shout outs...

As i round the corner to head home I thought it was important to take some time for shout outs:

first - my Dad. Thanks for financing my endless curiosity and thirst for knowledge and first hand experience. I'd sit at home all the time and be really lame if you didn't love me, encourage me and allow me to explore the world.

second - windbreakers. I've always kind of wondered about windbreakers. They're not really waterproof, they're really thin, what's the point? My windbreaker was my NUMBER ONE article of clothing this trip. Rain, snow, sleet, cold, wind, wet, sun, sea... the windbreaker kept me warm and dry. I usually wore it as you see it in the photo above. Thank you windbreakers.

third - my brothers shoes. Andrew, thanks for going to college and needing those ridiculous hiking shoes. Thanks for giving them to me. I am convinced my shoes kept me on my feet ALMOST the entire trip. One fall in three weeks could be an Amy world record.

fourth - James and April. My Israel bffs. They were so kind to me and took me under their wing and let me travel with them, eat with them, learn from them and enjoy their company. They are super cute and such great friends. I am thankful that we go to the same seminary in different cities and got to share this experience together.


finally - Herod the great. Thanks for building awesome stuff that I delighted in looking at and exploring over the past three weeks.

With better internet and more time to reflect I'll have more to add - TONS more pictures, many more stories to tell. Thanks for reading : )

ancient toilets

there is only one decapolis city west of the Jordan river whose remains we have found and unearthed - the magnificent Scythopolis. You come over the hill at tel Bet She'an and it's right below you and suddenly it looks like you're in Rome.

my favorite thing about this city are the perfectly preserved toilets. And my favorite thing about the toilets is my toilet story: really wealthy men in the city lived up on the hill in houses. In the morning it was quite cold and the exposed stone where you would sit to do your business would be very chilly to touch. So men would have their slaves go and sit on the stones in order to warm them to prepare for their arrival. Best slave job ever.

The man, the myth, the legend... Herod the Great

Herod the Great was a crazy person who did crazy things. A serious megalomaniac he was torn between the world of the Jews (his father was a convert) and the Romans (he was entranced by their glamor and splendor). While serving as the king and supervisor of the holy land areas during the first century Herod took very seriously the idea of making His name great.

Where the land was flat he built a mountain (the Herodium). Where there was nothing he built a Harbor and a magnificent city on the sea (Ceasarea). Where there was desert and rocks he built a lush green palace garden (Masada). To appease the Jews he rebuilt their temple into one of the largest most lavish buildings in the world. I think Herod would be quite pleased that we still speak of him today. He died a horrible gruesome death (seriously, look it up, it's super gross) and was so distressed that people wouldn't mourn his passing that he gathered together 500 of the most prestigious leaders and teachers of the land and locked them in a coliseum with orders to the guards to kill all of them upon news of his death so that the people would all be in mourning. (dont worry, after he died the guards let all the innocent men go).

My favorite of Herods achievements in Ceasarea Maritime. On the plain of Sharon in northwestern Israel there was a tiny fishing village. Herod flattened it and built a harbor in a place with no natural resources to make it easy. His engineers discovered a new way of building and figured out how to make concrete that would harden underwater. They built a magnificent palace that stretched out onto the Mediterranean Sea and in the middle of it was a huge rectangular FRESH water swimming pool. There was a hippodrome where there were races and a theatre for entertainment. Mosaics, roman baths, beaches. Besdies a great city, Herod also had great aquaducts built - because there is NO natural source of fresh water anywhere near Ceasarea. If Ceasarea was in Texas, I would live there... it's AWESOME.

Not to mention its beauty. This is one of the prettiest places I've been. It had rained ALL day long when we came to Ceasarea and upon our arrival at the coast the clouds broke up and the sun shone through and it was magnificent. This is the city where Paul was held prisoner at the end of Acts. It was the Roman seat of government for the whole levant region after Herods death.

Enjoy these lovely photos of this most lovely city.

One of my absolute favorite parts of the Bible is Luke 5. When I was feeling ultra homesick a few weeks ago I sat down in the sun and opened Luke 5 and felt like I was at home again - it's comfortable, it's familiar and it's fresh and new every time I read it.

within the world of Luke 5 I particularly enjoy the story where Jesus heals a paralytic. It goes like this:

"On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal. And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said "Man, your sins are forgiven you." And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question saying "Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, "Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier to say, 'your sins are forgiven' or to say 'rise and walk'? But so you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" - he said to the man who was paralyzed - "I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home." And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe saying, "We have seen extraordinary things today""

There's a great rendering of this story carved into the wall of a church in Capernaum - the city that served as Jesus' surrogate home on the Galilee. The church supposably marks the spot of the house of the Apostle Peter. We can't say for sure one way or another, but it's a nice spot either way.

I sat in front of this piece of art for a while and was seized with amazement upon recalling this story. From the way the friends loved the paralyzed man and did all they could to put him literally at the feet of Jesus. The wicked pharisees who were more concerned with the law and their tradition than the miracle before them. The man who got up and walked away changed forever. And the people who saw extraordinary things and were seized with amazement.

Even here in this holy land it is easy to forget the extraordinary love of Jesus. We are paralyzed in need of his healing. We are sinners in need of his forgiveness.

It's hard to put faith to words and i know that i am struggling to express the depth of significance of this story and of this salvation but also the sweet simplicity of His love. Look at the picture for a while. I feel thankful for those friends and thankful that God lets be one of them to sweet paralyzed sinners.

kittties!

Have i mentioned the stray cats?

Everywhere we go in Israel there are stray kitties there to greet us. I always say "kittttiiieesss" when i see them. Apparently they allow them to stay hanging around in the Old City because they keep the rodent population under control. Someone needs to keep the kitty population under control though - we were at the Western Wall (the most holy place for Jews to pray) on Shabbat last week and the sounds of the kitties meowing was louder than the sound of people praying!

sweet kitties...

no walking on water

i know this picture is telling people not to swim or wade through the water, but to me it looks as though the good people on the shores of the Sea of Galilee are forbidding you from walking on the water. I giggled for a solid 10 minutes at this.

diversity?

You know how they say the United States is like a melting pot because so many different people come together and live together. Israel is nothing like that.

Lots of different people live here, in the same city, but they live very separately. It's more like a mosaic I think.

I was super creepy and sat outside one of the city gates for a while this afternoon and took pictures of all the different people who live here: