Ok, finally made it over to Hebrew U, which means I have lots to update you on! Here we go!
1. Field trip to the Shephelah! Yes this was like two weeks ago...
Stop #1: Gath/Tel es-Safi
Dr. Chadwick in his natural habitat. This is at Gath, the city Goliath was from. Dr. Chadwick is on the excavating team there, so it was way cool to hear about everything they've found.
Stop #2: Tel Maresha
This is our field trip group at the Bell Caves.
What happens when you sit on the ground?
Ya get dirty...
Ann and Meg being doves in the dovecote...
Visiting some tombs in the Sidonian Caves.
Stop #3:
On the top of Tel Lachish. I think this was my favorite spot. This tell was captured by Sennacharib and the Assyrians in the 700s BCE (and later by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians.) We were able to see the siege ramp they built to get up into the city and we went to the fortress that stands on top of the tell. We also saw an ancient Canaanite temple, complete with red bricks that had probably been burned when Joshua attacked when the Israelites entered the land.
Stop #4:
The Valley of Elah, where the battle between David and Goliath took place. After a great re-enactment by some of the guys, we got to try some sling shots out ourselves! Only a few people got hit...
Stop #5:
Beth Shemesh. We looked over Samson's hometown and and saw the place where the Ark of the Covenant was returned to the Israelites. This is Brother Judd teaching the group-he is such an amazing teacher! We're going to miss having him every day when our Old Testament class ends in a couple of weeks.
2. Arab Night
3. 'Conference Shabbat!' It was windy...
4. Tel Aviv!
5. Field trip to the City of David!
The City of David is just south of the present-day Old City. It was the Jerusalem of Melchizedek, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, and other kings. The city was later expanded to the north and the west while the Temple Mount stayed in the same place. We watched an awesome 3-D movie, visited the ruins of what is believed to be the palace of David and Solomon, hiked through Hezekiah's tunnel, and visited the pool of Siloam!
Overlooking Silwan, a Palestinian neighborhood near the Center.
The Pool of Siloam, where Christ healed a blind man.
6. Awesome FHE in West Jerusalem!
7. Assembling hygiene kits!
8. Visiting the Tomb of the Kings.
Sorry for the overload of pictures, I hope you enjoy them. It's been a great week! This next week will start out with a trip to Eilat on Sunday! Ah, so excited! Eilat is a city at the Red Sea. We're going to snorkel and explore. :) It'll be fun! Catcha' later! Love you all. :)
Sometimes when I read your posts I get a little deja vu. I had some posts that were exactly the same.
ReplyDeleteAre Kylie and James both in your FHE group? Awesome!
You'll have a great time at Eilat; I got stung by a jelly fish while we were snorkeling in the Red Sea (don't worry, it didn't hurt that much, they were tiny jelly fish). That was such a cool experience.
Peeerty much I LOVE THIS POST. Whoa that was a lot of things that we did really crammed into one. I'm really impressed. Also, that one picture of you guys running.... what in the world is Whitney doing?? Diving into the sand? Or did she trip! I love you meg. I'm so glad we're here together, and that we share the same name... It's the best.
ReplyDeleteMegs I love reading your blog!! It brings back so many memories of when we were in Israel in May... we did a lot of the same things and its all awesome! I'm so glad you're having a great time! Hurrah for Israel!
ReplyDeleteMegan, Miriam's mom here... I love the pictures! It's great to see photos from some of the other students there at the JC. What an amazing adventure!
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