To Israel part 7 Topic: To Israel 2005 The last day of our tour in Israel was really meaningful. Piling onto the tour busses that morning, we drove to a place called the Garden Tomb. We entered and were given a talk by a small elderly man with a thick Scottish accent. He was a member of the Garden Tomb Association of London, the caretakers of this beautiful place, full of green foliage of all types, which cool the air and put your heart at peace. He enthusiastically told us about the history of the area, why they believe it is the place where Jesus was buried and rose again, and then showed us the tomb. The tomb is in a place of bedrock, partially used as a quarry where they got stone from to build in Jerusalem. It is in the side of a hill….a small hill…that looks distinctly like a scull from the front. Unfortunately, and as with a lot of the historic sites around Israel, it is right beside an Arabic bus terminal. The scull is still visible though and I got a very eerie feeling looking at it, knowing this could be the place Jesus died, paying the penalty for my sin. They can’t be sure of course, but it is most like the garden tomb described in John 19:41-42. After viewing the hill, we got to step inside the tomb, which had two areas carved out for bodies. Only one had been used. They know this because when they laid the body in, they cut a place for the feet to slip in under the rock. Tombs were made a uniform size, then made longer at the feet depending on how tall the person was after they had died. At the entrance to the tomb, there was a track cut out of the bedrock to put a large round rock in and roll it into place.
Gathering at an outdoor seating area, we heard a sermon about the resurrection and read the Scriptures about the women coming to dress the body, finding the tomb empty and running back to tell the disciples. We pictured John and Peter running in and finding the burial clothes and the linen cloth folded neatly and set aside. The pastor who spoke has researched this greatly, as well as studying Jewish traditions and life. He told us something we had never realized before. The Jewish men put on a prayer shawl, a talit, when they go through bar mitzvah and they wear it every day until they die. It is precious and holy to them, it symbolizes a lot of reminders about the Law and God to them. When they die, their tradition is to wrap it around the man’s body to be buried in it. This is the linen cloth that the disciples found, lovingly folded and left as a sign to them that Jesus had risen. What a wonderful thought, and so meaningful.
After we heard the teaching, we had communion there in the garden. Part of the history of the area is that a large cistern was found under the ground, the third largest in Israel, to collect rainwater. Also found was a large winepress, so the garden was most likely a large vineyard, watered from the cistern. Our communion was provided free of charge by the Garden Tomb Association, unleavened bread and wine served in small olive wood cups. The curator told us to keep the cups as a memento of our visit….they are beautiful. We sang hymns about the cross, the words pounding into my mind the real meaning….He died, suffered torturously, willingly paid my penalty. I just wept and ached from the hard truth, from the gratitude welling up powerfully inside me and drank the cup with trembling lips. It was the most meaningful moment of the trip and perhaps of my life. Until now I haven’t been able to put all of this into words. I’m thankful to have the medium to take my time and do it.
One more thing before we left the country…we left a gift, each of us planting a small tree in a forest park. Planting a tree is symbolic of growth in the blessings of God for Israel’s future:
“Let the field be joyful, and all that is within it; then all the trees of the wood will rejoice before the Lord.” Psalms 96:12
There were a lot of trees planted there, each watered by hoses with holes in them running along the rows of neatly planted seedlings. Israel was a blessing to us…it was a blessing to see their courage, strength, ingenuity, and generosity. It was a blessing to see the carefully preserved Biblical sites and to be safe while doing so. We are praying for the peace of Israel and the coming of Christ, so the Jewish people we met may be part of the remnant of Jews who believe at His coming.
To Israel part 6 Topic: To Israel 2005 On the Sabbath day, we went to the Mount of Olives, which overlooks the Eastern Wall of the city. It is the place the Bible tells us that the Messiah will enter the city through when He comes back to the earth. It was a drizzly day, which is how I was feeling, looking over at the Muslim Mosque situated where the Temple of God should be…..not permanently though. We went to Mount Zion, adjacent to the southwestern corner of the old city….like I said, the area of Jerusalem is a lot of large hills and deep valleys. You can see a view of the Kidron Valley from there. I always imagined these places far from each other, but they are all right there in the same vicinity. Mount Zion is where they believe King David is buried. There is a tomb there and it is a holy sight for the Jews. Directly above the tomb is where tradition says the upper room is, where the disciples had the last supper and also gathered after Jesus’ ascension to await the power of the Holy Spirit. The reason they believe it is the sight of the upper room is because Jesus refers to the spirit of David being among them. There is more to it, but my brain is fuzzy on some of this.
On Sunday we walked through the Lion’s Gate and had a worship service at the Church of St. Anne. This was an amazing church, with huge domes. Our worship leader got up and spoke without microphone because the acoustics are so amazing. When he began to sing though, in a rich low voice, and it filled the room as our hearts were drawn in to worship.
We went to Ein Karem, the traditional sight of the cave of John the Baptist. If you’re interested, look this up on the internet and read about it. It is a really cool place, discovered on a kibbutz. This day we also went to the Memorial to the Holocaust at Yad Vashem. It was a beautiful memorial museum, but very troubling to the spirit and after a few displays I had to just walk through and couldn’t read or take in anymore. I think sometimes our minds can handle that kind of information and process it, but this was not that kind of day for me. It made my spirit very heavy and my stomach nauseas. The memorial to the children of the holocaust was beautiful. It was a separate building and when we went in, it was a dark room, filled with mirrors at all different angles and just six lit candles which reflected on forever it seemed, to represent those children who died. The mirrors are hidden by the darkness and the reflections of light seem to go on, like stars in space. As you walk through, the names of the children who died in concentration camps are read aloud. It takes 2 years for all the names to be read. Our guide said that she was once taking some tourists through the memorial and actually heard her cousins names read aloud while she was in there.
