The adventure continues

Waking up to an incredible sunrise next to Dead Sea set the present for today's explorations. After most of us got a good night of sleep, we were all geared up for our march to the top of Masada. Masada is one of the most astounding sights. What was once a stronghold and World Trade Center, now towers over the Dead Sea exemplifying its enormity to everyone.

There are two ways up Masada: a cable car or a climb. Filled with excitement and energy, the majority of our group chose the climb. To our surprise the path started downhill first, but this was a big deception. Within two minutes, we had began the ascent. Our motto for the climb kept us going: there is no I in team. Several of us thought it would be fun to carry rocks to the summit, but everyone took time to soak in the scenery and the splendor of the promise land that surrounded us. Even at the lowest place on earth, God's presence was undeniable. As we made our way up the final flights of stairs, Mr. Mo put some pep in our step by raising our spirits with some of his navy songs as we neared the summit.

Having accomplished the long haul, we were able to learn about the incredible history behind Masada. King Herod, who ruled for 34 years, built his palace on Masada to be a spectacle that everyone would be in awe of even though he only visited Masada twice after he finished building his palace. What would be a considered a project that would turn away most construction crews today was accomplished in ancient times without any of the technology we have at our disposal. Even though Masada was home to Herod's palace, it was known for being a stronghold, which is literally what the word Masada means. We explored the storage rooms where all the supplies for trade were stored: bitumen and perfume were two of the most prized trading goods. Because of the extensive trading goods, Masada's worth would have been immeasurable in ancient times, but it was not easily taken down. Part of our exploration of the summit involved sitting in ruins of one of the oldest synagogues built by the zealots around 66 AD. Ultimately Masada was taken over by the Roman Empire, but one of the misconceptions is that all of the Jews who inhabited the stronghold committed suicide when they knew the Romans had them surrounded, but rather they killed each other and only one man fell on his sword.

The history behind Masada was fascinating to say the least, and we then began the descent down using the old siege ramp used by the Romans to take over the fortress. What took us 45 to climb up, took us 15 minutes to get down: when we reached the bottom our legs felt a little bit like Jello, but everyone felt a felling of accomplishment for overcoming the formidable feat and was so excited about where we were heading next!

We loaded up the bus, and set out on a drive through the Judean Desert. Our tour guide, Ronan, explained the history behind the desert because this is no ordinary desert. It is home to the stage of the Torah and the story of Moses and the simplicity and never ending landscape brought the scripture to life. I think it was safe to say that everyone was looking forward to what was coming next: Camel rides. Camels may seem like innocent animals, but some of them were quite feisty. Getting on and off the camels was the hardest part, but we all made it through injury free! They are pretty cool creatures: we really enjoyed giving our camels funny names and trying to avoid getting bitten.

After our camel ride, we made our way into the Bedouin village for lunch and a traditional tea. Bedouins were travelers who travelled throughout the Judean desert. Many of the beduins today still enjoy the lifestyle of solitude that the desert provides but many of them have migrated to the city as well and conformed their lifestyle to fit the modern world. After lunch we headed into a large tent that had the aroma of campfire and freshly brewed tea. We took seats on the cushions, and we were immediately shown hospitality unlike anything I had experienced before. The Beduin passed around a colorful array of sweet treats and followed around with an even sweeter tea. We learned that the sweeter the tea, the better the welcome. Ronan took this time to dive into a time of teaching on hospitality. Hospitality was huge during the time that the original Beduins roamed the land. After traveling for days, a welcoming greeting and a rejuvenating refreshment were provided to the Beduins (travelers). The sincere hospitality was overwhelming and as our tour guide dove into the teaching, it was clear to all of us that hospitality today is not the way it should be. We were charged with the challenge to engage our neighbors in a new way and to love in the way that Jesus exemplified and not the way the world rewards. We were reminded of Jesus's greatest commandment to his disciples in mark 13:29: Love God and love your neighbor. We each took time to think how we can not only get to know our neighbors better but to love them to the best of our ability.

Being in the Beduin community brought a new meaning to our understand of community and neighbors, but the leaning did not stop there. As we began the windy way back to the Dead Sea, the scenery that surrounded us was a mirror image of Psalm 23: we passed by sheep lead by shepherds, valleys that at times were considered deathly because of the threat of flash floods, and winding paths that are known as the "paths of righteousness". Scripture has come to life in a way that can not be explained in words, but being in the history reminds us that everything in this world is His and right now we have the opportunity to explore everything God created the promise land to be.

What came next is something that each of us will never forget. After getting back to the hotel, we changed into swim suits and bath robes and made our way to the shore of the Dead Sea. After smearing mud from our head to our toes, every single one of us made our way into the water; it may have been a little chilly (considering it's winter here in Israel), but I don't think one of us has any regrets about experiencing this incredible phenomenon of floating and feeling weightless. The water was pleasing to some; and painful to others, but we all enjoyed the peace of simply letting our bodies be supported but the water and not having to worry about staying afloat. We floated for a while and made our way out of the water and into then warm pools in the hotel. It was experience of a lifetime.

Today was filled with overcoming challenges, experiencing new things, and floating away our fears, but the greatest part of was that we did everything together. The community that we are creating on this trip is something that will last a lifetime. God has already revealed himself in ways that we could never imagine, and it is safe to say that everyone is excited to experience more of Israel and continue to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.