A Gentile In Jerusalem

This Is It

2008-12-13T01:08:00.002-06:00

Today is my last day in Israel. I'm going into the Old City one more time, and then going to Tel Aviv to catch a plane back.

11:45pm - leaving Tel Aviv for Newark

4:30am - arrive in Newark

1:00pm - after waiting in Newark for around 7 hours, depart Newark for Omaha

3:30pm - after a long day/night/day, arrive in Omaha

This Is It...

2008-12-09T02:51:00.002-06:00

I leave here from Israel on Saturday evening, so I've only got a few days left. Pretty much all of my work is done, including my large paper on the atonement of Christ through an Old Testament sacrificial perspective. The only thing I really have left is a test for my Modern State of Israel class. I'm not sure how I'm going to spend my free time this last week in Israel, but I'm going to try and make sure that I use it in the best ways possible.

By the way, I sent in my online application to Trinity Evangelical Divinity School this morning. It makes my time here really seem like its about over, and I'm starting to focus on this upcoming last semester and post-graduation plans.

The End Is Nigh

2008-12-02T13:31:00.003-06:00

I've got less than two weeks left here in Israel. Something like 11 days or so. I'm not sure how to feel about it. On the one hand, I've really enjoyed my stay here. But on the flip side, my time is nearly up and its time to go back to the States. And it will be good to see family and friends again, and perhaps enter into a life with some sense of normalcy or routine again. Besides, I need to finish up my last semester so I can finally graduate.

Post-Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T02:03:00.004-06:00

Thanksgiving came and passed two days ago. It didn't even seem like it was here. They don't celebrate Thanskgiving in Israel for various reasons, probably because its an American holiday and there were no Jewish pilgrims. We made a great Thanksgiving meal anyways of turkey, potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and all that other good stuff you eat on Thanksgiving.

We also played some football that morning, which was a lot of fun. Speaking of football, I'm finishing up watching highlight of a day after Thanksgiving tradition: the Nebraska-Colorado game. Wow, what an awesome game and win for the Huskers.

Later on Thanksgiving, we went on a short hike to the caves of Adullam. Going for a hike after eating a large meal didn't seem like the best thing to do at the time, but it was a good time anyways. For those of you who don't know, when David and his men were hiding out from Saul, they took refuge in the caves of Adullam. In other words, the kingly line of David and the nation of Judah began at Adullam. That was something else for us to be thankful for that day.

My Latest Exploits

2008-11-25T11:48:00.010-06:00

Let me give you a rough synopsis of Greece. I spent 2 days in Athens, 5 days on a small and beautiful island called Santorini, and then another 2 days in Greece. The weather was very nice, even though it was starting to get into their "winter time." It wasn't hot, and the tourist season was on the decline for the year, making it a very enjoyable time on the island.

Athens was great. I loved the ruins and the history around it, particulary the museums I was able to frequent. The plaka, which was a busy district full of food, shopping, and tourist stands was always interesting to walk around, though it wasn't really representative of the rest of the city. Of course, the Acropolis and all of its ancient remains were quite amazing to look at. After seeing decaying Israelite ruins the whole semester, it was a nice break to see some pretty well-preserved Greek ruins.

Santorini is one of those picturesque small Greek islands with the white villages. Though it was a very tourist island, it had a small or almost personal feel to it. I suppose if the Midwest were a Greek island, it would be Santorini. It was also very beautiful, with the sea and its beaches of black and red sand. We were able to rent 4-wheelers and go explore the island one day. Also, we met a couple from Orange County who we affectionately called the T's and another lady from Australia on the island. We had a good time getting to know them and hanging out.

Here are some pictures from my latest exploits.

The Acropolis in all its glory.

After 2300 years, they are still not finished building the Parthenon, as you can clearly see from the scaffolding.

Me standing atop Mars Hill.

One of the great views on Santorini.

The black beach.

I have no idea what this place was supposed to be, but it was cool.

The village of Ia on the northern point of Santorini.

The sunset from Ia.

Sharing a communal dinner with our new friends.

I had a complicated relationship with the pigeons of Athens.

I'm Not Dead

2008-11-24T14:20:00.003-06:00

No, I'm just back from Greece. It was a delightful trip: all in all it was pretty relaxing and somewhat low key. Not too many exciting stories. I'll fill you in later, but I'm tired from the past 10 days. I just wanted to let you all know that I'm still alive and in relatively good condition.

