(5/29) Friday - Sightlines

Today was a long day -- our "Jerusalem Approaches Field Study" day. This was our first full day of travel outside of of the Old City of Jerusalem, and our constitutions (and I'll admit our attitudes!) were challenged in a good way. I and some others were working off of 4 hours of sleep after our amazing evening locked inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. [Stay tuned for a post about that! Crazy awesome!] Our day started at 7 am and our first stop was the Mount of Olives, the rise that dominates almost the entire view east from Jerusalem. One of the most significant new discoveries for me thus far has been the awareness of sightlines -- that is, what you can see from a specific place. From David's City (the original pre-Temple city), you can only see the surrounding hills. From the Temple Mount, you are higher but still can't see much more.
The Mount of Olives blocks sight to the east, and the "western hill" of Jerusalem blocks sight to the west. BUT we climbed to the top of the Mt of Olives, and what did we see? Holy ausblick.



You can see all the way to Jordan. Literally you can see all the way. That dark horizon line off in the distance is the upland plateau that lies across the valley. You are at the high point of everything to the east. You can see the Jordan River valley (really the northern extension of the Rift Valley which runs eventually down into central Africa) and a snippet of the Dead Sea and everything! To the west you can see all of Jerusalem laid in front of you like a picnic lunch set out on a table, (a rather slopey table) and then down south practically to Bethlehem. If Jesus wanted to find a place that last night before getting arrested to quietly contemplate what would soon come in the city of Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives is the perfect place to do that because you can see the entire city--you're literally looking straight at the Temple, right over the Kidron Valley. There is a shrine called Dominus Flevit ("the Lord wept") partway down the hillside toward Jerusalem which we stopped at, and I took a picture from inside the chapel which both illustrates the view as well as presents a wonderful symbol of the triumph of Christ through his defeat -- and it all happened here.



We proceeded downhill a bit to the Garden of Gethsemane site -- well, one of a few such possible sights, but this one is commemorated the best so most tour groups come here. :-) For "garden" we shouldn't think of what we in America tend to think of, but a "place of cultivation," and for the kind of soil you have here that means things like olive groves and such. Now at the site there is a large and ornate but still relatively simple church called Church of All Nations, so called because upwards of 10 European nations (if I recall correctly) put money toward the building of the church in the first decades of the 20th century. I particularly loved this place (and not just because there was a lot of Latin inscriptions here...but that was a big one :-). In the Gospels, Jesus lost his disciples to sleep here... we managed to just plain lose a student! The wayward soul eventually turned up at a rendezvous spot and we were then on our way to ...

Bethlehem! We were off to see the place where the Incarnation happened. Where God became flesh and Jesus entered the world in the most humble way imaginable. It also meant the Separation Wall. For the first time we were going to be crossing into Palestinian territory. Most people I think don't realize that Bethlehem, although only 5 short miles straight south of Jerusalem, is politically controlled by the Palestinian Authority, and you have to cross a checkpoint and go past guntowers and drive through the brand-new Separation Wall that literally allows nobody to cross unless you do so at military checkpoints. As we were on a registered tour bus full of American passport holders, we were waved right through. It's a completely different story for Palestinians who want to cross the other way.

Our first stop was Bethlehem Bible College, a wonderful little gem of Christian witness here in the town of Jesus' birth and in the midst of a predominately Muslim population.



Dr. Awad, one of the directers here, graciously hosted us and gave a presentation on what the College strives to do in reaching the community for the cause of the Gospel and in training up Christian leaders to help put that vision into action. He also talked a lot (from his position as both a Christian and a Palestinian) about how the world-wide Church can and should act on behalf of justice and truth and peace regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The day before we had been visited by an Israeli who talked on exactly the same conflict, but naturally from a different perspective. The combination of both these talks have given us a LOT to think about. This is good. It's also bewildering. Most Evangelicals are raised in a very pro-Israel atmosphere; this is also my background. I have, however, read a good deal about the creation of the modern state of Israel in 1947-8 in preparation for coming here, and I have come to the conclusion that nobody is innocent in this equation. I'm still far from done with processing my experiences, but I keep coming back to the thought that that Jesus cares far more about His Kingdom than political borders. I'm starting to see that perhaps I can be pro-both sides in a way that can be so because I am pro-Christ and the redemption that only He can bring. There have been many conversations among all of us on this topic, and we are all trying to process and wrestle with a deeply complex issue and problem. There is no simple solution. At least not politically. But we serve a God who delights in making all things new. Bring your peace quickly Lord! The whole earth groans in expectation... and we along with it...

