yeah ok, it's another number of days since something happened: 300

Preface: I know I've been getting all nostalgic on this blog thing. I haven't really said much here since I got home but to be honest, being away is a good 70% of what I think about. Yes, I know that's not healthy but it is what it is. I never really got a chance to process my fall semester abroad, I was just thrown back into everyday American life and was expected to deal with it. Within days, it became the ever repeated joke at Westmont that 'the poor poor Euro Sem students can't adjust to life back at school, boo hoo. Can't handle dorms over 5star hotels?' I know it seems crazy, but you try having absolutely no identity of who you are because you're a new person in a new place every four days. So if you don't want to hear about my nostalgia, just look at the pretty pictures and smile.

The rest: Damn. 300 days since I got that plane that began the best experience of my life thus far. When I started this post about 10 seconds ago I thought this was going to be a "omg I can't believe it's been that long, it feel like just yesterday I was having beer #1 of 1000" post, but honestly it doesn't feel like yesterday. It feels just about as long as it's been, about a year. I still remember the best part about that day was the feeling of total and complete independence that carried on through the entire semester. I was flying alone, I had to figure out where the hell to go on my own. I met up with my sister on day one, but to be real she can't navigate to save her life. How she gets around San Francisco day in and day out is beyond me. (But I have to stress how awesome she was as a travel partner... slowest walker in the history of the world, I literally watched snails outpace here - not joking. But it forced me to slow down and take everything in and I am eternally grateful to her for that.) 

I truly miss those days of complete independence, when nobody thought they had to tell me what to do - I just did it because nobody was there to tell me what the hell to do! I got back here and I'm treated like a child, not just by my family but by perfect strangers! I'm 20 years old and you'd think I was 16 by the way strangers treat me sometimes. Nobody does that in Europe, if anything kids are treated too much like adults and not the other way around. That's probably one of the reasons I hate shaving my beard, I'm better respected by adults when I have it. It's really weird talking about adults that way seeing as I'm just a few months away from being regarded as one here (age wise).

I've missed living on my own, I'm so excited to have the opportunity to do it again right now while living at my grandpa's house for May term. Seeing as he wakes up before me (and I get up at 7), is taking his hours long afternoon nap by the time I get back from class, then is in bed before 8 - I'm usually alone, and I love it. I better start getting used to it, two years and I get thrown out onto the streets.

152 days

It's been 5 months to the day since I left the old city of Jerusalem and boarded a plane flying into the West. Coincidentally, Wesmont's Istambul semester team is embarking on that exact same journey from Jerusalem to Los Angeles today. I read Keaton Hudson's latest blog entry "ITS OVER" today and he describes the almost identical feeling I had the night I left Jerusalem. It was a simply surreal emotion, and it still is.

How has it been 5 months since I left? I can still hear the daily calls to prayer and smell the incense burning in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher like I was there yesterday. A part of me feels like I never truly left while the other part of me doubts it ever happened. Did I really spend almost 5 months in Europe then another month in Israel/Palestine? How did I do that? Why? There are days I cannot seem to bring myself to admit that it happened because in doing so I have to characterize it in the past tense. It did happen, emphasis on the did, done, finished, gone. Admitting the fact that I was in the Holy Land is simultaneously admitting my guilt in leaving. Guilt - that's an interesting way to put it... I consider myself culpable in my leaving as if it was a crime. But I remember that feeling, and I pray that I never forget it, as I was the very last student standing on the curb outside the city walls wile the rest of my peers were already on the bus that would eventually drag me to the airport. I stood there alone, unbeknownst to anyone around me, struggling with a violent internal battle: every fiber in my being was urging me to run - stay in Jerusalem and never look back, but responsibility convinced me to get on that wretched bus and leave. Did I really leave thought? I think about Jerusalem every day. The moment I close my eyes I can see the old city walls. I can hear the shouting, laughing, singing and crying in Hebrew and in Arabic. The chaos and commotion of the city that I can only relive in my dreams calms and drives me. Maybe it's because I'd give anything to be back, or maybe it's because I'd give anything to not be here. Either way, I lust for Jerusalem. I am the first to admit that I do not remotely comprehend the longing the Jews had for Jerusalem during the exile, but I can't help but feel a connection with them at this moment.   