Greeced Lightning

2008-11-14T01:18:00.004-06:00

I'm going to Greece today. Well, actually, tonight. Actually, if you want to be technical, I'm leaving tomorrow morning. Its that late night/early morning crossover. I'm leaving here at 2:00 AM to go to Tel Aviv so I can fly out at 6:00 AM. It should be fun, except for the fact that I'm sick right now. I'm not sure what it is, either a bad cold or a touch of the flu. I'm doing better than I was yesterday, but I'm still not great. I'll probably hang out at the hostel until I feel better.

See you all in about 10 days (something like that). I'll probably look something like this after I get back from Greece:

I'm Back

2008-11-09T07:20:00.002-06:00

I got back from our long trip to Galilee late yesterday afternoon. It was a great time exploring northern Israel and spending some time around the Sea of Galilee. Unfortunately, I don't have much time to expound upon it right now. This is a pretty busy week for me. I've got some tests and quizzes to prep for later this week, and I'm starting to get some work done on a hefty paper due at the fast-approaching end of the semester. And on top of all that, I'm leaving for Greece in a week on Saturday. If I'm not careful, things might start getting hairy in the next month.

Going To Galilee

2008-10-31T06:40:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow, we're going north to Galilee and won't be back for over a week. Don't think that anything bad has happened when I don't post for a week.

By the way, happy Reformation Day.

Eating Kosher

2008-10-28T10:21:00.003-05:00

"The milk came out of the meat, so why can't we mix it?"

- Cesar Peynetti on adhering to the Jewish kosher laws.

My Lesson In Archaeology

2008-10-27T11:30:00.002-05:00

Our past two days were spent hanging out at an archaeological dig, helping out with the excavations and doing some of the work. I must say, I was extremely disappointed. We didn't get to fight any Nazis for ancient artifacts , there were no times of high adventure, and we didn't travel around to any exotic locations.

Instead, we went to parts of Old Jerusalem and assisted with the digging. Yesterday, we sifted through dirt and large piles of materials looking for pieces of interest. Mostly, we just found pieces of old pottery and ancient building materials, though pieces of mosaic stones and Byzantine-era stained glass were pretty common as well. Today, we went to an excavation at Hezekiah's Tunnel. It was a bit more tedious and even less exciting. Pretty much all we did was line up into a bucket brigade and pass sacks of soils and rocks from the excavation site to a truck bed outside.

So if anyone ever tells you that archaeology is an exciting field to work in, I suggest you look at them somewhat cynically. It may very well be interesting, but exciting is not a correct description. Maybe if there was more action, or even some faces being melted by the Ark, it would be more exciting. I love the Indiana Jones films, but beware: they are not accurate representations of real archaeology.

A Thursday Evening

2008-10-23T14:18:00.002-05:00

So I'm sitting here outside on a cool night, looking out at the hills. I've been here coming up on two months now, with about another 7 weeks to go before I head back to the States. Even though I've still got a bit of time left, it feels like the semester is almost over. I started getting ready to register for classes next semester, which always means the end is looming on the horizon. But as I've been looking at the calendar, my time is starting to become limited. In a couple weeks, we are off to Galilee for I think around 8 days or so. After a week back here at YadHashmonah, the week of travel study break begins, meaning I'll be in Greece for almost 10 days. None of that is bad by any means, but I'm starting to think about the papers which are going to be due that last week. My first one for History of the Modern State of Israel is coming along nicely, and should be done hopefully by this weekend. My other paper, the larger one, I haven't yet started on and is probably going to be quite heavy. Its going to be a joint paper for my History of Ancient Israel/Life of Christ classes, and I'm planning on analyzing the atoning death of Christ through the eyes of the Old Testament sacrificial system.

Everything else is great. We went on a trip to Samaria yesterday. It seemed quite a bit shorter than our others. Although, taking a four-day trip to the wastes of the Negev has a tendency to do that. I didn't take many pictures, so I probably won't put any up. But I did see a few cool things, like the ancient sites of Ai, Bethel, Shiloh, and Shechem.

Negev Pictures

2008-10-19T13:18:00.010-05:00

Before I go on with the rest of this post, I need to tell you about this awesome incident which happened on the boardwalks of Eilat last week. As myself, Eric, and Cam were exploring the area, we came across a band playing traditional Jewish music on keyboards over and over with no stop, and a circle of Orthodox men dancing around and clapping. As we stood their watching them, they grabbed our hands and pulled us in. To make a long story short, we dancing, pranced, and clapped with Orthodox Jewish men in a circle for about 20 minutes. You have no idea how happy I was.

