Day 11: There's no place like home...

As I sit here looking at the beautiful morning in New Mexico, I am amazed at how much my home state reminds me of Israel. The striking sunrises, the diverse landscape, and the beautiful scenery. It's such a blessing because in a way, I now don't have to look at my pictures to be reminded of my trip, I can just look out my front window.

I want to apologize for being so slow in getting this last post up--but after a grueling 36 hour trip back to New Mexico, I have been battling major jet lag, on top of nursing a nasty cold I picked up while overseas. But, I'd like to review my last day in Israel with all of you before I officially sign off on my adventure.

Day 11 was a long one because we started off at 7 a.m. and ended flying out of Tel Aviv at 12:45 a.m. But it was well worth it. We first went to Israel's Independence Hall in Tel Aviv, and I was able to see pictures of what Israel looked like in 1948. It is truly astonishing to see the transformation from nothing but sand dunes to the now bustling city of Tel Aviv. Israel has planted over 250 million trees since 1948, something that I still am not able to fully grasp. In New Mexico, there are certainly places you go and know that the trees you are looking at have been planted by a human hand. But in Israel, essentially every tree you look at has been hand-planted. It's pretty astonishing if you stop and think about it.

After Independence Hall we headed over to a hospital in Tel Aviv that hosts a program called "Save a Child's Heart." The mission of this organization is to find children born with life-threatening heart abnormalities and bring them to Israel for an operation. Each operation costs the hospital about $10,000, but the children's families don't pay a cent. It's an amazing place to visit, and being able to see these children who would have most likely died by the age of 4 but are now given their lives back is truly touching. I was able to go to the house where the children stay before and after their surgeries, and was so happy to see how God is working in the lives of these amazing kids. I got to meet a beautiful Ethopian little girl, who was waiting to have her surgery within the next couple of weeks. To see the children who have already had their surguries running around the yard, smiling and laughing, is a heartwarming experience.

After "Save a Child's Heart," we all went to the Tel Aviv market for lunch, and then had a free afternoon before our flight home. I walked the Mediterranean one more time, and took a little time to reflect on all that I'd seen and learned on this trip. Overall, it is an experience I will never forget. I know that one day I will be telling my grandchildren all about my trip to Israel with CUFI. The Bible is now so much more real to me because I am able to picture a lot of the places mentioned in my head whenever I read about them. It is my wish that each and every one of you gets to experience Israel at some point--it will change your life. However, I want to remind you all again that it doesn't take a trip such as mine to impact your relationship with the Lord. The biggest thing I learned on this trip is how much our Father loves us. It is a deep, compassionate, never-ending love, and He longs to be in a daily relationship with us. For me, that's what this trip to Israel was all about--learning more about my Father and deepening my walk with Him.

I am excited to be home, and I welcome any questions you all have for me. I know that some of you have tried to leave comments on my blog and it hasn't worked, but please feel free to shoot me and email at any time! If I get enough of the same questions I could always do another "Q&A" type blog. :)  Love you all, thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers throughout my trip. They were truly felt, and made an impact. Blessings to you all!

Picture: "Save a Child's Heart" (large left, top & middle). Independence Hall (bottom two)

Back home!

I wanted to let you all know I am back in the States and will be posting my last blog tomorrow after I recover from my jet lag!  Love you all!

Quick update

Hello everyone!  I wanted to let you know I'm not going to have time to do another blog post before I leave,  but I will for sure do one complete with pictures whenever I get home!  Getting ready for dinner and then driving to the airport.

U.S.A here I come!  :-)

Day 10: Gaza

Well, this morning was my last one in Jerusalem. As I left this wonderful city, I felt a twinge of sadness knowing I would not see it again for quite some time. It's nice to know that I will be heading home soon, but at the same time I think I will miss parts of Jerusalem a lot.

This morning started out with a lecture at our hotel by Col. Ben Gruber titled "Code of Ethics in the Field." It was very interesting to learn about all the ways the IDF tries to avoid collateral damage, and the state of the art systems which they work with. Colonel Gruber then drove with us down to Sderot (a city which you may hear about on the news) to get an overview of Gaza. It was amazing to only be a mile from the infamous Gaza Strip, and a little scary to be given instructions ahead of time on what to do if the alarm sounds warning of an incoming rocket. Everywhere you go in Sderot there is a bomb shelter--all the homes have them as well as the bus stops. What amazed me the most though was the local children's community center. At first, we all thought it was a nice little center because the actual town of Sderot is a little crowded, and there doesn't seem to be much room for public parks. However, after a tour of the building, we found out that it was actually a large bomb shelter where they would send their children to play, because it is not safe for them to play outside. With only 15 seconds to get into a shelter after the alarm sounds, no parent wants to take the risk that their child will be too far away from cover, so they make sure the kids are always safe. It was shocking to me that this type of thing was normal for these children. I kept thinking to myself how sad it was that these children didn't have any idea that the risk of rockets should not be "normal." It really reminded me how blessed we are in America that we can allow our children to play outside without worry of them being killed.

