5

whamo bamo i'm back in the states. but ill keep sending out blog posts i should have posted while in israel. gee i wish i was back there. 

((israel: day 5))
masada. haven't heard of it? it's one big mountain that king herod decided to plop down his three-teared mansion. it's really high up and the view literally takes your breath away (...after you take the super long hike to get up there. sadly, we took a cable car).

seriously, this herod dude had good taste. this place is a-mazing. and it looks over the dead sea.

after masada, we spent way too long eating falafels and buying dead sea products in an uber-touristy shop. they really know how to get americans to spend the big bucks.

i came away with three bottles of dead sea mud lotion and a pair of jellies for our dead sea experience. i loved those jellies for oh, about 2 hours. because when i entered the sea my jellies got STUCK in the mud! and those jellies are still there today. they got sucked down in that strange dead sea mud.

my fam was one of the few people on our trip to actually get in and float. and apparently we were a hoot to every other tourist. between my jellies getting stuck, dad and mom pulling as hard as they could to get me out, and dad falling in the water, they thought we were some type of comedy act. people were taking our pictures left and right. especially those asians.

after fully cleansing ourselves from the dead sea, we strolled into town and discovered a street lined with blue and white twinkle lights and the best coffee shop. i'm a sucker for those twinkle lights and a good cup of israeli joe.

fun fact of the day: if you drink one cup of dead sea water, you will die. eeks.

4

((israel: day 4))

i am a northern israel type of a girl. today jerusalem was extra was cold, windy, and wet. excuse me, i thought israel was always sunshiney and hot.

today was a walk where jesus walked kind of a day. we took a break from the buses, which i thoroughly appreciated. we walked the same steps Jesus walked up to THE temple, visited the site of the last supper, and stood in the dungeon where Jesus stayed before his sentence to death.

we spent the majority of the day walking around and in the old city’s walls. fascinating to see the old stones and hear the rich history behind what we were seeing. everywhere you look there’s an old stone from the 1^st century.

most interesting moment: visiting the wailing wall. devout jews intensely prayed by the outside wall while muslims inside the temple voiced their sing songy prayers over the big speaker.  i just had to say a quick prayer for their souls. goodness, how both groups are intense about their religious acts.

after the old city, we zipped around the upper room (last supper spot) and then the house of caiaphas (dungeon). sometimes i just can’t wrap my head around the fact that Jesus stood right there! woah baby, it’s a lot to take in!

oh and did i mention we started the day off watching an israeli marathon? suzie made me flail my arms and shake my bum so i could catch a cute israeli runner’s eye. didn’t work out so well.

fun fact of the day: jerusalem is mentioned more than 800 times in the Bible.

touching the temple wall. 

wailing wall. 

 the group with our guide, uval.

upper room. 

3

((israel: day 3))

we have arrived in jerusalem! hallelujah!

we arose bright and early to make our way north to jerusalem. northern and southern esrael have a completely different look. the north is exactly how i pictured the holy land – dry, barren, and rocky. a complete switcharoo from lush tiberias.

day three was a day of ruins. we started off in capernaum, the spot that is believed to be the house where peter was raised. then we moved on to a roman entertainment spot with baths, an amphitheater, spa, and market. clearly the hot spot of town. want to know something funny? the men and women shared bathrooms – definitely don’t think i would have made it back then.

 and all this stuff was discovered a mere 25 years ago! the bonus was that we could touch, pick up, and walk all over everything.

next we visited the spot on the jordan river where Jesus was baptized by john. it’s also a division line between israel and jordan. i felt semi-adventurous because the whole area was surrounded by mines. i wanted to give one rock a little toss to see what would blow up. talk about a cool picture!

after the mine area, we traveled up one of the same roads jesus would have walked to see what is described as the valley of the shadow of death in in psalms 23.

fun fact of the day: locust is another name for a carob tree. like one that makes those yummy carob chips. so john the baptist may have not had to eat those sick little bugs in the wilderness. he could have been chocohalic!

roman pottys.

i could eat a falafel a day. 

poking the jordan river.

had to.

day 2

((israel: day 2))

being the youngster on the trip, i’ve now become “the project” of the teased-hair, cole-haan women of the church. day one they found out i was single. so by golly they will die trying to match me up. fiddler on the roof anyone?

day two was better than day one. once again we whizzed past several big-deal biblical monuments. and people, i got to dip my feet in the same water Jesus walked on! i almost had a beth moore come our God is an awesome God moment.

it’s just incredible to see all these places come to life.

today i’m proud to say i: 

saw a crookedy old boat from Jesus’ time

met the man who found the crookedy old boat.

befriended a cute Israeli sailor boy

visited the most holy pagan place of worship (yikes)

heard the sermon on the mount in the same place Jesus preached it

took about a thousand pictures of the scenic view

waved hello to syria

ate a dead fish with it's head still on 

and rested on the very shore where Jesus fed the 5,000. 

how’s that for an incredible day?

hanging out with these old people ain’t so bad. one lady rightly described my crew: “you people are crazy!” yep, that’s about right. we get on that bus to laugh and chit chat. and i think we’ve offended just about every israeli in israel! take this as an example.

fun fact of the day: israel is the number one exporter of fruits to europe (or so one old geezer claims). 

shalom y'all.

((israel: day 1))

shalom.
other than the fact that i spilled water all over my lap, seat, and bottom in the first 15 minutes of boarding, our flight was pretty normal. we've finally made it to the holy land (or promised land as i mistakingly called it.)

traveling with a large southern baptist church is gosh darn funny.
i'm about 30 years younger than everyone on the trip.
i've caught lots of whiffs of granny perfume.
and i've seen more mom jeans, teased hair, and cole haan shoes than ever before.

but goodness this is fun.
we blazed through the northern part of israel today, visiting megiddo, valley of armageddon, cesarea, mount carmel, and ending with a breathtaking (and chilly) view of of nazareth.

it give me goosebumps to see all these places in real life. although they aren't quite like i pictured. every things about 10 times smaller and 5 times greener than i imagined. (did anyone else picture the holy land to be dry, desert-esque, and rather flat?)

fun fact of the day: falafel and israeli coffee is DA BOMB! i wish i could squish some in my suitcase and take it home.

one week later.

working inside on your bum all day makes a girl crave the outdoors.
sometimes i get visions of my bum blowing up like an inner tube.
so i chose to spend last weekend outside in the fresh air making good use of my legs.

tomorrow i leave for israel.
i. can't. wait.
prepare yourselves for pictures, videos, and roll-on-the-floor-laughing stories.
something always goes awry when the lockhart family travels.
it just happens.