Monday found us in the Judean Wilderness, which is vast and barren. I took five rocks from the place we stopped to remind me of the temptation Jesus had to turn the rocks into bread when He was so hungry after fasting 40 days in that same wilderness. From this place, we were able to look over the modern day town of Jericho. From there, we went on into the desert to the Dead Sea, where we visited Qumran, the caves where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered and some braver folks put on swim suits and floated in the Dead Sea on this chilly day. Then we went a short distance to the ruins of Massada. We rode a tram up to the sight of the ruins and were astounded by the engineering feats of those ancient people. They had a water system, for safely gathering rain water from all the surrounding mountains into a cistern. There were mosaic tiles on the floors, vivid colors of paint in patches on some of the walls, a Roman bath house and even a steam room. Herod’s palace was built on the 3 tiered, steep side of the mountain, which stands totally disconnected from the rest of the mountain range. This is the night we had dinner at a Bedoin Camp in tents….very good food, which is good, since we were kind of nervous about this one. ;)
Tuesday I took a break. I was exhausted and needing a day off, so Charles went alone to tour the Old City of Jerusalem. They walked through winding, narrow streets, went through the tunnel system under the Western Wall, saw the street markets (which he took wonderful pictures of) and tour through the Jewish Quarter and the Herodian Quarter. After hours of walking, they returned to the hotel and I went with them to an Israeli Air Force Base to have dinner with the cadets in training. (see story in part 4) Amazing young people….
To Israel part 5 Topic: To Israel 2005 We saw so many beautiful, awe inspiring places while in Israel. I’m just going to hit on a few in detail and mention the rest. One thing I never expected when I thought about going to the Holy Land was the spiritual softness, the receptivity we experienced there. It is hard to put into words, but I think that is the best I can do. First, seeing the Jews gathering back to Israel from every nation, knowing they are readying for the Messiah. Then to hear our guide and other tour specialists explain the reasons that they believe this or that to be the place where such and such happened. It sounded like they were believers. They were not Christians, but they did know the people of the Bible lived and there is evidence that these stories happened. To listen to their sureness that Christ went here and did this there made your heart ache for them to add that last ingredient…faith. Seeing a whole nation of people who live and walk where the Savior did, who have studied His teachings and the stories of His life for tourism reasons, yet are walking in a stunted faith. They love God and follow their religion, but I ache for them to know Him…to know the Messiah. One tour specialist was talking about how there was so much evidence that Jesus was the Messiah, even down to John the Baptist looking as though he was the incarnation of Elijah, which is so important to Bible prophecy. He said it was enough for anyone to believe Jesus was the Messiah, “….but then things fell apart for him.” He said, referring to being crucified. Yikes! It was enough to break your heart!
As I mentioned, the Sea of Galilee was spectacular. The first few days we toured that region and saw the lake from various viewpoints. We went to an ancient synagogue at Capernaum. We drove by the hillside that they think might be the place Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, because it is a natural amphitheatre. We drove up into the Golan Heights, beautiful mountain country from which we could see Mount Herman in the distance with a dusting of snow over it. There in the Golan Heights, we saw Caesarea Philippi, where the headwaters of the Jordan River are. They have ruins there by the river of an ancient place of idol worship…recesses are cut out of the sheer rock wall that used to house the gods of the Greeks. It is where Peter first confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah.
Late that afternoon we went to a place called Migdal Ohr, a home for orphaned Jewish boys from Russia mainly. It began as a rabbi’s dream to stop the homeless or misguided Jewish youth of Israel from ruining their lives and becoming criminals. He would go out into the streets and into nightclubs and talk to these youth, caring for them and asking them to come live with him and be taught how to become productive citizens. Now it is mainly for the orphans, girls and boys. He brings them in, provides education, training and a loving environment. As we entered, the walkway was lined with bright eyed, enthusiastic young boys, singing us in! It was beautiful. They had an outdoor program of singing, dancing and heard several people talk about the success of the center.
That night (yes, this is all in one day!) we ate dinner at the Kiryat Yam Absorption Center, where they house, teach and train new Jewish immigrants who come to Israel. They currently have a huge number of Ethiopian immigrants, who fled their country this year because of persecution. They will learn Hebrew, learn the culture, the ways of their new country and be trained to work in jobs there before going out on their own to make a life for themselves.
We got home late and fell into bed, instantly becoming unconscious. =)
We visited the new excavations at Bethseida, we went to a museum which is built around an ancient, first century fishing boat that was recently discovered, drove through modern day Cana and Nazareth, very hilly country, housing built in terraced style up the hillsides. It was fun to look out and imagine Jesus growing up there in those hills, plush with trees. Then it was on to a really cool excavation sight called Beit Shean. It is a place the Romans built into a palatial city with Roman bath houses, columns and a theatre, all very much recognizable. Most of the columns were fallen over from an earthquake, but they are piecing it together. It is a really awesome place, very well preserved.
We had a baptismal service in the late afternoon at the Jordan River. The river is small, maybe 25 feet across, and has very steep banks, covered with lush grass and trees. It is a beautiful place! Dinner was at a place called the Lido, overlooking the Sea of Galilee. We ate with a lady who is a Catholic nun from California. Someone asked her if she was baptized today. “Yes, it was wonderful,” she said, holding a finger up to her lips, “but don’t tell the Holy Father!” She is 86 years old and everyone just loved her sweet spirit, she was a joy.
The next day we went to Megiddo, which overlooks the valley of Armageddon, Mount Carmel, where Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal, and Caesarea, right on the Mediterranean Sea. The seashore was beautiful with dark and light blue waters crashing onto the shore. Just above the shore was the magnificently preserved ruins of Caesarea. It was a place built by Herod to honor the Roman Caesar and was the capital of the Roman Province there. It has a large Roman bath, the remains of an elaborate palace which faced out onto the sea, a hippodrome to race horses, and a theatre (still in use today) where Paul went to be heard by Felix, when he declared his Roman citizenship.
We ended the day driving up (up!) into Jerusalem to arrive shortly before sundown to begin the Sabbath at the Western Wall…often called the Wailing Wall. Jerusalem is truly a city on a hill…it is mountainous in fact. In Jerusalem there are several large hills and between them are deep valleys. There are so many houses and buildings all over the hills, however, that is pictures you can’t tell how mountainous it is. We rode into the city to the old song Jerusalem, Jerusalem. It was one of those moments I can’t explain….it brought tears to our eyes and wonder to our hearts. I wrote about the things that happened at the Wall in part 4. It was a very moving experience that we will treasure.
