Ty's Blog

Thoughts upon re-entry

2010-08-03T14:37:00.000-07:00

A million thoughts race through a never ending saga of "what if's" and "what now's". My summer is all but done and then... Drum roll please... REAL LIFE! Oh no. But to recap how God is faithful and to give testimony to His might and power would take perhaps more time than I have the patience for. So a brief summary of my last two weeks in Russia will have to whet the appetite of those who are interested in my adventures here on earth.

It began in March when I was asked to think about going to Russia. I told God I thought it was impossible for Him to provide the money needed for two trips this summer. How foolish was that? Immediately it became evident that the God who can do far more than we ask or imagine could very easily provide more money than I thought was possible. May 7th passed. I am a college graduate. June 1st happens. I embark on adventure number 1, Samoa. In Samoa I learned how God can lead and sustain in times of need and in times of plenty. July 6th comes and I am back in Southern California. 9 days elapse and I am back at LAX embarking on Adventure number 2, Russia.

Russia a land of atheism and immorality. Alcohol is everywhere, as easy to get as water. Teenagers smoke and drink. Girls walk the streets in scandalous clothing, it is normal. Prostitution is illegal but the law is not enforced. Government corruption is contagious and bribes are given for anything to get done. The Russian Orthodox Church is in bed with the government and controls a lot of the religious sphere. A history of persecution haunts believers who have to be strong in a land of sin. Most Baptist (protestants) with a history of believers in their family have seen family members killed or jailed for their faith. Believers have to be strong to survive. It costs people their families, their friends, their jobs, their money, their ambitions, to come to Christ.

Luke 14:26-27 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple."

I don't write this so that you pity the believers there. If anyone is to be pitied it us here in America who have it so easy. It is those who have never given up their lives for Christ because they have no need to. Let me ask you this, If heaven was a place where you could have everything you ever wanted, everything you ever dreamed of, but Christ was not there would you still want to go to heaven? Christ should be our desire and we have to give up everything in order to follow Him. Indeed I count all things loss for the sake of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Have you counted all things loss?

I digress... Back to my story. We arrived in Samara Russia at around 2 am on Saturday the 17th. We went to bed for a few hrs of sleep before getting up for a wonderful breakfast. After a day of sightseeing and learning more about Russian culture we went to bed early to try and rest up for a week at camp. Sunday we awoke and got ready for church. After church was lunch at the mall and some shopping followed by dinner at one of the local pastors houses. It was a great time of fellowship. I experienced many early morning at this time due to the time change and the fact that the sunrise is at 4 am. This gave me good time to pray and reflect. Monday is when our "ministry started".

Our first week was comprised of teaching English and leading games at a church camp that involved 3 of the local Baptist churches in Samara. Each day we taught English for 2 hrs a day. Also for 3 days we led the game time in the afternoon for 2 hrs. On top of that we would participate in small groups, some in our group helped lead worship, as well as try and do whatever else we could to serve. It seemed like there was never a dull moment. Each member of the church who came to camp tried to bring one non-believing friend with them. This made for a mix of believers and non-believers. We couldn't really tell them apart because of the language barrier. Most people in the camp were high school age, but the range was probably from 13-24. I was paired with Irene from our group and we taught the level 2 English class (there were 4 levels). We had to speak through a translator to help them understand the games and drills we wanted them to do. Teaching was fun. I learned a lot from the experience. Doing the camp games was great as well. The campers loved them and said we did a good job. Tuesday was water balloon day. We filled somewhere between 2,000-2,500 balloons for the different games we had planned. It was awesome. There we two excellent sermons a day (morning and evening)the gospel was presented clearly and plainly (we had it translated to us). All in all I was very impressed by the maturity of the believers there and their strength.

I can give you more details about that week but this is just a brief summary...

After packing up on Saturday morning the 6 guys headed to the airport to travel to Moscow to begin the second week of our ministry. Soccer camp. The idea of a church doing a soccer camp was completely foreign to those in Moscow. It had never been done. Their idea was to have teen boys sign up and pay to go out of town on a retreat type thing where they would play soccer and hear the gospel. It became apparent that this was too expensive and there wasn't much interest in it. I commend them for the idea though. Because there was no interest in this type of camp, they almost canceled the camp completely. Yet God had a different plan. Saturday night we had a meeting over dinner to discuss our plan of attack. We found out that they didn't know if any kids would show up to the camp. There were a lot of what if's. The plan was to train each day from 10-12. At 12 they would do a gospel presentation. Then at 5 we would come back to the field to play games for a few hours. After games we would have a meal together and sing songs play other games and hear a sermon. This was the tentative plan.

We spent Sunday at Church and then some sightseeing and fellowship with the believers. It was a very fun day.

Monday morning 10 am. There are 9 of us at the field to run the camp. We have 1 camper and one Dad. Discouraging to say the least. We prayed for more campers and decided to train 1 kid like there was 30. As the training continued a few more kids showed up and we ended the day with about 8. That night we came back at 5 and played a few soccer games but didn't have the dinner afterward because the pastor was sick and we were unprepared. We got to play against some older men as well. We left the field at 9:30 after 4.5 hrs of soccer. Good times.

Tuesday morning 10 am. 15 kids show up. Fabrice shared his testimony afterword and the gospel was spoken. Most of the kids showed up again in the evening to play. We played till 6:30 and invited them to join us for a bbq. They all refused. We found it strange of them to turn down free food. We found out the next day that they thought we were just inviting them out of courtesy when in fact we were having the food for them. We told them we would do it again on Thursday and they should all come.

On Wednesday we had a solid 15 kids show up for training and I got to share my testimony and the gospel. We spent 5 hours at the field that night playing games. I was exhausted. Praise the Lord though we were beginning to see relationships built.

Thursday we had about 18 kids at training and 12 kids and 3 parents came to our bbq that night. Praise the Lord for He is good. They all heard the gospel presented and the parents were interested in coming to church.

Friday was even better we had 19 non-believers and 18 believers come to our bbq. There were so many gospel conversations being had. Praise the Lord for He is Good!

What started out as a discouraging week turned into amazing week of God's faithfulness. Because of the different kids who came I estimate that there was around 30 non-believers that heard the gospel. That's 30 seeds that have been planted. All this came from something that had never been done before. Some may think that oh 30 is not that many. But this is just the start to something that God can use mightily for His name. Relationships were started that will hopefully continue and produce fruit. Next year the camp will have a foundation to draw from and experience of the past to learn from. God was good to us in Moscow.

Well there you have it. A taste of my adventures. An incomplete portrait of my last two weeks.

Thanks for your prayers.

Ephesians 3:14-21

"14For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that(AS) you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

In Christ,
Ty

Ending in Russia

2010-07-29T03:30:00.000-07:00

Sorrry for not updating. I've had limited internet access. Things are going well for the team. I'll write a full report when we get back.

A quick note from Moscow. We started our socceк camp on monday at 10 am we had one 8 year old boy and his dad. At the end oа our two hours we had about 9 kids. Over the week we've had over 20 different kids show up and most days there arу around 15. God has been good to us in answering our prayers. We've shared the gospel with them. There are many other that we've come in contact with and been able to share some. It has been great.

A few things to pray for

We'ev established a few relationships with non-believing kids, they've heard the gospel so pray for them.
Pray that we would have more opportunities to share the gospel in our last few days here in Moscow.
Pray that we would be an encouragement to the believers that are here.
Pray that we would continue in all boldness.
Pray for strength and endurance as some of our team is getting a little sick.
Pray that we would glorify God in all things.

Russia

2010-07-17T22:29:00.000-07:00

Good morning!!! Happy Lord's day to you all.

We made it safely to Russia. Things here are good. It's hot. Tomorrow we start camp. Should be an awesome time. Russia is a much more immoral culture than I expected. Alchol is everywhere. Girls don't wear much. Very atheistic.

The gospel is needed. Praise the Lord we can shine the light. Praise the Lord we have HIs good news to share.

Pray for us as we start our church camp and ESL lessons tomorrow. Pray that we would be bold. Pray that awkwardness and language barriers will be bridged. Pray for relatioships to built. Pray for believers to be encouraged.

Ty

Back in America

2010-07-08T15:44:00.000-07:00

First of all, thank you all so much for you prayers. They were definitely needed and felt. It was so encouraging to know that our team was being interceded for. I know the trip would have been a lot different if it wasn't for that.

Psalm 136:1 says "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever."

Team Samoa gives all thanks and glory to God for what He accomplished in our hearts and the hearts of the people in Samoa. Without Him nothing is possible. Through Him all things are possible.

We left feeling more blessed than we could ever imagine. There is an open invite for any one of us, our friends, or family members to go back. Their hospitality is over the top and out of this world. Good thing its biblical to have that hospitality.

There are so many things that I am still thinking about and still processing that I hope I get a chance to write more on in the future. But for now I must look ahead.

I leave for Russia on Thursday. There are on 9 of us on this short term trip from Grace Community Church. We will be traveling to Samara Russia to do an ESL church camp for 5 days. Pray for us as we don't have much experience in this. The following week we will travel to Moscow to do a soccer camp for mostly non-believers. Pray that we would have the physical stamina to work hard for the Lord each and every moment.

Thanks for all your prayers. I most likely will not be able to update in Russia but if I get a chance I will send a quick note out.

Ty

Last Post from Samoa

2010-07-05T03:57:00.000-07:00

It's our last night in Samoa. Tomorrow we board the plane to take us to Apia. We have about 10 hrs to kill while we are there and are working some things out to do and see. Then we'll board another plane and head to LA.

This last week was full of mixed emotions. It was a great experience and one I'll truly cherish for a long time. The people here blessed us beyond comparison and I learned a lot about generosity and servitude. At the same time I feel as if we just got into the swing of things. Ministry was just getting to the point where it was almost a normal part of life, and now we leave. But God's timing is perfect!

It's also hard because we see such a need for strong believers here on the Island. People who KNOW Christ and are KNOWN by Him. To many Sunday Christians, to many people who don't know Him. My heart aches for many of the people here. Yet, it was so good to spend time with and be blessed by a family who loves the Lord whole heartedly and seeks to serve Him daily. A family whose vision of a school started in the 50's and continues on. A family who out served us in every way.

"Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven." The Laolagi family does this. All glory to God for their testimony!

Next post will be in America

Ty

God is good, ALL THE TIME!!

2010-06-28T00:49:00.000-07:00

There is a Samoan saying that goes like this...
Leader says: God is good
Followers say: all the time
Leader says: All the time
Followers say: God is good
Leader says: God is great
Followers say: Everyday
Leader says: Everyday
Followers say: God is great!
Leaders says: God is real!
Followers say: This I know!!
Leader says: What do we know?
Followers say: God is real!

To add to that there is a right handed fist pump with each phrase. We hear it at least once a day. There is such rich theology in those simple phrases. Yet it goes by as just another routine. Thats a sample of one of the battles we have been facing. A "theologically" rich culture that in many ways is far from God. "They honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me".

Rev 3:1-2"'I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God"
Rev 3:15-16 "'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth."

It is a great reminder to not be lukewarm. Yet in the midst of this we see weak churches with weak pastors. We see people not being fed in the word. We see a reliance on community rather than Christ. We see tradition surpassing knowledge of scripture. We see memorization but not action. We see superficial love, but the enjoyment of God.

Not everyone is like this. We have been blessed beyond measure by many of the people here. Especially the people and staff at SPICC and the church on the Rock (calvary chapel). Our time is getting shorter and shorter and with each moment we see the battle lines being drawn more clearly. We have less and less time to make more of an impact and must rely on the fact that we have done God's will.

Another battle we see is the war between tradition and westernization. Much of the Island is becoming more and more like America. Yet much of the older crowd is trying to hold to the values of the traditional Samoan culture. There are many good things about this culture that should not be lost. It has a high moral standard. It teaches one how to work for food (in preparing a traditional Samoan meal it takes at least 2-3 hrs of preparation). The younger generation does not have the patience to continue with this. They do not have the work ethic (much like American kids).

Last week was our third full week of school. We finally got into the routine. It was a much smoother week. Yet we still struggle with patience as we constantly have to fight the kids for their attention. They need so much love. I wish there was 100 of us here so we could each take one child and love them completely. Even in that they would still need more. We can't make up for years of abuse and lack of love. We can't make up for the neglect many of them face. I stopped counting the amount of hugs I give and receive each day. Some of us think that at times we need it more than the child. As I said earlier many of the kids have learning disabilities. There is no special education system for them. They are simply left behind and made to retake a year of school until they get it. A lot of them give up.

This weekend was one of many blessings. Friday we went to the other side of the Island to the village of Leone to the house of one of the members of Calvary Chapel. Carol and Paulo (not sure spelling). Carol is Samoan and Paulo is Tongan. There were about 4 houses there with all family members related. Many of the villages here are made up completely of relatives. All the land here is claimed by families. There is no extra land. There were many people there that night as it was a celebration of the the team from Hawaii's hard work and we were invited to tag along. There was of course a lot of good food. While we were eating we enjoyed some traditional Samoan dance by a children's dance group from one of the local schools. Then Paulo did a Tongan war dance. It was great. After that one of the younger ladies did a traditional Samoan dance. Paulo then dragged us young men out on to the dance floor to be background dancers. The girls were also taken out to mimic the young lady. One of the moves included us lying on the ground and the girls lightly placing their foot on us as they danced. It was great. After that we headed over to calvary chapel for the youth night. We talked and played some volleyball it is always fun.

Saturday was a very long but fulfilling day. We all got and left at 5:45. The girls headed to Calvary Chapel for a ladies pray breakfast. They prayed and shared for over two hrs. I heard it was very encouraging. Us men went with Pati (basically our host Dad, he is the choir director and head football coach at Leone High School.(They won the championship last year)) to an event at his school. June (Sp?) Jones form coach of the U. Hawaii football program and now coach at SMU and his foundation were on the island to speak to the different schools about being a college football player. They spoke about keeping a good GPA and taking the right classes, as well as making good choices. The gospel nor God was a part of football.
After that we headed back to Calvary Chapel for a few hrs and participated in the preparation of a traditional Samoan meal. Included pealing breadfruit, shaving the inside of the coconut's, pealing green banana's, preparing fish, and squeezing the coconut shavings to get the milk. It was all very interesting.
We were all very tired from such a long morning and headed back home. Us boys turned on the tv to find the USA vs Ghana score as it had been played earlier that morning. Lucky for us there was a replay of it being shown at that time. We all crowded around a ten inch tv and watched our boys play their hearts out but come up short. I think that will be one of the greatest memories (well that and watching us play Slovenia and Algeria at 3 am). All in all we watched 2.5 of the 4 games USA played. As well as glimpses of many others.
After taking a short nap we headed back to Calvary Chapel to partake of the Samoan meal we had helped prepare. On top of that the youth were doing a performance of singing and dancing. It was great. Part of the show was a fashion show. Tommy and I were asked to take part and model Moder Samoan clothing. It was fun. The night ended with a really funny fire dance done by the 3 college age guys and some dancing by all. We took so many pictures. Unfortunately I hadn't charged my battery so I didn't get any. But there were 7 other camera's on the team that captured it.

Today (Sunday) we went to Community Church. It is a mixture of Samoans, Figians, Tongan's, even a few Indian's (from India). We were told to prepare to share some testimonies and then speak the main message. I had brought a sermon that I had prepared for my youth group last summer that I was planning all week to use. After a restless night last night (both because of the HS and I am sick), I decided not to use it. I think God was pretty clear that even though it was good, He wanted something different. After some prayer I came to the conclusion that there is no better thing to speak than the Gospel. Tommy shared his testimony early in the service. Then I got up later and spoke for about 20 minutes on the gospel and how it has affected me. It was cool to see that even though I didn't prepare to much God spoke through me. I wasn't even nervous (Praise the LORD). After I told them of God, man, sin, Christ, faith, and my life, I asked Jesse to come up and share of how his life has been changed by the gospel. It was a great morning of encouragement. It always hard to tell how speaking engagements like that go, but we all had a peace about it. After church our friend Toni (one of the elders at the church) took us to Pizza hut for a big meal. Then it was back to school for nap time and a meeting. Sunday's you just eat one meal and then sorta have tea and bread or leftovers for the evening meal.

