distance. It especially struck me how close Jerusalem and Bethlehem are. Also here, looking off of the Herodian, you can clearly see the boundary between farmable land with the Cenomanian limestone and terra rosa soil and the wilderness of Senonian limestone and basically no soil. So much history took place in this tiny area that I can see from the top of a relatively short man-made hill, it’s almost too much for a li’l Montana girl to take!

Herod himself was an interesting man and the structure of the Herodian tells us quite a bit about him, as does his newly discovered tomb site (probably). I don’t have much to say on the subject at the moment, but it is something to ponder.

From the top we could see Tekoa (Amos’s home town), Bethlehem, numerous other towns and villages, Jerusalem (or at least the Mount of Olives), the Judean Wilderness, the Dead Sea, and even into the Trans-Jordan highlands. We looked over the area where David must have watched his father’s flock and read Psalm 23. Shepherding in that country is very different from Europe or America. I’m sure that all areas have their dangers and inconveniences, but in the Judean wilderness, “green pastures” and “still waters” are basically unknown. I’m not quite sure what (if any) difference that should make in my interpretation of the psalm, but it does give an interesting insight into David’s life and faith.

After exploring the Herodian and taking the requisite pictures of people on pillars, we went on to Bethlehem and the church of the nativity. I don’t think I’m a huge respecter of “place.” If that’s the actual exact location where Jesus was born, that’s kind of cool, but I don’t think I have the same awe and reverence that some people seem to have. Nonetheless, it’s kind of interesting to see. It’s interesting to see how (and what) people worship. I also enjoyed taking pictures – there are a lot of old and beautiful things. We didn’t have much time there, which is ok, but it would be kind of nice to go back sometime and observe people a little more and maybe have some time to stop and think instead of rushing through, taking pictures of every interesting thing I see as quickly as possible.

Our last stop of the day was at Ramat Rachel where they are excavating the remains of a Judean palace, possibly build by Hezekiah. It was a beautiful area. One of the most interesting things were the cut stones that were thought to be capitols, possibly the forerunners of Ionian capitols. That, mentioned in conjunction with the concept of the alphabet (developed here and also exported to Greece and the rest of the world), made another idea that’s been in the back of my brain come more to the front. Exactly how much did the Jewish nation contribute to world history? They are considered a “mouse” rather than a “cat” and yet so much of our Judeo-Christian culture has stemmed from here. A. W. Tozer once said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God.” Now, the Israelites did not always have a high view of God, but at least some of them did at sometimes, which is more than can be said of the cultures around them. Did this help them make advances in some that other nations could not have made? Advances that were then borrowed by other cultures? I have heard different theories propounded on this issue. Another thing to ponder in my spare time.

School

As I write this I am gazing across the Hinnom valley, watching the dusk deepen over Jerusalem. It's a beautiful night, as most nights here are, cool and clear.

It's been a good day. This morning Melissa and I caught a ride with William (who works at the school) and his two daughters to their school where we intend to volunteer every Tuesday morning. Today I ended up trying to tutor a boy named Ameer. He's in second grade and speaks basically no English. Which is why he needs tutoring. It also made tutoring extremely difficult as I speak even less Arabic. It was interesting. He apparently didn't want to be tutored because he did nothing but cry and refuse to look at my for about an hour. (Meanwhile, of course, I was trying different things to get him to stop crying and such.) Eventually I succeeded in getting him to start working on some math. Of course at that point he had to leave for Arabic class. When he came back, though, things seemed to go a little better. He wasn't crying any more, and there were even a couple times I got him to smile and laugh. We finished about one page in the two workbooks he had, and that was pretty much like pulling teeth. He was pretty easily distracted and kept trying to make me promise that we would do the next page tomorrow (not today!) before he would finish the page we were on. At least, I think that's the promise he was trying to elicit. Like I said, I don't speak Arabic.

After that we had to leave to make sure we could get back in time for my Hebrew class. I was sad that I didn't get to help in the math classes I was in last time. We think that maybe next week we can stay a little longer, so maybe I can help in at least one.

During the break I talked to a couple teachers, and, of course, teachers always talk about their students. It reminded me of my students and made me miss all of them terribly. So, if any of you read this, I hope you're doing well, and I expect to hear from you!!

Nahal Yehudia

Today I got up a couple minutes after 6:00am and prepared to go on a hike. We got on the bus shortly after 7 and drove down the Ascent of Adumim to Jericho and then up the rift valley to the Sea of Galilee and the Golan Heights. Nahal Yehudia is one of many valleys that drains into Galilee.

I must admit that I was rather nervous about this hike. For one thing, I kept waking up last night, afraid I had missed the bus or something. For another thing, I had heard horror stories about how hard it was and how much water we would need and all that. I am probably not the most out-of-shape person here, but I'm definitely not in as good of shape as many other people...and I didn't want to hold the group back. As it turns out, though, my fears were for naught.

