Puzzle Pieces

Shalom Y’all, Evie here! Can I just say…we’re in The Holy Land!! Sometimes I just have to tell myself that over and over because it still doesn’t feel real. We’ve done so much and have gotten to see so many crazy things that act like puzzle pieces. As a group, I think, we’ve grown to appreciate the Bible and all that it’s worth. So many people have worked together to find, excavate, and put together to give us the gift that most of Americans have in their homes and on their shelves…the word! This land is the context to our text; it’s the context to the things we simply skip over (such as city names, themes like provision in the desert, water and roman society).

Since we had a relaxing day of fun and rest yesterday, we got back into our touristy gear this morning and headed out for another day of adventure. Today we went to Nazereth, Tel Meggiddo, Mount Carmel, and Caesera Maritima. In Nazareth we went to the place where scholars assume to be the cliff that a mad mob of synagogue attenders attempted to throw Jesus off the mountain side. It was a short visit, but a crazy realization that so many people were constantly out to get Jesus…throughout his whole life! It’s one thing to know this and to hear about it in church over and over, but being in the places that Jesus spent most of his time ministering to others and places where crowds hated him, wanting to take his life, is so surreal.

After Nazereth we went to Megiddo, where we talked about the end times and how God is in control. We walked through an awesome underground cistern, where water was kept, and felt the cool air on our skin. Then we got back on the bus to hike a portion of Mt Carmel, where Elijah obliterated 150 prophets of Baal. Dewey spoke there and read scripture about what Elijah did there but also about giving ourselves grace…accepting the fact that we are human and its ok to not be “ok.” Jesus showed us grace because he loves us, so the least we can do is show ourselves grace.

After our beautiful hike we drove a while and saw the Mediterranean! The most beautiful sight you’ll ever see! The ocean was so blue and the waves were perfectly frothed with white foam. While we were there, Caeserea Maritima, we walked around the remains of Herod’s palace and saw the city core. We learned that at the time of Jesus, Caesera was the largest city (population 180,000). It was the place to see horse races, gladiators and theatre. We loved picking shells and finding old shards of clay and pieces of marble from the palace.

[topic name="caesarea-maritima"]

With all that said, I’ve loved being able to travel and learn and re-learn about this land and our God with my Joshua family. I’ve loved all the laughter, inside jokes, hikes, sun (getting tan, woo!), ocean sights and quiet times alone with God. I’ve loved conversations with my bus buddies and sharing what we’ve learned. I can’t wait to come back to Israel, whenever that may be, but for now I’m just enjoying the moment with people that I love whom have the same desire: Jesus.

-Evie Cheek