The fact that I have never been able to fully accept that I'm back in California must be a result of my yearning to be somewhere else. Could my constant temptation to dream of being back in Jerusalem simply be a product of my desire to be anywhere but here? I can't put my finger on the reason why I don't want to be in this place. I have an amazing life in this state. I have a family that loves me and cares for me more than anything else. I am surrounded by wonderful friends while I attend one of the most prestigious Christian colleges in the country. Hell, just the fact that I live next the beach with constantly perfect weather should be enough of a reason for me to want to be here shouldn't it!? Why then do I crave the narrow stone streets in my memory. Why do I crave a landlocked city in the middle of the desert/wilderness? Why do I crave a place that is continually scarred by conflict and violence? Why do I crave what I haven't laid eyes upon in 152 days. These aren't rhetorical questions... WHY? 

As I sit here on my couch I'm wondering what the heck I'm doing with my life? It's almost midnight, I have an Old Testament final in the morning and all I can do is sit and write this. As I do, I'm suffering yet another violent internal battle: all I want to do is flee, drop everything and run far away from here leaving all worries and responsibilities in my dust. I'm a twenty year old without a career or family of my own holding me down, why shouldn't I escape - vanish to another part of the globe where no one can find me and remind me of what I gave up. I don't know where I'd go, but I bet you could guess where my first choice destination would be. Then I'm reminded by that annoyingly responsible side of me what that flight would entail. Would I really choose to be a college drop out? With what money am I planning this great evasion? Why would I desert everything I have for emptiness? I am in a constant wrestling match between my childish desire to be free from responsibility and my irritatingly strong adherence to my education and future. 

While I've been writing this I have slowly come to admit what I have known all along. The (ir)rationality for my freaking out and dreaming about disappearing is because of the fact that in three days I will be half way done with college. I've just declared my major and started applying for internships that will start to concretely shape the course of my foreseeable future. This is not something I need to be having a mental breakdown about, and yet it's happening. Why do I worry so much about this? The truth is that I really don't know. I guess I'm just scared...

I actually do need to go to bed now. It's past 1am and I'm going to pay for this in the morning. Per usual I'm excited to fall asleep and momentarily escape these challenges in blissful dreams. I wonder where my imagination is going to take me tonight:

What the heck just happened to me?

It feels like yesterday I was sitting in the Athens airport updating my blog, and now it’s been an entire month and I’m sitting in the Tel Aviv airport doing the same. What a month it has been. I haven’t updating this blog in over a week only because I haven’t had a moment of spare time to write. This has been the craziest week to end the most insane month, finishing off the most amazing four months of my life! I don’t say that lightly. My life has dramatically changed on this trip, especially in the past week.

Now I’m on my British Airways flight to London, and this has probably been the most fun flight I’ve ever been on! Ok, back to my time in Israel. Wow. That’s really all I can say about it: wow. These past four weeks have dramatically changed my life. Here’s why…

When I landed in Israel, I had an agenda and a plan. I wanted to find God and to know what God has in store for me. Instead, I got something dramatically different. Last week we went up the the area of Galilee. We stayed at a resort right on the banks of the Sea of Galilee, it was absolutely beautiful! Our time there focused almost only on the New Testament, something I have been wanting for so long! I saw so many places where Christ walked and influenced. On our last night in Galilee we sat on the banks of the sea and read the end of the Gospel of John. Christ has been resurrected and shows himself to his disciples close to where we were standing. He called them to be shepherds to he sheep until his return. Our professor/guide/friend Cyndi gave us some time to sit on the rocks and reflect on the last month. As I sat, “It Is Well With My Soul” was stuck in my head. I sang and prayed, that’s when it hit me. For the first time in my life it truly is well with my soul. I have never been able to let go my back pain and my anger fully until now. At that moment, and all throughout that day, God had been showing me not my future but my past in a completely new light! 

In the past five years, I have been told by doctors, teachers, lawyers and other
“smart people” what I can and more often can’t do. According to them: I should not have been able to do what I have done in the past four months. I should not have been able to make it through my 12 hour flight to Europe. I should not have been able to hike up and down Scotland. I should not have been able to sit on countless hours of bus rides across the entire continent of Europe. I should not have been able to walk the 85 miles we trekked in Israel. But I did. Doctors would not have been able to explain it, but that’s because of something they don’t know: MY GOD. They don’t know how strong my God is, and until recently, I didn’t really understand it either. In Israel, God showed me how strong He really is by how much strength he has graciously given me.  