Approximately 90% of the hike was downhill. The last 10% was intense, but not that long and therefore not that bad. We started at the top and walked down to the first pool and waterfall. Most of the group swam around and jumped off a 20-30ft cliff there into the water. I was in more of a hiking mood than swimming mood (and I don't like hiking wet when I don't have to), so I didn't get it. I headed off to the second pool with one of the first groups to leave. At the second pool we had to climb down a ladder next to the waterfall and then swim across the pool to reach the trail again. Because of that everything we were carrying was likely to get wet, so I didn't bring my camera. A few other people did, though, so I'll try to steal pictures at some point so y'all can see what it was like.

From there on out I ended up with a small group that included Cindy (who teaches one section of the Geography class), Brad and Shalon (a married couple, he's here for a year and she's auditing a couple classes), and Tiffany (the wife of another grad student). Since there were about 40 people on the hike, it was kind of nice to be able to just concentrate on a smaller group. It was also nice because we were all a little older that the majority of the students here. We did the whole "loop." Most people (I think) only went to a couple pools and played around in them before hiking up the side of the nahal. We went farther down the canyon, ended up having to swim through one more pool, and then climbed up the side. It was pretty amazing. Let me try to describe it a little.

The region of Galilee in general is much greener than Jerusalem, but the area on top where we started was still fairly brown. We had to walk for a few minutes before we were close enough to look down into the valley (it's pretty narrow and steep). As we looked down we could see a line where the brown changed to green, though we couldn't see any water at that point. We started hiking down into the green shortly after that.

The bottom of the nahal is a verdant jungle. (I've been wanting to use the word "verdant" all day.) It reminded me a little of Zion national park, for those who have been there. I'm generally unable to tell you the species of the flora and fauna were, though I did recognize bamboo and mint in the flora category. I even chewed on a mint leaf! At any rate, it was beautiful and lush and green (with flowers sprinkled here and there). I can't tell you how many times I longed for my camera. As far as fauna goes, I saw two small crabs, a fairly large lizard, a frog, and lots and lots of fish. The first fish I noticed were in a pool I was wading in. They were about the size of minnows, but not nearly as skittish as minnows generally are in Montana. They didn't seem to have any problem with my presence. From there on out I noticed fish of all sizes in the various pools we saw. Some were probably close to 2 feet long, which is especially impressive considering the size of the stream. Other than some large pools, there really wasn't much water flowing. The stream could almost be leaped across at most points. (I couldn't leap across, but probably someone more athletic than I could easily jump that distance.)

The last part, the hike out of the canyon, was pretty tough. It reminded me of Montana -- it even had a small basalt boulder field to climb over! It really wasn't that long, though, so I can't complain. Then we walked back on the road (slightly up hill) to where we had left the bus. All in all, an amazing day, especially after the fiasco yesterday.

To top it all off, when we got back on campus we had falafel for dinner! Yum!

In other news, I have about a trillion and three bug bites all over my body. I've had some for quite a while, but they seem to have multiplied in recent days. I think bugs sneak in my window at night to bite me.

In other other news, I have my first test tomorrow, so I probably should start studying. :)

Here's a couple pictures I found online to give you an idea of what it looked like. :)

Shabbat Shalom!

Today is my 2-week anniversary for being in the country of Israel. :)

Today I had my first archaeology class with Gabby Barkai -- that was an adventure in itself. He's one of Israel's leading archaeologists and he's been teaching at JUC for a long time. Currently he's heading up the sifting project (from the dirt dumped when Muslims did illegal excavation on the temple mount). He seems like an interesting fellow...he was born in the ghetto towards the end of World War II and has been living in Israel since 1950. And he has some pretty amusing stories about Flinders Petrie, a famous archaeologist who is buried in our back yard. I won't repeat them here, though. :)

Today we had our second Ultimate Frisbee game! I love that game. It pretty much makes my week. Let me tell you, after a week of sitting and reading about history and geography and archaeology, it's really nice to go run around for a while.

Today we had our first "real" Shabbat meal together. We had a Jewish lady here to walk us through a little of the Jewish tradition. The tables were set up differently (with flowers and candles and table clothes!) and the food was served a little differently. Then we had our "vespers" service. We sang a few songs, had some scripture recited, and then the same Jewish lady shared her testimony. It was nice, especially since I didn't really get to attend church last week and I won't be able to this week either. Alas.

Tomorrow we have our "Jerusalem Approaches" field study. I think we are going to the Mt. of Olives, Bethlehem, and the Herodian. Should be fun. :)

Sunday we are going on a hike up near Galilee, I believe. I hear its pretty intense, so I'm a bit nervous, but I think it'll be fun.