I keep mentioning the kibbutzes there in Israel, so I guess I should explain what they are. I found the concept innovative and fascinating. When the nation of Israel took back their homeland in the 1940’s, you can imagine there was a lot of strife with the neighboring countries and the people they took it back from. Under constant threat of attack, farming was a dangerous occupation, because you are alone on a large piece of land, putting your family, crops, and livestock in a very vulnerable position. So being innovative people, they banded together, lots of families and single people investing in a large piece of land….men and women working the land, caring for livestock, caring for each other’s children, cooking for a crowd. It is a very effective way of producing great results. Today kibbutzes are used not only for effective farming, but also to introduce new immigrants to the country. You join a kibbutz, they give you a job, a place to stay, food and friendship. In many kibbutzes half of your day involves learning how to speak and write in Hebrew.
I mentioned that the young people of Israel are so focused and sharp. One night we had dinner at an Israeli Air Force Base. We ate half tourists and half cadets at a table. It was fun trying to communicate with them as they practiced their English on us. Two of them were fluent in English, one tried and one sat quietly watching us. Many of them know three languages…their native language of where they grew up, Hebrew as an immigrant to Israel, and English to communicate with their best allied country. It astounded us that every high school graduate in their country is expected to serve two years in the military….and they do it gladly. We asked a young lady at our table what happens if they choose not to do their military service. She tried to explain that her peers would look down on them if they did not serve…it brought shame upon you. Patriotism is such a high value there…they do not take their freedom or democracy for granted. I wonder how long we in America will have that stupid luxury. We carelessly take so much for granted.
We had a great opportunity as we came into Jerusalem late Friday afternoon to just make it to the Western Wall as Sabbath was beginning. As we approached the wall area, I noticed young, old, modern and traditional people coming to pray. Men had to cover their heads with a yamaka (they had paper ones available for visitors) and women had to cover their head with a scarf or covering of some kind. I only had the hood of my raincoat, but several others did the same, so I guess that was alright. Many had their Jewish prayer books and rocked and prayed, kissed their shawls, their books….then slowly backed away from the wall backwards. The backing away is a respectful, old fashioned way to show honor, not turning your back to the Temple area. Many left notes and prayers in the cracks of the wall. Our guide said that people believe that when the paper falls out, then God has heard your prayers and they are swept up each day.
A lot of things are like that in modern Jewish religion….hoping, wishing, tradition, but not secure….it’s an impersonal kind of faith. I found myself hoping and praying for them, that Messiah, Jesus, will come back soon, in their generation, so that they will see Who He is and believe….I am having that hope for them. I wish I had put that in the Wall, but didn’t think of it then.....I'm glad that God hears us when we pray and doesn't have to pull out papers stuck into an old stone wall.
The Sabbath day we of course were still touring around Jerusalem, but I noticed how the Jewish people walked and laughed and enjoyed the day with each other….just what Sabbath should be. The next day, our Christian day of worship, we gathered at the Mount of Olives for a teaching on the Second Coming as we faced the Eastern Gate of the city, where the Messiah is supposed to enter Jerusalem when He comes again. It was a very memorable Sunday morning. =)
I’m still kind of reeling from all the travel…I think I have extended motion sickness from the flight home or something…but I will try to add more about the places we saw in the coming days.
I can see why everywhere you go in Israel, you see slim people. Their diet is so healthy! Every meal we’ve had here has included fresh produce. For breakfast they lay out the cucumbers and tomatoes, lettuce, all kinds of melons, citrus and fruits, yogurt, granola and cereals…and to our surprise, fish! Fish for breakfast? Well that is what Jesus served isn’t it? It’s the only meal we know He cooked and it was fish for breakfast….very cool…icky, but cool. They also have pasta for breakfast….lasagna, alfredo and noodles with mushrooms, eggs baked on top of this very good, Italian tasting mixture of tomatoes, onions and peppers. Lots of pastries, not rich but very good….lots of breads. The past few days they have had scrambled eggs and also a make your own omelet station too.
The restaurants here in the hotel are kosher, so it took some getting used to. To be kosher, you cannot (for one thing) serve meat along with any dairy products…which is one reason their meat dishes were so healthy….no butter, milk or cheese! So at breakfast and lunch, you are served lots of breads, veggies, fruits and dairy products. But at dinner, there is no cheese, no creamer for your coffee, no cream soups or pasta with cheese, no butter for your bread…it takes a while to get into that frame of mind for Americans.
Israeli’s are also very fond of humus…plain humus, no garlic. Humus with bread, humus on your salad, humus wherever mayo or something creamy should be, fried humus in your sandwich (called falafel). Humus in the morning, humus in the evening, humus at the noon time too. Everybody sing! (or hum…heehee) Humus at every meal, a humus for every occasion, thin, thick, little green herbs in it…it had us sticking rarely found ketchup packets, and even more rare: salad dressing packets, in our purses and pockets!
We ate our breakfast at the hotels, then lunch and dinner could get interesting. Here are some of our experiences:
For lunch, we always stopped at some food place along the tour, chosen by our tour directors. We ate at kibbutzes several times. Often a kibbutz has a side business along with farming, so a lot of them have a restaurant, usually cafeteria style…..lots of salads, fruits, and very good selections of main dishes. These were usually familiar things like baked chicken, a sausage looking thing, sometimes on a skewer called a shish-kabob, but it was only meat…like a meatball, made of lamb and spices, a turkey or chicken sandwich (in a pita, not sliced bread) called schwarmies...not sure of that spelling. The side dishes were rices, potatoes, and a lot of baked sweet potatoes or baked squashes and peppers…very good! Throw a pita bread on top and you have a common lunch here.
One day we went to a little place run by an Arab family who made falafel, a ‘meatball’ made not of meat, but of ground chickpeas (humus) that were fried and put into a pita pocket. It was very good…and for those who gagged at the thought of chickpeas again, there were also thinly sliced and breaded chicken or turkey strips which they call schnitzel.
One lunch time, we ate at a place that cooked St. Peter fish….a fish they think was the one Jesus told Peter to open it’s mouth and got a coin to pay taxes. This fish is found mainly in the Sea of Galilee and is UGLY. Unfortunately for us skittish Americans, it was cooked with the head on, kind of lightly breaded and fried with a side of French fries. I had the schnitzel!
