Did you know that if I were to leave all of my bo-jazz behind for a year these are the only movies I would bring with me...apparently?  (I should have brought more...)

1. Lord of the Rings Trilogy - Extended Versions (of course!)
2. The Notebook
3. Braveheart
4. Love Actually
5. The Patriot
6. Big Fish
7. Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves
   
8. The Lion King
9. Aladdin

That's it!  What movies would you bring with you if you were leaving for a year?  Let me know.  Let's talk.

Friday morning is the one morning I have a class to teach at 8 AM.  For some reason this morning was one of those mornings where I did NOT want to get out of bed!  For some reason I was just exhausted and unenergized.  As I was tying my shoes I started thinking about all of the teachers and professors I have had throughout my 25 years of life.  I know that all of them had mornings where they woke up and did NOT want to get out of bed!  They had a fight with their loved one the night before, they felt sick or were sad, and had many other reasons for staying in bed, but they did NOT!  All of them got out of bed each day to teach and mentor me and in this I found energy and strength.  I felt my steps grow stronger as I walked to teach in the footsteps of all who taught me.  So, I want to thank every teacher I've ever had and all of the teachers of the world for getting out of bed every morning they go to teach.  Amen.

A few weekends ago, I received a text telling me that Jars of Clay (a popular Christian Band) was coming to Nairobi and asking me if they should buy me a ticket.  I replied with a, "heck yes!"  My mind then went through my relationship with Jars of Clay since high school.

Jars of Clay was the first Christian band I really liked (or liked at all).  One of my best friends, Josh Reese, was listening to the CD in his room one day and I asked if I could borrow it.  I did, for a long long time.  Their self titled CD is in my top 5 CDs of all time.  Check it out if you haven't heard it before.

Jars of Clay was the beginning of my relationship with Christian music.  Furthermore, as I have grown in college and seminary they are one of the Christian bands which I have not put aside because of theological differences.

My senior year of high school I saw them at the end of the week of 9/11, my friend Chad Steele and I went to Oklahoma City to see them.  I was really confused and upset at this time.  This concert was a good worship experience during a very trying time.  The most powerful part was when they played my favorite song of theirs, worlds apart.  I have put a version below for your viewing pleasure.

Worlds Apart by Jars of Clay



At the end of my senior year of high school, I went to see JoC with the FPC of Tulsa youth group.  My good friend, Cole Penick, and I had been an exchanging a fake arm for many years.  I had received a fake arm as a joke present for my birthday and decided to give it to Cole who in turn gave it to me and so on and so forth.  Well, Cole won backstage passes to meet Jars of Clay.  For a graduation present, he brought the arm with him to meet Jars of Clay and had the entire band sign it and gave it to me.  Thus ended the exchange of the fake arm.

My freshmen year of college I wanted to take my first college girlfriend to see Jars of Clay because we both loved them.  I bought tickets online to see them at Six Flags for $10 each which I thought was a steal!  Well, it was...  We drove the hour and a half to Six Flags and I presented our tickets.  The ticket lady said that these were just the tickets for the show and that we had to pay the extra $50 each to get into the park first and then we could go see the show.  I beleive that she saw the horror on my face and took pitty on me.  She ended up letting us in for free (I thanked her a lot, but I think she realized that I did not have $100 to my name at this point and time).

This brings us to the present as I am serving as a volunteer in Kenya.  When I walk into the kitchen at AEE and there is a mzungu on the TV I always say that I know them, as a joke (the stereotype in Kenya is that all white people (foreigners) know each other).  Well, I walked into the kitchen last week and said my usual line, but this time I wasn't lying.  I couldn't place him at first, but it was Dan,  the lead singer of Jars of Clay, on the morning talk shows.  I finally did know a mzungu on TV.

The concert was great.  They had a lot of opening acts who were very energizing and sang some songs completely in Swahili which was interesting.  I have been to a lot of churches where people are singing in Swahili, but never a concert.  It's different and interesting.  Everyone is rocking out and agreeing with whatever the singer is saying, but I had no idea what they were talking about...

Jars of Clay came out and we went up to the front and I had the best seat (well, I was standing) I've had in my 5 Jars of Clay concerts.  (If I can only get Dave Matthews Band to come now)  Kenyan radio mainly plays Western music and they have Christian stations so the Kenyans all knew Jars of Clay's music which they didn't expect.  I am glad that they came and I was able to see experience a concert in Kenya by a band that I love.

I have included a video with a quick view of the room.  I forgot I was in Kenya at some points, but looking around at the crowd reminded me where I was very quickly.


Jars of Clay singing Love Song for a Savior

Thank you to those who donated toward paying off my Egypt-Israel/Palestine trip this week.  Each gift is greatly appreciated and very encouraging!  Thank you.  Click here to learn more.

ByGrace Computer Time

Monday was my first computer class with 15 students at ByGrace Orphanage and School.  It was amazing!  Nobody knew how to turn the computer on, so we started out there.  I tried to have them talk with one another by typing questions and answers, but I forgot to explain how lots of things on the keyboard work.  I never realized how much computer knowledge is taught knowledge.  We spent the last half hour of class using Paint and playing Minesweeper.  4 of the computers run Windows 98 and 1 runs XP.  I am excited about continuing to teach them more each week about something that gives me so much joy.  I can tell there are a few computer nerds in there already...