So just as I promised you earlier here are a few of my pictures from my trip to the Negev last week.

This is a well at the site of ancient Beer-Sheva. Its not the well that Abraham dug in making a covenant with Abimelech, but its similar.

Cam, Eric, and I are standing atop a facsimile of the altar which was found at Beer-Sheva. We're wearing hardhats because we're hard at work.

This is the holy of holies at the high place in Arad.

Some of us men and Adventure Bill standing at the top of the Nahal Zin after climbing out of the canyon.

The sun behind the clouds was beginning to drop when we were at the ruins of Avdat.

A cloudy sunset at Mactesh Ramon. You can somewhat see the dropoff of the cliff.

Since the Wilderness of Paran is so large and desolate, the military uses it to test and train with tanks, artillery, and bombs. They do a pretty good job of letting you know that, but I like to live dangerously.

The sunrise from atop Masada.

These are some columns, frescos, and mosaics remaining from Herod's palace on the north end of Masada.

Yeah, I climbed that.

One of the caves at Qumran. I believe nearly half of the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in this particular one.

This is a model of the tabernacle that we visited.

Out Of The Wilderness

2008-10-17T11:48:00.007-05:00

So we got back from the Negev this afternoon. I'm alive and in one piece, which is good I guess. For those of you who don't know, the Negev is the southern part of Israel extending down to the Red Sea and into the Sinai Peninsula. It is the orange part on the map here:

For the most part, it is an arid land of rocks, hills, and dirt with rivers being few and far between. I'll elaborate later this weekend and put up some pictures, but we did a lot of things. Some of the highlights that are immediately brought to mind are spending an evening at Mactesh Ramon (which is a giant crater 5 miles by 20 miles), snorkeling among the fish and coral reefs at Eilat on the Red Sea, and taking a strenuous hike up to the top of the mountain fortress of Masada at 5:00 AM to see the sunset.

By the time I got back this afternoon, I felt a lot like this...

Sukkot

2008-10-13T01:42:00.003-05:00

Today is the first day of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. Everyone builds tents and booths out of palm branches and live in them during this week to commemorate the time when the Israelites lived in tents in the Wilderness after the Lord took them out of Egypt. First, we built our own. Then we went into the Jewish quarter of the city and observed the fair which was going on. It was pretty much a really busy street of shops and outdoor markets selling goods and things in preparation for the most festive holiday in the Jewish calendar. I guess you could compare it to the preparations for Memorial Day weekend or the 4th of July.

Also, I'm going to be gone all week out in the Negev. We're leaving tomorrow morning, and we won't be back until Friday. Don't get worried when I don't write anything for a while. In the words of Jack Burton from Big Trouble in Little China, "OK, you stay here, hold the fort, and keep the home fires burning. And if we're not back by dawn...call the president."

Yom Kippur

2008-10-08T13:15:00.002-05:00

This evening marked the beginning of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. As said, it began this evening at sundown, and lasts all day tomorrow until sundown. Yom Kippur was the day when the high priests would make the sin offering for atonement of the entire nation of Israel in the temple. But today, since there is no temple or sacrifices in modern Judaism, they instead offer prayers in lieu of a physical sacrifice.

What makes Yom Kippur interesting today is that the whole country literally shuts down. Everyone, whether they be secular or Orthodox Jews, spend the whole day inside their homes resting and fasting, hoping that their personal atonement can tip the scales of good deeds in their favor. Since the whole nation has shut down, we were hanging out on the freeway earlier tonite. No one is out driving, except for the occasional ambulance, police car, or Arab taking advantage of the empty roads by hot-rodding.

Singing A Song in the Key of the Dead Sea

2008-10-05T09:12:00.006-05:00

So we just got back from an overnight camping/hiking adventure at the Dead Sea and En Gedi. Quite exhausting, but a great time nonetheless. The Dead Sea was pretty fun. People are right; it is impossible for you to sink in the Dead Sea. And its hard to actually swim also, because you keep getting pushed to the surface because of all the salt. All you can do it float around like human canoe. And the water had so many minerals, it felt like I was swimming in baby oil. I felt pretty funky after getting out.

The evening was really good. There aren't any cities around for a ways, so the stars were quite bright out. I spent a good deal of time laying on my back and just looking at the constellations. I'm really looking forward to the nights in the Negev in the coming weeks, where I am literally camping in the middle of nowhere in the desert. There should be some great stars out there.

