So I visited my own Xanga site, just cuz I haven't been here in a while. As you can see, my last post was in January! haha. Just made me laugh. So I thought I'd post something new just for kicks.

What have I done since then? let me see if I can remember a few things.

February: drove to PA, spoke at a church, helped out at Candidate Seminar
March: my church had it's mission conference
April: who can remember that far back?
May: spoke at a church, went to Ladies Lyfe conference with Amy, Marilyn, and Vicky
June: stayed home for a few weeks!
July: helped out at the Home Office for Candidate Seminar and ME Conference
August: went to Hungary, taught English in Gyula
September: vacation in Texas, and now home again, but working hard on preparations for our regional conference in Greece next month.

So i guess that's just a few of the highlights. Greetings to all my Xanga friends who may or may not still be out there! Guess we're all on Facebook now. :)

All of my life, I've read the stories of the Bible, and imagined what the places and people would have looked like. I never thought that I would actually walk on the ground where those people walked and where those events took place. So it was amazing to have the opportunity this last week to be in Israel. We had a few days of meetings and then spent 3 days visiting various places in Israel.

The first day we drove east into the Judean Desert to Qumran where the Dead Sea scrolls, some of the earliest copies of the written Scriptures, lay hidden for centuries, until a local boy threw rocks in a cave looking for a lost goat. We then visited the mountain fortress Masada where zealots held out against Rome and when all hope was lost, committed suicide en masse rather than become slaves to the Romans. Then we had lunch and hiked to the springs of En Gedi where David and his men encountered Saul in the cave and where they camped out and refreshed themselves. (I was even baptized - or shall we say sprinkled - in the spring--thanks to a couple of mischievous colleagues!) We finished the day with a float in the Dead Sea. It feels somewhat like bobbing in jello. The water is so thick with minerals and salt, that everything that is in the water becomes more bouyant.

     
Qumran                    Masada                    En Gedi                        Dead Sea - synchronized floating!
On Shabbat, we began our tour of Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives. How amazing to look over the city from the place where Jesus often went with His disciples, and where he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. And to look across to the Eastern Gate where one day He rode through on a donkey with palm branches waving--and He will return again in triumph to rule and reign. We entered the city and walked along the Via Dolorosa - the way of suffering - retracing the route that Jesus would have taken in the time from His arrest to the site of crucifixion. It is difficult to picture things as they would have been in that day, because so much is built around and on these places. The traditional site of Golgotha is covered by a vast building that has grown over the centuries and been divided among the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Late in the afternoon we went to the Western or Wailing Wall. This is the closest place that the Jews have access to, to the place where the Temple and Holy of Holies would have stood. It was a moving experience to go near the wall and pray. We descended into a dungeon where Jesus could have been held during the night awaiting in darkness the awful events to come. We sang, and were moved as never before, the words "Light of the world, you stepped down into darkness, opened my eyes, let me see." Tears came as we repeated "I'll never know how much it cost, to see my sin upon that cross." The day ended with a sunset view of Jerusalem from a nearby hill.

     
Gethsemene-olive      Eastern Gate-walled in         Via Dolorosa   Jerusalem-Western Temple Wall

Our final day of touring took us north along the Jordan River to the Sea of Galilee. We first stopped at Beth She'an, the ruins of a Roman city at the crossroads of commerce and control for this region. It was very similar to the architecture of ancient Ephesus. It was here that Saul and his sons were killed and their bodies displayed on the city walls. And it is near here that the battle of Armageddon will be faught. Next stop was lunch on a kibbutz - a sort of communal living arrangement that was very common in the resettlement of Jews in Israel. We ate St. Peter's fish from the Sea of Galilee, which was quite delicious, and then we rode on a boat out onto the sea. It had been raining in the morning, and even poured while we were eating, but then the sun came out and our ride was wonderful. We then made our way up to the northern shore to the city of Capernaum, where Peter and/or his mother-in-law lived. This was also the place where the invalid was lowered through a roof, to be healed by Jesus.