St. Hannah's Boys Basketball

I went to play basketball at St. Hannah's for the first time this week.  It was a lot of fun.  It was once again one of the most civil games of basketball I have ever played.  They had some good players.  They were a bit dumb founded by a 6 foot 5 mzungu playing with them.  I dunked a few times in the games, but there wasn't any hooping and hollering like in the States.  They all smiled and poked each other though.

After the game I told them I would like to set up a more structured way they could play each other next week which the Principal asked me to do.  I don't like coming in and saying I know how to do this better let me show you, but I think that this could be a fun interaction between the students and me.  We shall see.

Mombasa

Well, I am off next week for Mombasa again.  AEE is having an all staff retreat.  So, I will post when I can.  I have stopped carrying my camera around as much because I am more relaxed here and a Zebra is just another Zebra now.  Also, I didn't want to meet the students and say here's a camera!  But I will start taking pictures again shortly.  For now my words will have to do.

Have a great day!

ByGrace

This week was my first full week back at schools. 

I spent Monday at ByGrace Orphanage and School setting up a computer lab with the hand-me-down computers from AEE.  When I was working on the last one, the power went out which meant no more computer time. 

Getting to ByGrace is an interesting journey.  Rather than going towards Nairobi, I take a matatu away from Nairobi for about 20 minutes.  Then I walk through the small town of Ngong into the vast Maasai land for about 30 minutes.  I usually get some really interesting looks as I walk along the path in Maasai land. 

The reality is that 99% of white people in the Nairobi area own a car and so to see white person walking 2-3 miles is quite the site for everyone.  Glad to entertain.


St. Hannah's Girls

I go to St. Hannah's Girls school twice a week: 

First, I teach an hour and a half class session (Kenyans call it counseling).  This was my first time to teach solo in Kenya.  Sometimes Kenyans have a hard time understanding me.  Therefore, I start out every class with something like, "if you can understand me put your hand on your head."  Usually about 75% of the class follows my directions while the other quarter looks around at everyone like they're crazy. 

This first class I decided to talk about lying.  I had good participation and threw in as many stupid Robert moments as possible.  When I finish a statement I say, "Salwa Salwa?" which means "OK OK?" in Swahili to see if they understand me.  If I'm really into it I throw some Karate chops into it.  I was told the next week that all the students keep saying "Salwa Salwa" like me which I think is good...

My favorite part of the class is afterwards when individuals come up and talk with me and I get to know the kiddos.  The first conversations always involve questions about the US.  However, the girls were also really interested in what music I listened too.

Second, I was invited to their worship service which they have weekly.  My first visit to their worship service was interesting (I expected nothing less).  I really wanted to be an observer and not the "main attraction" during my first visit.  I want to be a part of their service, how it is now, and not the person who comes in with new ideas and changes everything.  But, that's not the way it works in Kenya. 

The service began with the 125 girls singing and dancing.  They had a really cool Swahili song they did with the electric slide worked in.  The singing was amazing. 

Then they asked me to say hello and a few words.  So, I preached a short sermonette.  Then we moved on to singing again and the leader walked over and asked "do you have any songs you want to sing?"  I said, "well, my guitar is in the car if you want me to get it I can."  So, I went and got my guitar.  We sang 2 songs and after each the girls cheered like I was Justin Timberlake.  I said in my head "they're cheering for you God, not me." 


St. Hannah's Boys

I go to St. Hannah's Boys school twice a week as well.

First, I teach an hour and a half class here too.  The boys seem to be a little more interactive so far, but we've only met twice.  I spend a good amount of time sticking around afterwards and answering questions. 

The first week were all questions about the US.  "I heard that every student has a laptop and you don't ever use paper."  "Would you say that life is easier in the US?"  "Does it look richer?"  "Is it really like (insert movie/tv show/song)?" 

I have found that many Kenyans view the US as a place with no problems where everybody has lots of money.  This is frustrating to deal with, but is very true when you define problems as not having any money, needing food, and clean water.  Also, when you define having money as the US minimum wage.

Second, I have been invited to come and play basketball with the kiddos during their recreation time.  So, I will start that next week.  The Principal wants me to be the coach...but we'll see.

St. Nicholas

St. Nicholas is a primary school that is very close to AEE.  I teach the 7th and 8th graders for 35 minutes each week.  This is the only mixed gender school I lead counseling classes at which makes it interesting. 

They are a little more shy.  Our first class was on how much God loves them and how special they are.  This is the only school out of my 3 that I can teach Biblically based lesson.  The St. Hannah schools have Muslim students and I am glad to see that the schools are respectful of the Muslim students.  However, I never realized how hard it is to teach morals and other bo-jazz without making any Biblical references.  I guess I am too used to teaching Sunday School.

So, that's my school program currently.  I really love solo teaching, but am excited about the Foxfires coming and getting more schools for them to work in.

Weekend

This past weekend was amazing! (People wise and food wise)  Friday night we had a Presbyterian Missionaries of East Africa get together.  The food was delicious and the company was even better. 

I am learning that my one year of service is very small when compared with others.  Most of the people (besides YAVs) had at least over 5 years of service.  I talked with a few who were 22 years and up.  Yikes!

