In The Potter's Land

Climb Every Mountain

2008-09-04T21:22:00.000-07:00

Every time I talk about climbing Mt Adams, the reflex description that wants to jump out of my mouth is, "It was really fun!" While fun might not be the best adjective to describe it, it was an amazing adventure and exhilarating experience.
After being outfitted by Mrs Bystrom, we strapped on our packs and headed off. This our preclimbing picture. We marched happily along. This is my reaction to finding out that we were going little more than one mile an hour. There were many times in that day and the next that we realized that speed was fast.
We climbed to the Lunch Counter at 9,000 ft where we set up camp, cooked dinner, and climbed into our warm and cozy tent. At 9,000 ft with no other lights around, the stars were brilliant.
The next day, we climbed the false summit and then all the way to the summit, took pictures and started the trek back down.
On the way down the glacier, we did momentarily loose our trail (a.k.a. "get lost"), but God sent us two angels(we're convinced those two men were angels) to point out the path again. As throughout the whole trip, by God's grace, we got back to the car before dark and made it safely home. We've never slept so well as we did that night.
So if you're looking for something fun, this wouldn't be my first recommendation. But if you're looking for an adventure, for breathtaking viewpoints, for camaraderie, and for an absolutely indescribable night sky, mountain climbing might be your new favorite past time. (to see more pictures in Kait's web albums, copy and paste these addresses into the ___?___ bar at the top of your screen: http://picasaweb.google.com/kaitlyn.reay/MtAdamsHike08# or http://picasaweb.google.com/kaitlyn.reay/MtAdamS08#)

Feel Like a Change?

2008-08-14T22:49:00.001-07:00

This week had been dedicated to remodeling my parent's bathroom. There were a lot of "first"s: the first time I've ever put down flooring, the first time I've ever tried plumbing, and the first time I'd ever tried wiring something electrical. I'm happy to report that the tile pieces all connect (maybe not perfectly...), the faucet and sink are lined up and ready to be connected, and there were no electrocution accidents, and the lights work.

Painting, reflooring, replacing the vanity, etc.

My big helper

Were there suppose to be extra pieces?

Arrgh! Almost…got…it...

Like Bo, like Jo

A True Fat Moment

2008-06-28T19:13:00.000-07:00

Have you ever felt fat? Maybe it's because you, like Kait and me, ate strawberry shortcake with whipping cream rich scones; fresh, mashed strawberries, and whipped cream both before and after dinner. If that is the case, I have no sympathy for you, for misery loves company. But can you imagine the shock and horrified surprise of that poor female sea turtle who, after enjoying the practically weightless sensation of floating through oceans, leaves the water and must haul her heavy shell and body over the sand to dig her nest and lay her eggs.

We were in Cancun during the week these sea turtles came on shore and laid their eggs, and we were able to watch a couple of the turtles on the beach right in front of the resort - although none of them seemed to be suffering from a feeling-fat crisis. They sure were slow, though, but we gave them a break since all they had were flippers and they had to dig a deep hole. With a flick of their flippers, they would shoot the sand way up behind them. Every couple of flicks, they would stop, raise their head, look around, look back down, and in a minute or so, start flicking again. The employees at the resort watched for the turtles and would collect the eggs and rebury them in a fenced of area where they would be protected until they hatched. After those hours of slow work, the turtle would turn back toward the surf and slowly make her way back to weightlessness. As for me and Kait, we have a slightly longer road to getting rid of our strawberry shortcake pounds.

Some Beach Pictures

2008-06-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

Not only did the beach have water that was unreal shades of blue outlined by the white sand, but that very same beach was right outside our patio. We could sit and read to the repetitive crash of the waves and pull of the surf, watch sea turtles crawl on shore to dig a nest and bury their eggs, and watch the sun as it changed the color and depth of the sea from the morning's sunrise to the night's moonlight. It was breathtaking throughout the whole day, and I don't know that I had a favorite time of day. Maybe by looking at the pictures, you will find your favorite. The two dark pictures are of the moonlight reflecting on the water.

Mayan Adventures

2008-06-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

“This is our Mayan massage,” our van driver yelled back to us as he turned the van onto a bumpy dirt road that cut into the jungle. Every bump and pothole threw us toward the van roof or careened us toward the windows. The friction of bouncing up and down on the seat added seat warmers to our luxury experience. “And this is a good road,” he added. We were thankful to stumble out of the stopped van five minutes later. Following him to a stick hut, we struggled into repelling harnesses and made our way to the sink hole.

That was only the beginning of our adventures that day. Repelling down into a sink hole and swimming in the underground pool was followed by hiking through the jungle, zip-lining across a lake, kayaking, biking around Mayan ruins, and climbing to the top of the ziggurat, Coba. I included this picture because it shows Annette about 15 steps further up the ziggurat than Kait and I (a moment greatly cherished after her sand dune experience in Wadi Rum). After climbing all those steep stairs; recovering at the top; and then scooting down, clinging to the rope to keep from pitching headlong down the stairs, I have no doubt that if I ever had to be a priest in the Mayan religion, you would have to just sacrifice me now. Climbing up and down those steep steps while wearing robes and headdresses in the humid jungle weather and having to look regal while doing it has got to be an impossible task. At 138 ft and 122 steps, Coba is the tallest ziggurat in Mexico, and the view from the top was incredible. The flat terrain and the level trees allows you to see for miles. All of these pictures were taken from the top of Coba - do they capture how hot and sweaty we felt? :)

Hope and Change Comes to Oregon

2008-06-10T19:57:00.001-07:00

It's been a few weeks, now, but Obama's visit to Oregon brought change to more than one woman's day.

When Annette (a.k.a. Annie) arrived at TCBY to open the store on Sunday morning, she found the side street taped off, firetrucks and ambulances crowding the gas station across the street, and police with their police tape swarming around the store. "We've been broken into again," shot through her mind as she pulled into the parking lot across the street and crossed the crosswalk to talk to the police. After she explained that she managed the TCBY store and was there to open, they assured her that the store hadn't been broken into but that all the activity was security for Obama's speaking engagement at a center down the side street. They allowed her to bring the groceries into the store but only after they searched both her and her car.

Not only did Obama bring change to Annette's morning but also to the morning of a woman coming to TCBY to get her morning smoothie. Either unaware of the police/rescue activity around her or mesmorized by it, she drove right through the police tape on her way to TCBY's drive through. It surprised her as much as the police officer who reacted, realizing that the police tape just got between a woman and her smoothie - no serious threat.

The Gag Gift

2008-05-22T21:44:00.000-07:00

"What is your return policy?" I asked the Big 5 cashier. I was as concerned with getting my money back as I was with not having to keep the roller skates. It was Kait's birthday, and she had been asking for roller blades for the past few weeks. Since roller blades were not our area of knowledge and expertise, Melinda had sent us information and prices for the quality brands and styles. The roller skates displayed next to the roller blades at the sports store where Dad and I were perusing gave me the idea. These white skates with purple wheels and laces would be perfect. I thanked the cashier, tucked the receipt in my wallet where I was sure not to lose it, and left the store.

Placing the large, brightly-wrapped box on Kait's lap later that night, I tried hard to mask my anticipation. As soon as the paper was torn back to reveal a cardboard box, she grinned, "Roller blades!" Perfect! Right on track. Her grin changed to a bit of a confused frown as more of the paper was torn away and she saw the picture of the roller skates on the side. She laughed, "I hope that's not what's inside the box." The box lid lifted to reveal the purple and white skates. She laughed harder, "No! I hope this is a gag gift!"

"That isn't what you wanted?" we asked, laughing and trying to look innocent. "That's what you've been asking for." "Oh, that's not what you wanted?" we said to her response. "Maybe what's in this one, then." Another box of the same size and shape was pulled from behind the chair. The black, grey, and red roller blades that she pulled from that box were more what she was hoping for and expecting. But as you can see from these pictures, I think she secretly liked the skates best.

WSU duathlon

2008-05-22T21:20:00.000-07:00

"I breathe in, I breathe out, I put one foot in front of the other..." The bars of the country song ran over and over through my mind. Ok, maybe he meant the words to lament the pain of life after love and I was using them as I was huffing and slogging my way through the second 5k of my duathlon, but the words still applied. "Al-most-there-don't-slow-down," I stomped out each word as I skipped every other step up a short flight of of concrete stairs from the parking lot to the cross-country path above. The almost 90 degree sun beat down as I made the hairpin turn and started up the last hill before the path would dip down and curve around toward the home stretch.

I had entered a duathlon that was hosted at WSU in Vancouver. Pretty sure that I would drown on the first swimming leg of a triathlon, I decided a duathlon - including only the running and biking events - would be the way to go. A 5k run, transition to the bike, a 15 mile bike ride, transition back to running, and a second 5k run along the same route to finish - that didn't sound too bad. "It'll be fun," I told myself. Well, fun wasn't the word I'd use right now to describe the experience. I was just happy to be somewhere in the middle of the racers and not in last place. My stride lengthened. I searched for every energy reserve to speed me toward the finish line. 1:57:18 the large, digital numbers read. It was over. I had reached my three, low goals - 1) to finish, 2) to not be last, and 3) to finish in under 2 hours. I plunked down on the grass next to my bike, only the first few measures of the song running through my mind as I focused on what was really important, "I breathe in, I breathe out ..."

Banana Art

2008-05-11T21:28:00.000-07:00

Growing up did your mother ever tell you that you couldn't have a cookie until you've had a piece of fruit or a vegetable? Or maybe you tell that to your kids. Anyone can choke down a less appealing piece of healthy food if they have a dessert waiting for them once they swallow. But when no dessert is promised, how can you get someone to each a more healthy, less exciting morsel? The answer is banana art.

Change the outside to more interesting and the inside will be more appealing - at least this is what Sharon and Joanie learned in their fruit marketing at the 3rd Place(the coffee shop where I now work twice a week). If they put bananas in a bowl and sell them along with the cookies, coffee, and pastries, the bananas would sit there until they turned brown. But decorate the peel with colored-marker works of art - pictures and witty sayings - and the response is a laugh and "I'll take one of those." For who could resist a banana with "Apples are for sissies," "Leg spasms be gone," "Still cheaper than a gallon of gas," or a line of gymnastically inclined stick figures brightly drawn on the side? So the next time you are trying to tempt yourself or your kids or anyone else with a less than saliva-stimulating banana - try some banana art. It's sure to be ap"peal"ing!

Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow!

2008-01-28T15:55:00.000-08:00

For all those who are familiar with White Christmas and the train ride song they sing about snow, you will understand the origin of the title and that it wasn't just the result of an excited-don't-know-when-to-stop repetition.
Returning home from the snowy mountains of Washington, I was thrilled to find that I hadn't left the snow behind. Inches of fluffy snow covered every available surface. The steep roads in our neighborhood were perfect for sledding and so were filled with neighborhood kids who were flying down the snow-covered roads trying to avoid the cars, both parked and driving, and each other. Doesn't Dad's truck look beastly all covered with snow like that?

Operation Amina

2008-01-06T20:29:00.000-08:00

Operation Amina

Over 10 years ago, a military family, the Phillips, attended Trinity Bible Church with us. Our families became good friends, and we enjoyed every bit of the three years they were stationed here. After three years the Marines moved them to different assignments and states until Colonel Phillips retired at Camp Lejuene, NC. Although no longer in the Marines, they now have a son and sons-in-law who are currently military officers.

Major Kevin Jarrard, a part of their extended family, is currently serving in Iraq. While there, he met a 3 year old girl named Amina. Amina has a terminal heart condition. Kevin was able to find a hospital in Nebraska that is willing to perform the operation and is now working on gathering teams, military and civilian, to take Amina to the Jordanian border and then travel with her to Nebraska.

Please pray for Kevin and his friends, family, and colleagues as they try to save Amina’s life. Kevin and his family are believers and please pray that their testimony and love for Christ will be evident to all they interact with as they try to save this little girl. They have started a blog to give updates and information of their progress. The blog address is www.operationamina.blogspot.com.

A Sunny Wedding

2007-12-20T14:14:00.000-08:00

Sun, expensive cars, Disney Land and thrill rides, love - put it all together and you have the perfect combination for a topnotch vacation.We all met in sunny, southern California to witness Marcus and Margo's wedding and to celebrate with them. The wedding was set in a chapel on a hill overlooking the Pacific. The sun glistened off the water and flooded the chapel with colored light from the stained glass windows. All of Margo's planning and hard work resulted in a beautiful wedding and reception afterwards. We are so happy to welcome into the family Mrs. Margo Secomb! Here as Colin, Mark's best man, who in his toast handed over to Margo his position as Mark's best friend. He did a great job!

"Away, away..."

2007-12-12T14:43:00.000-08:00

Only a few more hours. Beka and I are pulling an all-nighter watching movies. Since I have to leave at 2:30a, I figured, why not? What better way to fortify yourself for a long trans-Atlantic flight than with a midnight showing of Pirates of Penzance?! "Away, away, my heart's on fire, I find my duty hard to do today..." For those of you who haven't seen the movie, I strongly recommend it. It helps if you watch it with the right company, though. If you need that company, Kait and I are volunteering right now! :) See you all in a few days!

Little Hands

2007-12-05T12:02:00.000-08:00

Little hands - They belong to such little people. Every now and again you can catch a glimpse of the grown up in them, a mature face with that exact expression still passing across it. It is fascinating to look into their eyes in that moment and imagine their future, shaped by the present circumstances and lessons that are growing them. And at that same moment you see the innocence and the childish joy or curiosity that still binds them to their present reality. It makes your heart burst with the miracle of life and the great gift that life is.

Last night, we were gathered in the living room doing advent. The house was dark, and two candles were lit in the advent wreath. I was sitting on the floor with Nathan stretched across my lap. My hand lay on the edge of the coffee table to support Nathan's heavy head nestled in the crook of my elbow. His little hand reached up to the back of mine, barely bigger than the back of my palm. His finger bumped up and down my knuckle wrinkles, absently pushing them back and forth over the knobby bone. Such a little thing, but I was completely transfixed. What a gift children are: a gift from God, gifts for us to train up in the fear and admonition of Him. As we bowed our heads to pray, the miracle of this gift held me in wonder and awe. My eyes were closed, enjoying Nathan's weight in my arms. WHACK! Nathan swung one leg up to cross it over his other leg when the wide arc of his little foot smacked me right in my closed eye. "Ooh," I grunted (quietly, as we were still praying), as I grasped for the bruised socket that use to contain my eye. "Sorry," Nathan's loud whisper interrupted Darren's praying. So much for the moment.

Driving Like an Israeli

2007-12-01T22:44:00.000-08:00

Israeli drivers are terrible. They are simply unaware. The whole road is their domain, and they aggressively, or obliviously, travel all over it. Driving aggressively isn't bad, exactly, but when you start to view a foot of space between two cars as an "opening," you're in trouble! The horn is the most valuable part of the car, and they use it with the opposite frequency that they use their turn signals. Of course, the roads don't always help as lanes can magically disappear, three straight-bound lanes can, without warning, merge down to one lane that has suddenly become a turn lane, etc. You can enter an intersection in one lane, and when you exit the intersection on the other side, it will be gone or you will be straddling the line between two lanes, trying desperately to decide which one is yours and where the cars on either side of you belong.

Last Saturday, I drove to church and was able to drive three friends home who either lived in Tel Aviv or were catching a ride from there. With each one, I found myself adopting the habits of those around me. You know how you sometimes have to run in somewhere for just a second (I promise!), but there is no curb side parking available. No problem for an Israeli! They simply turn on their emergency blinkers, stop in the lane, and double park next to the cars parked along the curb and run in fast. It's so common that few people even honk at them anymore, they just merge over into the second lane or wait for that free moment to whip around them in the oncoming traffic lane and continue on their way. Well, that's exactly what I did each time. I justified it because I never left the car so I could easily move if necessary and because there were two lanes and I parked in the far right one, leaving one lane for all the cars to move around me. Two of the girls were Israeli and didn't say a word about it, but the third girl was a student from the States who had only been here a month. As we sat on the road, blinkers flashing, her gathering her things, and us exchanging information, she kept asking if I was in the way where I was parked, and if would I get honked at. It's no problem - there's plenty of room for them to get around me is what I assured her. Oh, dear. These bad driving habits need to be left here when I come home!