Because of this, I have finally been able to give everything up: my pain, my anger, my past and my future. Everything given to Christ, He payed the price and took it all. There is a song that goes something like “Christ payed the price on a hill far far away”… here it goes something more like “Christ payed the price on a hill down the block.” The President of JUC (Jerusalem University College) told us this during out last night in Israel, and it could not be more true. 

I'm back in London safely in London now. I continue to realize more and more ways this trip has already changed me, and I'm not even done with it yet! I'm staying here in London for a few more nights with some friends before I finally make my way back to the United States of America next week!

Death by salt

Adventure day!

We started our day with an early morning (not sunrise :/) climb up the cliffs of Masada! This didn't kill us, but it came close. Some of the guys decided to race up the hill to the top, and they collapsed a little more than half way up. I think my professor actually made it up the highest with a constant stride, and he's not exactly what you would call 'young'.

From the top we had spectacular view of the Dead Sea and all the way into Jordan! I didn't realize how high we actually were until I saw people down below. They didn't look like the size of ants, they looked like the size of the tiny crumbs ants carry! 

Next we drove to the Dead Sea, and this was just bad news. So normally the Dead Sea is perfectly still and actually reflects the mountains beyond it and is all around peaceful and calm to float in. No, not today. The winds were so intense that they were causing surfable waves to crash on the shore. We didn't exactly pay attention to the "DO NOT SWIM PAST THIS SIGN" warning, so we walked right past it to find the mud. After we smeared the black mud on our skin, we one by one got in the water. We were instructed to NOT get our faces wet because that much salt in our eyes would be the worst thing ever. I was one of the first in the water and we were floating around all calm and yelling how cool it was and for everybody to get in. Just when most of the group is in the water, the winds and currents pick up again and the extremely salty water starts to splash everywhere, mainly directly into our eyes. What started out as being a pleasant beach day quickly escalated to the scene from Titanic when everybody is screaming in the water. Nobody could see a thing as we were attempting to swim back to the shore blind without getting anymore salt in our eyes. Titanic then evolved into Saving Private Ryan trying to get back onto the beach. We were crawling on all fours and clinging to rocks for dear life as the waves crashed on us. When I finally got out, I remember looking back and seeing Charlotte pulling Jenny our of the water, both crying. Charlotte was pouring water into Jennys eyes and her own eyes trying to see. Bry's entire leg was bleeding, so were some other people's. Colby was acting as a medic, dressing peoples wounds and pouring rubbing alcohol on them (causing even more pain). I tried my best to go back in the water (once I could see again) to pull girls out of the rocks trying to not think about the pain in my own bleeding feet. I guess we should have payed attention to the sign telling us not to swim there. I think there was much easier access in the designated spot. I have to say that I've never had that much fun while being in that much agony! I wasn't able to take any pictures during the chaos, but here are some pictures just before:

Even though the Dead Sea was painful and complete madness, it was still one of the most entertaining and fun moments we've had on this trip as a group! I was completely weightless in that water floating around (before the waves) and it really was nice! Plus the black mud has all of these minerals in it made my skin softer than it's probably ever been.

We then went to the springs at Ein Gedi. These were much more refreshing than the Dead Sea! We swam around and stood under waterfalls. It was almost polar opposite to earlier in the day. 

We ended our adventure day at Qumran! I have been looking forward to see where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found for so long, and today it finally happened! It was even cooler than I imagined it, and I can't wait to go see the scrolls this weekend here in Jerusalem. We're now back in Jerusalem after our 5 day road trip around southern Israel. We're here for about a week and then we do another week long road trip to Nazareth and the northern country! 

My day with the Bedouin

Me and The Sheikh

The Bedouin are tribal nomads that have roamed these lands for thousands of years, not really changing in most of their traditions and ways of life. They were gracious enough to feed us a delicious traditional meal on Monday night. We then spent hours driving around trying to find accomidationis for us in Arad, eventually splitting up into three groups. All of the guys slept on floor mats in an apartment with Sudanese refugees. The next morning we drove back to the Bedouin compound for breakfast.