Valentine's Day was very nice as well.  Our coordinator had us over for a Valentine's dinner.  The food was once again amazing and the company was as well.  I ate enough Mac & Cheese to make my tummy hurt.  (I'd/I'll do it again because I love Mac & Cheese)

Sunday I made it almost to dinner without realizing I was hungry because I had such large meals Friday and Saturday night.  Bwana Asifiwe!  (Praise the Lord!)

Super Bowl

I last left off with us returning from Mombasa to Nairobi from our first retreat.  Welp, Henry had requested during orientation in Aug. that we all watch the Super Bowl together.  So, Henry, the Smith-Mathers, and I found ourselves walking down Rhapta Raod once more at 1 AM to our coordinators house to watch the Super Bowl.  It turned out to be a really good game; however, I was the only one awake by the last quarter of it.  I definitely watched it through a new lens.  How would I view the US if the Super Bowl was all I had from which to base my opinion.  Also, we didn't get the commercials which is usually in my opinion the best part.

Back to School

Tuesday night William (my boss) and I went out for our weekly 2 for 1 night at Pizza Inn.  There we decided it was time to start going to schools even without any Foxfires.  So, the next morning we hopped in his VW and went around to 7 different schools.  After about 4, I was like "William, you do understand I am just one man, I can't do all of these schools by myself."  We ended the day with only 3 schools ready for me to start coming now, which is a lot more than nothing.

Good-Bye Nokia 1200

Wednesday, I was on my way to meet my coordinator to help her with some laptop problems.  William and I's school antics took longer than I had anticipated so I was running late.  I went to my usual matatu stop, but was more rushed than usual...so I hopped on the first one that came.  There were some Kenyans that were saying "come on" (who were not the matatu operators) which should have told me something shady was going on.  But I hopped in.  On our way my phone buzzed with a text so I pulled the phone out of my jean's pocket and then returned it to my silky jacket pocket.  At some point in the ride I felt a tap on my side, but didn't pay any mind to it.

When I get out of matatus I always pat my pockets and make sure everything is there...welp, my phone sure wasn't.  Then everything clicked and I realized the man beside me had picked my phone.  So I chased down the matatu.  It stopped.  I found the man and told him to give me back my phone.  "What phone?" he replied.  I persisted a few more times, but I didn't want to drag him out of the matatu because he had some friends with him.  So, I decided to let it go.  I used someone else's phone to call mine and sure enough the SIM card had already been taken out.

I really just wanted the numbers out of the phone.  I didn't care too much about the phone itself, but it was gone.  My only vindication was that my snake score was like 4600 which took me 5 months to get.  So, if he attempts to beat my score he's in for a rude awakening.

I stopped at the store and bought a new Nokia 1200 within the hour.  I thought about upgrading to the Nokia 1206 which is in color, but decided that the Nokia 1200 and I were made for each other.  Then I went to the cell phone provider's office and they were able to give me a SIM card with the same number for only 20 Shillings (a quarter).  5 months in Kenya without having anything stolen...not too shabby.

I was also reminded of how much money I have compared to my close friends at AEE who I interact and shop with everyday.  If their phone had been stolen they could not have just gone like I did and drop $25 on a new phone.  It didn't even phase me besides being somewhat annoying.  So, I have spent some time reflecting upon my financial situation in comparison to those around me (once again).

My fellow YAVs from Peru sent me a Peruvian Fanny Pack which was waiting for me when I returned from Egypt-Israel/Palestine trip.  I am excited about breaking in this new Fanny Pack and believe I have officially started a Fanny Pack collection.  I want to especially thank Katie Rains for actually mailing it to me in Kenya from Peru.  I think it took 3 months to get here...that's awesome!  Thanks Peru YAVs!


The Professional Me with Peru Pack:




The Normal Me with Peru Pack:



The "You're a Tiger" Me with Peru Pack:

Basketball

St. Andrews Presbyterian Church has a sports' ministry which I first heard about when I started attending St. Andrews.  I have been running around the past 2 months (Mfangano Island, Family Vist, Egypt-Israel/Palestine) and hadn't had the chance to join in any sports.  Welp, that all changed during Kenya Week 21.

Wednesday, I met up with the St. Andrews basketball team and we headed to Moi Forces Boarding High School.  I was really excited to play basketball since I hadn't played in 5 months! 

We arrived and played the most civil game of basketball I have ever played!  At one point, I was fouled pretty hard on the arm and yelled "Foul!"  I felt like "that guy" in a game who always complains!  Every person on the court had been fouled pretty hard at some point in the game, but I was the only one to object. 

The court was interesting.  It used to be made of concrete, but had deteriated and was now a fine gravel basketball court.  I am definitely not used to playing on such a court, but believe I will get better.  I was told that there is only one nice wood court in Kenya.  I had never thought to be thankful for the 2 indoor wood courts my high school had. 

I thoroughly enjoyed playing again and look forward to getting out as many times as possible in the next 5 months.

Earlier as we were leaving St. Andrews for the school, I was told that Nakumatt Central (Kenya's Wal-Mart) was on fire and we saw billows of smoke as we drove by.  On our way home, the St. Andrews bus dropped me and a teammate off so we could walk to the main matatu stop.  In order to get there, we had to walk right by the Nakumatt that was still on fire with hordes of people around it.  I said a prayer to myself that everyone made it out alive and was alright.  For the first few days they thought that nobody had died.