Dinners at the hotel were elegant, served one course at a time and kosher. The main courses were Americanish, served with wonderful vegetables and salads and breads. The desserts at the hotels were very good…but very small portions, it was always just right and never too much. Except for the night they put out a dessert buffet. You should have heard and seen the excited, sugar enticed Americans ooing and awing over that buffet! We all heaped it on our plates like it was the end of the world. LOL All the time we were feeling guilty for being piggish, but not caring. I appreciated the Israeli ways of eating (except the humus thing…oh, and fish for breakfast makes me shudder). I may keep on trying the no dairy with meats idea because it seemed much more digestible and agreeable….although Charles keeps saying, “Just give me a cheeseburger!”
The People
I know this will sound like I am gushing, but I was very impressed by the Israeli people. As you probably know, Israel is wanting to bring back all the Jews from all over the world (if they want to) to make their nation one again and to build up their strength as a nation. So there are people from every race and language coming ‘home’ to Israel. They have a large place called an immigration absorption center that we visited one day. A very large number of Ethiopian people had been brought in within the last 6 months and they were who we had dinner with and learned about. They are careful to make sure people have authentic Jewish ancestry and bring them in to the absorption center to teach them Hebrew and teach them the customs and practical things about their new country. After one year, they are trained to do a job, fit in to the culture and speak the language. It is amazing, very organized, very interesting.
From our airport experience to the hotels and businesses, we saw a lot of young Israeli citizens all around, very professional, very motivated and sharp! They have a great generation coming up. When the young people are in grade school and high school, they go on trips around their country and shown them the agriculture and history of their land. It instills a great pride in them and they love their country whole-heartedly. So when we were at a few of the tourist areas, we would see the Israeli youth there and they would approach us and say, “Hello, welcome to our Land. What is your name? Where are you from? Shalom.” It was really cool.
There is a distinct orthodox Jewish population, then there are traditional Jews, who celebrate the holidays and traditions, but are not overly religious. Then there are secular Jews, who are not religious at all…but who are still very proud of their heritage. Here in the U.S. I have mainly known secular Jews, but in Israel, the Jews we met were mostly religious and interested in the things that were happening in their country because they are awaiting and preparing for the Messiah to come. We Christians are interested in it because we are waiting for the Messiah to come again. So we seemed to have a commonality that was very interesting to see. The rabbi’s we had speak were very excited about Americans visiting the country and especially that we were with an organization that was helping bring Jewish immigrants back to Israel.
As I mentioned, there are also Muslims and Palestinians living in Israel. It is striking how separated their cultures and housing areas are. As long as they are living in peace within the same country, they are welcome….but there is also a lot of continuing strife in some areas. Israeli’s live constantly on guard in close quartered settlements, looking out for each other, determined to stay even in unsure times, with a great love for their country.
To Israel part 2 Topic: To Israel 2005 Our first few days in Israel were spent in the region of Galilee….our hotel was right on the Sea of Galilee. (which is really a large lake, not a sea) The first day we got onto a ferry and rode it across the Sea of Galilee, which was a beautiful experience being on the lake that Jesus spent so much time on. I wondered if we would run into a storm in the middle of the lake. It only sprinkled on us, but seeing those waves would have been awesome!
The Galilee region is beautiful! With God’s help, the Israeli people have made this land into an abundant, productive country. A very common thing to see is a kibbutz, which is a group of people who live on a large piece of land and farm it. Each person on a kibbutz is treated equally. They are not paid, but are provided for and it is an enjoyable atmosphere. A lot of immigrants come into the country through a kibbutz because they not only run a farm or sometimes a side business along with the farm, they also teach new immigrants Hebrew and how to assimilate into Israeli culture. Our guide was a Jewish immigrant from Sweden. She came here 25 years ago and lived on a kibbutz for a year. Her stories are wonderful and she has taught us so much about modern Israel as well as the Holy land sites. While we are here, we are not to try to convert all the Jews that we see. We would not be welcome in this country long if we did. But I feel like we are a witness by caring about the Jews, acknowledging that they are God’s people still and supporting them in building up their rightful homeland again. Our guide as well as our guard are both Jewish immigrants, as well as our driver, who was born here. They love their country, they welcome tourists, especially Americans, to see their country and are preparing it for more and more Jewish immigrants to be able to return here. Now that they have a safe place to return to, there are thousands and thousands of Jewish people around the world who want to move here.
Every valley you see here is filled with agriculture….date, orange, grapefruit, mango, banana, avocado, apricot, plum and of course, olive groves. There are also cotton, pomegranates, figs, grape vineyards, as well as any kinds of garden vegetables you can think of. The Israeli people have created innovative ways to use water as well. Every plant that you walk by has a discreet little hose around it or by it that is a drip system to maximize water’s effectiveness. For several decades now, Israel has been planting tree after tree, reforesting the land. It used to be forested, but was cut down by usurpers making way for railroads. The forests are lovely too! Tall pines, cypress, and everywhere you go, you see huge eucalyptus trees. These were brought over from Australia as a gift to Israel and they are thriving!
The police and security are everywhere, so we feel very safe, although there are some areas we are not allowed to go to right now, even though they are part of this country. There are peaceful settlements of Muslims or Palestinians in every city, but there are also those that are volatile and possibly dangerous for tourists. Two of these that we were disappointed about are Bethlehem and Jericho. We got to peek over into both Bethlehem and Jericho from other places. Each looks like a regular city in Israel now, but as with all the places we visited there, you had to use your imagination to visualize what it must have been like.....a huge wall around Jericho with windows, one with a scarlet cloth hanging out....pastures of sheep around the hillsides of Bethlehem....very cool to imagine.
We get up in the mornings between 5:30 and 6am, eat breakfast and are on the tour bus by 8am, we tour around until late afternoon and then they have things planned in the evenings. My friend BJ has been on one of these tours and said the Holy Land tour busses should have a slogan on the bus, “I ran today where Jesus walked!” It’s so true. So I have been falling into bed, knowing I should write some things down but too tired to care. Now that I have time, it’s all so overwhelming, I’m not sure I can remember it all in order but I’ll try to hit on the highlights in the next few entries.