Bedouin Brakfast

After an extremely filling breakfast, the Sheikh, or leader, of the Bedouin tribe (an extremely influential man in not just this area, but the entire country) shared with us the history of the tribe and how currently political situations in the area are effecting them. The Bedouin used to be able to roam where ever they wanted, following the water. But because of nations and borders, they have been forced to settle into semi-permanent communities. The community that this Sheikh is the leader of has 1,000 families! It was a true honor to be able to speak with him and hear his story. He only spoke Arabic, so a friend of Cyndi had to translate for us with the help of our rad bus driver Omar. 

Talking with the Sheikh

After breakfast and our talk, the Sheikh took us on a tour of the animals he has at his compound. They had goats, sheep, chicken, camels (big and small), donkeys... It was basically Westmont farm time! 

Ugliest animal ever

Baby black lamb

The Sheik and a baby camel (stupid pole)

The Negev

Southern Israel: the Negev, as close to inhospitable land as you can possibly semi-survive in. I can't imagine what it's like to live down there, especially in the 120+ summer heat.

Tel Arad

There is next to absolutely nothing down there, but it was awesome! Desert as far and the eye can see, but somehow people were able to make the most out of the land and live down there in the Biblical and greater Negev. We hiked up to the top of a bunch of tels to see all kinds of ruins of cities, fortresses, and entire civilizations lost in the dirt. We saw where Sampson was born, raised and reeked havoc. We also saw where David killed Goliath. We had to wear hard hats at Tel Beersheba and walked through the cities ancient water system. We visited an ancient Israeli fortress at Tel Arad and saw what is believed to be a second temple built by Solomon to Yahweh, this one on a much smaller scale. 

Mapping parts of the Bible. 

This is why I love this class: this is how we learn. Cyndi, our guide and professor, read to us 2 Chr 20:6-10. When you read it, it just looks like a list of cities and an average reader would skip to the next part of the story. Instead, as she read off the names of the cities, we put a rock on the map where they were located. We've spent the past two weeks learning cities, trade routes, mountain/hill/valley lines, rivers, roads... basically everything about the geography of the biblical Holy Land. As we plotted these cities from 2 Chr, we quickly realized that it was a defense strategy by Rehoboam to refortify these importantly located cities to protect the Kingdom from coming invasion! It was so cool to see seemingly meaningless names turn into ancient war plans!

Swimming in the Mediterranean 

One of the highlights from the week was swimming in the Mediterranean Sea! None of us have swam in the ocean for months, and we were all dying too! I've grown up around the ocean, it's in my blood! I was so excited to finally swim around freely! The Mediterranean was warm and clear. We stayed there all afternoon and we watched some of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen in a really long time!

Wadi Zin

We hiked through the massive canyon created by Wadi Zin and up the side of the cliff! The walking on this trip has honestly been some of the highlights! The thinks we see while in the middle of nowhere on a hike have been unbelievable! 

Made it to the top! 

Palestine: The West Bank

It's been a long time since my last post on here, but the past few weeks have been some of the busiest days of my life (even more so than spring sing week, it's crazy!) The past five nights in particular traveling every day to a new city have been insane. We spent the first two of those nights at a home stay in the West Bank near Bethlehem. 

We arrived in Bethlehem on Friday, toured the Church of the Nativity (but didn't get to go down to the cave, still bitter), then we were picked up by our host families. Most of us stayed in groups of two or four. Three other guys and I was picked up by this 26 year old Palestinian named Awad, and he was so much fun! In the beginning I felt like a preview day student or something being shown around the city and his house. Awad lives with his mother and 18 year old sister. We had breakfasts and dinner with them, and spend our daylight hours with the team going around the West Bank with our Palestinian guide Ayman. We visited Herodium and Bethlehem on Friday, then on saturday we spent the morning in Hebron.

Hebron

Hebron isn't the safest place, in fact it's one of the cities with the greatest tention in the entire West Bank. While most Israeli settlements in the West Bank are located just outside of Arab cities, this settlement is right smack in the middle. There are 400 settlers with 1,500 soldiers protecting them. Needless to say, there is a lot of fighting in Hebron. We visited a mosque that was the location of a massacre in 1994 when a crazy ideological Israeli settler walked into the mosque and opened fired during Islamic prayer: killing 29, injuring 125. The building is actually half mosque and half synagog and sits on top of the Cave of the Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their wives Sarah, Rebecca and Leah are all believed to be buried there. This was actually the first mosque I have ever been in and it was really fascinating. The girls on our trip had to put on these cloaks that made them look like witches! After Hebron we went back to Bethlehem and visited the Shepherds Field, believed to be where the angles appeared to the Shepherds.  