Then we set out for the Church of the Nativity itself! What a special place and moment. First of all, let's get back to sightlines again. From Bethlehem you can see all the way down into the Rift Valley! All the way to Jordan! Who would have thought. The views are incredible to the east! This also means that anybody traveling from the East could technically have been able to see a star or comet or whatever hovering above this place from a very long way off. The Church of the Nativity was a great way to round out the day. It's very old, from the mid-6th century (!) and you have to stoop through a very low and narrow gateway to enter the church from the plaza. I found some more neat Greek and Latin inscriptions, and then proceeded downstairs to the lower chapel where according to tradition Jesus was born, with a tiny nook right next to it where Jesus was first laid in the manger. According to tradition. Regardless of where it actually was, we were all right there in Bethlehem near where it took place. The event. The Incarnation of God. Immanuel -- God with us. Blessed with the amazing opportunity to reflect on my Savior in both the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Church of the Nativity in the space of a mere 18 hours, I sat down in the manger niche, quietly read both nativity narratives (Matt. and Luke), then pulled out my journal, and wrote down some thoughts:

What a strange way to save the world.

God came down here. To be with us.

To walk in our footsteps but even more so that we might learn to walk in his footsteps.

Right as I finished, and as I was singing one of my favorite Christmas songs in my head, I suddenly was overwhelmed with emotion. A special moment.

On our way out of Bethlehem, we stopped by an old pre-industrial threshing floor where we talked about the story of Boaz and Ruth. It is a story of loss and redemption. It was a fitting way to end a long and challenging day.

Even though the weather has been comparatively mild, the combination of lots of sun exposure and going all day since 7 am has hit a lot of us harder than we thought it would. The last thing we want to do is get weary already, or start complaining. Fortunately, we are having amazing experiences and get to do so amidst a great community. We have plenty to keep our spirits up, and we will all get more used to the long days. I know I will once I stop forgetting to put on sunscreen! :-)

Tomorrow -- the road to Jericho!

Thursday (5/28) - Up on the Mount

Thursday was a relatively quiet day for most of us, with a free morning and then classes during the afternoon that served as an overview of geographical considerations of the land of Palestine, ranging from drainage basins to soil types to underlying bedrock types (go Eocene!) and how they all visibly affect the land and its vegetation and its habitation patterns. That was a lot to cover! We will all soon be topography experts, have no doubt.

What we all did with the free morning then is what I'll discuss here. A large group of us decided it was the time to head up to the Temple Mount itself to visit the Muslim holy precinct, with the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. To say these are important places is complete understatement. If you don't know about these, please check the above links out. Muslims associate the "Rock" with Abraham and Isaac (so do Jews and Christians) but also the ascension of Mohammed to heaven.



Furthermore, it seems very clear to me that the Dome of the Rock is most likely built precisely on the site of the Jewish Temple itself -- the continuity of holy space is evidence enough. It is interesting to note that after the Romans crushed the last Jewish revolt in Jerusalem in AD 135 and kicked all the Jews out (for centuries), they built up on the Temple Mount a great Temple to Jupiter. Thus, the Dome of the Rock replaced whatever the Romans or Byzantines last had up there rather than the Jewish Temple.

After passing through security, we climbed a big wooden ramp that led up to a narrow gate in the western side of the platform wall. This entrance is right next to the Western Wall (the specific place famous to Judaism, not in general the whole western side of the Temple Mount), so it's quite a surreal juxtaposition to pass overhead the hundreds (or more) of Orthodox Jews reciting the Torah outloud and milling about and then to enter the gateway onto the Temple Mount and suddenly be met by silence and what could only be described as, to me, an alien world. The architecture is completely different. The clothing is completely different. There is no background drone of recitation (not out in public areas at least). It's just bizarre. I approached the Dome of the Rock and tried to think about how I was standing right next to what was once the Holy of Holies. (it is for this reason that observant Jews are religiously forbidden from going onto the Temple Mount) But... I couldn't really envision it. The top up there is all Muslim space now. You can feel it just walking around. For the first time on this trip I felt like I really didn't belong somewhere, that I was an intruder. It's not that I was unwelcome, that's not true. I was welcome to come there as a tourist. But I didn't feel like I belonged up there. I just couldn't relate to it. Maybe others could, I don't know. Maybe that's how Middle-Eastern background Muslims feel when they visit thoroughly Christian places, I don't know. All in all, a memorable experience.
Not least because I got into a charming conversation with four 12-yr old Muslim girls (in full garb) who wanted to practice their English and show off their two pet mini turtles .... and then I promptly got in trouble by mosque security for talking to children. Well, specifically for taking their picture, which I asked their permission for first. But I suppose 12 yr-olds don't get the final say in such matters. The guard demanded my camera and identification and deleted the photos and then handed it back. Lesson learned!

