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Thursday, April 24, 2014

Day Four: Heading South through Bet Shan, Jericho, the Judean Wilderness, & JERUSALEM!

This morning would be our last view of the area of Galilee.  I was so sad to go.  I mean, really, really sad.  This was the morning's sunrise, over my little yellow chairs right next to the water.  Sigh.
But, it helped knowing we had Jerusalem ahead!

And, this was a great day for many reasons.  This was April 7--which happened to be a very significant day for our family and many others. On this day, twenty years ago, the country of Rwanda faced an unspeakable tragedy, when one million of her people were cruelly slaughtered in a genocide, affecting every single person who called Rwanda home.  

So, although we looked forward to what was ahead in Israel this day, we also wished we could be with our friends and family from Rwanda, as they stopped to remember their loved ones who lost their lives, as well as unite together and pledge that this will never happen again in their country.
To show that we were standing with Rwanda, we wore our His Chase shirts, and spent alot of time in prayer over their nation.  In fact, we decided to ask our bus friends (BEST BUS #3), who really became like a 50-member family as we spent our days together, to join us in prayer that morning.  

We shared our story, as we rode away together---all the way back to our sweet Chase, and what God has done out of that pain and loss, through the years of ministry in Rwanda at Noel Orphanage, about our adoption of Gabe, and our addition of Claver joining our family.  And, then we shared our heart for Rwanda and her people, and prayed together over their nation.

Two things happened that were God "winks", where I know He's teaching me and bringing things "full circle":

1)  I read a passage from Isaiah that I claimed for Rwanda on my second trip there in 2011.  It was a scripture God showed me one morning after a very hard day at Noel, just reminding me of His promises to restore and redeem loss and pain.  Right before I read it on the bus this day, it hit me!  This passage is about ISRAEL!  And, I am sitting here, riding a bus through the very land God promised to RESTORE and He is doing it!! 

Through that, I realized this great parallel between Israel and Rwanda.  Both tiny countries...both have been ransacked by enemies...both have had their honor and dignity taken away...and both are seeing the hand of God at work in restoration only He can bring.

"No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise...the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory...your days of sorrow will end.  Then all your people will be righteous and they will possess the land forever.  They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.  The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation.  I am the LORD; in its time I will do this swifty."  Isaiah 60:18-22

2)  The second thing that happened is that our Bus Family #3, not only tolerated our long discussion of Rwanda on the bus (hee hee), but they responded with such compassion and love.  Before we even sat back down in our seats, we had multiple people committed to sponsoring students through His Chase.  And, it just keeps happening, even now that we're home.  I can't even tell you how generous they have been.  (And, for our bus family who is reading, how do we thank you enough for your big hearts and compassionate spirits?! And, for the absolute fresh breath of air it gave us, as you asked questions and wanted to see pictures of our sweet kids.  You revived us in so many ways, sweet friends. And, you are giving new hope and opportunity to students of Rwanda!)

Do you remember how we prayed in the Jordan River THE DAY BEFORE THIS?!  God was already showing us that His answer was not for us to give up, or be discouraged, but to press on, sharing the amazing things He is doing in the lives of these kids, and in the country of Rwanda!

What a fantastic start to this day!

As we left Galilee, we began heading south, along the Jordan River.  We could see the country of Jordan all along the way, since this is the border between the countries.

Our first stop was Beth Shan (known as Scythopolis in the days of the Greeks and Romans.)
We began our time there, gathering in the oldest and most complete Roman theater in all of Israel, as Max Lucado shared the message for the day.
Beth Shan is unfortunately the place where King Saul and his sons were hung on display by the Phillistines after they were defeated (and Saul committed suicide).  So, Max's message today was about King Saul, and where everything went wrong with him: pride in his own success and jealousy of someone else's.

Here are just a few thoughts Max shared:
*Saul starts small and humble, in hiding, because he doesn't want to be king.  But, he becomes large and in charge, as he experiences victory after victory.  He forgets where he started and who it was that gave him what he now had!
*David comes along and gets the attention of the people, and Saul could not get over the loss of the people's approval, which leads to jealousy, hatred, and disobedience.
*Success reveals character---it doesn't develop character.
*Saul was most effective when Saul saw Saul as small.  
But Saul was most ineffective when Saul saw Saul as tall.  (I love that!)
*"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." I Peter 5:5  
*Humility is the virtue of a believer, and sets us apart from the world.

As we toured Beth Shan, it was impressive to see the Roman city with so many intact remains of the opulent life so many lived.  
You could see the remains of the "agora", or marketplace...
...with the walls still intact between stalls or shops.  


Each one had a detailed mosaic, which were still intact as well!
A lion...
And a zebra or rhino, we couldn't quite tell!
And, not only were they beautiful and so detailed, they are just right there at your own feet, free to be walked on and admired upclose!
This would have been the main street through town, and a busy place to gather, shop, or visit with each other.
And, this I thought was so interesting!  After this town began to be exposed to Christ and began converting to Christianity, these mosaics that acknowledged and admired false gods were covered up by plain marble stones!  
Here are the remains of a fountain or small bath.
There were also the large bath houses still standing!

The baths were communal...and so were the toilets!  Here is a fancy bathroom of the day!
You would just pop a squat on these stone pieces and the latrine ditch was underneath you!  Wow.  No words.
There were three rooms of the Roman bath house, with different temperatures of water to choose from.  Everyone would go in a specific order to get clean and also healthy!
This was their advanced heating system!
We could also see the giant "tel", a seemingly large mountain, where years and years of ancient cities are buried.  On top of it all, the Romans built another temple to Jupiter.
We continued south toward Jericho, and as we drove, you could see the terrain change outside.  We had definitely left the lush valleys of Galilee, and were now in the more desert-like terrain I expected to see!