Cave of the Patriarchs. 

We also spent some time walking around Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem. This was a very moving experience seeing the camp and the displacement of so many people. We walked along the West Bank fence, or in the case of where we were walking, the wall. It was giant. Most of the border is a fence, but where there is a history of violence or shootings through the fence, the Israeli government built a wall. 

View of Bethlehem from my home stay room

We ended our stay in Bethlehem at a hookah bar restaurant called the Shepherds Valley restaurant, Awad's uncle owns the place. It was the best hookah I have ever had! The bowl was made out of a hollowed out apple and it lasted over two and a half hours! We were eventually joined by four more guys from our team under sad circumstances, but we had such a fun last night with Awad drinking local beers and smoking hookah! I really wish we could have stayed longer with him and his family. We had so many great conversations with them about what it's like to live as a Palestinian in the West Bank and about their political views. I learned a lot in only a few hours of conversation from both Awad and his mom. I already miss them! We had our frist home cooked meals in months there and I hope to one day see them again.

West Bank Story

This is my life right now while in the West Bank! So exactly spot on! (We watched this in class tonight, it is basically a culmination of everything we've learned and seen here)

God of this City

You're the God of this City 

You're the King of these people 

You're the Lord of this nation 

You are...

God truly is the God of this nation of Israel. I cannot get over the fact that I am here in Jerusalem, in Israel: the Holy Land. I have only been here for something like four days, and that time has already started to change my life. 

View from the Old City wall to the City of David and East Jerusalem

We arrived on Thursday at 2am. The girls squeezed into the handful of ready hotel rooms and the guys spent the night on the floor of a classroom at Jerusalem University College. JUC is going to be our home base for everything we do and learn, but we’re living in a hotel that is a five minute walk (up hill both ways) in the Old City. From day one I knew this was going to be an experience that I will never forget. We’ve talked with Palestinians and Israelis, Jews, Christians and Muslims, and just about every combination of ethnicity and religion possible. The idea that is being stressed to us is learning every side and perspective and story of a conflict, namely the Israeli-Palestine conflict. We have been exposed to intimate family struggles, and generation long dreams. This afternoon we heard from a Palestinian Christian who grew up in the Jewish school system! He lectured on the importance and danger of the historical narratives on both sides of the conflict.

Damascus Gate

We spent our second day (Friday) exploring the City of David, the Eastern Hill of Jerusalem. The highlight of the morning was adventuring through Hezekiah's Tunnel! The tunnel is super narrow, and has absolutely no light. The water flowing through it at one point came half way up my thigh, and on some of the shorter girls it came up way above their waists! We also saw where archeologists have recently discovered the foundation stones of King David’s palace, and I stood on a platform about it, around the same level his roof would have been. We looked down on the City of David, just like David did when he saw Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11. We also went down to the pool of Siloam. In John 9:6-7, Jesus heals the blind man by spitting in the dirt, rubbing into the man's eyes, and telling him to wash it off in the pool of Siloam, and he is healed! It was so rad seeing the actual Roman pool! 

Entrance to Hezekiah's Tunnel

Yesterday (Saturday) we continued to be guided around by our teacher, guide, and knowledgeable all around expert, Cyndi, through the Old City of Jerusalem to get our bearings. The city is broken up into four quarters (not at all equally). There is the Jewish quarter, the Muslim quarter, the Christian quarter and the Armenian quarter. We weaved in and out of them, and you can immediately tell when you cross a boundary, everything changes. When I walk through the narrow and confusing streets of Jerusalem, I feel like I am walking back in time. This city is the most fascinating place I have ever been! 

I am so excited to see what the LORD is going to show me this month. During our first class on Friday we went day by day through our schedule. I had a minor heart attack slash I was jumping with excitement on, no joke, every single day. Our schedule is packed with 7am to dinner full days. We will be traveling north through Galilee and Samaria, and south throughout Judea and the Dead Sea. We're even having a two night home stay with Palestinian families in Bethlehem! We will be meeting an complete array of people: from shop owners in Jerusalem, to ministers of the Palestinian National Authority's Legislative Council (basically Palestinian senators, aka very importnat people directly involved in peace talks) Yeah, I kind of freaked out when I learned about that one. This is going to be the most memorable month of my college years! 

