The pace of this trip is unlike anything I have ever
experienced before. I feel like I’m holding on by my fingertips.
I had an amazing blog entry for Wednesday night and while I
was typing the last sentence, the computer shut down and I lost it all. Last
night there was no internet connection. My phone says the SD card is damaged,
so technology is working against me.
It is almost impossible to tell what day it is without
looking at the tour schedule. The disorientation is acute. I will start with
what we did today and try to work backwards to catch you up. I want you to know
that it is also vital for me to maintain this blog. It is my only hope to be
able to remember some of the finer points of this once-in-a-lifetime trip.
Today we walked the road to Jericho. Unless something else
tops it, this might be the highlight of the trip. It was so cool to walk on the
same path that Jesus and the Disciples and travelers for centuries have
traversed going from Jerusalem to Jericho. The closest landscape that I can
compare it to is the Grand Canyon. But add to that Bedouins, herds of goats and
sheep, and the occasional donkey and you still have to be here to understand
it. The wild flowers that defy the elements to grow there punctuate the barren
rocks with colors beyond description. I take as many pictures as I can trying
to capture what my mind can barely process.
The biggest “adventure” of the walk came at the end when,
because of the plentiful amount of rain this spring, the usual egress to where
our bus waited was cut off and we had to get help from one of the Bedouin boys
to find an alternate way to cross a wadi
that for years has been dry.
Our teacher, Marlin Vis, is amazing. He’s a tall, lean man
with the energy of a guy half his age. He is forceful and direct yet humble in
a way I have rarely experienced. His passion and love for this land and its
story is contagious. He teaches, but does not lecture. His wife is the tender
side of him. Her attention to detail is part of what is making this trip run so
smoothly. They make a beautiful team.
After the Jericho walk (which took about 3 hours), we
visited the city briefly and did a little shopping, then we went to Qumran
where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. All I could think about was how my best
friend, Norma and her husband and I went to see the exhibit when it came to
Grand Rapids several years ago. I had no idea then that just a few years later
I would stand in the actual place where this discovery was made. It gave me a
chill.
We ate lunch at a cafeteria located on the site and then set
off for a spot right on the Dead Sea (about five minutes away) where we could
swim. More than not being an early riser, I do not like to get wet, unless I
have to. I did not swim in the Dead Sea. Many in our group did and I took
pictures.
On the ride back to the hotel, as we neared Jerusalem, we
stopped at several scenic over looks to try to get a sense of the geography and
the positions of the different cities in relationship to each other. The
temperature dropped and the wind came up and it was suddenly very chilly.
We celebrated Mary Huizen 71st birthday with a
cake at dinner tonight. What a present this day has been for her and the rest
of us.
Tomorrow we are getting up at 5 a.m. in order to walk the
Villa Dolorosa before the crowds get too thick. Then we come back to the hotel
for breakfast and leave again to walk through Hezekiah’s tunnel. We hope to end
the day with the Israel Museum…I just hope to end the day. And on that note I
should get to bed.
I love you all and hope you are well.
Jody, I know you are doing your best! Sounds like the trip you have been wanting to go on for years. God bless you with sleep, health and energy for the rest of your adventure. Of course thought about you yesterday!
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