Shalom from Jerusalem!

We are in Jerusalem! I don't care where you're from, but once you're here, your heart beats just a little faster. Last night, we had the opportunity to walk in the Old City with some friends who had studied here several years ago. They were worthy guides indeed and entered through the Jaffa Gate, got to experience the Suq of the Old City, and ended up at the Western Wall. To see people desiring to serve God with such intensity still hits a spot very deep in my heart.

Speaking of that intensity, before we came to Jerusalem, we visited a site near the Northwest corner of the Dead Sea called Qumran ("koom-rahn"). It is very likely that the people who occupied Qumran from about 150BC until about AD 67/68 were Essenes and were fiercely committed to following hard after the ways of God. They weren't perfect, of course, but I want that kind of intensity in my life. More stories about the Essenes when we get back. For now, it's back to the Old City with friends! See you in a few days!

Lessons from Sheep

Today, we were given a beautiful gift and demonstration not only of God’s power, but also of His faithfulness. RVL and the filming crew were hoping that we could see a flock of sheep in the Judean Wilderness (their “natural habitat” believe it or not). RVL says that he sees a decent flock in the desert on about half of his trips. However, we were told that this winter had been particularly dry, so the government had given special permission to the Bedouin to truck their sheep up to Galilee for suitable pasture. So we were not holding out hope. In the bus on the way to Arad, suddenly someone yelled to the front that there was a flock off to our left! There was, but it was quickly disappearing over the next hill over. We got off the bus fast, but the camera crew had to find us and catch up, too. We hurried over the hill and the shepherds (two little girls—not that unusual) were quite shy (as is usually the case) and they were leading their flock—a sizable one—farther away. We kept on hiking over the hills, and when we came around a corner, there was the flock, just across from us. We stood at a distance watching it move from right to left across the hill opposite us. It was wonderful! The shepherdesses were talking to the flock (leading by word, not stick!) and tossing stones—to the right and the left of the sheep, but not at them—to guide them to where they should go. But still the camera crew wasn’t there (hey, it’s not easy to lug all that equipment around). We figured they would just round the bend and be gone, but as the crew arrived with the equipment, the flock turned around and marched across the same hill opposite us again, only left to right. The crew set up quickly and got some pretty good footage, and all along, we were blessed by the experience—hearing the shepherds lead the sheep and even seeing one lie down in the green pasture (amazing!). As they disappeared from view (this time for good), we offered a prayer of thanksgiving to God. Little did we know that the experience was not over. Just as we were packing up to leave, we turned around and a totally different flock of sheep was coming along the hill behind us! So we got the whole experience again! Amazing! And all in a year when the sheep have supposedly been shipped out. We certainly serve a great God. He is good! And His love endures forever!

Friday, April 4

It's hard to believe that today was our last full day in the Sinai Penninsula. Tomorrow we cross the border into Israel near Eilat. Yesterday and today were both "Desert Lesson" days, yesterday in Wadi Nasb and today back on Jebel Katerina (not all the way up this time). By the way, about the pictures promised on the last post...yeah...they didn't work. Sorry. We've got alot of pictures, but sharing them will have to wait at least until we can get a faster connection. If you're desperate for pictures, check out our friend's blog at dirtfromthedesert.blogspot.com
Tori has some pictures posted there.
Please continue to pray for our group. We've been literally in the desert for the past few days, but there are some people we've grown to love who are figuratively, emotionally, and spiritually in the desert. We are learning much about what it means to be community. I'll share one of our desert lessons here. Walking through Wadi Nasb yesterday was hot, tiring work--probably our hottest day here so far. Growing in this wadi is a little tree called a broom tree (I wish I could show you a picture). It's not very big--really more of a bush than a tree--not more than 10 feet tall. But it has great value, because it gives shade in the desert, and when you're in that shade, you can feel the temperature drop 10-15 degrees. That may not sound like much, but when it's 90 like it was yesterday or 115 like it is during the summer here, that's pretty nice! Notice that in Psalm 121, we're told that God is the shade at our right hand. That's the image! Life is often like that desert. We want God to take away the heat! That's not what He promises. He offers enough shade to rest and take one more step. Will we totally trust Him for that? Hold out your right hand as far as you can. No, really, do it now! The shade of God is never farther than that far away. Now read Isaiah 32:1-2. Who does God call to be shade to those in the desert?

Wed., April 2

Things are going really well for us here in Sinai! We haven't had much access to the internet, and when we have, we sent emails to family so we apologize for not blogging much.

Some things that we've learned so far:
In Egypt along the Nile, we learned a ton about ancient Egyptian culture, which gave us a better understanding of the world that the Israelites lived in at and before the time of the Exodus. By the Red Sea, we considered the power of God's outstretched arm and the beginning of the story of the Kingdom of God. During our desert experience in the Sinai, we're learning about what it meant (and means) to be "tested" and that it is better understood as a way for God to train his people and that they may experientially know what is in their hearts. Today, we climbed up Jebel Katerina, which is one of the candidates for Mt. Sinai, although not the traditional one (J. Kat is actually the tallest peak in the Sinai Penninsula and it overlooks the traditional site of Mt. Sinai, Jebel Musa). The view from the top was spectacular--well worth the 7.5 mile hike with 7000+ foot elevation gain!

God has been teaching us some amazing things which we are looking forward to sharing with you in more detail later on. Enjoy the pictures