April 26

April 26

We wandered around Aqaba.  There doesn’t seem like there’s too much to see with regards to major tourist attractions but aside from that it’s really quite an interesting little city and a good initiation into the true, deeper Arab-Islamic world.  We moseyed through dirtier, cluttered markets and along a beach dotted with garbage.  We saw every woman covered, some more than others.  Teenage boys asked us to take their pictures.  Some made smooching sounds at Leah.  They wanted Leah in the picture.  She refused and I said ‘no’ as firmly as I could…  Once again we heard the blasting, echoing, lingering, evocative, characteristic Muslim call to prayer.  Unlike Israel, this is an Islamic nation, and these are sounds we’ll have to get accustomed to…

Our center of operations for the day was McDonalds.  It offers free shade and free bathrooms – commodities in this part of the world.  We even got McFlurries!  We splurged.

We listened to a sermon on the ipod on a bench in the shade during the peak heat of the day and then made our way back to the house.  It was still super hot and a hard desert dusty wind was blowing into us head-on all the way back.  We arrived just in time for a tasty, Middle Eastern dinner.    

April 25

April 25

Caught a bus from Mitzpe Ramon to Eilat (Israel’s southernmost town) – SO many young soldiers on the bus.  I think we stopped at about 3 or 4 army bases on our way.  Sometimes it seems like half the country’s population is enlisted…  We were accompanied by a nice, transient, liberal, ‘spiritual,’ middle-aged American couple.  We took a taxi together for a cheaper fare to the Israel-Jordan border.  We crossed the border together into Aqaba, Jordan with relatively no hassles.  Once across a manipulative, creepy, incredibly discourteous Jordanian taxi driver played the good cop/bad cop routine, initially approaching us cordially but then suddenly becoming angry and rude after we politely refused his offer to take us into town (his price was slightly too steep, and we knew it).  We decided to part ways with the American couple – thinking it better to wait for our contacts elsewhere, we walked up the road to escape the heated, scheming taxi driver; the American couple waited long-sufferingly for two Italian guys who were crossing the border behind us, at which point they all took another cab with a less scary cab driver into town. 

Our contacts Gene and Jessie picked us up.  They’re a wonderful couple.  They work for a Christian org.  Gene teaches English and Jessie works with various women’s ministries.  They have three young children.  We lounged on their couches and attempted to converse despite our travel-exhaustion and sun-scorched brains.  We went to bed early.

April 24th (Leah's)

 

This morning our hiking began at 7:35am! It was a good time to start. You don’t want to be caught out in the sun during the hours of 1-4pm. It can be very hot, especially down in the Mak Tesh (the eroded crater like canyon). It was just Spencer, Thomas and I this time. We went at a really good pace and we went to many cool lookouts, through another dry riverbed, and our whole journey took us 3 ½ hours. We did it faster than they say it takes (that’s for slow tourists I guess). So I got to accomplish something that is on my “list to do before I die”. Hitchhiking! To get back to the hostel from this trail you have to hitchhike. And just so you know, it’s a very safe, common and effective mode of transportation in Israel. So many people do it here, it’s not illegal, its accepted and so many people do. You can usually get rides right away since people are used to picking up hitchhikers! So, I now cross that off my “list”.

We came back to give Spencer a hair cut! I forgot to mention before we tired to use his clippers that we bought in Canada with our converter, but it made this horrible noise, like the motor was going 100x faster than normal. We found out that the owner of the hostel Yosh, has some clippers so we used them to cut Spencer’s hair (he also mentioned all we need is a transformer, not a converter to use the clippers here). So I successfully gave Spencer a hair cut, although it took a while since his hair was really long- and so thick. After that he shaved, so he is all nice and groomed now!

We had some vegetable scrambled eggs and whatever leftovers we could scrounge up for lunch and took the majority of the afternoon “off”. Doing nothing since the sun and dry heat really drains you. I re-organized my big pack- getting kind of tired of living out of a bag!

Lots more people checked into the hostel-almost a full house. I made pancakes for Spencer and I-not quite like home, but still okay. We had savory ones with a cream cheese like spread, tomatoes, cukes, and spices. Spencer bought some “nutella” which he also enjoyed for his dessert pancakes.

We spent the rest of the night uploading photos, getting ready to go to Jordan, and enjoying the people of the hostel!

Another country successfully visited! What a cool country- a lot of must see spots, great people, amazing food and lots of Biblical history.

April 23 (Leah's)

 

Well since I had a restless sleep, I was up before the alarm. I got ready for our hike-, which didn’t take long; I didn’t need to beautify myself or anything! We had a “good” breakfast – CERAL! Yummy! And then our companions and us drove about 40mins down a rough dirt road to the hiking spot. Man it was gorgeous! We are definitely in the desert. And since we are in a dry crater, you are surrounded by ridges and places to climb and hike! We saw some amazing views. We did a hike for about 4 ½ hours and then the couple dropped us and Thomas off along the way back and we did another 1 ½ hour hike up the ridge to the hostel. It was pretty dry; my mouth was parched the whole time, but surprisingly it didn’t seem that hot. Because it is dry heat you don’t sweat as much as humid heat- which I like, I don’t like being sweaty all the time. We walked during one point through a dry riverbed that was really awesome. We climbed up a small “mountain” to get a really good view of the whole crater. We felt like we were on the edge of the world. And you can see many different colors of sand- brown, black, red, yellow and even a mauve color.

We were glad to get back to the hostel as it was getting to be the hotter time of the day. We shed our sand covered shoes and I hopped in the shower before having some lunch (more leftovers from the wedding). Now time to relax. Maybe chat with Yosh and Lee (the owners) about maybe coming to volunteer for a month. Until then, nothing is on the itinerary by resting!

Well, resting didn’t last long. Thomas- the eager, friendly German- convinced us to go and see some more places. So we went to the “statue” garden, which has a bunch of abstract (weird) statues in amongst this rocky ground. And when we came back we had dinner (leftovers from the wedding still) and skyped with mom and dad Jensen. We talked with Yosh and Lee about volunteering, but we told them it depended on when our visas for Tanzania come (we already have Spencer's, and mine is getting re-done). Off to bed, another hike planned for the morning.

April 22 (Leah's)

 

We got up (too) early today – Spencer woke up at about 6:30am- and we got ready and took the train to the bus station so we could catch a bus to Miztpe Ramon. There were so many young soldiers on their way back to their bases after spending the weekend at home. So we had to “fight” for a spot on the bus. We had to switch buses in Be’er Sheva, which was a push-shove experience to get on the bus. I was basically attached to Spencer because I didn’t want to get pushed out of the way. We made it on! In one piece too. We drove through arid, desert areas until we got to the place where we were going to be staying- Mitzpe Ramon in the Negev Desert. 

