Normally when I go on trips I can’t wait to get back to my own bed. The hotel beds are not that comfortable. I can’t really say that this trip. The beds have been awesome! But its not that the beds are different, I am just so tired that I probably could sleep on top of a wall covered in broken glass. This is all a good thing because it means we are staying busy during the day and not lounging around the pool.

We were in Jerusalem yesterday and in the desert today. There are some that would find this tour incredibly boring, but I can’t get enough. We were in so many exciting places yesterday it was completely overwhelming. We saw the temple mount for the first time and took in the view of the city of Jerusalem. It is so much more mountainous than I ever thought. Those people had to be in pretty good shape back then…We then walked down the Mt. of Olives and visited the Garden of Gethsemane. It doesn’t look at all like what it did in Jesus’ day, but there were other olive groves around that would have.

Even though we had the opportunity to wade through the water in Hezekiah’s tunnel visit the Wailing Wall and explore under the Western Wall though the secret passages, none of them compared to the location many believe was the residence of Caiaphas the High Priest. We saw a prison that Jesus may have spent his last night before going to the cross which was incredibly sobering, but then we also saw the place where he might have been tried and where Peter denied him. We don’t normally have time to mediate by ourselves at the different sites but this time we did, and I was overcome by the reality of what happened there and was incredibly challenged to stand up for my faith.

Today we traveled to the fortress of Masada, a place I really didn’t know much about. I do know that there was a mini-series made back in 1981 about it that I would now like to see. The place was amazing. The day was capped of by floating in the Dead Sea, experiencing the Dead Sea in my eyes, and cutting my leg on a rock in the Dead Sea. By the way the Dead Sea is 30% salt…salt stings…

But the Dead Sea and it’s mud is very good for your skin. So right now mine is as smooth as a baby’s bum. I’ll leave you with that thought.