First Retreat

On Friday morning, very early, Henry and I walked down the road to our coordinators home for the ump-teen time.  We were on our way some where, but weren't sure where.  Our coordinator had told us to pack: a swimming suit, malaria pills, and warm clothes.  The swimming suit and warm clothes together kind of confused us, but we have learned to do what we're told.  Once in the van, we were informed that we were headed to Mombasa on the coast of the Indian Ocean.  No warm clothes needed.  So, we had a lot of funny beach clothes moments. 

The 8 hour drive to Mombasa is interesting.  The first quarter the road has pot holes so large that a semi could fall in, while the last 3 quarters the road are nicer than most roads in the States.  Makes for an interesting trip.

We were only there for the weekend, we arrived Friday afternoon, had Saturday to hang out, and then headed back Sunday morning.  It was really nice to see everybody and spend time together. 

The best part of the weekend came on Saturday night when they had a really good cover band play at our amazing buffet dinner on the Indian Ocean.  The songs ranged from Enrique Iglesias to Lynyrd Skynyrd to James Brown.  This obviously led to 7 YAVs, 1 Coordinator, and 2 Facilitators from the States moving to the dance floor as the other 100+ dinner eaters watched and laughed at us.  It was awesome!  I hope to recreate this moment soon somehow. 


Kenya Fires

In Mombasa, I learned that the Nakumatt fire I had seen on Wednesday had been much more deadly than anyone previously believed.  36 people were killed in the Nakumatt fire and it is believed that the guards were told to lock all of the doors to prevent looters from getting in which trapped many people inside. 

Then on our way home from Mombasa we learned that Saturday a Gas Tanker had flipped over and as people were collecting gas someone purposefully threw a match down blowing the tanker up killing 113 people and severly burning 178 others.  So, please keep Kenya and the families who lost loved ones in your prayers.  To read the Times article click here.

I slept most of the day after getting home from Israel/Palestine at 6 AM.  I remember waking up and hearing the 8 AM devotion which happens right on the other side of my plywood bedroom wall.  But I didn't wake up again until around 3 PM.  I was then off to a worship service to pray for Obama as he was being sworn in an a few hours and then to the Inauguration watch party.

I was feeling well rested when I arrived at St. Andrews for the worship service in honor of the historic election of Obama for Kenya/Africa/Everyone.  Before the service began, we were invited outside for some Kenyan snacks.  I decided I wanted a Fanta so I went up to the man who usually sells pop at church and said "how much?" to which he replied, "No pay, it's Obama day!"  I then tried to convince him that each Tuesday for the next year was technically Obama day, but I don't think he bought it.

The service was really nice.  It was interesting because the Associated Press and other press folk were there.  So, when we prayed all you could hear around us were cameras flashing.  The service included singing, a poetry reading, and a few sermonettes.  At the end of the service the choir started singing, "He's got the whole world in His hands."  They were referring to God as they sang, but I couldn't help but think that the "he" could easily refer to Obama.  Being the President of the most powerful country in the world means that your decisions and leadership have an enormous impact on every country in the world, not just the US.

Then we were off to a hotel in downtown Nairobi to watch the Inauguration ceremony.  The dinner was very nice.  I wanted to sit there for a week and just eat. 

Dinner at Inauguration watch party:



Every person I had met from the States in Kenya in the past 5 months was there.  There were also a lot of Kenyans and other nationalities there as well.  Wangari Maathai was the most famous person there.  She was the first women in Africa to receive a Nobel Peace Prize for “her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.”  She was also the first women in Eastern Africa to receive her Ph.D. and is all in all a very impressive women.  During my class sessions, when I am talking about how my students can be whatever they want to be, I use Wangari Maathai as an example, especially for young Kenyan females to know that they can be whatever they want to be.  So, it was cool to meet her.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Inauguration and the unique experience I had of going through the Presidential elections in another country and culture.  I definitely have a different view of politics in the States and how our entire process works. 

Me and Wangari Maathai:


After the Tuesday inauguration party, I spent the rest of the week getting back into the groove of Kenya.  It is much different living on the AEE compound by myself without Cosmos.  It has its advantages and disadvantages.  I learned that the Foxfire program was up in the air because of lack of funding, but we are now working on ways to work that out.

It was good to be back in Kenya.  It is my home.

Monday morning bright and early, Andy (our professor), Mary-Elizabeth, and Isaac (roommate) walked me to the bus stop which would take me from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.  It was surreal (again) walking along the Old City (Jerusalem) walls with my professor and friends to fly back to Kenya.

When the bus finally pulled up, a woman about my age walked up to the bus as well.  Stacey is from Indiana and has been teaching in Korea for the past year and half.  We started talking and discovered that we were both flying to Cairo and had layovers until 11 PM (we were arriving in Cairo at noon).

It was an interesting bus ride to Tel Aviv as we picked up several Jewish people with cool hats.  They had to take their hats off in the bus because they could not fit otherwise.

We arrived to the airport and had the joy of going through Israel security.  Not just Israel security, but Israel security a day after a ceasefire had been declared with Gaza.  So, it was a bit hairy.  It took me 2 and a half hours to get through security.  All of the inspectors were pretty grumpy as well.

When it came to searching my checked bags, luckily, I had a really nice women.  I had an entire bag of things that were donated from my seminary group which added to the interestingness.  The fun began when she pulled out 11 bags of M&Ms and 4 bags of Reeses.  Luckily, she was just jealous!