A lady helped us find the hostel, which was across the road from where we got dropped off. It’s such a nice place- a taste of home almost. It’s clean, relaxing, peaceful, and comfortable. The owners just got married on Friday, so there were lots of leftovers in the fridge for the guests- lots of yummy, gourmet salads. Also there are lots of leftovers from other guests- CEREAL too!! I was so excited! We went to the supermarket with one of the volunteer-staff also named Spencer to get a few items.

We basically spent the rest of the day/night in the hostel, relaxing and chatting with people. We were pretty tired, and we knew we would be doing hiking the next day so we just wanted to do nothing. We actually got a “offer” from the owners to come and help out for a month since Spencer (the volunteer-staff) is leaving in two weeks and they need some more people. So we spent a lot of the day chatting about it with each other, and I didn’t sleep well because my mind was racing- thinking about that and other things.

We met some people that we planned to go hiking with. The one couple (Astrid and Whim from Belgium) had a rented car so we could drive with them to a cool place to go hiking, and another guy, Thomas, from Germany was also going to come along.  We decided to leave at 6:45am because we wanted to beat the heat, and the couple had to be in Tel Aviv to return the car later on in the day. So off to bed I went- and as I mentioned, it was a pretty unsuccessful sleep!

April 21 (Leah's)

 

Today was our last full day in Jerusalem. We didn’t have too many plans. We did go to see the Garden of Gethsemane Church. It was filled with tourists (by this point I am almost sick and tired of tourists and tour groups! They are every-I guess we are ones too, but still, there are people everywhere!) Anyways, we seen an area fenced off with the olive trees where Jesus was arrested. We also tried to find the 24/7 house of prayer. For an hour we walked the wrong way (totally my fault, I didn’t really know where to go). But then we did find the right place – or so we think- but it was locked- so much for 24/7! It must have been closed because of the Shabbat. So that was a futile walk- and I was pretty worn out- so we went back to our hostel for a rest. I had a nap and then went for a run. I ran up and down the subway-train track since there were no trains because of the Sabbath. It was like a ghost town. There was some Jews walking to Synagogue and the Wailing wall and some tourists, but nothing was open. We fasted today, so there was no need to look for food shops- since most were closed! We drank a lot of juice (and I had chocolate milk, and tea). We went for one last walk through the Old City, bought some fresh mint to make some tea, and then headed back to our hostel. We watched a movie and went to bed early. I awoke to some young guys somewhere near our hostel that were yelling (probably drunk, but Arabs are notoriously loud anyways, and there are many Arabs in the area) and they were also singing. I fell back to sleep and tried to get my “beauty” sleep.

April 20 (Leah's)

 

We took a mini bus into Bethlehem today. Since it is in the West bank (which is Palestinian disturbed land) you can only get to the check point and then you have to walk through a heavily guarded and secure area to get out the exit where you catch another taxi into Bethlehem. It was the only time I felt somewhat uneasy since being in Israel. Nothing happened, but just to the fact that it was just so secure! Once we crossed into the West bank-basically Palestine- life changes. It is poorer, cheaper, dirtier, and very Arabic. Actually Jews are prohibited from entering. Anyways, after haggling with the taxi drivers we finally set on a price. Milan, our host told us it would cost 20-30 Sheckles from the checkpoint to Bethlehem (about 5 km) and the taxi drivers were trying to charge us 80! We settled on 25 one-way.

Our driver took us to a church, the Milky Grotto, which is where they believe Joseph, Mary and Jesus found refuge from Herod before they fled to Egypt. We also went to the Church of the Nativity, where they believe the stable was where Jesus was born. While we were in these places our taxi driver waited outside each place and took us to the next, despite us trying to tell him we would meet him back in 2 hours and then he could take us back to the checkpoint (he must have been desperate for clients if he waited for us all that time). We walked into the market/centre area where we bought cheap drinks and falafels (although the falafels weren’t quite as good, they were good for 5 sheckles (1.50$) since we normally have paid 12-15 sheckles!). We bought a coke for our taxi driver, which at first he tried to refuse, but when I showed him that we had some too, he gladly took it!

Once we got back to Jerusalem, we were going to gather our bags and go to a hostel. Our host family could only have us for 4 nights, and since we decided to stay 2 extra nights (because of the Sabbath we couldn’t travel) we booked a hostel in the Old City. Martina was making these Slovakian steamed sweet buns filled with plum jam and topped with butter and coca powder (I think it was actually hot chocolate). She told us to wait so we could try some- and she gave us three each! So delicious!

With our stomachs full and our heavy bags strapped to us, we walked to our hostel in the Old City. We weaved our way through the crowds and finally made it to the “New Swedish Hostel” where we would be spending the next two nights at $16/each/night! It was worth the price, not too nice, but not too bad either! We even got free tea, coffee, and hot chocolate!

We spent some more time at the Garden Tomb. It is such a peaceful, beautiful place. Especially because it shines with the light of Jesus and is filled with believers. We listened to about 4-5 different tour groups from all over the world as they sung different songs in their languages throughout the Garden. It was so nice! Later, since it was the start of Sabbath when we ventured off to find some food (around 7:30pm) mostly everything was closed. We stopped at the Wailing Wall first, to admire all the Jews gathered for the Sabbath. Some were dancing in groups (in a big circle), others were praying to the wall, and lost of people talked with one another. It is quite the spectacle! So we went in search of food outside the Old City walls and we ended up at a Chinese Restaurant. Basically the only thing open- since they are not Jewish! It was a bit pricy, but we had to eat!

While we were getting a meal I noticed a boy sitting by himself, I heard him talking to the waitress in English, so I told Spencer we should invite him to eat with us. So the boy (19 years old), Martin, from NY/Pennsylvania, came to join us when his food came. We had some good talks with him. He is studying in France for the year and decided to come to Israel for his 2-week break. We told him we were Christians, and he said his mom is a big believer, but he isn’t. He believes in “God” but nothing more than that. We were able to share some things with him. When we finished dinner, we walked part of the way back with him, went our separate ways, and we went back to the hostel. We thankfully got the only two “beds” that aren’t bunk beds, in the mixed dorm room, and they were even side-by-side, so that was nice! God has been so good to us though. This was the first night since our travels began (about one month now) that we had to be in a hostel- most of the time was with other believers in their houses, guesthouses or churches! So our first night in the hostel was finished with a somewhat good sleep.

