Egypt was fantastic... and so are finals (okay, maybe not that)

It's been about a week and a half since I returned to Israel from Egypt, which means that I've finally gone through most of the pictures from the trip! I would love to write a comprehensive blog detailing the trip, but there is simply too much to say. I do have to say, however, that this trip was one of the highlights of my time in the middle east and indeed all of college! Seeing the Pyramids, Karnak temple, Luxor temple, Valley of the kings, the Colossi of Memnon, Banana Island, the Egyptian Museum, and Petra (that's in Jordan, not Egypt :D) was incredible, but what made the trip so memorable were the adventures along the way. There are simply so many stories to tell of haggling with Egyptians who barely speak English, almost getting run over twice every time we crossed the street, shady hotels, overnight train rides from Cairo to Luxor, getting ripped off on Banana Island, and staying in an apartment owned by an (and arguably THE) Israeli drug lord. Hopefully the pictures will convey some of the fun that we had on this trip. Enjoy!

Chillin' with Pharaoh...

In approximately 6 hours I will be on a bus bound for Egypt. This week is spring break for us here in IBEX, and most of us have decided to go down to Egypt (I know it's a little backwards... God brought the Israelites OUT of Egypt and now we're going back...?) to see the pyramids, temples, sights, and smells of the land of bondage. We will, presumable, be without Internet for around 9 days, but I promise to write about it as soon as I get back. If you remember, please pray for the safety of our group and that God will teach us while we are away from the familiar. I am extremely excited about his trip, but not so excited about the extremely short night of sleep ahead of me!

God Bless!
ברוך השם

The Beginning of the End...

The end is in sight. It's quite a bittersweet thought. There is a part of me that longs to be home and another part of me that never wants to leave. I have learned so much in this land and know that there is still so much left to learn. I am torn between longing to see family, friends, familiar places, and a yearning to stay in a country that I have grown to love. I have even fallen in love with the language of the land, which before coming here I had always thought was a course and uninteresting. Lord willing, my studies in Hebrew will continue even after I am home.

This week has been rather hectic preparing for finals and getting ready to go to Egypt. Even though this is such a hectic week, I HAVE had some time to go through some pictures and edit them. Here are some more from the Galilee trip!



ברוך השם
Baruch HaShem!

Here are some photos from the FIRST day of the Galilee trip I just returned from. There are pictures from 7 more days! I just haven't had time to go through them all yet. The last picture, of the rolling stone tomb, is actually from the second day. Since my camera still thinks it is in California, this photo was included in Day 1.



In Christ

Over the past 8 days I have seen such sites as The Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Caesarea Philippi, Caesarea Maritime, Nazareth, Mt. Carmel, Bethsaida, Chorizim, Tiberius, Beth Shan, The Jordan River, Megiddo, The region of the Gadarenes, Bashan (the Golan Heights), Mt. Herman, Dan, and a great many other places where the redemptive history of the Bible took place. However, even after seeing these places and standing on the very stones upon which Jesus, Paul, or Peter may have walked, the question of whether it is real must still be asked. This question of reality is not a question of whether these events really did happen, but whether or not I truly believe that they did. There is a mountain of archeological evidence that says Jesus really did live, that He really was born in Bethlehem, and that he really was executed on a Roman cross outside of Jerusalem, and that he really did rise from the dead on the 3rd day. Knowing that these things happened and truly believing them are completely different matters. To know that they happened is to acknowledge the historicity of the events in the same fashion as acknowledging that I ate breakfast this morning. It happened. But, to truly believe that these events happened and to have my life changed by them, that's a completely different matter. How will my life be impacted by these places and what happened in them? How will I live differently because of what I have seen and what I have experienced? These are the questions that I must deal with for the rest of my life.

Let me now pose the question to the reader (that's you). You have read the Bible. you know the story of Jesus. How is your life different because of what Jesus said and did? How does it need to change?

Blessings
ברוך השם