It's Filled!

2007-11-25T19:58:00.001-08:00

The suburban is filled at last! Samuel Calvin Duke was born on Saturday by c-section and is a happy and healthy 9.5 lbs. He has a head full of head and is so cute! Maggie is recovering well and Lord willing, they will be coming home from the hospital and "baby hotel" tonight or tomorrow morning. We've been busy decorating and getting ready to welcome him home. Sunday and Monday night, we bundled the kids off to spend time with Samuel and Maggie. After carefully washing their hands, they each held him and stroked him and delighted when he opened his eyes to look at them.

That Blessed Turkey!

2007-11-25T11:31:00.000-08:00

How blessed we are as the people of God to have a sovereign God to praise. Instead of just being glad that life is good or that it's not worse, now let's all eat turkey, we can thank God for each person, event, circumstance that he has brought into our lives to strengthen and bless us. We enjoyed an intimate Thanksgiving feast with two other believing families, the Milnes and the Zadoks. We prepared the food while Beka organized a play with the kids about the first Thanksgiving. This is our turkey! (and this is me, thankful that we have a turkey!)

The Moment of Truth

2007-11-20T21:59:00.000-08:00

Today we are doing our Thanksgiving shopping and starting our meal preparations. I'm nervous. Not for the cooking, preparing, etc, but for the grocery run to the Stop Market. Last week I ordered the turkey to be picked up today, not a big deal really except that I had to order it in Hebrew. So I think I ordered a turkey. It's always dangerous to just assume you know what they are saying. Here's how the conversation went.
Me (in Hebrew): I want to order a turkey for me to pick up next week.
Meat Guy (in Hebrew): You don't need to order turkey; we have turkey here already. (He walks down to one of the meat coolers and lifts up turkey breast, not a whole turkey.)
Me (in Hebrew): No, not that. I want a whole turkey like these whole chickens, here.
Meat Guy (in Hebrew): (what I assumed he said) For a whole turkey, yes, you will have to place an order. Do you want to do that?
(what he probably said) We can't order whole turkeys, but we can order parakeets. Would you like to order one of those?
Me (in Hebrew): Yes, please. I need one to pick up next Wednesday. (gave him my name and number) Thanks.
So today is the moment of truth. Maybe I ordered a turkey. Maybe I ordered many turkeys. Or maybe I ordered an ostrich or a parakeet. You never know when you can't understand what they are saying and so you just fill in the blanks with what you want him to say. It's never wise to assume!

The Countdown

2007-11-18T11:47:00.001-08:00

Well, it will be any day now and we are holding our breath expectantly. Praise the Lord, everything is going well and both Maggie and baby Samuel are healthy and strong. Although we are still making them, plans are laid with full knowledge that everything could change suddenly. After laying low until her full-term date, Maggie is now out walking everyday. It hasn't worked yet, however, and I'm about to go out and buy her a trampoline. I'm running out of time to spend with this little guy!

A Matter of Preference

2007-11-15T01:56:00.000-08:00

Some people are very serious about the type of milk they drink - if they will even drink milk at all. Skim, 1%, 2%, whole, enriched, raw - drinking the right kind is of utmost importance. I like skim, and if ever I drink anything 2% or above, I have to drink a glass of water in order to wash it down.
Beka reminded me about a time when we were in Italy staying with some friends in Rome. Nathan had woken up, and Maggie was getting cereal for his breakfast. She set the bowl and spoon in front of him and went to look for milk in the refrigerator. The James drank skim milk and so Maggie found that in the frig. However, when she poured it over Nathan's milk, he let up a great howl accompanied by crocodile tears. "Goodness!" Maggie exclaimed "What is the matter?"
"I don't want water on my cereal!" he wailed.
There it is. Straight from the mouth of a four year old - support for all those who think that skim milk is nothing more than white-colored water.

A Glorified Squeaker

2007-11-07T19:58:00.000-08:00

It's been over a month now, but at the end of September, we received many invitations to peoples' houses to celebrate the various Israeli holidays. At one such house, there was a dog that Nathan was interested in playing with. The dog wasn't as friendly as Nathan, however, and Nathan returned home with a fear of dogs and of being chased. Now we have Dogberry (that's his name, since I forgot to put it in the last post about him!). At first Nathan wanted to take him back. but when he realized that wasn't an option, he just tried to avoid him. Anytime Dogberry was down, Nathan was up. If Dogberry was being held, he might venture close enough to reach out and pet him, but if Dogberry even turned to sniff his hand, he quickly jerked it back and ran away. As Nathan became more comfortable with Dogberry, the temptation for Dogberry to play with him became greater and greater. Nathan would cautious go toward Dogberry and then run away squealing. What Nathan didn't realize was that in his haste to get away, he was turning himself into a glorified squeaky toy. To any playful puppy, this kind of action looked like a life-sized squeaky toy that wanted to be chased. Back and forth it went, Nathan creeping toward the dog, Dogberry turning and noticing him, Nathan running to the nearest couch or chair, squealing, with Dogberry at his heels. Slowly, the playful puppy worn Nathan down until he realized that Dogberry is no longer a threat. Having Dogberry run toward him still isn't fun, but now he's not afraid to get down on his level and talk to him or say "No, Dogberry!" regarding Dogberry's latest stuffed animal acquisition.

Happy Birthday, Sara

2007-11-05T11:11:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, Sara turned eight. We celebrated with an Asian themed party with all her friends and their families. Online party suppliers are great, and they proved to be the perfect place to get the party supplies. We found gift bags and party favors, stuffed according to themes and even costume mustaches for the guys to wear. The little girls all looked great, some more Chinese looking than others. Most importantly, they all had a great time, but what group of girls at a party doesn't?!

Fast Decisions, Perfect Timing

2007-10-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

You know how with some decisions or plans, the parents' gears grind painstakingly slow. On rare and highly treasured occasions those aforementioned, slow gears suddenly switch into high gear and all is completed before you have time to process what happened. Such was the case two weeks ago when Darren and Maggie heard through one of Caleb's little friends about a kennel in the Galilee that bred, showed, and sold miniature schnauzers. Having been looking for just the right dog and waiting for just the right time, the decision was made and Darren, Maggie, and Beka went north to pick him up. He was just as wonderful as the reports they had heard. He was friendly and playful but was balancedwith a mellow personality that makes him great company. He loves to play catch, as you can see in the video, and the way he pounces on the ball and prances around is adorable!

Artistic Bugs

2007-10-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

Here are more of my Nathan requested creations. This time our materials were mini pipe cleaners. Our theme was bugs. You may think that my rolly-polly (potato bug) looks like a caterpillar and my spider looks like a ladybug, but my excuse is my limited color options. You can judge if my excuse is legitimate or not! :)

It's All In Who You Know

2007-10-23T06:17:00.000-07:00

When we were living in Maryland, we attended a small Presbyterian church about 25 minutes away. Also attending that church was another military family with five kids. Their dad was in the air force and is one of the pilots for Air Force 2. While we didn't have the time to get together often, our similar goals and lifestyles made us good friends.

Now, with all of Condi's visits to the Middle East, we have been able to visit the dad whenever he flies her over. Each time he comes, he has offered to give us a tour of the plane and on this trip, the timing was perfect. They had a long day with a flight to Egypt and back, but once they had cleared the plane (we didn't get to see Condi. Bummer!), they let us back to the secure runway. As the flight and security crews were shutting down the plane for the night, we got the grand tour from the entrance to the tail and back up to the cockpit. It was tempting to ask for a picture in Condi's chair in the private lounge under the Secretary of the United States plaque, but we contented ourselves with just looking. Everyone got to sit in the cockpit, though.

Aquaba Adventures

2007-10-17T12:44:00.000-07:00

What are some of the advantages to being blond in a Middle Eastern country? Most recently, the advantage was driving our dive boat. A group of seven of us travelled to Aquaba, Jordan two weeks ago for a weekend diving trip that Alex had planned. Every day we walked next door to the dive shop, gathered our gear, and drove out to the "Royal Yacht Marina." Wow! What a beautiful black and with gold edging yacht that we are walking up to. Oh, that's the King's boat not ours. Keep walking past it to the one a few boats down. Oh, a rowboat...th-th-that one is nice too. Just joking. Here is the bridge on the upper deck where I got to drive. Good thing it was all the way from the Saudi border to the port because it took me a bit to figure out how to go straight. The delayed reaction to the wheel had me veering in a zigzag pattern until he covered the compass and I focused on a far away object and just headed straight for it.

Every day we did two dives with lunch and relaxing in between. This is Jody and AnnMarie on the upper deck of our boat. The underwater sights included reefs and wrecks. The wreck was the most fun because we could dive in, under, and around it. Cables, decorated with bright coral and seaweed, were strung like Christmas lights up to the ship's highest tower. It no longer proudly rose over the ship's deck but jutted out into the "deep blue" running parallel to the ocean floor which quickly dropped out of sight below it. As we swam between the mast and it's cables, we saw a slender, solitary fish, about a meter long, suspended above the wreck. It's lower jaw jutted out, and if you swam closer than was comfortable, you could see his uneven fangs jutting out. The barracuda just hung there, overlooking his surroundings. We gave him a wide berth and continued exploring.

On the dive that was the most fun, we swam down to a flat surface on the ship and let all the air out of our BCD vests so that we could stand flat on the metal floor. After removing our flippers, and hanging onto them for dear life so that they don't float away, we were able to experience the weightless, moon-walking sensation. Leaping, flipping, toe-touches - all are performed with an extra height and slow motion grace not possible on gravity-bound earth. We used up much of our air laughing at each other's antics.

Here, the crew is pulling in a tuna that they caught on a trailing line. They caught a pretty big one and had plans to fry it up later that night. Too bad we were headed back to Israel!

Boy Scouts Big and Small

2007-10-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

Darren has begun a Boy Scout Troop for the boys in the area. Caleb and another boy are too young to be scouts, but they are working toward that goal. They are Weebeloes (the level below boy scouts for those who are as unfamiliar as I am about the boy scout ranks), and they learn and participate in the activities right along side the other boys. Josh is old enough to be a full member and is eagerly learning and participating.

Although they weren't sure how many other boys would be interested, Darren started the troop as an educational, extracurricular activity for the boys and so that part of his "busy-ness" would be specifically focused on spending time with Josh and Caleb. Since laying the groundwork and starting the meetings, the troop has grown to 8-10 scouts and 4 enthusiastic dads.

There is one boy, however, who would love to join but can't - Nathan. He can barely say "weebeloe" but he wants to be one. His voice squeaks with excitement each time the scout stuff comes out or a troop meeting begins. "Oh, sure!" he'd say if the invitation were given for him to join them, but he still has a couple years to go. So instead, he sits as close to the open door as he can or stands on the kitchen counter near the window, listening and watching. He wanted his own flag to wave around after watching the troop salute and pledge. Since we didn't have an actual flag he could have, I taped a flag napkin to a broken broom handle, and to him, it couldn't have been more authentic.

What?! There are Two of Them!

2007-10-11T22:17:00.000-07:00

I'd like to introduce you to a friend of mine. Actually, she and her family are gone now taking a vacation in the States before moving on to their next posting. Her name is Anna Rhea (pronounce just like Reay), and her dad was working here as part of the State Department. I had met her dad at a few parties, but it wasn't until this year that I began to spend time with Anna. Her mom was looking for a math tutor for her, and I volunteered. We had so much fun, and I promise, we even got some math done! Anyway, I mentioned before that I had met her dad at parties but I didn't really get a chance to meet Anna and her mom because they were gone most of last year to Fiji, where they were last assigned. They had adopted a little girl from Fiji and were trying to adopt her younger brother. Despite many difficulties and setbacks, they were able to adopt Micah and bring him home. Joanna, yes, Joanna Rhea now had her little brother with her. She and I are as opposite as we can be - dark and light - but it was so much fun to share the same name. Every time I came over to visit Anna she would always say, "Hi, JoAnna!" and I'd say "Hi, Joanna!" back. And every time her mom called her or corrected her, I would automatically straighten up (a sure sign of a guilty conscience, I think! :). What are the odds of finding a good friend and her having a little sister who shares your first and last name!

The First in a Long Time

2007-10-11T21:56:00.000-07:00

When my family was here, I wanted to stop by the new church building so that they could see what it looked like and the opportunities it would provide for Grace and Truth. Darren must have read my mind because he stopped by on the way to the Maozes. The only problem was getting in. Because of the threats and vandalism, it is necessary to post a guard at the building site. The only problem was that the guard spoke Russian and said he didn't speak Hebrew. None of us spoke Russian so we called one of the elders to see if he could talk to the guard and assure him that it was safe to let us enter. No luck. All assurances were useless because the same language barrier stood in David's way. What to do now? I know! I teach English to four Russian women from church, maybe they could talk to the guard and get him to let us in. I called Natasha, but my explanation was above her English understanding. So I handed the phone to Darren, and he explained to her in Hebrew so that she could explain to the guard in Russian. What a language belagon! It worked, though, and the guard let us in.

They had just finished laying the tile floor, and it looked so much more completed than before. There is still a lot to be done before it is ready for use, but it will give the church so much that they do not have now - namely, room! This will be the new sanctuary which will fit the entire congregation comfortably requiring no one to sit outside or down the hallways or adjoining rooms. The facilities downstairs can be used for Sunday School, VBS, or even a future Christian school. The building and grounds would be used as a community center for believers: a place to meet and fellowship outside of just the scheduled church services. There are other church buildings in Israel and even a few Israeli church congregations, but this would be the first Jewish-owned, Jewish-filled church building since the first century. While Christianity in the West along with our churches have a history of hundreds of years, churches in Israel are very much first generation churches. It's exciting to see that work grow.

Welcoming the New Year

2007-10-04T04:41:00.001-07:00

I had planned to spend three days up in the Galilee, resting and touring during the busy travelling of the Israeli New Year. But an invitation from the Maozes changed those plans, and we drove down to Rishon Leziyyon to enjoy "New Year's Eve" dinner with them. There were, however, a few things we had to do in the Galilee before we could leave. The first was a baptism. With cunning and sneaky intent, I dunked not sprinkled Kait so that she would have the whole baptism experience. After checking out of the hotel, we stopped by Capernium and visited the synagogue remains, a fourth century ruins built on the foundation of the synagogue in which Jesus taught. In this synagogue is a small back door - I don't know the purpose of it but it is just the perfect height for Annette and Kait. :) There is a current Franciscan church built above the ruins of what is believed to be Peter's house and the location of a first century house church.

Not that it is a good thing to rejoice in the misfortunes of others, but as we drove back home it was so nice not to be stuck in the holiday traffic going north for vacation. It almost felt like we were making better time than we really were because we were passing so many cars slugging along in the other direction.

After we stopped at the house to rest and to bake Mom's wonderful bread, we loaded up all our contributions to the feast and headed out. What a New Year's Celebration! I don't know which was better - the fellowship or the food!

Heading North

2007-09-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, we headed up to the Galilee. That's my cute, blue car that I got to drive. Just forget about the fact that it's French, and it was a cool, push-button-start car. We had to cut our time in the Galilee short. Wednesday was Rosh Hashanah, the Israeli New Year, and we had been invited along with the Dukes to celebrate at the Maoz's house. Despite our rush, we got everything in. We walked all over Solomon's fortified city, Meggiddo. We sat in the stable mangers and climbed down into the water shaft tunnel. At least this underground water tunnel was dry.

From there we drove up into the Golan Heights to Caesariyya Phillipi. There we saw the "Gates of Hell" where Peter confessed Jesus as the "Christ, the Son of the Living God." There were quite a few idol niches and temple remains to climb around on and then a hike over the river and through the woods to Herod Phillip's palace. I assured the hikers that there was no uphill on the hike. And there wasn't...after the straight up staircase and plateau we had to climb up to at the very beginning. Oops.

