the hands of galilee

galilee.... this was Jesus country...where he spent most of his mortal life! 


"clearly now i see him with his hands
calling to me
and though i'm not yet as i would be
he has shown me how i could be
i will make my hands like those from galilee"

("his hands" by kenneth cope) 

we started in his hometown: 

nazareth 

welcome to galilee brooke

as you can imagine, we visited the sites of his ministry and miracles

the cana, mt. of beatitudes, capernaum, nain, chorazin, mt. tabor...these were places Jesus visited. and i think you could still feel him here :)

i didn't include ALL of these places, just my few favorites!

boat ride on the sea of galilee

...sounds magical right? especially when we sing "master, the tempest is raging!"

"And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm."
(Matt 8:25-26)

the mt. of beatitudes


"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matt 5:48)

the church at nain (where jesus healed the widow's only son) with mt. tabor in the background (possible site for the transfiguration)

"And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother." (Luke 7:15)

"Jesus taketh Peter, James and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light." (Matt 17:1-2)

oh....and there are still active mine fields...so watch your step!

yardenit

another possible site for the baptism of Jesus (although much less likely)

and i just REALLY like the hawaii pidgin language. i think it should be the new vernacular in idaho...

hike in the Golan...

AMAZING waterfalls. so great in the humid heat that wishes to kill me at times...

now understand my re-enactment photos have gotten more and more prevalent, as standing and smiling has gotten more and more boring. i quite hate it actually.

so let the fun begin :)

we like exploring.

we like israel.

we like this ibex.

megiddo:

armageddon

"For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the whole earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty...And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." (Rev. 16:14,16)

hazor

"Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died." (Judges 4:21)

the assyrians are coming!! the assyrians are coming!!


poor hazor. (2 Kings 15:29)

archers at nimrod's castle

muslim fortress during the crusades

we decided to be like robin hood for a day.

...robin hood and little john running through the forest...

har bental

should not have been this entertaining...

turned into a jurassic park re-enactment. complete with theme music!

i always wanted to be in an action movie!

(ruins from the 1948 and  1967 wars)

which way??

gotta love those ludlows :) 

"now when you pick a pawpaw,
or a prickly pear
and you pick a raw paw,
well next time...beware!
don't pick the prickly pear
with the paw
when you pick a pear,
try to use the claw!
but you don't need to use the claw
when you pick a pear
with the big pawpaw!"

we love akko!!!

A-K-K-O!

called ptolemais in new testament times. visited by the apostle pau (acts 21:7)l 

mt. carmel

"So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel..." (1 Kings 18:20)

the site of the showdown between the priests of Baal and Elijah. when the sacrifice of Elijah is licked up in flames, the priests try to escape, "and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there." (v 41)

i got to be Elijah today!

caesarea

where paul was brought before king agrippa. 

introducing geoff as paul, alicia as king agrippa, brooke as festus, and dana as...bystander?

Alicia: "Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." (Acts 26:28)

if i've learned anything over these past few weeks, it's that i will NEVER be able to do everything i want to. i'll never have enough time. 

the best i can do is to 

live in the moment.
and that is exactly what i have decided to do. i am living the moment. i am simply going to enjoy my last 10 days in the holy land. oh how time flies... 

i'll be home before you know it!!!

the last melon!!

jerusalem..... if i forget you!!!

.... one month left....

i feel like the do-do birds on ice age... they started out with three melons to survive the upcoming apocalypse. i started here with about three months in jerusalem...just as two of their melons slipped away, so have two months slipped away, right out of my fingers... i don't know where they've gone, but as i look i realize i have only a month left. now all i have to say is "the last melon!!" each day is going to be spent well. each minute is going to be cherished, and every opportunity is going to be taken advantage of!

but these last few months have been so spectacular. 

adventure after adventure :) oh if life could always be so wonderful!

but i will try my best!

update time, eh? 

ein kereim

cutest lil' city just outside jeru. where zaccharias and elizabeth lived, where mary visited elizabeth (the magnificat canticle in luke), and where john the baptist was born. 

this picture is of "mary's spring," where mary would have gotten a drink when she visited elizabeth.

tile floor at the church of the visitation... gorgeous!

where mary said "the magnificat"

"my soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; because he has regarded the lowliness of his handmaid..." (see luke 1:46-55)










the roman baths at the herodian (one of herod the great's palaces)...nothing like a lil' bath to clean off the jeru smell...

i do believe rachel could be on a pantene pro-v commercial, don't you?

bethlehem. 

"and Joseph also went...unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child."

the church of the nativity, where many christians believe the baby Jesus was born.

the altar of the nativity.

the "manger" or stone where the Jesus may have been laid.

"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."

shepherd's field (one of three "shepherd's fields" in the bethlehem area).  yes we are shepherds and their sheep... i don't know that i'm that fond of being a sheep!

"and there were in the same country shepherd abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them... and the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

bethelehem definitely made the top of my charts... there are few more powerful ways to celebrate the work of our savior than through remembering his miraculous birth. somewhere in that city, jesus the christ was born. it's as true now as it was two thousand years ago. it was also refreshing to celebrate christmas in july with a few christmas hymns. what a great day :)

but back to jerusalem.... to explore the old city??? it's crunch time!! 

smurfs. arabic smurfs!!

oh the art in east jeru....

view from the window of dominus flevit... the cross stands directly over the church of the holy seplechre (where most christians believe christ was crucified and buried) --the blue domes right above the left side of the cross.

painting a mural at the princess bosma school.... jc service at its finest!

walking up the steps to the temple...many are the same steps jesus would have walked. this is one of the few excavated areas that goes all the way down to the time of christ...

there's something so tangible about truly walking where jesus walked!

the orson hyde door...

in the 18th and 19th centuries travellers would come to this hostel and stay the night, and many would carve their names into the door. when orson hyde came to this land in 1841, it was believed he stayed here...and he may have possibly carved his name into the door.

see the "HYDE" written there towards the bottom??