April 19 (Leah's)

 

Today I wanted to take it easy- we had three days of 4-5 hours of walking and I was pooped! So we had a nice and quite morning at the apartment with our host family. They are such a nice family. They are Catholic believers and Milan, the husband, is in Priest training. They are from Slovakia, but they are funded, (mostly), by a Bishop in Slovakia. Their 2-year-old daughter Miriam so cute, she is really quite and good at entertaining her self. They told us to check out this Holocaust Memorial Museum (since it was free!). So we did that for part of the day.

It is a really big place that they have. There are all kinds of buildings you can go in and see pictures, videos, art, and other documents from the holocaust. It was actually the Holocaust memorial holiday that day. There were quite a few groups touring.

We went back to the apartment and relaxed some more-I needed it. We did go out for a walk later and as I was looking in a shop I heard some major yelling. Spencer was standing outside and he told me after that this (Jewish) man was yelling and very angry. These (Jewish) kids standing near by started crying (more like wailing). It was quite disturbing, even the police came to check it out. When I got out of the store, it had settled down. Good thing nothing major happened- besides the kids being freaked out!

That night we ate a later dinner. Martina had prepared some simple, yet delicious food for the family and for us!

April 18 (Leah's)

 

We got up early today so we could catch the 9:00am bus to go to Ein Gedi and the Dead Sea. We made it to the bus with plenty of time to spare! We had about 1 ½ hour bus ride and soon out of Jerusalem we could notice a change in the landscape. It got more desert like and dry within a few kilometers. We got dropped off in Ein Gedi and we went to the Park to enjoy the waterfalls. We didn’t realize there was hiking, but despite not being totally prepared, we enjoyed about a 3-4 hour hike! We went up to David Waterfall where we think David hid in the caves from Saul. There were many students on a field trip there. We took a more scenic hike where we hiked around rocky dry terrain along the cliffs and hills. We had a good view of the Dead Sea! We hiked to another place called the hidden Waterfall which took about 1 hour. We hiked along the rocky clay cliffs and then got to the waterfall, which was quite small, since we are in a desert! We followed the “river” for a while, walking in the water to cool our selves down as it was quite hot!

Thankfully at the entrance/exit to this waterfall they had a place to fill up our bottles so we kept drinking lots of water! I also enjoyed a delicious mango popsicle that actually tasted like a piece of a mango on a stick- so good- especially after being in the hot, dry sun for hours!

We walked down the road to get to the Dead Sea Beach. We seen some Ibex, small deer like animals which have curved horns. There was a group of about 30, some had great horns, and some were just babies.

Finally we got to the Dead Sea! It wasn’t a beach like we were anticipating with sand, but it was all big rocks, and some salt covered! We changed into our swim gear and then headed in! WOW! What a surprise. So salty, so buoyant! You actually float, and it’s hard to stand up because the pressure of the water pulls you to a lying position! It did sting a lot! I actually had to get out and shower off (thankfully they had outside showers to rinse off!) The water makes your skin feel slippery and soft. We got some fun pictures and then we walked over to this area where we seen many people walking back covered in mud. We had heard that the mud had lots of minerals, which is good for your skin. So we covered parts of our selves in mud and went in the sea one last time! We scrubbed ourselves and then hopped out to rinse off all the salt in the showers.

We headed over to the bus stop and as we waited for our bus within minutes a huge sand windstorm started.  It was the warmest wind I have ever felt! We could see it coming, and then it arrived! It blew so strong and sand blew into our eyes. The bus came after a while and we hopped on, seeking shelter from the storm.

We were so tired from walking and hiking and our legs were so sore that when we got off the bus we had numb legs! We came back to the apartment and had some dinner/lunch. We didn’t pack much thinking we could get food at Ein Gedi, but there really wasn’t much there! So we were quite hungry by the time we got home! We went to use the wireless again at MacDonald’s, but we noticed on the way that many shops and even MacDonald’s was closed. A man told us it was a Holocaust Memorial, and so things closed early. It was quite cold out- the temperate dropped from about 30+ degrees to about 20 or less. The wind still blew, but we sat out side on a step and used the internet! I was craving something on the way home, not sure if it was juice, or something sweet, but I finally decided on some orange juice and once I started drinking I realized this is what my body was craving. Within about ½ hour I drank almost the whole 1Litre! I saved a tiny bit for Spencer to have! I crawled into bed early as I was so tired from the day!

April 17

 

We made our way again through the Old City to the Dome of the Rock.  The Dome is a famous Mosque located on Mt. Moriah in the Muslim quarter where apparently Abraham made ready to sacrifice his only son Isaac.  On our way through Jaffa Gate into the city a Jewish man abruptly and unexpectedly struck up a conversation with us and walked with us a ways, all the while attempting to convince us that “Jesus was nothing.  He lived like a Jew and he died like a Jew.  He is not the Messiah.  He is nothing, etc.”  How absolutely devastating!  Jesus came first to the Jews to seek and save the lost sheep of Israel, and yet He was largely rejected, and still is!  Leah patiently tried to get a word in edgewise but this man didn’t want to hear it.  “When the real messiah comes everyone will recognize him as the messiah.  Jesus deceived people.  The prophecies in the Old Testament are not about Jesus, they are about the Son of David.  You must keep the Law.  Salvation through grace is wrong because grace gives you license to sin.  Christianity was invented by Constantine.  Blah, blah, blah.”  SO SAD! The Jews are still waiting for their messiah, not knowing that He’s already come!  They say they believe in the Old Testament and yet they are completely blind to its Christological orientation and to its New Covenant revelations.  How can they be so blind?  This is heartbreaking.

            We went up to the Mount of Olives overlooking the city.  This is truly a spiritually heavy place.  It’s oppressive.  So much deception and confusion.  If not for my anchor on the Solid Rock my head would be spinning.

We took some pictures and descended.  We were extremely tired.  We had been walking for 3 hours +.  We trundled slowly toward the Garden Tomb (alleged empty tomb of Christ) near Golgotha.  We saw the Place of the Skull, rested in the garden, and surveyed the empty tomb (a magnificent reminder of our resurrected Lord).