To Israel, part 1 Topic: To Israel 2005 When I imagine things, events, the future, it is always different than what my expectations were. There is no way to interpret what an experience will be like if you’ve never gone that way before…it doesn’t stop me though, I can’t help but wonder. For months now, since last spring, we have known we were going to Israel this fall. It was like a far off, exotic thing that was going to happen. Neither my husband or me has ever been overseas, so we had no idea what to expect….it was just a big wonder in our minds. My mind went to fear of the unknown and of preconceived ideas about the Middle East that I had developed.
Well, we are here now….the airplane didn’t drop us, we were not accosted by thugs in New York City, and I feel very safe walking around a Middle Eastern county…I didn’t get shoved into a car and kidnapped by terrorists once! Surprise, surprise! None of the things I let my mind wander off to worry about happened, and I am thankful for that. I’m so glad to finally be here and having this adventure instead of trying to imagine it. The real thing is always better than the imaginary…at least in my experience, since I tend to be anxious about the unknown and have a very vivid imagination.
It hasn’t been all smooth sailing though….we have already had adventures, even before leaving America. We arrived in JFK airport around 5pm Monday night. There was the occasional witch or vampire in the airports….since we flew out on October 31. Having a 7 hour layover in NYC, the airline provided us a complimentary hotel room to use until later that evening. We showered, had dinner and rode the shuttle back to JFK just in time to get in line with about 80 other people who were in our tour group.
We got in line at the Israeli airline counter, each person being interviewed by young Israeli employees. They were efficient and businesslike, but it made us nervous to be treated in a suspicious way.
When it was our time to be interviewed, the beautiful young woman interrogating us turned to her official voice and began spouting off questions….What is your business in Israel? How old are you? Has anyone given you something to bring into Israel that is not yours? Have you been in control of your luggage every moment since leaving home? Hmmm She stepped back to talk to a supervisor….”You come with me, ok.” (it was not a question, it was a command) “This woman will check your bags. Do not leave, we will show you where to go.”
We were led to a side area, dragging our over packed luggage to where some other people from the flight to Israel were also sitting. We sat….waited….the Israeli airline employees hustled around, talked to each other, gestured at us, talked some more, and talked about us to each other. Then she came back to us. “We have to search your bags. Please stay here.” More talking among other employees and gesturing. They took my carry on twice to check it with a wand. They took several of the others waiting with us behind a curtain to check them with a wand. (What made us nervous was not the wands, it was the plastic gloves they wore….help!) Everyone made it through alright and it turned out the gloves were only to protect them from germs or something. *whew!* “You leave everything here. It must be searched. Come back after 12:30.”
Well, there’s not a lot to do for 4 hours in JFK’s terminal 4 in the late evening hours, so we walked, sat, talked, drank coffee, watched people, sighed, then did it all again. When 12:30 came, we went back thinking we would pick up or carry on items and go to our gate. Wrong…..we were told we had to be escorted to the gate, so we had to wait with our little group of 6 other mighty suspicious looking baby boomers. ;) We were assigned a guard, walked with the guard through security, our stuff was checked again and we had to sit in a group with our guard until the plane started boarding. We were walked out in front of everyone waiting in line to board and put on first. We all felt pretty silly and strange, but when our guard let us go, he waved and smiled like we were old friends and told us to have a very nice visit. I think all of us thanked him for making everything so secure for us….but I think we all had the same feeling of “Why us???” The only thing we could think that we all had in common was our ages….all of us in our 30’s and 40’s. They say it is random, but we all saw a lot more suspicious-looking characters than us there on our flight. (some of them we have been riding around on tour busses with for a week now!) lol
The flight over was 10 hours loooooooooong. There was a large group of Hasidic Jews riding over to Israel from New York that night, all with their families. So all night there were babies crying and Jewish men stalking up and down the isles of the plane…up and down, up and down, stopping in the bulkhead to rock back and forth, saying prayers, all wearing a white button down shirt, a yamika under a jaunty looking black hat, black trousers and long black jacket. Several had the traditional long locks of hair growing where sideburns are, some with long bristly beards. The women sat with the poor fussy babies, the men and boys pacing and stomping and bumping my elbow, sometimes carrying their fussy baby as they paced. Oiy vey with the pacing already!
It was also our first taste of Middle Eastern food during the two meals that were served on the flight. It was hilarious to hear some of the Americans (especially the Texans) after they had taken a huge bite of humus, thinking it was mashed potatoes. People were holding it up, examining it, asking what it was?.lol. We did finally arrive in Tel Aviv, loaded onto our busses, drove to Tiberius and collapsed into our hotel beds.
Our tour guide, Madelyn, told us she will tell us what the pacing and rocking is about on one of our touring days…..all information comes at a certain point, not when you want to know, but when they think you should know. She is a great tour guide and I am not complaining, it actually cracks me up. She is a Jewish immigrant from Sweden, so she has a very distinctive accent that you find yourself imitating in your head as you think about what she’s said…it’s very contagious. So when you ask her a question, sometimes she just looks at you and says, “Well that is a very good question, but we will talk about it later, ok.” Again, ‘ok’ over here is not a question like Americans use it to infer, “Is that ok with you?” It is just a way of telling you what you will do. She has a wealth of seemingly endless information about this land, the people, her Jewish faith and history. We listen to her with eager ears….part of her charm is the strong Swedish accent sprinkled with Yiddish expressions and hand movements while speaking English….and she tells jokes that are unexpected and make us chuckle.
Today is Thursday. We have already seen and done so much, but we arrive back at the hotel at 10pm or later and have been falling into bed, not moving til morning! Today is the first day that my head hasn’t hurt and I have been able to ride the tour bus without falling asleep instantly whenever Madelyn was not talking.
It is a weird thing to do all that traveling and time changing and step right into a busy schedule. Jet lag feels more like a mental disorder than mere sleepiness. Besides falling asleep suddenly, you get confused easily, say funny words, tip your water too far away from your mouth so that is goes pouring onto your shirt, drop things, and it’s made a few of us a little tipsy….not from alcohol, but from a dizzy, off kilter feeling in your head. Tomorrow we move to a hotel in Jerusalem and stay there the rest of the time, so I think I will write more later.