Like I said earlier I am sick. God in His power enabled me to make it through 20 minutes of preaching and a day of fellowship. I feel weak and feverish but God is good, ALL THE TIME! I know He has me sick for a reason. I only slept 3 hrs last night and yet I made it through on His strength. He will supply!!! Amen!!!

Pray for us as we try to finish strong.
Pray for the believers on the Island as they see their homes being torn into by these battles.
Pray for the strength of the Samoan Church.
Pray for real MEN to step into leadership. (Did I mention being a pastor is the highest paying job on the Island? over 100k a yr?)
Pray for the school and its finances.
Pray for the team and our unity.
Pray for wisdom for us as leaders.
Pray for health for myself and the team.
Pray that God's will is being done.
Pray that we will have a sense of urgency in proclaiming the good news. (Woe is me if I do not preach the GOSPEL!).
Pray that our lives would be a reflection of words.
Pray, PRAY, PRAY!!!

Thanks for your prayers!!!
Love you all, Ty

Happy Father's Day from Samoa!!!

2010-06-20T00:46:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to all you Father's out there!!! Some of my team members have taken to calling me Dad so I guess I sorta maybe know what it's like for you... Jk not really.

We finished up our 2nd week of school. We are half way done now. So far things have been great. Friday we again went to the youth night. There was a missions team from Hawaii at the church doing a VBS this week so we got to fellowship with them for awhile. That was great. Today we got up early and went for a hike. The Mountain was called Mt. Alava. It was a 7 mile hike there and back. We had a great time. It only rained a little so that was cool. After that we came back and cleaned up from the mud and then went for lunch at Pizza hut. I think I ate 7 or 8 pieces of pizza. It was soo GOOD!!! Our host Moni who had been taking us around all day then took us to a place on the coast where there were huge waves crashing against lava rock. It made for some great photo opportunities. After that we went to the grocery store to get some things for dinner. That was pretty hard since we were all so full of pizza. But we managed to get some things to make taco's for dinner. After that we went to take a cake to Koki (Moni's sister) and sing happy birthday. She was at a party for the seminary here. It was their end of the year party. After watching some dancing for about 5 minutes they roped us all out onto the dance floor to dance with the Samoans. Apparently the party had started at 10 am. It was 4 when we got there and they were still going strong. I ask Moni if someone had spiked the coconut juice (jokingly) and she replied that Samoans are just crazy normally. It was great to experience that part of their culture. After that we came back and were tired so we took a nap before making dinner. Now we are just hanging out.

Tomorrow we will go to Moni's church. In the afternoon we'll be going to a youth event at Fa'atui's church. Pray as two people will share their testimonies and the gospel. Pray that we will continue in faith. Looking to Him who is our author and perfector. He is our rock and our refuge.

To Him be the glory forever and ever!!! Amen

Talofa!

2010-06-16T23:18:00.000-07:00

As our second week of summer school is already half way over I begin to think how quickly this trip will end. Our time here is short and we are trying as hard as we can to make it matter. Yet, sometimes it feels like it is an impossible task. We have to constantly battle with the children to keep their focus and attention. We've tried numerous approaches and most fail. No matter what it seems as if they don't listen. But who are we to tell what they hear and don't hear? "He who has ears to hear let him hear" right? It's not our job to make them "Hear", we can do as much as we can to keep their attention. But we must not be discouraged by the battle. We must press on toward the goal.

This week we decided to teach on parables. Simple stories with simple truths that even children can understand. I think they have responded well. But only the Lord knows. We are fighting the urge to feel pointless. 1 Cor 5:14 "For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died." This is our goal. In our fight I reminded the team about what success really is. I told them that we shouldn't get discouraged because the kids don't listen, but rather rejoice because over 150 kids and adults heard the gospel last week. "Woe is me if I do not preach the Gospel" (1 Cor 9:16).

It's been an especially hard week on the team as we found out on Monday that Kimber's Grandma had less than 24 hrs left to live. Tuesday was even harder as her grandma passed away. I also found out that my uncle had a heart attack and was found dead that afternoon. Job 1:20 " The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."

Praise be to God for taking them to His glory (both were believers). Philippians 3:20-21 "20But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself."

No more sorrow, no more pain, no more tears, no more death (Rev 21). 1 Cor 15:55 "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"

Psalm 27:4 "One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple." His dwelling place will one day be with man (Rev 21).

O taste and see that the Lord is Good!!!

Philippians 4:1 "Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved."

I urge you brothers and sisters, family and friends, to stand firm in the Lord. He is our rock and our refuge. Our ever present help in the time of need. In going through one of the hardest weeks of my life, I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good! Praise His holy name.

Psalm 63:1-4 1O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
3Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.

His love is better than life. I pray that this is your prayer.

Pray for us as we are in this fight. Pray for strength and unity. Pray for endurance. Pray for love (for children and each other). Pray for opportunities.

Love you all,
Ty

1st Week

2010-06-12T11:41:00.000-07:00

What a week it has been. We were told last week that they had around 50 kids signed up for the summer school, but they were hoping for 80 and kids were still signing up. The first day we had around 105 with about 20 missing. As I stated earlier we were told last week that we'd be in charge of the last 1:15 of the day to do songs, bible, and games. Man it was rough at first trying figure out what to do with so many kids. But we decided on splitting the older kids from the younger kids so the messages we shared could be a little more focused. There are about 50 kids in grades 4-8. And 70 in grades 1-3. We decided to focus this week on Christ (what better topic). So Tuesday we began with his birth. Wednesday his life. Thursday his death. Friday the resurrection. It was cool to see how that all just morphed into a 4 day gospel presentation. I spoke on Thursday on the death of Christ to the little kids. It was really hard to figure out what to tell them. But I focused on the fact that because of His death we are no longer in trouble with God anymore. It was blessing to be able to share that fact with them. To some up the week, I would say it was controlled chaos. Lots of kids who really need someone to love them. It's really hard because the culture here is one that highly values the rod in punishing kids. We are trying to be firm but use other methods of correction. A gentle rebuke goes a lot farther sometimes ya know? I think we are all a little frustrated with the kids because they don't listen very well. They are really attention starved. Pray that we would show Christ's love to them.

On top of all that we have been getting involved in a local church. I shared last week how we went to the youth event. Well the girls also went to a woman's bible study on Sunday night and were extremely blessed by the love of the people. On Wednesday we all went to an adult bible study that was good and we got to sing worship songs in English. Last night (Friday) we were invited back to the youth night. But this time they asked us to share during the devotional time. The youth night is comprised of mostly young men ages 17-22 who don't go to the church here. They in fact go to all types of churches (catholic, Mormon, 7Th day...) The draw is basketball. Me and Tommy got to play a few games with them early in the evening which was really fun. I think my team won 4 straight (Dad, I'm getting better :). After that the church had provided dinner for us. They have this stuff, I can't remember the name, but it's fish (I think Tuna) cooked in the Milk from the Coconut (the milk isn't the liquid inside but rather the meet that is taken out and then squeezed until the milk comes out). It is super good. You dip the bread fruit in it. Anyways after that it was time for me to share for the devotional.

I kept it simple. I shared my testimony and life with them. I told them that it doesn't matter if you know about Jesus but only if you know Jesus. I used Eph 2:1-5, Phil 3:8, Luke 14, and Matt 7:21-23. There were about 40-50 people there. The adults were all extremely encouraging and said it was a blessing. Even some of the youth said they really appreciated it. Hopefully God will use it for His glory. We get to go to that church on Sunday and we'll probably go back to the youth night on Fridays while we are here.

Praise the Lord for He is good!!!

I can't really explain all that's been going on. I hope that serves to recap it just a little. It's been raining a lot here lately. I really like it. The team has been great so far. They are all super encouraging. I can see it getting and tougher and tougher for them though. We need lots of prayer.

Thanks for all your prayers. They are definitely not worthless.

Love you all and would love to hear from you. Send me a note!!!!

Ty

Update 1!!!

2010-06-06T16:47:00.000-07:00

This is one of my many pictures of the large rock or mountain (as one neighbor boy calls it). God has been so good to us to place us in such a beautiful environment with such beautiful people. We've spent the last couple days trying to plan our schedule for the week or at least get a rough idea of what we want to do. I think each day we will sit down and see what works and what doesn't. We've spent a few afternoons exploring the villages around us. On Friday night we went to a youth event at a local church and played some volleyball. They do it every Friday and have asked us to go back next week and do a skit and teach a little. One project we've begun is to clean up the beach that sits in front of the school. We spent about 45 minutes yesterday out there and picked up two and a half trash can's full of trash. The only reason we stopped was because the dumpster was full. We'll continue doing that throughout our time here.

On Thursday night I went down to the beach at about 10:15 to have some alone time. As I stepped foot on the sand I looked to my right and then to my left and noticed a man 50 yards down the beach walking towards me. I was semi startled as I expected to be alone. I sat down and a few seconds later a young boy ran up behind and sat down. I was a little more startled at that but I asked him his name and he said a few words but then the man approached us. He stood over me and looked at me then said "You look tough", I replied, "who me? no I'm not tough". After looking me over again he then sat down next to me. It became apparent fast that he was quite drunk. The Lord had brought us together for me to share with Him the gospel and what it means to know and love Christ. After hearing his story and imploring him to seek God because "He will never leave you nor forsake you", He is the only one who won't let you down and the only one who can help you overcome sin. I prayed and we parted ways. He told me he wants to speak to me again when he is sober but I have not seen him. Pray for him, his name is Sammy.

Today we went to Faatui's church which is very much a traditional type of service. It was almost all in Samoan and we were quite lost. But by God's grace they did sing some hymns that we knew in English and could follow along. Also, ironically they were two hymns that we have been singing and practicing as a team. After church we went to Honk Kong. That is a local chinese restaraunt. On Sundays in Samoa you eat a very large lunch and then tea and bread for dinner. So right now I feel like I just ate a thanksgiving meal and am ready for my nap. There is nothing open here on sundays so you do take a nap in the afternoon.

Pray for us as we tomorrow we begin our ministry with the students. We feel very inadequate and it will be a very trying next couple of days until we get the flow and are comfortable with how things are here. Pray for us as we go back to the youth event next Friday and present a skit or something to them. Pray for us as we are goiing to be leading worship at a local church next Sunday (6 songs).

" 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul,and all that is within me,bless his holy name! 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s."

First days

2010-06-04T00:09:00.000-07:00

49 hours ago we left LAX on adventure, we had many unknowns, much anxiety, as well as unparalleled excitement. Our first flight was about 10 hrs and landed in Apia Western Samoa at 530 AM local time. I wasn't sure what time our next flight was. I knew it was the first flight out in the morning though. The ticket office opened at 8 AM so at about 815 team someone arrived that I could talk to. After quite a bit of confusion on the tickets, such as my name not being on the list, but one person's was twice, we got our bags checked and went through border control. It was quite different than Israel border control haha. Much more relaxed. We waited till 930 and saw a little plane fly in. We assumed it was ours and we were right. It was about a 20 passenger plane which we took up exactly half of. They actually had to weigh us as they weighed our luggage to get the plane balanced correctly. Our flight went smoothly and we had a great view of both Western Samoa and American Samoa from the plane ride. We landed and after getting our luggage and going through customs again we were greeted by our hosts Koki (my main contact and a teacher at the school), Fa'atui (the founder of the school and main guy here), his wife Beta (she's the principle/disciplinarian(reminds me of my mother)), Deb (Siona's sister and teacher), and the unforgettable Korinth (Koki's son and my shadow, he pretty much follows me everywhere).

We then went out for a meal and headed to the school where we will be for the next month. We spent the rest of the day exploring the sea and taking a nap. Me and Jesse went for a walk and saw a park where kids gather to play sports. I hope to go down there to play and hopefully talk about Jesus. Dinner was Spaghetti, it was awesome. They have devotions before their meal and then a lengthy prayer that is followed by a song. They are such beautiful singers. It is awesome. After dinner wa talked for a while then the the team went down to the park where we sat and talked for a while.

Today the guys all woke up around 6 for some reason (maybe the time change). It was raining this morning so I didn't get to go out on the beach for the sunrise. I'm sure I will soon though. I went out a little later and had my devotions by the water and there was a rainbow that reminded me of God's promise to Noah. The island is incredibly beautiful. Lush green rain forest. White coral is covered in clear water. Blue and white waves crash on the reef 100 yards out. Our view is of a giant rock that large fruit bats continually fly off of. We've walked out there and discovered much marine life. God is so good to us.

Our time here will consist of helping out in a class room ranging from 1st to 8th grade. As well as having the last 1:15 to lead something like VBS. In the afternoon we will be doing work around the school and have the evenings free to prepare for the next day. Saturdays will be spent touring. Sundays at church.

I've already been impacted by the people here. They are so loving and kind. They are just excited to have us here as we are excited to be here. They are much more people oriented and less time oriented.

Pray for us as we prepare our VBS program on short notice. Pray that we would use our free time purposefully and wisely. Everyone here is a "Christian" but not many know Christ. We need to make Christ apparent in our lives as well as when we talk to strangers. Pray for boldness to share with strangers.

Thank you all for your support and prayers,

Ty

Samoa

2010-06-01T17:05:00.000-07:00

Dear family and friends,

In about 2 hrs I'll be leaving to board a plane to travel to American Samoa. I'll be there for 5 weeks working in a Christian school sharing the love of Christ with students there. Hopefully I'll get a chance to update this on the trip. I look forward to telling of God's faithfulness when I return! Pray for me please!!!

In Christ, Ty

Spring break

2010-03-05T23:04:00.000-08:00

Why is that we have spring break? why is it necessary to give us a week off of school? School that we paid for? More importantly, Why is that we look forward to not having to do that school that we pay for? Ahh these are the questions of a college student.

As a matter of fact I can tell from my own heart that I am looking forward to this break from school as much as the next student. I hope God uses it as a time to refresh our hearts and minds, so that when we do come back to school we can diligently pursue Him and glorify Him in our classes. Shouldn't that be the goal of every vacation? I know for a fact that having this break reminds me of my own weakness and my own inadequacies. God doesn't need a break. He doesn't take a break. He is strong. He doesn't grow tired or weary. As Christians we should see this as a beautiful thing. The sin in our lives should drive us toward dependency on God. He is sufficient in everything. Every night that we lay down to sleep our own imperfection should scream to us that we need God to live. We need God to breathe. Nothing we do is accomplished a part from Him. Oh what a great and glorious God we serve.

Blog...

2010-03-04T20:25:00.001-08:00

I know that I haven't posted on this blog in a while. Well almost a year. I feel as if my life is boring and there hasn't been need. Yet, sometimes it's good just to write to get things out of your mind. I'm not going to try to fill you in on everything that has happened in my life since the last blog post. That would be impossible. Rather I'd like to try and just write a little note each day about something I've thought interesting, unique, or special. Hopefully, it is about God meeting me that day through some unforeseen circumstance.

The God I serve is a good God. He loves to do good things for His children. I am in no way a person deserving of anything that I have. Yet God gives us more grace than we can fathom.

Doesn't it seem that we tire of our everyday lives? We seek adventure? We are always looking at that grass that is greener on the other side? I know that my heart is rarely content with where I'm at. It is always looking ahead to the next big event. Soon I'll be leaving for spring break. I've got a great trip planned. I've been looking forward to it all week. Yet today God told me to be content with the circumstances He has placed in my life. To not look ahead to the future but enjoy the moment. I had a great evening with some friends because I wasn't concerned with the hw I need to do, or the details of the trip coming up.

All that to say, God is good. He will meet every need of every moment of those who are faithful to Him. We need to concentrate on being faithful! It is hard. I fail. But by God's grace I shall try!

