Jambo! Hello from Kenya!

Almost home

Hey all!

Here's some pics from our trip to Jordan:

recognize it from indiana jones? this is the treasury at Petra. it just got voted as one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world.  it's an amazing city built into the cliff.

this was a painful ride, this camel almost broke my back! i was sore for 2 days!

This is Mt. Nebo, where Moses looked across at the promised land. Great are the Lord's promises.

All over Jordan are pictures of the King and his family.

Back to Israel:

We got this amazing opportunity to go to the city of Hebron. It's very difficult to get in because of the political and religious conflicts. It is a holy site for both Muslims and Jews. We visited the Tomb of the Patriarchs- where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah are buried. the site is shared by Jews and  Muslims so there is a synogogue and mosque sharing the tombs.  The Jews get Jacob and Leah and the Muslims get Issac and Rebecca and they share Abraham and Sarah.  Ten times a year they open it up so they share all the tombs. crazy huh?

 The first is Abraham's tomb and i'm standing in front of Rebecca's tomb.  They are actually buried like 30 meters below.

Tomorrow is the last day of classes, we will be going on a two day trip to the Red Sea and then head back to the states.  It's been a wonderful experience but we are ready to be home.

Kenya Help!

Sea of Galilee Field Study

 Hey All,

We got back from our 4 day trip to the Sea of Galilee yesterday.  we stayed in a really nice resort and got to swim every night in the Sea of Galilee, the very place Jesus walked on water and calmed the sea.  The area of Galilee is where Jesus was for most of his public ministry.

Here are some highlights:

A boat trip, on the Sea of Galilee. (this isn't the actual boat we rode)

We went to a museum to see da 'Jesus' boat, an actual boat used by fisherman during the time of Jesus. It was discovered in the 1990s.

This church is situated on the Mt. of Beatitudes. While we were there we had a mini church service, with songs, a short message and a time of silence and prayer.  It was nice to take it easy and imagine Jesus teaching people about the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek...

This is a view of the Sea of Galilee from Mt. Arbel.

Mt. Arbel caves are made famous when Harod attacked them and lowered soldiers from the top of the mountain to the caves to burn out his enemies.  This was a highlight of our trip because we got to high down a vertical cliff.

This is Mt. Carmel where Elijah battled the prophets of Baal and cut their heads off.

This spot commemorates Jesus' feeding of the 5000 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.  This mosaic is very popular in Israel, you can see it on a lot of ceramics and postcards.

This is a tomb on the side of the street with a large stone, it could have been what Jesus' tomb might have looked like.

Day 8, 9, 10, 11

Hi All,

Tonight we took a break from looking at ancient things and went into the new part of Jerusalem to an area called the German Colony on Emik Refraim Street.  There were lots of people walking around, it was right after a Gay Pride Parade.  The riot units were just leaving when we got there.  I got to eat one of my favorite desserts. Fried Apple Pie from McDonalds.  YUMMY!