       
Beth She'an                St. Peter fish            Galilee-Kibbutz Ein Gev            Boat Ride

Capernaum

As I look back on all that we were able to do in these three days, I am excited that now as I read my Bible, I can picture in my mind, the true landscape and have a greater understanding and appreciation for what our spiritual forefathers saw and experienced. And I am challenged again to pray for this ancient land.

                   

It seems that everytime I give an update lately it is all about my travels hither and yon. I guess that makes sense, since it's what I've been doing ever since June. But all of those trips involve special people, interesting events, fun moments, and lots of just enjoying the path God is leading me along. I'm thankful for all of these experiences and opportunities, and in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought I'd try to just give a summary of some of the things I've enjoyed and been thankful for in the last 6 months or so.

June
--returning home to see family and friends, which was a great joy and blessing since I hadn't seen them since January.

July
--spending time in Harrisburg PA, working at the ABWE Home Office and visiting my friend Amy. There was certainly a lot of hard work and many long hours before and during Candidate Seminar and Missionary Enrichment Conference, but it was definitely not "all work and no play," for which I am very thankful! The day I arrived we explored a lot of Baltimore streets and ended up at the Baltimore Zoo and later the Inner Harbor. I stayed with Amy and her family, and we had a lot of fun celebrating July 4th in Philly (arriving by way of Cherry Hill, NJ because "we must be a rock band!" haha!),  visiting Baltimore again with Amy's brother & fam which included  smelly water taxi rides across Inner Harbor and a patriotic visit to Fort McHenry. Another day we watched the production of one of America's favorite snacks at the Utz potato chip factory, and also tackled the massive 4-story barn that is the home of Boyd's Bears in Gettysburg, PA. In between all that we laughed, played games, watched movies, and just enjoyed being together. I am really happy I had this time to spend with these dear friends.

August
--My friends Abie and Patty came to visit for a long weekend. It was great to visit with them, lounge around in the pool, and just have fun.

September
--Road Trip: Amy and I traveled 1000 miles or so to make contacts with churches, and again though it was a great ministry trip, it was also full of fun memories and making new friends. We stayed with several of Amy's WOL and BBC friends, painted toenails at the gas station, had a pizza picnic with one of my childhood friends, tried to take pictures at every state line crossing (failing miserably, I'm sad to say, but laughing at the attempts!), talked, prayed, and finished reading a book together.
--Chicago Trip: Heather hatched a plan to celebrate our friend Janice's 50th birthday in Chicago, as well as my mom's birthday. So we loaded up a Suburban with 7 of us, and headed for the Windy City. We managed to squeeze in super-thick Giordano's deep-dish pizza, a chilly night at Navy Pier, a loud and crazy lunch at Ed Debevic's with the birthday girls enjoying the world's smallest sundaes, the 2-eggs-actually-means-5-eggs breakfast at Lou's, and a 2-mile south-side flea market. The crowning event was going to see the Broadway show "Wicked" at the Oriental Theater. so cool!
--Wedding Trip: my grandma remarried a friend from her childhood. everything was simple, sweet, and pretty, but still one of the more unusual weddings I've been to. Not every day do you see your 86 year old grandma kissing her 90 year old groom when people pound the reception table. Yeah, i think that about says it all for that one. We are happy that she is happy and has companionship.

October
--I had my first four speaking engagements since returning to prefield ministry. The meetings all went well, and the new presentation seems to communicate well. It has been fun to meet new people and reconnect with supporting churches and individuals and give them first hand updates about the time I've spent in Hungary.
--I got to go back to Hungary, even though it was only for a few days. Despite the rather rainy and cold weather I was so happy to be there. I successfully applied for my residence renewal and was able to visit with both missionary teammates and some Hungarian friends.

November
--MKCT2!! I had a great time traveling with 6 of our awesome MKs and 3 teammates about 2000 miles in a loop across the country, ranging from VA to IL and back. We visited 8 schools and many of our regions MKs who are now college students. Our Flat Stanley endured a lot of hostility, but survived the trip--barely.

Well, November isn't over yet, but Thanksgiving is coming up, as well as my birthday, and yup, you guessed it...another trip. But I'll save all that for another day. :)

I hope your Thanksgiving holiday is a time of joy and remembering all God's great blessings!