In Jerusalem

Hello all,

Sorry it has been so long since my last post, but we have been very busy! Since my last post our group has traveled to Allepo and Palmyra while still in Syria. Then we headed to Jordan for a week where we visited Amman, Petra, and camped in the desert with the Beduins in Wadi Rum. While in Wadi Rum, we got to tear around the desert in the back of trucks, watched the sunset while sitting on top of a sand dune, and got about an hours worth of a camel ride. It was all so much fun. After Jordan we headed into Palestine for a week.

This past week in Palestine we stayed with host families and did a one week tour program with ATG (Alternative Tourism Group). I was with three other girls from my group and we stayed with the Awwad family. I really enjoyed the setup of their house. The mother (grandmother) lived on the first floor which is where the four of us girls stayed. The 2nd floor was home to one of her sons, his wife, and their 4 children. The 3rd floor was home to the other son, his wife, and their 3 children. We ate breakfast every morning with the grandmother on the first floor, and we switched each night between eating on the 2nd or 3rd floors. We usually ate by ourselves, just the four of us since their big meal of the day is early in the afternoon around 2. The schools get out around 1:30 and most shops close between 12 and 3, so this is when they all gather to eat. Then in the evening they just have a small snack and fruit. We were taken such good care of while in Palestine. The food was so good, I miss it already. After the dinner meal we would retire to the living room where we would be served tea or Arabic coffee. Then a little bit later some sort of snacks or sweet would be brought out. Then even later a variety of fresh fruit and more drinks were offered. I was never hungry while in the Awwad's house. The one family had a little girl about 7 years old. She spoke hardley any English, but we were able to play together anyway. It was so cute because she could say Allison, so she decided to call me Lucy. Her mom kept telling her my name was Allison, but she would shake her head and say "no, Lucy!" She was adorable. It was a wonderful experience, and I was sad to leave them this morning.

With the tour program we did a lot of things packed into the week. We had about 6 different lectures, got to see a small portion of the separation wall, went to a refugee camp, toured both Bethleham Bible College and Bethleham University, went to the Church of the Nativity and saw where Jesus may have been born, saw the Shepherd's Fields where they watched over their flocks by night, went to Hebron, helped plant grape vines at Tent of the Nations, went to an Israeli Settlement and had a discussion with a settler, hiked inthrough Wadi Qelt to Jericho and possibly through the "valley of the shadow of death," saw the Mount of Temptation, and the Sycamore tree that Zacchaeus climbed. It was a pretty amazing week. I saw things that I never imagined I would ever experience. And walking through the land where Jesus lived is such an amazing feeling, it is hard to wrap my mind around.

Now I am in Jerusalem. We are staying at Jerusalem University College where we will be taking a two week Historical Geography course. Our orientation begins at 8 am tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it. JUC is located just outside the walls of the old city of Jerusalem, and there is plenty of shopping to be done!! We have dinner in about 20 minutes and I can't wait to see what kind of good food will be prepared for us!

If any of you are interested in leaving comments of any Bible verses that are encouraging to you, I would love to hear from you.

Much love,
Allison