The coolest place by far, and unfortunately, the one we squeezed in last, was Nimrod's castle, an old Muslim and Crusader fort. We had just an hour to run around and explore all the peaks, lookouts, secret passageways, lower level rooms, and descending staircases that lured us into their stony depths. It was so cool! And out of the three or four times I've been there, this time was my favorite. We had so much fun running around and exploring. But the time for the park to close had come and we had to run back to the cars and head out. We need to build some castle ruins in Oregon to explore!

Our next and final stop was our hotel in the Galilee. It had a back patio with a beautiful view of the Sea of Galilee. Here, we relaxed, read, ate dinner, and played cribbage - the best game in the world taught to us by the best Grampa in the world. What a perfect way to end the day!

2007-09-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

Colin's plane left at 4:30p on Monday, so we had time to take a quick tour of the ancient port city of Jaffa, seeing that it was only half an hour from the airport. Jaffa is just south of Tel Aviv and so we stopped in Tel Aviv to get some lunch to take with us. Driving in Tel Aviv was crazy! Little space, no signals, and seemingly, no rules. Yikes! That experience was all I needed to know that I don't want to live someplace like New York City. My little car held it's ground next to a bus that was close enough for Kait to reach out and fashion a dust mustache on the advertisement model's smiling upper lip. Dad glued his car to my bumper so that we wouldn't lose each other. Phew! We made it past the bus. Who was honking and yelling? Were they honking at me? A glance in my rear view mirror told me that the bus had decided to come over (probably because there was a car double parked in the far right driving lane) and had just moved over, pushing the little car behind Dad into oncoming traffic. Good thing there was no oncoming traffic at the time. Both drivers were leaning out the window, waving their arms and yelling at each other. Despite it all we found our way to Jaffa, got stuck in traffic, parked, bought icecream, shopped, and found picnic benches on which to eat lunch. This is me spilling some noodles on Kait's leg. She usually doesn't need my help, but she was being especially clean this time so I thought I'd help her out.

After eating and walking around the picturesque, old city, it was time to take Colin to the airport. We were leaving a little later than I had hoped, but we weren't far so no worries. AAHH! Traffic! Stress! I don't know if it was legal to turn left on to Einstein where we did, but there was no sign I could see that absolutely forbade it (in Israel "forbidden" doesn't mean that you can't do it, everybody still does. Only "absolutely forbidden" carries any weight). We did get to the airport on time and after going through a ton of security, he got on his plane.

2007-09-27T21:59:00.000-07:00

I just finished organizing the pictures from my family's visit. Now I can post some of them by Kait's, I mean, by Anonymous Comment's request. :)

Colin was leaving on Monday to spend some time with friends in Europe and so on Sunday, we drove up to Jerusalem to tour around. Because what's a trip to Israel without seeing Jerusalem?! Amazingly, I didn't get us lost, and we were able to find Darren's favorite parking spot - a tucked away parking lot by the Zion Gate and by Oscar Schindler's grave. I've never before been able to find the grave (and the guide book told us the wrong place to look) but this time we found it.

Our first stop was at Hezekiah's tunnel. I thought I could roll my pants up high enough to stay dry, but no such luck - all of us got wet. Annette kept turning around to snap pictures of Mom because the flash in so bright in the dark tunnel that you get a really funny, deer-in-the-headlights look. None of us escaped from the tunnel with very flattering pictures, but they were funny to look back at later. This one is funny but the other one isn't too bad. :)

After lunch, we went up to Al-Asqua Mosque and the Dome of the Rock from which we could see the Mt. of Olives and get a feel for the size of the Temple complex. From there we went down to the Wailing Wall and the Archaeological Park. Here's a picture of Annette, exploring through some of the underground rooms at the Park. It looks like she's being raptured or something! :)

We found our way through the Old City maze to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I love this picture Kait took of the nun praying. As we were waiting to go into the tomb, we got held up by a delegation from the UN who were visiting. A big, burly guard walked up as we were waiting to be next in line and said, "Wait here please" and so we did, watching all different nationalities of military men go in and look around. After they were done, the guard said, "Go ahead please," and so we did.

And, of course, we couldn't leave the Old City without doing some shopping and bartering so we walked and shopped til we dropped, and then it was time to go home. I had found this restaurant in Hertzliyya that is right on the beach, and I really wanted to take my family to it. We missed the sunset over the Mediterranean, but dinner was great anyway.

2007-09-24T12:34:00.001-07:00

I am in pain! Yesterday was Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) where, here in Israel, everything shuts down. No public transportation, no businesses open, and no cars allowed on the roads. All Jews from the ultra-religious to the conservative, sometimes religious spend that day in the synagogue, fasting and praying for their sins to be forgiven. All the rest of the country takes advantage of the day off and the empty roads to bring out the bikes, scooters, wagons, etc and play in the street. If you've ever wanted to lay down in the middle of the highway - this is the day to do it! Unable to drive to Haifa and bike back, Darren and I decided to bike to Haifa and back - a total of 151km (almost 90mi).

Going up wasn't too bad. We were fresh, the weather was cool (because it was the crack of dawn!), and we had plenty of water. The way back took a little longer. We were tired, the sun had risen and was shining in all its brilliant intensity, we were fighting a head wind, and we ran out of water. At one of our breaks, we stopped in the shade of an overpass, and Darren decided to ask one of the kids biking nearby if they would refill our water at their house. Before Darren even mentioned paying him, this cute 11 year old boy whipped off his backpack and took out his water bottle to fill ours. He had to run back home to get more in order to fill them completely, but when he had finished, Darren gave the kid 100 shekels (about $25). It was cute to see the kid's eyes practically pop out of his head when he saw the money, especially since he would have so willingly given us water for free.

Another twenty km down the road from our water break, Darren's derailer broke leaving him stuck in his 2:7 gear before the hilly section with no way to gear down. I would have felt horrible shifting up and down while he was stuck in a hard gear, so I sympathy shifted and left myself in my 2:7 gear as well. My bike was a mountain bike which has smaller gears, so I think I still had it easier with the hills.

So I'm toast! And to add insult to injury, I forgot my sunscreen (since we left at the crack of dawn) and so I literally am toast! Good thing I'd been running around outside with my family for the past two weeks. But even that base tan didn't protect me completely. Pretty soon I'll be molting out of this skin like an overgrown lizard! I now have a greater respect for Mr Hill, Dad, and the Injerds who just recently did a full 100 mile ride. Ours wasn't that long, and it was hard enough!

2007-09-16T09:00:00.001-07:00

After having met the Maozes and Andrew from Grace and Truth, I was excited to introduce my family to the rest of the people of the congregation. There are a few women who want to learn English, and I meet with them every Thursday to practice with them. I don't think I'm a very good teacher - they'd do better to have Maria teach them English as a second language :) - but I really enjoy spending time with them. After church, they got together to fix a wonderful meal for my family and a group from the church. We went over to Natasha's house, and my family not only got to meet them but to eat and spend time with them as well.

2007-09-14T22:36:00.000-07:00

Going to Jordan was definitely a highlight of the whole trip. After taking us to the border and expediting us through the Israeli side, we walked across no man's land to meet our guide. The paved road lined with a barbed-wire fence bridged the gap between the Israeli guard post and the Jordanian. As we walked cross, we felt like prisoners in a prisoner-exchange scene in some type of war movie, being sent across the wide open space to whatever awaited us on the other side. Our guide, Mohammad, was excellent - funny and full of knowledge about the places, modern and ancient, that we were going. He had grown up as a Bedouin there, had worked as a guide for King Hussein, and was getting his masters in the historical geography of the area. And there was a lot of history to be told. Our first stop was Petra and, after riding horses down to the Siq, we began the walk into the stone city. It was incredible! We were only able to scratch the surface of what was there, but what we saw was quite impressive. After walking all the way down into the city and eating lunch, we decided to ride camels back up (so that Kait could check off one of the "100 things I want to do before I die" from her list). Riding back up the hill was definitely the way to go!

After our whirlwind tour of Petra, we climbed back into the van and headed for Wadi Rum, the wilderness headquarters of Lawrence of Arabia. The desert there is beyond description. Huge, sandstone cliffs jut up into the sky from the soft sandy ground. We sat in the back of a Bedouin's pickup truck and drove all over the desert, climbing sand dunes, visiting the place were Lawrence had his tea each day, and stopping by a Bedouin tent for tea. Mohammad dressed us all up in Bedouin clothes, while our driver lounged on the other side of the tent, giving us the thumbs up sign. The sun set too quickly that evening and before we knew it, it was time to go back to the border. Safely back across no man's land and into Israel.

2007-09-14T12:43:00.000-07:00

Wednesday gave us the whole day to enjoy the attractions of Eilat - sun, scuba/snorkeling, and shopping. Kait was looking forward to diving in warm water and to having sea life to look at, and Eilat did not disappoint her. After a refresher's dive, our guide - Ziv, our small group of divers, and our disposable, underwater camera headed out to the water. The little camera took much better pictures than I expected. While it failed to capture the color and vibrancy of the underwater world, the pictures turned out really clear. Good thing Kait was paying attention in this picture - I sure wasn't. I look a little oxygen deprived. Dad, Mom, Annette, and Colin rented snorkeling gear and did their own exploring of the reef.

2007-09-12T23:41:00.000-07:00

Heading South

Ok, now it's time to play catch up on our trip down south. I wish I could post all the pictures of everyone, but I haven't uploaded them online yet - I'll let you know when I do. The first place we stopped on our trip was at Qumran, the location of a monastic-like, religious sect of Jews who copied and studied the Scriptures, eventually hiding the Dead Sea Scrolls in the caves nearby. The climb up to those caves provides a breathtaking view of the Dead Sea and the valley below. When we climbed down, however, we were greeted by a park ranger who asked if we had read the signs at the beginning of the trail. We had glanced but hadn't stopped to read them, and he told us that they warned against hiking the trails because of the danger. "There can be a fine of up to $200 for hiking in restricted areas," he said as he led us toward the signs. "Here it says..." he paused to find the place. Unable to find it on that sign, he began to walk a couple feet over to the next one. "It must be on this one that it states..." once again he paused. There was no restriction warning on either sign. "Well, I won't take you up to that sign," he pointed to a small green sign a couple hundred yards up that path and around the curve, "that designates those trails as restricted." Poor guy - it's hard to prove your point when you can't find the restriction. We looked properly chastised and continued on our way.

At En Gedi, we hiked as well, only in non-resticted areas of course, but here we added swimming. The numerous pools with waterfalls pouring into them provided the perfect place to escape from the heat.

Across the highway from En Gedi, there was access to the Dead Sea, complete with showers, beach chairs and umbrellas, and a life guard in case you are unable to swim and happened to sink down to the bottom and drown. :) I've never been very good at treading water, but in this sea, I had most of my shoulder above water when I was floating upright. We all experimented with different positions, floating and bobbling effortlessly in the water. Eventually, the previously overlooked cuts, blisters, and razorburn burst into flames all over our bodies and chased us into the refuge of the showers.

From there we headed down to Eilat, located on the southern tip of Israel and on the shores of the Red Sea. The three hour drive through the desert was long and kind of tense as there were many slow trucks to pass and few, clear straight of ways on which to do it. We arrived safely at our destination, praise the Lord, and found our hotel. From our balcony, we had a breathtaking view of the city of Eilat, Jordan's port city of Aquaba, and the Red Sea.

That night we went to the most amazing restaurant (-if you are a meat lover, that is. If you are a vegetarian, this place definitely is not for you.). They had an option called 11 kinds of meat. You received a coaster-like cardboard disc that was red on one side and green on the other. When you were ready to start, you turned the disc so that the green side was up. That signalled the waiters to stop by your table. After stopping by the open grill at the side of the entrance, they walked around the dining carrying a variety of meats on huge skewers. Chicken, steaks, sausages, and fillets, they stopped by your table offering their meat. If you wanted it, they would shave you off a piece, and if it didn't interest you, you could wait for the next kind to be brought out. Annette discovered that chicken liver isn't, and never will be, for her. For some reason, we never received a red/green disc so our light was always green!

2007-09-09T22:43:00.000-07:00

THEY'RE HERE!!! I know, and they have been for over a week, but I'm just now sitting down to post an entry. They were glad to get off the plane, but I don't think they were too tired - that hit them later. And what is the best cure for jet lag? Chocolate! The best chocolate restaurant in the world is located in Hertzliyya, Israel. Max Brenner is know for its chocolate pieces, gift sets, and desserts. We went for the dessert. The name of one of the desserts is Mess of Chocolate. I never thought Annette could have too much chocolate, but even she didn't know what to do with the little vial of chocolate that they gave her to pour over her already chocolate piled dessert.

2007-09-01T21:51:00.001-07:00

MY FAMILY ARRIVES TODAY!!!

2007-09-01T04:12:00.001-07:00

ONE MORE DAY 'TIL MY FAMILY ARRIVES!!!

2007-08-31T06:29:00.000-07:00

TWO MORE DAYS 'TIL MY FAMILY ARRIVES!!!

2007-08-29T23:55:00.000-07:00

THREE MORE DAYS 'TIL MY FAMILY ARRIVES!!!

2007-08-29T09:50:00.000-07:00

I Think I'm a Mean Nanny

Tonight as I was finishing dinner, Sara came in and asked what we were having for dessert. We had eaten a dessert the night before, and I told her that if we ate dessert every night we would be as big as barns. She insisted that it wasn't true and that if others ate the ice cream she could too, even if it was for lunch tomorrow instead of tonight. I reminded her that although they had played with a couple friends that very afternoon, they had sat and played Play Mobile or X box and hadn't done any running around or being active. I told her that I would time her, and if she ran for 20 minutes, I would let her have some ice cream for lunch tomorrow. She accepted the challenge and started running around the kitchen and around the table. Because she hadn't even run for a minute and she was gasping and asking if it had been 5 minutes yet, I really didn't think that she would do it. I still didn't think she would do it when she reached 7 minutes. If she reached 10, I thought she might have a chance but still wasn't certain. As she neared 13 minutes, I wanted her to reach the goal so I could give her the ice cream just to reward her perseverance. As she passed 15 minutes, I would have been surprised to see her quit and her earlier fatigue had mostly gone away. Only a few times did she need to be reminded that walking didn't count, it had to at least be a jog. At 19 minutes, I ran downstairs to get my camera. These were her victory laps.

2007-08-29T06:34:00.001-07:00

FOUR MORE DAYS 'TIL MY FAMILY ARRIVES!!!!

2007-08-29T06:28:00.001-07:00

Baking With Boys

Cooking can be a challenge (I've especially found it to be so!). Add three young boys to the process and you've reached a whole new dimension!

Nathan asked to make gingerbread cookies so Nathan, Caleb, Josh, and I pulled out the mix and whipped up a batch. The mixing went fine - of course all we had to do was add water so what could go wrong? :) The cookie mats, rolling pins, and cookie cutters came out next, and we set to work. Nathan ate more cookie dough than he made into cookies as you can tell by his face. It took Caleb a little while to discover the fine art of flouring the dough to keep it from sticking. He ended up with dough encrusted hands, a bogged-down rolling pin, and very little dough on his cookie mat. Once we dug him out and floured his dough, he had no problems. Josh jumped into his cookie rolling like a pro. He whipped out a variety of shapes and letters in various sizes. Aren't they so cute all covered with flour and dough! I can hardly stand it!

2007-08-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

I've Missed My Calling

The kids recently pulled out the sculpting clay and have been finding endless hours of enjoyment designing animals, people, and scenery. While Caleb and Sara easily roll, twist, and press the clay to bring to life their imaginations, Nathan tries with growing frustration to make the clay conform to the imaginations of his mind. "NANNY JO!"

This is one job that I am definitely not qualified for. Art, of any kind, has never been within my ability scope. Nathan is not an easily pleased client, either. He describes what he wants with the clarity of a four-year-old's words, hand motions, and sound effects. Thankfully, with the castle, we had a picture to go with it(see top right picture). We had to improvise because our building materials were limited, but together, we made it work.

