There is always so much to say and only two thumbs to type it out
with! We are wrapping up our time in Jerusalem and all of Israel.
Thursday we went to Yad VaShem, the Holocaust Memorial (as Dr.
Phillips said, it's hard to return to life as usual after that), and
the Israel museum where most of the Dead Sea Scrolls are kept. We
finished our field study at the Garden tomb, a secondary place where
people think Jesus may have been crucified and buried. We got to spend
some time in worship there.
Yesterday, Friday, we had our last exam in Israel, which went fine.
The. There was a small "certificate ceremony" and airport security
briefing. That was mostly for the benefit of the people leaving
tomorrow (Sunday) but it was helpful to know. Being officially done
with the Israel Seminar there was a lot of laughing and hanging out in
the evening. We played BananaGrams and I got to introduce some people
to my Indie music. We also saw Dr. Wilson! He is here giving some
lectures and he swung by the Knight's Palace to say hi to all of us.
It was really nice to see him.
Today, Saturday, is a free day for all of us. The people who are not
staying on for the Jordan extention are leaving at 1:30 tonight.
Naturally we are all staying up. We heard that Dr. Wilson was giving a
talk at a church today, so we decided to go over and listen. It
actually turned out to be a church service (it is the Sabbath after
all). After taking three classes with Dr. Wilson I had never heard him
give a sermon. His words, and message on pereseverance, as well as his
perspective really blew me away. Several of us said that it was one of
the best sermons we had ever heard.
The service ended too late to go to JUC for lunch so we walked over to
a highly recommended Filalfel place and ate in the sun. By 1:30 or 2
it gets pretty hot here, so seeing as we had nothing else we needed to
do we came back to the hotel to rest and in some cases blog.
So now some reflections: Jerusalem and all of Israel is just like my
best picture of it. The air is warm and dry with a smokey oregano
smell. Everything is built out of old white limestone. People brush
past speaking English and Hebrew, Arabic, French, Spanish, Japanese
and Korean. Everywhere you walk thousands of pilgrims and pillagers
have walked before you. The shops are full of colorful fabric and
shiny metal tea sets and hookahs and dust from shoppers trapsing in
and out. All the signs are in Hebrew, Arabic, and English.
The city has changed me, even though I don't quite know how yet. It
seems like under this bright sun (and there are almost no clouds here)
surrounded by white limestone, while we have been soaking in UV rays
we have also been soaking in the stories of our forefathers in faith.
Men and women that God was faithful to. A lot of times I've felt that
as I've walked around this land, God has been walking next to me. It
is kind of like his home town after all.
I have walked around here and listened to the stories of the Bible in
their locations in space, and listened to my teachers, and generally
been out of my own cultural context. I walked around Yad VaShem and
saw the degredation of dignity and hope. I realized that I want to go
to the place of pain and be a light, or carry the light I've been
given. Take it for what you will.
It's been a significant trip already, but I'm glad to have two more
weeks in Jordan. I'm excited to get to steep in Middle Eastern culture
a little more and see some more ancient sights. In Jordan we will have
a Jordanian teacher, the Dr. Phillipses will just be along for the
ride. There will be 12 of us staying on for that portion. We will
leave Monday morning. I will be vigilantly looking for wifi spots.
I miss you all and am thinking about you lots. Thanks for all the
comments, emails and notes on facebook to let me know that people are
reading these crazy rants. Expect more when I get back to the States!
Love,
Lauren
No comments:
Post a Comment