"...O Jerusalem, the built up Jerusalem is like a city that is united together...Pray for the peace of Jerusalem..." (Psalms 122:2-6)

athens airport

So I’m sitting in the Athens airport, mind racing with excitement! I found out that there’s free internet here, so I thought I’d write an entry about how freaking pumped I am! AHHH! I have been sitting in the lobby of our hotel for most of the day reading our Israel book and waiting to leave (we got kicked out of our rooms at noon checkout). Those hours were some of the longest of my life! As the clock ticked towards our 7:15pm hotel departure, the excitement in the lobby began to build and build. An extreme sense of euphoria hit us as we lugged out bags to the bus waiting down the street and drove to the Athens airport. That bus ride was probably the most lively journey we’ve had yet, nobody could stay in their seats due to pure excitement! 

This airport is almost completely empty! It’s crazy! Growing up with LAX, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an airport this deserted at any time of the night (it’s only 9:00!) Security was smooth and now we’ve taken over the entire gate and are giddy with excitement. Then everybody found out about the internet and entered into their own little worlds on laptops and iPhones (guilty as charged). 

I’m trying to put into words right now how I feel about this day finally arriving. I’ve been waiting for this day for almost a year, since our first informational meeting at the Kihlstrom’s house (the professor husband and wife with us). Israel was the selling point for me to come on this trip. For years my mom has told me that Israel was by far the best and most spiritually moving part of her Euro Semester with Westmont in ’79. I am so ready to see what God has planned for me this month in the Holy Land. I know I He is going to show me some amazing but challenging sights. We received our tentative schedule for the month today and I can’t believe this is about to happen! The last two mornings we have had lectures on the Israeli-Palestine conflict, and I can’t wait to learn so much more about it, there! This might be what I’m doing for the rest of my life. My plan right now is to learn Arabic, and hopefully come back here soon to learn it more on sight. This next month is going to be some what of a testing ground for that plan! 

Well, I assume we’re going to be boarding soon! We arrive in Tel Aviv around 1am, then go through crazy Israeli customs (God only knows how long that’s going to take). After that it’s an hour drive from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. We didn’t book any hotel rooms for tonight since we’re getting in so late/early, so we’re going to play it by year when we get there. We’re hoping we can crash at Jerusalem University College (JUC), our home base for the month. It’s going to be a long night, but so worth it! 

Leaving Europe

Belgium

Just like when I was leaving Scotland, I write now during the final moments in Europe. In a few hours we will leave for the airport to fly to ISRAEL!! I’m so excited to be finally reaching the destination that I have been most excited for, but it’s a mixed feeling because we’re about to begin the final chapter of this life changing semester abroad. The dynamics of the trip are about to dramatically change as we enter the Middle East. We won’t be in a new city and new country every few days, but instead be living in Jerusalem for an entire month, we day and overnight trips throughout Israel and Palestine. SO STOKED!

Vatican

But at the same time it’s sad leaving Europe. I will never forget the last three or so months of the semester. 10 countries and 34 cities… in a single day we had breakfast in Poland, lunch in the Czech Republic, and dinner in Austria. God only knows how many cathedrals and castles we’ve been through! I want to somehow calculate how many hours we’ve spent on buses, but part of me never wants to know the exact numbers. 

Berlin

Favorites. I think Berlin was my favorite big city. There’s just something about it that really attracts me to it! I thought I would hate it because of it’s Nazi past, but the city has somehow redeemed itself. A close second would be Roma. I wasn’t a fan of Rome the first time I went, but this time around I had so much fun! Florence is still my favorite city in Europe, it’s perfect. Sienna was my favorite small town we went to, it’s Tuscan beauty is astonishing. The Germans and Italians were my favorite people too, and the French sucked. 

Paris

One of the moments that I know I will never in my life forget was when I stood on the sand of Omaha Beach in Normandy. We had just come from the American Cemetery, and I was filled with a sense of patriotism, grief, and humility. I will also never forget the feeling I had at the three concentration camps we visited: Sachsenhausen, Theresienstadt, and Auschwitz.  