But architecture wasn't our only accomplishment. We also turned our attention to the imaginary animal kingdom - the slugs off Flushed Away and a hephalump(sp?) from Winnie the Pooh. I ran out of brown clay on the hephalump so he's kind of two-toned. They were always strange animals anyway.

2007-08-15T10:37:00.000-07:00

My deadline had come. I had to leave the country. The three months of my tourist visa was about to expire and I had to leave in order to reenter and renew it. Where should I go? Over the past year, my trips back home or to Jordan or Italy with the Dukes had always fallen at the perfect time. This time, we had to actually plan something. Through Eti, a friend from church, Darren found a travel deal to Turkey and signed me up. I was going to Istanbul!

"Will it be enough time?" Eti asked.

"Not long enough," answered Darren in Hebrew with a smile and wink my way. "We need a vacation!" :)

Although two full days isn't enough time to see all the highlights in Turkey, it was enough time to see the highlights of Istanbul. The Blue Mosque, the Aya Sophia, Topekapi Palace, and the river way along the Bosporus and the Golden Horn were all breathtaking. The only disappointment was not having a travel buddy to share the experience with. I was excited about the alone time, but I guess I'm not quite the loner that I thought I was. Unfortunately, my being alone seemed to be my open invitation that I wanted company. Thankfully, it was more annoying than threatening. I don't know which was better - Istanbul during the day or illuminated by the night lights.

2007-08-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

An English-style, roof-top garden; breakfast on the porch swing overlooking the city; and a spacious, studio flat filled with color and natural light - sounds very picturesque, doesn't it? Those are the descriptions of the apartment where I helped Hayley move last weekend. She has been house sitting a dog(Frodo) and his apartment for the past 6 weeks for a family from her church. As they are coming home and her parents are coming next month, she has found and started renting an apartment for her and her parents to live in.

Having packed the stuff she had yet to move in the car, we drove to the apartment at 9p and were blessed to find a front row parking spot. It only took us three trips to carry all the stuff up the stairs to her third-floor apartment. Each time, we punched the timed light at the bottom of the staircase and hurried up each flight, determined to reach the top before the light turned off. The first time - we failed. The second time - we failed. Third time's a charm. Encumbered by her awkward, weighty suitcase, we poised at the bottom, each holding an end. She hit the button and we scuttled up the stairs, twisting as fast as we could around each corner. We made it - with time to spare. But she had dropped the keys three landings down so we had to go back and get them. After we were done, we collapsed on her new chesterfield and feasted on the no-bake cookies we had made earlier that afternoon!

It was only after we awoke with cricks in our from the understuffed, down pillows that we began to realize some of what we were missing. The two most important items were a toothbrush and a can opener. Toothpaste on your finger only works in a pinch, not as a long-term arrangement, and it is difficult to get into the tuna you have bought for lunch if you don't have a can opener. Despite the urgency of both those items, breakfast comes before lunch, and we were hungry. So we improvised to make a temporary counter in her little kitchen corner and started making breakfast. Then it was off to the store to buy the first two housewarming gifts for Hayley's apartment. A toothbrush and a can opener - don't start a home without them!

2007-07-29T09:36:00.000-07:00

New Experiences In Old Places

I've found that there are very few places that get old as you visit them repeatedly. Even if there is nothing new in the place itself, there are always interesting, new people to watch. Besides, the beauty of God's creation never wears out no matter how often you look on it. When Dave, a Marine friend of the Dukes from NC, came to visit a couple weeks ago, we took him to all the "must sees": the Galilee, Capernaum, Jerusalem, En Gedi, the Dead Sea, Masada, etc. But we also added in some very interesting places to which I had never been before.

Our plans for touring stumbled coming out of the starting blocks. I forgot the meat in the freezer on the way to our camping trip so we had to drive around looking for an open grocery store on the Sabbath. While we were camping on the Sea of Galilee, the kids fell sick with fevers and ended up being down all week. Poor Caleb moaned that being sick while you are camping feels like being on Survivor! :) Maggie took them all back home to bed the next day. Darren, Dave, Hayley, and I continued our sightseeing. There were cisterns to climb down in and bunkers and tanks to explore. Darren took us to the battle field of a famous tank battle where one company of Israeli tanks defended the Northern border against a much larger Syrian force.

In Jerusalem, we met up with Hayley in the City of David and headed right to Hezekiah's tunnel. I can't even imagine how long it took for Hezekiah's men to dig that tunnel through the rock. It was amazing! In some places, the ceiling allowed you to stand tall with room to spare, and in other places, you were bent almost double, praying that the walls would narrow no further. The rough wall still bore the ridge marks of the men who had hewn them.

Our journeys south brought new adventure as well, including a few beautiful hikes. Qumran, the location of the religious community that copied the Dead Sea Scrolls, contained more than just the ruins of the building complex. Behind the ruins, we hiked up into the mountains and caves in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. The view from up there was beautiful. The whole Dead Sea basin fell away and spread out before us from our perch in the mountain cliffs.

Speaking of the Dead Sea, one common custom that I have never had a great desire to uphold is to cover myself in the dark, rich mud that is said to be so beneficial for your skin. Where we went swimming, the ground was covered in rocks with no mud to be seen. No problem, no great loss.

Because I didn't realize she was talking to me, I didn't pay close attention to the jabbering Hebrew of a little swimmer coming up to me on the bank. "She wants to give that to you." The cute, little girl's mother caught my attention and motioned toward the girl. She stood smiling up at me, her arms extended toward me, and in her hands, she held a balled-up glob of dark, Dead Sea mud. "Oh! Wow!" With a plop she deposited the ball in my hands. "Thank you so much! You are so sweet!" The thick mud on the outside of the ball began to ooze through my fingers. Ma la'asot? What do you do? Out of gratitude for that sweet little girl's gift, I covered myself with the mud. Of course, I didn't want to do it alone so I gave some to Dave, too. Now I'm ready to fit in with the Sub-Sahara Africans (yah, I still need to work on some of the blending and edges)! Being that dark is definitely something new for me.

2007-07-25T09:53:00.000-07:00

I have been recently introduced to a hymn that we have in the Trinity hymnal, and I'm sure we've sung at one time or another, but just recently I have meditated on the words to drawn strength and comfort from their truth. You know how Jerry Bridges has encouraged us to preach the gospel to ourselves every day? In so doing, we keep a true perspective of ourselves and God and rest in His grace and provision. This song, based on Ps 130, is a song of the gospel and the Christian's life. Dr. Lockwood, I'm sure that you'll be familiar with it! :)

The first verse is the cry of the regenerate sinner. Lamenting in woe, he raises his voice not to the cold, impersonal "whoever will listen" but he raises his cry to God:
From the depths of woe I raise to thee the voice of lamentation; O turn an gracious ear to me and hear my supplication: if thou iniquity doest mark, our secret sins and misdeeds dark, O who could stand before you?

In the second verse, he realizes that our works are insufficient. God's grace alone through Christ can cleanse us. It is in that truth that we stand secure:
To wash away the crimson stain, grace, grace alone availeth; Our works alone are all in vain in much the best life faileth: No man can glory in thy sight, all must alike confess thy might, and live alone by mercy.

Then comes the victory verse of the cleansed sinner. Christ is our victory and in Him we trust:
Therefore my trust is in the Lord, and not in my own merit; On him my soul shall wait, his Word upholds my fainting spirit: His promised mercy is my fort, my comfort and my sweet support; I wait for it with patience.

But this verse is my favorite. Christ has cleansed us from our sin, and our future, our way, and our peace with God are held secure in Him. But there are times when the sweet taste of victory and rest seem so far away, long past and not coming soon in the future. The night stretches out dark before us, and it is hard to see the step in front of us let alone the whole path. But God doesn't require us to know the whole way before us. He only asks us to obey Him in the circumstances, decisions, and relationships He has given us now, without doubt or fear in Him:
What though I wait the live-long night, and till the dawn appeareth. My heart still trusteth in his might; it doubteth not nor feareth: Do thus, o ye of Israel's seek, ye of the Spirit born in deed and wait till God appeareth.

And this verse is the key. It is his grace and love, his goodness and truth that frees us from our sin and sorrow. We can do all things through Him:
Though great our sins and sore our woes his grace much more aboundeth; His helping love no limit knows, our utmost need it soundeth. Our Shepherd good and true is he, who will at last his Israel free from all their sin and sorrow.

2007-07-21T12:37:00.000-07:00

Memories of Israel

When my time in Israel is finished, I hope to have many special things by which to remember it. Those things will vary, being memories such as pictures, friendships, great restaurants, and beach walks with friends or being more concrete items such as Roman glass jewelry, Jerusalem pottery, Middle Eastern scarves and decor, Japanese cranes ... what? Japanese cranes? How does that fit in with Israel?

One of the ladies in the embassy, Kristi, loves to quilt and has been a part of a quilting group for the four years that she has lived here. Looking for volunteers to join her on a block quilt project, she asked if I was interested and I signed up. Kristi, another embassy lady named Carol, and I picked out our five fabric designs and got to work. Using paper piecing, we each made three sets of our crane blocks, each set containing our five chosen patterns. These done, we got together and exchanged sets, keeping one for ourselves and giving away the other two. We all ended up with 15 different cranes, our five original ones and then five from the other two ladies. As exciting as it was to see the finished blocks, it was even more exciting to sew on the borders and piece them together with the border for the finished front.

2007-07-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July (a week late!). While we didn't get to celebrate at Red Sunset Park or at Fort Vancouver, we did get to celebrate our nation's birthday on the 3rd, 4th, and the 6th. The 3rd was my favorite because it involved fireworks. It was the day of the big celebration at the Ambassador's residence which only Darren attended. But since the Residence is on the cliffs overlooking the beach and the water, Maggie, the kids, and I decided to go sit on the beach and wait for the fireworks that would be shot off later that evening. We gathered our towels and beach bag and headed off, joined by our friends from Scotland, the McQuiers. As we sat on the beach waiting for the sun to set, the kids played in the water and in the sand and we watched the helicopter, boat, and jeep patrol the air, water, and ground around the Ambassador's house. "Remind me again why I'm here celebrating Britain's one defeat," Gus McQuier asked.

We didn't have long to wait before the sky was dark enough to start filling it with colorful explosions. Short but sweet, we sat and enjoyed them before heading home to enjoy late night icecream before bed.

2007-07-08T08:14:00.000-07:00

Why Don't We Do This More Often?

That is the question we were asking ourselves as last weekend as we sat on the beach, the wind teasing our hair and flickering the flames of the fire. Our campsite was very picturesque. We had arrived at the beach site half an hour before sunset. As we followed Svika, Darren's friend from the IDF, into the sand and down the beach, the tires started spinning, and our car swung slowly back and forth. Unable to make much progress in the deep sand, we stopped and, under Svika's instruction, let out a minute's worth of air from each tire. It seemed like a lot of air to me, but we obediently finished our task and climbed back into the suburban. And off we went. The slightly flattened tires gripped the sand, and we flew down the beach past the other dune buggies, slipp'n and slide'n a little for good measure. Once we got past the people and the other campsites, we pulled into a good looking spot of sand and started to unload.

The sea breeze, the surf, the flat bread pitas cooking over the fire - I'm not sure which part of camping was the best. Maybe the key element was just being away from the phone, a schedule, and cement walls. I opted not to sleep in the tent but made up my mat outside where I could listen to the surf and feel the breeze without the barrier of the tent walls. What a view to wake up to! (Kait, are you jealous of my cool, orange pants?)

2007-06-30T12:55:00.000-07:00

Jenny Craig Pants

"I lost 80 lbs with Jenny Craig and went from a size 16 to a size 8 in 7 months." We've all heard the commercials promising amazing weight loss results if you only join their club or eat their magic food/pill for a certain amount of time. I have good news for you! For only 30 shekels (about $8), and no time commitment at all, you can get that same great weight loss feel by simply buying these pants. Discovered in Israel and bought in Eilat, you can find all the extra room in these pants that you want. And if you're not into the Jenny Craig look, you can always go for the farmer with his baggy overalls look.

Actually, they are about the most comfortable pants that I've every worn, for as you can see, they have plenty of room! They are correctly worn by pulling the extra material out to your side before folding it back across your middle. Using the ties on the back, you tie the folded material around you waist and fold the extra 6 in. down over you "belt". The result is a roomy, happy-hippy look that allows you total comfort of movement. But beware, some people won't let you out of the house in their company if you are wearing them. :)

2007-06-20T09:30:00.000-07:00

Eilat Adventures

"Never travel with a Wilton," Hayley warned me. "A disaster is sure to happen." What did I do? I invited her to come with Sasha, Valeri, and I on our weekend trip to Eilat. To tell you the truth, I forgot. And as we drove down and met up with her there, there was not even a hint of disaster. Other than arriving later than we had hoped, we all rendezvous at the Christian hostel and the place of the Eilat congregation, the Shelter. Ain ba'yot (no problems). The next morning, we woke up early, walked to a nearby grocery store for a few supplies and ate breakfast on an picnic table in the warm, morning sun. After changing into our swim suits and lathering on the sunscreen, we jumped in the car and headed to the sea. The snorkeling was breathtaking! The water was clear, the fish and coral were colorful, and the sun/water combination was perfect to keep us from getting too hot. We all came out with those wild water hairdos.

After getting cleaned up and changed, we left for downtown Eilat in search of Solomon's Temple, an indoor amusement park. Inside were more activities than rides. For instance, more than just illusions filled the Illusion Cave, there were also crazy mirrors, physical challenges, slanted magnetic rooms, etc. From one activity to another we raced, completely unaware of the time. We barely squeezed into the one ride, a boat tour of Solomon's reign with a finale ride on the roof overlooking Eilat ending in a Splash Mountain-like drop.

The next day we repeated the pattern, going early to the Sea before coming back to shower, change, and check out of the hostel. The next hours were spent at Dolphin's Reef, a protected area for about 6 wild dolphins. They are fed a partial diet of fish, but then must hunt the rest on their own so that they could survive in the wild if needed. They play with the volunteers there and swim with the snorkelers and scuba divers who invade their waters. After buying a sweet snack, we piled in Valeri's car and started the long ride home through the desert.

See, still no problems. We had enjoyed a wonderful couple of days and the Wilton danger was the farthest thing from my mind. Then we started home. Desert all around. Our car broke down. Overheated would be a more accurate term. With an hour of barren nothingness behind us and another hour in front, we were stuck. After doing all the normal things, checking for leaks, refilling the coolant, waiting for it to cool down, we tried again. Five minutes later we were pulled over again. Ma la'asot? (What to do?) Since we had exhausted our bank of car knowledge, we pulled out the cell phones and called anyone we knew who had mechanical knowledge. After pouring some more water in this opening and that opening, checking to make sure that the fan worked and that there wasn't any water in the oil, flagging down a passing car to beg for a screwdriver to remove a hose, and reaching in to remove the thermostat valve, we stepped back and waited. Holding our breath, we tried again. Success! Our speed was slower, and we had to pray the car up one steep climb and then another as the thermometer rose with the altitude, but we were able to make it all the way home without turning the car into a Fred Flinstone motored car. But our two hour delay in the desert had taught us a lot. We learned what to check for and where to look in our engines if our cars ever overheat. We also learned that broken plastic reflectors make horrible baseball bats. The reflector piece at the top produces so much drag that, while your eye is on the "ball" (a rock) and your hands are swinging in perfect timing to hit the ball, the bend in the "bat" leaves you hitting nothing but air. That makes it difficult, though not impossible, to connect with the ball. I also learned not to laugh if I'm in line to go second: it's much harder than it looks. We learned to trust God with our disasters. "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is....thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice." Ps 63:1,7 Finally, we learned that no matter what caused the "disaster", taking a Wilton along with you is definitely worth it!