Talking to the volunteer tour guides I realized that the Garden Tomb (operated independently by a Christian organization) is not only a ‘sacred’ site but also an outreach center.  As the guides lead the visitors from Golgotha through the garden to the tomb, history is explained and the Gospel is communicated.  After taking pictures, reflecting, and resting, we were about to leave but as we passed through one particular tour group the guide stopped me, shook my hand, and asked me if I wanted to stay a little longer to listen.  I agreed.  It was only after that I realized he didn’t want me to leave without first hearing a bit of the Gospel message.  Alongside an explanation of the ins and outs of ancient Jewish burial requirements and routine, this guy talked about the resurrection of Christ and the hope His resurrection brings to the entire world.  After tracing the streets of one of the world’s most noticeably dark and oppressed religious headquarters, this man’s passion for Jesus nearly moved me to tears of joy.  In fact, just being there near the tomb awakened in me an increased wonder and thankfulness for the immeasurable sacrifice and subsequent glorious resurrection of my infinitely precious Savior.  He is risen INDEED! 

  

   

           

              

           

        

 

 

 

April 16

 

Said goodbye to Nazareth and journeyed excitedly onward and up to the City On a Hill.  As we went up to Jerusalem I nearly felt like singing a psalmic Song of Ascents.  Jerusalem – the City of David, the City of Christ, the crucible of history.  SO much has happened here.  Here it was that Jesus Christ – the Divine Son, God incarnate – died, was buried, and rose from the dead.  Because of this, because of what happened here, I am no longer a prisoner of self, sin, and satan.  I am no longer afraid of death.  I am no longer controlled or compelled or captivated by death.  I am no longer bound by death.  Jesus conquered death.  Sin is death, and death is created by sin.  Praise God for sending His beloved Son to defeat satan, sin, and death.  Because of my sin and rebellion against God I deserve Hell.  Because Christ was punished in my place, for my sins, as my substitute, I am acquitted.  What a marvelous Savior! …

            We met our generous hosts Milan and Magdina from Slovakia.

We went out and wandered around the old walled city.  The walled city contains, among other things, tightly squeezed old-world cobblestone streets, the Dome of the Rock (sacred Islamic site), the Western Wall or Wailing Wall (sacred Jewish site), the Via Dolorosa (where Jesus carried His cross up to Calvary), and various Orthodox and Catholic churches resting upon alleged holy sites.

We moseyed through the crowded streets toward the Western Wall where apparently ‘the Divine Presence rests.’  It’s a very sad place.  Jews bob their heads and rock their bodies gently and sanctimoniously toward the ‘hallowed’ wall sometimes simultaneously reciting Torah or placing written prayers between the stones and sometimes hugging the wall fervently and whispering prayers into its hard and lifeless surface.  In Truth, the Divine Presence is God’s Holy Spirit given to those who acknowledge Christ as Savior and humbly submit to His exclusive authority as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  The Holy Spirit fills the children of God, which is the Church, the Body of Christ, so the Spirit sustains, sanctifies, and empowers the true believer.  So then, the Spirit does not reside in a wall, or in any other place...

The Old City of Jerusalem is divided up in to four separate quarters – the Christian quarter, the Muslim quarter, the Armenian quarter, and the Jewish quarter.  In this way, it is somewhat of a Faith-centered fork in the road.  It is a meeting point.  It is a junction where the world’s major religions loudly and intensely intersect.  The pressure is concealed but it is nonetheless perceptible.  I look around and see everywhere blind pilgrims bumping heads and tripping constantly over the tangled tassels of their own pitiful self-righteousness, and only strife ensues.  People everywhere are trying to get to God and failing and faltering and sauntering and staggering down twisting deceptive paths.  In this the place of origin of the Greatest Hope the world has ever known, the Greatest Hope is somehow missed and even made void by the ceaseless efforts of a sinful humanity trying confusedly and exhaustedly to somehow attain a measure of their own righteousness.  It breaks my heart.  I wonder, how much more does it break God’s?

April 15 (Leah's)

  This morning was Easter Sunday and so we celebrated with the Church. There were quite a lot of people there, including quite a few foreigners. We enjoyed singing songs about the resurrection and the temporary Pastor from England preached a kind of confusing sermon. It started off well, but then we got lost to what he was talking about. After Church Beshara dropped us off and we got some pita and bread from the market for a very simple lunch. I did a work out and then we just hung around until Beshara picked us up at 7:30 for coffee. We thought we were going to his house to be with his family, but we ended up at a mall where his family and other members of the church came to have coffee at a Starbucks like place. Since we thought we were going to his house we didn’t bring our money, but that was okay, Spencer served me some water from the free water dispenser! We had some good chats with his one of his daughters. She is interested in film and wants to make good Christian movies- ones that aren’t super corny. We also talked with his wife Lubna about traveling, and they too have done quite a lot. For their 25^th anniversary they are taking the girls to Italy. We also talked with Liz, the girl from Australia who is with YWAM Holland, and she surprised us by giving us $20 AUS to help in our missions, that was pretty special! Beshara drove us all to our homes and we spent our last night in Nazareth.

Prayer Walking (April 14 - Spencer's)

 

“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered.  “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” – Mark 11:22-24

Walking through Jesus’ hometown interceding for the deceived, disoriented, and dying souls residing under a shroud of heavy spiritual darkness was a distressing and exhausting experience, though not without its glimmer of hope.  We traced the streets of Nazareth, simultaneously waging war against the sinister principalities and powers temporarily presiding over the various neighborhoods.  We marched into highly religious and idolatrous and unbiblical Orthodox and Catholic churches with over-elaborate statues and paintings and sculptures of a kind of Goddess-like Mary erected all over the place.  We saw priests and other ‘enlightened’ sages with hats and robes looking very ‘official’ and strutting their stuff and flexing their spiritual muscles.  We saw deceived pilgrims mistakenly believing in a type of salvation achieved through pilgrimage, saintly rituals, and works.

We passed near several Mosques with immense banners hanging outside proclaiming judgment on all non-Muslims.  We, in turn, proclaimed the exclusive Lordship of Jesus even in spite of the haunting, echoing and noisy Muslim call to prayer resounding in the background and seemingly threatening to drown out our voices.

We passed through economically depressed neighborhoods where shops are closed, a kind of hopelessness is prevalent, and the Gospel has scarcely been communicated.

Afterward we made our way up a hill to a viewpoint overlooking the city and the surrounding areas.  This is allegedly the Biblical site where the inhabitants of Nazareth attempted to throw Jesus off a cliff when He incited their unbelief and anger subsequent to His Messiah claims in the synagogue.  What is particularly devastating to me is the reality that many people today are still rejecting Jesus, either openly and undeniably, or else sadly unknowingly.  Whatever the case, contemporary Nazareth is much the same as it was in Jesus’ time and it’s still evident that ‘no prophet is accepted in his hometown.’

