We have come to the last day of our time in Israel. Sigh.
On the last day of the official tour, we were given a few options of how to spend our day. With people flying out at different times, the schedule was flexible, and buses were making various stops at shopping destinations around the city.
Another option for the day was the Holocaust Museum, called Yad Vashem, which comes from Isaiah 56:5:
"and to them will I give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name (a "yad vashem")...that shall not be cut off."
For the first time in our traveling history, it was actually very difficult for me to find souvenirs that really captured the significance of the time we spent in Israel. So, although I did pick up a couple of things along the way, we knew this last day was supposed to be yet another day of learning for us.
Mark and I had not visited a Holocaust Museum before, although I have heard great things about the one in D.C. and even Dallas.
We don't have many pictures to share from this day, because it wasn't a place for pictures (except for this fantastic view over the mountainside that served as the peaceful backdrop for this museum).
I do, however, have pictures in my mind. And, they will be forever etched there.
Yad Vashem is designed as a winding path through the complicated story of the Holocaust---and as you wander from room to room, seemingly with no end, you absolutely feel the weight of this journey through time. You feel the endlessness of this disaster, the burden and consequences of a tragedy of this magnitude, and the nausea of meeting evil this up-close and personal.
Similar to my first time in the Genocide Memorial in Rwanda, this visit served as a place to learn about the historical facts, that until now, had been fragmented and incomplete for me. There was so much I didn't know. There is still so much I don't know. And, that makes me sad. There is simply no excuse for that to be true.
But a sense of history wasn't all I got from this day.
I felt as if I was sitting at a table, as men, women, and children took their turn sitting across from me, sharing their stories.
I met people of all nationalities and backgrounds---some who died, some who fought, some who simply did what they could to survive a few extra days in concentration camps.
I met survivors, who told their stories through tears, sharing about their families, their friends, their nightmares, and their miracles.
I met children...such tiny children, who experienced such horrors, incomprehensible to my Mommy heart and brain.
I met heroes from every country---non-Jewish men and women, who---whether they were eighteen or fifty-eight---saw the atrocities around them and refused to bow. Instead, they laid down their lives to save the lives of their friends, neighbors, and even strangers.
I met women who marched for miles as the annhilation ended, only to die after they gained their freedom because they were so sick and frail and tired.
As each one shared their story, the question repeated in my mind, "What if this had been me? What would I have done? What would our family's story have been?"
For many reasons, I don't want to leave this eight-part Israel blog this way. It feels so dark and dreary, after our many days spent in this beautiful country.
But, at the exact same time, this is exactly how it should end. Because it has woken me up from my American slumber, and left me wanting more.
I want more information.
More understanding.
More awareness.
More appreciation.
More action.
More heart change.
I want to be changed because of what I experienced and learned in Israel, and what God began showing me even before this trip.
My journey of truly understanding the Jewish faith, history, and legacy began two years ago, as we began to celebrate the Biblical feasts in our home, as a part of our homeschool curriculum.
As I began to read and prepare for these family celebrations, I was deeply moved by what I was reading. And, I wondered why I had seen these beautiful blessings as simply "Old Testament stuff" that I no longer needed to know.
After celebrating many Jewish traditions and Biblical festivals that year, even my kids have seen so much with new eyes. Since that time, I have been hungry to know more. Not just because it's the Word of God, and we should know it intimately. But, because I believe there are God-sized blessings in these rhythms of life that we, as a modern-day culture, are missing out on.
Sadly, along with gaining knowledge about the Jewish people and the feasts they celebrate, I have also learned about the tragedies that have occurred against them in the name of "Christianity". (Again, homeschooling has been teaching mom quite a few things over these years!)
This is all I will say. We as Christians need to know. We need to know and appreciate Jewish history---because it is also our story. We need to know the sufferings that have come from anti- semitism. We need to know the Old Testament, including the Biblical calendar as God created it, and the beautiful feasts and festivals He designed as blessings to His people. We need to study what all of this means for our families, and what it means to our Lord.
Since we've been home, I've been reading a whole list of books about Israel, the Jewish faith, and the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob...and Jesus. I can't get enough. The God of history---and of our world today---has never been more alive to me. And, at the same time, I have never felt so small and ignorant and self-centered.
My prayer, as I complete this blog-journey back through Israel, is that those who joined me here won't stop here either. I'm clearly not an expert on anything I've shared. I'm just a girl who encountered her God in new ways halfway across the world, in a beautiful land, which He promised to His people so long ago.
And, if you didn't know much about Israel before these blogs, I want to leave you with one last thought, because I promised my airport friend I would.
As we walked through the duty-free shop in the airport upon our departure--shopping for olive oil and wine to take back to family--the man who helped us there asked us about our trip. We told him that we will never be the same after this time in Israel, and that the beauty of this country was far beyond what we had ever imagined.
He had a simple response, "I'm so glad to hear this. Will you do me one favor? Will you tell others in your country about what you saw? Will you tell them it's not just what they see on TV?"
So, that's where I leave this Israel summary. This country---its people, its history, its God---is beautiful beyond description, and so much richer than many of us know or realize.