This morning, we went hiking around En Gedi, the ancient city in the tall, dry mountain wilderness around the Dead Sea. It was really dry, and I'm glad it wasn't extremely hot like it often gets. Hiking around those desolate areas really gave me an idea of what David felt like when he was being pursued by Saul for ten years in that area. Just trying to survive out there for a short period of time with no one chasing you would be difficult enough. It really made me think about how he had to fully rely on God at that time. There were, however, a few streams here and there, which formed little pools with vegetation and shade around them. Those were pretty fun.

The sun rising on the Dead Sea. The mountains on the other side are in Jordan.

Buck, Eric, and I are being bros at En Gedi. You can see the Dead Sea in the background.

Meghan and I are probably doing something dumb here.

I'm acting like a Tusken Raider in the wasteland of Tatooine. "Ururrhurgurrurrhur!"

Samson, David, and Rambo

2008-10-02T10:44:00.012-05:00

Yesterday we went on a field trip through the Shephelah, which is the region of lowlands coming down from the hill country in the center of Israel and stretching along the Mediterranean. It was neat, and had a lot of history, particularly around the relations between the Philistines and the Israelites. I guess that would make sense, because parts of the Shephelah were controlled by the Philistines during the times of Saul and David.

I don't have a picture of these particular caves, but we stopped at some chalk caves which are notable because a part of Rambo III was filmed there.

We also went to Gath, though I don't have any good pictures here either. There wasn't a whole lot of good ruins to see, and I wanted to take in the great view and breeze atop the city mound.

On a less important note, there were a few of us who also had a debate about which is better: The Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi. I think I made a good case for The Empire Strikes Back.

Here are some pictures (not of our debate):

This is the Sorek Valley, as seen from Beth-Shemesh. This valley is where Samson had many of his dealings with the Philistines.

This is the Elah Valley. This is where the battle between David and Goliath took place.

Here is the brook in the Valley of Elah from which David drew his five smooth stones. I had to pick up a couple for good measure.

Of course we needed a coonskin moment at the Valley of Elah.

We had another coonskin moment later at a Roman ampitheater near Beth-Guvrin. Naturally, we had to fight and have a gladitorial competition.

These are the ruins of the city of Lacish. Lacish was an important city in the southwest of Judah. It served as the main line of defense against Egyptian marauders. It was also one of the last holdouts of Judah during the Babylonian siege in 586 BC. The siege ramp that Babylon built is still evident on one side.

Happy New Year

2008-09-30T07:24:00.003-05:00

Today marks the beginning of Rosh Ha-Shanah, the new year of the Jewish calendar. I'm not sure what all this entails, but I guess I'll find out.

Oh, and last night I got to do some serious grilling. I labored over a grill making burgers for everyone here. It felt good flipping meat over a hot grill again.

Ephesians 2:19-22

2008-09-27T12:09:00.005-05:00

This morning, we went to a church in Jerusalem rather than our normal church/assembly with others living at the Moshav. The makeup of the church was a bit strange; I had never heard of a Baptist/Pentecostal church before (they didn't seem too Pentecostal), but evidently they exist in Israel. Nonetheless, it was a great and interesting time. The people were very gracious to have us there, and it seems that they get quite a few visitors from other nations. That was what struck me as the neatest thing: their demographic was extremely diverse. Although they didn't really have a sermon today and they instead spent time reading Scripture and praying, they had people come forward to read and pray in a total of seven different languages. It was a great picture of all of God's redeemed from across the world joining together to sing praises to God for eternity. I think we in America forget that the Church is universal across the Earth and throughout time, and have the mindset that it is simply us at this present moment.

I think that they were very encouraged by us as well. I was asked to introduce who we were and then gave my testimony. We all then sang "It Is Well" for them all (no, we're not a traveling choir). Talking with the people afterwards was a fun time as well. I even met one of them later in the afternoon hanging out in the Old City and had a nice talk with him (he's the first real ship captain I've ever met!). Even though we might have some varying doctrinal differences, we can all stand together under the banner of the Gospel of Jesus Christ/Yeshua Ha'Mashiach to offer Him our praise for His work on the cross.

A Blessing of Rain

2008-09-26T06:17:00.014-05:00

It rained today. Evidently, it was the first rain they've received since May. Afterwards, the hills were full of a dense, clinging fog. It was pretty neat.

Here are a few pictures from our trip the other day...

A coonskin moment while atop the Mount of Olives facing the Old City.

An Arab man giving donkey rides.

Drew and Eric sitting in Gethsemane.

A coonskin moment in front of a tourist group at the church of Gethsemane. They loved us.