I'll close with a few pictures of interest. In a future post I hope to show some more pictures of this fun, quirky place we're staying in to give everyone a visual look at what we now call home for the next few weeks, but for now I give you this pic I snapped of a couple Wheaties enjoying the verdant grounds while doing some journaling of their experiences. We certainly are experiencing a lot and have a lot to process.



And finally I want to show an example of something that I personally get terribly excited about: Greek and Latin! As the Classical Languages prof at Wheaton, of course I have been practically dying to see what kind of fun inscriptions or other epigraphy we'll stumble across (and which I can then point out excitedly to my former Greek or Latin students on the trip)! I give you one here -- can you see why they're so much fun? :-)



This is a fresco in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and depicts Judas's betrayal of Jesus. Here is the Greek text of the above photograph again in all its stylized orthographic glory!



Can you make any of it out? It's actually an abbreviated form of Matthew 26:47 -49. This reads: "Behold, Judas came and a great crowd with him with swords and wooden clubs; and coming up to Jesus he said, 'Hello, Rabbi.' And he kissed him." Gotta love it! I'm getting better at identifying ligatures and abbreviated forms in the orthography. :-)

* * * * * *

And what about the group that had the chance to stay overnight at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre? They did it! And the Armenian priest had so much fun he was happy to host another group Thursday night and I got to go! Can you believe it?! I got to spend 4+ hours locked up in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre after hours along with 9 other Wheaton students at the invitation of the Armenian superior who helps oversee the famous holy site of Jesus' death and resurrection -- what an honor! And what an amazing, unbelievable treasured experience! BUT as you can probably guess that deserves its own blog post.
Until then...

Our Merry Band of Adventurers

Here is a group photo of WIHL 09! (missing two people)
We are sitting on the ruins of Robinson's Arch with the SW corner of the Temple Mount behind us.



We have come together wonderfully as a group and are looking forward to our journeys still to come. Thanks for keeping us all in your prayers!

Wed (5/27) - On the Steps of Jesus

Wednesday was another good day. It was also the first day in which we saw clouds, which passed overhead in patches most all day, giving us welcome shade now and then. In truth, the weather here has been generally awesome so far! We've had highs of mid-70s numerous times, with lows at night in the 50s, really wonderful weather. It's also been dry, so not much of that oppressive humidity. We have already been told that things will be a wee bit different when we hit the Dead Sea or the coastal areas later in our stay. :-)

Wednesday morning we had classes on the natural world of Palestine: the water systems, growing seasons, agricultural life, all of which helps illuminate the Bible in deep ways. After lunch, we spent the next few hours exploring the new archaeological park at the southern edges of the Temple Mount area, which explain a lot of the excavations that have been done in this area up until recently. One of the neat things to see was a well-excavated Roman street that passed by the SE corner of the Mount (the so-called "Pinnacle of the Temple").

As Dr. Wright explained, we know Jesus would have walked down this street at some point surely...but the paving stones we see were put in about 30 years after Jesus' time as part of regular road construction work to redo the old street, so NO we didn't actually walk in the steps of Jesus there. However, we next went to the excavated steps along the southern flank of the Temple Mount, where in the time of Jesus (as indeed the whole Second Temple Period 516 BC - AD 70) rows and rows of steps led worshipers up toward the Grand Portico, the ritual baths, and the entrances onto the Temple precinct itself. We do know that Jesus would have passed this way on his way into and out of the Temple area, and it is likely that some of his speeches from the last week of his life would have taken place here. What a thrill it was to find out that the lowest rows of excavated steps were actually from the First Century! Now that's a feeling of suddenly encountering the real force of history come alive! Needless to say, we were all pretty excited!

For me, climbing the steps (even if the upper tiers are modern reconstruction) and touching the places on the walls where the ancient entrances once stood (now they're walled in) was quite moving. It is odd to think that now what lies on the other side is a holy precinct entirely dedicated to Islam. I also found some little folded slips of paper tucked into the cracks in the rocks, much like you find at the Western Wall.

