Oh Look! A Camel!

  Sometimes I wish that during this amazing Israel trip, we could strip away all these new buildings. And the roads. And the noisy cars. I mean, if there's such awesome history underneath us, why would you plop a big, sprawling city right on top of it?
  I could go on.
  [Trust me; it has not spoiled the experience. You should have seen our reaction when we saw cool things like Bedouins and deserts and palaces and old artifacts and CAMELS.]
  But what's amazing is how real it's all becoming to us, even with everything that's changed. I'm not sure how, but everything is coming alive. Some places, like the David and Goliath valley and the Sea of Galilee, haven't changed at all. Some have changed a lot. Some are still really cool ancient ruins. But it's not really the relics or the views or anything like that. There's something about being in this Holy Land; it feels like home. Standing where Jesus stood and walking where He walked . . . climbing a mountain and seeing the landscape He saw.
  I could go on.
  Speaking of camels (I realize that was a while back), Chloe adopted one somewhere along the line. We don't have any pictures of him in his natural habitat, but here he is exhausted after a hard day's work: Ezekiel the camel.

  

Yeah. She named him. He has carried her faithfully through Jerusalem's streets. 

  (Piggy back rides.  
On top of the backpack he's carrying.
With two giant bottles of water in it.
Ezekiel is a peach of a camel.)
 
  Random pictures havah, anyone?
  (Sadly, the Barkmans can use 'havah' in Israel too . . . "a-havah" means "love." How cool is that?)
  *audience nods wearily*
  Here we go.
 
  Alright. This picture here is the Dead Sea. You may have heard people brag to you about swimming in it and being able to float like a cork. This is true.
 
  Welcome to the Dead Sea. We are going to be swimming in it.
  (Actually. We did swim in it. But for your sake we'd like to help you imagine as much as we can. Just close your eyes, tilt back and relax . . . you can imagine you're in the Dead Sea.) (Please don't tilt back too far.)

  M-BARK has demonstrated their tourist-ness in many ways (u-turns, group photos, sunglasses, speaking English, buying keychains) , but the fact that we were the only ones shrieking at the Dead Sea may have been the strongest clue. It really was amazing, though. It cannot be overrated. 

  CHRISTY: (Bobbing up and down happily) "I feel like a . . . prancing . . . pony!"

  (For the full effect, quote that in a British accent.)

After the Dead Sea, we had a delicious supper at Donovans' house.

  We may emphasize food a lot. 

  

This is because it is becoming very important to us. Lots of days we've been hurrying around and having to eat a lunch of bread and cheese at like three o'clock. (That is besides the two awesome Israeli restaurants, by the way; don't feel sorry for us.) ANYWAY. My point is that a home-cooked meal was quite welcome. 

  (The four emotional girls sank onto the couch with a unanimous sigh, and when dessert came, they nearly cried.)

  It was wonderful hospitality.

  I could go on.

  Moving on?

  The hill you see to your right might look . . . unnatural or artificial. That is because it is. Herod the Great was a king who greatly enjoyed being king, and on top of the big hill was one of his mansions. One, I tell you. He built a giant palace right on the tip.

Here we are on top.

We're sitting in one of the oldest synagogues in the world. Still on the top, by the way.
  Am I losing anyone?

The giant hill fortress/palace was also later used by Bar Kochvah, a zealot who thought he was the messiah. Here we are, exploring the tunnels he dug for hiding places.

The next picture may be a bit sad . . .
Fries. In Israel.
But I guess it is kind of cool because they're called "chips," and we ordered them for lunch today in Bethlehem. It's not every day you get fries in Bethlehem.

This gate is in Bethlehem. 

  "Oh yes. We went to Bethlehem today."

  Did I ever think I would ever say that? In my whole life?

  Here's inside that famous church above the cave where it's believed that Jesus was born. In the picture is the star that people line up to see and kiss. Somehow it was frustrating to have a gaudy chapel placed right above it, all "trinket-ized" and decorated, though I know it's done out of respect and reverence . . . but something about knowing that you are at the place where the Word became Flesh . . . is beyond describing.

  Back in the streets of Bethlehem, we shopped for a bit, and Chloe bought a new pet. She was honestly so happy she nearly cried . . .

  Okay. I don't know about you, but landscape pictures sometimes bore me.
  However.
  This is the place where David killed Goliath.
  It's real.
  We were there.

If I'd start to describe it, it would only make the experience smaller in your minds. So please just know that standing there and reading the biblical account in that very place, in a whole new way, was amazing.

It was also beautiful.

  We even found the brook, guys. THE BROOK. So naturally, we all chose five smooth stones.

  In that landscape photo, I don't know if you can see it, but there are steep cliffs on the left hill. That's where the Israelite army was, on that hill above it. 

  One of the object lessons that jumped out at me was how, yes, there were thousands of soldiers who were willing to be a part of the army. But day after day when Goliath came out into the field facing them to mock them and their God, not one was brave enough to step past the dropoff, out of their safe place, and run out into the field to meet him. There couldn't be complete victory until they did.

  When David came to bring provisions for his brothers and he happened to be there when Goliath came, he was angry with a righteous anger for God's name. He had something that was different from every other man; he took the step to meet the enemy. To run out and meet him because victory was so important.

  Object lesson: obvious.

  I will leave you with a few favorite pictures of our time so far.

  

  Have a good evening! We are heading to bed.

  P.S. Excuse the title. The author never came up with a better one.