Israel: Days 8, 9, and 10ish

Hi everyone!!

So after 3 weeks I finally finished narrowing down the pictures of my trip through Israel with my friend Lauren. Days 8, 9, and 10ish (we flew out the last day) wrapped up this indescribable experience perfectly.

Below is a quick list of our activities in those last couple days.

On day 8 we:

Walked around on top of the walls around the Old City. It was beautiful and you could see sooo much!

Climbed up the Mount of Olives and...
-Saw where Jesus pleaded for God to take the burden from him
-Walked through the Garden of Gethsemane
-Took pictures of the church on the spot where Jesus ascended to Heaven...HEAVEN! :)
-Visited a church with Mary's tomb
-Saw the place where Jesus wept for Jerusalem.

Toured through Tower of David's Museum

Finished the night with snacks and drinks at a couple different places. A Yummy way to spend our last night in Jerusalem.

On day 9 we:

Went to a Holocaust Museum-I've seen this stuff before...but it was HELL standing NEXT TO HUNDREDS of Jews as they went through, basically looking at what their fate would have been just 50 years ago. (After that experience, it was hard not to picture the people we passed on the street as what would have been possible inmates in these camps).

Got in to a taxi to get to the next city (where the airport is) and the taxi driver heard my situation with my missing camera and debit card. He, somehow, in the course of one hour, made a bajillion phone calls to get my camera from one city to the one I was staying in. All I had to do was pick it up from the bus station one hour later!!

PICKED UP MY CAMERA-EVERYTHING WAS INSIDE-PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Went shopping at a big huge enormous mall.

Had dinner on the beach at a seaside-seafood restaurant.

Walked along the beach back to our hotel and got soaking wet from a rogue wave.

Packed and headed to the airport.

Said our goodbyes, wished each other a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and headed our separate ways: Lauren to Alabama (after many flight delays) and I to Frankfurt, Germany. You can all look forward to a fabulous blog-a-comin' about my stay in Germany. Hooray!!!!

You can read more in-depth descriptions of where we went in the photo album if you click HERE.


I would strongly recommend this trip to everyone. The combined culture and history alone are reason enough to make the trip, but when you throw in the true sites and origins of our Christianity, it's INDESCRIBABLE. Now EVERY time I open my Bible, I see evidence of places I've seen or touched. These locations that felt "mythical" in my mind's eye before, now have a reality and physicality that I can taste when reading the text. You don't need to be a pastor or a "missionary" to go on a pilgrimage to the birthplace of your religion. This is something that changes your Biblical understanding and it has affected me tremendously.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers of safety. I have been GREATLY blessed with some awesome prayer warriors. I hope you're all enjoying the winter weather as it is getting quite hot in Ghana. Please look forward to a few more blogs to come in the near future.

Love all!!!
Meg

Israel: Days 6 and 7

On days 6 and 7, Lauren and I spent our time in Bethlehem and around the Dead Sea. The holiness and excitement was peaked on day 6 with Bethlehem. We visited churches and shepherd fields. ONE OF THE CHURCHES WAS ON THE SPOT WHERE JESUS WAS BORN IN THE STABLE!!!!!! We couldn't believe we were actually there. Just before Christmas? What a perfect celebration. On day 7 we took a Dead Sea Tour. We stopped at sea level on our way to the lowest place on earth (THE DEAD SEA!). We trolleyed up and hiked down a mount (MASADA) that was famous for more than one reason, but is most famous in my heart for its GORGEOUS horizons (check 'em out in the pictures-BEAUTIFUL). We toured a spot called Qumran which housed the Dead Sea Scrolls in caves until they were discovered and stored in pretty museums. Then we took a swim in the Dead Sea. This was the most UNREAL swimming experience I've ever had. You can grab your toes in the air while your shoulders are still out of the water. UNREAL! After that we stopped by the "oldest city in the world", Jericho. I put it in quotation marks because I have been challenged with that statement before and I don't want to pick any fights. That's just what I was told.

So...to view the pictures of our days spent in Bethlehem and around the Dead Sea, click HERE.

Days 8, 9, and 10 are coming soon!!!

Until then, please check out this FABULOUS video (CLICK HERE) put together by Lauren and myself. Read the description of the video in order to see which places we are singing in front of. This was meant to be a Christmas present to all of you, but we're a bit behind as you might notice. So MERRY MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY!!! hehe :)

I have more updates coming. Thanks for your patience everyone! Enjoy the pictures at your leisure :)

With lots of love,
Meg

Israel: Days 3, 4, and 5

The next three days of my incredible-adventure-with-my-friend-Lauren-through-Israeli-turf went like this:

On Day 3 we:

participated in a Holy City tour through Jerusalem. We saw:
-Jesus' crucifixion/burial sites
-King David's tomb
-the Via Dolorosa-His path to the cross-they even showed us spots that he fell
-the Temple Mount
had some major reflection time in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Golgotha) and got shushed by a nun
did some more shopping in some markets in the city
went to the Israeli Museum (which is under serious construction) and saw copies of the Dead Sea Scrolls (entire book of Isaiah)

On Day 4 we:

took the Galilee Tour for the day. On the tour we saw:
-the Sea of Galilee
-where Mary heard she was having a baby
-the Wedding Church in Cana-where Jesus turned water into wine-tried some
-the Jordan River where He was baptized
-billions of Nigerians were everywhere
-met friends we hung out with later


On Day 5 we:

had schwerma for breakfast-I dont know how im going to live without it
went back to Jerusalem
(I) left my camera and money on the bus
did some shopping/dinner at a mall


To check out the photos and to get more information on the above itinerary, please click HERE!

Days 6-10 are coming soon!!!

HAPPY SUNDAY!
love
meg

Israel: Days 1 and 2

So it was easiest for me to create a photo album and write comments on the photos to describe our days. The first two days went like this:

On Day 1 Lauren and I...
arrived from the airport
ate/drank at different coffee shops
went to sleep

On Day 2 we...
went on a free tour around the old city of Jerusalem-great overview
had hummus for lunch
(I) accidently took out 400 euros instead of sheckels which is 5 times as much
did some shopping-extraordinary markets
went to a comedy club-only one funny guy-but he was hilarious enough that it was definitely worth it
went out for late night cheap fabulous sushi with couch surfer friend Yonatan


Here is the PHOTO ALBUM where you'll find the details and pictures!!! Please enjoy and know that Days 3, 4, and 5 are almost on their way!

Have a great weekend!!!!

Goofy Pictures

I'm so sorry that it's taking me so long to post up blogs. I've been trying to narrow down the 1400 pictures that we took and it's really hard!!! So I've started breaking them into categories. I started with the easiest/goofiest. Please excuse the children in us, but the kids had to see Israel too! They've been waiting for years!

So the first is a link to an album called "A Converse Cowgirl". We backpacked, so only one pair of shoes per person. Lauren had cowboy boots and I, Converse All-Stars. We decided to make a photo album out of it. Please enjoy:

"A Converse Cowgirl"

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2032194&id=178200121&l=13009a01a0

Then on several occasions, we took jumping pictures. They were so much fun!!!! I didn't weed any of them out, so you get to look at even the ones where our faces are embarrassing/silly.

"We Jumped for Joy..."

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2032190&id=178200121&l=ff7a1fa5fb

There are 60 photos in each album and there are more albums on the way (with the serious stuff). Hopefully these will keep you busy while you wait. Thanks for your patience!!! I hope everyone's Christmases and New Years Holidays were FANTASTIC!

With love,
Meg

P.S. Talk to you again soon!