It's clouds illusions I recall... Topic: People/Family stories We had gone to visit a friend in the hospital. Since northern Arizona is a vastly spread out array of small towns, sometimes you have to go a long way to get treatment for certain health issues. His was heart trouble, so we drove an hour and a half to a town where they have a hospital that specializes in the heart. Under observation and on a variety of medications to make his arrythmia subside, his outlook from ICU was really good. This is a man in his 50’s, saying he was fine with whatever God chose to do…to take him home or leave him here. That’s awfully young for that kind of talk! I didn’t say that out loud, but it was a relief to hear him talk like that. He’s had a tough life, he talked about giving up alcohol 15 years ago and giving his life to Christ. He did a 180 from mean old drunk guy to loving, tender hearted, generous man. He said he remembers the look on the pastor’s face when he came lumbering down the isle that Sunday for the altar call. He is grateful for his life…thankful for God’s mercy and restoration. In fact, I think he encouraged us more than we did for him by coming to see him.
On the ride home, it was a cloud show day. The sky was bright blue and the clouds were big and fluffy, changing shapes faster than I could guess what they were. The first thing I noticed was the bunny running from the bear, which quickly turned into a mouse facing an elephant, who was laughing hysterically. On down the road I saw a long necked dinosaur….I can’t remember their real name, but it’s the one called a ‘long neck’ in the Land Before Time shows. It was tossing a football with a wispy teradactyl (you’ll have to forgive my shortcomings in spelling dinosaur names!) Pretty soon the long neck’s head detached and floated off….I felt like I was watching a weird Alice in Wonderland type of show. As we got closer to Flagstaff, the San Francisco Peaks loomed large in front of us…they are very tall, jagged, sharp pointy mountains rising from a flat horizon. Very cool. Over the highest peak, Mt. Humphrey’s, I noticed the strangest cloud ….it first reminded me of a halo, then distinctly turned into a sombrero, balancing on the very tip of the peak. A mountain wearing a sombrero is pretty comical, you have to agree!
There is another friend. Her husband’s mother is dying of cancer in their home. She was looking up at the ceiling the other day and my friend asked her what she was looking at. “The sky,” she said. I wonder if she is seeing her life changing and floating off into something very grand…something comforting and closer than we can see with mortal eyes. The hospice nurse told them this is common as a person is close to death. They see things that we can’t and it seems to be like gradually stepping into the afterlife.
My family’s life is changing too. My dad is moving on in his dementia and we are finding it is not going to be possible to keep him at home anymore….this is definitely life changing into unforeseeable things. Some changes are very hard. I’ve heard that the only thing we know for sure is that things never stay the same….life is about changing, moving on, learning, growing, accepting. No one can make it stop. But we can watch on and see what it changes into. Hard times are not enjoyable, but they do a good thing….they produce a great strength in us if we let it…..wisdom, endurance, patience, love….it’s all good eventually.
There is a song I love from the 60’s by Joni Mitchell about how clouds, love, and life all change around and become what they will as we stand by and watch, experiencing the new shapes and views in life. It reminded me of our friend in the hospital…I’ll bet his wife could tell a lot of ways his life changed as she was by his side observing, like watching clouds turning into new shapes. Change is okay though and if you know it’s going to happen, it can be exciting to watch and wait for….especially if it’s God who is doing the shaping. Enjoy the song. I never really paid much attention to the meaning of these poetic lyrics as a child or teenager. It was just fun to sing. Now, looking back these lyrics have some rich meaning about how life evolves. One of my favorite groups, Jars of Clay, has a song called “Ordinary Days” with a line in it, “I hope the days and clouds turn into something as they pass us by.” We usually don’t have a whole lot of control over where the days take us and what they turn into, but it’s interesting to see both sides once it has passed. (oh, the hindsight!)
Both Side Now
Joni Mitchell
Rows and floes of angel hair And ice cream castles in the air And feather canyons ev’rywhere I’ve looked at clouds that way
But now they only block the sun They rain and snow on ev’ryone So many things I would have done But clouds got in my way I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now From up and down, and still somehow It’s cloud illusions I recall I really don’t know clouds at all
Moons and junes and ferris wheels The dizzy dancing way you feel As ev’ry fairy tale comes real I’ve looked at love that way
But now it’s just another show You leave ’em laughing when you go And if you care, don’t let them know Don’t give yourself away
I’ve looked at love from both sides now From give and take, and still somehow It’s love’s illusions I recall I really don’t know love at all
Tears and fears and feeling proud To say I love you right out loud Dreams and schemes and circus crowds I’ve looked at life that way
But now old friends are acting strange They shake their heads, they say I’ve changed Well something’s lost, but something’s gained In living ev’ry day
I’ve looked at life from both sides now From win and lose and still somehow It’s life’s illusions I recall I really don’t know life at all I’ve looked at life from both sides now From up and down, and still somehow It’s life’s illusions I recall I really don’t know life at all
Things that go *pop* Topic: God things God keeps things interesting in our lives. When He is teaching you something, it seems to keep *popping* up in your life. My husband was preaching on Sunday (it’s ok, he’s a pastor) partially on Luke 10. Jesus was preparing His disciples to go out and preach His Message in towns all across the land. It was a monumental task….a dangerous occupation to say the least, challenging old traditions with this new message of love and forgiveness. So Jesus tells 72 of His followers to go with only the clothes on their back….
”Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages….” Luke 10:4-7
I thought, Wow, that is faith….to go out like that, trusting people to take care of you. (the kindness of strangers, so to speak) Through unfolding events the rest of the day and on during the week, I realized that is what we do as a ministry family. *pop*
It was a good Sunday, but a bit strange. I guess somewhere someone dubbed October as Pastor Appreciation Month. So all month the man of the house has been receiving cards of appreciation…..and we know they all meant every word. We have a wonderful church family that takes care of us, encourages us, and let’s God lead them through my husband. He is a good pastor, and the people trust him. And I can say from living with him every day for 21 years that their trust is not in vain.
