The giant hershey kiss

I have to apologize for the extremely disorganized blog yesterday, I was REAL tired. Stupid jet lag. Today was a little better sleep wise, though I had a migraine the entire day =( Anyway, I brought my itinerary today!

we keep getting up earlier and earlier... before you know it we are going to be waking up at 3:30 am! Not really, but it seems like it. Our tour guide, Hal, is a machine. For a 74 year old man, he is extremely agile and moves faster than most everyone in the group. I am starting to think that he does not sleep or rest... EVER. Anyway, whatever he is taking, I want some of that! But honestly, it is inspiring to see him because he is very intelligent and very active for his age. But his disappearing acts get to be confusing! None the less, I hope that I am that active when I am 74.

Okay, time for serious posts about what happened today. We started the day out at Herodium, which was a large fortress used by Herod just outside of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. It is really large, and it is believed that he took parts of the neighboring hill and added it to the top of the mountain. The fortress is so bizarre because there is a courtyard carved out of the top, and the fortress build around it. The area is not much bigger than your average gym. It does not leave much room for the rest of the fortress. So as we made our way down the dusty stairs to get to the cistern, I might have hit my head a few times. I learned today that Herod was well hated in the empire, so he was not really paranoid about building so many fortresses, rather, he was realistic because NO ONE liked him.

Next we went to Bethlehem, which was different. We had to cross into Palestinian territory which is completely different. We passed through the wall, and drove past Rachel's tomb (Jacobs wife) who died in child birth. The tomb was surrounded by a graffiti stained wall. The graffiti was one thing that I noticed was very different in Palestine. There was also lots of political posters. Bethlehem is now 20% Christian, being that many have fled to other nations. None the less, the Church of the Nativity is nestled in the buildings. This was the same site that St. Jerome transcribed the bible. That was so cool being able to see this site! I am starting to get used to seeing Eastern Orthodox churches being shared with Roman Catholic churches inside the historical churches. Inside, the Eastern Orthodox side was stunning. There were no pews, and all of the columns had Saints painted on each. There was a line of lamps that looked like they had Christmas ornaments on them! It was so strange! Some of the original tile was preserved. As for the Roman Catholic side, the baby Jesus that is used in all the major Roman Catholic processions is on display.

Afterward, we went to a hole in the wall shop called the Christmas Tree. It was not bad, I am starting to get used to middle eastern food now! We then went to a souvenir shop, in which I am proud to say that I only spent $4 on my self! On the way out, I think I got hit on by one of the vendors! It was really creepy, so you might have to ask me later =)

The rest of the day we spent at the place of the dead sea scrolls, called Shrine of the Book. It was really interesting, but I found that our tour guide could have cut it short. It probably had to do with my Migraine, but I was not focusing well. It was interesting though, and it is neat to be able to say that I saw these documents. For those that do not know, look them up. It is one of the links to prove the validity of the bible. To give you a visual on the Shrine of the Scroll, it looks like a giant hershey kiss with part of the stem cut off.

The site also has a huge model of 2nd temple Jerusalem. It reminds me of those cities that you make with train sets, except on a massive scale. The detail was astounding, and the stories the guide shared with us really brought them to life since you begin to follow the path on huge 3-D map.

Today I really started to think about how we are blessed to be were we are. I thought about the constant threats that pervade the country of Israel, and I begin to think about how complacent that we can become. This is by no means a guilt trip, but it made me think about how we look at life and often times take things for granted. As I was looking at the soldiers today, I began to think of my time in the military, and I think about how different the two are. One of my friends said that since their lives are in constant danger, they are less concerned about the aesthetics of their troops. This is not a knock on the service, but I can remember times were my boss had nothing better to do than pick a fight because he was bored. Meanwhile, these 18-year-old troops are wondering if any of their neighbors are going to start trouble with them, because they have done it before. It really puts things in perspective.

As I am starting to be able to retain more of what I am learning, details are really starting to come to life for me. Even though we can not be 100% sure of the accuracy of all the sites, it is awesome that the Catholic and Orthodox church can agree to celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Christ and share facilities. Their heritage and tradition makes me long for something that many protestant churches don't offer as they flee from tradition to start their own. That is why I am dedicated to educating everyone who God allows me to watch over. It just seems that there is a lack of urgency and a lack of selfless interest. It stunned me that none of the major sites are shared with Protestant Churches. Albeit, they are really diverse. But maybe it is time that protestants start accepting one another rather than trying to be different.

Before I start getting on a soapbox, I am going to close. But when traveling overseas, you might not leave your windows open. Some of the venders were hurling their goods into our bus! Asking them to be your Facebook friend might not be a good idea either. Now that I think of it, never do either. Bad Idea.

Anyway,time to sleep off my headache. Good night!

JSC