"Now, O Lord! Thy servant has been obedient to the heavenly vision which Thou gavest him in his native land; and under the shadow of Thine outstretched arm, he has safely arrived in this place to dedicate and consecrate this land unto Thee, for the gathering together of Judah's scattered remnants, according to the predictions of the holy Prophets -- for the building up of Jerusalem again after it has been trodden down by the Gentiles so long, and for rearing a Temple in honor of Thy name."  

Orson Hyde's Dedicatory Prayer on the Mount of Olives

megan and i are actually jungle explorers... 

the top of the lutheran church of the redeemer!
what a view of jerusalem!

a wee bit squished... good thing we love each other :)

TWINNERS!!!

hannah and i decided to match today. exactly. ;)

a young boy worshipping inside the hurva synangogue in the jewish quarter

i can feel the time floating away....gahhhh! it's unbelievable to me how the time has flown. 

galilee in only four days!! 

luckily, my amazing home teachers taught me the perfect lesson...

live life "always in the middle" (thank you president uchtdorf!)

"Yes, there will be moments of beginnings and moments of endings throughout our lives, but these are only markers along the way of the great middle of our eternal lives. Whether we are at the beginning or the end, whether we are young or old, the Lord can use us for His purposes if we simply set aside whatever thoughts limit our ability to serve and allow His will to shape our lives." 

thanks ian, and thanks for the superhero pj pants... ;)

the hashemite kingdom of jordan

jordan

just like turkey was an unexpectedly amazing adventure, jordan was absolutely fabulous! some sites were biblical sites, and others were simply important in biblical times... and some were completely unrelated at all... ;) 

we began at mt. nebo

"and moses went up from the plains of moab unto the mountain of nebo... and the Lord said unto him, this is the land which i sware unto abraham, unto isaac, and unto jacob..." 
it was here also that moses ascended in to heaven."


deuteronomy 34:1-4

 the mosaic map at madaba! 

a large mosaic map of the holy land during byzantine times... this pic is a close up of jerusalem... there i am!! 

machaerus--where john the baptist was imprisoned and executed...

classic jumping pic. although this one is a favorite...perhaps it's because we all look like ninja masters. 

it's just the jeru awesome. 

the two man band at our hotel in petra. mini dance party in the restaurant, no... bid deal! even the cooks and staff were 
in on the celebrating! 

now for the best part....

this is the part to be jealous of... 

*cue indiana jones theme*

PETRA!!


the treasury at petra--the location of the temple in indiana jones and the last crusade

"now, he who finds the grail must face 3  challenges. first, is the path of God: only the penitent men shall pass. second, is the word of God: only in the footsteps of God, shall he proceed. last is the breath of God: only in a leap from the lion's head shall he prove his worth."

so...

as any young jones-lover should, i had my own last crusade....my own search for the holy grail!

"the search for the grail is the search for the divine in all of us. but if you want the facts, indy, i've none to give you. at my age, i'm prepared to take a few things on faith."

sadly, i never found it...maybe it's because i wasn't seeking it for the right reasons. 

the crazy old knight even asked indiana, "ask yourself, why do you seek the Cup of Christ? is if for His glory, or for yours?"

temple of hercules in amman.
cursed disney songs get stuck in my head so easily!!

WHO PUT THE GLAD IN GLADIATOR!?!?
HERCULES!

the best part about this summer has been spiritual experiences that creep up unexpectedly....but quite regularly! i am constantly being fed by my professors and by the spirit. 








my experience here at the jabbok river was one of those little surprises... it was somewhere along this river that jacob has a heavenly visitation in which he "wrestles with a man," sees God face to face, and has his name changed to israel.

jacob desired the covenant blessings he was promised, so much so that he wrestled the angel and would not let him go until he received those covenants. brother huntsman challenged us all to be willing to "wrestle with God" or to wrestle with our own weaknesses and trials so that we can be worthy of covenant blessings...then as jacob's name was changed to israel ("one who prevails with God"), we can also be successful and gaining the blessings of eternal life.

just a little tidbit for you today :)

second favorite stop....

JERASH!

because you know....

bagpipes at roman ruins is normal...

legit.

now...

i have no idea what value this museum had to my knowledge of the bible, but i know a certain someone who would be incredibly jealous of this particular place.

the jordanian royal automobile museum

shout-out to you harmon! ;)

Jesus came to John the Baptist, in Judea long ago, and was baptized by immersion in the River Jordan's flow. "To fulfill the law," said Jesus, when the Baptist quesitoned why, "And to enter with my Father in the Kingdom up on high." Now we know that we must also witness faith in Jesus' word, be baptized to show obedience, as was Jesus Christ, our Lord.

  

i officially loved this place.

and upon returning...i have only 5 weeks left! where has the time gone??? 

"sometimes i feel that life is passing me by, not slowly either, but with ropes of steam and spark-spattered wheels and a hoarse roar of power or terror. it's passing, yet i'm the one who's doing all the moving."

mark amis







and i can't end without a holla to my native land...i haven't forgotten you!

happy 4th!