Happy Hump Day!

Shalom! Shalom! Cass and Court here! Today was a BIG day! Starting off the morning bright and early, we tackled Masada. This is something we have been working towards since September by walking up the Joshua hill, so we were well prepared to “conquer the land!” Masada was a fortress that was perfect for defense. It was used for protection from Roman soldiers and was also the site for a city constructed by Herod. We had watched a movie about Masada earlier in the year so it was surreal to hike it. When we reached the top, I think we all were picturing the movie in our heads as we tried to imagine what Masada would have been like back then. The hike up Masada made the Joshua hill look like nothing.

After walking down Masada, we drove to a Bedouin camp in the middle of the desert. We got to learn about desert hospitality and what it looked like in the Bible. We hear and say the she‘ma all the time, but we don’t realize that the she‘ma is all about hospitality and loving and serving each other. We learned about how nomads sought out peace and rest in the middle of the desert and how, because of their peace, they could serve others and take care of them as they came and went. Hospitality to them was more than just baking brownies to a new neighbor or driving a friend to work. Hospitality is opening your home for three days or more and serving hot meals and sweet tea every day and taking care of them, sometimes even sending them with money. This was all done for not just friends, but also strangers, because you can’t survive in the wilderness on your own.

We also got to ride camels at the camp. How fitting that we rode camels on “hump day”! This was quite the unique experience. Riding camels is somewhat terrifying but also awesome. We wish people rode camels around today; it would be pretty entertaining. Our camels were named Murphy and Tutti (names provided by us, of course). Some camels were natural born leaders while others were just hungry. Court’s camel kept rubbing its head on people’s legs and was very obedient.

After we ate lunch at the camp we went on another hike down the Wadi Zohar. A wadi is basically like little slot canyons in Israel that lead from one area to the next. Wadis have very rugged terrain so we often had to jump or climb over boulders. Wadis can be very dangerous during winter when there is rain because then flash floods come through. We talked about Luke 10, which is the story of the Good Samaritan. A man was walking from Jerusalem to Jericho and was attacked by robbers and was left bleeding on the rocks. The two-hour hike was long and hot for us but it gave us a good sense of what Jesus was talking about in the stories in the Bible. We experienced first-hand how hot and dry it was. The pathways were extremely narrow so in the story when it says the priest and Levite walked on the other side, it really means they just stepped right over his body. This adds immense significance to the story. The Good Samaritan risked his own life to help the hurt man. This is what Jesus has called us to, incredible hospitality and compassion. It is just crazy to read stories that Jesus himself told and to be able to walk through areas that these people in the Bible walked through. It paints a real-life picture of the word of God.

After a long two-hour hike through the desert we could take part in a rare experience. We floated in the Dead Sea which contains 32% saline (salt content). Our oceans only have about 2% so the second you lay down in the Dead Sea it catches you and you float. We covered ourselves in mud and floated in the Dead Sea as the sun set to end the day. We have already been having such a great time, we can’t wait to see what tomorrow holds!