Arrival and Old City Jerusalem

Before I start telling you about my time here so far, I want to briefly introduce you to some people, places, and terms that I will use frequently:
- Bill and Benj: My professors! Bill teaches History of Ancient Israel and Life of Christ and Benj teaches Land and the Bible.
- Natalie: The IBEX secretary and "mom." She helps us out when we need anything, takes us on walks, bakes us cake, gives us tips for things to do in Israel, and is just wonderful!
- Shaban: Our good friend and shopkeeper in Old City Jerusalem. He is always friendly, honest, and goes above and beyond to help if we need anything in the city.
- Yad HaShmona or the Moshav: The small community where we are living for the semester; a few miles west of Jerusalem.
- The miklat: The bomb shelter where we have chapels, study, play games, or just hang out. Having a bomb shelter is required, so we take full advantage of the space for everyday activities.
- Shabbat: Sabbath. We attend church on Saturday and take special time to slow down and reflect on the Lord.

It's been just over a week since I arrived in Israel! After a smooth day of traveling, we landed in Tel Aviv on Sunday night. We met Bill and Natalie at the airport and headed to Yad HaShmona. Almost as soon as we got ourselves and bags onto the bus, Bill started teaching us about Israel and the Bible. I really appreciate his love for the Word and the land and desire for us to know and love it too. After arriving at the moshav and having dinner, we spent the evening settling in and exploring a little bit.

The following morning, we had orientation and started classes. I am taking Land and the Bible (which includes all the field trips!), History of Ancient Israel, Life of Christ, and Jewish Thought and Culture. Later that afternoon, Natalie took us on a walk to the neighboring city of Kiriath-jearim. It was here that the ark of the covenant stayed for 20 years after it was returned to the Israelites from the Philistines (1 Samuel 7)! I am so excited that I get to spend a semester living right in the middle of the land where these real events took place! Not only am I living right by some important sites, but the hill that the moshav sits on might even be mentioned in the Bible! Judges 18:12 says, "On their way, they set up camp near Kiriath Jearim in Judah. That is why the place west of Kiriath Jearim is called Mahaneh [camp of] Dan to this day." While we can't be sure that our hill is the one mentioned, it is the hill just west of Kiriath Jearim, and is on the path they would take to the hill country of Ephraim, as described in the following verse.

The most important city that we are close to is Jerusalem! We had the chance to see much of Jerusalem's Old City on Wednesday! Benj took us all over the city, to see each of the seven gates, a couple churches, important biblical places, and to meet Shaban! I wish I could describe every detail to you, but I don't have the time to write it all, and you probably don't want to read it all. I'll highlight a few places and interesting things that I learned.

I really enjoyed visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This church and the Garden Tomb are the two main options for where Jesus was crucified, buried, and rose again. We can't be completely sure, but the Church of the Holy Sepulcher seems to be the more likely option. It was interesting to explore the church and think about the death, burial, and resurrection of our perfect Savior that brought the forgiveness of sins and salvation for those who call upon His name. I don't deserve that at all; I was His enemy, yet He died to save me. Thank you Lord!

Another place that I loved was sitting outside of the Old City and looking across at the Mount of Olives. We spent some time reading the Bible about what has happened on the mount, and what will happen in the future. Luke 24:50-52 tells us that at the end of His time on earth Jesus ascended into heaven from Bethany (which is on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives). One day, Jesus will return and will descend onto the Mount. Zechariah 14 talks about the time when Jesus will come back to fight against the enemies of Jerusalem and reign as king over the whole earth. Verse 4 says, "In that day, His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from the east to the west by a very large valley, so that half the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south." This was probably one of my favorite moments of the day. Being able to take some time to look at the mount and think about the Lord's return was amazing. I look forward to the day when Jesus will be king over this world! And to think that He will descend right in that spot it amazing! When Zechariah writes about Jesus descending and the mountain being split, I can now picture what that might look like. Lord come quickly!

We continued our tour and study at the pools of Bethesda. This is where Jesus healed the man who had been paralyzed for 38 years (John 5). The pools were said to have magical healing powers. Supposedly, an angel would come down and stir up the waters, and whoever jumped in first would be healed. But Jesus doesn't need magical waters to heal, He is the true Healer. He came to heal people from their sin. Many times during His ministry He healed people from their physical ailments, but the healing of their soul from sin was His main purpose.

These were probably my favorite locations of the day. After hearing so much about Jerusalem and these sites, it was amazing to finally be there, see them for myself, and spend time praising the Lord for what He has done!

Well, I'm about to head up for breakfast, so I'll end here for now. This really only covers the first couple days; I'll write again soon (hopefully) about the rest of the week. Thanks for reading!