So going to bed at 3:30 doesn't help you in your attentiveness to the alarm clock in the morning. I apparently totally slept through the alarm because at 8:15 we had someone knocking on our door telling us we had 15 minutes til breakfast. Waking up out of stupor to that and having a panic attack that there's NO WAY that I'm going to get ready on time is a real way to start your day. Oh, and we don't have hot water. So washing my hair in the bathtub was a real joy and relaxing experience. I rushed downstairs to a nice, chill breakfast w/ pancakes and really good cinamon buns. And we really didn't need to meet til 9:15. Oh my. A great start of the day.
Our first session dealt with Judaism and Ishmael (Ismael is the son Abram had with Sarai's servant Hagar - and through him is who the Muslims trace their lineage). We talked about what the real sins were - if Sarai was really disobedient and didn't have faith or trust in God, or because she was so committed to God, she was so embarrassed about her state that she tried to please her husband by finding another way.to fulfill the promise of God. It was very interesting to dive into the Word and really discuss what happened and why we believe what we believe. The Jews also believe that Ismael's decendents would be a thorn in Isaac's flesh, but that eventually the two would exist together peacefully - which is what the Jews want with the Muslims.
We then took a tour of the place of the conference center where we're staying. It's cool cuase they have a Jewish school and dormitory here. Nothing really noteworthy though - except we kept getting shushed during the entire tour. We found out that we were going to have a 3 hour musuem tour later in the day - that made us very jubilant in our inmost spirits, as you can probably guess. But you'll find out more about that later.
We then had a discussion on Matthew 12 with the leader of the place. Obvoiusly, being Jewish, he doesn't hold that Jesus is Messiah. He picked apart Jesus' argument about the Sabbath. He stated the first one, referencing David and his men eating the holy bread from the temple was because they were hungry - and the Torah teaches that one can live by the law, but does not have to die by the law - hence in their hunger, they were justified. The guy said this was a good way to answer a pharasee's question - with a pharasee's answer. But he claimed that Jesus' second argument was an assertion of power, as Messiah, and that this claim of power negated and contradicted his first argument and made it null and void because if Jesus is BETTER than the temple, or the Sabbath, his claim that one had to keep the Sabbath is contradictory. Well, we had many arguments over this. And I never thought I would be thankful for hearing the "shmehah rabbi" sermon from Brandon Lemois like 5 times last summer, but that helped me so much in this argument. I explained how a shmehah rabbi taught; (particularly Jesus) he would take a premise everyone new, and then he would bring new revelation to this. I got on a real kick and everyone was like amen-ing and nodding, and they're like YEAH VALLEY FORGE! It was pretty sweet. He really didn't have a comeback - he just kept sticking to the fact that Jesus contradicted himself.
We had lunch then - we had to walk down the street to the Burger Bar to get one (Burger Bar - like in Roller Coaster Tycoon to all you fanatics out there). I got chicken strips and what I thought were "skinny fries." More like potatoe chip versions of fries. They were still soft, but cut thin slices of potatoes - like really skinny versions of scalloped potatoes. It was good though - with some sweet chili sauce and garlic mayonaise. Shawna and I had to take our food at eat it on the way to our our "afternoon at the musuem."
DUM DUM DUM.
So we after a 20 minute ride arrive in the middle of nowhere on a hill. Now, there's no real structure in sight, aside from some public bathrooms and an ice cream stand. Yes, my friends, you have guessed correctly. We are NOT at a musuem. We are at a national park. In the desert heat. None of us dressed for this. I'm in flip flops and jeans. And we find out from our very enthusiastic tour guide (except not really) that we were going to be touring this desert fortress for the next 2 hours. You can imagine our excitement. I think the only words I remember from the tour guide was "and…ehhhhhh". (He couldn't speak English very well - and I think watching the grass grow could be more ineteresting). What we were visiting was another palace that Herod built. After seeing Masada though, and just with it being the LAST day we were in Israel, I think we were just tired of tours and lectures and it was HOT and we didn't really care anymore. When we were in the temple, we decided to be a little pentecostal in our agreement with what the speaker was saying, so we started 'mmm'ing and 'oh'ing and stuff…and then when he showed us the remains of a painting, Eric said very enthusiastically "Oh wow!" Half of us just lost it - and I mean erupted in laughter and turned away and tried to regain composure. It was hysterical though. Michael just looked at us but he knew it was just a long day and the tour guide really hadn't captivated any of our attention. As we hiked to the top of the fortress, Hope let out a cry of frustration, "I'M TIRED OF HISTORY. TIRED OF LECTURES! NO MORE!" and she proceeded to kick a few stones. So funny. We were just dying laughing. We did a couple jumping in motion pictures and it was awesome. They look really cool. We also got a little pentecostal again during the next lecture the guy gave us - and I still have no clue what he was talking about or why this was important to the Jews. I know, I'm really a horrible person. But it was a fun time just to laugh together one last time.
We got back and had about 20 minutes til our "wrap up" session with Eagles Wings - which dealt with surveys, evaluations, and post-trip projects. We split into groups and discussed our ideas. David might help us out with Anne Frank if we decide to do that at Valley Forge. I think that it needs more thought but I'd be totally stoked about it.
After our meeting, we had dinner. It was sad cause it was our last meal together (some people left tonight, while the rest of us leave tomorrow at 4 AM). It was good dinner - and we just recollected some memories about the first day we met at the Israeli Embassy in DC. It was interesting. We've all grown so close - and AmyAnn and Hope kept telling me to "shut [my] face" if I brought up leaving. Eventually though, after I blogged and they went for coffee, we had to say our goodbyes to them as well as Eric and Rufus. For old times sake, we did the "Bow Legged Chicken" with rufus one last time. Then we had hugs and tears and said goodbye. They only sent one cab that was really small, so we waited outside with Eric until his extra cab came. It was cold actually.
Since then, I've been trying to blog and pack and it has taken over 2 hours to write this entry while being distracted by people as well as saying goodbye to people who are leaving sporatically; the rest of our international students. I'm really going to miss these people. God has changed us and I don't know if we'll ever meet again, but I pray that we'll all stay connected and that we'll continute to grow in the Lord. Rufus, Ben, and I had a good time of worship and prayer before dinner where we really just interceded for one another. I'm really going to miss this spirituality we all share - and I hope to take that intense desire to seek the Lord back home and into my own life in a regular daily discipline.
Ok, I should pack. Thank you for all the prayers. We're flying AIR FRANCE tomorrow…keep us in prayer. See you all soon!
Shalom. For the last time. From Israel.
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