2007-06-17T04:26:00.000-07:00

Water fun is synonymous with summer fun. After a day of doing school, projects, or running around, all the kids want to go play at the pool. Jumping, splashing, dunking, the air is punctuated by shouts, laughter, aggravated screams, and occasionally Nathan coughing because he accidentally gulped down a mouthful of water. It's cute to watch the kids turn brown, all except their little raccoon eyes from the goggles.

2007-06-10T09:31:00.000-07:00

Hilarious Encounters With the Kitchen Sink

Besides than the 40 falls in 30 seconds from America's Funniest Home Videos that have you rolling on the floor in laughter gasping for breath, another recent event that has made us laugh just as hard is a piece of broken plumbing in the kitchen. Let me introduce to you the culprit:

our kitchen faucet.

The water flowing through our pipes has many minerals that, over time, has calcified and has cemented our swivel faucet into one stationary position. You sure hope that it was facing the direction you wanted before it was rendered unmovable. However, the zeal of young dishwashers to loosen the faucet and to swivel it around the sink as they wash dinner dishes has snapped the head off the extendible hose and has led to two new faucet heads. Ok, so now they know that applying a lot of pressure to one end of a fixed object will snap any weak plastic join in between. Now we have another problem. The threads that screw the faucet head into the extendible hose refuse to stay tight and the head keeps falling off. The first time this was realized, Caleb was washing his hands in the sink with the water spraying full blast as usual. Under the pressure, the threads, which had been slowly loosening over the past hour, let go and the faucet head fell off and the full pressure of of the water hit Caleb right in the forehead. Direct shot! Man down! Caleb screamed and fell back. As Maggie rushed into the kitchen to see what was wrong, she was stunned to see a beautiful, rainbow-arc stream of water shooting from the faucet across the table and nearly reaching the refrigerator at the end of the 15/20 ft room and a wet faced Caleb watching the water display in shocked wonder.

Thankfully, she recovered from her shock faster than Caleb had and lunged forward to turn off the water. Now comes the best part. It was Friday, late afternoon. The embassy office that maintains and fixes any embassy house problems had closed for the weekend. That cyclops of a faucet stared us down all weekend, stealthily waiting for its next unsuspecting, habit-bound victim. And they were many. I can't tell you which one was the funniest: the you did it, you get it - frontal attack; the I'm talking to someone else right now and not paying attention and so get beaned in the back of the head - sneak attack from behind; the I'm standing at the sink minding my own business and someone reaches around me to wash their hands and I get sprayed - betrayed by a traitor; or the I'm cleaning up the casualties of the first attack and I stand up from wiping up the floor just as someone else turns on the water and sprays me in the shoulder - attacked and destroyed. There were many casualties that weekend, and while there was also a lot of laughter, we were so happy to have the new faucet installed as soon as the weekend was over.

2007-06-05T10:54:00.000-07:00

Is There Really a Difference?

Whichever psychologist said that there is no difference between boys and girls has never watched little boys and little girls play. Beka had received a snowman ice shaver for Christmas, and Nathan pulled it out wanting to crunch some ice cubes and make a snow cone. I was busy grinding the ice and every few cranks of the handle I would move the snowman and leave Nathan a small pile of ice. Pile by pile, he scooped them into his cup. As he worked to fill his second cup, his fingers got cold from touching the ice. He began looking for something other than his fingers to scoop the ice. Now if Sara had been looking for a scooper, she would have headed straight to the utensil drawer or to her mini cooking set to find what she needed. Where did Nathan go? Down to his trucks and cars to find his snow plow. Once he found it, he brought it up to the kitchen and used it to push the ice into his cup. The snow plow, toy that it was, plowed all the ice into his cup. Would've never thought of that!

2007-05-20T08:52:00.000-07:00

Some of My Favorite Italy Pictures, Part 2

Well, I hadn't looked through Darren's pictures before posting my last blog entry. When I did, I found some more favorite pictures. You can never have too many favorites, right?

All of us at our "hotel" in Tuscany Panorama of the Coliseum

A view of Florence past the cathedral
With the Dukes in Florence

Exploring Montepulciano

Panorama of Tuscany

And of course, the Coliseum, again

2007-05-16T12:08:00.000-07:00

Some of My Favorite Italy Pictures

I just uploaded my Italy pictures to my computer tonight and looked through them. These are just a few of my favorites.

Inside a beautiful villa museum A view of the Vatican from a hillside park

Ancient proof that it isn't soda or coke

SenatusPopulusque Romanus
(the Senate and the people of Rome) Castel Sant'Angelo

A park's pond that looked like a painting Inside the Vatican Museum

The Watchtower beside the Duomo -

414 steps up and down

carrying Nathanor Sara! The Coluseum

There are just too many statues to be serious with all of them!

2007-05-16T11:47:00.000-07:00

Biking in Utopia

I went to ulpan for the first time since we left for vacation. Oy vavoy! I'll need to study and catch up because after missing eight lessons, I'm feeling a little rusty.

The spring weather is still pleasantly cool, but you can tell that hot, humid summer is just around the corner. I bike to ulpan in the morning, and I haven't decided what to do yet when it gets hot. I won't be a blessing to my fellow classmates if I arrive and plop down in the seat next to them all hot and sweaty. Biking in Israel is nothing like biking in the States, except for the fact that you're on a bike. The sidewalks are more bumpy and have many dips, lamp posts, bus stops, trash/yard debris piles, and parked cars to avoid. Many times, I give up on the sidewalk altogether and just head out onto the road, which is where I always ride in the States. Unfortunately, the roads were not designed for bikers and have no shoulder. Our bike trip has trained me to wear a helmet, and since I'm a good girl :-), I always do, but here, I feel the necessity of a helmet. There are some less handle-bar-gripping times that I look forward to on my ulpan trip. On the return trip, it is largely downhill - a delight to any biker(should I be saying cyclist?). There is one stretch where fields stretch out on either side of the road as if a claustrophobic person stood on the road and pushed away the city with all its buildings and high rise apartments for just a few hundred yards. On this downhill stretch stand sentinels at regular intervals: slender, leafy trees, bright green in the warm spring weather. These stand on the right side of the sidewalk with lamp posts set in the left side between every other tree. Gliding downhill, I cut left, right, left, back and forth between the trees and the lamp posts. The trees whoosh, whoosh, whoosh by me. That is my favorite part of the whole ride, when, lulled into the security of the sidewalk, I want to take my helmet off and let the breeze blow over me.

2007-05-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

Surprise!

“Surprises are foolish things. The pleasure is not enhanced, and the inconvenience is often considerable." I'm sorry Jane Austin, on this point, I must beg to disagree with you. This last weekend, I flew from NC to Portland to surprise my parents and friends. Annette and Kait worked to arrange everything at home from picking me up from the airport to arranging the Friday off for my mom and dad so that we could go to the beach. Here's how it happened.

As part of our vacation, the Dukes were planning to go to NC for a week, and I would go with them. Having good friends there, I couldn't figure out how to visit my friends, Maggie's parents, and travel home long enough to make the ticket price do-able all in a week. But when our travel plans changed to staying in NC for two weeks, I bought the tickets to go home without ever telling Mom and Dad that our plans had changed. My siblings and I laughed in secret and hid our plans in public, anticipating our surprise. When Annette picked me up from the airport and Kait let us in the door, it was late and everyone was already in bed. Annette parked behind my parents' cars so that they would be unable to leave without us knowing. Early the next morning, my mom went to her car but found herself blocked in. When she came back inside to get Annette to move her car, we surprised her with our good morning, and Kait snapped a picture of the best surprised face I have ever seen. Unfortunately, the picture is copyrighted and unable to be published on this site. :-) This is a pre-surprise picture that Kait and I took to make sure that the camera was ready. We were unable to get the same surprised reaction from Dad because he had heard my, unfortunately, loud and distinct laugh before he came downstairs. What followed that moment was a weekend full of activity and fun with family, friends, and company. For us, for this weekend, a surprise brought pleasure and delightful activity.

2007-04-25T13:11:00.000-07:00

Fun in the Mud

The only drawback to the agriturismo in which we stayed was not the warm sun or the surrounding vineyards that cut the hillsides into neat rows but was the absence of a washer and dryer. With eight people, there is bound to be laundry, and no doubt, there will be more than less.

The first full day here we spent relaxing. Part of the relaxing was taking the kids exploring. They started out with me as their fearless leader. We wandered over vale and hill, etc until we came to a beautiful, little stream. Since I had the sandals, I carried most of the kids across. It was during this task that I discovered the deep, thick mud covering the bottom of the stream and the surrounding banks. “Warning! Turn back now in order to avoid a muddy disaster!” this should have warned me, but I, their fearless leader, plunged ahead enjoying their fun and wanting them to continue in it. There is no need to account the details of what happened. I’m sure that you can fill them in with no help from me. Needless to say, these pictures tell it all (and at this point, Sara's clothes are still clean). Feet, hands, clothes – all were covered in mud. But along with the mud came bright smiles and happy laughter. Except for the one time Nathan’s face filled with panic. His Croc stuck in the mud, and he was sure he would lose it along with his foot. He panicked, "Ahhh! I stuck!" After his rescue, he pointed to the mud squishing between his toes and said, "It's dirty. I need a bath." No joke! It is during all this that I regretted being an adult, for along with the fun came the plague of responsibility – knowing that there must be a clean up. So - in the absence of a washing machine - bathtub and handscrubbing, here we come!

2007-04-23T12:58:00.000-07:00

Under the Tuscan Sun

Looking from our stone cottage porch over the Tuscan hillside and vineyards, I can’t imagine a more beautiful place to be. After spending four days in downtown Rome, the peaceful, breathtaking countryside is a welcome change. Rome was amazing. Immense, ancient, and European, Rome was everything but disappointing. Tuscany, though… Tuscany is everything I imagined it would be and more. Rome was touring; Tuscany is vacation.

2007-04-17T23:47:00.000-07:00

Roman Holiday

Welcome to Rome – the city of the small cars, impressive buildings, and church cluttered piazzas(the pictures are just a few examples of each one of those). The weather is perfect. It is sunny and warm, but not too hot, with a token thunder storm late in the afternoon. Many kilometers have been tracked by Vans, tennies, and Crocs, large and small alike. We have marched, or sometimes plodded, from the Colosseum to the Pantheon to the Vatican, etc. Each has been impressive and overwhelming in its own right. Sometimes the impressiveness comes from monumental size or sometimes from the age or sometimes from the artist/sculptor who created it who you’ve read about every year in school or sometimes simply from its beauty. If you came to Rome just to see the churches, you would be busy for weeks. Those, along with all the other must-sees, have given us a pile as high as the Vatican dome to sort through and figure out which ones to put on a realistic list of how many we can see in the few days that we have. So far we’ve managed three or four a day with the rewarding gelato waiting for us to energize us for the walk home. (Sorry again about the sideways picture - computer wasn't working for me again!)

2007-04-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

Easter Weekend

For the first time, my Easter was spent somewhere other than at church celebrating Christ's resurrection with other believers. I missed it. My weekend was a wonderful camping and kayaking trip in the Galilee with the college/career age group from our church as well as a few others. It was interesting how a Western tradition, even though it is a church holiday, is not observed by believers all over the world. The majority of the group were Russians who's Communistic histories kind of dampened any Christian beliefs let alone Christian celebrations. The few Israelis there and the others at our church are more anti-traditionalists and so have not adopted a lot of Western traditional holidays. This was one holiday that I missed a lot more than I thought I would. In its absence, I had a chance to think about how important of a Christian celebration it really is. Even more so than Christmas, Easter celebrates our hope that we have as believers. Our faith rests in the fact that Jesus, as the sinless Son of God and yet fully man, died as our substitute to pay the penalty for our sins against God and to restore our relationship with Him. His victory over death, the curse of sin, proves that his payment was accepted and effective. If it were not true, as the Apostle Paul says, we would be of all men most miserable. But it is true! What better reason do we have to celebrate!

We did have a wonderful time of fellowship together. Andre brought us devotionals on the importance of unity, and we built a campfire and sang on the Western shore of the Galilean Sea. We barbecued, kayaked on the Jordan river with its one rapid, and played frisbee. Because the majority of the people were Russian, the majority of the language that was spoken was Russian. Unfortunately, I didn't get a lot of opportunity to practice my listening skills, but at least the guilt of not being able to understand when I was listening was lifted!

The activities were my favorite part. Putting up tents, kayaking, and playing frisbee offered many opportunities to be involved and to interact without needing a lot of words. These are such wonderful people! I look forward to the day when interacting with them at a group, or even an individual level, is not such a challenge. One more thing that makes you long for heaven!

2007-04-10T11:50:00.000-07:00

The Winsted's Visit

This February, Ruth Winsted was able to visit us from Jordan for a few days and see some of the sights in Israel. At that time, sharing a room with a fun-loving person my age who has many similar interests resulted in little sleep. This time was no different. An added blessing of the shared fellowship was that she didn't come alone - her parents came with her. Brad and Fawn Winsted are long time friends of the Dukes. They did Darren and Maggie's premarital counseling and have been an example of a godly marriage and family. They were also military attaches, stationed in Tunisia. Now they travel widely, promoting their Bible teaching curriculum and teaching marriage seminars in various churches and conferences.

Although our time together was short, we packed as much sight seeing and visiting with church friends into them as we could. Most of these pictures are from the Galilee where we visited Capurnaum, Megiddo, Banyas, and drove around the mountain villages. It was a little chilly and only threatened, or actually did, rain a couple of times. For more pictures, and also a video clip of the Muslim call to prayer in Jerusalem, click on the More Pictures link on the left of this page, and you'll find the pictures in the album labeled "The Winsted's Visit."

2007-04-04T14:07:00.000-07:00

Handel's Messiah

Although known for their musical talent (especially in stringed instruments), Handel's Messiah is one of the renowned scores that would not make it into an Israeli musician's top ten favorites. Quoting scripture verses from the Old Testament and the New, Handel weaves the most beautiful combination of words and music to tell of the prophesied messiah, a Messiah that, as a whole, the Jews have rejected.

Tonight, I went to see a performance of Handel's Messiah translated into Hebrew. A volunteer choir; modest, retired orchestra; and three months of hard work and practice produced a version of the Messiah that I will never forget. To hear believing Jews sing about their promised Messiah in their own language was a first time event, very moving to many of the Israelis present. The auditorium was packed with about 600 people, with the same amount of tickets sold for tomorrow night's performance. Some in the audience may never have come to listen to a concert of classical music, but they came to support those involved and enjoyed the majesty of the music and the message. The orchestra and choir were complete with an enthusiastic conductor whose glasses slipped off his nose to his chin whenever he vehemently thrust his arms or bobbed his head. The conductor, I heard, was the same man who translated the words and organized the choir. His musical contacts helped him form an orchestra, some of whom were not believers but agreed to help as a favor for a friend.

The Hallelujah chorus was the part that I recognized the most. Over half the words remained the same, hallelujah being used in both the English and Hebrew version! There were enough Americans/foreigners to carry the crowd in the tradition of rising for the chorus. Some of the Israelis that we talked to after the concert didn't know why we stood but were interested to find out the source of the tradition.

The concert was very well done, especially for an amateur choir and orchestra. It will be interesting to see how this version of the gospel will be used and what evangelical inroads it can make. I'm sorry that I forgot to take my camera and so have no pictures. :-(

2007-03-28T06:50:00.000-07:00

Gourmet in Safeway

Perched on bar stool chairs around a small, cocktail table, Maggie and I sampled the delicious beef, lamb's shoulder, stuffed chicken breast, and scalloped potatoes that the chef brought us. Also crowding our table were slices of cheese cakes and other cakes and samples of red wine. Beep, Beep, tchtchtchtch. The beep of the scanners and the clatter of the receipt printers disrupted our otherwise gourmet meal. What would have passed for the food in a fine restaurant was being served in the local Stop Market grocery store right across the flower display from the cash registers.

I think the whole presentation was for Passover, which the country is celebrating next week. The butcher who has very patiently taught Maggie the words for ground beef, drumstick, and chicken breasts had prepared the meat and wanted to be sure she would be at the store to sample it. Despite the rushing schedule, it was fun to sit and enjoy his cooking. Besides that, it was a great dinner substitute - even better than a lunch spent grazing through the Costco aisles' samples.