The Orthodox Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, standing over the site of the birth of Christ. It was probably the most beautiful church I've seen yet, but I didn't like it. There was too much mysticism and iconography around.

The ruins of the Herodium, Herod the Great's personal fortress built on top of a steep hill south of Jerusalem near the wilderness.

A coonskin moment among the ruins of the Herodium.

I Am Spartacus

2008-09-23T12:32:00.007-05:00

In November, we get a week totally free where we can travel wherever we want to. Its not only for fun, but also a way for us to leave the country briefly so our visas can renew themselves. So I just bought plane tickets to go to Greece for ten days with three other people.

The days are getting less hot, which I like. Although whenever we've been out in the wilderness, its hotter than three dogs screaming. But its been cooling off very nicely in the evening. I even have a slight chill right now.

On Saturday, we went to the beach at Ashkelon. The sunset on the Mediterranean was quite possibly the most beautiful I've ever seen.

Purple Rain

2008-09-21T07:05:00.007-05:00

Our homemade grape juice from the vines here at the Moshav. Triple-strained for the highest quality possible.

Video shot and edited by Cesar Peynetti.

Here's To Abner...

2008-09-19T08:28:00.014-05:00

Abner Chou. A man among men. Remember that name, because he is going to be the next great Bible scholar from America.

And I have the privilege of being his student and friend.

Abner is an absolutely brilliant guy. He is a genuine genius. The wealth of knowledge that he has in his mind is boggling, and the way that he can recall it is even more baffling. His thought process is incredible. Heck, he can even read two pages of a book at a time. God has given him a truly amazing mind. But more importantly, he is an incredible teacher. He relates with his students extremely well. His humility in spite of his acute mind is inspiring. And on top of all that, he is only a few years older than I am. I think he is around 26, and he is finishing his doctorate program already (he graduated from seminary in three years with multiple degrees).

But he is also a friend as well. We are doing Greek New Testament reading with a couple other guys one night a week, and his home is almost always open if we want to come over and hang out. I'm not writing this to suck up to him or anything. I assume you readers want to know what its like out here. Studying with Abner is one of the great joys and privileges that I have here in Israel. And I'm serious, in 15-20 years, I'm sure that he will be known as one of the next great Bible scholars.

On a different note, here are some pictures from our last field study:

This is the Beth-Horon ridge. It was an important ridge for travel. One of the events which happened here was when the Lord pounded the Amorites with hailstones and Joshua asked the Lord for the sun to stand still in Joshua 10.

Here are some ruins from a Crusader-era church built on the site of Nebi-Samwil, the traditional site of Samuel's burial (though its probably not really it).

I'm hanging out in the abandoned and unfinished home of the former Jordanian King Hussein in the West Bank (the West Bank is quite safe; the dangerous part of Israel is Gaza). It also stands upon the ancient city of Gibeah.

"The Pass" between Michmash and Geba. Jonathan and his armor bearer crawled up its side and attacked the Philistines in 1 Samuel 13.

This is just an IDF soldier at a checkpoint as we crossed into Jericho, which has been granted control by the Palestinians.

This mosaic was at Jericho.

The walls of Jericho which were brought down by Joshua and the Israelites.

Dirt and Sun

2008-09-17T12:11:00.002-05:00

I'm kind of tired and have some other things to do, so I'm going to make this short, but I'll put some pictures up later of the day's events. We went all around the land of Benjamin today. I didn't know all of the history that happened in the land. We started out by taking some of the passes and roads along the ridges that were commonly traversed in the Old Testament. There were numerous battles fought along these passes and ridges, including the one where Joshua had the Amorites in pursuit, in which God sent hailstones upon the Amorites and Joshua asked for the sun to be stopped.

I think the sun was still stopped today, because it was a long day and the sun beat down on us in relentless fashion. Later, we went out to the Judean wilderness, where it was quite barren and very hot. But it was still a good time. We went to a few places of interest, such as the pass between Michmash and Geba in which Jonathan and his armor bearer climbed up and launched a suprise attack on the Philistines. We finished off the day by going to Jericho. We saw the lower parts of the stone walls which were excavated (because it seems that only the clay upper walls collapsed, forming a ramp for Joshua and the Israelites to enter the city). The site was also littered with ancient pottery shards, which I helped myself to.

Anyway, I'm beat. I'll make a more in-depth post later with some bonus photos.

