Shalom!

Hello, my friends!

Thank heavens for Leap Day this year, because I still have all of today to blog about the amazing month of February. :P This year is just flying by!

First off, Israel was AMAZING!!! I went with 20 others from God's House Orlando to tour Israel from February 2nd through the 10th. It was truly an unforgettable journey. I wrote it all out in my journal, and twenty pages front and back later, I finally was able to get Most of what I experienced down on paper. :) Our guide, Doron Bookshtein, was amazing; he's fluent in five different languages, was born in Kenya, is a Jew who moved to Israel, has been in the Israeli Armed Forces, teaches in America doing seminars every so often, and kayaks as a hobby. I apparently remind him of his daughter, and, being short, he nicknamed me "Mighty Mouse" during the trip. :)

It was definitely information overload, but I loved just soaking in the experience of being where Jesus was, walking where he walked, praying where he prayed, and crying where he cried. Our itinerary included: Jaffa, Mt. Carmel, Megiddo, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Mt. of Beatitudes, Caesarea Philippi, Beit Shean, Qumran, the Jordan River, the Dead Sea, Mt. of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, Caiaphas' House, the Upper Room, a Roman Cardo, Hezekiah's Wall, the Western Wall, the Southern Steps of the Temple, the Temple Mount, Pools of Bethesda, Church of St. Anne's, Via Dolorosa, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Bethlehem, City of David, and the Garden Tomb.

I would love to post pictures here, but it's probably easiest just to look at the pictures in my Israel album on Facebook. :) The highlights are numerous, but I shall try to pick out a few of my favorites. :) Let's see, I rode on a camel on the Mt. of Olives, and looking out from Mt. of Olives, you could see all of Jerusalem spread out before you. Doron said that on the last days, Mt. of Olives would be split in half, and we'd be there to witness it. Wow! On a Sunday, we went on a worship boat on the Sea of Galilee, and Pastor Sammy preached a sermon, much like Jesus would have done so, to preach from a boat to the masses on the same Sea of Galilee. He walked on those waters, the fishermen fished in those waters, and miracles happened on the shores of Galilee. Right around where Jesus fed the five thousand, he also restored Peter after Peter's denial of him three times. Doron kept telling us that Jesus not only healed; he restored. I like that. :)

Even though it was cold, we took a "float" in the Dead Sea, and since I'm not a strong swimmer, it was truly hilarious to me to be floating on the water! :) We also slathered ourselves with the Dead Sea mud, and we could tell a difference in our skin the next day. :P The same day, we also got baptized in the Jordan River, pretty much in the exact location that Jesus was baptized. I got such an overwhelming sense of Joy when I got baptized there! :D Interestingly, the Jordan River is tiny, and we could literally throw a stone into the country of Jordan on the other side. Since Jordan is not friendly with Israel, we had armed guards with us when we got baptized, but they looked bored, so I figure that's a good sign. :)

We also went to Nazareth, where Jesus grew up, and I was surprised to see that it is still pretty much a "hole in the wall" city. A small church had been built around the spring where Mary drew her water from when she was met by the angel Gabriel. That church was extremely ornate, and right outside, the locals were having a dance party to the tune of "the Chicken Dance." Interesting. :P We also went to Bethlehem and to the Shepherd's Fields (also known as Ruth's Fields). We went inside a cave similar to the one Joseph and Mary went inside when there was no room in the inn. We found out that caves are plentiful in Israel, and since there's not a whole lot of wood but plenty of stone, Jesus would have most likely been laid in a stone manger. In Bethlehem, we went to the Church of the Nativity, where Jesus traditionally was born, and it has since become this huge, ornate church, where you wait in line for at least half an hour with hundreds of other pilgrims to file past a silver star in the center of which is a circle of glass encasing the dirt on which Jesus was born. Wow. The church was filled with gold, luxurious tapestries, mother of pearl, and incense, and I couldn't help but be glad we had gone in the cave first, because Jesus wasn't born into a wealthy church; he was born in a humble cave.

One of the most moving spots for all of us was at the Garden of Gethsemane. Apparently, olive trees never die; they "die," and then come back to life and bear fruit a hundred years later. So the same trees we saw, Jesus saw. We all seemed to congregate around one tree, and who knows but it was that tree that saw our Savior weeping for us? Looking up, we were able to see the gates of Jerusalem, and Jesus would have been able to see Judas and the soldiers coming with torches towards the Garden to come for him. I'd always thought that Jesus' prayer that God take the cup away from him was a very human response to the inevitable pain and death awaiting him. However, Doron pointed out that he had probably prepared himself for the pain and death, but he was in anguish over those he would be leaving behind. How many times did he have to ask his disciples to stay awake? That was an eye-opener.

Another eye-opener where the Bible came to life was at Caiaphas' House. We saw the hole in the ceiling where Jesus was lowered on a rope down into a pit of a dungeon. We were in that pit, wondering what thoughts had gone through Jesus' head as he waited out the night before his crucifixion. According to Jewish law, the condemned man has until the morning for his friends to step forward and present themselves as character witnesses, and if they are able to find that some of the evidence against their friend was false, the condemned man walked free. Jesus' disciples had that chance, but they had all fled when Jesus was arrested. All except Peter, who denied Jesus three times, and when the cock crowed, not only was Jesus' prophecy fulfilled, but that was the last chance Peter had to save his friend. Peter blew it. And yet, on the shores of Galilee, Jesus forgave him and restored him. Wow.

Last but most important of all, we came to the Garden Tomb. :D :D :D Now THERE was where there was JOY abundant!!! :D They cannot prove that it is THE empty tomb, but it matched all the descriptions: it was inside a garden owned by a wealthy man, the cave was actually man-made, and it was near Golgotha (which is part of Mt. Moriah, and the hill we saw actually did resemble a skull..). When I went inside the tomb, I could feel this overwhelming sense of triumph, victory, and joy. THIS was where Jesus defeated death and brought us into right relationship with HIM!!! :D On our way out, we saw a sign on the door which read, "He is not here, for He is risen!" :D Amen!!!

Our Garden Tomb guide (who was a volunteer from England, actually) commented on the four theories of what might have happened in the tomb. There's the popular "Da Vinci Code" theory, where Jesus just swooned and then walked out of the tomb, but then again, there was the medical proof that he was dead (water pouring out of his side) and a character witness (the centurion), and even despite that, how could he have woken up refreshed in the tomb, with his wrists and feet still with nail holes, to slide open a stone which it took many men to move, leave his clothes behind, and walk naked through armed guards and slip away into the night? Right. Or, there's the theory that his disciples took the body. But then, they had all scattered, Peter had denied him and had a nervous breakdown, so you'd be saying that his disciples were able to gather their wits together, finish grieving, and collectively figure out a way to slip through armed guards to steal Jesus' body, all in the course of a couple of days. Right. Or, a third theory is that it was simply graverobbers, which does happen, but they would have been silly to slip through armed guards, roll away the stone, and then steal just the body and not the expensive linens and incense. Right. OR, Jesus could have been telling the truth. :D

All in all, my trip to Israel was more amazing than there are words to describe it. Truly, I wish all of you are able to go someday! If not, well, we'll be there on the Last Days anyways! :D

To round February out, a couple more notable events took place. Joe celebrated his 23rd birthday, so we went miniature golfing and then to a friends' dance show. :) The day was gorgeous, and it was wonderful just being able to hang out together. I love you, Joe! :D Also, I went to the Star Wars Weekends auditions at the end of February and felt like I did my best, so now I wait and see what the show director and Casting think, and I'll know in about two months. :)

May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you and give you peace! I love you all!

Shalom,
Megan