2007-03-23T22:51:00.000-07:00

Our Foster Family

Meet the six additions to our family, a sweet mamma cat and five adorable kittens. They lived at Beka and Josh's ulpan, and Beka had come home many days in a row talking about a friendly, pregnant tabby cat who roamed the grounds. One Sunday, Beka came home with the mom and her five, day-old babies. They took up residence in the garage, and Beka made them a comfortable home and took care of them.

It was so much fun to watch them grow, to watch their eyes open, and to see them totter around on wobbly legs. Now, at almost 6 weeks, they are still small but are strong and playful. As hard as it will be to see them go, we are looking for homes for them. Anybody interested? The problem is that there are so many wild cats in Israel, and so many are having kittens right now, that people aren't jumping at the

opportunity to adopt a kitten into their home. And there's no Safeway or pet store to set up a table in front of and hand out the kittens to people. Someone is coming to look at the mamma cat today. She is the sweetest, most gentle cat - especially for being wild. The kitties are all still here and cute as can be. If anybody wants one... :-)

2007-03-10T22:32:00.000-08:00

O Little Town of Bethlehem

In order to meet Nidab in Bethlehem, we had to go the border crossing that secured the Israeli/Palestinian border. The wall that closes the one off from the other is a sad necessity of peace. We didn't have any trouble getting through security; our trouble came in trying to find him and figure out where he was is relation to where we were.

After tea at Nidab's olive wood and jewelry shop, we headed first to the Church of the Nativity. The entrance door is very small, but you can see the outline of a much larger arched doorway. Through the large doorway, people had ridden horses into the church with no respect or reverence for the place of Christ's birth and so church leaders had constricted the door down to the present "Door of Humility" where all must duck their heads and bow down in order to enter. Viewable only through open trap doors is the original Byzantine mosaic floor of the chapel. From the far end of the chapel, you precariously pick your way down to the Star of Bethlehem, the site of Christ's birth and then across the birth cave enclosure to the site of the manger.
Also located in the Church of the nativity is the cell of Jerome, where he is believed to have translated the Latin Vulgate, and also the Tomb of Jerome.

From the Church of the Nativity, we drove to the Herodian, a mountain top which Herod the Great dug out in order to build a palace fortress. The view from the top is breathtaking and on a clear day, you can see all the way to the Dead Sea - ours wasn't a clear day. Not much of the original structure is left intact, but enough remains to make it clear that this mountain palace was an impressive structure. Climbing down underneath the structure, we explored a network of tunnels, used by the Herod, the Zealots during the first and second revolt, and then by the Arabs as both a defense network and a series of water cisterns.

We had hoped to see the Shepherd's Field (where the angels announced to the shepherds that the Messiah had been born), but it was closed during lunch from noon to two. Nidab drove us by the fence along the side to look in and then around by the front gate. When we pulled up at the gate, a large tour bus was just unloading its passengers for their tour of the Shepherd's Field. The site was being kept open for them and so we nonchalantly joined their group going through the gate, meandered around inside to our hearts content, and again joined their group as they headed back out the gate. Spring decorated the park with almond blossoms, flowers, and lush grass that we could enjoy along with a couple natural caves, much like what shepherds would have used to shelter their sheep. The chapel is light and beautiful on the inside, decorated with paintings that tell the story of the shepherds receiving the message, finding Jesus, and leaving joyfully.

Getting out of Bethlehem proved much easier than getting in. Since we had been through the crossing multiple times trying to get in, we were very familiar with how to navigate our way around.

2007-03-04T10:32:00.000-08:00

Vacation with the Girls

Sometimes I miss college. Not the stress and weariness that haunts every step from midterms to finals,making your prayer life a whole lot stronger, but the full time learning and the opportunity to experience life's struggles and triumphs with your friends. Last week, I enjoyed reliving that old college time with close friend from PCC and two other girls. Thankfully, we didn't have to share many struggles together - at least not anything serious. Our struggles amounted to nothing more than blowing Lorina's apartment fuse right before the sabbath so that we had to spend the weekend in the dark without heat, getting lost in the Bethlehem border crossing, getting lost first on foot and then in the car in Tsfat and tramping all through the city for hours and not finding our destination until right before sunset, getting lost in Haifa (do you notice the getting lost pattern?).

Before I go any further, let me introduce you to the members of our exploring contingent, fearlessly traipsing into any interesting area armed with a map and little clear sense of direction. Lorina is standing next to me. She is a Hebrew Uv. student living in Jerusalem and studying Islam and the Middle East. Anna, my four-year PCC friend, is between Lorina and her cousin Christa. Anna and Christa rented a car when they arrived at the airport and did quite a bit of touring while Lorina was occupied with her papers and I was occupied with teaching, kids, etc. Together, we met up north at Tiberius for a couple days. Anna, Christa, and I drove up earlier and met Lorina there Tues. evening. On our way to meet her at the bus station, guess what - yep, we got lost! I think I was navigating at that point. I guess I should leave that to Anna! We hadn't made any hotel plans for the night because all the hotels on line were expensive resorts. We headed north anyway, hoping to find something cheaper when we arrived. Stumbling across a simple but clean apartment-like hotel, we spent the night; ate a modest breakfast with our four cups, one plate, one knife, and no silverware; and headed out.

Rain was threatening the whole time, but thankfully, it did no more than just threaten. We explored Capernaum, the Mount of Beautitudes, Banyas (Caesaria Phillipi), some pretty waterfalls, Nimrod's castle, and Tsfat and Haifa. Climbing up through the clouds to Nimrod's castle - an old Arab/Crusader castle - we emerged to a sunny day above the clouds. It felt like we were in an airplane looking down on the clouds from some great height. Then there was this picture of our rental car with the castle as a backdrop. Doesn't it look like a shot from some car commercial? It was the first time I'd been to Nimrod's castle and it was really cool. You could hike all over the ruins. There were very few rooms that you could go into, but a lot of the towers and walls of the castle were still intact and safe. There was even a "secret tunnel" that ran under the castle, dripping water on your head and making you wish for a torch or something to help you see. The scenery in the north is beautiful!

Our trip to Bethlehem is worth its own entry. If I'm on top of things, which so far I'm not since this is about 2 1/2 weeks old, I'll get that entry out soon. For extra pictures, look under the link "More Pictures" then "Vacation with Anna."

2007-03-01T10:48:00.000-08:00

Yad HaShmonah

Just recently I got to visit Yad HaShmonah, a Christian complex/kibbutz where my friend works. Not until I got there did I realize that it is the same location as the Ibex campus for the Master's College. I didn't see the dorms or the classroom part of the complex, but I did see a Master's student on her way to class. Maybe next semester Rod will be walking the same path to his classes or maybe even Mark and Ellen.

We had stopped by Yad HaShmonah on our way up to Jerusalem. Ruth, a daughter of close family friends of the Dukes, was visiting for the weekend, and we wanted to show her around. Unfortunately, the damp fog clung to the hillsides and filled the valleys, obscuring the breathtaking view that you could tell was beyond the steep drop-offs. Even though we didn't get to see the view, Shlomit took us around and showed us all the attractions, from the Bedouin tent to the old synogague site to the wine and olive presses. These pictures show a part of the olive presses where they began the process with the first press. The olives would fill the baskets which were stacked under the press. Once the baskets of olives were in place, huge stone weights were attached to the far end of the press. By pressing down on the lever, the stones were lifted off the ground bringing their crushing weight down on the baskets of olives. The oil then ran into the trough at it's base to be collected. Other presses and vats stood close by to produce and store the oil during every stage of the process. It was fun to press the levers and spin the corkscrew press to see how the old machinery worked.

2007-02-11T03:14:00.000-08:00

The Dome of the Rock

Probably the most recognized sight in Israel, the golden dome of this Islamic shrine brightly reflects the hot, Middle Eastern sun. Begun in AD 688 and finished in AD 691, it is the first major sanctuary built by Islam. It was built by Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik to commemorate the place of Muhammad's ascension into heaven.

Although that may have been the most simple, obvious reason for the building's construction, al-Malik may have had more subtle reasons. "By erecting a beautiful building he intended to instill a sense of pride in Muslims over awed by the majestic churches of Christendom, tours of which were organized by the clever Byzantines for simple desert Arabs who tended to equate splendor and power"(The Holy Land, 86). Not only did it provide a tangible symbol of their religion, but it also claimed dominion over the Jewish and Christian religions by its location and decoration. By building on the site of the Temple and also the traditional place of Abraham's near sacrifice of Isaac, the Muslims claimed the site as their own holy place and established the permanency and strength of their religion. The decorations on the interior contain the same symbols used in Byzantine art on Christ, Mary, and the saints - like a victor possessing the symbols of power or value of a defeated nation. A more blatant attack on Christianity is found in the founding inscription which reads, "O you People of the Book, overstep not bounds in your religion, and of God speak only the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, is only an apostle of God, and his Word which he conveyed unto Mary, and Spirit proceeding from him. Believe therefore in God and his apostles, and say not Three. It will be better for you. God is only one God. Far be it from his glory that he should have a son." A clear statement against the Christian's foundational beliefs in the Sonship of Christ and in the Trinity.

There are eight stairways leading up to the platform on the Dome of the Rock. These stairways are crowned with arches or Qanatir. They are known in Arabic as mawazin, "scales." It is believed that on Judgment Day, God will hang the judgment scales on those arches to weigh human hearts against the truth.

The Dome of the Rock is surrounded by many smaller domes, the most beautiful one being the Dome of the Chain. It is named this because of the legend that Solomon hung a chain from the roof, and anyone who swore falsely while holding the chain was struck by lightening. More likely, it was not used to discern truth but to hold the Treasury of the Haram.

The view from the Dome of the Rock is as beautiful as the view of the Dome itself. This view is toward the Mt of Olives and the gold, onion-domed Russian Orthodox church.

2007-02-06T13:27:00.000-08:00

A Determined Little Fly

Have you ever felt a barrier between you and someone else that you wished wasn't there? It could be a number of things such as distance, being in different stages of life, bitterness, or anger. Some barriers you have more of an ability to remove than others. The barrier that I am feeling right now is language. I cannot get Hebrew! Sometimes I feel like I am banging my head against the barrier wall, but never able to break through, kind of like those annoying flies in the car that repeatedly smack into the same window, determined to break through but always thrown back.

I know that if He wanted to, God could have created me with great linguistic ability, but in His wisdom, I struggle with a poor memory and a stammering tongue. Right now, I can't think of any greater earthly desire than to be able to speak in Hebrew to the people at church. Sure, it would be nice to understand what is going on around me, whether it be in the store or on public transportation, but the ones I care most about talking to and establishing relationships with are the brothers and sisters at church. Valuable desires are worth working hard for and so, even if it feels like I am banging into the same barrier, I'll keep trying. Maybe one of these days there will be a break through!

Here are a couple pictures of some of the wonderful people in Grace and Truth. Thankfully, they can all speak differing degrees of English and so we can talk and fellowship. However, by God's grace and as far as I am able, one day we'll be able to talk in Hebrew (at some degree of fluency!).

2007-02-01T09:18:00.000-08:00

Experiences In Jerusalem

On Wednesday, I went up to Jerusalem to spend the day with Aunt Deedee and Uncle Dan. We spent the day in the old city visiting some interesting sights and experiencing some "interesting" people (more about that later!). The day was grey and cold, threatening rain that never came. We started our day walking around the city along the top of the wall, getting various views of houses, monasteries, souks, mosques, and churches.

When we reached the Damascus gate, we decided to leave our wall walk and cut through the Muslim quarter to reach the Dome of the Rock which was open to visitors a little after noon. Uncle Dan expertly navigated us through the narrow streets crowded with shops and shopkeepers encouraging us to "please, come into my shop."

By the time we left the Dome of the Rock, we were hungry and looking for a place to eat. At last, we found a felafel shop where we ordered three drinks and the usual spread of vegetables, humus, and meat for our build your own pitas. The food was wonderful, and we enjoyed it until we were full. Unfortunately, when we went to pay for the meal, the man tried to charge us 600 shekels (which is equivalent to $150!). For a basic middle eastern meal for three people, served on paper plates, I don't think so! I'm so glad Uncle Dan was there because I would have just paid for it in shock, but he kept us from being cheated. When the owner pretended to be offended, they told him to get a policeman if he wouldn't change the price, and we would take it up with him. Whew-ee! We finally got out of there, still having paid him too much for the food but at least it was a third of the original price.

After that, our desire to barter or buy had pretty much left us so we went to the Church of the Holy Sepluchre, did a little more walking, and headed elsewhere. I won't put either of the pictures from the meat market up because they were pretty gross, and I didn't even take pictures of the brains, heads, or jaws/tongues that were for sale. To see any extra pictures that I haven't posted on the blog itself, just click on the "More Pictures" link on the left of this page under "Links". These pictures are in the album labeled "In Jerusalem with Aunt and Uncle".

The stories that experiences like our rip-off lunch enable us to tell are well worth how irritated and angry they make us feel when they happen. Even though I ended that story, we really did have a wonderful day! I'm so thankful for the family that God has given me. There are few better ways to spend my time than enjoying life with them.

2007-01-27T23:53:00.000-08:00

Back in Israel

Well, I'm back, settled in, and all unpacked now that both bags have finally arrived (one decided to take its own vacation in London for a couple days!). Life has returned to its busy schedule and quickly passing days. On Wed, the day after I got back, I took a train into Tel Aviv to meet my aunt and uncle for lunch. They were heading into Jerusalem later that afternoon, and I was thrilled at the opportunity to see them. It was a beautiful day to walk through Tel Aviv to Cafe Matsada where I don't think any of us finished the huge portions of delicious food that were given to us. After lunch, we collected their bags and headed to the train station. I headed north to Hertzliyya and they took a train east to Jerusalem.

Saturday, the healthy Dukes(there has been a lot of sickness going around the community this winter!) and I went to church and worshipped with the believers at Grace and Truth. It was wonderful to see all of them again and to catch up on how they had been the last month and a half. I was excited to be able to say hi to them in Hebrew, and I even managed a few verbs in past tense! My success wasn't without its sobering reminders of how much I still have to learn. By mixing up an ending on one of my words, I think I told one of my friends, "It's good to see me," instead of "It's good to see you"! Will I ever get this right?!

Thank you all so much for your prayers. My trip went well, and I'm glad to have it behind me. I love you all and thank God that He has given me the privilege of knowing each one of you.

2007-01-13T17:03:00.000-08:00

Voila!

Our new home-improvement project is finished! (almost) Kait had picked out the countertop, cabinets, and floor that would replace the yellow tinged floor and counter that had come with the house. (The picture doesn't really capture the yellow effect!) The new pieces had been waiting in the garage until we could cut out the old and bring in the new. There were a few bumps along the way like a vanity that was too short and a countertop that was too long. Power tools are very cool and wonderful things, and Dad fixed any problems that we had.

We didn't attempt to do the floor ourselves. Replacing and plumbing was enough for us. After we got the bathroom put together the way we wanted it, we called the floor guys and within a week, they had us taken care of. Now all that remains is cutting and replacing one floor board and a little touch up paint.

2007-01-09T16:46:00.000-08:00

Tamar's Wedding Reception

Last week, I was able to introduce my family to my pastor from Israel and his family. I was going to do the introduction in Hebrew but chickened out! Tamar, my Israeli pastor's youngest daughter, just got married and moved to her husband's home in Washington. Pictures of the bride and groom and their wedding are posted in an entry a couple before this one. Marcus and Tamar's church family threw them a wedding shower Jan 3, and her parents and sister were all here to celebrate with her.

It was fun to see them in the NW and to be able to introduce them to my family. They showed clips of the wedding video and had a photo album of the wedding. The photo album even opened backwards, just like a Hebrew book, with the "getting ready" pictures just inside the back cover. These pictures are of Dad talking with Bracha and of Mom, Annette, and Kait laughing with Shlomite.

