I have arrived home...

Shalom Shalom!

I am back from Israel safe and sound, having the best trip of my life. Its crazy, I felt like I was there for a month, and I am definitely still trying to digest everything. In the 10 days we were there we saw the entire country! We went along every border excluding Egypt and visited cities and towns that are mentioned all over the Bible. Even in the few days of being back, as I read my Bible I can picture the place and what it would have looked like when the authors were writing.

My favorite hike of the entire trip was the mountain of Qumran. It was crazy hot (well especially coming from snow) and at the moment you reach the top there is the biggest sense of relief and amazement. Up there is an Ebenezer (rock pile) started by the class who went two years ago. We picked up our stones and wrote to God something we have learned or want to remember and added them to the ever growing pile. It was a surreal moment to stand up there looking over the desert.

One morning we took a boat out into the middle of the Sea of Galilee and watched the sunrise. For a while it was just silent except for the few of us talking and taking pictures here and there, and then they started to play a couple worship songs. I absolutely loved being out there, watching that crazy beauty of the sunrise knowing that Jesus had been on this very sea, and here I am 2000 years later worshipping the one who saved me. After a few songs they played crazy fun Hebrew worship and dance music and we had an insane dance party right there on the boat. My heart had so much joy in that moment. I loved it!

Well we are getting ready to have a family meeting here in a few minutes before heading off to our last work weekend of the year... but I will definitely try and post more stories and hopefully a couple pictures this weekend.