THURSDAY JUNE 19
First things first.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BROTHER CARSON!!!! WOOOOOO!!!
He turns 18 today, which makes me feel so extremely old. He's going to be a senior in high school, I feel like I'm still 18 and should be in high school, but I'm going to grad school. Where has the time gone?
(Grad school?? Dont worry, I'll give you the details at some point)
Today we had our last day of sight seeing.
I dont know if I mentioned the fact that a group of Germans came for a week to volunteer and they stayed with us at the guest house. But they did. And they went to En Gedi with us.
We are all wishing they had come a lot earlier, they were so fun to get to know and talk to. And it was just fun having another language in the house. English, Hebrew, Russian, and now German.
So anyways, we went to En Gedi, which was so beautiful.
It was so amazing how in the middle of the desert there is WATER!!
Then we went to the Dead Sea.
The first time we went we were very rushed and the beach wasn't good. This time we went to the Ahava factory beach where they have the black mud.
So we all mudded up and got to float on the sea again.
Seriously. I could float in that water for the rest of my life.
The rest of the evening was low key. We went out for dinner and debriefed some about our highs and lows of the trip and some significant things that happened for each of us. Our favorite places to visit, and some input for future trips. Sights we wish we had seen and that kind of thing.
FRIDAY JUNE 20
This has been a VERY long day.
We woke up and went to an archeological sight where they sift through the dirt that was removed by the Muslims from the Temple Mount. Which they did illegally AND threw into the city dump.
So. Infuriating.
I won't get on that soap box, so anyways.
We are talking dirt that predates Jesus. It's from the Temple Mount.
And we got to dig through it and find really cool things. It was very rewarding.
I personally found a piece of ceramic tile that was from the original Dome of the Rock decoration and dates back to the Ottoman Empire. I also found a piece of pottery that dates back to the Byzantine Empire. SERIOUSLY. If you know me, you know that all this history was killing me. I was loving it.
Two other really awesome things that were found by our group was a nail used to put on horse shoes during the Crusader time period AND they found a crusader arrow head. Which is a VERY rare find. They said they find one every few months or so, if that. So that was really awesome.
Next we had some time for last minute shopping and then we went to the Holy Sepulcher and the Garden Tomb.
It was really cool to see these areas. It was neat to see where people think that Jesus was crucified and buried and what the tomb would've looked like.
The Holy Sepulcher was absolutely beautiful.
We explored all the different passages through the Cathedral.
It was very crowded and reminded me a lot of Europe. It made my heart long for Italy.
The Garden tomb, on the other hand. Was so serene and calm. It wasn't busy when we went there, which was a blessing. The Garden Tomb is located right outside the Muslim Quarter of the Old City right outside Damascus Gate. It was such a great contrast from the bustling of the city and markets and a peaceful quiet space with trees and plants.
It was so humbling to see an empty tomb and know that I serve a living and loving God. It was the perfect ending to our trip. We began with prayer at the Western Wall and ended with Prayer at the Garden Tomb. Powerful.
Friday is Shabbat. So we had our last Shabbat dinner. We went to the arab market outside of Damascus gate to get a few vegetables for our meal.
Since Friday is a holy day for Muslims and Shabbat was starting and the kidnapping and uprisings, there were a lot of streets closed to traffic in Jerusalem. We also saw a lot more IDF and Israeli Police officers patroling the streets. This was all done to make sure more uprisings dont break out.
We went home and started cleaning the house and cooking and doing laundry and packing. It was crazy.
I was one of the ones packing.
Yes, this means no more Jordan for me (more on why later). I changed my tickets three days ago so I didn't have much time to prepare my heart for the leaving of the Holy Land. But I know it was God's will how it happened so easily for my flights and reservations to change. It is also humbling to be reminded that the plans I make, even though they are concrete plans, can and will be changed and are flexible. Many think they know what's best for their life and want to control their future. I am painfully slowly become less of that person and more trusting and open to God's plans for me.
Anyways. So we left for the airport in Tel Aviv at 1am. Got there at 2. My plane left later than everyone elses. So I waited around until 4:30am to check in and through security. A 3 hour flight to Rome.
God is so good to me for my layovers to be in Italy. It is amazing the healing He has done in my life the past month in Israel. On the way to Israel when we flew into Rome there were many tears, most of which were held back, because it broke my heart thinking of my past relationship and the sweet time that was spent in Italy during the relationship.
On the way back. No tears. No thoughts of the relationship. Just a love for Italy that will never leave my heart. I ate a YUMMY Italian margherita pizza. If you know me, you know pizza in Italy is my FAVE. Beats out any and all american pizza in my book.
I had a 4 hour layover at the airport. Secretly I think I could've hopped on a taxi to the Pantheon to grab a quick Gelato, but it didn't happen. Unfortunately Rome's airport in out in the boondocks.
While in the airport I was by some older men who were talking Italian. It was fun to listen to their conversations. They were speaking slow enough for me to understand most of it. They ended up being on my plane and sat in the row in front of me. One of them asked me if I spoke Italian because at one point I started laughing because what they were saying was so funny. Sweet Moments.
The 10 hour flight to NYC wasnt bad. Except, I fell asleep on the shoulder of the guy next to me. Which was embarrassing when I woke up, and I don't think his wife sitting on the other side of him appreciated it. oops....
Getting to JFK I shuttled to LaGuardia where I finally got a decent night's rest. If you call 5 hours a decent night's sleep. But it was enough to get me up at 3am to head back to the airport.
I was awake for like 48 hours or something close. From 8am Israel time on Friday to 10pm NYC time on Saturday (Which is 5am Israel time on Sunday). Wow. Long day.
Glad to be back in America, because I know it was the right decision. But, my heart is longing to be abroad, as it always is. But soon that desire will be fulfilled thanks to God's provision. More to come in the next post!!!!
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