So on Sunday the church had a dinner after church and they sat us at the front table, then began standing up one by one to tell Charles, and also our youth pastor, how much they loved them, appreciated them, how they were standing beside them.
These people, as they stood, made me remember things Charles had gone through with them, though they didn’t mention specific events….funerals of loved ones, weddings, babies, vigils in hospitals, sickness, fervent prayers in times of need in their homes, driving people places, fixing their roof, digging a water line up, chopping wood for elderly friends for the winter to heat their homes….I could go on and on. It is always humbling somehow, to be publicly applauded.
Last spring a couple in our church gave us a trip to Israel, which we’ve been planning for ever since…we finally lift off of American soil this coming Monday. So the church presented us with two very nice sets of luggage and spending money for the trip. We felt very grateful, overwhelmed actually….all the public attention for ministry that has been very personal, so much of it behind the public eye. Even though you feel like you shouldn’t be receiving rewards for service, Luke 10:7 says, “Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages.” *Pop*
Of course Charles isn’t in the ministry for public attention, money, or rewards. But it is true that if you’re serving Christ and spreading the Message, He will take care of you through His people. Sometimes He blesses your socks off through them….sometimes you simply have what meets your needs. (and that’s ok too)
What was really hard to accept was when we received another card of appreciation on Tuesday, along with a check from a church member who lives on a very fixed and lowly income.
Charles opened the card and said, “Oh, this is from x.” Then he lifted up the check and our eyes met. “This is for $…..” I immediately said, “Oh x can’t afford that…what should we do?” To which my wise husband explained that this person wanted to do something for us.
He has helped x and been x’s friend…Charles has had many long counseling talks with x….and now x wanted to bless us. I am still struggling, thinking of this humble person giving us a very generous gift. But to give it back would to be robbing x of the blessing God gives those who are generous…who want to bless others. Jesus saw the widow who gave all she had to the Temple in Luke 21:1-4 and praised her for it. *ever so humble a pop*
The note in the card from x was full of sincere joy for us, learning of our trip-to-Israel gift….and asked for one thing….a post card from the Holy Land. Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. I think seeing this attitude and generosity from someone I should be generous to was more the blessing than the monetary gift.
Yep, God keeps things interesting….keeps us humble as we learn to walk along with Him…teaching us lessons that sometimes don’t make sense until we see them through His eyes.
Teenage wisdom Topic: God things
The man of the house (I like that expression and by the way, it’s what Laura Ingalls Wilder called her husband in her writings.) wanted to watch a movie tonight. And since that is kind of a rare happening, we plopped down to watch it with him. My daughters and I love to watch movies. We not only watch them, we memorize certain parts and quote them in our daily conversations. Lately they have all been quoting from Newsies, which I have not seen yet, but think the quotes are silly. We regularly quote from things like Gilmore Girls, Lord of the Rings, You’ve Got Mail, Princess Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory…and a lot of others. Oh, back to my husband….we are watching Master and Commander, a very good movie.
My daughter Emma is beside me and during a scene where a young boy has to have his arm amputated without anesthesia, I commented that her sister Hannah won’t watch this movie because of that scene. Hannah thinks they didn’t have to put that part in the movie…he’s so young and it’s so gruesome. Without missing a beat, Emma said, “Well if he didn’t lose his arm, you wouldn’t see how good of character he has.” While her grammar is iffy, she has a point.
Without the pain and struggle that happens in life, people would never know our true character. Isn’t that what we are still on earth for? We should be drawing all men to Christ…drawing them by sheer curiosity if nothing else. It is the thing that most often baffles people about Christians. They watch us when bad things happen, as if we’ll see God for who He really is…just toying with our lives, not saving us in every situation like Superman or Santa Claus. When a Christian has developed good character in their life, it shows through, loud and clear. If someone is just going through the motions, floating along with a shallow faith, their undeveloped character shows also. I sound like I am standing in a tall observation tower looking down on it all, but the truth is, I"ve learned personally how my poor character has shown through in tough times and I'm trying, just like all of us. I've learned this though....
It’s the small things….like returning the extra change the cashier gave you. Even though it seems insignificant and easier to ignore it and not say a word, it changes your heart and your mind, it improves the strength of your character each time you make the effort to be honest….to be trustworthy, faithful, of good report…in what we say as well as what we do. I think it is not only our conscience that pricks our hearts when some insignificant opportunity for honesty comes up…it is the very Holy Spirit of our Lord providing us an opportunity to be faithful, to grow. It’s like He’s put fertilizer (sorry, it’s the only word picture I have presently) out in front of us and it’s up to us whether we use it to grow, nourishing our character or to bypass it and wilt a little….gnatty white flies annoyingly flitting around our soil which was once so good.
I was so proud of Emma for picking up on that. She is only 13. It is a main theme of Master and Commander, examples of the good and the bad character traits shown through all the men in the movie. For her to realize it and pick it out without a thought makes me realize she is showing a lot of intuition lately…..and a strong inkling of wisdom. Wow, God is showing me a lot lately of how He is working in my daughters’ lives. I love seeing that…it comforts me when I worry about them. It increases my faith, knowing He is in control, teaching them things...making it real.
Ephesians 5:15-17 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.
crickl needs material Topic: Humor/memes On one of my daily reads, Marla Swoffer passed on an internet meme that is hilarious. You simply enter your name and the word “needs” after it into the Google search engine and see what comes up. Post the first ten needs that come up.
My real name, Christie, brought up a few other bloggers who had already posted this meme, so I skipped those. I tried to do the search with “crickl needs” and got nothing but some things about my blog. Crick only got one need. So I went with my original nickname (before it morphed over the years), Cricket, given to me by my dad. Keep in mind that cricket is also a very popular sport. ;) This is really fun….try it!