Egypt Day Two- Pyramids and Travel to Alexandria

2009-04-23T02:20:00.001-07:00

The night before we had arranged through the man at the hotel to have a taxi pick all nine of us up at 730 am to take us to the pyramids. Somehow in the translation we ended up with a taxi and a guide who was going to tell us everything we never wanted to know about the pyramids. We first went to the Sukkat pyramids. They are really old. Oldest man made structures on earth that they know of. Those were really cool but we were all eager to see the great pyramids of Giza. Yet our guide had a different idea. He first took us to a papyrus making place. Here they showed us how ancient Egyptians made paper out of papyrus. I was rather intrigued by the process but as soon as he was done with the exhibition about 1.3567 million sales associates swarmed us wanting us to buy some of their papyrus art. As cool as it was we didn’t buy what they were selling. So we got back in the taxi and headed to the great pyramids. Well so we thought. We actually stopped at a place to rent horses and camels. Now we were already planning on renting them but we were fairly cautious and weary about renting from these people. But the guy made a good sales pitch and we thought we were getting a semi fair deal. Turns out later we may have been ripped off a little but you live you learn. We had commandeered our rides to see the Pyramids, 4 camels and 5 horses. We headed out on our rides to see the awesome pyramids. The horse rides were awesome. We got to gallop around. I bought an Arab head dress for a couple bucks and tried to act like an Arab on my horse. I named it the black stallion. We had fun. We headed back from the pyramids to our hotel and ran in grabbed our stuff because the three of us (Joe, Jeremy, and I) were trying to get on the 3 o clock train to Alexandria. We headed to the station and actually jumped out of the cab and ran into the station. It was very much like the amazing race. We ended up being about 10 minutes to late for the 3 o clock train. But we bought tickets for the 4 o clock train. Then we got a little food and waited for the train. This was actually my first train ride that I can remember (apparently I took one when I was really little but I don’t remember). We got off the train and it took us about an hour to hook up with the pastor of All Saints Church where we’d be staying and working with. The pastor took us to the church and brought us to the guest house we’d be staying in. It was great for us three guys, perfect size. We freshened up a little then headed down to the church because the youth were holding a meeting waiting for us to show up. We were greeted with such kindness and love. It was really cool. After the meeting got over we headed outside to fellowship with the youth. Most of them didn’t speak English but we talked with those who did. We found out from the pastor that our main area of ministry would be with Ragy a man who worked a soccer ministry team. This was great because I just so happened to play soccer. Coincidence? I think not! After our fellowship we three weary travelers headed to get some much needed rest. The church was kind enough to provide us with some food for our breakfast.

Egypt Day 1- Travel Day

2009-04-23T02:19:00.000-07:00

On Friday April 10th we began our adventure to Egypt. With the anticipation high we had stayed up fairly late the night before. We had to get up early to meet the minibus at 5:30 to take us to Eilat on the border of Israel and Egypt. From Eilat we walked through the border crossing without a hitch and entered the Egyptian city of Taba. As soon as we had arrived on the other side we were met by many nice taxi drivers wanting to vigorously take as much money as we would give them in exchange for an uncomfortable ride to Cairo. We found a man named Hany that said he was a Christian and offered to take 14 of us to Cairo for 80 Egyptian pounds a person. We decided it was a decent deal and took the offer. The ride was 6 hrs long and very uncomfortable. The scenery was great if you enjoy looking at sand and rocks. During our trip we found out from the taxi driver that most of the hostel’s that the people in the car wanted to stay at were no good. I’m sure he was just saying that to take us to one that he received a cut from. Nevertheless we went to the one he took us too and it didn’t look half bad so we took him up on the offer. Nine of us stayed together for this night. After settling in our rooms we decided to go walk about the town and find some food. We quickly found that Cairo was an amazingly crowded and busy city. With around 20 million people residing there you can imagine how pact it was. Finding some food for super cheap (around 4 dollars for 3 of us) we went back the hostel and headed to bed.

Galilee Gallery

2009-04-07T04:44:00.002-07:00

Hey below is what I did last week in Galilee. It was an amazing experience. It really helped me grasp the events of our Savior's life and understand them better. I took a lot of pictures.

Day 1
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015612&id=159900831&l=c5c3ce71d6

Day 2
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015613&id=159900831&l=8fd96f6870

Day 3
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015615&id=159900831&l=2f215fee68

Day 4
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015617&id=159900831&l=f0a312a9d2

Day 5
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015658&id=159900831&l=09b8c43e2f

Day 6
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015659&id=159900831&l=3dd044c2bd

Day 7- None

Day 8
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015660&id=159900831&l=fd2b0897ac

Galilee Day 1

2009-04-07T04:44:00.001-07:00

We started our journey by heading west through the Aijilon valley and then turning north up the Shephelah to the ancient city of Aphek. On our route we passed by the biblical city of Lydda, now it is the modern city of Lod. It was here that Peter healed the man Aneaus who had been bed ridden for 8 years. Then he went to the city of Joppa along the coast where he stayed with Simon the Tanner and he had the vision of the large sheet descending with all types of foods upon it. After driving past the city of Lydda we arrived at our destination of Aphek. The city and the area surrounding it are rich in biblical history. In 1 Samuel 4 we read of how the Philistines had control over Aphek and the surrounding territory and the Israelites were going to go to war here at the city of Aphek. The Israelites brought the Ark of the Covenant down from Shiloh to use as a good luck charm in the battle. It ended up that the Israelites lost 30,000 men as well as the Ark of the Covenant. This was a tragic loss to the priest Eli and upon hearing that the Ark was lost as well as his two sons being killed he fell backwards and died. This made way for the prophet/priest Samuel to arise and lead the nation. Later in the book of 1 Samuel we read that the Philistines were gathering their forces at Aphek to go and attack King Saul in the Jezreel Valley. David marched up with the Philistines from Ziklag but was deemed untrustworthy and sent home (1 Sam 29). 1 Kings 20:26 we read that King Ahab did battle against the Arameans at Aphek. However there is some debate whether this Aphek was the Aphek on the Sharon plain or the one in the Golan Heights. The city of Aphek was called Antipatris by the Romans. The Apostle Paul stopped in the city of Antipatris when he was a prisoner on his way from Jerusalem to Caesarea.
Our next place of interest was the coastal city of Caesarea. Located on the Mediteranean Sea the city of Caesarea was built by Herod the Great. It was built from 22-10 B.C. Herod built a harbor so that it could be used as a port city and therefore induce commercialism. It was here that the Apostle Peter went after seeing his vision in Joppa. He came to the house of Cornelius who was a devout believer in God. Peter here preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to the man Cornelius as well as all his house. The city was the main city of Herod the great as well as Herod Agrippa I. In Acts chapter 12 we read of how Herod Agrippa killed James the brother of John and imprisoned Peter. Later in the chapter after Peter’s escape from prison we read of how the Lord struck down Herod Agrippa and killed him at Caesarea. The historian Josephus also tells us of this event. In acts 23-26 we read of how Paul was brought to Caesarea and imprisoned for more than two years. In fact there were 40 men who swore an oath not to eat until they had killed Paul. Paul was sent under heavy Roman escort from Jerusalem to the city of Caesarea where he was delivered to the Governor Felix. Felix then heard the case against Paul and also listened to what Paul had to say. Paul got to share the gospel with Felix as well as the great grandchildren of Herod the Great.
After spending some time at Caesarea we headed north up the Jokneam pass to Mt. Carmel. We reached the spot called Muhraka which is the traditional spot of the Prophet Elijah’s showdown with the 450 Prophets of Baal. In 1 Kings 18 we read that there had been no rain in the land for 3 years. Elijah told king Ahab to summon all the prophets of Baal and come to Mt. Caramel. There they both offered a sacrifice to their respective God’s and whose ever responded by fire from heaven was the true God. The prophets of Baal danced and cut themselves and cried aloud for their God to come and burn the sacrifice but nothing happened. Elijah poured water upon his altar and sacrifice and prayed to God and the Lord consumed the sacrifice and left the place dry. Mount Carmel offers a great view of the Jezreel valley. It funnels all the traffic from the coastal highway up one of three passes

Galilee Day 2

2009-04-07T04:43:00.000-07:00

The second day of our adventure began with the visiting of a rolling stone tomb on the side of the highway. The rolling stone tomb was much like the one that Jesus would have been placed in after his death. We read the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection in Mark 16 and paid special attention to the role of the women who arrived on the seen. After our stop at the tomb we visited the ruins of Meggido. This was and is an important city in the Bible. It guards one of the main passes from the coastal plain up to the Jezreel valley. In Judges 1:27-28 we read that the tribe of Manasseh was not able to kick the Canaanites out of the city. Standing on top of the tel we read how Solomon had fortified the city of Megiddo (1 Kings 9:15-26). Not only is the city an important route north and south it is where a great horde of armies will gather at the end times. In Revelation 16:12-16 it says the armies will assemble at Armageddon which means the “Mount of Meggido”.
Megiddo was a very scenic place and had a commanding view of the surrounding area. We then headed to the city of Jezreel. This city is located on the north side of the Jezreel Valley where the Jezreel and Harod Valley’s come together. In 1 Samuel 31 we read that Saul gathered his forces at Jezreel before a battle with the Philistines, the Israelites lost the battle and Saul was wounded. He retreated to Mount Gilboa to the east of the city of Jezreel and killed himself. In 1 Kings 21 we read how Ahab wanted the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite and that his wife Jezebel had Naboth killed so that Ahab could have the vineyard. The prophet Elijah met Ahab in the vineyard of Naboth and told Ahab how he was to die because of what had happened to Naboth. Ahab “repented” of his sin and the Lord turned his anger away. On top of the tel we reinacted the story in 2 kings 9 where Jehu killed both King Joram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah. After that Jehu had the evil queen Jezebel thrown out of the window by three eunuchs and the dogs tore her to shreds till only a few bones were left. Another interesting event that may have happened in the Jezreel area is that Jesus healed the ten lepers. We know that his happened “between Samaria and Galilee”, as Luke describes it in chapter 17:11-19. Close by the city of Jezreel at the foot of Mount Gilboa is the Harod Spring. In Judges 7 we read of how Gideon chose 300 fighting men to fight against the army of Midianites that were approaching. The men who lapped like a dog were the ones that God had chosen to defeat the Midianites.
Our last stop of the day was the city of Nazareth. This city is vastly rich in Biblical history including the site where Jesus grew up. Before Jesus was there however we know that in the region the victory of Deborah and Barak happened over the Canaanite Sisera. Judges 4 and 5 tells us of how this victory happened. After losing the battle the Canaanite general Sisera ran to the tent of a woman named Jael whom had previously been aligned with him. She however put him to sleep and then drove a tent peg through his skull. When Barak came to the house of Jael she told him that the person whom he was chasing was dead. In Luke 1:26-37 we read of how the angel Gabriel came to Mary at Nazareth and told her of Jesus miraculous birth. In Luke 2:51 we learn that Nazareth was Jesus boyhood home growing up. Jesus was rejected at Nazareth (Luke 4:16-30 & Mark 6:1-6). Throughout the day we had great views of Mt. Tabor, Mt. Moreh & Mt. Gilboa. These places command the Jezreel plain and offer the best views. No doubt many Biblical events happened on or near these Mountains. After our long hard day we headed into the city of Nazareth to stay at the Nazareth Guest House.

Galilee Day 3

2009-04-07T04:42:00.002-07:00

The third day began by visiting the Roman city of Sephoris. While not so rich in Biblical history it was the capital of Galilee during the Roman Period. It was first taken over by Herod the Great in 37 B.C. After Herod’s death it became under the control of Herod Antipas who made it his capital. It was only the capital for a little while however until the city of Tiberias was built on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Later in the time of Hadrian, Judah the Prince, who codified the Mishnah, made his home there for the last 17 years of his life. After our stop at Sephoris we headed to one of the possible locations of the city of Cana. There are a few different possibilities as to where the city of Cana actually is. In John 2:1-12 we read of a very important event in Jesus’ ministry. This was where he performed his first miracle. The miracle was Jesus turning water into wine. It was the first time he had shown his divine power. It came at his mothers bidding but he actually refused to do it on behalf of His mother and did it of his own accord. In John 4:46-54 we read of how Jesus returned to Cana after a long ministry in Judea. Jesus proceeded to heal an official’s son at Capernaum from a distance.
After our stop at Cana we headed to a MacDonald’s where I got a really good Cheeseburger. (mmm Yummy). After lunch we headed to the Arbel cliff. The Arbel cliff overlooks the Sea of Galilee on the West side and towers over the plain of Magdala. With over 1,000 foot drop from the precipitous edge to the floor beneath it is quite terrifying to stand near the edge. The historian Josephus tells us that Herod the Great snuffs out the men that were hiding out in the caves near the cliff by lowering soldiers in baskets and throwing burning logs into the caves. This basically smoked out the rebels. The cliff is also a possible site of where Mt. 28:16-20 the Great Commission, where he told the disciples to go and make disciples of men through the nations. After hiking down from the cliff we headed north towards the Jordan River for a quick view of it before we headed to our hotel on the east side of the Sea of Galilee.

Galilee Day 4

2009-04-07T04:42:00.001-07:00

The fourth day began with our heading north up the shore to the ancient city of Capernaum. This city is mentioned very often in the New Testament. In fact it is second only to Jerusalem in the number of times it appears. It’s main industries were the construction of millstones and fishing. In John 4:46-54 we find that a Jewish nobleman’s son was sick and almost dead so the man journeyed from Capernaum to Cana to find Jesus to heal his son. The man’s faith was so great that Jesus just gave the word from Cana and the man’s son was healed in Capernaum. In Matthew 4 and Mark 2 we learn that Jesus dwelt in Capernaum and used it as his base for ministry instead of his home town of Nazareth. In Mark 1 and Luke 4 we read of how Jesus taught and healed a man possessed with a demon at the city of Capernaum in the synagogue. In Mark 2 we read of how Jesus healed a lame man who had to be lowered through the roof of the house Jesus was in because the crowds were so thick. Again in Luke 7 and Matthew 8 we read of how a gentile man came to Jesus and the man’s servant was sick so Jesus intended to go and heal the man’s servant but the man told Jesus just to say the words and his servant would be healed so Jesus did because of the man’s great faith. Jesus discourse on “the Bread of Life” was given in the synagogue of Capernaum (John 6). It is also one of the three cities that Jesus cursed in Matthew 11.
After our time at the city of Capernaum we headed up to the Mt. of Beatitudes. This is a possible site of where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. In Luke 16:17-19 and Matthew 5-7 we can read the Words of Jesus that he gave to the people on that mountain. Walking down from the Mount of Beatitudes we went to the area of Tabgha. This is where there are seven springs that go into the Sea of Galilee. It was also a main area of fishing near the city of Capernaum. It could possibly be the place where Jesus called his first disciples. After Tabgah we headed to a place called Nof Ginosar where there was a museum that housed a boat from the 1st century A.D. This boat was an important archeological find because it helped us understand the industry on the Sea of Galilee. It was very interesting to learn how they excavated the boat and how they have preserved it. The boat being made out of wood had been preserved for over 2000 years in the mud around the Sea. The wood was extremely fragile and the excavators had to be extremely cautious when digging around it. After finally digging most of it out of the mud and having to constantly keep the boat wet so that it wouldn’t dry out they needed to figure out how to get boat to a different part of the Sea and not destroy the boat. So they sprayed it with a foam that expanded upon impact and then floated the boat to the place where it needed to go. They then used a crane to get the boat upon the shore. After that they soaked the boat for around ten years in a wax like substance so as to preserve the boats structure. After seeing that we headed to the modern city of Tiberius for lunch.
After lunch we headed to the city of Bethsaida. In John 1:44 we read that this was the original home of Peter, Andrew and Philip. All four Gospels describe how Jesus fed the 5,000 somewhere near the town of Bethsaida. In Mark 8 we learn that Jesus healed a blind man at Bethsaida. This was also one of the three cities that were cursed by Jesus because He did so many great works there and the people did not believe. In Joshua 13:2, Deut 13:4, 2 Samuel 3:3, 13:37-39, 14:23 we read of how this was one of the cities of the Geshurites who the Israelites were unable to conquer. Absalom David’s third son was the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai the king of Geshur. After touring Bethsaida we headed back to the bus and got ready to do some floating down the Jordan River. The water wasn’t nearly as cold as I thought it would be. We had a grand time floating down the river. After that we headed back to our hotel on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and ate dinner.