After touring Sderot, it was time to get our hands dirty. We went to a local kindergarten and helped fix up the place since the kids are starting up school again in September. It was so amazing to walk into the dirty building and work hard for 2 hours, and leave knowing and seeing that you made a difference. I loved the work, and was very convicted to continue doing community service such as this when I get back to the States. It's neat how 2 hours of your day can impact lives for months to come.

We then took a 1.5 hour drive to Tel Aviv and checked into our last hotel for this trip. I just got back from walking the Mediterranean beach (which is only about 2 minutes from my hotel), and the sunset was unreal. I am constantly reminded about how creative God is. From the intimidating yet beautiful desert, the majestic mountains, and the soothing beaches, He truly is an amazing God. I have loved being able to observe His handiwork throughout my trip.

Well, I leave at 12:35 a.m. Israel time tomorrow, which is 3:35 New Mexico time. I will see if I can get one more blog in before I leave, and I will certainly do a follow-up blog whenever I get back home. I want to thank you all again for your thoughts and prayers. This has been an amazing trip and I have learned so much, all while growing immensely in my faith.

Love to you all!

Picture: Overview of Gaza (top left), rockets that have been launched at Sderot (top right), at the beach (middle row & bottom left), children's community center (bottom middle), volunteering at the kindergarten (bottom right)

Day 9: He is Risen!

Shabbat Shalom, everyone! This is a Hebrew phrase that people say on the Sabbath, and it literally means "Sabbath Peace." No matter where you are in Israel on Shabbat, instead of the usual "Shalom!" greeting, you say "Shabbat Shalom." Today is going to be a relatively short blog, because in keeping with Sabbath, we did not do much today in the means of activities.

We started out the morning with a lecture on the politics of Israel, and then headed to the bus where we made a quick stop to see the Israeli Knesset (Parliament).  We then headed over to the Garden Tomb, the area where most believed Christ was probably crucified and then buried.

Being able to see Golgotha was amazing. You look at the side of the cliff and can literally see the skull formation. However, something interesting I found out is that the orgins of the name "Golgotha" are disputed. It is said that this area used to be a Jewish excecution site, where they would throw people off the cliff and then stone them. So, some believe this hill got it's name from this story. But, some people also believe it gets it's name from the fact that there is literally a formation that looks like a skull in the side. I would have to do more research in order to give my personal opinion, but my initial reaction when I saw the hill was "oh look... it looks like a skull!" Anyway, another interesting thing I found out is how my perception of the crucifixion has been very wrong. I (as I'm sure many others) have always pictured Christ being crucified on top of Calvary, just like we see in movies, paintings, and statues. However, the Romans wanted to make examples of those they executed, so they made sure to place these people where everyone would see them. So, Christ was actually most likely crucified along the road that ran right next to Golgotha. Which, if you think of the Bible, it talks about how the Romans wrote "King of the Jews" and placed it on the cross for all to see. If He was put on top of the hill away from the road, only the people who would have taken time out of their day to climb the hill would have seen it. Being crucified along the road made sure nobody would miss the event. It was very sad to see this place, however very humbling at the same time. Unlike at the Holocaust museum, Christ's death did not occur because He was a victim. Christ's death occured because I am a sinner and He loves me so much that He never wants to be separated because of my wrongdoings. In a way, this made it harder than the Holocaust museum--because Christ's death was my fault. I don't think there will ever be a time where I truly understand the full extent of His amazing love, but today definately put me one step closer. Because regardless or not of whether Christ was crucified at the exact location I was looking at, He was crucified, and He died a horrible death just for me. Talk about convicting...

After seeing the hill, we wandered a little ways down a path that led to a tomb carved from the rock. Now, was this the actual tomb that Christ was buried in? Maybe, maybe not. It was still really neat to see an actual tomb though, and know that Christ was laid in something like it. However, the most important part for me was not trying to figure out if this was THE tomb. The most important detail was the fact that no matter what tomb Christ was buried in, we would never find Him there, for He is risen! Even if you could prove to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was Christ's tomb, that wouldn't be what touched me. What touches me is knowing that Christ is alive and will be coming again for me, because He loves me so much to have died for me. It doesn't matter the exact location of events, what matters is the fact that the events happened--and they happened for us.