2006-12-29T09:52:00.000-08:00

The Work of the Gapers

What is more fun to do around Christmas time than playing in the snow? Of course, you have to have snow to play in so Ken organized a group from Trinity and Hillcrest to go up to Mt. Hood and enjoy the snow. There we found snow, intertubes, and the perfect packing snow. The intertubing was fun, the snowball fight was more fun, but the highlight of the day was the igloo.

After calling a truce, the two opposing teams set about tirelessly building an igloo. One snow fort was dismantled in order to add to the other, and slowly, the walls of the igloo encircled the builders and began to grow. The roof was going to be the biggest challenge. We figured that we'd build until the roof caved in and just see how far we could get. We kept building and building. Katie and David tirelessly rolled huge wheels of packed snow down the slopes to use as building or packing material while others stacked, supported, and packed what snow was brought to them. And there were, of course, the necessary supervisors. Before we knew it, the roof was leaning, but not falling, in, and the hole at the top was growing smaller and smaller. After 4 1/2 hours of working, the last block of snow was hoisted up to the last opening and packed in place. We were done!

Our megagloo had drawn quite a crowd of people stopping by now and then to see what we were working on and how it was coming. Some even brought snow or helped us lift the blocks and pack them in place. One of the workers came out as we were finished. "Are you from around here?" she asked. " We've been watching you work all afternoon and figured you must be gapers(people who don't live near or see snow and so play tirelessly in it when given the opportunity)." We assured her that we were from the area and did come up to Mt Hood regularly. "All the workers are excited to get off work so that we can come hang out in the igloo," she said. "Do you know how many it will fit?" Since we didn't know, we decided to find out, and all fifteen of us plus the worker crawled into the igloo. It was tight but not too bad, and while we were all in there, we sang some Christmas carols - an igloo has pretty good acoustics. By that time, it was getting late and dark so we crawled back out and headed home. We left the igloo for the workers to enjoy later that night - the work of the gapers.

2006-12-13T07:42:00.000-08:00

Sunrise, Sunset

Last Friday, Tamar and Marcus were married
The ceremony was very similar but not exactly like a normal wedding in the States. The pre-ceremony reception, wedding ceremony, and post-ceremony reception and activities all take place at the same location. That made transportation easy! After the processional, the bride and groom each sit with their families on the front row to receive the message/challenge from the pastor. After the message and a couple songs, the bride and groom rise and stand with their families under the khupa. There, they exchange vows and rings, and the groom stomps on (and hopefully breaks!) the cup. Marcus did a great job.

Almost, but not quite, my favorite part was the incredible bread, salad, meat, and dessert meal that followed. Isn't the food the reason most people go to weddings anyway?! The reception had the usual toast from the best man and the maid of honor, but this one was almost a program with the jokes, videos, and presentations that the bride and groom laughed through. The most fun was the accordion player who was the father of Tamar's brother-in-law. The was funny and played very well, but Tamar had been warned, "Don't ask for a few songs because you will get a whole string of songs, and when his wife gets tired of hearing him play, she'll start dancing." That is exactly what happened! The accordion wasn't the only music however, and the dj put on his music and let everyone in some traditional Jewish dances.

Now, Mr. and Mrs. Richardson are getting ready to move back to the States. They leave tomorrow just a few hours after I leave. Too bad we don't have the same flight, especially since they will be living just a few hours away!

2006-12-13T07:10:00.000-08:00

Hand Over the Icing!

After putting up the tree and toiling to get it straight, we invited an Israeli family over to help us decorate both the tree and some gingerbread and sugar cookies. The kids had never before put up or decorated a Christmas tree, and the tree, the lights, and the ornaments fascinated them.

Even more fun than decorating the tree was decorating the cookies in various designs of colored icing. The trees, bells, gingerbread men ("not my gumdrop buttons!!"), and snowmen cookies looked delectable dressed in the holiday colors. Requests for the green, yellow, red, and white icing were called out around the table in Hebrew and English. Each head was bent over a cookie, diligently crafting their works of art. The older kids were intent on making their cookies as intricate and creative as possible. The younger kids were intent on piling on as much frosting as possible so they could enjoy it later.

2006-12-07T21:32:00.000-08:00

Instructions For the Christmas Tree

It always surprises me how soon Christmas follows on the heels of Thanksgiving. I was always excited for Thanksgiving while I was in school because it meant that Christmas break was not far away. Now I feel the same way because in a week I'll be coming home for "Christmas break."

Everyone was excited when we turned on the Christmas music, hauled out the Christmas boxes from the garage, and started putting up the Christmas decorations. Everything was going well until we got to the tree. Being from Oregon, the land of the Christmas tree farms, I've never before attempted to put up an artificial tree. I thought they came all in one piece and all you had to do was stand it up where you wanted it. It has screws?! After unwrapping and laying out the pieces, I was at a complete loss. Since I'm not a guy, I'm not opposed to searching for and following the directions. :-) However with this tree, there were no instructions to be found. Maggie came to my rescue and together we built the base and stood the Christmas tree on it, one section at a time. Not bad. It was a little crooked, but Darren fixed it when he got home. Now, decorated with lights and ornaments, it looks wonderful!!

2006-11-29T12:00:00.000-08:00

Thankful People

One of my favorite aspects of Thanksgiving this year was that I celebrated it at the same time that you all did. Now, true, by the time we ate dinner, you were all in bed, but I still consider it the same day. Since Thanksgiving is an American holiday, our Israeli friends from church didn't have Thursday off to come celebrate so we celebrated on Friday.

The preparation was almost as fun as the eating. We were able to avoid the turkey whose selling description was "wrapped and frozen in its natural state." I'm not exactly sure what "natural state" means, but it sounds a lot like feathers so we decided to look elsewhere. As it turned out, there was still some minor plucking to do on the bird that we bought, but it was far from being in its "natural state."

After a day of baking and preparing, we had enough food to feed an army, not to mention the side dishes that our guests brought. That's all part of the fun of Thanksgiving, right?! Our tables were set, including the tiny table for the little people, the food was ready, and our guests arrived.

Thanksgiving food is wonderful, and it's fun to cook and get everything ready, but the best part about Thanksgiving is taking time to fellowship with other believers and praise the Lord for all His mercy and blessings. At home, it's the Thanksgiving service and the fellowship with the Goodriches, Dutts, and Johnstons afterward. Here, it was our in-home service and our fellowship with the Maozes, the Zadoks, Natasha, and Lorina. Thankfulness should be the believer's daily attitude, especially since my memory is too poor to remember all of God's goodness for the whole year. I'm glad we have that one day to set aside entirely to thanking God and enjoying His provision.

2006-11-23T13:15:00.000-08:00

Blood Brothers

If you have never read the book Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour, I would highly recommend it. It is written by a Christian Palestinian who was a boy at the time the state of Israel was established. It is a first hand account of the conditions between Israel and Palestine, from a Palestinian's perspective, from around 1948 to the present. If there is one thing that I have learned since coming here it is that there are always two sides to every argument. This book talks of Chacour's internal and spiritual struggle and this dream to help his people. Today he is the Archbishop of Galilee-Israel and has established an elementary, highschool, university, and church in the Arab village of Ibillin, Galilee. We stopped by this property on our way back from the Galilee.

After our tour of the building and the church, on whose stairs were written in English, Hebrew, Arabic and Latin, Chacour's theme verses, Matt 5:3-8, we met with the man who oversees the entire work, whose name is also Elias. (If you read the book, he is the son of Elias's best friend who travels with him to study to be a priest.) Elias told us of their work in Israel and how they were trying to educate Palestinian children in order to give them hope and a future. Theirs is one of the few private schools in Israel and is very highly acclaimed for its education. From the elementary to the University, the enrollment is 4,500 students from all over Israel. Their university is a foreign branch of the University of Indianapolis, but they are in the process of making it the first private Arab University in Israel. He said, "The promise[to recognize it as a private University in Israel] has been given, but we live in the land of promise so who knows how long." He is praying for this college to be established so that they can offer Christian young people a future in their own land. "Christianity for Arabs is being squeezed out between the Jews and the Muslims. Arabs must go out of the country for a good education and jobs and so our Christian young people are leaving and not coming back. With them, they are taking our hope and our future. We need help," he said. "We are shouting, and no one is listening."

It is a problem with no easy resolution. Both sides are justified and both sides are in the wrong. God's people have prayed for the peace of Israel since Old Testament times, and it would be a peace that would spread to all of God's children regardless of race or skin color.
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.
For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.
Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek thy good."
Ps 122:6-9

2006-11-21T12:26:00.000-08:00

Watch Out For Doggy Land Mines!

For many of us, piles of dog poop are little more than an annoyance - a clean up chore that we are given or a stinky mess that gets on the bottom of our shoe. But for Sara, this particular pile was much more than that. While chasing her brothers and yelling threats that make famous last words, she slipped in the infamous pile twisting her leg underneath her and falling with her full weight on it. A clean change of clothes, a night in the hospital, and a full leg cast later, she returned home diagnosed with a spiral fracture of the tibia.

The poor, little girl has been a real trooper, facing the struggles of pain, itching, and the inability to run and play with her friends. The walker she was given barely comes to my mid-thigh, but she scoots around on it very well. We told her that she would have a head start on her friends when they get old because she'll already know how to use a walker. Tomorrow, she goes in to get a lighter, Fiberglas(?) cast to replace her heavy plaster one.

All the kids have jumped right in to help, entertaining her with crafts, movies, and conversation. Maggie read Nathan the Curious George book in which George breaks his leg and has to get an x-ray, stay in the hospital, and get his leg cast so that Nathan could understand a little better what happened to Sara. Now he calls her cast her "x-ray, like George." Little kids get a lot more than we think.

So please pray for Sara as she heals over the next 6 weeks. It is hard for an adult to be patient, to endure the pain and the itching, and to be thankful to those who serve and entertain you, and it is even harder for a 7-year-old girl who loves to run and play. Pray for us that we would be creative, loving, and patient in order to fill the next couple months with fun, interesting activities so that they will pass by quickly. And finally, be careful of the dog piles that cross your path. They might become more than just an annoyance!

2006-11-18T22:24:00.000-08:00

The Family Circus

I need to take a quick break from our week with Darrell and Diana to catch you up on a couple things that have happened recently. For those of you who read the comics and are familiar with the Family Circus, this particular morning's incident will hold more humor. Nathan is little Mr. Independent, doing, with his adorable cuteness, many tasks that he is still too small to do. This morning was no exception. Unbeknownst to Maggie or me, Nathan had woken up and walked down into the kitchen. Feeling thirsty all of a sudden, he headed straight for the refrigerator in search of milk. (The milk in Israel is sold in sacks instead of cartons.) To his delight, he discovered a personal-sized sack of chocolate milk. His trail told the rest. Just like the dotted line followed the little boy in Family Circus up and over obstacles, in houses, and over fences, Nathan's dotted trail of chocolate milk followed him from the refrigerator, beside the table, up and over the chair, past the drawer of plastic cups, out the kitchen, and down the stairs to the office. He was taking the sack of milk and the cup down to Maggie in the office because he wasn't able to get the milk in the cup and needed help. Now he asks for help! What he soon learned is that with big ability comes big responsibility, and he was handed the mop to help clean up. He may be busy and into a lot of things, but is he ever cute!

2006-11-16T11:51:00.000-08:00

The Southerners Travel North

No tour of Israel is complete without a trip to the Galilee region so we all went up to Galilee to spend a couple days. Our first stop was Megiddo. While unable to walk down into the water supply tunnel because of repairs, we were able to see the rest of the Tel. The weather was a little damp, but thankfully, it held off the whole time we were there.

Capernaum was on our list of places to visit. I had never been there before. We had actually stopped there on our last visit to the Galilee, but since we had been unaware of the no shorts or capris dress code, we had to postpone our visit for another time. It is a beautiful garden area with ruins of the town's synagogue as well as houses. The ruins of the town that still exist look like a raised floor plan of the town. You can clearly see the rooms of the houses, the doorways, and the street to which the door open up. The modern church whose large windows overlook the Sea hangs like a flying saucer over the ruins of what is believe to be Peter's house and the meeting place of the early church. The octagonal shape of the interior room and its surrounding layers marks it as an early Christian building. The glass bottom center of the new church looks directly into the inner room of the house below it.

We spent the night in a hotel/hostel in the Galilee mountains where it was so beautiful. Darren had switched our Galilee trip from Mon/Tues to Thurs/Fri so that I could go with them because I had already committed to babysitting Monday night. It was really nice of him, but so as not to appear too nice, he spent the rest of the week looking for the verse in Proverbs (Prov 29:21) that says, "He who pampers his slave from childhood will in the end find him to be a son!" He's too late to start worrying about that now, the damage is already done!

2006-11-15T12:39:00.000-08:00

The Pool of Salom

On Sunday, we took Darrell and Diana to the Jerusalem Baptist Church to meet some friends the Dukes had known from their last stay in Israel five years ago. After church, we went out to eat before walking down and around the City of David. This part of Jerusalem is different than the Old City and is, in fact, just below the Jaffa Gate and the Old City wall. It is the actual area on which the ancient city of David would have been built. While not as preserved as the Old City, the City of David boasts two great Biblical sites: Hezekiah's Tunnel and the Pool of Salom.

It was too damp and cold to go wading through Hezekiah's Tunnel so we went to the Pool instead. The excavation area lacks any of the charm found in historical Old City sites. Surrounded by the houses and streets that crowd down the valley, you would mistake it for a construction site if it were not so clearly marked as a historical site. Even with the signs, you look around a second time to make sure and think, "Ok, this must be the right place."

The steps that lead into the pool are slowly being uncovered. Much of the stone has been buried since the city was destroyed and is still being uncovered. The number of steps and the size of the area shows just how large the pool would have been. Now as they uncover the area, they are uncovering a staircase that leads right up to the temple mount. These would have been the stairs the priests walked down to collect water from the fresh water spring that still flows near that pool and bring it back up to the temple. It was kind of eerie walking into the excavation tunnel that wasn't roped off, warning signs everywhere, safety insured like what would have been required in the states. I was surprised how far down they had to dig to uncover the stones of the stairway. The stones that make up the wall bear the Herodian margin and date the age of the staircase. They plan to continue the excavation as far up the hill as they can, uncovering the pathway to the Temple.

2006-11-13T04:39:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, Darren's parents, Darrell and Diana returned to Arkansas after a wonderful, week and a half stay with us. It was such a blessing to have them here, to tour with them and to just relax and hang out with them. I had met them in Maryland briefly but had not had any opportunity to get to know them. Their coming made me a little nervous - meeting the "real" family of my "adopted" family. I kind of felt like I was meeting "the future in-laws" for the first time - would they like me, would their close family fellowship make me really miss my family or would I feel a part of the family? As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about. Darrell and Diana are friendly and loving - two of the most wonderful people - and we had a great time.

The first place that we took them touring was Caesarea. It was a beautiful day to be outside and explore. The kids played on the rocks and in the sand while Maggie and I relaxed in the sun nearby. Darrell and Diana spent more time exploring the ruins, reading the information boards and taking pictures before coming back to play with us.

A large group of Japanese tourists were enjoying the ruins with us that day. I don't know what day they were celebrating, but right before they left, they all gathered in the amphitheatre, each with a helium balloon in his hand. Cheering and whistling, they released their 80 or more balloons at the same time. As much as Nathan enjoyed watching the balloon cloud whip around in the air, he would have preferred to keep a couple on the ground for him to play with. To hold onto a balloon and continue his ineffective struggle to keep his lollipop out of the sand would have proved too difficult for the little guy so it's just as well that they all floated up into the sky.