Normandy

I've now tasted something like 43 new beers (I'm keeping track) and my goal is to hit 50 in Israel! Thanks to Gabe, I now have a new appreciation for art. We've studied art across the eras from Byzantine to Post-Modern. It's been a roller coaster ride through art gallery after gallery, sometimes I would hate it, but most of the time I loved it! I have a new favorite artist, Casper David Friedrich. He's a German Romantic painter his spiritual landscapes are life changing! Here's one of his most controversial: 

Dresden

Well it's transition time again. We have a late night flight from Athens to Tel Aviv, arriving around 1am. A few hours through crazy Israeli customs, then an hour bus drive to Jerusalem. Apparently we don't have a hotel booked for tonight, so we're going to crash on some couches at Jerusalem University College, our main hub for the month. I can't believe that this day has finally arrived! Israel, here I come! 

Areopagus

Looking down towards Mars Hill from the Acropolis 

As we move East, I am entering more and more into the lands of the Bible. In Rome, we saw the prison where Peter and Paul were held. Yesterday in Athens a group of us walked to Areopagus, now known as Mars Hill. It's a giant marble rock where the philosophers of Bible time Greece would meet, philosophize and judge. Paul was brought there and he preached the good news of Jesus Christ in Acts 17:16-34 (below). We had an awesome and moving moment when we read the story while atop the hill! This was just a taste of what is going to happen next month in Israel! 

Mars Hill has an amazing view of the Acropolis 

Acts 17:16-34

In Athens

 ¹⁶ While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. ¹⁷ So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. ¹⁸ A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. ¹⁹ Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? ²⁰ You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” ²¹ (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

 ²² Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. ²³ For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

 ²⁴ “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. ²⁵And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. ²⁶ From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. ²⁷ God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸ ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’^[b] As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’^[c]

 ²⁹ “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. ³⁰ In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. ³¹ For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

 ³² When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” ³³At that, Paul left the Council. ³⁴ Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

Roma: eternity in one day

'I saw eternity the other night...' and her name was ROMA! 

Rome, the eternal city! I wasn't a huge fan of it the first time I visited, but now I'm in love! I did all of the following in one single day! Thousands of years of human history in a matter of hours.

The Colosseum was a must! We had an awesome tour guide for this and the Roman Forum. My last tour of both was terrible and our guide hated us! Francesca loved us, and we loved her! Probably the best (non-Gabriel) tour guide we've had on this trip!  

Francesca also walked us around the old Roman Forum. It was only raining a little, but just enough to scare all of the tourists away! The place was near empty, so my pictures came out much better than last time!

After the tour, a group of us decided to carry on with the adventures and to go see as much as possible within walking distance! We frist found ourselves at the Trevi Fountain. I've been told that there's a system to what wishes you wish in order for the magic to work. The first time to Rome and the fountain, you wish to return there (as I did in 2008). The second time you come to Rome and the fountain (aka, this time), you wish to find true love. The third time you come to Rome and the fountain, you're with your true love and you don't need a third wish. Who knows, I'm on track for this to come true!

After lunch, we stumbled upon the Spanish Steps completely by accident. We were looking for some friends that ate separately when we durned a corner and BAM! Spanish Steps in our face!

Our last stop of the day, before we nearly collapsed from walking all over Rome was the Pantheon. This was probably the coolest building I have ever been inside. I don't know why, but last time I was in Rome we skipped it. What a crime! Oh well, at least I got to enjoy it this time around! 

Siena for Gabe’s special day

Gabriel Fawcett (our guide, professor and friend) was born in Siena, Italy. Today, we visited his town of birth, on his birthday! It was a really fun experience for us to share with Gabriel. It was also the first time he’s returned to the place of his birth since he's become a Christian. The entire group laid hands on him in the town square and prayed for him for like 30 minutes. It was a moving experience for all of us, especially Gabe. (yes, there is an American football in his hand in that picture)

Siena has always been a favorite city for everybody in my Italian family that has been. Today, I finally understood why. This place was magical! We went inside their Duomo and I was in awe. Who knew that black and white stripes would look awesome inside of a cathedral! 

After the church, we climbed this partly completed (or maybe partly destroyed) arched wall that was the highest point of the city and overlooked the town and Tuscany around us! It was one of the most beautiful scenes I’ve seen on this trip.