We then went up into a quiet part of the grounds and took communion together. It was a wonderful experience, and I felt so close to the Lord. Taking communion is supposed to remind us of the blood that Christ spilled and how His body was broken just for us--and there was no better place to do it than at Calvary hill.

I want to leave you with a Bible verse tonight (or this afternoon for all of you at home!) It is 1 Peter 2:24: "Christ carried our sins in His body on the cross. He did this so that we would stop living for sin, and start living for what is right. By his wounds, you were healed." -ERV

Picture: Golgotha (top left. Look to the right and you can see the skull in the rock), Garden tomb grounds (top middle and top right), Garden Tomb (bottom middle & right), Communion (bottom left)

Day 8: Shabbat

What an amazing roller-coaster ride I had today! I have had huge ups and downs, but thankfully am ending my day with an "up." I want to start out by apologizing for the delay in my last blog post, we had some internet issues at my hotel and I was unable to connect all day.

As I just mentioned, today was one full of emotion for me. We started out going to the Yad Vashem Memorial to the Holocaust, and as you can imagine it was a tough visit. I have studied the Holocaust a lot throughout my life, but the pain and shock of the event never seems to go away, no matter how many times I read about it. The museum was of course shocking, and it was very difficult to get through. However the hardest part for me was the children's memorial. You start out by walking into a room with a few pictures of Jewish children. You then move into an all dark room that contains five lit candles. The light from these candles is reflected by a bunch of mirrors, which makes it look like thousands of stars twinkling all around. This is supposed to remind us of the 1.5 million children murdered in the Holocaust. Now, I am not a mother yet, but all I could think about while going through this room was my beloved nephew, and my two youngest brothers-in-law. All three of these wonderful people in my life are the age of most of these children that were killed. I could not imagine losing them in such a horrible way, but even more so them having to go through such a terrifying ordeal. It was a heartwrenching memorial. So many times we go to memorials such as this and think something along the lines of "wow, how horrible..." and then kind of move on with our lives. I know for myself I have rarely had the courage to try to put myself in the same situation these people faced. What if I lost my mother, sister, husband, or child the way these men and women did? It was extremely difficult to think about, but it made me appreciate and grieve for these people so much more than I had in the past.

After the Holocaust memorial, we went to the Hertzl Cemetary, which is like the Arlington of Israel. It was so peaceful and quiet, and yet once again you were reminded of the pain of these soldiers sacrifice. You knew that these were sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, husbands, and wives buried there. The youngest Israeli soldier buried there was only 10 years old when he died fighting in the Israeli War for Independence.

After a really tough morning, we went to lunch at one of the local food markets. Now let me tell you... this market made Walmart on Black Friday look peaceful. Since it was the afternoon before Sabbath, everyone was there grabbing last minute supplies. You could hardly walk through the tiny alley ways, and had to put American manners aside for a bit and just shove your way through like everyone else. It was quite the experience. I told everyone in my group that I'm never complaining about Walmart again. :)

The next part of my day consisted of seeing the Pool of Bethesda (which was very pretty), walking the Via Dolorosa following the Stations of the Cross, as well as seeing the Church of the Holy Spulchre. This is one of the places people think Christ was crucified, although if you talk to many in the Evangelical church they say it was in a different place. To me the placing doesn't really matter, it's remembering why Christ was crucified. Whether or not I was looking at the exact location of the crucifixion was irrelevant to me--I was standing in the same area where Christ died for my sins, and it was very powerful. It really reminded me of the immense love my God has for me and how desperately He longs to be in a relationship with me for all eternity.

We then headed to the local market in the Christian Quarter in the Old City. I actually got really good at bartering and got a lot of neat stuff for fairly good deals. I didn't think I'd like bartering, but it became a really fun game for me to see what kind of deals I could get. It was definitely a cultural experience for me.  

After the market we headed to a host family's house for Shabbat dinner. It was probably the most amazing social experience I have ever had. We sang a bunch of upbeat Israeli songs, clapped our hands, and laughed until our sides ached. The food was wonderful and the atmosphere was even better. Even though the family was Jewish and not Christian, the experience really deepened my faith and brought such joy to my heart to be singing to my God and enjoying the moment. It was something I will never forget.   However, I was not able to take pictures once Shabbat started, so I apologize for my lack of pictures today.