2006-11-09T05:44:00.000-08:00

You First, I'll Follow

If God had given me the tannable skin of a Middle Easterner, I would have spent more time laying out in the sun in between dives. As it was, I was searching for that delicate balance of getting my skin to be off-white and not-burnt. That search sent me looking for other uses for the top, sun-soaked decks. The turquoise water was cool and inviting under the desert sun, and we took advantage of the lounging time between dives to play in the water. While treading water just off the boat, Ann Marie and I looked up to the smallest, tallest deck perched above the bridge.
"Have you ever jumped off the high jump?"
"No, it always scared me too much. How high do you think that is?"
"Maybe 25 feet."
"I'll do it if you do it."
After making sure it was allowed, we climbed the two ladder-like stairs to the upper deck. Tiptoeing up to the edge, we peered down into the clear water that seemed much farther away than it had looked from the water.
"Who's idea was this?"
Just then, two members of the crew scrambled up the ladder to us smiling and chattering in Arabic. Their gestures and laughter made it clear that they wanted us to jump and that they would jump with us. I needed ALOT of time to prepare myself for the leap so Ann Marie and I gladly let them show us how it was done. Not enough prep time had elapsed by the time they returned for another jump. The water still looked a long way down! Holding out his hand, Mohammad offered to jump off with us. It was now or never so off we went. It was a long way down, and the water that rushed up to meet us was hard and salty. A couple times off the top deck cured Ann Marie and I of any remaining desire to jump, but Mohammad and his friend jump over and over. The universal language of a smile and a laugh was the only way we were able to communicate with them, but that was fun and that was enough.

2006-11-05T02:18:00.000-08:00

Beauty From the Boat

Underwater wasn't the only place of beauty. The harsh, desert mountains surrounded the brilliant blue waters of the Red Sea. I could have sat for hours just looking at the sea and land that surrounded us. At one point, we could look out and see the tip of the Sinai peninsula, and at another time, we could look over to Saudi Arabia. The desert mountains looked so remote, it was hard to imagine what type of people lived there, what their culture was like, and how they lived out their days.

The boat had a lower deck with rooms and bathrooms, but other than using those rooms to change and to store our stuff, we were rarely there. The main deck with the dining/lounging room and the upper deck to stretch out and relax were the most popular hang out areas. At night, we dragged our mats and blankets and slept on the upper deck under the stars. The rocking ship and the water slapping the decks below lulled us quickly to sleep which was a blessing because the sun rose between 5-5:30a. The lightening sky teased our eyelids open, and we sat up to see the water surrounding the boat and the sun beginning to peak out from behind the mountains. It was breathtaking.

There were ten of us on the trip: Matt and Ann Maria Yocum, Alex and Navah, Victoria Rubio (Gunny wasn't able to make it because of an inspection at the Marine house that weekend), and four others from the American Embassy. Since Alex was there on vacation, Romel was our scuba instructor who planned and led the dives. This was the first trip that Alex and Navah enjoyed together since they started their family five years earlier. They had met as diving instructor and student and were looking forward to spending the weekend diving together again.

2006-11-04T21:49:00.000-08:00

Beauty in Sinai

Now that we are certified to scuba dive in the open water, Ann Marie and I could join Matt, Alex, his wife Navah, and a few others on a boat trip in the Sinai. For three days all we did was eat, sleep, and dive. The diving was incredible. The coral and fish were even more numerous and stunning than in Eliat. Our underwater camera developed completely empty so Romel sent me some of his pictures - we didn't actually get to see the shark (and the squid was for dinner!). The colors underwater were unbelievable. Bright colors covered the fish in intricate designs and patterns. I could have spent all day just looking at the detail that both decorated and camouflaged them.

Underwater wasn't the only place we were able to see beautiful sea creatures. Early in the evening, the boat was gliding over the waves to our new dive site when a pod of dolphins surfaced around us. They jumped and raced as the crew whistled encouragingly. The cutest of the 30(ish) dolphins were the mom and baby that jumped and raced nose to nose with the boat. They held us mesmerized for a few minutes and then disappeared as silently as they had come. The next day we had anchored near a huge column of coral that rose over 30 meters from the sea floor to make a shallow coral reef. About 10 other day-trip, dive boats were anchored near us when we heard shouts and saw people pointing at the water. A sea turtle had surfaced and was making its way through the maze of boats and divers. A few people swam after it, but they were warned not to touch or "ride" it.

2006-11-01T10:56:00.000-08:00

What Makes a Jew?

My friend, Tamar is getting married this December to Marcus, an American who lives in Everett, Washington. She told me that when her friends find out that she is getting married, their first question is, "Is he Jewish?" Even if they are not religious, the answer is important to them. One evening, she and I took a taxi to a doctor's appointment that was required for her visa processing. In discussing where we were going and why, the taxi driver found out that she was getting married and, guess what question he asked next - "Is he Jewish?" She turned to me with a "See, I told you!" expression and told the driver that no, her fiance is American. "Why you not marry an Israeli?" he demanded. "Israeli men not good enough for you?" And they went at it with him firing accusations and predictions and her defending and explaining her choice.

She asked him if he was religious and since he wasn't, why did he care about keeping the Jewish race pure and contained among the Jews. He said they were a threatened and diminishing race with everyone trying to wipe them off the face of the earth.

He said that Jewish men would never think of marrying non-Jewish women, but all the Jewish women were trying to marry American men for their money and so they can move to America. She told him not to generalize - that may be them, but this is her and she is marrying the man that she is in love with.

He said that her kids would not be Jewish but that they would become American because they would be in American schools and around American kids. She said that family history and tradition was important to both her and Marcus and that they would observe the holidays and teach the Jewish histories and traditions. He said it didn't matter, the kids would still be American.

I was confused because isn't Israel a nation of immigrants - Russian Jew, Ethiopian Jew, European Jew, American Jew - with very few Israel born citizens? How then does cultural mentality define a Jew if they come to Israel with the cultural mentality of their own country? It was interesting to hear how this man's definition of a Jew wasn't that he was descended from Abraham but that he had the tough, survival mentality of someone living in Israel. Then was not the time for Tamar to explain that all children of God are true children of Abraham. You could understand the national pride that he was trying to preserve, but, ironically, if Marcus had been an American Jew who was an American culturally but had Jewish blood in his viens, this man would not have objected. It seems to me that the better question would be whether her fiance is Israeli not whether he is a Jew.

Also interesting in this conversation was my chance to watch the Israeli mentality that this man was arguing for at work. Israelis have very tough skin. They are warm and hospitable, but they say exactly what they think and don't waste time with false friendliness or social politeness. They put all their issues out on the table and argue passionately, but they seem to move on after the argument without holding grudges. After arguing the whole way there, this taxi driver smiled and shook our hands, showed us just where the clinic was, and gave Tamar his card if she ever needed to call a taxi in the area again. That was a taxi ride I will never forget.

2006-10-25T13:26:00.000-07:00

Our Olive Harvest

Being in a more Mediterranean climate, we enjoy a variety of trees in our yard such as palm trees, date trees, an olive tree, and a tree with fruit that looks somewhat like a small tangerine. The dates have started to fall off on the patio even though they aren't ripe enough to harvest for another couple of weeks. The green olives in the corner of the yard look really pretty, but they sure don't taste good and so we haven't done anything with them. A maintenance guy named Isaac, who came over to fix our sink, commented on the olives and told us that he could come back the next day to show us how to pick and preserve them. From what I understood, he had owned olive trees before, and he still cans large containers of olives every year. We gathered the jars that we needed and waited for him to come the next morning.

The next morning, he came back with another maintenance guy and after they finished their repairs, we set up the ladders and went to work. Everyone, including Nathan with a little height-help and direction, picked every green olive within reach and collected them into glass jars. Even with the ladder, we couldn't reach the tallest branches that were just covered with clumps of olives, but what we could reach filled three big glass jars and two little ones. Isaac told us to soak them in water for a week, changing the water every day. After a week, repack the olives layering them with salt, lemon, peppers, and a glove of garlic. After a month of soaking, they should be ready to eat. Even though I don't like green olives, it will be fun to taste our first batch of home picked and canned olives!

2006-10-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

Kids Are Such Plain-Spoken Little People

Have you ever been about to judge someone else's actions and then the realization hits you - you are guilty of the very same thing! Living with five kids has offered plenty of opportunity for conviction as I see many attitudes and actions that we adults have learned to mask or excuse. Nathan is learning to share, a very hard thing for a three year old, and he had opportunity to practice last week when the Tsadok family, along with their toddler, Me'dan, came over to visit. They were playing happily near each other when Me'dan toddled over to Nathan and stood watching him play with his train. Nathan generously held the train out to Me'dan. "Here," he said willingly, cheerfully doing what he had been trained was right. But as soon as the train left his hand, Nathan realized what he had done. He wailed in disappointment and headed straight to Maggie for comfort. Even as we comforted him, praising him for so quickly sharing but telling him that you should share cheerfully, we laughed at how truthfully he portrayed our human emotions. As you grow, you learn how to respond correctly in situations - to do what is right even if your emotions don't lead or even fall in behind you. In many instances, we appear cheerful and generous on the outside, all the while bemoaning inwardly the opportunity, object, or chunk of time that we have so "selflessly" given up. I found myself in that same emotional situation no more than a few days ago. I had even placed myself there voluntarily. Unlike Nathan, I assured everyone that this was what I wanted, while, on the inside, I wailed like Nathan over my lost opportunity and time. What a good reminder for me to beg God for His grace to change me from the inside out. Only He can make me a new creature like Christ where, instead playing the hypocrite and appearing selfless, I can sincerely, happily give of myself for the good of others. Thank you, Lord, for these many reminders of my need for you!

2006-10-19T04:32:00.000-07:00

You Know You're Getting Old When...

Josh and Caleb love legos and can spend countless hours building Star Wars ships, battlements, and a myriad of other creations from their imaginations. One afternoon, they asked me to play with them (wanting to spend time doing something more fun than school!), so I said yes, and upstairs we went. I was sure that my cool-creation-building skills would come back to me as I began a space ship that would join Caleb's in our attack against Josh. I have to admit, I didn't take our war very seriously but was enjoying putting together as many odds and ends as I could find (space ships are suppose to be strange and futuristic, right?). I didn't realize how strange it looked until I saw Caleb look up to check my progress, pause, and then look at me.
"What are you building, Nanny Jo?" asked the little diplomat, sounding very much like a parent asking their child to describe to them an unidentifiable drawing.
I cleared my throat in an effort to hide my smile. "It's my cool space ship." I said, proudly holding it out for inspection.
He glanced over it once more and hesitated, carefully choosing his words so as not to hurt my feelings. "Maybe you don't need these." He pointed to the plane-like gun docks that protruded from the rear of my ship.
"But those are my favorite part," I bemoaned.
He hesitated again before answering. His face lit up as a diplomatic solution came to mind. "They could be part of your fleet, Nanny Jo. See." He broke them off their platforms so that they became their own independent fleet.
"What do you think about this part? I'm not sure I like it very much." I smiled, aware that he had big ideas for my sad little ship.
"No, it was good," he said generously, "but I would make it like this." He began to remodel my ship, transforming it into a sleek space traveler. In the end, we had built a truly cool ship - him as the builder and me as the supply contractor.
"Very cool ship," I said, giving him a hug.
"You did a great job, Nanny Jo." He hugged me back as I laughed.
Watch out, Mr. Ambassador. This socially sensitive one may just take your place some day.

2006-10-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

Diving with Dori and Nemo

I have never seen salt water fish and plants any closer than the ones in my doctor's aquarium or at the Newport Bay Aquarium. The first time we went under the water at Eilat, we were face to fish lips with the bright, colorful fish, invading their underwater paradise as we swam with them around clumps of coral. Sand covered most of the sea floor with large boulders of coral and plant life scattered all around. However, our three training dives on Saturday had us doing more than just enjoying the scenery. Alex, Annmarie and I, and JR and Victoria Rubio(the Marine Gunny and his wife) practiced clearing our masks, taking off our equipment underwater and then putting it back on, buddy breathing, and any other "fun" challenges that Alex thought up for us! The problem solving under the water, in some ways, seemed less challenging than the problems we faced as we prepared to get in the water. Have you ever tried to get into a wet suit?! Those things are like vacuum-packed, second skin. Our PADI instruction book warned us that wet suits were suppose to be snug in order to warm the water that it traps close to your body and that we should not be alarmed or think a wet suit is too small if we have trouble getting in to it. "They weren't joking!" we thought as we hopped around trying to get them on. Once over that hurdle, we hefted up the air tank and BCD so that our buddy could strap it on. Leaning down precariously, we grabbed our flippers and mask and shuffled toward the waves like knuckle-dragging Neanderthals. The added weight on your back off-balances you and makes it difficult to stumble over the rocks and brace yourself against the waves. Once we were in far enough, we took turns stabilizing our buddies as they reached down to attach their fins. Tips to future buddies - be kind and brace your buddy with her face turned away from the breaking waves as she leans down to fasten her fins - a lesson learned. It was a relief to slip under the water, taking a few quick, panicky breaths through your regulator before the you realize that it does work and you can breathe underwater, and kick your flippers behind you as you glide gracefully through the water.

The most striking thing we saw underwater wasn't indigenous to the underwater world. While the visibility was extremely good, there was still the hazy blue curtain that shrouded our field of vision. On one of our dives, we swam after Alex toward our 20+ meter depth. The sand turned to a plush, green carpet of some kind of sea plant. As I lifted my head from the plants and fish below me, I saw a huge shadow looming behind the hazy curtain. Swimming closer, the hazy shadow became a Navy ship, covered in seaweed and plants and resting on the sea floor. We swam around, into, and through the ship, exploring the rooms and decks. It was one of three ships that Israel had bought from the French around the time of the Six Day War. After building the ships and closing the deal, the French experience a change of heart and refused to give the Israelis the ships. Alex's uncle led special ops teams in to steal the ships back. This ship, after being used in the navy, was sunk off the shore in Eilat for divers to enjoy. It was disappointing to turn around and swim toward the shore on our last dive. The last two dives were just for fun with no drills included, and it was beginning to feel natural to ascend, descend, and maneuver under water. Our training was finished, and Alex, the best scuba instructor in the world, could give us our certification.

2006-10-13T12:21:00.000-07:00

Under the Sea

The closer you look at God's creation, the more detail and design that you see. The beauty and creativity that God gave to his underwater creation gives Him glory and pleasure. I have a much fuller understanding of why, after creating the sea and all that lives in it, He said, "It is good."

Over the past month, Annmarie and I have been training for our underwater scuba diving certification. Our dive instructor is Alex, a retired IDF, who has a passion for diving and stopped recording his dives after he reached 5,000. He began our lessons in the Marine pool where we learned how to put together and use our equipment, solve problems with our equipment while underwater, use our BCD and lungs to control our buoyancy, buddy breathe, etc. It's very hard to practice buddy breathing while you're above water, by the way, because you(I) forget that in a real case scenario, you'd be underwater and unable to breathe inbetween sharing your regulator with your buddy. Annmarie and I were standing in the shallow end as Alex explained how to hold on to your buddy and your regulator and pass it from your mouth to your buddy's as each takes a couple breaths. Ready and prepared, I held on to Annmarie's BCD, grabbed my regulator, and took a couple breaths before reaching it to her mouth to give her a turn to breathe. I stood there, calmly breathing through my nose, trying not to play footsie (flipsie) with our long flippers, and waiting for her to take a couple breaths before I could take the regulator back.
"Are you breathing?" Annmarie demanded, the regulator dropping from her mouth as she burst out laughing. "You're supposed to be underwater - you can't breathe while I'm using your regulator." We started laughing so hard that Alex made us practice underwater where you definitely don't forget that you can't breathe through your nose while your buddy is using your regulator.

After a weekend of training in the Marine pool where the only things to look at were a shekel, a lost silver earring, and chipped pool tiles, we went down to Eilat to practice the open water part of our certification. The harsh beauty of the desert we drove through on the way down was as beautiful, in a totally different way, as the fish and the coral. These pictures are of that desert and the bedouins and their camels that inhabit it. We stopped to take a picture of a herd of camels just off the highway, and a young boy who was watching them, rode up to us on his donkey asking for food. He rode away again, happily munching on some bananas and apples from our well-stocked snack supply.