These are written prayers to God tucked in there carefully by observant Jews asking for God's blessings and peace and of course ultimately the restoration to them of their Temple.

After that we headed to the Church of St. Anna, built in the Crusader Period (~12th century) to honor the alleged birthplace of Mary, mother of Jesus. This church was beautiful in its simplicity and especially in its acoustics! What an amplifying echo sound in this stone church! To take advantage of the moment, we all sat in rows and sang three songs. What an amazing experience. Voices raised in harmony and community is a powerful thing. (see below!)

Here we also visited the Pools of Bethesda where Jesus healed the crippled man (John 5:1-9).

As you can see, we have fun spots to hold class outside on our field trips!

On our way out, we bumped into one of the main priests of the White Fathers order which maintains the St. Anna Church, and a fairly hilarious conversation ensued with this kind elderly man that eventually ended up on how he is learning Russian on Skype from some other churchmen he met recently. Ah, a reminder that we are always students and learners, no matter our age or stage in life!

Our final stop on our way home was the Austrian Hospiz (think fancy hostel for adults) and its wonderful roof-top view. Apparently, most people don't know about this gem, which the public can access for free if they but ask politely at the front desk!

What a place to catch a sunrise as one looks south and east over the rest of the tight streets of the Old City, filled to overflowing with its homes, shops, churches, mosques, synagogues, steeples, minarets, Jews, Muslims, Christians, soldiers with guns, and of course tourists who jump into the mix. I hope that the picture above conveys just how tightly packed everything is -- Westerners really need to leave their ideas about "city space" behind when talking about this essentially medieval city where everything is pretty much stacked on top of each other. An amazing place.

Speaking of amazing...
1) There are rumors that one of our students knows someone who knows one of the priests who lives in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and can get some of our group into the church after it is locked at night (which is a whole story in and of itself...for another time)! They're going tonight if they can! (more on this to come...)

2) Listen to the sounds of Wheaton in Jerusalem!

Until next time...

Tuesday Adventures

What a day we had yesterday (Tuesday 5/26)! We’re all slowly coming to grips with the bewildering wonder, simplicity, and complexity of this place. I put those words together intentionally. The sheer uniqueness of this place, the Holy City of Jerusalem, continues to strike me. It’s hard to put into words. Over the course of our time here, I’ll try to put thoughts to words as much as possible. One thing that has become remarkably clear to my mind just in my few days here is the sheer, utter, irreplaceable importance of THE LAND. It’s central to understanding the setting of the Biblical texts, both the Old Testament and the Gospels. It’s central to understanding the people and their politics, both ancient and modern. You can’t hardly open any passage of the Old Testament and not see the significance of the LAND come shining through.

We’ve been specifically challenged to ask the question: What makes this land of Canaan / Palestine “Holy”? What makes it special? And why would God choose this strange place for a home for His chosen people and for His temple?

We are all just beginning to grasp that the physical, rock/soil/tree/water-source/hill-after-hill LAND is so important to understanding, well, pretty much everything. I’m getting that this is why it’s so valuable for people to come here, to come as learners who will walk the land and get the feel for it and not just come as religious tourists to see a few sites and then leave. That is also valuable if that’s all that time allows, but that approach only merely scratches the surface. Boy, three weeks here will fly by and leave us I think with the feeling that we’ve only just begun.

***** *****
On to Tuesday’s activities! We started the day (early!) at 7am for a solid morning’s walk into the Old City again, this time to see a few Old Testament–connected sites. We got to see an excavated section of the city walls of Jerusalem that was likely built by King Hezekiah of Judah (the so-called “Broad Wall”). Like everything around here, the excavation is just smack in the middle of a tightly-packed part of the city, with homes looming on all sides. Next, we strolled downhill south out of the city through the Dung Gate (can anyone guess why the gate here at the lowest downhill point of the city would be called that?) and onward to a low rise south of the SE part of the Old City. Here is a view of the hills to the E and SE near the southern edge of the Old City walls.

This is the original "City of David" before the Temple was built and the city expanded to the north. (visible in the picture above as the slight rise in the center of the photo above just to the left of the crenel) What really kind of shocked us was how comparatively low this hill is compared to its surroundings. The "City of David" as he would have known it doesn't even lie inside the current city walls! Check out this neat web site to get a visual of the topography here and a neat historical sliding timeline to show what the area looked like at different times in history. Here we paused to read from a couple psalms with an entirely new visual context in mind:

Psalm 121:1 - "I will lift up my eyes to the hills; from whence shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth." From David's City all you can see are hills of higher elevation in every direction. You would need to trust in Yahweh to protect you in that vulnerable position.