Then she came upon the feminine products I was bringing back to Kenya to donate.  Luckily (once again), she just found a small box of tampons...at first.  This is when it became fun for a second.  She looked up at me with a bewildered, worried face and said "um, why do you have tampons?"  I replied simply, "there is a project in Kenya, where I'm going, where we donate feminine products to women who otherwise would not have them."  This was a satisfactory answer and she carried on with her job which included taking about 5 more boxes/bags of feminine products out.  Fun times.

Thus ends the checked baggage search.  I was grumpy at this point, but they had a security guy take me over to the check-in desk and rush me through so I was less grumpy. 

I then found out why he rushed me through when I was blessed with the gift of going through "Line 1" of the carry-on security.  Here I got to take out everything electronic...which if you know me...was almost everything I had.  My Mac's power cord was what became my Achilles' Heal. 



As you can see I have duck taped my power cord's box because it sits on the floor in Kenya which is usually wet during the rainy seasons.  So, I duck taped it (logically).  Well, that wasn't a good enough answer so security...so I had 3 officials come and look at it.  Finally, they deduced that I was a not terrorist and I told them that I appreciated the sentiment.  I went to the gate and had a few minutes before the plane began to board.

We arrived to Cairo around noon.  Stacey had never been to Cairo, so she wanted to go see the Pyramids.  I had spent a week with them and wasn't so down with spending money, but decided that it would be fun and "you only live once."  Egypt Air has a tourist deal where rather than buying a visa to sit in their airport ($15) you can pay $20 and have a tour of the pyramids and a nice dinner.  I was very weary of accepting this offer, but we did it.  We hopped in the Egypt Air bus which took us to the Pyramids (20 minute drive).  On our way there we picked up our guide (we didn't know this was going to happen).  He was old and everybody knew him wherever we went which made me quite sure he was some sort of God Father Pyramid Man (you never know).  So, we saw the Pyramids.  It was just as impressive as the first time and cool to see them again through another angle with another presenter.

First Sighting of Pyramids Round II:


Looking at Pyramids in between the Sphinx and the Pyramids:


The Sphinx Round II:


The Nile:


Then we were taken to a perfume shop (part of the catch).  We sat through a short speal about perfume and smelled some.  It was funny because Stacey hates perfume, but was gracious and sat through it anyway.  At the end, I told him kindly that we were not interested and that was that.  I was relieved that we were pressured.

Then we went to New Cairo which is on the other side of Cairo by the airport.  It is a thriving area with nice apartments and a big outdoor food court.  There was a McDonald's, Pizza Hut, and many other chain restaurants.  We went to the one restaurant that was not a chain which I liked.  It was a very nice dinner which in the States would cost $15 at least and it was included in our $20 for the entire tour.  Not too shabby.

We then returned to the airport around 7 PM and hung out until my flight boarded at 10 PM.  It was great to be with Stacey for the day, a fellow traveling companion who was from the States.

Stacey and I after a long day:



I took some Tylenol PM once on board the plane for my 5 hour flight back to Nairobi.  I slept most of the way with our plane arriving early at about 3:30 AM.  I didn't want to call anybody and wake them up so I just sat down right outside the airport and fell asleep on my bags until Rodgers arrived to pick me at 5:30.  On the drive home I fell asleep again which is really hard for me to do usually.  And I was finally home, in my bed, after being in transit for almost 24 hours.

I like my bed.

We used 3 categories for everything we saw to distinguish how plausible it was that something actually happened in a particular location.

Categories

1.    Category 1:  There is archeological proof that this is logically the place where “it” occurred.

2.    Category 2:  Somewhere in between Category 1 and Category 3.

3.    Category 3:  Tradition states that this is where “it” took place.  However, there is no archeological proof and usually there is 20 more feet of dirt on top of the location then there was during Jesus’ time (or whatever time we are talking about).


Old City (Jerusalem)

Sunday was our day inside Old City (Jerusalem).  The Old City is only .34 square miles in size.  However, that .34 square miles is divided into 4 Quarters: the Armenian (Christian), the Christian, the Jewish, and the Muslim.

The 4 Quarters


In all honesty, I was a wee bit confused as to which Quarter we were in sometimes.  The difference between the Armenian and Christian Quarters was hard to distinguish.  The simplest Quarter to recognize was the Jewish Quarter because walking down the alley was like walking down Rodeo Drive in California.

We entered the Old City through the Damascus Gate and walked right through the Jewish Quarter, past the Wailing Wall to the Temple Mount/Dome of the Rock.  When we went from the Jewish Quarter to the Temple Mount (Muslim Quarter) we had to go through a security check point and could not bring our Bibles onto the Temple Mount.

The Muslim Quarter


King David first purchased the Temple Mount (called Mount Moriah in the Bible) with the intention of building a temple to God there.  He didn't, but his son Solomon built the First Temple in 960 BC which was then destroyed by Nebuchadrezzar II (coolest villain name ever!) of Babylon in 586 BC.  Construction on the Second Temple began under Cyrus around 538 BC and was completed in 516 BC.  The Second Temple was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans.  Efforts were made to rebuild the Temple, but known ever came to fruition.

In 691 AD, an octagonal Muslim building topped by a dome was built over the Rock.  This is what is still there today, but they put gold over the dome in the 1920s.  The Dome of the Rock is the third most holy place in Islam (after Mecca and Medina) because of Muhammad's nocturnal journey that is recorded in the Quran.