Galilee days 6 & 7

2009-04-07T04:11:00.000-07:00

Day 6 began with our heading up the hills behind En Gev to get a view of the whole area. While we were up there we pondered the events that Jesus did while in Galilee. After that we headed down the hill to the ancient Roman Decapolis city of Sucita(or Hippus). Here we explored the ancient ruins. When we were done there we had to walk all the way down to the highway because the bus wasn't allowed up the road to pick us up. It was a long walk. Then we had a scrumptious lunch. After lunch we headed to a nearby port and hopped on a boat to ride on the Sea of Galilee. While on the boat we contemplated the miracles Jesus did while on the Sea such as walking on the water and calming the storm. After our boat ride w had a free afternoon. Most of us spent the afternoon on the beach either playing ultimate frisbee or just hanging out in the water. At 6:45 we headed back on the bus and went to a local restaurant. The restaurant was famous for their "St. Peter's Fish" which was most likely the fish that the apostles fished for. They served the fish whole with the head still attached. I wasn't really up to eating a fish that was still staring at me so I got the pizza. After dinner we headed back to the hotel and got some rest.
Day 7 was our free day. Our professor Bill had told us of a neat hike that we should do. I volunteered to be the leader of the hike. About 26 of the 42 students came on the hike. It was really fun. We hiked down a canyon and then for about 30 minutes we swam in the pool created by a waterfall. The water was really cold. Some of the guys even did some cliff jumping. From there we hiked down the creek bed through the canyon and enjoyed the terrific scenery. At one point in our hike we had to climb down a ladder about 30 feet and then jump in the water and swim for about 30 yards. It was really fun. The hike went on without a hitch and we got back to the hotel in time to enjoy our lunch by the seashore. After lunch we again played on the beach and I even got a little sunburned. After dinner at the hotels restaurant we headed back to the beach where I had started a bonfire and we had chapel. Chapel was really good. Abner challenged to live our lives with an eternal perspective. We need to live each day and each moment not in that moment but like we are eternal beings, because that is exactly what we are. If we have been born again in Christ we will live eternally in heaven and our every breath should be done in light of that. If we have been born again we will spend eternity in Hell where we will be tormented continually. Our lives should be a fragrant aroma to God and we shouldn't be living each day for ourselves but for Him.

Galilee Days 5 & 8

2009-04-07T04:10:00.000-07:00

Day five of our expedition began with heading north around the Sea of Galilee to the city of Chorazin. This was one of the three cities that Jesus cursed. The three cities are known as the Evangelical triangle because it was the center of Jesus ministry. We read of Jesus pronouncing his curse upon the city in Matthew 11:20-24. An interesting thing to note is that all three of the cities which Jesus cursed no longer stand today. In fact there are no cities with miles of where their ruins sit.
Our next stop on the tour was Tel Hazor. This city was a powerful center of the Canaanite world. In Joshua 11:1-15 we read of how the king of Hazor gathered many Canaanite kings to him and then went to battle with Joshua and the Israelites. The Israelites defeated the Canaanites and burned Hazor to the ground. Hazor was most likely rebuilt by the Canaanites and then later in 1 Kings 9:15-17 and 1 Kings 15:20 we read of Solomon fortified the city of Hazor and then how it was most likely destroyed by Ben Hadad of Syria in ca. 900 B.C. Later in 2 Kings 15:29 we read of how the last fortress at Hazor was destroyed by the Assyrian King Tiglath Pileser III in 732 B.C.
Tel Dan was the next place we visited. Situated on the northeast side of the Hulah valley at the foot of Mount Hermon, Dan was located in a beautiful spot. However the beauty came at a price. It was located on one of the major routes that connected any invasion from the north to the rest of Israel. In essence it was the first place attacked from the north. In Judges 18 we read of how the Danites attacked the city of Laish and overcame it and settled there and renamed the city Dan. In 2 Samuel 24 we find that Dan was the northern border of Israel. 1 Kings 12:25-33 tells us of how Jeroboam I, who was the first king of the Northern Kingdom, set up a golden calf at Dan as well as at Bethel. He also changed the entire way the Israelites worshipped in the Northern kingdom. He did this so that they would not all have to go down to Jerusalem and therefore be under the influence of the kingdom of Judah. 1 Kings 15:20 and 2 Chronicles 16:4 tells us of how Dan was among one of the cities taken by Ben Hadad of Syria. Besides being in a beautiful location Dan is located basically on top of one of the springs that eventually feeds into the Jordan River. It is one of the greater fresh water supplies for all of Israel. Jeremiah 4 tell us of how Dan was one of the first sites to fall when Israel was invaded from the north.
After that we headed up to Caesarea Philippi. This was a center of worship for the Greek god Pan. There are holes cut into the cliff for idols of Pan to be set. A great victory was won here by the Selucid King Antiochus III against Ptolemy IV of Egypt in 198 B.C. Herod Phillip rebuilt Caesar Philippi and named it that in honor of Caesar. In Matthew 16, Mark 8, and Luke 9 we read of how Jesus went into the district of Caesarea Philippi and that Peter confessed Christ to be the Son of God there. This was where Jesus began to clearly teach that he was going to have to suffer and die in Jerusalem. It also was located on top of one of the sources of the rivers that eventually feed into the Jordan River. After our tour of Caesarea Philippi we headed down to the Banyas River and ate some lunch there.
After lunch we headed up into the foothills of Mount Hermon to the crusader fortress of Nimrod. The fortress was much like a castle and would be very hard to conquer. Mount Hermon is also known as “Senir” or Sirion” in Psalm 29 and Deuteronomy 3. The Psalms mention Mount Hermon many times (133, 89, 42, as well as Song of Solomon 4). Matthew 17 describes the Transfiguration of Jesus which most likely happened in the foothills of Mount Hermon, on or nearby the site we were standing on. After our stop there we headed up into the Golan Heights. The Golan Heights are also known Biblically as Bashan. Numbers 21, Deuteronomy 3, and Joshua 13 describe that Bashan was ruled by the Amorite king Og, who the Israelites conquered and gave the region to half the tribe of Manasseh. Bashan is known for its grazing territory as well as its oak trees (Psalm 22, Isaiah 2, Amos 4, Ez, 39, Jer 22, and Zech 11). In Acts 9 we read of how Paul was on the road to Damascus which pasted through the Golan Heights. It was during this trip that Jesus appeared to him and blinded him and gave him eternal life.
After two days that were more relaxing we headed home to Yad Hashmonah. However before we got there we stopped at Yardenit on the south side of the sea of Galilee where it flows out again, which is the supposed site where Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River. This place was very touristy and they charge people to get baptized in the River. It however is probably not the place where Jesus was baptized. Leaving from there we headed to the city of Beth Shan. Besides being a modern day metropolis there are ancient Roman ruins. Beth Shan was one of the Ten Decapolis Cities, and the only one located on the west side of the Jordan River. Biblically Beth Shan was mentioned in Joshua 17 as one of the cities belonging to Manasseh but they were unable to drive out the Canaanites. 1 Samuel 31 tells us of the death of Saul on Mt. Tabor and how his body was hung on the wall of Beth Shan, and the Jabesh Gileadites came and took it down and buried it. The ruins of the city were very large. In fact the old Canaanite and Israelite Tel was located in the midst of the Roman city. The city was complete with a theatre, amphitheatre, public bath house, public restroom, and palaces. This was our last stop on our journey to the great region of Galilee. All in all it was an amazing adventure and a great trip. challenge

Samariaish!!

2009-03-25T12:23:00.000-07:00

Our trip today explored the region known as Samaria. This region belonged to the tribe of Ephraim. Our trip began heading east on the Kiriat Jearim Ridge Route towards Jerusalem. Once we hit Jerusalem we headed north up the road of the patriarchs toward Bethel and Ai. Bethel and Ai are two very important Biblical sights. The first time we see the cities of Bethel and Ai is in Genesis 12:6-9 when Abraham was traveling from Shechem to the Negev and he stopped and pitched his tent. He also built and altar to the Lord there and called upon the name of the Lord. The next biblical reference is in Genesis 28 where Jacob has his famous dream about the ladder and the angels where ascending and descending. The city was actually named Luz but Jacob named it Bethel because he swore to God that that’s where he would place the house of God. The word “bethel” means “place/house of God”. One of the main references to the place of Ai is in Joshua 8. After conquering Jericho Joshua sent a small attachment of his army up into the hill country to the city of Ai. Because of sin in the camp of Israelites, God made it so that the small detachment was defeated and thirty-six of the men were killed. The number thirty-six may seem like a small number and not so significant, but the Israelites in their previous battles hadn’t lost any men. After this defeat Joshua brought up the whole army of Israel and set aside a part of it to ambush the city. He set them behind the city and when the men of Ai and Bethel came out the main Israelite army turned and ran, drawing the men of Ai and Bethel further and further from their city, then the smaller detachment of the army entered the city and destroyed it. Upon seeing that the main army turned upon their pursuers and fought and killed them all. Ai was one of three cities that the Israelites burned and destroyed completely. Later during the reign of Jeroboam in Israel he set up golden calves at Dan (the northern most city) and Bethel (a southern city).
After visiting the area of Bethel and Ai we headed north again up the road of the patriarchs to the city of Shiloh. The most famous thing about Shiloh is the fact that the Tabernacle was set up at Shiloh and the Israelites came there to worship God there. In Josh 18:1-10 we learn that after the Israelites had conquered all the Canaanite cities they gathered at Shiloh and there they decided how to divide the land between the tribes. Later in Judges 21:16-24 we read that after the Israelites had killed most of the men of the tribe of Benjamin there were only 600 left. These 600 men were in desperate need of wives or the whole tribe of Benjamin would be lost. So they found 400 women for them from Jabesh Gilead, but still needed 200 more. So the men went up to Shiloh and when the young women of Shiloh came dancing down past the fields of the vines the men came out and took a wife. In 1 Samuel 1-4 the young prophet Samuel starts his ministry in the tabernacle which is at Shiloh. Later the Priest Eli dies when the Ark of the Covenant is taken to war and lost to the philistines.
Our last stop was on the side of Mt. Gerizim looking down upon the cities of Shechem and Sychar. Shechem is the first place that God promises the land of Israel to Abraham. We learn about that in Genesis 12:6-8. In Genesis 33:18-35:4 we read of when Jacob comes into the land from Syria and goes to Shechem and two of his boy killed all the men of Shechem. Joseph traveled from Hebron to Shechem and then on to Dothan looking for his brothers then they sold him to some traders. In Deuteronomy we read that Joshua took the Israelites to Mt. Gerizim and pronounce blessings upon it then took them to Mt. Ebal opposite of it and had them pronounce curses upon it. In 1 Kings 12 and 2 Chronicles 10 we read that David’s grandson Rehoboam went to Shechem to establish his rule over the kingdom. However it turned out that God tore all but one tribe from his rule and gave the other 10 to Jeroboam I.

Sad news my camera Battery wasn't charged fully so no pics... I'll steal some from someone and get some up eventually... Also Saturday we leave for a week long trip to Galilee. Should be fascinating.

The Lowlands... Or Shephelah Part Dos

2009-03-19T12:51:00.001-07:00

On this field trip we started by heading west down the Kiriat Jearim Ridge Route to Emmaus Nicopolis. From there we turned north and went across the Aijalon Valley to Neot Kedumim. Neot Kedumim is a Biblical Landscape Preserve. It is a place where they have brought in or preserved a lot of the same species of plants that are mentioned in the bible and they use them as tools to illustrate and show what things were like in the Bible. The first thing we looked at was the almond tree. Almonds are one of the main products that are produced in Israel. In the Bible they are found in numerous places. The first is when Jacob told his sons to take almonds down to Egypt as a present to Joseph who was asking for their younger brother Benjamin. Another place the almond is found in the Bible is Jeremiah 1:11 where the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah and the Lord asked Jeremiah what he saw and Jeremiah responded by saying he saw and “almond branch”. The almond tree was a sign of diligence and hard work. It blossoms in February but does not actually produce fruit till September. God was using it as a sign to Jeremiah to show his own diligence in keeping His Word. Another cool thing we did at Neot Kedumim was shepherding. There are numerous references to sheep and shepherds in the bible. One of the more famous is that of Psalm 23. As we learned how to be the shepherd and that sheep are dumb animals that always follow their leader I began to see how meaningful this Psalm actually is. The fact that the Lord is our shepherd is truly a great promise. The shepherd is the one who is always looking after his sheep and cares about them tremendously. Later in the Bible we see that Jesus refers to Himself as The Good Shepherd. This is in a sense Jesus saying that He was God and that He is going to lead us. There were many other plants and Biblical references we looked at, such as the fig tree Genesis 3:7, Hyssop plant in Psalm 51, the cedar tree in 1 kings 10:27, and the date palm which the fruit date comes from Joel 1:12.
After out experience at Neot Kedumim we headed to the ancient city of Gezer. This tel is one that dates all the way back to the middle bronze age. King Thutmose the third recorded his conquering of the Canaanite city of Gezer. Biblically Gezer was always either an Israelite city or a Philistine city. We find references to the city of Gezer in Joshua 10:33 where the Canaanite king tried to help the city of Lacish against the attack of Joshua. Another reference is in 1 Kings 9:15-17 where the Pharaoh of Egypt had captured Gezer and given it to Solomon as part of his dowry for marrying his daughter.
The next city we visited was the Philistine city of Gath. It was one of the five Philistine cities. The Philistine giant Goliath came from the city of Gath (1 Samuel 17:4). It stood at the foot of the Shephelah as a gateway to the Judean Hill Country. As David was fleeing from Saul he went to the Philistine king Achish of Gath and there he acted like he was crazy so that the king would let him go (1 Samuel 21:10). Later in 1 Chronicles 11:8 David defeated the Philistines and took the city of Gath. Psalm 56 was most likely composed as David was at Gath captured by the Philistines.
The last place we visited was the caves of Adullam. These were the caves that started David’s reign as king. After escaping from the king of Gath, David fled to the Caves of Adullam (1 Samuel 22). There his father and brothers came to him and four hundred men gathered to him and he was there captain. In 2nd Samuel 23:13 we read that three of the thirty chief men came to David at Adullam and David longed for the water of Bethlehem so the three men broke through the ranks of the Philistines and brought him some water. Psalm 57 is possibly written while David was at the Caves of Adullam.

Pic's
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015368&id=159900831&l=6ac5983cb1

Archeological Excavations Etc...

2009-03-17T07:14:00.000-07:00

So on Sunday and Monday we got the opportunity to take part in some archeological excavations that have been taking place around Jerusalem. The first project we got to take part in was called the temple mount sifting project. We actually got to sift through materials that have been taken off of the temple mount. You might not think that that is unusual or anything, but it really is. You see there are no and have never been any archeological excavations on the temple mount. About ten years ago the Muslims who control the temple mount and have built the mosque that resides on the temple mount decided they need to make room for more people in the mosque. The way to do that was to enlarge the previously built mosque, which is built under ground. They also needed to enlarge the entrances to the mosque to make it easier for the 8,000-10,000 people to enter into the mosque. This meant that a lot of dirt needed to be cleared out of the temple mount area. While they had no approval and what they did was actually illegal they were not stopped because of the problems it would have created. They ended up illegally dumping all of the dirt and debris illegal down in the kidron valley. The temple mount sifting project has taken that dirt and began to sift through to find different artifacts. There are a lot more details to the project but essentially we were going through dirt and finding different things that have been on the temple mount for thousands of years. It was really really cool. I actually found a gold mosaic tile from the dome of the rock. On monday we got to help out with the city of David archeological excavations which basically is going down through the layers near the Gihon spring where the city of David sat. However we didn't get to do any sifting or find cool things, but rather just got to pass bags of dirt and rocks up the assembly line to the dump. It wasn't nearly as fun as the first day, but I guess it was a necessary part of the work that needed to be done.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015333&id=159900831&l=e4e2f99a6b

Pictures

2009-03-12T07:55:00.001-07:00

Negev Day 1

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015243&id=159900831&l=464be

Negev Day 2

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015244&id=159900831&l=8dde0

Negev Day 3

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015246&id=159900831&l=928d4

Negev Day 4

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015247&id=159900831&l=880d3

Negevin it up!!! Part 1

2009-03-08T09:34:00.004-07:00

Ok So I haven't blogged in a while. Forgive me please. We spent Monday through thursday in the Negev (if you don't know what that is, you will after reading parts 2-4). I also have Pneumonia so that is another reason I haven't been on here since we got back on thursday. I just finished writing my report for our class and have posted it as parts 2-4. I don't have any pictures up yet. I took over 200 but I am still editing them and need some more time to do that. Any parts in the following blogs that say I wasn't feeling it well its because I had a fever to go along with my severe cough. Even though I wasn't feeling well for 3 out of the 4 days I still had a good time. I would have had a better time if I was feeling perfect but that just wasn't God's plan. I am on an anti-biotic now and am feeling better, not great yet but better, so hopefully in the next few days I'll be completely better :). Love you all and miss you bunches... Don't get Pneumonia it sounds cool but its really not.