Even so, Jesus also still reigns supreme over all the earth, including Israel, including Nazareth.  He is still building His church and the gates of hell will never prevail against it.  Knowing the outcome of the Story then, it was a privilege and even a joy to affect the Heavenly realms through prayer in a battle against the dominion of darkness in this place.  I pray that in future more Christians will come to join with the believers here in Nazareth to shatter the darkness through prayer and the power of the Gospel.  Who knows what God will do through a few individuals who are willing to step out in radical obedience to Christ?  Together, by faith, through prayer and supplication, we can move mountains!

April 14 (Leah's)

 

This morning we were invited to Beshara’s and Lubna’s house for Easter breakfast, along with the two girls from YWAM Holland. What a meal! We joined Beshara’s three daughters and his father and Lubna for a delicious meal. There was cheeses, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, tea, coffee, boiled eggs, an Arab type of cream cheese and these amazing circle breads with anise seed, that they made! They were so good! We had good talks with everyone, even Beshara’s father, who is a really funny man. There is a game they play at Easter with the eggs where two people each have an egg and they try to hit the other person's egg, and the person whose egg breaks first is the loser. Spencer was challenge to play by the grandfather. The grandfather won, and he displayed his win with his toothless grin. They also brought out these sweet-cake-cookies that symbolize the crown of thorns and the sponge they gave to Jesus on the Cross. At this point I was so full I couldn’t imagine going prayer walking, which we had planned for after breakfast.

Beshara, us, Liz and Pricsil (the two girls from YWAM Holland) went prayer walking through the old city of Nazareth. It was quite spiritually draining, as it is a very oppressive place. You have deceived Greek Orthodox, Catholics, Muslims, and Jews in the area. We stopped at different places and prayed out loud, but we also walked and prayed silently. We stopped in a poor area where one day Beshara wants to start a church and ministry. We also stopped at the Synagogue where Jesus is said to have preached and then they brought Him up to the mountain where they tried to push him off. We also went there, and we seen an amazing view of the city. We could even see as far as Haifa. We spent about 3 hours walking around the old city.

Beshara dropped us off around 2:30 and Spencer and I had a light lunch. I opted for a shower and resting, and Spencer worked out. Tomorrow we will celebrate Easter Sunday with the Church, and we don’t have too many plans afterwards. Hopefully we will hangout with Beshara and his family. The rest of the evening we watched a movie and looked at pictures on our computer, reminiscing of fond memories!

April 13 (Leah's)

 

Yaniv drove us half way to Nazareth today so we could wait for Beshara to come and pick us up and take us the rest of the way. Once again we didn’t have to worry about finding buses- God provided! We waited outside a MacDonlds and used the free wireless internet. While we were checking emails a lady next to us asked us if we would like to join them in their meal- they were eating a packed lunch. Totally blown away by their generous offer we told them we were just waiting for friends. As they neared the end of their meal, she handed us these flatbread-cheese rollups, which we graciously accepted and thanked her! The people here are so generous and kind! It is the end of Passover today and people have a holiday so maybe they feel extra generous!

Beshara came after an hour and he took us to where we are staying in Nazareth. We are staying in an apartment at the top of a Christian Children’s Ministry Center. It is not part of his organization, but he is a friend of theirs. We have a whole big area to ourselves with a kitchen, bathroom, dinning area, and a bedroom (but once again two single beds!). We are so thankful to stay here, and he told us it is our free accommodation! God is so good!

We went exploring to try and find some food for the weekend, but most shops were closed because of the holiday. We did find some pita, hummus, and yogurt and when we found a place to buy fruit, it was closed! So we couldn’t get any! Back at our place we ate lunch and then I took a nap. I have been just wiped the last few days. Later in the evening Beshara picked us up for Church. They have service at the Baptist School and we celebrated Good Friday. We arrived early at the Church so we went for a walk to a bakery we seen on the way. When we got there we found out it was their grand opening, their first day, and they had free treats to try. There were some yummy ones! He also offered us some coffee that we denied, and then he convinced Spencer. He took this tiny cup and put about less than one mouthful of coffee in the cup. Spencer and I thought this was odd, what a small amount of coffee. When Spencer took a sip he realized why the man only poured him a tiny bit- it was the strongest coffee ever.  In the words of Spencer “ you could put this in your car and it would run!” Well after buying some pastries for breakfast we found a market to buy fruit. While we were collecting some items this man started to talk to us and asked if we needed help. Clearly you can tell we are not from around here! Anyways, we started talking to him, and he is from Greek Orthodox Church and he invited us to their service tonight, but we told him we were already going to one. Anyways, he ended up paying for our groceries when he paid for his own! GOD IS SO GOOD! Just think, if the store was open when we were trying to buy fruit earlier on in the day we wouldn’t have needed to buy more later. And therefore, we wouldn’t have gone to that market, we wouldn’t have met that man, and he wouldn’t have paid for our groceries! God works in mysterious ways!

We enjoyed a really nice church service for the celebration of Good Friday. There was worship, communion and an American pastor living in Israel with his family, preached the Gospel message and it was really good. We met a couple who is from Virginia, and will be going to Turkey, so we gave them some travel tips! Also, two girls from YWAM Holland were in the car when Beshara came to get us, and they are part of the intercessory prayer school. We really enjoyed our time and fellowship with the believers tonight.

April 12

April 12

            Yaniv took us in his car up to the Golan Heights just right behind the Kibbutz.  The Heights have long been a disputed territory (Israel vs. Syria), so you can’t really venture off the roads since there are landmines potentially buried all over the place.  There are fences up and signs that read ‘danger – mines!’ posted up on the fences so it’s pretty clear where you can go and where you can’t.  We drove to several lookout points, one of which included a pillbox that used to be employed by Syrian ‘soldiers’ (terrorists) who regularly fired missiles at civilians down in the Jordan Valley.  We could actually see Syria in the distance as we drove along up on the Heights.  The border is only about 10 km away.  It’s bizarre to think that thousands of people are being slaughtered in a bloody war that’s raging in the distance just over a few hills.  What with hostile Muslim nations surrounding Israel, a bomb shelter in Yaniv and Silvia’s back yard, gas masks in their bedrooms, and the awareness of a horrific conflict occurring presently in Syria just 10 km away, I’ve never felt so close to war.

            We also drove right along the border with Jordan.  I’m excited about going there…  In the evening we were invited over to Yaniv’s parents’ place for dinner.  It was scrumptious.  We had soup with Matzo balls and also Moroccan style lamb with figs, dried apricots, and raisins, chicken with baked potatoes and sweet potatoes, and other wonderfully new and tasty foods (Yaniv’s mom is Moroccan).  It’s always a privilege and an honor to experience such lavish hospitality from strangers whose hearts and homes are open despite cultural differences that could potentially cause division.  We have been positively shocked and incredibly blessed by Turkish hospitality and now likewise by Israeli hospitality.

