end of the semester happy things

rewatching my favorite tv shows (this week, it's Doctor Who and Merlin)

crowding as many people into one car as possible to visit Chick-Fil-A

field trips that end in creek splashing, sunsets, and campfires

touring Grounds for Sculpture, a beautiful sculpture garden

playing card games outside for hours after finals are over

eating real food in a real house thanks to some kind profs

blossoming trees all along the main campus walkway

starting an instagram for my shop

pinning haircut inspiration

staying up way too late

crepes with nutella

goodbyes

freshman year is over.

Israel // Day Seven

Masada, the great fortress built by Herod the Great. This elaborate mountain top fortress boasted huge water cisterns and a three-tiered palace. When Jerusalem fell in 70 A.D., many Jews fled here where they were besieged by the Romans for three years. They eventually built a ramp up the side of the mountain, but when they finally stormed the fortress they discovered that all but five of the 960 Jews had committed suicide rather than be enslaved by the Romans.

Some people in our group hiked up, but most of us decided it was too hot to hike, so we rode the cable car.

We waved to our fellow students as they labored up the path.

The entrance to one of the cisterns.

The Jews were able to survive here for three years because they had so much water and food stored in cisterns like this one.

Remains of one of Herod's mosaic floors. 

A model of Herod's fortress.

Outline of one of the Roman camps around the mountain.

En Gedi

About 10 miles north of Masada is a place called En Gedi where there are three levels of waterfalls. The cliffs here are full of caves, and at one time David came here while fleeing from the wrath of King Saul.

View of the Dead Sea from En Gedi.

Journal excerpt:

Today was rough at times. It was hotter than yesterday, which makes everyone tired and cranky. Between the heat, exhaustion, and constantly needing to go to the bathroom, it was easy to lose sight of how amazing this experience is. Tomorrow, I definitely need to be taking my focus off myself and focusing instead on God and those around me.

There's something so restful about being near water. When I am able to relax by the water, I feel at peace. It reminds me that since Jesus in the Living Water, I can have that peace all the time if I allow myself to open up to my Savior and trust in Him.

The sun has gone down. The lights reflect off the surface of the Dead Sea. Over the sound of cars and people talking, I can still hear wildlife. Various types of birds are chirping all around the hotel. Just outside this small cluster of hotels and shops, the mountainous desert stretches as far as the eye can see, while on the other side the Dead Sea blends in with the sky and only one city that is brightly lit can be distinguished from the blue horizon.

I have enjoyed getting to know everyone better and seeing how much we all care about one another. When someone needs water, someone else shares with them. When one of the older ladies on the trip was walking on slippery rocks, one of the students took her arm and helped her. When I was moving slowly and stumbling on the En Gedi hike today, several of the guys stuck with me to make sure I was okay. When people were missing luggage, everyone else pitched in and gave them what they needed. 

This trip is helping us students to grow closer together through experiences which are totally different than what we do back at school. I have had so many good talks with various people that probably would not have happened at school. I am seeing people in a new light as we open up to each other. I love this part of the experience as much as I love just being in Israel.

Israel // Day Six

Day Six was our last day by the Sea of Galilee (I could have stayed there forever). On this beautiful Sunday morning, we had a sunrise service by the Sea before our departure.

First stop: Gideon's Spring at En Harod. Here, God had Gideon narrow down his army to 300 men before leading the Israelites into a victory over tens of thousands of Midianites.

Beth Shean

This is one of the oldest cities in Israel. Here, the Philistines hung the bodies of Saul and his sons after defeating the Israelites on Mount Gilboa. It became a Greek city and was renamed Scythopolis. The Romans expanded the city and those are the ruins that can be seen now.

The theatre. Only one third of the seat remain - there would have been more rows going back even farther and higher.

*nerd moment* The seats were made of white stone to keep them cool while the people were sitting there. This was the warmest day so far, so we greatly appreciated this aspect of Roman architecture.

Roman toilets. There would have been running water underneath the seats to wash everything away and another channel full of moving water to wash your hands. Only men would have used these. Again, the white stone was used to keep them cool.

This is a reproduction of the Isaiah scroll from the Dead Sea scrolls. This find showed that Isaiah was written as one whole book, not divided up and written by different authors as some modern scholars believe it was.

These are the ruins of the Essene community called Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. This small community only housed 150 people at a time, and they were dedicated to studying the Scriptures and keeping themselves "pure" from the world (similar to monks and nuns). This little village is located in the mountains in the Rift/Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea.

This is called a mikveh, a ritual bath. In Judaism, cleansing yourself in a ritual bath shows the inner purity of your heart and allows you to participate in activities forbidden to those who are considered unclean by the Mosaic law.

This is the opening in the cave where the first Dead Sea Scrolls were found. This hole was opened up after the discovery of the scrolls.

The Dead Sea! We did go swimming in it, but I didn't get any pictures of that. It was so cool. As soon as the water got past my knees, it was harder to keep my legs down, and once we started floating it was hard to stand up again.

The view from our hotel balcony.

Journal excerpt:

As several of us were talking last night, one of the girls spoke about how she had expected some sort of spiritual feeling to come to her, but it hadn't, and a lot of us felt the same way. It is so easy to think that some type of feeling will come just from being in "the land of the Bible". Later, our professor talked about how he had expected that the first time he came to Israel, but it didn't happen. He assured us that all we have seen and learned will blossom over time and have a lasting impact.