Psalm 125:1-2 - "Those who trust in the Lord are as Mt. Zion [Mt. Moriah, aka the Temple Mount, which is uphill as you look north from David's City], which cannot be moved but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever."

The hills do indeed surround the city at this point! So...why would they build the original city here at all and not up higher on the defensible mountain top? It's simple -- this lower location had access to WATER! And that's where we set off next, to explore the Gihon Spring and the famous Tunnel of Hezekiah (read II Kings 20:20)! For defensive purposes, Hezekiah excavated a tunnel underneath the city over 1600 feet long (!) to redirect the spring water from outside to a point inside the city. Being the intrepid explorers that we Wheaties are, of course most of us chose to hike through the tunnel! And yes, at times we waded through water up to three feet deep!

The water was cold, the tunnel was about 2 feet wide and at times only 5 feet high, and naturally it was pitch black in there without the help of the headlamps some of us had brought along. I tell you, that was an eerie (and awesome) experience, with rushing water at your feet, the ceiling closing down on your head, and random beams of light flashing back and forth in front and behind. Definitely a highlight thus far!

After dinner a few of us decided to head back out to explore the Old City a bit more as the sun was setting. We kind of intentionally got lost to see what we would stumble across, and after some meanderings I looked up and with a start noticed that there was Latin on the wall above me: III STATIO. We'd found the Third Station of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa! (for those unfamiliar with the stations, see here) We don't know quite where Jesus would have actually fallen for the first time under the weight of the cross (the current street system didn't exist at that time anyway), but it was somewhere in this city! Such little discoveries can really put things into perspective.

Our final discovery tonight really put things into perspective for our little band. Once again lost while trying to get back home, we suddenly saw a little tiny sign pointing down a little tiny alley: "Western Wall." We took it and suddenly we found ourselves facing the Western Wall plaza! There were hundreds of observant Jews in the cool of the night walking back and forth, reciting the Torah, praying at the base of the wall, etc. There were very few tourists about and we were able to stay there for a while just taking in the scene and the importance of the place.

What a scene -- the Jews approach the exposed ancient foundation stones of the Temple Mount to mourn the destruction of the Temple and look up to see the Dome of the Rock there...and Muslims who live in town watch huge crowds of Jews gather daily at the Western Wall to pray that God gets rid of the Muslim holy sites up there and rebuilds his holy temple. And Muslims also get to watch IDF military personnel walk throughout the entire city with prominently displayed automatic rifles. The layers of symbols of power here are so fascinating. And a cause for some sadness...when will peace ever come to this land except at the point of a sword or a gun? To the Jews, the Temple Mount is the place where God made contact with earth -- it is the holiest place in the world. It is the veritable center of the created order. Watching the Jews worshiping in such reverence in such surroundings was a moving experience.

What is this place to me? Does God really think the Temple area is still special in some way? Didn't Jesus declare that we should look to him now, that our redeemed lives would be the new Temples as places where the Spirit of the Most High dwelled? Or is Jerusalem still special, a place more holy somehow? I wonder. God surely remembers His past glory and worship here. And we should remember too. I think that means something.

First Impressions

[Updated]
One day down! Yesterday was our first day in Jerusalem, and it was a fairly overwhelming experience for the senses and indeed one's sense of history. I don't have much time, as our group leaves in about ten minutes, so here's some scattered first impressions:

* * * * * * *
Yesterday we walked around the Old City all over. There are 4 "quarters" to the walled Old City: Christian, Armenian, Jewish, and Muslim. They all have their own churches and mosques and synagogues competing for the same precious plots of holy ground. SUCH a mixture of peoples all on top of each other. It is also true that the quarters retain their own distinct architecture and culture, and predominant people as well. We ended with a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which was built over many centuries and is supposed to encompass the various places where Jesus was crucifed and buried and resurrected. Whoah! That's a lot for one church to commemorate! Nobody knows with certainty where the crucifixion and burial took place, but there is a very high likelihood that the ground the church occupies is at least within a hundred yards or so where they happened! It's such a large thought to think about, I'm not quite sure what to do with all of it ... so I feel both overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time, if that makes any kind of sense.