1. Christie needs surgery to remove ... (afraid to see the rest of this sentence…lol) 2. Christie needs to be kept informed on the Vermont Department of Health (I'm very curious) 3. Christie needs to be signed by August 15, 2005 or will become a free agent. (time’s up) 4. Christie needs to write. (which helps a blog along) 5. Christie needs your support in her fight. (puts up my dukes) 6. Christie needs no introduction (heehee) 7. Christie's needs a continuing flow of charitable funding (keep ‘em comin!) 8. Christie needs a bath. (no comment) 9. Christie needs to get tough all right (grrrr) 10. Christie needs to slow down (does my slow motion act) 11. Christie Needs Glasses (mine are scratched)
Crick needs a volunteer to drive the milk (had to post my only find for crick….cracked me up)
1. cricket needs a fresh start (usually) 2. Cricket needs another revolution (turns around and round) 3. cricket needs an overhaul (excuse ME?) 4. cricket needs commitment and devotion. (is it too much to ask?) 5. Cricket Needs Windies (?) 6. Cricket needs humour, but not the crude type (I have an eternal need for humor...crudeness free humor...see #5) 7. cricket needs to give those long on imagination and short on facts a holiday (I shall give them Christmas) 8. cricket needs to be less selfish (afraid this is true) 9. Cricket needs to change, but not so much that it isn't cricket any more (cricket needs clarification) 10. cricket needs desperately to go back to respectable partners. (blushing…I think they mean for gin rummy...you know that yahoo riffraff)
There is a place …a place where you can find your inner monster. Oh, it’s there….we all have one. Some are scary, ugly and twisted….some are fuzzy and goofy, like Sulley on Monsters, Inc.
Are you curious? Are you ready to discover your inner monster? Go here and follow instructions...... if you dare......
Fall pumpkin recipes! Topic: Crickl's Recipes With my husband gone for 2 weeks on a mission trip, I am struggling with finding motivation to get things accomplished. I just feel kind of withdrawn. I haven’t even had one idea for a blog entry this week. Having big plans of getting some things done while he was gone, I am really disappointed that I’m so unmotivated! So last night when my sister called to tell me she would like to bring my parents up for the weekend, it got my wheels turning. I planned out some menus for meals while they are here and what things to bake to have on hand for breakfast. (I don’t think they will want Fruit Loops)
Then, talking to a friend on the phone this morning, she said she’d come by soon to look at our dvd’s to borrow something. I remembered that our back room where our videos and dvd’s are is a total wreck. So I went back there to just rearrange some things so she could get in and have a look. Well, 3 hours later, I had my homeschool videos that were thrown willy nill into a huge box in the middle of the floor arranged. (We use BJU Homesat for most subjects in high school classes, so I have TONS of videos.) I got them all in boxes, labeled according to their subject and grade. Hmmmm, where to put these boxes! After emptying the top shelf of the video cabinet, I stacked the boxes on top.
In order to make room for the rearranged videos and dvd’s I had to totally rearrange my homeschool supply shelf, where every shelf was askew and awful. I threw away a kitchen garbage bag full of debri from my rampage.
I also had to deal with a huge box of paper towels that was in the middle of the floor in that same back room. So I dragged it to the hall closet, where I had to rearrange sleeping bags and some quilts to make room for it. I also found the curtains I’m going to redo for Maggie’s room in there and put them on to wash. (Hopefully I won’t forget them in the drier, so I won't have a tough time ironing them.)
Finishing all of this rearranging and purging of my closet and back room felt very, very satisfying. Bethany cooked us burgers for lunch (so I don’t have to fix dinner tonight…just a snack supper….yay!) As we were cleaning up lunch things, my eye caught sight of a can of pumpkin sitting innocently where I had left it by the mixer. “Oh, I need to make some things for breakfasts for the weekend!” Out came the laptop and click, click to my recipes folder. No pumpkin recipe looked that great….so I went to allrecipes.com and did a search on pumpkin bread. Finding some interesting recipes, I baked 2 of them, which I will leave you with and one that I will make soon, but didn’t have any cream cheese for it on hand today. (It got very good reviews on allrecipes.com, so I’m sure it’s very good! It’s described as more of a dessert/cake than a breakfast bread.)
I sat down here at my laptop thinking I would only copy and paste the recipes and here I’ve written a whole post! It was a strange kind of day…in between all of this flying about like the tazmanian housework devil, I had several people drop by, several phone calls and had to take or pick up Bethany several times. I feel like a worker ant…and now I feel as though I need to go to my roost and nestle down to rest….a well deserved rest it is too.
This one’s in the oven and it smells terrific!!
Pumpkin Yeast Bread
5/8 cup warm water 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree 1/4 cup margarine 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger 2 3/4 cups bread flour 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
Directions 1 Place ingredients in bread machine pan in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select basic setting. Start. 2 To bake bread in oven: select dough or manual cycle. Once cycle is complete, shape dough and place in a greased loaf pan. Allow to rise in a warm spot until doubled in size. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in the center of the loaf reads 200 degrees F (95 degrees C).
This one I am eating right now and it is very satisfying….it’s a perfect breakfast or snack bread.
Pumpkin Bread
2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1 cup packed brown sugar 1/3 cup butter flavored shortening 2 eggs 1 cup pumpkin puree 1/4 cup milk 1/2 cup raisins (optional) 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions 1 In a mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and cloves. 2 In a separate bowl, cream together shortening and brown sugar. Mix in eggs, pumpkin, and milk. Stir flour mixture into wet mixture until just combined. Fold in raisins and walnuts if desired. Pour into a greased and floured 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. 3 Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees ) for 50 to 55 minutes.
This is the dessert-ish recipe….looks wonderful!
Pumpkin Swirl Bread
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese 1/4 cup white sugar 1 egg, beaten 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups white sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 cup pumpkin puree 1/2 cup butter, melted 1 egg, beaten 1/3 cup water
Directions 1 Blend cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 beaten egg. Set aside. 2 Combine flour, 1 1/2 cups white sugar, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside. 3 Combine pumpkin, butter or margarine, beaten egg, and water. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, mixing just until moistened. Reserve 2 cups of the pumpkin batter. Pour the remaining batter into a greased and floured 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Pour cream cheese mixture over pumpkin batter, and top with reserved pumpkin batter. Cut through batter several times with a knife for a swirl effect. 4 Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 70 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then remove from pan to cool completely.
I also have a Pumpkin Fudge recipe I will post soon from my friend KQ.....