Story of Muhammad's nocturnal journey: Muhammad is met by Gabriel and taken to the farthest mosque (traditionally Temple Mount) where he goes up to heaven and meets with Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.  Finally, Gabriel takes him to Allah.  Allah tells him that Muslims must pray 50 times a day.  However, Moses tells Muhammad that people will never do this so he must go back and ask Allah to lower the number.  Muhammad goes back several times until the number is finally down to 5 times a day.  Thus, the Temple Mount is the 3rd most holy place in Islam.

The Temple Mount is the holiest place in Judaism.  Some Jews believe that the Rock is the Foundational Stone from which the world was created and expanded to its current form.  Jews do not believe in going up to the Temple Mount because of its holiness (this is the simple way of explaining it).  The Rock is traditionally where Isaac was almost sacrificed by Abraham and in Islam where Abraham almost sacrificed Ishmael.  Some Jews believe the temple will be rebuilt when the Messiah comes, the Third Temple.  There is a small minority who want to retake the Temple Mount for the Third Temple before the coming of the Messiah.

The Temple Mount is not viewed  the same way by most Christians.  It is viewed as the traditional place of many very important Biblically events.  We left all of our arguing for the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Me and the Dome of the Rock:


The Armenian Quarter


The Armenian Quarter is the smallest of the 4 Quarters.  We walked through it very briefly.

The Christian Quarter



The Stations of the Cross

Being good Protestants, we were a bit confused attempting to do the Stations of the Cross, but it was still a surreal experience to walk where Jesus walked on his way to be crucified.

Along the way, the traditional location of each station are marked with a number.

Number marking the 9th Station of the Cross:


Stations of the Cross

1. Jesus is condemned to death
2. Jesus receives the cross
3. Jesus falls the first time
4. Jesus meets His Mother
5. Simon of Cyrene carries the cross
6. Veronica wipes Jesus' face with her veil
7. Jesus falls the second time
8. Jesus meets the daughters of Jerusalem
9. Jesus falls the third time
10. Jesus is stripped of His garments
11. Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross
12. Jesus dies on the cross
13. Jesus' body is removed from the cross (Deposition or Lamentation)
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb and covered in incense.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is where Golgotha (the Hill of Calvary) is located.  The location of Calvary is a category 1.  Inside the church is the traditional place where Jesus was prepared to be buried, the Stone of Anointing, and also the traditional Tomb of Jesus.  The Stone of Anointing and the Tomb are both category 3s.

This was the site that was the most surreal for me.  I have found myself each day saying, "I have been to the place where Jesus was crucified."  I'm not sure if it is the idea that I was at the actual place where Christ was crucified (category 1) or what, but this is the site that has had the biggest impact on me.

3 Stations of the Cross are all together around Calvary.  Also, an interesting tradition I did not know is that Jesus was traditionally crucified over Adam's skull (Adam of Adam and Eve).

10.  Jesus is stripped of His garments


11.  Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross


12.  Jesus dies on the cross


 

Video of Priests incensing 3 stations of the Cross (Calvary is the first stop): 



The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is divided up mainly among the Eastern Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, and Roman Catholic with the Eastern Orthodox having the best sites.  The Coptic Orthodox, the Ethiopian Orthodox and the Syriac Orthodox acquired lesser responsibilities in the 19th century around the building.  Conflict arises because all of these churches create what is called the status quo.  Much of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is common territory which all of the churches "share."  The status quo requires all of the churches to agree when something must be done in the common territory.  So, if you want to rearrange something in the common territory, then you have would have to get all 6 churches to agree.  If you want to change a light bulb, you have to get all 6 churches to agree.

My favorite example is the "immovable ladder."

On the window ledge over the church's entrance there is a wooden ladder that someone put there before 1852.  The doors and window ledges of the church are common territory.  Therefore, the ladder has not been moved to this day because nobody claims ownership of the ladder and nobody will.  So, the ladder has sat on the ledge for 150 years.


The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in 1885 (you can see the ladder below the left window above the door):


The Immovable Ladder in 1892:


The Immovable Ladder today:


The Jewish Quarter



The Wailing Wall/Western Wall is believed to be the only remain of the Holy Temple.  As I stated above, Jews may not set foot on the Temple Mount because of it is the holiest site in Judaism.  Therefore, the Wailing Wall is the closest Jews can get to the Temple Mount without being on the Temple Mount.  God's Presence in Jewish tradition is in the Wailing Wall.  18th century scholar Jonathan Eybeschutz writes that “after the destruction of the Temple, God removed His Presence from His sanctuary and placed it upon the Western Wall where it remains in its holiness and honor.”  So, imagine how sacred a place would be if you believed that the Presence of God resided there.

The tradition of writing prayers down and placing them in the Wall did not originate until the 18th century.  I wrote my own prayer and put it in the Wall.  The Wall was completely covered in paper prayers.  It was very impressive.  There were several Jews sitting behind the Wall reciting the Torah which made me insecure about my Hebrew skills.  It was an incredible experience.

The Wailing Wall:


Me at the Wailing Wall (Up Close):


Me at the Wailing Wall (Half way):


Me at the Wailing Wall (From a distance):


I had to leave the group a day early (because of flights) and was therefore missing out on a few sites on Monday.  One of my goals was to go to see the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Israel Museum.  However, I was VERY reluctant to spend money on a taxi and museum entrance fees, but my good friend Mary-Elizabeth helped me realize "we only live once" so I decided to take the chance.  I am very glad that I did!

