Israel: Day 2, A few extra photos...

with Mallory

Chris, Mallory, Taylor

Not pictured: Swimming in the Dead Sea. Yes, you float. And yes, the salt burns in every orifice. Novelty experience, "check!"

Israel: Day 2, Camels!

"Did you ever find the buses?" Yes. Eventually. After, of course, we happened to stumble upon a camel farm... A highlight of the trip?! Yep.

with Shiloh

(This is a favorite.)

Shiloh

Daniel

(This is a favorite, too.)

And, in case you were curious, camel fur is like a worn-out teddy bear, and their single-hump feels like a waterballoon in a cardboard shell. Strangest thing!

Israel: Day 2, Wilderness of Zin

At the top of the cliff was desert, desert, desert... 

For certain, "as far as the eye could see".

This is where the Israelites wandered for forty years and learned to trust the LORD for everything. Absolutely everything. 

(Biblical reference: Numbers 32:13) 

(And, fun fact, it would only take approximately two weeks to walk across this desert...)

Here, Rich told us the buses would come for us. But they didnt. "Well, we need to start walking..." So Rich, like Moses, lead us through the wilderness. We spent half-an-hour or so of what seemed to be aimless wandering. Just like the Israelites! 

(But we, unlike the Israelites, didnt complain. We trusted Rich and where he was taking us. Granted, we were there for 1/700800 of the time they were...)

This was among my favorite times of the trip. It was impacting. (Also, just really neat.)

Israel: Day 2, Ein Avdat

Ein (Hebrew): Eye 

I found this desert ravine to be absolutely beautiful.

When a location has the word "Ein" in the name, it means there is (or was at one time) a stream or creek or some form of running water. The word-picture with it is that, just as tears flow from an eye, so does the water flow from the rocks.

Brett

In the parallel itself...

"But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,  whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green." 

(Biblical reference: Jeremiah 17:7-8)

And thus, we hiked from the bottom of the ravine to the top of the cliff...

Tim

Israel: Day 2, Tel Arad

Tel (Hebrew): Hill

The most significant thing we experienced here was actually nothing to do with the site itself (which was a Cannanite city). No, the thing we saw here was the rain. Rain! In the desert! In Israel! This country receives a total of about two inches of rain a year. And we got to feel some of it.

(Although, some complained about the cold and the wet. But here we had to reflect. A thousand years ago, the people living in this very city would have given everything-- even life-- to experience what we were standing in. Being thankful...)

with Shannon

in the house

out of the house

What remains of the city...
(with Kelly and Kelsey)

"Take a walk..."

Israel: Day 1, Processing

April 4:
"...I guess it doesnt feel real yet. That we are in Israel. The "Holy Land". That everything we have been studying this year, and even everything I had been taught of the Bible all the years prior, took place here. I thought it would feel magical. Maybe I thought we would feel, well, holy. But instead, its like a field trip. A great, big, exciting field trip I am taking along with 53 (+ some) people who know each other really well and are learning to be passionate about similar things. Probably the greatest field trip Ive ever (or will ever) be on. And we will continue to see, because this is day one."