Negevin it up!!! Part 2

2009-03-08T09:34:00.003-07:00

Our journey started heading west away from Yad Hashmonah down the Kiriat Jearim Ridge Route to the Shephelah. We then headed south across the Shephelah towards Beer Sheva. We didn’t stop at the modern day city of Beer-sheba but rather a site to the north labeled Tel Sheva. While the place we stopped is most likely not the same place as in the bible it still served as a good outline of what Beersheba may have been like in the bible times. There are many references to Beersheba in the bible. One of the first is in Genesis 21:14 when Abraham sent Ishmael and his mother Hagar away and they went into the wilderness of Beersheba. More specifically in chapter 21 Abraham made a covenant with Abimelech a Philistine king at Beersheba. The word “Beer” means “well” and “Sheba” can mean either mean the number “seven” or “oath”. So the name “Beersheba” means the “well of seven” or the “well of oaths.” In Genesis 21 Abraham has made an oath with Abimelech using seven ewe lambs. These lambs were set apart so that Abimelech would be witness to the fact that Abraham had dug the well. This was significant because it gave Israel water in the southern portion of the Promised Land. After making this covenant with Abimelech, Abraham lived amongst the Philistines. In Genesis 22:19 we read that after Abraham had tried to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice to the Lord he and his young men returned to Beersheba and lived there. Later in Genesis we find that God had provided for his people in that Jacob and his sons were in the midst of a severe famine he had sent Joseph into Egypt to be able to provide his family with food. In Genesis 46:1-4 Jacob offer sacrifices at Beersheba to the Lord as they were headed down to Egypt and God reassured Jacob that it was His plan. In the times of the kings of Judah there are many instances of High places being set up or torn down in Beersheba. The prophet Amos the worship at these high places (ref. 5:5, 9:14). Beersheba is a place of rich biblical history. It is located in the central Negev. The area is very hot and doesn’t have much water. Therefore the wells at Beersheba were essential to any life that would be permitted to live there. If you controlled the wells you controlled pretty much all of life for miles around. Since Abraham had secured the rights to the well he provided Israel with the right to life at Beersheba.
The Negev of today is different than the Negev in Biblical times. Today the term Negev can be used when referring to all of the land of Israel south of Hebron and Gaza down to Elat. In the time of the Bible it referred to small section of land shaped somewhat like and hourglass, it included the towns of Arad, Beersheba, Ziklag, and Gerar. There were many other cities in the area but those were the main ones. We were unable to visit the sites of Ziklag and Gerar for political reasons (way to close to Gaza) but they were important biblical cities. In Genesis 26 Isaac was going to Egypt because of a famine but the Lord had him stay in Gerar, he became very wealthy there and the philistines became very jealous of him and forced him to leave. In 1 Samuel 27 and 30 we find David fleeing from Saul into the territory of the Philistines. The Philistine King gave David the city of Ziklag. The term Negev is also used quite frequently in the bible. In Numbers 13:17 Moses tells the 12 spies to into the land of the Negeb(Negev) and see what was in the land. In Joshua 10 verse 40 it says that Joshua defeated the whole land, including the Negev. In Isaiah 30 and Jeremiah 13 the Negev is mentioned as well. The Biblical Negev acted as southern border as well as buffer zone to the hill country. Israel was rarely attacked from the south because of the treacherous terrain of the Negev.
After touring Beersheba and getting a feel for what the Negev was like, although it was really cold and windy when we were there which isn’t a typical day in the Negev, we headed to Tel- Arad. Arad is located east of Beersheba in the Eastern Negev Basin. The Tel which we were at was the typical Canaanite period ruins. It had high walls with strong fortifications at the gate. The main area was quite small as usual, but there was a long line of wall surrounding an even bigger area with more ruins. We are not sure if this is the Biblical Arad because there are two Arad’s mentioned in Pharaoh Shishak’s conquest lists. Arad is mentioned in the Bible in Numbers 21 and 33 as belonging to the Canaanites. It says that the Israelites were going along the way of Atharim the Canaanite king of Arad came and attacked Israel and took some of them hostage back to Arad. In Judges 1:16-17 it says that the Kenites(who are descendents of the father in law of Moses) settled in the area around Arad. In the time of the kings there were high places set up at Arad (ref. 1 Kings 15:14, 22:43, 2 Chron 17:6, 2 Kings12:3). Strategically Arad was the first in a line of cities that connect the Negev as well as the wilderness with the hill country of Judah from the south. It was vital as a border to the Israelites. It was also a vital stop on the route between Gaza and the Transjordan countries of Edom and Moab.

Negevin it up!!! Part 3

2009-03-08T09:34:00.001-07:00

After our tour of Arad we headed southwest to Sedeh Boker. This is a Kibbutz located near the Nahal Zin in the Wilderness of Zin. It was the retirement home of David Ben Gurion. After our short historical tour of Sedeh Boker and the home of Ben Gurion we headed further south to Ain Avdat. After trying to hike the Nahal Zin at Ain Avdat we had to turn and head to a different location because they were not allowing anyone into the canyon because it had been flooded. We then headed to the other side of the canyon where we would have ended our hike and saw the river that was flowing. It is a rare occurrence for water to be flowing so steadily through this land and the Nahal Zin is dry for most days of the year. Deciding to stay out of the canyon we hiked up above it along the Nahal Zin toward Avdat which was a Nabatean fortress. It was incredible to see so much water flowing in the midst of such a dry land. For the sake of time we had to meet up with the bus and have it take us to Avdat. The Nabatean fortress was a lot like the other ruins we see. It was built upon a high hill and very fortified. The Nabateans were a people who were mostly traders. They didn’t start building fortress like this till they had become wealthy and desired to settle down more. Biblically the Nabateans were alive before and during the time of Christ and occupied most of the Negev region. They brought spices in from all parts of the world. The Wilderness of Zin is mentioned in Numbers 34:1-4 as the southern border to the land of Israel. After touring Avdat we headed to our stopping place for the night at Club Ramon a hotel in Mizpeh Ramon. It is located on the edge of Mactesh Ramon. A “Mactesh” is a giant crater formed in the land most likely by the flood. “Ramon” means “exalted” it is the largest of the craters found in the area. It was quite beautiful to see.
On the second day of our journey we again headed south and a little east through Mactesh Ramon and into the wilderness of Paran. The elevation at Mactesh Ramon is around 3000 ft and it drops significantly and quickly into the wilderness of Paran. It is a dry and barren desert land with hills and valleys which make it cumbersome for travel. Biblically it is significant because firstly in Genesis chapter 21 Abraham sends his son Ishmael into the wilderness of Beersheba, but in verse 21 we learn that he lived in the wilderness of Paran. Secondly the Israelites spent much of their time wandering through the wilderness of Paran. In Numbers 12, 13, and 20 we learn that they were in the wilderness of Paran. More specifically in Deuteronomy 8 we learn of their experience while wandering in the desserts of Paran. Here the Lord tells them that they spent the 40 years in the wilderness as a time of testing and humbling so that they would remember that it was the Lord that provides for them for their every want and need. We find this occurrence throughout the Bible, that the Lord uses the wilderness as a place to teach his people and to test them. In Deuteronomy 8:3-6 it speaks of how the Lord provided them with manna, and how their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell. All of this was a miracle in such a dry and barren place. There is no food. There is no water. The Lord had to provide for them and for their every need. For forty years he did that in the wilderness but he does that for everyone everyday if was just look at life through a different lens we can see that.
After stopping Paran for a whopping total of 40 minutes (not much compared to 40 years) we headed south again to hike in the Red Canyon. It was a very beautiful canyon cut out of red rock. However there was nothing biblically significant about the place. After our hike there we headed even farther south to Elat. Now in Bible times “Elat” was called “Ezion-geber”. Elat is the main port for importing and exporting goods to the east. It is located on the red sea and is on the border of both Egypt and Jordan. Just as it is a big port city today so it was thousands of years ago in the time of Solomon. In 2 Chronicles 8:17 we read that Solomon went to Ezion-geber and Hiram (probably a king in Phoenicia) sent him ships and men who knew the seas and they travelled to Ophir (Probably in modern day Yemen) to get gold. In 1 Kings 22:48 we read that King Jehoshaphat made ships to go to Ophir for gold but they were wrecked at Ezion-geber. In 2 Kings 16:6 we read that Rezin King of Syria recovered Elat for Syria and drove the men of Judah out and the Edomites came and dwelt there. While at Elat we got to experience snorkeling in the red sea. When I say “we” got to experience it I mean everyone in the group besides me. I was not feeling well. But from what I heard there were many different types of beautiful fish and the water was cold but bearable. After snorkeling we headed to our hotel and stayed the night.

Negevin it up!!! Part 4

2009-03-08T09:33:00.001-07:00

On day three we began our trek north up the Aravah to our final destination of Masada. Our first stop on the journey was Timnah. Here we saw copper mines from before the Israelites as well as a life-size replica of the Tabernacle. The copper mines were interesting because it showed the way they mined copper back in those days. They basically dug a hole straight down and check every so often for spots where they thought their might a copper deposit, if one was found they would then branch off the main shaft and follow that till it ran out of copper. These mines were most likely not used during the times of the Bible but were again used when the Romans came into the land. The life-sized replica of the Tabernacle was very interesting. It was built to resemble what we think things would have looked like when God described it in Exodus 26-28. It had the all the altars as well as the Ark of the Covenant. When we were their however a wind storm had come through a few days prior and much of the outer canvas had been torn off or ripped up. It was undergoing repairs but it still was a good semblance of what it might have looked like. The lady who gave the tour was a messianic believer and alluded to the fact that she believed that many of the articles in the tabernacle point directly to Christ. She noted that the sacrificial altar was no longer needed because Christ was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. She said the Bronze Lever pointed to Christ because it held the water that the priest used to clean themselves and that Christ said he was the living water. There were many other things in the Tabernacle that she believed point towards Christ but I will leave that to your own discretion. After the Tabernacle we headed the Hai Bar Desert Zoo. It was a predatory animal zoo. We saw a lot of interesting creatures. My favorites were the porcupines and hedgehogs (ok it didn’t just have predators). The ugliest were the Hyenas. It had many different species of snakes as well as leopards, bats, wolves, jackals, hawks, scorpions, etc… After that we headed up to Masada to stay for the night. At Masada after dinner we went out to some of the Marl Canyons around Masada to do a night hike, I again was not feeling well so I stayed in the hotel and slept.
Waking up early the next morning, and I mean early (4:58 to be exact), we started the ascending the snake path on the east side of Masada to get to the top before sunrise. Masada is a fortress built on the top of a huge rock that has a flat top. It overlooks the Dead Sea and is quite intimidating to even the heartiest of soldiers. It is possibly the stronghold found in 2 Samuel 22:4-5 where David found refuge from Saul. Needless to say rocks like Masada (or Masada itself) inspired many of the Psalms such as 18, 31, 61-63. It was built by the High Priest Jonathan in 161-143 B.C. and again by the Herod the Great. Its most famous use was in the rebellion of 73 AD when some Jews outlast the Romans on top of Masada for 3 years till the Romans had completed their siege ramps and then instead of letting the Romans kill all the Jews they decided to commit suicide. It was an awesome and formidable place. After coming down and eating breakfast we headed north again to Qumran. The caves at Qumran are where the oldest pieces of biblical literature where found. There are also remains of ruins left by a colony of Essenes who lived there and most likely preserved the scrolls. The historian Josephus has an account of both the happenings at Masada and the colony of Essenes who lives at Qumran. The scrolls that were found there help prove the historicity of the OT. Our earliest manuscripts were 1,000 years later until these scrolls were found. When comparing the Qumran manuscripts (Dead Sea Scrolls) and the next earliest scrolls the differences are minor and show that people did not add or edit the bible.

New Video

2009-03-05T07:41:00.000-08:00

2009-02-24T10:52:00.000-08:00

More Pic's. Here's a link to more pic's, they are random.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015005&id=159900831&l=ea21d

Also don't forget to check out the Ibex semester website.
http://www.ibexsemester.com/

And check out my friends blogs, the links are on the right side of my page. The Martel Walker Wells one has some great photo's if you just can't get enough from mine or the ibex website. Enjoy!

Dead Sea Extravaganza!

2009-02-24T08:26:00.000-08:00

Here’s a snapshot of what I’ve been up to for the last week or so.

After our awesome trip in the Shephelah last Wednesday we had a few normal days before our next exciting adventure. Thursday was filled with classes. Friday we had morning classes then we played some volleyball in the afternoon. After our Shabbat dinner we had chapel. Chapel was really good. A man came in and spoke on John 8, where Jesus spits in the ground and rubs the dirt on the blind mans eyes and tells him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. It was interesting because we had already visited the pool of Siloam and had an idea of what it looked like in Jesus’ day. In the passage it’s interesting to note and watch the blind mans faith being rewarded by Jesus telling him that He was the Messiah. After Chapel there was a really cool thunder storm with pouring rain and bright lighting. Me and Jess sat outside and watched the storm, it was cool to see God’s power in the midst of the storm. Psalm 18 is a good one to read during a storm like that. Saturday was Shabbat we had assembly at 11. I got up and hung out and did some reading before that. After assembly we had lunch then I headed to the library to do some homework. At 6 me and ten others had dinner at our professor Bill Schlegels house. His wife Stephanie made chicken alfredo she put some bacon bits in it. It was sooo good I ate so much. After dinner we played a few games then I headed over to the miklat to watch Braveheart with a bunch of people. After that I was really tired so I headed to bed.