The Israel Museum was smaller than I envisioned, but extremely nice (as everything was in Israel).  The Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient Biblical documents were very impressive.  I did not have a guide so it was a different experience compared to the rest of our tour.  So, it wasn't every Dead Sea Scroll as I expected, but just part of one of the Scrolls.  It was in a large room that had humidifiers and was well protected.  I was still impressed.

The other cool part of the museum is an enormous model of Old Jerusalem during the Second Temple period (pic below).


Model of Old City (Jerusalem) during Second Temple at Israel Museum


Sunset Last Night in Jerusalem from the Israel Museum:


Our Professor very graciously had everyone meet that night so I could say my good-byes.  The group prayed for me and I felt very loved.  I also asked the group to donate feminine products (Mary-Elizabeth's idea) and first aid kits which was a great offering which some people in Kenya really appreciated.  This will lead into my next blog post about being searched at the Israel airport with feminine products...

Have a great day!
RTQ

Saturday morning was our first day to tour Jerusalem...although we had stayed in Jerusalem for 2 nights.

Mount of Olives

The Mount of Olives is Biblically famous in many ways:

First, Jesus tells 2 disciples to get a donkey for him to ride down to Jerusalem on here.  Second, He starts his journey to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. We call this day Palm Sunday now.  -Matthew 21: 1-11

It is where Jesus predicts Peter's denial. -Matthew 26:30.

Jesus' teaches and prophesies to the disciples. -Matthew 24-25

"Every day 'Jesus' was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was called." -Luke 21: 37

It is believed to be the place where Jesus ascended to Heaven in Acts 1 and is therefore also called the Mount of Ascension.  We visited the Ascension edicule which houses the Ascension rock that traditionally bears the footprint of Jesus' right foot and is therefore his last impression (literally) on Earth.  This is a category 3.

The Ascension Rock and me (traditionally Jesus' last foot print on Earth):




Church of the Pater Noster

We then walked to the Church of the Pater Noster (Our Father) from the Mount of Ascension.  This is the traditional place where Jesus taught the Lord's Prayer in Luke 11: 2-4.  Jesus also taught the Lord's Prayer during the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6: 9-13 back up by the Sea of Galilee.  If you have time look these verses up because it is interesting how different they are.  The Church of the Paster Noster was very nice and had 154 different translations of the Lord's Prayer on the walls of the church.  It was very impressive and reminded me of what an incredibly diverse people we are with so many languages and cultures.

The Lord's Prayer in Swahili:


The Lord's Prayer in Cherokee:


The Lord's Prayer in Braille:


Pic of Jerusalem, Dome of the Rock, and me at the top of the Mount of Olives (East):


Pic of Jerusalem and Dome of the Rock from the Mount of Olives (East):


Pic of John, me, and the Dome of the Rock from the Mount of Olives (East):



Dominus Flevit (the Lord wept) church

The Dominus Flevit church is the traditional place where Jesus weeps after seeing Jerusalem and being overwhelmed by its beauty and then predicts the second destruction of the Temple.  -Luke 19:37-44.

From the pic below you can see how dominate the Temple (about where the Dome of the Rock is now) would have been looking out from the Mount of Olives.

View of Jerusalem from inside the Dominus Flevit church:


Video explanation (by our guide Peter) of Christ's path to crucifixion from Dominus Flevit church:


The Kidron Valley separates the Mount of Olives from the Temple Mount (Dome of the Rock).  It is also know as the Valley of Jehoshaphat (Valley of Judgment) and is mentioned in Joel 3: 2, "I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will enter into judgment there..."  Therefore, those who want to be judged first want to be buried in the Valley of Jehoshapat.  Our guide said that wealthy Jewish people pay large amounts of money to be buried here.  The picture below shows the cemetery.

Valley of Jehoshaphat cemetery:




Garden of Gethsemane

The Garden of Gethsemane is at the foot of the Mount of Olives in the Kidron Valley and is where the night before Jesus' crucifixion, he asked God to "remove this cup from me" (crucifixition) and then finds (Simon) Peter, James, and John sleeping. -Luke 14: 32-42

A Garden at Gethsemane


Gethsemane Signage


Church of all Nations (the pic of garden is just to the right of the church)



The bedrock where Jesus traditionally prayed (inside Church of All Nations at the Garden of Gethsemane):



City of David

We then journeyed to the South side of Jerusalem to the City of David.  We stopped by the Pool of Siloam which is where Jesus tells a blind man to go wash his face after Jesus spits on the ground making mud with his saliva and covering the man's eyes with this mud. -John 9

The Last Supper (Cenacle) at Mount Zion

The Upper Room at Cenacle is traditionally where Jesus and the disciples met and had the Last Supper.  However, this church was built by the Crusaders in the 12th century and the actual Upper Room would be below the ground level of today...so this is a category 3.

This is also the site where traditionally the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in Acts 2.  Pentecostals and Assembly of God folk rejoice!

The Upper Room and site of Pentecost traditionally:



Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu

Gallicantu is Latin for cock crows, Jesus tells Peter that "before the cock crows twice you yourself will disown me three times." -Mark 14: 30  However, this is not the traditional place where this occured, but a church commemorating this verse.  A tradition in the Roman Catholic church is that Jesus' was imprisoned here before His crucifixion in the caves below the church.  


