Marhaba!

Hello from the Middle East! I am a story teller and I love to share pictures. So in this post, that's what I'm going to do. Also, I am a list maker so I think that would be the most effective way to write my (Ryanne's) part of the blogpost.

1- Our bus drive into the Old City of Jerusalem consists of about a 45 minute bus ride, through a checkpoint. (I do love our bus rides into Jerusalem because we get to experience a little sense of the two sides of the wall coming together.) I got off the bus and within 45 seconds I was sick behind a taxi, whose driver was yelling at me, "Taxi?! Taxi?" No sir, I would not like a taxi, can you not see I am a little preoccupied? Just kidding, I found him to be a very nice man after he offered me his own water bottle. Feeling like a champ, I tied up my skirt, grabbed a sprite and headed towards Damascus Gate. I was not going to miss our first real day in Jerusalem. After the Western Wall, the Garden Tomb, and Church of the Holy Sepulcher it was so worth it. Now, I am feeling 100% better!

 

2- I can not get enough of our family. As we wrote in our last post, there are six of them and five of them are boys. I love them so much already that I can't even imagine what it is going to be like when we leave. The other day, our dad, Ala, took us three girls on a drive. Being the strong willed, funny and excited women that we are, we all began to talk at the same time. Ala stopped us and said, "Hallas (meaning Stop)!!! I am not professional in English!" I think even someone who was professional in English would have had to told us to slow down. Also, our breakfasts and dinner have become one of my favorite parts of the day. Not just the food but the conversations that we have over our meals.

3- Sunday we had the best day ever . Our bus picked us up from souq e shan (which I think is how you spell it and I think it means peoples center) at 5am. An hour and a half later we were at the place shown below...Masada. Seriously, look at that trail. Look at that mountain we climbed. Between 37 and 31 BCE, King Herod (the king when Jesus was born) built this huge fortress on top of this huge mountain. After the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple, the Jews raided Masada and camped out here until the Romans came to take over. Right before the Romans invaded Masada, the leader of the zealots, Elazar ben Yai, decided it would be brilliant for everyone to participate in a mass suicide and avoid what would happen to them when the Romans made it. It's a surreal feeling to be standing in a place with so much history. It's also surreal to be standing on a mountain so high after the hour and a half hike up. I couldn't decided which one was making me more light headed.

Masada

I was just being realistic.

The "Snake Trail" we took up.

Standing strong with out Canadian friends!

Cory and Vicky perfecting their "OM" pose. Namaste. 

4- I love hiking. I really love swimming in waterfalls after hiking. After our Masada adventure we traveled off to En Gedi. We figured we would focus our time getting to the David Falls. In 1 Samuel 23 and 24, David takes refuge in the caves of En Gedi to hide from Saul. Although David was hiding for his life, we couldn't help but think this would be an okay place to be hiding. It was gorgeous.

Here, we read through 1 Samuel 24.

One of the falls below David Fall.

Cory and Vicky

Our whole team under the David Fall.

Our new friend Matt pretending to be some sort of photo bombing sea creature. Our friends from Canada are real funny people.

The boys laying out getting their necessary tan on.

Cory and I under the falls.

Happy and refreshed!

5- After the falls, we stopped at Qumran (the place where the Dead Sea scrolls were found) for lunch. We were all very excited to finally arrive at the Dead Sea. I was expecting the water to be very salty and not a very refreshing experience. Oh my goodness was I wrong. All you have to do when you get in the water it lift your legs and you float. How is that even possible?! We were all very excited about getting in the water, so we didn't get many pictures of us floating. After we spent our allotted amount of 15 minutes in the water, we rubbed our entire bodies with mud and waited impatiently for them to dry. My skin was so soft. Who would have thought the best spa in the world wouldn't cost any money?? I have to go home and tell everyone from Newport their wasting they're money.

After many, many tries, we finally got a group picture!

Please continue to pray for our hearts as we serve, that our time here would be intentional and not casual, and that our relationships with everyone we meet would stand firm on the foundation of Christ. I would like to share my prayer for my team this week with you guys. It is the Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.


O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. 

Amen