Sunday was one of the most fun days we’ve had here. We got up and made some sack lunches hopped on a bus and headed to En Gedi. En Gedi is located on the shore of the Dead Sea on the south west side. It took us about an hour and a half to get there and we arrived at about 10. After changing quickly we all went and plunged into the Dead Sea. What a cool experience that was. Everyone tells you that it is extremely salty. They were right! It would be foolish to try and jump into the Dead Sea because you float so easily. Me, Jon, and Cody decided it’d be an interesting experience to try and put our heads under water. Of course we aren’t total idiots and we knew we had to close our eyes. But what we didn’t really think about is that after you get your head wet the water runs down your face. So basically after submerging our heads we either needed to keep our eyes closed for about 5 minutes till all the water stopped dripping or we would just have to brush off as much water as we could and then open our eyes and hope for the best. We all chose option number 2. BAD IDEA!!! The water burns your eyes so bad. If you ever find yourself in the Dead Sea, keep you eyes safe. They’ll thank you for it later. After that you think we’d have learned to keep the water out our eyes. But we swam/floated in there for about 40 minutes and I think I got water in my eyes about 5 more times. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling. The water was salty and you didn’t want it in your mouth either but that was inevitable. It was semi-cold. I actually thought it’d be a little warmer, but there was no shock to it as you floated in. The weather wasn’t the greatest it was overcast and there was a slight breeze. After swimming and then the subsequent rinsing off the salt water and changing back into dry clothes we ate our lunches and then got back on the bus for a short drive to the trail that we were going to hike. We were hiking up to the En Gedi spring and then down the canyon on the other side known as the Nahal David. As we started up the trail we saw a heard of Ibex. An Ibex is a mountain goat. Its color blends amazingly with the rocks of the area. The area where we were is extremely barren except for where you find springs. Our professor Abner told us that he had taken students on this hike when the weather was 100+ degrees out. When you are in the wilderness like this, it is vital that you find and stay near a source of fresh water. Upon hiking up the hill to the En Gedi Spring Abner told us of how when it was super hot out the students would just walk right into the spring and try and cool off as best they could. The area where the water comes out of the rock makes a small pool that is about 2 feet deep. So there isn’t much area to cool off in. The wilderness like this was always a testing ground for God’s people. We spent a while at the spring contemplating Psalm 63 and asking ourselves what we loved. Psalm 63:1 says “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Do you thirst after God? Do you love Him more than anything? Do you seek Him earnestly? Would you die if you did not have God? Those were the types of questions I was meditating on in the wilderness of Judah. After that we headed up the slope a little further and looked out over the Dead Sea and looked at Ezekiel 47:3-12. Our professor Abner believes that the Dead Sea was formed when God judged Sodom and Gomorrah. The fire and brimstone that he hailed down turned the fresh water into the saltiest water on earth. In Ezekiel 47 it says that when the Son of Man returns the water of the Dead Sea will be made fresh again and there will be fish in it and fishermen. After contemplating that for a while we headed down the other side to the Nahal David and saw the water falls that were down there. We actually got to swim in a few of the pools that are created by the falls. It was delightful. After that we hopped back on the bus and headed towards home. We stopped at the mall that is close by the moshav and got in to groups to buy dinner. Me, Jon and Walker got pizza. It was a kosher place so we just got cheese. It was still good though. We then got back on the bus and headed to the Moshav where I did some home work for a little while and then hit the hay.

Pic’s:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015002&id=159900831&l=02953

The Shephelah.

2009-02-19T02:25:00.000-08:00

Our journey started going down the Kiriath Jearim Ridge Route and then heading south towards Beth Shemesh. We were in what is known as the Shephelah or the low lands. It is the lands between the Coastal Plain and the Judean Hill country. The Shephelah is a land that is good for growing trees. In 1 Kings 10:27 it says that King Solomon made cedars in Jerusalem as numerous as the sycamores of the Shephelah. It was very apparent by looking at the trees all around that he was alluding to a great number. There are many other references to the Shephelah in the scriptures such as, 1 Chr. 27:28, 2 Chr 26:10, Obad 1:19 and Zec 7:7.

We then arrived at Beth Shemesh. This city was of great importance to the Shephelah region. It overlooked the Sorek Valley on the southern side across from Zorah and Eshtaol. In Joshua 15:9-11 we read that Beth Shemesh was a border city between Judah to the south and Dan to the north. One of the main biblical scenes we see unfolding around Beth Shemesh in the Sorek Valley is the life of Sampson. Judges 13-16 tell of how Sampson was born in Zorah. The Spirit began to stir within him between the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol. He often journeyed from the Sorek Valley down towards the coastal plain city of Timnah. It was the city of Timnah where he fell for a Philistine girl and ended up marrying her. On one of his trips from the area of Zorah to Timnah he encountered a lion which he killed, on his trip back the lion was filled with honey, which he ate. This event he used as a riddle to the philistines which tricked him into giving them the answer. Farther up the Sorek Valley at Lehi Sampson killed 1,000 Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey. Another interesting event that happened in the Sorek Valley was after the Philistines captured the Ark of the covenant from Israel in 1 Samuel 6 and it had struck them with a plague of some sort, they hitched it up to two cows that took it up the Sorek Valley to Beth Shemesh. The people of Beth Shemesh then called the men of Kiriath Jearim to come and take the Ark of the Covenant up to their town.

After standing at Beth Shemesh and reenacting some of the events in the life of Sampson we then went to the town of Azekah. This town is located on the top of a high natural hill. In Joshua 10 we learn that the Amorites fled from God and His sniper like hail stones as far as Azekah. Azekah overlooks the Elah Valley. It was in the Elah Valley that a young King David chose 5 smooth stones from the brook and used one of them to kill goliath. 1 Samuel 17 tells us that the Philistines camped between the cities of Azekah and Socoh on the south side of the valley. The Israelites encamped on the north side of the valley. We also learned that King Rehoboam fortified the city of Azekah against the Egyptians and Pharaoh Shishak but they still prevailed over the city (2 Chr 11:7) In Jeremiah 34 we learn that Azekah was one of the last 3 cities that with stood the Babylonian siege of Judah.

From Beth Shemesh and the Sorek Valley we then headed towards the town of Bet-guvrin. In between we stopped at some caves that Bar Kochva used in the 2nd Jewish revolt. At Bet-guvrin we saw a Roman period amphitheater that was most likely used for some type of gladiatorial games. We also saw huge caves that had once been filled with chalk that the Muslims had dug out to use the chalk to make some sort of cement mixture.

From Bet-guvrin we headed past Maresha the town of the prophet Micah to Lachish. Joshua 10 says that Joshua and the Israelites attacked Lachish but did not burn down the city. Lachish was also one of the cities fortified by Rehoboam. In 2 Kings 18-19 and other passages we learn of the Assyrians marching through Israel and capturing most of the cities including Lachish. Sennacharib King of Assyria boasted of his siege ramps that he used to take the city of Lachish. Also in Jeremiah 34 we learn that with Azekah and Jerusalem, Lachish was one of the last three cities left.
After our stop at Lachish we headed back up the diagonal route to the Elah valley. There we reenacted the battle of David and Goliath. We also walked up a hill that might have be the site of Ephes-Dammin where the Philistines camped out against the Israelites in 1 Samuel 17.

Pic's
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014907&id=159900831&l=c45dc

Bargain Masters & Yad Vashem!

2009-02-17T03:06:00.001-08:00

Ok so since last time I wrote we’ve done a few things. Last Thursday was of course our field trip to Mount of Olives, Bethlehem etc… Friday was a fun day, morning we had class, then in the afternoon a bunch of us played some volleyball, and even a little basketball. After that we got ready for Shabbat and had our Shabbat dinner. After dinner I headed over to the chapel tent to set up for chapel. We decided as a worship team it’d be cool to get there earlier and have a little by request worship session before the actual worship began at 8. So we practiced our songs for the actual worship then as people showed up we began to take requests for songs the group would like to sing. It worked out pretty well. At 8 we began worship and then heard a sermon on Isaiah 45.

Saturday was an awesome day as well. I slept in and then got some breakfast, did a little reading and got ready for assembly. Church was just ok. The preacher spoke on Romans 12:1-8, but more specifically on verses 3-8. He had a lot of interesting views on the bible I general. He didn’t really stick to the text very well so I didn’t really understand where he was getting what he said. After church we had lunch then headed into the city for bargain masters. Bargain masters is a game we played where we got into groups of 4 and each group got 100 Shekels (25 dollars aprox). My group was me, Joe Keith, Eli Conlee, and Daniel Ludwig. The point of the game was to go into the old city and try and get the best bargain as possible. You could get anything you wanted, food, sweatshirts, jewelry, etc… My group really had no clue what we wanted to do with our money but we were certain we’d spend it on something. After wandering about for 15 minutes or so, Daniel remembered that last week when hews in the city he had met a jewelry shop owner that had taken a liking to him. So we decided to go there and see if he could help us. After consulting the shop owner he gave us a super good deal because he liked us and it was Valentines Day. So we ended up getting 8 hand made rings, 8 bracelets, 1 poster, 2 postcards for 100 shekels. The rings were very simple, a piece of wire with a couple of beads on them. The bracelets were copper and either all white pearl (not real) or white and black. However the total normal price would have been over 200 shekels. He gave us all his labor for free basically. So after that we just wandered around the city for a while. Saturday night was the judging of bargain masters. A lot of the people got some decent deals, or they just spent their money on whatever they wanted. There were 3 really good deals that happened. One was getting a big blanket for the miklat. Another was getting 4 t-shirts an Israeli flag 2 shwarma and something else. Then ours was the last good deal. We gave our 8 rings and 8 bracelets to the girls for v-day. They appreciated it very much. Some of the girls are even still wearing them. After the judging I had set up a bonfire. At the bonfire we sang a bunch of worship times and it was really fun.

Sunday was a free day. A bunch of us headed out on a hike. It was a really good day for a hike. The hike was super tiring and a lot of fun. We hiked by a couple of freshwater springs as wells as some crusader period ruins and a few 2nd temple period tombs. The Hike ended with a late lunch at McDonalds. After getting back to the moshav I took a nap for a couple of hours. At 7 we all gathered in the Miklat to watch Schindlers List. I’d seen the movie a couple of times but it was much more impactful now that I am living among the descendents of the holocaust. After the movie I crashed and slept very well.
Monday started with class and then after one class we had another but only for about an hr because then we headed to lunch early. After lunch we headed to the Yad Vashem, a Jewish holocaust museum. It was a very sobering experience to learn firsthand how what happened to over 6 million Jews during that time period. It really made me appreciated human life even more. After the museum we headed to a mall in Jerusalem for some dinner. I’m not much of a shopper so I just got a piece of pizza, breadstick, and salad then after that I got a banana split. It was delicious. Although the shwarma some of the guys got looked super good. After eating we got back on the bus and headed back to the moshav to do a bunch of homework and sleep. Ibex was hit with a mysterious sickness Sunday night through now. About 6-7 people have gotten some sort of stomach flew and haven’t been feeling very well. They are getting better though. It might be some sort of food poisoning but it’s really hard to tell. Hopefully it doesn’t spread. I didn’t get it so I’m thankful for that. Today, Tuesday is just a normal class day. It rained last night and some today which is really good because the land really needs the rain. There is more coming this weekend too so that is an answer to prayers.

Benjamin & Nahal Parat Vid

2009-02-15T06:31:00.000-08:00

Herrro Herrrodian!!!!

2009-02-13T00:22:00.000-08:00

The first stop on our field trip today was on the eastern side of the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives is on the eastern side of Jerusalem. We were standing on what was most likely the city of Bethphage. The city of Bethphage is located between the cities of Jerusalem and Bethany. As we stood looking towards the city of Bethany we read the story in John 11 where Jesus raises Lazarus the brother of Mary and Martha from the dead. The Ascension of Jesus most likely happened in between Bethany and Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives. This was probably near the city of Bethphage. We read about that event in Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:9-11. We were unable to go to the city of Bethany because of political reasons. After standing there for a time we moved to the other side of the Mount of Olives which looks over Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives is very rich in Biblical history. David left Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 15:23 and headed east toward the wilderness over the Mount of Olives. In Zechariah 14:1-5 we learn that the Mount of Olives will be split in two and that the valley between will offer an escape route into the wilderness. In Mathew 21 and Luke 19 we read about Jesus traveling up from Jericho to Bethany, Bethphage, and making his triumphal entry. In Mathew, Mark, and Luke Jesus spoke of the end times from the Mount of Olives. The betrayal of Jesus which was one of the most significant events in the Passion Week happened at the Garden of Gethsemane which is located on the Mount of Olives.

After the Mount of Olives we headed across the Kidron and Hinnom valley’s towards the road of the patriarchs to a tomb where the oldest piece of scripture was found. The tomb dates back to around 600 B.C as does the piece of scripture. The portion of scripture that was found was Numbers 6:24-26. It was found wrapped up and inscribed onto a piece of metal that could have been on a necklace of some sort. The tombs were family tombs.

After seeing the tombs we headed south on the road of patriarchs, through an Israeli check point, into the West Bank, to Bethlehem. We all know that Jesus was born in the city of Bethlehem. This is also where the shepherds came to visit him after the angel told them of His birth. Luke 2:1-20 describes these events in detail. There is much Old Testament history in the city of Bethlehem. The city is the setting for the whole story Ruth. In 1 Samuel 16-17 we learn that it is the city where David lives. The prophet Samuel had to go to Bethlehem to anoint David as king of Israel. In Micah 5:2 the prophet tells us that the Messiah would be born in the Bethlehem. This is fulfilled by Jesus. Bethlehem means “house of bread”. In Bethlehem there is the Church of the Nativity. This church was built over a church that was built by Helena the mother of Constantine in 325 AD. It is supposedly the site where Jesus was born.

After our long stop in Bethlehem we headed south again to visit Herodium and Tekoa. Herodium was fortress built by Herod the great. It was used to watch the southern approaches to Jerusalem as well as a get away for Herod. It is an impressive structure built on top of a hill with the middle of the hill hollowed out and huge cisterns for water are located inside. Herod was buried at Herodium according to Josephus. Tekoa is the home of Amos the prophet who was a shepherd. It is located just south west of Herodium. In 2 Chronicles 20 we read about Jehosaphat’s prayer and victory over the alliance of kings who marched up from En Gedi using the Ascent of Ziz toward Jerusalem. The Lord told Jehosaphat to put the singers in front of the army as they marched to meet their foe. When the singers began to sing the Lord turned the enemy upon one another and they were utterly destroyed.

Our last stop was the valley of Rephaim. In 1 Sam 17 we learn that David probably traveled down Husan Ridge route from Bethlehem to the Elah Valley where he defeated Goliath. The Husan Ridge rout uses the Rephaim valley. In 2 Samuel 5:17-25 we read how the Philistines used the Valley of Rephaim to attack David twice. One time David met them head on and defeated them. The next time the Lord told him to circle around behind them so that they could not escape the way they came. David defeated the Philistines and they were forced to go north by Jerusalem and then down either the Beth Horon Ridge Route or the Kiriat Jaarim Ridge Route. Close by the valley of Rephaim is the city of Betar which is where the Jews made their last stand in the 2nd Jewish revolt in 135 AD.

Pic's
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014824&id=159900831&l=8b93c

New Vid!

2009-02-10T11:51:00.000-08:00

Raining!

2009-02-10T06:48:00.000-08:00

Ok so since Wednesday... Thursday was just another ordinary day. Classes, volleyball etc... Friday we had some classes then we headed down to Jerusalem to go to one of the Messianic Church Congregations. It was really cool to get to worship with believers from all different parts of the world. After the Shabbat service we headed to go eat some good old American food at the most blessed of restaurants... McDonald's... I got a big mac, large fry, and large coke. I've never been so thankful for McDonald's. Saturday was church at the moshav which was really good. Romans 12:1-2. After church I sorta hung out all day till about 7 we then watched fiddler on the roof. It was in part a school assignment and in part a time to hangout. We had popcorn and drinks and even some cake at intermission. That movie reminded me of my mom a lot because she sings like all the songs from it all the time. The movie got done a while later and we all headed to bed.

Sunday was a super fun day. We headed down through the west bank to the Judean wilderness to hike the Nahal Parat. The Nahal Parat is a spring that comes out of the rocks in the middle of a canyon. The spring then turns into a stream that waters the canyon for miles. The Nahal Parat is located near the town of Anatoth where Jeremiah the prophet was born. In Jeremiah 13 God tells Jeremiah to go and bury a linen in the Perath. Some translations say Euphrates. The Perath in Jeremiah 13 is most likely the Nahal Perat (Parat, Perath similar?). A Euphrates is an spring or river. So it is most likely not talking about the Euphrates river located in Mesopotamia because that was a very long journey to go and hide something, come back, go back and get it, then come back. The Nahal Parat is located close enough for it to be reasonable. Anyways the hike was really cool we all jumped in the spring at a couple different places. The water wasn't nearly as cold as some of the water in washington. There was brook trout everywhere. I tried catching them with my hands but it wasn't all that effective. They enjoyed nibbling on our feet though.

After the hike we came back to school and crashed. I took a long nap and then finished the evening with hw. Monday was classes and we played some soccer. Today we had bible study then classes. Also its raining today. Which is awesome because the land really needs the rain. It a pretty bad drought so pray for more rain please.

Pics from the hike
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014788&l=e3f64&id=159900831

BenJammin!!!

