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! 

here comes the sun!

here comes the sun! doo doo doo doooo

here comes the sun, and i say

it's alright!

just another few weeks at the jc, and life is good :)

synagogue to welcome in shabbat

Isaiah 60: "You will not need the sun for light by day, nor the moon for radiance, ADONAI (Elohim) will be your everlasting light, your God shall be your glory. Your sun will never set; your moon will not wane; ADONAI will be your light forever, your days of mourning will end."

-From the Siddur (prayer book)

Hezekiah's Tunnel 

1/3 mile of awesome. 

dark? not dark enough! 

why? because i rocked the head lamp!

"And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth... He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam... He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing."            (John 9:1-7)

Pater Noster

Chapel of the Ascension
...apparently that is Jesus' footprint right there. ;)

"And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven." (Luke 24:51)

amphitheater at Hebrew University...site of the re-enactment of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. brought to you by Susan, MJ, Amy, and Brooke!

....oh they say when you're married in June!

located in the Garden Tomb...
if there is anything i have learned while being here, it's that we all need to pray for the peace of the Holy Land.

Tel Aviv!

before heading off to Jordan we decided to take a quick trip to Tel Aviv!

the sun was shining, the ocean waves were flopping onto the beach, and Brooke was busy getting tan!

bike riding along the coast..... i'd say that it's at the top of my awesome list! 

jess. our oregon coast biking trip MUST HAPPEN!

little boat overturned on the beach...KODAK MOMENT!

adventure is out there :)

as my friend Charles Muntz said in Up...

"Adventure is out there!" 

so i'm out searching for it!!

with all but two of my classes ending next week, you'd think things might start to slow down....that's definitely NOT the case! if anything life is moving faster and faster, and i feel like before i know it i'll be sitting in the salt lake airport wondering where the time has gone! 

what do you do when you visit the tomb of the kings? you pretend to be zombies of course....

ice city! ice, ice city!

what better way to spend a blazing hot day in Jeru?

COMPLETE WITH ICE SLIDE!

walking the 14 stations of the cross with the Franciscan monks on a friday afternoon...












guess who came on a tour to israel?


that's right folks! jon schmidt! he gave a performance for us at the augusta victoria church of the ascension...

hearing his "love story meets viva la vida" and thinking of coldplay's lyrics "i hear jerusalem bells a ringing" 

brought the lyrics to life a bit...

as well as his "tribute" written for his deceased sister, and thinking of the resurrection of Christ at this very spot... a powerful night!

so back to my childhood.... it's off to the ZOO!!!! the biblical zoo in fact!

basically i'm the new steve irwin---CRIKEY!!

zoo  would not be complete without a giant ark.

Yad Vashem: the Israel Holocaust Museum

fittingly followed by Herzl's grave, the founder of the Zionist movement

the separation wall--meant to divide the palestinian territories from israeli controlled land... quite controversial

a nice break--gelato in west jeru! happy birthday priscilla!! :)

highlight of my weekend though.... EILAT!!! snorkeling in the red sea. 

yes, i'm legit ;)

neot kedumim: the biblical landscape reserve

in short, we get to go back in time to experience biblical life. 

including herding animals with absolutely no brains... stupid animals... i don't know how david did it.

making zatar from hyssop... no mom, it's not drugs.

and making our very own pitas and lentil soup!! as i can't go to mccall this year, this outdoor experience helped quench my thirst for camping!

not quite sure what the ropes course had to do with the biblical theme...but it was fun anyway! especially to see j rowdy tear it up! best. prof. ever.

the night was made complete by a triple date with karen and the pinto bean

a light festival in the old city....lights everywhere! 

life is good.

“Somebody ought to tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit every minute of every day. Do it, I say, whatever you want to do, do it now.” 

Michael Landon