Boker Tov

2008-09-15T00:24:00.008-05:00

I've been pretty busy, but I'm not sure if there has been anything absolutely noteworthy that needs to be said. The weekend was good. I went into the Old City to hang out most of the afternoon and evening. Eric and I spent some time getting lost in the Muslim Quarter, walking up and down a lot of side streets and going to places you can't necessarily go to with a larger group. Then we went to Christ Church (which is the first church in Israel - see two posts earlier) to hang out and read at their coffee shop and cafe which they have with their hostel.

Later, we went to a little outdoor cafe to get some shawarma for dinner. It was the first time I had ever had it, and it was awesome. For those of you who don't know, its a type of Middle Eastern sandwich consisting of a pita filled with hummus, curried chicken, spices, and various sorts of vegetables (mine had onions and pickles). Very good, and very flavorful. The man who we got it from kept telling us that it was "the best shawarma in Jerusalem!" I also got a cup of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice.

The walls of the Old City lit up at night.

We also came across a time travel device called the "time elevator."

Weird Things Happen Here

2008-09-11T10:54:00.004-05:00

I just thought I would take a few minutes to let you know how strange and quirky of a place Moshav YadHashmonah is. First off, its a living community outside of Jerusalem founded around 1950 by Finnish Christians. If that is not quirky enough, there are always random bizarre things happening almost every single night. So far, I've experienced on the Moshav:

- either a wedding, bar mitzvah, or other form of celebratory party outside on the patio...every single night.

- said parties have featured such entertainment as Israeli pop music, accordian players, and a bagpiper in full Scottish regalia.

- a visit from the foreign minister of Finland.

- a lunch stop for a group of tourists associated with Benny Hinn.

- and to take the cake, tonight towards the end of dinner, there was a circumcision taking place on the opposite side of our dining area.

I couldn't make this stuff up. There is always something interesting happening around here. It makes me wonder what other odd things I'm going to witness.

Though it is pretty cool being here. No more than half a mile away on a hilltop lies Kiryat Yearim, which was where the Ark of the Covenant was kept until it was relocated to Jerusalem by David. I'm actually outside looking at it right now.

By the way, this is a picture I took from a hilltop at the Moshav early on a foggy morning...

Another Day

2008-09-10T10:55:00.019-05:00

Today we went into the Old City and walked around with more of a New Testament emphasis. It was a good day, with a lot more time spent in museums (with A/C) rather than, say, on the original temple mount steps in the blazing sun. This is going to be a short post, so I'll just put up some pictures.

Don't worry...we haven't converted to Islam. But the Dome of the Rock is still a beautiful building, and it sits right over the probable place of the Holy of Holies on the Temple Mount.

This is the first Protestant church in Israel. It's an Anglican church built around 1850, and they work on Jewish outreach.

We went to the Western (Wailing) Wall again. This time it wasn't Shabbat, so I was able to get some pictures.

Cameron and I eating fresh pita outside the Damascus Gate.

This is the non-traditional site of Golgotha and the Garden Tomb. The traditional and more probable location is at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. But it was still neat to go to and remember Christ, His work on the cross, and His resurrection. This is their supposed Golgotha, followed by their supposed Garden Tomb.

A coonskin moment at the Garden Tomb. He is risen indeed!

When we got back this evening, there was a wedding party going on here at the Moshav. I feel sorry that this guy at the party has to share his name with a certain someone else.

UPDATE:
Actually, I found out the next day it wasn't a wedding party. There was actually a tour going through Israel funded by Benny Hinn, and they stopped at the Moshav for lunch.

Fast Times at Yad HaShmonah

2008-09-08T12:53:00.007-05:00

The past few days have been pretty busy. I'll fill you in pretty quick here, and I might even show you a few pictures if you promise to be good.

Two days ago, we had some free time in Old City Jerusalem. I went to the Wailing Wall, which was quite an experience. In addition to the prayers and the notes at the wall, there was a synagogue in a tunnel against the wall full of Orthodox Jews saying prayers, which I explored for a bit. I also bartered with a merchant and snagged an intricate wooden chess set. I'll tell you what, some of those Arab merchants can be pretty ruthless in their barter tactics.

Yesterday we spent all day in Old Jerusalem looking at some of the sites relating to the Old Testament. We walked around the destroyed Temple Mount, which was pretty cool. That place was absolutely huge. We read the Psalms of Ascent while standing on the Temple Mount steps, which was also really neat. We also went to a few other sites not related to the Old Testament, such as the traditional site of the Upper Room.