April 11

April 11 (Leah's)

It’s my birthday today! I started it off by finishing off Isaiah. Once Spencer got up we “enjoyed” our motza again. This time I had it with peanut butter (something I haven’t had since Canada) and banana, and one with jam. They had a box of cheerios and I thought since it was my birthday and I hadn’t had cereal since Canada (which I do miss a bit) that I would treat myself to a tiny bowl. It was nice! Cereal here can be quite expensive, so I think that is why a lot of people don’t eat it. After we gathered ourselves together, we set off for our outing, something we had talked about doing while in Canada! I wanted to bike around the Sea of Galilee for my birthday! Last night Silvia called some friends from in the kibbutz and she found two good working bikes for us! And so we were able to accomplish my birthday “wish”! We were told it would take about 2-3 hours. The Sea, more like a lake looked really big as we started! We started on the way furthest from Tiberias so we could end up there for lunch. It took us a full three hours to get from the kibbutz to Tiberias. And boy were our legs, knees, bums, shoulders, and hands sore! We hadn’t been on a bike for quite some time!

On the way we seen lots of scenes- danger mine signs, birds, road kill (cat, snake, birds, rat, coyote or fox), the sea of course, the Jordan river, and other bikers brave enough to tackle the lake. At one point we were on this nice stone path that was called the Gospel Path. Someone must have sponsored for it to be made. It was short, but nice while it lasted. We had to go up a couple of hills, for which I wasn’t too thankful for! We made it all the way to Tiberias, and we stopped for a much needed lunch and break!

We got these amazing (and quite cheap) smoothies; they were so nice after our bike ride! I got mango peach and Spencer strawberry banana- so refreshing, so cold, so needed, so wonderful! We ate shawarma sandwiches and side of French fries. I opened my birthday cards from my parents and grandparents that mom had sent with me! While eating lunch I crashed-not literally! But I was wiped, tired, and not ready for another hour of riding back to the Kibbutz. But after we had lunch and sat for a while I got some energy back and we started to continue. We made it back to the kibbutz in good time, even stopping at a gas station to get some ice cream to share with the family tonight.

I had a nice shower and felt a bit more revived! We toured the bomb shelter right by the house and the garden. There are lots of yummy fruit trees and beautiful flowers. They have such a nice area here! We are now just relaxing and taking it easy. I don’t think we have energy for anything! We are going to eat dinner with the family soon. Silvia made meatballs in a red sauce with rice, and peas!

It was a good, scrumptious meal! And then later in the evening we had a Pesa (Passover) safe cake-it was not made with flour and it was so good! It had this amazing coconut top, and it was a marble cake, we also had with it the ice-cream we bought (Ben and Jerry’s). It was a good birthday. I even got to call and talk to my mom and dad, which was nice! And later Spencer surprised me with a wonderful beautiful scarf, original Turkish cashmere with beautiful colors. So all in all, my birthday in Israel was a wonderful one!

April 10

April 10

            Howie and Sue (the couple we met at church on Sunday) kindly offered to drive us to Tiberias (our next stop).  It was a fun road trip.  Howie and Sue are New Yorkers nearly through and through – very boisterous, very animated, and ultimately, very entertaining.  They’re a lot of fun to hang out with.

            We drove north through the mountains along a scenic route that was very green with many trees coming into blossom.  We talked a bit more about the end times and about the precarious situation of Israel (it’s pretty much hemmed in on all sides by hostile Muslim nations).

            We stopped at Capernaum along the way.  Capernaum was the town where Jesus spent a good majority of his time in ministry.  It’s mentioned several times in the Gospels.  Walked around the ruins.  Saw the house where Peter lived.  Looked out at the Sea of Galilee for the first time and realized Jesus probably stood here and glimpsed these same unchanging hills.  I won’t say that the ground we stood on was holy ground, because I believe that the whole earth belongs to God and that He alone is Holy.  On the other hand, I will admit that there was something special about standing in a place where the eternal, immortal, omnipotent, omniscient God incarnate walked and talked and lived.  In a sense, looking out at the Sea of Galilee, the phrase ‘seeing things through God’s eyes’ takes on a whole new meaning.

            Went to one of Jesus’ possible baptism sights along the Jordan River.  Historians are uncertain as to where exactly along the river Jesus was baptized.  Anyways, we saw the Jordan River for the first time.  Where we were there were many people ‘baptizing’ and ‘cleansing’ themselves in the Jordan’s clouded waters.  These people, clad in rented ‘white robes,’ were devoutly gesticulating the sign of the cross and dunking themselves.  I understand the Biblical significance of some of these historical sights, but to my knowledge it seems clearly unbiblical to venerate any place.  We are to venerate a person, Jesus Christ, and no one and nothing else.  But, it’s not my place to judge any individual.  Still, I am going to voice my opinion, and my opinion is – to treat any place as a holy destination worthy of setting out on pilgrimage to catch sight of and experience is nothing short of idolatry...  I enjoyed visiting the Jordan, despite the highly religious-themed gift shop and the slightly mislead journeyers on ‘pilgrimage.’  I thought about all the old gospel songs written about the Jordan and about what the Jordan seems to signify in a lot of Christian literature, hymns, other narratives, etc. [eg. crossing the Jordan (the great divide between life and death) into the Promised Land (Heaven)].  You could say I got a good ‘old time’ feeling and it certainly struck a chord within my soul.

            Found the Kibbutz we’re staying at with Messianic Jewish believers Yaniv and Silvia.  Yaniv got talking with Howie and Sue at which point we realized that God had most definitely orchestrated their meeting.  They’re going to get involved together in ministry.  I don’t know the details exactly.  Christian networking is expanding and deepening in Israel.  This is evident to me even by this divinely orchestrated meeting.  Gospel multiplication is such a miraculous process.

            Said goodbye to our lovely surrogate parents Howie and Sue who so graciously adopted us, however briefly.  Silvia mentioned to me later how it’s so neat to be a believer because as a believer you really do have connections (family) wherever you go.  It’s an international family.  Sometimes you become children.  Sometimes you become parents.  Sometimes you become grandparents.  Sometimes you become brothers or sisters.  Sometimes you become aunts or uncles or cousins.  God makes us different things to different people, but we all have roles to assume to strengthen the body of Christ, and every believer is family.