May we be a people who honor and cherish the heritage God has given us in the Jewish faith, while we also celebrate the hope and future He has given us in Jesus. Because from start to finish, it is all one seamless, beautiful story of redemption.
On the last day of the official tour, we were given a few options of how to spend our day. With people flying out at different times, the schedule was flexible, and buses were making various stops at shopping destinations around the city.
Another option for the day was the Holocaust Museum, called Yad Vashem, which comes from Isaiah 56:5:
"and to them will I give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name (a "yad vashem")...that shall not be cut off."
Mark and I had not visited a Holocaust Museum before, although I have heard great things about the one in D.C. and even Dallas.
We don't have many pictures to share from this day, because it wasn't a place for pictures (except for this fantastic view over the mountainside that served as the peaceful backdrop for this museum).
Yad Vashem is designed as a winding path through the complicated story of the Holocaust---and as you wander from room to room, seemingly with no end, you absolutely feel the weight of this journey through time. You feel the endlessness of this disaster, the burden and consequences of a tragedy of this magnitude, and the nausea of meeting evil this up-close and personal.
Similar to my first time in the Genocide Memorial in Rwanda, this visit served as a place to learn about the historical facts, that until now, had been fragmented and incomplete for me. There was so much I didn't know. There is still so much I don't know. And, that makes me sad. There is simply no excuse for that to be true.
But a sense of history wasn't all I got from this day.
I felt as if I was sitting at a table, as men, women, and children took their turn sitting across from me, sharing their stories.
I met people of all nationalities and backgrounds---some who died, some who fought, some who simply did what they could to survive a few extra days in concentration camps.
I met survivors, who told their stories through tears, sharing about their families, their friends, their nightmares, and their miracles.
I met children...such tiny children, who experienced such horrors, incomprehensible to my Mommy heart and brain.
I met heroes from every country---non-Jewish men and women, who---whether they were eighteen or fifty-eight---saw the atrocities around them and refused to bow. Instead, they laid down their lives to save the lives of their friends, neighbors, and even strangers.
I met women who marched for miles as the annhilation ended, only to die after they gained their freedom because they were so sick and frail and tired.
As each one shared their story, the question repeated in my mind, "What if this had been me? What would I have done? What would our family's story have been?"
For many reasons, I don't want to leave this eight-part Israel blog this way. It feels so dark and dreary, after our many days spent in this beautiful country.
But, at the exact same time, this is exactly how it should end. Because it has woken me up from my American slumber, and left me wanting more.
More understanding.
More awareness.
More appreciation.
More action.
More heart change.
I want to be changed because of what I experienced and learned in Israel, and what God began showing me even before this trip.
My journey of truly understanding the Jewish faith, history, and legacy began two years ago, as we began to celebrate the Biblical feasts in our home, as a part of our homeschool curriculum.
As I began to read and prepare for these family celebrations, I was deeply moved by what I was reading. And, I wondered why I had seen these beautiful blessings as simply "Old Testament stuff" that I no longer needed to know.
After celebrating many Jewish traditions and Biblical festivals that year, even my kids have seen so much with new eyes. Since that time, I have been hungry to know more. Not just because it's the Word of God, and we should know it intimately. But, because I believe there are God-sized blessings in these rhythms of life that we, as a modern-day culture, are missing out on.
Sadly, along with gaining knowledge about the Jewish people and the feasts they celebrate, I have also learned about the tragedies that have occurred against them in the name of "Christianity". (Again, homeschooling has been teaching mom quite a few things over these years!)
This is all I will say. We as Christians need to know. We need to know and appreciate Jewish history---because it is also our story. We need to know the sufferings that have come from anti- semitism. We need to know the Old Testament, including the Biblical calendar as God created it, and the beautiful feasts and festivals He designed as blessings to His people. We need to study what all of this means for our families, and what it means to our Lord.
Since we've been home, I've been reading a whole list of books about Israel, the Jewish faith, and the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob...and Jesus. I can't get enough. The God of history---and of our world today---has never been more alive to me. And, at the same time, I have never felt so small and ignorant and self-centered.
My prayer, as I complete this blog-journey back through Israel, is that those who joined me here won't stop here either. I'm clearly not an expert on anything I've shared. I'm just a girl who encountered her God in new ways halfway across the world, in a beautiful land, which He promised to His people so long ago.
And, if you didn't know much about Israel before these blogs, I want to leave you with one last thought, because I promised my airport friend I would.
As we walked through the duty-free shop in the airport upon our departure--shopping for olive oil and wine to take back to family--the man who helped us there asked us about our trip. We told him that we will never be the same after this time in Israel, and that the beauty of this country was far beyond what we had ever imagined.
He had a simple response, "I'm so glad to hear this. Will you do me one favor? Will you tell others in your country about what you saw? Will you tell them it's not just what they see on TV?"
So, that's where I leave this Israel summary. This country---its people, its history, its God---is beautiful beyond description, and so much richer than many of us know or realize.
May we be a people who honor and cherish the heritage God has given us in the Jewish faith, while we also celebrate the hope and future He has given us in Jesus. Because from start to finish, it is all one seamless, beautiful story of redemption.
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