En Gedi

Another unique place we visited was En Gedi.  En Gedi is wear David hid from Saul at one point in his life. It is beautiful cliffs with waterfalls and natural springs- truly an oasis in the dessert.  I think this was one of my favorite plaes in Israel.  We enjoyed being refreshed in its cool waters from the dessert heat. 

On another not, we are persevering here in the States.  The transition has been much rougher than anticipated with some sickness, but thanking God for His sustaining grace to persevere!  This is the longest Michaeland I will be away from each other and I do have to admit in times of weaknes, that his arrival still seems a long way off, but I do know the Lord is teaching me to run to Him more.  It is so easy to run to your husband wth cares and conerns but I am reminded through this that my soul must long for Him alone and be satisfed in Him fully!  The Lord is kind to teach us these things in times when we are weak and needing Him.

Masada

One of my favorite sites on our trip was Masada- a huge fortress built along the Dead Sea in the Judean wilderness- it is amazing!!!  Apparently the Jews used this as a fortress and hid away when the Romans were invading.  When they finally broke into the fortress- they found all but a few women and children dead- they had slain one another saying it would be better than going into captivity.  Their motto- "Masada will never fall again."  Now many of the army come and it is seen as a symbol of Jewish pride.  We took a cable car to the top as it was very hot and we had Jeremiah with us- I really wanted to climb the hour long path up- maybe some day!  :)  Jeremiah was such a trooper hiking around all for 3 hours at the top of the fortress.  The views  from the top- amazing!

Our Group

 Jeremiah loved to visit the shop owners in the marketplace.  This son of a shop owner loved Jeremiah.  He loved to walk him down the street.

 Last Monday we spent the day at the Israel Museum which contained several major artifacts that these grad students loved!  The weird building at the bottom contains the original Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumrun.  This is a picture of most of our group.

The Longest Day...

Jeremiah and I made it back safe and sound on to American soil.  All I can say is that yesterday was the longest day of my life but God was so faithful.  We woke up at 4am after a pretty restless night for me to head to Tel-Aviv.  Jeremiah and I only had a few meltdowns all day. :)  We waited about 5 hours in the airport before our flight, thankfully we found a play area in the airport, and we rode the moving walkway and then looked at planes. By the time we got on the plane, Jeremiah was so tired he passed out in my arms during take off.  A kind steward gave me a whole bottle of water for the flight. I also met many kind grandma ladies that "adopted" Jeremiah.  There were a few men and ladies on the flight that offered to hold Jeremiah for me.  I sat next to a sweet Jewish couple from Haifa that loved Jeremiah.  They passed him down the aisle on many occasions to help me out.  Everyone mentioned how well Jeremiah did on the flight.  I also met many other families and there were lots of kids on the flight.  He took a nap on takeoff, in the middle of the flight and during landing.  And the rest of the 11 hour and 15 minute flight- we looked at books, ate lunch and dinner.  We walked the aisles a lot and went and looked out the window.  We played with toys and looked at cartoons.  The day did just seem so long and halfway through the flight- I began to feel sick and was running to the bathroom with Jeremiah a lot.  Last night when my parents picked us up- we both were so exhausted- I couldn't wait to get in bed last night and thankfully Jeremiah and I slept great.  I am still recovering some today- I did end up getting sick in the car on the way back last night and this morning just felt very weak and like a truck hit me.  Literally the last hour of the flight, I was praying for grace as I felt so exhausted and felt like I was going to be sick, but praise the Lord he sustained us and gave us strength!  Keep praying for us that we would get adjusted to life back in the states while daddy is in Israel and that I would soon feel better.  Thankfully all is well when you are with Grandma and Aunt Rachel!

Apartment & Ice Cream

More pictures of our room and our apartment- it has been definitely challenging and fun to live with 8 people.  Our room is pretty small- doesn't look so here though.  And our favorite ice cream here has been the White Chocolate Magnum bars- yum.  The problem is I always have to share with everyone- Jeremiah and Michael.  We also have gotten some cheap ice cream cones at McDonalds and yes we did eat at McDonalds Saturday night after we got back from up  north because everything else shuts down and is closed from Friday at 3pm to Saturday 9pm- it is like a dessert on our street and no shops open for Shabbat Shalom. 

Qumran & Father's Day

Sunday is Father's Day.  Father's Day in Israel for Michael has been pretty special.  We went to Qumran in the morning- the place where they found the Dead Sea scrolls.  It was hot but beautiful amongst the cliffs.  Then we went to another small museum.  We have been trying to stay hydrated and drink lots of water!!!  Happy Father's Day to Michael!!!  In the evening we went to find a gluten free pizza shop, but it was closed- poor Michael.  We had some falafel for dinner though and met up with Phil and Sarah and then went to get groceries- a unique Father's Day for Michael.

Up North...

Saturday, we went with Jordan and Kevin (fellow grad students) up to the Northern Country.  I will not get to go up North much so we took a special trip for me.  We stopped first to visit Megiddo- the place of Armigeddon in Revelation and ruins of many sites and cities and battle sites.  We also then headed to Capernaum where we saw ruins of the city and possibly Peter's house.  We loved eating lunch by the Sea of Galilee.  Then we headed South to see a replica of the boat that one of the disciples had used- an actual 2,000 year old boat they found.  The lady at the gift shopped loved Jeremiah and gave him a slushie and a Israel bear for free.  He certainly is making many friends- just this morning as we walk down the Old City, he loves to go up to people and shake their hands.  I think we have a friendly boy on our hands.  We then went to Tiberias and Jeremiah and I swam in the water of the Sea of Galilee.  Jeremiah loved the water so much- it was so fun.  We make lots of friends wherever we go.  It was beautiful to see the country.  We loved driving the countryside and seeing Nazareth in the distance and Mount Tabor.  The country just intrigues me- such diverse countryside- from dessert plains and mountains leading to the Dead Sea, to the Judean wilderness, rolling hills around the Sea of Galilee, it really is a beautiful country.

So what do you do at a Tel?  We have been visiting many Tels- which are ruins of homes and ancient archeological stuff.  So for Michael and the boys- they love it- for me- its ok.  So Jeremiah and I spend time picking up rocks in that ancient dirt and throwing them as far as we can, or sitting in an ancient trough for horses.  Gotta think of something fun when visiting the Tels.  Jeremiah also loves to find any ramp or step he can.