Here you see a picture from inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the dome above the supposed burial chamber of Jesus.

But I saw the place where they say the cross stood and where they say the tomb was. We didn't spend the time to wait in the long line to actually go inside -- we'll do that in a few days we're told. One thing that does make sense instantly to a visitor is how absolutely hilly everything is. Wow. Not handicap accessible like pretty much anywhere. We will all get workouts every day I think. :-)

I close with a picture taken from a vantage point looking out toward the Temple area, now dominated by the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Western Wall (aka "Wailing Wall") is down at the foot of the mount. If you don't know the full details about the Western Wall, read this. This place is important. Jerusalem -- the Holy City -- is where the monotheistic faiths of the world collide. I'll let it speak for itself.

Off now for another day in the Old City! Today will be a look at certain Old Testament sites -- and we've even heard rumor of an underground tunnel complete with water we have to wade through! Check back for more...

We are here!

Yes, it's true -- we are here! I am typing this from my room on the 3rd floor of Jerusalem University College, and I am so excited to be here and to take it all in. And I'm also SO tired. I don't have much time here before I crash, but here's a brief run-down of what has transpired for us in the last couple days.

First, we packed and loaded the vans. Everyone was full of anticipation. There was even a pre-trip dance party on the lawn of Blanchard! (yes, that's true, and no, it's probably not what you're thinking.

We made it to O'Hare just fine and then embarked on a very long flight to Zurich, Switzerland, where we had a 10+ hour layover. I don't sleep well on flights at all, and this trip was no exception. However, I found a second wind and after splitting into groups (nobody goes out alone!) we spread out all over Zurich to explore this historic and beautiful city.

Among our Wheatie activities (not all done by me): strolling along the riverside, exploring back alleys for fun cafes, strolling the lakeshore (Zurich lake is quite huge), renting paddleboats, finding shade, taking trains into the countryside, climbing church towers for panoramic views (see above!) and even spotting off in the hazy distance across the lake the Alps! We reconvened for dinner at the airport and then took our final leg to Israel. This was another over-nighter, such that we landed about 4am local time. Some students have managed to sleep a bit on the flights, but I think I've totaled 6 total hours of sleep over the past 3 nights combined! Hopefully that will soon change.

We were met by some fine folks from JUC at the airport, then we all piled into a bus and drove up and up and up into the hill country toward Jerusalem. The benefit of driving at that crazy early hour of the morning is that there is virtually nobody around and you have the rare and rewarding experience of entering Jerusalem just before sunrise and having it all to yourself! I couldn't help but hear a stream of "Ooh's" and "Aaah's" coming from behind me all over the bus. I must say I joined in too. We drove into Jerusalem as far as we could toward JUC, stopping only when the towering stone walls of the Old City of Jerusalem came into view right in front of us. We were told that the final street was too tight for the bus so we'd have to carry our luggage the last quarter of a mile up the hill. This is a pic I snapped as our students were crossing the street, with the masonry walls looming overhead.

Can you believe it! We're really here! I now get my sweet reward of a few hours rest, before lunch and then our first exploration this afternoon. Our on-site professor here, Paul Wright, will lead us on a walking tour of the Old City, passing through the Via Dolorosa and culminating in a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre! Today! I will say more about our welcome surroundings here at JUC in a future post, as well as say more about our coming day's adventures. Until then, thank you for praying for all of us, and please keep lifting us up. We are ready to become learners.

Some basics

The bus leaves in 1 hour! Thus, I will make this update short and to the point.
For those who are following our journey from home, here are some basics:

1) Israel is 8 hours ahead of Chicago time (central daylight savings). Israel is also on daylight savings. Thus, if you want to Skype with your child or friend, please note that if it is 3 pm in Chicago, it is 11 pm in Jerusalem. For more info on this (and a handly weather forecast for Jerusalem), see this page.
2) We will be staying at Jerusalem University College for most of our time in Israel.
3) To find where JUC is in Google Maps, click here. It is on Aravnah HaYevusi between Mitchell Garden and the Greek Orthodox Cemetery. Yes, we are THAT close to the Old City with all its historical sites! We can't wait.

Okay! See you in the Holy Lands!

