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!!!

in the land of studly men.

Billionaire-genious-philanthropist-playboys like Tony Stark? Or maybe green-angry-violent-indestructible-hulks like Bruce Banner? What about thoughtless-proud-hammer-weilding-demigods like Thor? Maybe I'd prefer the polite-cryogenically-frozen-super-soldiers like Steve Rogers?

Are the Iron Mans, Hulks, Thors, and Captain Americas of this world real? Are there any real men anymore? 

Studs.

Well....some more than others :)

Men like Joshua...taking down whole cities. Men like Samson...well he was all brawn and no brains, so maybe not so much... But men like David! Taking down the beast Goliath when so-called men like Saul cowered in fear...

Do real men exist?

Maybe. Just maybe. ;) 

This last week or so I have spent exploring the lands of these hero men. 

First stop: Jericho. 

Herod's winter palace

And the walls came TUMBLIN DOWN!


"And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour." (Joshua 6:2)

Elisha's Spring

"And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land." (2 Kings 2:21)

Jericho: the oldest city of the world!

.....get it! old! knee-slapperrrrrrr

Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene

Shavuot at sunrise 

The Temple Mount, or Haram al-Sharif

The perfect place to meditate.

And while desparately searching for more heroes.... I got hungry. Giant apple??

More hero country??? The Sorek Valley: home of Samson. After all...he 

was sooooooo strong. Just a little dense...

"And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine."  (1 Samuel 17:40)

(Brook at the Valley of Elah! Followed by some intense stone-slinging!)

"And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him..." (1 Samuel 17:49-50)

(Tel Azeka overlooking the Valley of Elah)

David = Stud....at least for a time right?

Location of the Lachish Letters. 

Blake = Assyrians

Brooke = Israelites

too bad the Israelites lose Lachish....

Ancient olive press!

Tombs. YEAH we're zombies!!

D-wight. Pics in every tomb we see.

So..... 

I searched throughout Israel, and I finally found some real men. 

THE AVENGERS!

boo-ya!

best. day. ever.

one week already??

so. so. much. i don't know how jess ever did it! or anyone for that matter.... i feel like there is simply TOO MUCH that happens, i can never possibly write it all down! i will do my best to give you the best snapshot that i can! here it goes!

i cannot describe the culture here. it is so incredibly diverse. one moment i am trekking through damascus gate and into the muslim quarter, where i buy a delicious falafel at eddy's. i pass by shaban and grab some juice, and nacer takes me upstairs to show me his "secret stash" for us mormons. the shop owners LOVE the mormon students! ...there's trash littered everywhere... each store owner tries convincing me to buy his sandles, or his spices, or his scarves, or his carvings, or his...whatever! 

if i enter west jerusalem the scence completely changes! it's clean, and i can see jews in their complete clothing ensemble walking up and down streets all over! from arabic to hebrew, from one culture to another, it's a complete change! it's amazing to me that such a place exists, and that i get to experience it firsthand for the next 3 and a half months! 

i'm taking my time...trying to get a feel for the city. i'm beginning to get a hang of the streets and such, and i have even tried to get to know the locals! ahhh i have a feeling it will all pass too quickly... 

but to keep you entertained, i thought i'd add some pictures, as usual :)

the ramparts...climbing up and down the old city walls. this gave us a chance to see the old city from a different view...each quarter is SO different. it really is amazing. i loved passing the citrus trees in the christian quarter...smelled so good! i felt i had traveled back to medieval times, like maybe i could be a guard at the gate! four o'clock and aaaaall's weeeeell! 

 view from up on the ramparts! see all the wall in the background?

 the western wall! the most accessible point of the remaining temple of solomon...the most sacred place for the jews. i definitely want to write a prayer to shove into one of the cracks!

 still on the ramparts, but an amazing view of the dome of the rock! beautiful!

oh little town of bethlehem! 

an old army bunker! this is right before a nice gust of wind decided to have a sense of humor and blow my skirt up in the air!!!

this ridge was could have very easily been where abraham came to mt. moriah to sacrifice isaac, as he was coming from the south. (genesis 22:4) "on the third day, abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off." 

a monastery built where samuel the prophet was supposedly born and buried.... nabi samwil

jerusalem. the center of the universe!

may possibly have been the most delicious thing of my life. besides the frasier in france hayley :)

banana boom pancake...HOLY YUM.

joseph of arimathea's grave at the church of the holy seplechre.... in a dark little cave, dwight and i were a wee bit frightened!

pretty sure they are my favorite :)

in zedekiah's cave...you can see the pillars from the second temple of solomon

we have a "make funny faces in every picture" club....for the cool kids. 

apparently we are supposed to be owls??

my two new best friends...nabeel who wrapped my head in a scarf--jeru style! 

and joe. you're the best, end of story :)

now if i can only stay afloat in my classes.....it's so hard with a city SO AMAZING right at my doorstep! 
and to say no to volleyball every night....
with that, i say good night!