Arrival Home

After receiving a deadline extension from the travel agency, my faith was refreshed and further encouraged as the second round of checks came in over the next two weeks. But as November 19^th approached only $1,100 more had been provided, leaving me still $2,400 short of the total trip amount. I was certain that the travel agency could not make special accommodations twice, so I decided that I would call to cancel my reservation completely. This time, I wasn’t just reluctant and a little bit worried as I had been before. I was mad, and mostly at God for feeling as though He’d led me into an amazing opportunity only to see it fall through.

The Lord was gracious to me, and mercifully redirected my irritated complaints for His 'lack of provision' as I phoned the travel agency. I explained that I simply did not have the money that I’d expected to receive and told the agent that I believed I would need to cancel my trip reservation, to which she replied, “It’s ok if you still don’t have the full amount! At Dehoney, we like to see that all of our customers get to travel, so just send us what you have this time and we’ll go from there.”

Since travel agencies are a money making business, it seems highly unlikely that they would offer a travel spot to a girl without sufficient funds -- TWICE. I was once again reassured of the Lord’s hand over my trip plans. Despite my lack of faith, and even an impatient and questioning heart, He remained faithful.

“Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” (2 Timothy 2:11-13)

Praise God for His promises. To me, the Lord did remain faithful! Over the next couple of weeks, the entire trip fund was paid in full by friends and supporters. With only $315 more to go, I had one last freak-out moment knowing that my contact resources for more funds had been completely exhausted. At the last minute, I received more checks in the mail, one from a person I have still never met. The total equaled $316 exactly, and in God’s perfect timing and sovereignty my trip was paid off!

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This trip not only fulfilled a life-long dream of mine to visit the Holy Land, the experience I received through a study abroad program far surpassed any sight-seeing trip to the Near East I could have joined on my own. Having the option to travel with an authentic archaeologist from my own university allowed for a rich and unique environment of hands-on learning that simply cannot be matched in the classroom. With a traveling group of 45 people, including 6 study abroad participants, Dr. Wyrick focused on developing and maintaining personal relationships with each of his student travelers before, during and after the tour, which is the trademark of a Mary Hardin-Baylor education. I’m confident that I gleaned more knowledge through this tour experience than I could have hoped to retain from any 16-week course. Study abroad opportunities should be utilized by every student!

DAY 10 - Jerusalem (Via Dolorosa, Church of the Holy Sepulchre)

Of all my incorrect expectations about Israel, the Via Doloros was the biggest shock. I had always imagined a long, dusty road leading towards Calvary, located a distance outside of the city and removed from large groups of people or gathering areas. Our guide explained to us that the scenery had probably been the exact opposite – busy, bustling streets leading through a heavily populated and crowed part of town towards the place of crucifixion. Contrary to my 3^rd grade Sunday school imaginations, we were further informed that the crucifixion of Jesus had most likely not taken place “on a hill far away”. Jesus traveled through the heart of the city in plain view of the people, and was nailed to the cross in a more public area on flat ground, at the eye level of his beholders. We walked 12 feet below the buildings of Jerusalem to see the original street of the Via Dolorosa. Initially, I was a bit flustered to stand in what should be the most significant street in the world surrounded by commotion with mobs of people pushing past me. But I realized that this scene was a picture what Jesus was all about. In complete sinlessness, the creator of the universe became one of us so that he could stand in the midst of sinful people – souls in need of saving grace --  and with them brushing past Him, his offering of grace remained unaltered. 

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After two weeks of visiting places of such deep biblical significance, I was surprised that my first tearful moments came only in the last few minutes on Israeli soil. With our jet barreling down the runway towards takeoff, an unexpected mixture of emotions suddenly emerged and I cried as I watched the lights of Tel Aviv disappear below the clouds. I wondered if that final glimpse of Israel would be my last sight of the Holy Land before the coming of the new heaven and new earth. I dried my eyes and quietly began praying for the peace of Israel (Psalm 122:6).

DAY 9 - Jerusalem (Garden of Gethsemane)

DAY 8 - Masada, Beersheva, Lachish, Jerusalem

DAY 7 - Qumran, Ein Gedi, Dead Sea

Only the PASTRY section of breakfast! I could eat at
6:30 am every day for a spread like this...

DAY 6 - Kerak, Madaba, Mt. Nebo, Amman

Meet Dr. & Mrs. Steve Wyrick, our fearless leaders! 

DAY 5 - Petra

We woke at 6 am, ate breakfast at 630, and loaded onto the bus for departure by 715. With so much to see and two-days less to do it, we kept a tight schedule! Just past 8 am, we arrived at Petra – for many, the most anticipated site of the entire trip. Two traveling companions, Richard and Larry (both architects by profession), had joined our Israel trip to fulfill a life-long dream of viewing the architectural wonders of Petra. Watching their excitement that morning and as we finally stepped onto the Petra sand was absolutely hilarious, and their enthusiasm was infectious.