April 9

April 9(Leah's)

Today was a pretty non-eventful day. I went for another one hour run! And then I did some hand washing with what I thought was dish soap and then later I noticed it was tile floor cleaner. Oh Well! Least they got somewhat clean! We then had our breakfast, Spencer had a special chocolate delight from the bakery and I had eggs, yogurt and baguette. We went to the old City to find Hani’s bookstore, but we couldn’t find it (we found out later that he wasn’t even there, so it was a good thing we didn’t find it). Then we went to the beach, and on the way had a bit of a marital dispute. We felt under attack from the enemy and kept putting it off, so I guess it came to a head then. We resolved our dispute and then after the beach and showers went for falafels. We went to Hani’s to say good-bye to him and his family. We stayed for peppermint tea and chatted. I played some soccer (in the house) with Noor, the second oldest, he loves soccer! We went back to the Church for the last night.

April 8

April 8 (Leah's)

This morning was Church service where we were staying. We got some fresh goods from the bakery and ate our yummy meal at the sea. Today is Palm Sunday in Israel so Hani talked about Jesus coming into Jerusalem. They kids did a special song and it was really cute. They handed out little flower bouquets for everyone. We walked around the inside of the church singing Hosanna to Faten’s piano playing. It was fun! We were suppose to go on a boat ride, but not enough people wanted to go, so we got invited to an American’s couple for lunch. They are from New York, but have been living in Israel for 5 years after God called them here. Susan made us strawberry pancakes and scrambled eggs that we topped with salsa! It was like a taste of home. Her and Howie told us their story and we shared with them ours. He is from Jewish background and so they were able to get Jewish citizenship. We enjoyed a few hours at their house and when we talked about our next destination, and questioned if we could take a bus there, Susan right out offered to take us there if we helped with gas as they had nothing going on that day! Talk about another miracle from God! He is always looking out for us and providing for us in amazing ways! Apparently you have to go through Haifa (the opposite way) to get to Tiberius and driving via car is much simpler. So they are going to pick us up Tuesday morning and we will spend some time touring around the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River before they drop us off at our next location! God is so good!

After we walked back from their house we stopped to get some more goods from the market and bakery and then we walked to the promenade beach to eat our dinner. Tomorrow is our last full day here. So far we have really enjoyed our time here!

April 7

April 7

            Went with Hani and his family to Haifa to see a Jordanian Christian choir in concert at a pristine concert hall up on the very Biblical Mt. Carmel.  It was neat.  They sort of played through the Easter story using song to communicate.  Again, it’s so neat to be with believers of different nationalities, cultures, languages – we have family all over the world.

April 6

April 6

The Russians invaded via ruthless rapid surprise attack early this morning.  They certainly caught me with my britches down.  I bolted out of bed and rushed to meet them head on…  We’re staying at a Russian church during our time in Akko.  Hani (our Arabic Israeli Christian pastor friend) uses the Russian church sometimes to conduct his services.  He talked with the Russian pastor who is kindly allowing us to stay in the small children’s room where there is a pullout bed for us to sleep…  So, the Russian pastor, his daughter, and another helper rapped noisily on the echoing metal door at 8:30 this morning.  I literally bounded out of bed to open the door for them (we deadbolt the door at night so they can’t open it with the key).  Talked with the pastor’s daughter.  She’s spent her whole life in Israel.  She’s never even been to Russia.  Had yummy chocolate pastries from a bakery down the way and some fruit from an outdoor market for breakfast.

Explored the old city of Akko – narrow cobblestone streets, beige brick buildings, a mosque at its center; very Arabic.  Sort of got gypped by an Egyptian guy at lunchtime.  He suggested I try the shwarma.  I agreed.  He brought me lovely pitas and salads and shwarma meat… and charged me $20 for it!  I guess that was the set price, but I had no clue what I was ordering.  Turns out I was ordering the most expensive thing on the menu.  Went to the beach after lunch.  Did a small workout on some really neat equipment right on the beach that utilizes body weight for resistance.

Prepared for church.  Went with Hani to his small Arabic-speaking church.  The worship was beautiful – evocative, poignant Arabic-Christian praise music with voices and a piano.  Hani preached afterwards.  His wife sat behind us and whispered the English translation in our ears.

We went to their house for a late dinner after service – SUCH an honor.  Still, it shouldn’t surprise me so much.  To be a Christian is to be a part of an international family, or, body of believers.  You don’t have to know people, you just meet them, and you know them.  They’re family.  If you have the last name Christian you likewise have family all over the world…  Hani and his wife have two younger kids (boy and girl) and two teenage boys.  The older boys are fun and smart and speak really good English.  The younger two are rambunctious and sociable and really not shy at all.  Anyway, we had a blast with the kids and great discussions with Hani and his wife.  And it’s midnight and I’m pooped.    

April 5

April 5

            Got up and prayed with David and the team before leaving to Akko (about one and a half hours north of Tel-Aviv on the Mediterranean).  All in all, like I keep saying, our brief stay at the shelter was a period of considerable character growth.  I realized that I’m not nearly as tough or hardy as I thought I was.  I realized that I’m probably much too comfortable.  I realized that I’m incredibly thankful for material comforts.  I realized that it’s easy to idolize comfort.  I realized that sometimes Jesus requires us to abandon our comforts to follow Him wherever He leads (as wondrously demonstrated by David and co.).  Most of all, I realized how privileged I really am.  The women who come to rest at the shelter are battered and bruised, fatigued and stressed, hopeless and forlorn.  Most of them are heavily addicted to drugs.  To feed their habit many of them sell their bodies, sleeping with up to 30 ‘clients’ per day.  Wandering the streets, and totally exposed, many of them are beaten and raped and even mugged by other addicts desperate for a fix.  On the walls in the main room at the shelter some of the ‘regular’s’ pictures are framed and posted.  Many of these women are skin and bones.  They look pretty rough…

            So, God’s grace is amazing.  I can’t say I understand it, but I can say I’m extremely thankful for it.  Not only has Jesus saved me from an eternal Death, but He has also raised me to an eternal, abundant, purposeful life.  I feel so FULL.  There is joy, peace, hope.  I’ve been spared from so much pain and calamity.  Not only am I liberated spiritually, but I have also been blessed materially – born into a loving family in a prosperous nation; good education, world traveler; drugs and alcohol never a problem; no real broken relationships; loyal friends, etc., etc.  I am SO undeserving!  I want to spread this great grace and mercy of Christ to the glory of God wherever I go, whatever I do…

            Took the train to Akko.  Saw lots of conscripted soldiers apparently catching the train home (everybody’s going home for Passover – starts tomorrow).  Most of them are our age – I’d say between 20 and 25.  Most carrying their machine guns strapped loosely around their shoulders.  A lot of people carry guns here – quite militaristic.  Guess that’s understandable.  They’re pretty much always under constant threat.

