The Rocks of Israel

I finally made it to Israel.
(And I'm finally making it around to writing about Israel...)

Despite all the road blocks and the frustrations, it was totally worth it. The trip was amazing to say the least. There is something about visiting a land that you have read about for decades and finally seeing and feeling it. 

The mountains are steeper than I imagined. 

The landscape changes faster than I could have thought possible.

Despite so much tension, people are still people and daily life must go on. 

The group I was with was from across the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and England. I learned just as much from the group of people I was with as from the course director about the land of Israel. I probably could have learned more from the director of the course, however there is only so much information I can retain after eight hours in the hot sun looking at tan stones. And pretty much everything was made of tan stones. Houses, churches, synagogues, graves, walls, mosaics, they were all made of tan stones.

The Dome of the Rock

The Garden of Gethsemane 

Tan and olive. The olive trees looked exactly like I had always been told and I ate a lot of olives. I almost like olives after the trip. 

Not surprisingly, I gathered a lot of rocks from Israel. I also brought back broken pottery and some souvenirs naturally. The rock collection comes from the Jordan River, the Judean wilderness, Masada, Qumran, the Sea of Galilee, and lots of other places that touched my heart in ways I cannot fully describe.

The Church of All Nations

 This trip will enrich my spirituality for years to come. My understanding of the bible has shifted, not dramatically, but enough to be noticeable and enough to change my understanding of humanity.  

I will pray for everyone in Israel and Palestine for the rest of my life.