Pic of Old Jerusalem from the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu (West):



Coolest church sign to date "Holy Stairs Only":


Thus concluded our tour of the East, South, and West of Old Jerusalem.

Masada

Masada is the name of a site of ancient fortifications and palaces on top of an isolated rock plateau which impressively looks out over the Dead Sea in Southern Israel.

Impressive video from Masada looking out over the Dead Sea:


Josephus, a 1st century Roman Jewish historian, is from whom all of our information about Masada comes, except for archeological evidence.  Herod the Great fortified Masada 37-31 BC as a get away place in case of a revolt.  However, a group of Jewish extremists called the Sicarii took over the Roman control of Masada.  In 72 AC, the Romans were out conquering again and wanted Masada back.  However, Masada was well fortified, up very high, and only had a snake path to get up and down.  So, they built a ramp up to the plateau supposedly using Jewish slaves which took 2-3 months.  The story says that the Romans were getting ready to take the fortress, but it was dark so they decided to wait until the morning.  The Sicarii decided they would rather die than be enslaved by the Romans.  So, each man was in charge of killing his own wife and children, then the men drew lots and killed each other while only the unlucky lot winner had to kill himself because suicide is a sin in Judaism (especially if you're an extremist).  The Romans got up the next morning to find 936 people dead and all the buildings burned (except for the food room to show that they had enough food to survive).  In the end, 2 women and 5 children survived who had hidden and told the story of what had happened.

The story of Masada is very sacred to the Jewish Israelis, but there is a lot of doubt surrounding this story told by a Jewish historian.  Therefore, I have decided to formulate no opinion which I think is safer.

Masada model:


Masada signage:


A model of Herod's palace on the side of Masada:


View looking down on Herod's palace today:


A picture of us at Masada at the start of the Snake Path:


On our way down the Snake Path with cable car above and me as the little dot:


On our way down the Snake Path (the tiny dot is John):


Me at the bottom of the Snake Path (Snake Path on right):



Qumran

Qumran is the settlement where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered from 1947 to 1956.  The scrolls were found in a series of eleven caves just to the west of the settlement.

Qumran with the caves in the background:


Qumran with the Dead Sea on the left and the caves on the right:


The Dead Sea scrolls consist of roughly 900 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, which were written between 150 BC to 70 AD.  This is an enormous find because the oldest Hebew Bible texts before this only dated back to the 9th century AD.  So, to find text from the 2nd century BC was a big breakthrough in textual criticism (how old are these books? Who wrote them?).  Below is a list of the books found.

Books	No. found
Psalms	39
Deuteronomy	33
1 Enoch	25
Genesis	24
Isaiah	22
Jubilees	21
Exodus	18
Leviticus	17
Numbers	11
Minor Prophets	10
Daniel	8
Jeremiah	6
Ezekiel	6
Job	6
1 & 2 Samuel	4

Jericho

Jericho is considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.  Archeologists have unearthed 20 successive settlements in Jericho dating back to 11,000 years ago (9,000 BC).  Jericho also has the oldest stone structure in the world.

Oldest stone structure in the world:


Biblically, in Deuteronomy 34:1 God shows Moses Jericho as part of the Promised Land and then Jericho is where the Israelites are led to by Joshua after leaving the bondage of Egypt.

Jesus heals 2 blind men or 1 blind man (depending on which book you read) as he is leaving or entering Jericho (depending on which book you read).  -Matthew 20: 29-30, Mark 10: 46-59, and Luke 18: 35-43.

Jericho is mentioned in my favorite story of the Good Samaritan. "A man was going from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers." - Luke 10:30.

Jericho is where John Williams' favorie story, the story of Zacchaeus, takes place. "Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through." -Luke 19: 1 We stopped at the traditional site of the Zacchaes story, but were told that on our possibility scale of 1 to 3...this was a 3,000.

Zacchaes' Sycamore Tree:


Sign for Zacchaeus' Sycamore Tree:


The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea is salty!  It is 8.6 times saltier than the ocean with 33.7% salinity. 
Therefore, animals cannot flourish there so it is called the Dead Sea.  Also, the Dead Sea's shore is the lowest point of dry land on Earth at 1,385 ft. below sea level.  So, with this information we decided to jump in and go for a swim.  Well, not really because you can't really swim in the Dead Sea...you just kinda float around.  The worst part was that the salt sharpens the rocks in the dead sea to where I tried to put my hand down at one point and it sliced my hand pretty good and the same thing happened with the heel of my foot.  So, if you are ever in the Dead Sea just keep floating and don't reach down.  It was a lot of fun for everyone and surreal to be floating around in the Dead Sea with my seminary friends (just like us all riding camels by the Pyramids).

Video of Seminary crew floating in the Dead Sea: (like we do)


Pic of Seminary crew floating in the Dead Sea:


When we got out it didn't take long for the salt to show up on our skin and make your skin feel very dry. 

Salty skin after being out of the water for 3 minutes:


You HAD to take a shower.  Luckily, I had a few people go before me who learned the hard way that when covered with salt one should not start the shower on hot, but start the shower on cold until one has all of the salt off of them and then warm it up.  Another FYI for those future Dead Sea goers.  Good Dead Sea times!

Thus ends Friday...