2009-02-04T11:22:00.000-08:00

Make sure you read the post below before this one. This was what I wrote as a summary for our field trip through the territories of Benjamin. :)

Starting from the Moshav we first headed down the Kiriat Jearim ridge route towards the cities of Aijalon and Emmaus. The Kiriat Jearim ridge route is the shortest and possibly the fastest way to get from the coastal plain to Jerusalem. We briefly stopped at the town of Emmaus and overlooked the Aijalon valley. Some scholars believe that this is the town Jesus was walking towards in Luke 24 when he talked to the two disciples after his death and resurrection. However this town of Emmaus is around 20 miles away from Jerusalem while the one in Luke is around 7 miles away. The word Emmaus means spring so it was a common name for towns or villages.

After our brief stop at Emmaus we crossed the Aijalon valley and headed up the Beth Horan ridge route towards Lower and Upper Beth Horon. Stopping on top of a hill we stopped and read the story of Joshua 10 where the five kings of the Amorites came up to attack Gibeon which had made a treaty with the Israelites. When Gibeon saw the Amorites were coming they sent word to Joshua at Gilgal which is near Jericho. He then marched all night and took the Amorites by surprise. The Israelites pursued the Amorites and chased them down the Beth Horon ridge route. During the pursuit the Lord rained hailstones with sniper like accuracy upon the Amorites and none hit the Israelites. Here is when Joshua asked the Lord to make the sun stand still so that they could pursue the Amorites longer. The 5 kings of the Amorites were chased into a cave by the flying hail stones then Joshua killed them there. The Beth Horon ridge route had great significance in the Bible. It was another main east west connection. It allowed many attacking armies to come upon Jerusalem from the north after marching through the coastal plain. In 1 Kings 9:15-17 we learn that Solomon built up defenses at Lower Beth Horon because he knew of its importance.

After stopping on the Beth Horon ridge we traveled further to the town of Nebi Samwil. This is a new town but might possibly be the high place where Solomon asked God for wisdom in 1 Kings 3 and 2 Chronicles 1:1-13. From here we could where the town of Gibeon was most likely located to the North East. Unfortunately for political reasons we were not allowed to visit there. Gibeon is the town of Caananites that tricked Joshua into a peace treaty. Joshua 9 explains this and then in Joshua ten the Israelites have to come to their rescue.

The next stop was Gibeah of Saul. Gibeah is located directly north of Jerusalem on the road of the Patriarchs. Judges 19:10-16 tells the story of a Levite man traveling past Jerusalem and into Gibeah. He took shelter for the night in the house of a man. When the men of the town came to the man asked for the Levite to have relations with him, the Levite gave them his concubine who they ended up killing and this brought the destruction of all but 600 men from the tribe of Benjamin. Gibeah was also the capital of Saul’s monarchy (1 Sam 15:34). In Isaiah 10 we learn the Assyrians came by Ramah and Gibeah towards Jerusalem. Ramah is also located nearby. It was the home and burial place of Saul.
One of the more interesting stops on our tour of Benjamin was at The Pass. The Pass is located between the cities of Geba in the south and Michmash on the north side of the Pass. The Pass is formed by the Suwenit Valley. In 1 Samuel 13:16-14:23 we read of Jonathan the son of Saul crossing The Pass and killing 20 Philistine men. The Bible even mentions the names of the cliffs, Bozez on the north by Michmash and Seneh on the south by Geba. The Pass was used predominately coming up from Jericho and heading towards Jerusalem. In Isaiah 10 The Pass is mentioned as being used by the Assyrians to come towards Jerusalem.

After viewing the pass we headed down through the Judean wilderness towards the Jordan Valley and Jericho. Going from the 2500 foot elevation of the Judean Hills to Jericho which is -1300 feet makes a huge difference in terrain. The Coastal Plain, Shephelah and Judean Hills are all green and lovely, whereas the other side of the Judean Hills heading down towards the Jordan valley is dry and brown. At Jericho we obviously visited the site of Jericho where the Israelites marched around the city for 7 straight days till on the last day they gave a loud shout and the city walls came crashing down. The story is found in Joshua 6. The thing that struck me the most was the size of Jericho. It is not a big city. It would have been very easy for the Israelites to walk around the city 7 times in one day. At the site of Jericho they have found remains of a wall that most likely was from the time of Joshua and the Israelites. Also at Jericho we found the spring that Elisha cast salt into after returning from seeing Elijah ascend into heaven. He threw salt into the spring and healed the water. 2 Kings 2:19-21 tells of Elisha’s work in the spring. Drinking from this spring was one of the more enjoyable things I’ve done at IBEX, ok maybe not but the water was good and it won’t kill you.

Pic's
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014732&l=b955c&id=159900831

Recap, Update!!

2009-02-04T10:53:00.000-08:00

I haven't written since Saturday, My Bad. Here's the skinny on what I've been upto. Sunday was an awesome day. A bunch of us headed into West Jerusalem to find a few things for the Superbowl party that night. It was a Super Bowl Party/ We love Jessica Wick Party. She got Strep throat last week and has been very sick, so we wanted to cheer her up. Also her parents always have a huge superbowl party at their house and she was sad she was missing it. So we headed into the city to find some balloons, paper to make a poster or two, and any other party type things we could find. It took us a while but we found a 99 cent type of store that had all types of random things, including the things we needed. We basically walked around the city all morning and we went to the old city real quick to change some money because the exchange rate was good. Then we were hungry so we walked back to west Jerusalem to the farmers market and bought a kilo of cinnamon rolls for 25 shek's and some grapes for 15. We decided to walk back to Ben Yehuda street because that's where all the interesting people are. On our way we picked up some mango juice from the store. It was an awesome lunch. We then got hot chocolate at Aroma's and did some reading for about an hr. After that we walked the couple miles back to the bus station to await our bus home. We got off at Abu Gosh to get some groceries for the party and then walked back to the Moshav. All in all I think we walked about 7-8 miles on the day. We got back for dinner but didn't eat much because we were ordering Pizza for the party. The Party commenced at 12:30 am our time monday morning and finished at 5 am. I was beat. I got to bed promptly and slept for 5 hours. Then I awoke and headed to class. After class I of course took a nap till dinner then after dinner did some hw till about 8 when we had a Jewish Christian Pastor come speak to us. It was a good lecture. After the lecture I had to clean the Miklat, and then headed to bed.

Tuesday was Bible study in the morning, we are studying prayer. It was basically amazing and life changing. I'm still trying to comprehend what we talked about and don't feel comfortable writing about it yet. Except for one thing, Do you believe your prayers change the world? Think about it. After bible study was class for 4 hrs. I was pretty tired after that. I did hw all night and accomplished a lot.

Wednesday will be posted in the next blog. It was our field trip to Benjamin. Which is a lot of different cool things. Hey if you read this please feel free to comment on the blog or send me an email (Tslav7@gmail.com) or facebook message and let me know how things are going, I'd love to hear from my friends and family. :) miss you all, but honestly I'd rather be here.

There are no mistakes in the life of Christ.

2009-01-31T08:53:00.001-08:00

So after our awesome experience on Wednesday on the Temple Mount things have calmed down a little bit. Thursday and Friday we had classes. They are beginning to get a little tougher in their hw loads and material we are covering. The coolest thing I've been learning in my Life of Christ class is that "there are no mistakes in the life of Christ". Our professor Abner Chou emphatically reminds us of this fact every class period. The meaning is that every detail recorded in the gospels has a purpose, there is a reason why Luke doesn't start with the genealogies but Matthew does. Every, and I mean, every word and phrase has a purpose in the Bible. For instance on Friday we spent the class in the first chapter of Luke. We started with chapter one verse 5 (we had already covered the first 4 verses). This is the passage where the angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah and tells him that he will have a son and that he should call him John. The question was asked of us as to why Luke starts his gospel here? Why does he start with the foretelling of John? Why doesn't he jump in where John begins his ministry? or why doesn't he start with Jesus like the other gospels? The answer is this. Luke was a historian. All good historians start at the beginning of the story. Luke started with the angel coming to Zechariah because that was the first time God had spoke to anyone in the nation of Israel for over 400 years. The silence had been broken. They key to remember here is that the Jews were in Messiah frenzy at this time. In Daniel chapter 9, Daniel predicts when precisely the Messiah would come. That time was now. This brings us to another fact. The text says "an angel of the Lord came to Zechariah", it doesn't say "the angel of the Lord". The difference is this, "the angel" refers to Christ. "an angel" refers to any other angel that is chosen. Christ didn't come because He was preparing for his upcoming earthly ministry. Also a few verses later we learn that the angel is Gabriel. Why is it significant that the angel is Gabriel? Because Gabriel is the exact angel that spoke to Daniel in chapter 9 and told him of the Messiah's coming. So he predicted the Messiah's coming and then helped usher in the Messiah with the foretelling of the birth of John the Baptist who was to "prepare the way before Him"

That was just a taste of one lecture we have had here at IBEX. They have all been just as good. Some maybe even better. Ok so after classes and lunch on Friday a lot of us headed out to the volleyball court and hit the ball around. That was lots of fun, after we played for an hr and half or so I joined up with some guys and played some 3v3 basketball. I didn't do too well. After about 20 minutes of getting thoroughly thrashed by the other team, I saw that people were play soccer. So I joined a team over there and played soccer for the next hour and a half. I spent 3.5 hours playing sports that afternoon. I had a blast. Leaving the pitch I ran back to the room real quick and was told a bunch of guys were headed to the sauna, I joined them. That got hot real quick so I decided to go back to the room and shower before the evening meal. Friday dinner is kind of a special dinner where we dress up a little more and have a song or two because it is the start of Shabbat(sabbath). After dinner I scurried on down to the chapel to get it ready for the chapel service at 8. Chapel was really good. A man came and spoke on the story of Jesus and the woman at the well. After chapel I was pooped from all the activities but I had to run up to the class room and set it up for the church service the next day. That wasn't too hard. After that I came back to the room and crashed.

Today was Shabbat. We had assembly at 11. I woke up around 7 but laid in bed till about 8 then headed up and ate some breakfast. After assembly at 11 we had lunch then I headed straight to my room grabbed my laundry and went to the washer to get a load started. Most of the group went into the city to do some shopping but I stayed behind to do laundry and hw. It was a beautiful day the sky was blue the clouds were white and fluffy. I had to pigeons to help keep me entertained when I needed a study break. They were just fluttering around the roof area cooing there little hearts out. Ok it did get very annoying. After doing laundry all afternoon(the dryers here take a while and you have to wash small loads.) I headed up to dinner. After dinner and on every Saturday night we have Saturday Night Live. It is like a game night. Tonight was the first "Battle of the Sexes". Basically boys verse girls in different types of games. The games ranged from the roommate game (where they ask various questions about your roommate that you have to answer while they are out of the room and they come back and tell their answer) to charades. The best game of the night was a scavenger hunt. Except it was like one person from each team had to go up to the bill and he would tell them something that they either had to find from their team or get their team to do. For example one time it was find a picture, we used a 50 shekel bill that had a face on it. When it was my turn I had to get 6 guys into a pyramid as fast as possible. We accomplished it before I finished giving instructions. The guys owned the night and I believe are up by 8 points at the end. The girls will have other opportunities to catch up though. Tomorrow will be a day of studying and going into the city to get a few things. I think we are having a Superbowl party late Sunday early morning, Go Kurt Warner (I don't care about either team). Ok No pictures this time.

New Testment Walk Jerusalem

2009-01-28T11:18:00.000-08:00

Our New Testament walk began with entering through the sheep gate and heading up to the temple mount. Passing through security with ease we gathered on the southwest side of the temple mount. When we were there Professor Chou challenged us to rethink and relearn our theology considering the events that transpired on the temple mount. First, the temple mount is also the same mountain area; Mount Moriah in Genesis 22, that Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac on before the Angel of the Lord stopped him. This is the beginning of a history of sacrifice and atonement for sin on this mountain. Again in Second Samuel 24 we have this mountain spoken of. In 2 Samuel 24 David took a census of all the fighting men of Israel, this angered the Lord. He therefore pronounced a judgment up on the nation that consisted of a plague. This plague killed 70,000 men of Israel. The Lord then commanded David to build an altar to Him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. The altar was dedicated to the Lord. It was again a place where the Lord required a sacrifice for the sins of the people. Later in 2 Chronicles 3:1 we learn that Solomon built the temple upon the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. The most shocking thing to me was how big it actually is. 35 Acres!!! In Matthew 21 when Jesus clears out the temple of the money changers and tax collectors it would have taken an immense amount of effort. This was another eye opening change in my view of the Bible.

Not only is the Temple mount filled with history and theology it is filled with controversy. The Temple Mount is one of the most sacred religious places in the world if not the most sacred. As many people might know the Temple Mount is home to the Dome of the Rock. This Islamic structure is built on top of a rock where their prophet Mohamed supposedly ascended into heaven. It is now an Islamic Mosque. The controversy is that it is most likely right on top of where the temple which was destroyed in 70 A.D. would have been. But there are no excavations allowed on the Temple Mount because it is a sacred place. In fact there is not much known about what is underground at the Temple Mount. One of the only archeological finds is that of Solomon’s Portico which again was made in to mosque.

After the Temple Mount we headed down to the Western or Wailing Wall. This is where orthodox Jews go to worship God. They are not allowed to worship on the Temple Mount, in fact no religious material is allowed up there. The Western Wall was very sad to me. To see so many people ritualizing there religion in an attempt to work there way in to heaven is something that made me thankful for our savior even more. The men there were clearly pleading with God to save them but they do not know and do not listen to the truth, for Jesus said “I am the way the truth and the life”.

After our brief stop at the Wailing Wall we headed down to the Church of St. Peter of Gallicantu. Again this was another place where it was saddening to see how much faith is placed in objects instead of the creator. While the outside was beautiful and even the inside was magnificent the religion that was there made it ugly.

Our last stop of the day was at the Garden Tomb. This is a site that is proposed to have been the hill where Jesus was crucified; the hill of Golgotha. It was a beautiful garden and very enlightening into the methods of crucifixion and burial used at the time of Jesus. There were many beautiful things to look at. The story behind the garden tomb is that, it was the hill where Jesus was crucified and the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea was there as well; however, this most not likely the place where He was crucified and buried. The place where the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is built is the most likely spot.

Be sure to take a peek at the pic's!!!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014627&l=fa279&id=159900831

And Check out http://www.ibexsemester.com

Tuesday.

2009-01-27T08:43:00.000-08:00

Today we had Bible study in the morning. It was really good we decided to study some of the prayers in the Bible hoping to cultivate a correct attitude of prayer and devotion to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Hopefully the next 14 weeks are as good as today. After that I had some free time where I did some hw. I had to read from Genesis 12-36. It was cool to read about the Patriarchs knowing a little bit more of the land and the geography, I'm thankful for that assignment. Then we had lunch, it was typical moshav food. After that I had History of Ancient Israel Class. Not much happened in their today, we just learned about how the liberals come up with stupid ideas as to why the Bible isn't historical. Basically they are dumb!!! Anyways they have souls too so prayer for them. After class I took a little nap and then decided to go take some pictures of around the moshav at sunset. It was a beautiful evening.

Here's a link to some pics from our second Jerusalem walk we took on Sunday.,
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014610&l=f5fce&id=159900831

Here's one some awesome pics around the moshav.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014611&l=189b9&id=159900831

Here's a link to my friend Walkers pic's. He's got the nice camera.
http://martelwells.com/

Here's one to the Ibex website. Its got updates and pics as well.
http://www.ibexsemester.com

Sunday In Jerusalem, Hezekiah's Tunnel!!!

2009-01-26T11:00:00.000-08:00

On our second adventure into Jerusalem, we saw many more amazing things. We entered through the Jaffa gate and headed down through the Jewish quarter to a place where they have found a section of the city wall that dates back to the time of King Hezekiah. This wall is dated from around 1000 B.C to 586 B.C. or what is known as the first temple period. The section of wall we were looking at was called the broad wall because of its size. It was almost 5 meters or 15 feet thick. It covered the northernmost section of the city. This part of the city was the most liable to attack and therefore needed the most fortification. Not only was the wall thick it was also tall close to 8 meters in height or 24 feet. This was necessary to defend against the invading armies. The Bible tells us in Isaiah 37 that Hezekiah was faced with just this situation. The invading Assyrian army led by King Sennacharib had laid waste to the surrounding country side. Jerusalem was the only thing left in their path. The general of the Assyrian army stood outside the wall and told the Israelites not to heed the word of their prophets and that their God could not save them just like all the other cities God’s could not save them. However the Lord was faithful to the people in Jerusalem and King Hezekiah. It says in verse 36 that as the armies of Assyria were camped outside the city that the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 of them. This was also prophesied in Isaiah chapter 31 where it says that Assyria will not fall by the sword of men and that they will flee before the sword. This was all due to the faithfulness of Hezekiah to the Lord God Almighty.