Probably the best part was slogging through Hezekiah's Tunnel. For those of you who don't know, when the Assyrians came up against Jerusalem, Hezekiah built a wall to fortify the city (which we saw the remains of, also) and dug a tunnel to channel water into the city. So we started on one end, sloshed through the dark and watery tunnel underneath the City of David, and ended up at the Pool of Siloam (which was also the place where Jesus healed a blind man in John 9).

Also today, we went to the model city of Jerusalem before its destruction by Rome in 70 AD, located at Hebrew University's (I think) museum. We've been getting all these maps and diagrams of what everything looked like, and saw the ruins of much of it also, so I found it interesting to see a realistic representation of it in its original state. But perhaps the coolest thing I saw at the museum today was the Dead Sea Scrolls. They house a good portion of the Dead Sea Scrolls, so I was able to take a look at some really old manuscripts of Isaiah.

Okay, you've been pretty good, so here are some pictures:

This is a section of the remains of Hezekiah's wall. It used to be a lot taller.

The Hinnom Valley to the south of the Old City.

A Coonskin Moment atop a pile of rubble from the Temple Mount.

The Pool of Siloam at the end of Hezekiah's Tunnel.

The tombs of David. Might he have been buried here?

The Temple atop the Temple Mount at the model city. I felt like Godzilla walking around.

Shabbat

2008-09-05T09:33:00.002-05:00

So this evening marks my first ever Shabbat. For those of you non-Jews, that is the Sabbath. It starts at sundown on Friday and ends at sundown on Saturday. Unlike Americans, their day of rest really is a day of rest. Not to the point of everything shutting down, but it is a time where people rest from their daily duties. It should be interesting. We have a group dinner on Friday nights followed by chapel, so I'll be leaving here pretty soon to get ready for that.

We also have assembly on Saturdays instead of Sundays. Once again, for you non-Israelis, assembly is what people in Israel call church. The reason its called "assembly" or "gathering" is because to most in Israel, the word "church" refers to the Catholic church. On a side note, Jewish Christians are called "believers" rather than "Christians." The reason is the same as the reason its called assembly, but also because to most Arabs and Muslims in Israel (and the whole Middle East), a "Christian" is an American or a white person.

Life has been pretty good on Moshav YadHashmonah thus far. Class has been good so far. They are proving to be great already. For those of you who don't know, I'm taking the Land and the Bible, the History of Ancient Israel, the History of the Modern State of Israel, and the Life of Christ. Also, there are field trips galore for them all, so that should be awesome also. We're taking another full day going back into the Old City again on Sunday for class, with an emphasis on Old Testament history. I'm not sure all the places we are going to go see, but I do know as a fact that we are going to walk/crawl/stumble all the way through Hezekiah's water tunnel he built during the Assyrian siege.

I've also gotten some good perspective on some life things here as well. For one, I feel I can really relate to and empathize with a refugee coming to a smaller town in the midwest. Its not that I feel I'm hated or not wanted at the Moshav, or even in much of the city. I just feel like I stick out like a sore thumb, particularly because I'm not exactly a tourist or short-term visitor. And to make things even more awkward, I have a hard time communicating with those who don't speak English (though many do). Like I said, its not a feeling of unwantedness; I just feel a bit out of place. Its a bit odd.

By the way, I've got a wallet full of shekels. Israeli paper money is awesome, way cooler looking than American paper money.

Big Trouble in Old Jerusalem

2008-09-02T12:16:00.016-05:00

So today I took my first foray into the Old City of Jerusalem. If you couldn't tell by the name, that's where the old stuff in Jerusalem is. It was really cool. We spent nearly 8 hours walking around in systematic fashion. We were able to see a lot of it, but there were a bunch of places that we either couldn't spend a large amount of time at or even get to. Thats okay, it's only the first of multiple trips into the Old City that we'll be taking.

I took some pictures, which you are more than welcome to take a look at. I didn't take pictures at everything we went to, because I knew I'd get to some of those places again later.

This is the Citadel of David. It's pretty much a castle, and it's pretty much awesome.

This is me pretending to shoot arrows during the castle siege. I know, its kind of nerdy.

This is Dave and I standing atop the Citadel with the Mount of Olives behind us.

This is the view of the Mount of Olives from the top of the Citadel. I don't know if you can see them, but notice the Dome of the Rock in the center and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to the far left (the two gray domes with the crucifixes).

If you couldn't see them before, here they are...

Us men were having a coonskin moment in the citadel.

Looking down into the pool of Bethesda. If you don't know what that is, then read John 5.

The Dome of the Rock behind the Western Wall.