And that's all I have for now. :)

Volunteers

While over here we have the chance to volunteer for half a day a week and one of a few different Christian ministries in and around Jerusalem. Today Diane planned for a few of us to meet with the principle of Jerusalem School in east Jerusalem to see how we could help them out. At 10:00 I left the school with Melissa (the wife of one of the semester undergrad students), Isaiah (another undergrad student) and Bryan (a grad student who's wife works at the school.) We walked through the old city to just outside of Damascus gate where we caught an Arab bus. The bus took us nearly to the check point between Israel and the West Bank. There was no check to get in, so we walked past the check point and then turned up the road that Bryan said was the boundary line between Jerusalem and the West Bank. We could see the wall they're building...

The school is on that boundary road, just barely on the Jerusalem side. It is a Christian school that uses, I think, mostly one of the home school curricula...maybe Apologia? The student body itself (K-12, I think) is well over half Muslim. Because of that, some of them struggle with English (and everything is taught in English). The principle's first thought was to have us help some of them with English. He also mentioned that some might need help in math. Then we went to observe the classrooms of some of the teachers we might help. The few students I met seemed to be pretty similar to all the other children that age I've met. Most of them were pretty friendly, some rather rambunctious and rebellious. Also, it's the month of Ramadan which means that most of them are fasting, so I'm sure they're a little crazier/grumpier/more tired than "normal." It was fun. I'm not sure exactly where I'll be when I go back next week since I will be there on a different day (Tuesday) and at different times (probably about 8-11:30), but I'm sure I'll find something to do.

The school building itself was built by the Coptic church to use as a college, but for some reason they never finished it. It had been empty for something like 12 years before this school moved in this year. It's a pretty nice building. I didn't bring my camera this time, but I'll have to get some pictures next time and put them up.

After that we caught a bus back to Damascus Gate and walked back to school, just in time to grab a sandwich before class. :)

As a side note, I must admit that I'm terribly tired of hearing about the conquests of the various Pharaohs who invaded Canaan. I think I've read or heard about 3 accounts of that and I've seen the same ancient texts on that subject about 5 times now...*sigh* :) As interesting as these first couple weeks have been, they have also been really repetitive in a lot of areas. Pretty much all of the lectures I've attended and articles I've read have overlapped at some point. But hey, maybe I'll learn it really well this way. Let's hope. :) And it is good to see the connections between different subjects.

Jerusalem Walk Impressions

Here is my second "Impressions Report" from our second field day. We walked around various parts of Jerusalem from 7am to 6pm with an hour for lunch. It was quite a day. This report really doesn't do it justice, but if you read it, it might give you an idea of some things I've been doing.

Sunday, September 7, 2008
Jerusalem Walking Tour (OT and NT times)

Today was so full it’s hard to know where to begin. I was talking to some people on the way home and at dinner, comparing what we learned and what we enjoyed most, and I had a hard time thinking of my “favorite” part. So many parts were so good.

I have to admit, to start with, that I really enjoyed exploring and climbing on some of the rocks and ruins/excavations and such. It’s not terribly spiritual, but I’m just rather curious, so exploring is fun. Plus I like climbing on rocks and getting high. It kind of reminds me of home. So I really enjoyed that part. I wish we would have had more time to explore some of those areas more. I’m starting a list of places I want to visit again.

We started the morning in the Hebrew Scriptures, looking at where the wall was at various times. We spent most of the morning in David’s city. I remember looking around that area when I was here before (the toilet was definitely familiar), but I think the excavations are much more extensive now. I may be mistaken, though; my memory is rather patchy. My favorite part there was when we went up to a platform approximately where David’s palace might have been and looked around at the hills surrounding. “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people…” Without having seen it, its hard to picture exactly how the mountains surround Jerusalem…but they do, or at least did in the time of the psalmist. I don’t have relative elevations, but apparently the hill Jerusalem was on is the shortest in the Judean hills: surrounded and protected by higher mountains as we are surrounded and protected by a higher power (God).

In the afternoon we started out in excavations near the temple mount. The best part was the building with air conditioning.  Again, I remembered seeing some of what we looked at when I was here before, but not all of it. I think things there have expanded too. It was rather amazing to think that some of what we saw was possibly there in the time of Jesus. Two thousand years… I will have to look at my notes to remember what else I was especially interested in.

Our next main stop was the Pool of Bethesda. I was excited to go there since I didn’t get to the last time I was here. We went into St. Anne’s church first. The acoustics were beautiful. There are some many amazing places (acoustically) around here…I wish I had a traveling choir with some lovely a cappella pieces to sing with me. We did well enough, though. After that we saw the actual pool (not that it holds any water now). I was amazed at how deep it was. There are sure a lot of places around here where it would be easy to die if you fell or if the holey floor holding you up suddenly collapsed. We talked about the gospel of John and the three people Jesus interacted with in chapters 3, 4, and 5. He always knew just what to say and do.