Well, only 3 more days left in the Holy Land for me. I'm eagerly looking forward to seeing all of you again (especially you, Ryan! :) ), but at the same time I will be sad to leave this wonderful place. I have learned so much and know this is a journey I will always remember. I want to thank all of you again for your prayers, I love you all and can't wait to share my adventure with you when I get back.

Picture: Pool of Bethesda (top left & right, middle left), Via Dolorosa (middle right, bottom right), my new friend, Aundrea whom one of the merchant's here thought was my twin (bottom left), and the crazy market (bottom middle--this picture does it no justice)

Day 7: Indiana Jones!

As I look out on the city with the night lights twinkling on the horizon, I wonder what it would have been like for the kings of the Bible on a night such as this. With the crisp mountain air blowing through the trees and the stars above, it truly is a magical feeling. It reminds me a lot of home, but at the same time has a  unique character about it. I hope that one day the Lord allows me to see what this beloved looked like in the time of His servants such as David & Solomon.

Today was a very unique one for me. I learned so much that I am actually starting to get sensory overload. We started out going to an archeological dig from the Edomite period (about 2,200 years ago) and got to play Indiana Jones for the morning. I absolutely loved it, and learned how to find artifacts in the underground caves. I actually ended up finding about 10 pieces of pottery, and it was surreal to know that I had been the first person to touch that object in over two thousand years. After finding lots of hidden treasures, we then went spelunking in a cave nearby. It was so much fun to be crawling on your hands and knees at times throughout this ancient place. I had to lower myself down holes in the rock, lay on my back and squeeze through spaces with only a couple inches of clearance, and make sure I didn't blow out any of the candles  along the way.

We were then loaded into the bus to drive to Bethlehem. On the way, we passed the Valley of Elah, where David fough Goliath. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it, and once again longed to see what it looked like years ago. Right outside of Bethlehem our guide, Ronnie, had to leave us because he is Jewish and does not have a permit to enter the Palestinian controlled area (it is worth noting here that Palestinians are allowed to work in Israel even though Jews aren't allowed to work in Palestinian controlled areas). I was able to see the church of the Nativity, where some claim Christ was born. I personally doubt it was in the exact spot they claim, but the biggest thing I took from the experience was the caves. I could not imagine having to give birth to a child in a place like that, and it was so humbling to see the type of place where Christ entered the world. It was dark, dirty, and ugly to be honest. I was struck at the depth of His love for me to be willing to leave Heaven to come to a place like that cave--all because of my sins.

Walking through Palestine was a bit scary. Instead of IDF soldiers everywhere as in Jerusalem, there were Palestinian police patrolling the streets. There was a picture of Yassar Arafat around almost every corner, even in the office of the Church of the Nativity. But what struck me most was all the graffiti on the Israeli security wall at the edge of the city. The hateful and horrible language was not only offensive, but gave completely false accusations and spewed such hatred.

After leaving Bethlehem we met with Col. Danny Tirza--the man who was in charge of designing and building the security fence. An interesting fact to point out is that only 5% of the fence is actually concrete, something you don't see or hear in the American media. The rest is simply a fence with sensors and cameras. He explained to us the reason the concrete is up in the urban areas to protect the Israeli apartments from sniper attacks from the Palestinians, keep Palestinians from climbing a fence (it is over 9m high), and also to prevent the Palestinians from constantly setting off the fence sensors by throwing rocks at the fence. So, it just makes more sense to have a large concrete wall.

I think the biggest thing that impacted me today was how wrong the media is in portraying the Israel-Palestine conflict. Certainly, there are innocent parties on both sides being hurt by the conflict. But by no means is Israel the aggressor in this fight. In fact, Israel has tried several times to come to the table with peace agreements while Palestine refuses to cooperate. Instead of blaming Israel for "not cooperating" with the Palestinians, I think it is our duty as Americans, but more importantly as Christians, to strengthen and encourage them in their fight against terror.

On a personal side note, I feel obligated to tell all of you how much the Lord has been working in my life. Throughout these past few days I have discovered a love for God that I didn't even know I could experience. However, I think it can be really easy to fall into the trap of thinking that it takes a trip such as mine in order to discover this love. While being in the Holy Land is an amazing experience and truly lets you learn and see the Bible like no other way, I want to encourage each and every one of you to seek the Lord and really know how much He loves you. It will fill you with such peace and joy, and the wonderful thing is that it will never stop as long as you keep seeking Him--it is a life long journey.

Laila tov. ♥

Picture: At the security wall with Col. Tirza (top left), Valley of Elah (top right), playing Indiana Jones! (middle row), mountains outside Jerusalem (bottom left), Church of the Nativity (bottom right)