We stopped in Jericho, which is actually an oasis in the wilderness, which is why it was such a vital settlement over years and years.  You could see the green growth, and the vegetation, which was a stark contrast to the desert areas all around it.

Now, Jericho is in the West Bank of Israel...which was totally different for sure.  I'll just say that.  :)  

But, it was fascinating to see "the oldest city in Israel", where Elisha made the springs of water run clear, and Joshua led the people into the promised land!  
There are actually no remains of the physical city of Jericho during Joshua's time.  But, archaeological digs are still being done now.  They are absolutely certain of its location (pic below), based on the Biblical description, but since Israelis don't have full rights to dig, they have not been able to find as much in this area as other places we visited.After leaving the site of Jericho, we had lunch at the Jericho Hotel Intercontinental (who knew?!) and then headed through the Judean wilderness toward Jerusalem!!

(Oh!  Before we left, we got to take pictures of an ancient sycamore tree, which dates back 2,000 years to the time of Christ.  So, this was an awesome visual of the tree Mr. Zaccheus used to see Jesus!)
The wilderness was also amazing to see.  It was what I expected, really.  But, to see it in person just really brought the "desperation of wandering" to life.  I wouldn't have lasted a week out in the heat, the sand, and the aimlessness.  :)
But, this is a place where many people spent time, not only the Israelites as a group, but also individuals as they would go into hiding from the authorities in Jerusalem.  And, of course, this is where David himself spent MUCH of his years, either hiding from Saul or shepherding his sheep.
We saw many tribes of bedouin people living in the wilderness now.  They are tent dwellers to this day, and travel from place to place, picking up their homes and moving as needed for food and water.  I would love to know more about their lives!  
As we passed a few final curves, our sweet guide Naftali shared that no matter how many times he enters the city, he gets excited every time to see Jerusalem.  His heart starts racing and he is breathless as he anticipates going over the final hill, with the beauty of the city laid before him.  He turned on a song that made the entire experience incredible: "The Holy City", Jerusalem!  (You can google it and see multiple versions on you tube!)

As the song blasted through the bus, we turned the corner...

AND THERE IT WAS!! This was our first glimpse from the bus window...
I can only imagine what it was like to travel as Jewish families---for days and days as a group---anticipating the festivals and feasts in the city, and come over that last hill...

And see the Temple of the Lord! (It now has the Dome of the Rock, a Muslim mosque and holy site there instead.)

I so wish we could have seen the original version.  :)  But, still, it was an incredible moment.  
As we entered the city,  we went to see an indescribable model of the entire city in the time of Jesus.
You can see just from the pictures how LARGE the temple was in relation to the city, and how it could be seen from any point throughout the region!
The entire city centered around the place where God's Presence resided on earth!
It really helped my little brain to understand the city---both then and now---when I saw it to scale like this, and it was a perfect start to our few days in Jerusalem.  We also took time to go through the museum of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  If you don't know the history of this discovery you MUST read whatever you can find about it.  The girls and I read a book about it this year in school, and it is incredible to see how God proved His Word is accurate and indestructible over thousands of years, also revealing His character and His truth through this discovery.  (Short story for those who aren't going to Google it:  In 1947, some Bedouin shepherds discovered the first of a series of caves, containing over 800 ancient manuscripts---scrolls in jars---which were every book of the Bible except for Esther!)

After this, we headed to a scenic lookout point above the city, where we could see the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsamane, and the Temple Mount, as well as the various quarters where people reside in Jerusalem.
Since our official touring of the city wasn't starting until the next day, we headed to the hotel for dinner, with optional tours happening in the evening.  Although my body said "Rest and stay at the hotel", everything else in me said "Are you kidding?  Whatever we can see, we have to see!  Let's go!!"

Mark and I chose to go on the evening tour of the tunnels under the Temple Mount, where more of the Western Wall has been discovered.  I was also looking forward to seeing the city at twilight!

And, that was absolutely beautiful to see.  This is the Mount of Olives at sunset, with the Russian Orthodox Church shown with the gold top.
And, another view of the Mount of Olives, with the Garden of Gethsamane church toward the bottom.  
Here is the temple mount area, where we spent more time the next day...
...as well as the Western Wall, where Jews gather 24 hours a day to pray.
As we went underground to see more recent discoveries, it was eye-opening for sure to see what the construction must have required for King Herod's men.
The original stones of the outer walls have been discovered, although, as we all know, the temple itself was destroyed without a stone standing on another. (Matthew 24:2)
The walls alone are magnificent!  Blocks of stone, weighing tons, each carefully chiseled to fit one upon another, and carved with a detailed inlay on each one.
Beyond the walls, it was also a wonderful experience to just be in and among the people of Jerusalem on a night like this.

There were moments when a twinge of sadness ran through my heart.  These sweet people who are desperately praying and crying toward a wall that once held the Presence of the Lord was a bit hard to see.  I just wanted to say "Do you know that you still have access to that Presence?  It wasn't destroyed with the temple. In fact, that was just the beginning!  Do you know that Jesus made it possible for the Presence of God to live inside His people?"  
Yet, I also know that I will never understand in my lifetime what this temple, this city, this country, means to His chosen people, the Israelites.  Or to God Himself. So, I say a silent prayer asking God to show me where I'm wrong, and to help me love everyone in this big old city, as we all try to travel the road toward Him.  I would come to learn MUCH over the next few days, and I will say that I love and adore the Jewish people, respect their immense knowledge about our God and His history, and long for them to know the truth and hope of Jesus Christ, before He comes again to this great city, in all His glory!

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