Amazing

Life is absolutely amazing, even if it has only gone below 100 degrees about one day this whole trip. Not only have I not had internet service most places I've gone, i 've also been way too tired to do much but fall in bed and sleep as soon as I get back to my room every night. I try to sleep on the bus, but can only manage at the most about 5 minutes, who can sleep when you're passing right along the Nile or the Valley around Gallilee. So once I finish writing everything then I'll send out the whole day by day accounts.

But to summarize, I have seen amazing things, I still can't belive I've gone to everything I have, at times I have to kick myself, realizing that i'm actually here, it's not some dream or my imagination.

In Egypt we went to the pyramids, cairo bazaar, saladin's citadel, cairo museum (though I was sick that day so only got a quick run through tour of the main things like tut's treasures and some animal mummies) , valley of the kings, saw Tut's mummy, Hatshepsut's mortuary temple, sakkara, memphis, Karnak and the temple at Luxor. Touched the Nile, fended off a crazy carriage driver who wouldn't leave us alone, and flew in the business class for about 30min each way.

I climbed Mt. Sinai and watched an amazing sunrise and snorkeled in the Red Sea. I hiked through the slot canyons of Petra and saw the amazing treasury, royal tombs, and necropolis there. I floated in the dead sea and got stinging water in my eyes, nose and mouth, it was nasty and hurt, but other than that it was fun.

We went to Masad and Qumran, amazing places as well, I only wish we didn't have to hurry through them all so fast. they are definitely places that make you think and wonder and dig inside yourselves. saw Jericho and Bet She'an, getting to go into the west bank, which is completely safe, Blar says he feels safer there than downtown SL.

Today we sailed across the sea of Gallilee to Tel Dan to see a part of a gate that Abraham would have walked through, and to capernaum where there is still the synagigue jesus would have gone to and peter's house. as well as the traditional site of the Mt. of Beattitudes and banias at the foot of Mt Hermon where Jesus asked "whom do ye say that i am" to peter and the other apostles and water flows straight from under the rocks. And passed along ther Golan heights where so much modern history has occurred. we went into a druse village for lunch and had Lebunae and saw why certain statements were so poignant that the Saviour made. Like a city set on a hill, if referring to one like tiberias you can not only see it at night with its lights, but during the day the white building (stones, i forgot what kind) sticks out just as bright, it can be seen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. and to the stream of Mt Hermon where the rock flowed straight out and the apostles would have been surrounded by about 6 different temples of greek and roman gods and idols.

it's asolutely amazing to study the scriptures and read about the stories on the spoats where they occurred. it doesn't really strengthen your testimony or make you believe if you doubted or anything, but i don't think it's supposed to, that's not what it;s meant for. It's just that you can feel a different spirit, a reference and appreciation, it makes you ponder more what these accounts and stories mean to you and how they can really apply in your life. sometimes we have fun and joke a little like instead of "I walked today where jesus walked..." we sing "i swam today where jesus walked..." but it really hits you hard when you go to places like capernaum or ceasaria phillipi that these are real places and this is where it happened, that we were standing in the synagogue only two feet above where jesus told them to go get the coin out of the fish and much more.

It's amazing, this world is amazing, all that the Lord has done for us is amazing. I know that Christ is our Saviour, that if we look to him he is there and is our deliverer. He once lived and talked on this earth just as all of us and will once again do so in the coming day. he is waiting with outstretched arms and an open heart if we will but turn towards him.