Tomorrow we are Canaan Bound

One of my absolute favorite songs in the whole world is a hauntingly beautiful tune by Andrew Peterson entitled "Canaan Bound." Tonight in a time of prayer and reflection, I had the privilege of playing the song for the gathered students. The lyrics are powerful -- they have at times brought tears to my eyes. I print them here in their entirety, because they are worth reading:

* * * * * * *
Sarah, take me by my arm
Tomorrow we are Canaan bound
Where westward sails the golden sun
And Hebron's hills are amber crowned

So bid your troubled heart be still
The grass, they say, is soft and green
The trees are tall and honey-filled
So, Sarah, come and walk with me

Like the stars across the heavens flung
Like water in the desert sprung
Like the grains of sand, our many sons
Oh, Sarah, fair and barren one
Come to Canaan, come

I trembled at the voice of God
A voice of love and thunder deep
With love He means to save us all
And Love has chosen you and me

Long after we are dead and gone
A thousand years our tale be sung
How faith compelled and bore us on
How barren Sarah bore a son
So come to Canaan, come

Where westward sails the golden sun
And Hebron's hills are amber crowned
Oh, Sarah, take me by my arm
Tomorrow we are Canaan Bound

* * * * *
With a start, I realized tonight in the gathering that it was actually TRUE for us!
Tomorrow we are Canaan bound.

Winding down on campus

Our week on campus is nearing its end, as formal classes here end tomorrow (Friday). To give you a taste of what it's been like, here is a picture of what we've been doing a lot this week -- sitting in class!






In this particular image Dr. Lauber is giving us a basic introduction to Roman Catholicism. Each day one of the BITH professors comes in and gives a 3-hour crash course lecture on a topic of historical, theological, or Bible-textual significance to our trip. This happens twice a day, one before lunch and then another afterwards. This has been a great time to stretch our comfort zones -- and this afternoon (Thurs) I even got the treat of translating for the class an ancient Roman tombstone in Latin! May it be the first of many. :-)

The students have been keeping busy outside of class time in a variety of ways. Some are scrambling to finish their map projects before we leave, some take advantage of the sunny, peaceful lawn in front of Blanchard, others have been organizing games of ultimate frisbee and soccer in the evenings, and everyone in general is getting more and more excited for our trip! Only about 40 hours away! Meal times have been a great time for getting acquainted. I even think I've got almost all of their names down by now. (sorry Brendan about today, I'll get it don't worry :-)

Friday night we will be having a group time of reflection and prayer as we dedicate these next 6 weeks for God's glory. Please join us in praying that we will remember to put each other before ourselves, love each other, rejoice in the blessing of sharing these adventures, and especially that God will use these next weeks to mould each of us more into His image.

I might find time to give a last Wheaton-side update before we leave on Saturday, but if not -- see you in Israel (after a sure-to-be-adventuresome 12 hour layover in Zurich)!

All aboard!

Pax vobis gratiaque Domini nostri!

All aboard...

This is an informal blog for the 2009 Wheaton in the Holy Lands program. I am one of the three leaders of the program (my info here) and I'll be updating this blog as often as possible throughout the course of our many travels and adventures. I say this is an informal blog because I want to make clear that this will represent my own personal voice and is not meant to be an official voice of Wheaton College per se.

The reason I'm setting up this channel of communication is to provide updates of our travels for friends and family of those who are participating. I know how much those left behind often want to know the progress of those who get to go on such adventures, so this is meant to be a place to find out!

For program info, click here.

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In this first post, I'll lay out the purpose of this first week of the program. Wheaton in the Holy Lands (hereafter WIHL, since typing all that out each time will get tiring!) officially started last Sunday night (5/17) as the students checked into their temporary housing and reconvened for a time of getting to know one another better and in general discuss how the week would proceed. This first week is a time of preparation here on campus, and the students take 6 hours of coursework per day. This can be mentally taxing, but I've noticed a good amount of frisbee-playing and other relaxing diversions that help break up the day. Saturday morning they will take an exam covering the various subjects they have studied. Then, Saturday afternoon we will say our last goodbyes to Wheaton and board the bus for O'Hare and our flight to the Holy Lands! (actually, first Zurich...but that's another blog post)

In the next post, I'll say a little bit more about the on-campus classes the students are taking and some of the subjects we are engaging with. I've sat in on about half of them so far, and it has been a good time of building a stronger foundation for our appreciation of what we will see and experience culturally, historically, and theologically. But that's all I'll say for now. Off to supper with the WIHLers and then a time of praise and worship afterwards!

For those who will read this blog and follow along from time to time, please do keep us in your prayers! (and feel free to leave comments and/or questions!)