Day 02 - Wilderness of Zin: Makhtesh Ramon, Tel Arad, Bedouin Experience, Masada, Salt Sea

Shalom from Israel! Today has been another gift from the Lord. We started our morning at devotion sharing God moments. The most notable being that this trip hadn’t even been possible for the past two years because of COVID and, now, here we are by God’s grace. 

In the Bible, there are three kinds of desert: Midbar (desert you can survive in), T’siyah (desert you can survive in, if you have help) and Yeshimon (desert you can’t survive in without a miracle) and we spent time, today, in all three. Our first sight was the Makhtesh desert - the Yashiymown kind of desert. We walked there for almost 4 hours. That sounds like a lot, but it doesn’t even begin to compare to the 40 years the children of Israel spent that kind of desert. From there, we visited the t’siyah type of dessert and had a lesson on hospitality, while being served hot tea and baklava - it was delicious! We moved onto Arad, midbar desert, where they had built a mini replica of the temple. The last stop, before we got to our hotel, was Masada, an ancient Hebrew fortress/economy center. We took in a great deal of Israel’s history there, specifically concerning Herod the Great. Once we made it to our hotel, we walked over to the Salt Sea (Dead Sea) for a float! It was so beautiful!

Looking forward to another day in the Holy Land tomorrow!