After another stop or two we made our way to a cemetery that overlooked the Hinnom valley. This valley lies along the southern side of the city of Jerusalem. It is here that in Jeremiah 7 the Lord pronounces judgment on the people of Judah for their false religious practices. This valley is where the people of Judah actually burned their children in fire in worshipping false Gods. The Lord pronounced a judgment on them so severe that it says in verse 34 that the land will be made desolate.

By far our most fun and interesting stop was that of Hezekiah’s tunnel. This tunnel stretches from the Gihon spring located on the east side of the city of David. Hezekiah was a master planner when it came to the defense of the city. He realized that the city needed to store more water than it had inside its walls. The Gihon Spring was surrounded by high fortifications but that made it harder to draw a lot of water from it. So Hezekiah built a tunnel from the spring on the eastside to the southwest part of the city of David where he had the pools of Siloam built to hold the water. In 2 Kings 20:20 it mentions this tunnel and how it is written in the book of the kings of Judah. Part of the reason he did it was because he had blocked up all the water outside of the city so that the invading army would have none to drink. He controlled the only supply of water this way. This is also referenced in 2 Chronicles 32:2-4, 30. Another interesting fact was that the Pools of Siloam where used in the New Testament times as a place for cleansing. In John Chapter 9 Jesus spat on the ground and then took the mud and put in on a blind man’s eyes. He then told the man to go wash in the pool of Siloam. This was a play on words because he “sent” the man to go wash in the pool of Siloam, the word Siloam means “sent”.

Jerusalem days!

2009-01-26T10:26:00.003-08:00

Hey There I realize its been a few days since my last post, my apologies. I've basically been going non-stop since Thursday night. Here's a day to day recap.

Friday evening marks the beginning of Shabbat for Jews. For us it means we have a nice meal and a chapel service at night. I reluctantly signed up to play guitar in the worship band. Lucky for me we have two other great guitarists who will switch off leading and I can fill in behind them. So on friday we had classes in the morning, then in the afternoon we played some volleyball, and soccer. That was delightful. Then I had to set up the chapel in preparation for the service. We had a nice dinner and then chapel service. An American man who works in the Galilee area came down and gave us his testimony. It was cool to see his heart for the Jews. If you think that its easy for a Jew to become a Christian than you are wrong. They might be one of the hardest people to explain the gospel too. The worship went off without a hitch. Apparently we sounded pretty good. After chapel a few of us played some games in the Miklat(bomb shelter/lounge). Good times.

On Saturday we had assembly. This is also known as church, but the word "church" is associated with Catholicism so the Jewish believers prefer to use the word assembly or meeting instead. They also don't call themselves Christians because of its Catholic connotations but rather they refer to themselves as believers. We are instructed to do likewise while we are here. The same guy spoke Saturday morning as did friday night. He went through Romans 11:16-24. It was interesting to see how the Branches being grafted in fits in the context when you are actually among God's remnant in Israel. After assembly we headed to lunch. Then in the afternoon we made our way down to the Old City to do some shopping. This was our first time to be "let loose" on the old city of Jerusalem. All of the Jewish places are closed for shabbat but the Arab quarter is still alive and bustling. My main goal for the day was to find some guitar strings for the two guitars we have here at school. I talked to Shabban, he's the man we go to, to find pretty much anything we need. He pointed me in the direction of a shop and sure enough they had some guitar strings. Not sure how good they are but atleast they are new. I helped Jessy Kay. Find a ring and we even bargained with the guy and got him to lower his price 11 dollars. I still think we could have got it cheaper. We'll do better next time. After coming back from the city we had some dinner and then we had "saturday night live". Saturday night live is our game night. Its not mandatory but it sure is lots of fun. We played mad gab. My team won I think. Then we hit the beds so we could get up early for another day in Jerusalem.

On Sunday we spent the entire day in and around the old city. I say around because a lot of time we were actually outside the city walls looking up at them. We saw so much that day that most of it will be covered in the next blog. I wrote a summary of that day for a class. Some of the places we saw that aren't in the blog though, are the supposed Davids tomb. We saw an arch and some steps that it is probably Jesus walked on and through. Warrens shaft towards Hezekiah's Tunnel. We went to a museum place where a lady explained a bunch of stuff that I don't really remember to well :). Oh and we went to a church where there is an Upper room like the one Jesus had the passover in with his disciples and Jesus betrayed him. Well its probably not even close to being the same, but we still learned about it. Ok well the really cool stuff is in the next blog. After we got back I had to put the classroom back together for my job and then did some hw. Then I crashed. It was the first night I slept completely through, hoooray for conquering jetlag.

Monday was another fun filled day. We had class at 8 and the left for Jerusalem at 930. We actually didn't go to the Old City though. We went to a museum. I'm blanking on the name though. The museum had a miniature of the city as it would have been at about 40 A.D. So just after the death of Jesus. In other words it would have been similar to the city when Jesus was there. The replica was cool and gave me a good picture of what it looked like. Also at the museum was an exhibit that was about the dead sea scrolls. It held a facsimile of an Isaiah scroll as well as an actual real portion of one. After touring the museum we walked a ways and had some Non-Kosher pizza. I had a slice of one that they said was goose pizza I'm not sure if it was, it kinda tasted like ham, but it definitely wasn't. After that we went to Ben Yehuda street area. This is kinda like a downtown Portland area. Except the shops aren't as nice and its a little dirtier. They had some funny looking people though that reminded me of P-town. We toured around for a while and saw some shops and what not, then we went through a open air market. It was like a saturday market type of place. Bill (our Professor) bought us some strawberries and some things that were like a cinnamon roll. Both were scrumptious. After he gave us the tour we did a little scavenger hunt where we made teams of 6-7 and had a list of things we needed to find. It wasn't that hard to find them and took about thirty minutes. After that we kinda shopped around a little bit then we went to Aroma Coffee. Its like the Israeli starbucks, cept better. I got an Iced Aroma which is pretty much like a caramel Frap but better. Then we headed back to the Moshav and had dinner, I was pretty full from everything else though so I didn't eat much, I'm paying for it now though cause I'm hungry. So that's been my last few days. Tomorrow is bible study in the morning class in the afternoon and some more hw at night. Wednesday we head back into Jerus for the New Testament walk. I'm excited about going to the temple mount and seeing the wailing wall as well as a few other sites. I haven't had a chance to put the pics up on facebook and I unfortunately left my camera in my room. I'll post a link as soon as possible though. Thanks for Reading.

Hiking around the Moshav

2009-01-21T09:02:00.000-08:00

Today was our 4th day in Israel. It was the first day of classes for three of the classes that are here. I was in History of Ancient Israel and Life of Christ, I'm really excited about both classes. This afternoon we decided to go explore the hills around the Moshav. My legs are pretty tired and cut up from it, I wish I hadn't have worn shorts, oh well you live you learn. It was really cool to see why the Israelites stayed up on the ridges when traveling instead of just going down into the valleys and then up the hills on the other side. We didn't exactly take any trail but rather had to fight through the thickets and bushes in order to get down the hill. Even when we could find some resemblance of a trail it was still going through bushes and thickets. It would be extremely difficult and slow to travel this way with a lot of people. That's pretty much all we did today. Here's some pics.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014475&l=10b6c&id=159900831

Old City OT Walk

2009-01-20T10:54:00.000-08:00

Today was our first trip to Old City Jerusalem. We started our adventure by walking through the Joffa gate and into the area by the citadel. The first thing that was amazing to me was the size and strength of the walls of Jerusalem. Although the walls we saw today are not the same as those that were built in the time of the Bible they are still tremendously well built and would have been intimidating to any approaching army. These walls were built by the Turks when the conquered Jerusalem. An interesting geographical note is the fact that here at the Joffa gate is where it would have been easy for an army to attack the city of Jerusalem. It’s a natural high point where the armies wouldn’t have had to cross over any of the opposing valleys and climb the hills of Jerusalem. That is why for most of the history of the city of Jerusalem when the walls were included at this point there was a fortress built here at the Joffa gate. After walking into the city we entered into this fortress. It is called the citadel. The citadel was huge. We went up to the highest tower and viewed the city. It was very impressive. It was so different than anything I’ve ever seen before.

The citadel was impressive for sure. Just up the road from the citadel was the first Protestant Church in the Middle East, I believe it was called the Christ’s Church. This church is now run by a group of missionaries who have been trying to talk to the Jewish community in Jerusalem. Inside the church we were told of the difficulties of explaining the gospel to someone who is Jewish. We also heard the testimony of a new Jewish believer whose family and friends had completely deserted her. It is common among all orthodox Jews that if you become a believer in Jesus Christ the Messiah you are cut off from your family completely. We don’t face that type of persecution in America. It was quite a testimony from a young lady.

After touring Christ’s Church we headed down the street to the church of the holy sepulcher. These streets are not really streets like we would think of them but rather narrow passage ways that are covered by various types of roofs. They have vendors everywhere. People were always calling out for you to buy their goods. I think during the bible times it would have been very similar. Obviously they would have been selling different things but the same principle would apply. As we got to the church of the holy sepulcher I began to realize that these were the same paths that Jesus would have walked. In fact the citadel could have been were Pontius Pilate condemned Jesus to die on the cross. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is supposedly where Jesus was crucified and then buried. It is visited mostly by people who belong to the Greek Orthodox Church. The church itself was beautiful. However it was depressing to see so many people worshipping the objects rather than the person those objects stand for. If this was the place where Jesus died and was buried then why build a church on top of it? Why not leave it how it was when Jesus was there?

Soon after leaving the Church of the holy Sepulcher we headed down the streets through the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem. We exited out the Damascus Gate. This gate was very much how it would have been in the times of the Bible. We then walked on top of the northern wall till it connected to the eastern wall. We headed down the eastern wall to the pools of Bethesda. These pools are the pools where the lame man would have been in John chapter 5. These are not swimming pools but rather 50-60 ft deep caverns cut from rock where the rain water would be caught up and stored in. What impressed me most about these pools was there size. For such a small city as Old City Jerusalem is the walls and the pools were both huge. I think that seeing these filled with water would have been something incredible to see.

After staying at the pools of Bethesda for a little bit, we headed into the Catholic Church that was at the pools and sang “It is well with my soul”. The acoustics inside these churches are remarkable. I think that all churches should be built out of stone so the sound echoes off the walls into a never ending peaceful tone.

I didn't attach pics to this post cause it was already so big. They are on facebook though.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014461&l=06053&id=159900831

First Day, Kiriath Jearim, Abu Gosh.

2009-01-19T10:37:00.000-08:00

Today was our first full day of IBEX. We started it out with breakfast at 7 am. Having Jet Lag made it super easy to get up that early, I don't think that will always be the case. Breakfast was surprisingly good I didn't like the sushi they had nor the yogurt. But they had some good eggs, toast, and granola. Hopefully its like that all the time. After breakfast at 8 we went to the class room for Orientation. That went well. I feel more orientated now. Anyways, that lasted till about lunch time. Lunch was also very good. Maybe the food isn't so bad here afterall?

After lunch we had our first class. It was land and the Bible, so you can pretty much guess what it was about. We just went over our syllabus for half an hr or so and learned part of song in Hebrew. It sounded great. After that I had a meeting for my job. I am going to be charge of cleaning the Miklat (bomb shelter) which is mainly used as a hangout room and a room for watching movies and stuff. Basically its the lounge. I also am in charge of Chapel set up and tear down. I make a mighty team of one. I don't think that will be to difficult though. I also get to tear down the class room in preperation for church on saturdays, and then clean and set it back up for class on mondays. I might have some help with that cause moving the tables is hard I guess.

After that meeting I hurried down to the dorm to drop my class stuff off so I could then go on our hike for land and the bible. We live at the Yad Hashemona. It is on the hilltop directly west of the city of Kiriath Jearim. This is wear the ark of the covenant stayed for twenty years after the philistines captured it and returned it. After 20 years David took it to Jerusalem where he had built a tent for it. This can all be read for yourself in 1 Samuel 7:1-2 and 1 Chronicles 13. It was pretty sweet to walk wear the Ark of the Covenant has been. So we walked to Kiriath Jearim. On the top of that hill there is a catholic church that we went to and expolored. The Church has a Mary and I think maybe Baby Jesus standing on top of the ark of the covenant as its steeple. After going there we walked to the next down which is Abu Gosh. This is a little bit bigger town. Still not to huge though. There we ate some fresh Pita with some ground Hyssop on it as seasoning it was delicious. After eating the Hyssop pita, we went to another Catholic Church, this is was even more amazing than the first. Its archetecture dates from the 11th Century Crusades. Inside the sanctuary we sang both a hebrew hymn and a English one. The sound was incredible. I think i might have even sounded good. Probably not!!!

After that we were free to walk around the city a little. I was a little surprised at how dirty it is here. There is garbage all over the place. Then we had dinner. I wasn't that hungry cause of the pita we had earlier. But it was pretty good. They had some type of Spaghetti and Meatballs dish that was edible. After dinner I went down to my room and then came up to the library and did some hw. Now I've been writing this for a while. Guess I should attach some of my fav pics as well. I'll put up the link to the whole album which is on facebook. Let me know if that works for yall. Thanks

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014440&l=3a6ed&id=159900831

Travels and first day!

2009-01-19T01:44:00.000-08:00

Hey, WE MADE IT! I left home on tuesday and after a whirlwind trip in california we left california saturday morning. I had tons of fun in califonria with my friends. I'm not gunna lie I almost cried when I left, ok maybe I did a little. We flew from Lax to Newark. Then from Newark directly to Tel Aviv. Our trip to Newark was kinda boring, and the plane was pretty ghetto. In Newark we had a brief layover. Pretty much used it to call home and txt some friends for the last time. Our flight from newark was awesome! We had our own personal tv's, which had tons of movies and tv shows. There was also games. I decided not to sleep on the plane. I'm still not sure whether that was a good idea. We actually arrived in Tel Aviv and hour and fourty five minutes early. That's how long it takes me to fly from Portland to La. After getting all our luggage we loaded up the bus and headed to the Yad Hashmonah (that's where we live). I took some pics of our trip. They are on facebook. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014439&l=9f581&id=159900831

I think I'm really going to enjoy the time I have here. Our rooms are really small, but we'll manage. The dinner wasn't too great last night but breakfast was really good so i think I'll manage. There's always pita and Humus(not HAMAS).... Today we had our orientation and got our computers hooked up to the wireless network. We don't have wireless in the dorms so I'll have to come up to the library area to use it. I'll make due though. The land is beautiful. Here's on pic of me and my roommates in front of the IBEX sign. And another of the view from Yad Hashmonah (where we live), its looking out over the Shephelah down into the coastal Plain. There's so much history here I'm stunned by the fact that I'm actually here. I have a sore throat today so pray I don't get sick. I think I'll be ok though I've been taking airborne. Not much else to say yet. Tomorrow we are going to the old city Jerusalem. I'm so excited. Bye for now Ty

My bags are packed and I'm ready to go!!!!

2009-01-12T20:38:00.000-08:00

So It's Monday January 12th. I finished packing up my stuff to leave in the morning for California. This is what my room looked like right before I finished. As you can see it was quite the mess. I am happy to announce that I fit everything I need into the two 50 lb bags and one backpack. Here's a couple pics of them all packed up. I think it looks much better in the bags than outside the bags. So these are what I'll be living out of for the next 16 weeks. Good thing I'm big and strong so I can lug them around. They are actually under weight though so I should be good to go. K that's all for now folks.