A Day That Didn't Last 24 Hours, But Felt Much Longer

2008-08-31T15:00:00.002-05:00

So I'm here in Jerusalem, moslty unpacked and starting to settle in for the evening. Yeah, evening. Its been a long 24 hours, though it feels like 36. My internal clock is all messed up, and I expect it to be for a couple days.

I'm really thinking this will be a blast. Though I've only been here for a little bit, things are just clicking together. Plus, its good to see some friends again that I hadn't seen all summer.

I don't really have any pictures taken yet for me to post, mainly for two reasons:
1) I haven't been here long or really seen anything significant, and
2) I'm not a tourist. I don't wear bermuda shorts or socks with sandals.

Like I said, I haven't seen much but a little bit of city from the highway and the things up here at Moshav Yad HaShmonah (the living community where we are staying in Jerusalem), so I haven't taken any pictures yet. But there is the Elvis Cafe down the street from us here, so I'll make sure to tell you all about that later on. I know, the anticipation is killing you.

The Joys of Travel

2008-08-30T17:26:00.002-05:00

So I'm sitting here in the Newark airport waiting for my plane to Tel Aviv. I've got a long layover, but it will be better in about half an hour when the Husker game starts. Thank God for the internet. I haven't missed watching or listening to a game in years, and I'm not about to start right now. GO BOFENSE!

This is my first time in New York, and I guess I'm not even really in New York. I did see the Empire State Building as we came in. I did my best to imagine King Kong smashing planes on the top. I think it worked. Everything else around the airport and the river looks like I thought it would based on crime and mafia movies. It was dockyards and big metal crates all over. I did my best to imagine some sort of "deal" going on in there. I don't think it worked.

Thus far, its been a pretty uneventful flight. I guess that is what you typically want when you fly. Typically, the only times you hear about a flight being eventful, bad things happen. At the very least, you miss your connecting flight and lose your luggage; at the other end, the plane explodes and you die. I'd prefer neither of those to happen, so I'm hoping my next and longest flight will be uneventful.

C'mon, Let's Light This Candle!

2008-08-29T21:58:00.004-05:00

Needless to say, its been kind of a boring week. Not boring in the sense that I have had nothing to do (because I've kept myself reasonably occupied despite my new lack of both employment and work at the church), but the feeling of being in a state of stasis as I wait to leave tomorrow. Speaking of leaving, I'm pretty much all packed and ready to go. It still doesn't feel like I'm leaving, and I don't suspect it will until I'm waiting around at the airport. I've almost forgotten the joys of air travel.

Anyway, its been a good summer, and I'm looking forward to heading of to Israel so that I can do some adventuring and take my last steps towards graduation. I am, however, going to miss some things:

- my family. Thats kind of a no brainer.
- my friends. That includes the bros in Lincoln, everyone at HPEFC, and those in California.
- the college football season. Yeah, I know it sounds stupid. But its my favorite time of the year, and I really want to see my Huskers play. Oh well, thats why internet radio was invented.
- my bike. I wish I could have ridden more this summer. And the Vuelta begins this weekend.
- the fall season. I don't think I realized how much I love autumn until I moved somewhere where it doesn't really happen. I'm guessing Israel is similar.

This isn't everything. Not by a longshot. Just a few things that came to mind right away. But for as much that I will miss here, I'm sure there will be awesome stuff waiting for me in Israel. Well, I hope so, or else this will be a long trip.

By the way, I got a Skype account. If you want to call me on it, you can find me as mike.awtry. Also, I've still got AIM (my name is theawtch). I'm not sure how much I'll be on, but these would be some effective ways to communicate with me, if you ever felt the need or desire.

Welcomes and Other Awkward Introductions

2008-08-24T23:27:00.000-05:00

This is the inagural post of this blog. If you're reading this, I guess you are in the loop of people who have gotten the address for my Israel blog. If not, then I guess you are some random stranger who happened to wander over here. That's fine, you're more than welcome to check back here as often as you like.

I guess I'll go ahead and state the reason why I've made this blog. In just a few scant days, I will be leaving to go live in Israel through the IBEX program through my school, The Master's College. I'm going to be gone until the middle of December, so I'll get the experience of living in the Jewish culture for about 4 months. I'm not going to be able to call anyone very often, though I will have my email ready. So in order to keep in semi-contact with others back home, I've made this to post my stories, experiences, pictures, and possibly videos while they are happening in Israel.

Thanks for tuning in, I guess. I plan on updating this on an almost daily basis, so check back often. Also, I know it kind of looks a bit rough. Over the semester, I'm going to try and make this look a tad bit better.