Speaking of people, the last thing that really struck me today were the people. It started with children in the morning. We passed quite a few, probably on their way to school, and then heard chanting from a nearby yeshiva. It made me miss my students really badly to start with. As the day progressed I saw more people – more children, soldiers, shopkeepers, etc. It made me wish that I could know some of them, to have the opportunity to tell them about how God came down and walked among their ancestors and how He still desires to know them. Jesus mourned over Jerusalem with good reason. I think that He is still probably mourning. I want to see that prophecy fulfilled – at least partially, in some lives, I want them to recognize and welcome their king.

More adventures in the mundane

This morning I got up at 5:15 and went with some other people to a park to watch the sun rise over Jerusalem. I was reminded of Psalm 130:

A Song of Ascents.
Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD;
Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications.
If You, LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared.
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
And in His word I do hope.
My soul waits for the Lord
More than those who watch for the morning—
Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the LORD;
For with the LORD there is mercy,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
And He shall redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.

I will try to post videos/pictures on facebook soon.

On the way to the park I found my first jasmine! And actually, I saw it all over today. So I'm not sure if it just decided to bloom or if I've been looking in the wrong places or what, but I was excited to find it today.

Some of us tried to go to Messianic Jew "church" service today. We wandered around the new city for about and hour and finally found it. We didn't stay long...not sure why we left, but it was interesting. All in Hebrew so I didn't catch much, but I could understand a few words here and there.

Speaking of Hebrew, I've had two Biblical Hebrew classes so far and it's been fun. I apparently have a "bad" habit in the states of reading everything (signs, trucks, etc.) and it has carried over here. Except here it's a bit more frustrating and takes a little more time -- I'm still at the "sounding out" stage. And then I generally don't understand what I just sounded out. But hey.

This afternoon I worked on homework which mostly involved reading a lot of chapters and articles about Israel history and archaeology and such. They're very interesting...well, mostly...sort of dry at times... At any rate, though, they generally seem to have a low view of scripture, which really bothers me. They talk about how the Babylonian flood story was clearly stolen and adapted in Hebrew Scriptures (for some reason). Or they say that Matthew wrote his gospel to try to manipulate people into joining him in this new version of Judaism...apparently not thinking that Matthew wrote his gospel to record what Jesus actually said and did. It's unfortunate.

In other news, I also had my first Magnum bar (white chocolate) since being back! I'd forgotten how amazing they are.

Well, I have an 11 hour walking tour around Jerusalem tomorrow, so I should stop and get ready for bed soon...more later. :)

Food and other miscellaneous things

Every day here is sort of a series of mini-adventures. Most of my time this week has been spent in class or reading assignments for class (I've never had to read this much in my life...its a change from engineering). So today I'll have to resort to the "mundane" to post about.

FOOD
I'm pretty sure that over 50% of our meals contain rice. Especially if you don't count breakfast (we have cheese and sandwich meat for breakfast, among other things, but no rice.) I think we've also had hummus at nearly 100% of the meals other than breakfast.
The other day I ate my first guava. I didn't know what it was for quite a while. Not sure that I like guava all that well...it kind of tasted like pine. It was ok, but probably not my favorite.
I also ate my first fresh fig the other day. I liked it much better than the dried ones I've had.
I've yet to have a date. ;)
I still love pita.
I also had my first bite of falafel the other day...I need to have a whole one someday soon.

CAMPUS
I was told today that there are something like 17 cisterns here on campus. I only know where one or two are, but it's a start. There are also two tombs, one of which, I believe, is a first century tomb. Most everything is made from stone and is pretty much open to the air (we have random courtyards and such). There are 55 students living on campus (I think) and about 20 off campus. We have two classrooms. Three large bathrooms and four singles (that I know of). We can't put toilet paper in the toilets.

WEATHER
It's hot. Really, ridiculously hot. Ok, actually, its not that bad, and its only for a few hours that its really hot. It cools down quite well at night. Though for all that I have yet to sleep with a blanket. I sort of use a top sheet, occasionally. Everyone comments that its not bad because its so dry, but I'm pretty sure its more humid than Montana ever is -- my hair curls and my skin isn't dry.

PEOPLE
I have met all my professors but one, and I've heard stories about him. There are only 5 new MA students this year -- my roommate Adaobi and I, and then three guys, Peter, Ian, and Chris. We had a lunch today with Dr. Wright and most of the returning masters students, so that was fun. There are a few other graduate students here, but they are only there for a semester or two. I still don't remember a lot of names, but I'm hopefully getting better.


I'm trying to remember if there are any other random tidbits to share. I suppose if I recall some I'll just have to post them later. For now, you have a little bit better idea of what my life is like day-to-day.