            Arrived in Akko.  Our friend Hani wasn’t there to pick us up right away so I used a girl’s cell phone and he came shortly after – miscommunication I guess.  He’s actually a pastor.  He took us to the church we’re staying at.  We left our heavy bags and hit the streets to discover our new surroundings.  Akko is a wonderful little place.  It’s easy to get around on foot.  There is a lengthy boardwalk along the water.  Lots of tide pools along the shore.  We saw the rotting skeleton of a sea turtle washed up on the beach – disgusting.

            Had shwarma and falafel for lunch.  Basically just moseyed about and breathed many deep sighs of relief.  Tel-Aviv is a bit too big for me, and I certainly wasn’t ready for the shelter.  God’s still working on me and stretching me.  I do pray for David and co.  for energy and perseverance – it’s such a battleground in that neighborhood, both physically and spiritually…

            Went to a really neat food market in an open warehouse.  Bought lots of beautiful fruits and veggies and prunes to stay more regular.  Got a free lemon and kiwi from one of the vendors we bought from.  Got some pita and hummus and brought that and some of our veggies to the seaside, sat on a bench facing the water, and watched contentedly as the sun underwent its color changes from blazing yellow to burning orange.  It slid down from the top and finally fell nearly unnoticed into someone else’s day.  We watched carefree children play unsupervised and walked along the boardwalk under a glorious full moon.  Now that today’s over I think I finally realize that I’m in Israel. 

April 3-4

April 3-4

            Our journey to Israel was tiring and long, trying and testing.  It’s amazing what God will do to initiate serious character growth within His children.  In my experience, He is much more concerned with making us more like Christ than He is with blessing us materially, which is actually far more blessed than any material thing, since it is eternally profitable. 

            After spending the previous night worrying about our big day of traveling, God showed me yet again how silly my fretting is by providing for us in a miraculous way.  Some friends of the lady we stayed with in Bodrum arrived at the house yesterday evening.  Turns out, one of them is from Istanbul.  Also turns out, she is on the same 8:00 am flight to Istanbul that we’re on.  So, instead of taking an expensive taxi we caught a ride with her to the airport.  We zoomed out, arrived in Istanbul.  Instead of wandering confusedly trying to find a bus to take us across the city to the airport of our departure to Tel-Aviv, she immediately helped us find the right bus.  We made it to Ataturk airport on the European side hassle-free.  We waited for a little bit, then caught our flight to Athens, Greece.  We had a five-hour layover in Athens.  We left the airport and ambled down the side of the freeway to a shopping complex that included an Ikea and a Shell gas station.  We took pictures beside a couple Greek flags flying in the parking lot to document our ‘official’ visit.  Can we say we’ve been to Greece?

            Left for Tel-Aviv.  I can now formally declare my aversion to flying.  It’s cramped and uncomfortable and stuffy and lately, every time the plane lands I’ve experienced this awful, painful sensation in which my head feels like it’s going to burst.  It usually persists for about the last 15 minutes of the flight during the gradual descent.  My eyeballs feel like they’re going to rupture and my head feels like it’s going to explode.  It’s not fun.

            Arrived in Tel-Aviv.  Spent five hours in the airport waiting to catch the 5:16 am train to Hahagana Station near the Door of Hope Shelter for street women and prostitutes – our first stop in Israel.  It felt like an endless wait.  It’s amazing where and when you can fall asleep when you’re tired enough.  During our wait I slumped into sleep in my lap!  Hunched over, I put my head in my hands and plummeted into an agitated sleep.  When I woke up I wiped the drool off my hands and groggily rubbed my eyes and simultaneously decided I also don’t really care for traveling.  I like seeing new places and experiencing new cultures but I don’t really like the whole process of traveling (moving from place to place).  It’s exhausting and it really throws your whole system out of whack.  Also not fun.

            Our American friend who runs the shelter met us at Hahagana Station.  We walked ten minutes from the station to the shelter through one of the roughest looking neighborhoods I’ve ever seen.  Plastic bags and glass and raggedy clothes littered the streets.  Garbage everywhere.  Grungy Graffiti sprayed on dilapidated buildings.  We shuffled exhaustedly down a side street and into a dark and foreboding alleyway.  Our American friend David opened a thick, rusted, creaky metal door and led us down a flight of stairs to a dungeon-like bomb-shelter kind of space/hole in the ground.  He showed us the main room where all the beds are.  This is where prostitutes and street women come to rest.  It’s only open during the day because of a shortage of volunteers, so we had a few hours to sleep.  We settled in to our unkempt beds and attempted to sleep.

And so begins the process of character growth I mentioned previously.  First of all, we both felt sick from lack of sleep.  Second of all, the shelter is really quite filthy, though I’m sure they do the best they can with the resources and volunteers they have.  Thirdly, there were ferocious unrelenting mosquitoes buzzing around on the hunt for blood all over the shelter.  I literally had to cover my whole body in order to escape their fury.  Even my head and part of my face I wrapped in my blanket, and the expert hunters in the pack still managed to find me!  So yeah, I was engaged in mortal combat with pitiless, unyielding mosquitoes until I finally fell headlong into another troubled sleep. 

We woke up at 8:30 and moved into another room with a pullout bed before the girls would start to arrive at about 10:00.  We slept till 11:30 in our designated murky cell, woke up, and decided to make a run for it.  We stumbled clumsily up the stairs and into the light.  In spite of our sluggishness we survived the morning and also managed to escape.

We explored Tel-Aviv.  It’s sort of like Israel’s New York City – very urbane, very cultured, very artistic, very modern, very liberal.  Can’t say it’s my favorite place though, even though my experience of it was tainted by our morning at the shelter and also by my jet-lag sickness, which included a pounding headache that didn’t seem to want to go away.  We walked to the water and sat on the beach for quite some time.  We were in the no-swimming section so it wasn’t quite as crowded but we also moseyed over to the swimming section, which was packed with people on beach chairs lounging under umbrellas.  Anyways, our first glimpse of the Mediterranean was a certainly a welcome one.  There seems to be an outline of sparkling azure all along the coasts wherever you go in this part of the world.  Beautiful!

Tried our first falafel – delicious!  Then we unenthusiastically proceeded back to the shelter before dusk and settled into bed.  Surprisingly we slept quite well, despite the fact that I caught my first sight of a few cockroaches before bedtime.  Going to have to get used to those – yuck!