As many historical locations within the Near East have become organized state parks, most sites are skirted by large metal fencing and are guarded by tourist police officers for additional security. At Petra, the park employees punched admission tickets like a theme park at the front gate. The entrance at this location seemed more like the chute of a cattle pen, since the gate allowed room for only one person a time to enter through the narrow opening and under a metal detector. Not quite what I had expected. In my mind, I had imagined driving up to the huge mountains and in between the cliffs, to somehow emerge at the steps of the great tomb of Petra after a brief walk. Well, we definitely walked into the mountains and in between cliffs to reach the tomb…but our walk from the front gates to Petra’s main attractions took at least an hour on foot.

Luckily, Firas had plenty of history and geology to explain to us, which made the time pass quickly. We walked down towards the great Treasury through a long, winding passageway, carved by the Nabataeans for travel, with 5-story rock walls towering on each side of the cobblestone-like walkway. The natural colors of the rock itself were more vibrant than any other stone I had seen in my life and displayed beautiful swirled patterns of pink and fuchsia (which brings the famous name "Rose City"), lavender, bright yellow, red and blue. You should see for yourself...

Can you see the remnants of a carving?

The remains of a perfectly engineered water drainage system could be seen along the lower part of the cliff walls on both sides of the path. Large carvings etched in the face of the rock, some 7 to 8 feet high and carved 4 or 5 feet off the ground, and were still partially visible, suggesting the amazing detail with which they were originally designed. We saw one scene of a caravan of camels and a group of people that, in some parts, remained completely unmistakable in form, even after thousands of years of weathering. It was remarkable.

The crowds of people walking with us through the mountain path soon became more excited up ahead and camera flashes went crazy. We rounded the final corner and could see, just barely, through the last hundred feet of the path, our first glimpse of the great Treasury. The cliffs opened up into a large open area in front of the amazing structure, and the hard surface of the ancient road we had walked transitioned into loose, dark red sand; it felt like walking in a giant sandbox.

First sight of the Treasury!

Walking up to a giant, thousand-year-old carved rock, now recognized as one of the seven wonders of the modern world, was a bit unreal. Firas and Dr. Wyrick let the picture taking craze calm down before they even tried to gather our group in a central location to discuss the historical background of the place we were standing. The colossal rock carvings had obviously been hewn directly into the side of a cliff, but the truly amazing fact was the precise way in which they were constructed. To protect each intricate detail of the carvings as they were created, the entire tomb structure had been built from the top down to prevent falling rocks and debris from damaging completed work. Once again, the engineering and architectural capabilities of these ancient people groups astounded me. The builders of Petra were not only unbelievably skilled craftsmen, they were mathematical experts. Careful calculations had to be used prior to construction, so that the foundation of the steps met the base of the cliff at the perfect point. (There's no starting over on a project like this if you run out of rock!)

Past the site of the Treasury, our group split into three's and four's to travel throughout Petra for the day. Heather (a fellow UMHB senior), Linda (a group member from California) and I teamed up for the trek of our lives: climbing nearly 1,000 stairs in one day. But let me tell you, it was well worth it! The locations we hiked to were fantastic. The walk along the way was...well....interesting.

Throughout Petra, hundreds of Bedouin people live and make their livelihood. Along every pathway and beside the few restaurants inside the city, small roadside gift shops were set up to attract buyers in high traffic areas. These shops were primarily operated by women, since the men were employed as taxi service providers. Camels, donkeys and horse chariots were all available for rent. 

DAY 4 - Entering Jordan

Rising earlier than our normal 6 am wake-up call, a group of us grabbed our cameras and walked from the main buildings of the Ginosef Hotel out onto a pier overlooking the Sea of Galilee to watch the sunrise. Taking in the gorgeous landscape, looking out onto the same water that Jesus and his disciples enjoyed each morning, was an incredible experience!

Promptly at 730, as every other morning, we gathered, this time stowing our larger luggage beneath our bus to be taken onto Jerusalem and keeping only a small carry-on to have in Jordan for 3 nights. A 45-minute drive brought us to the gates of the Jordanian border control.

One of the photos I wasn't really supposed to take, but this
is only a sign, so I think it's ok for you to see. I won't
breach security and post the few I took of the
surroundings...

*The Jordanian King, Abdulla II, is pictured on the Left, whose wife, Queen
Rania, I was told could be my twin. (Pictured below)

Led by Pitch, we passed through several pre-check points guarded by armed soldiers before reaching the steps of the initial clearance office. Pitch led us inside, where we were formed into lines to approach the passport-check windows. Without a single glitch, exactly as we had prayed, our group made it through without delay and proceeded to an outdoor waiting area to catch a bus to the main immigration office. We waited for a bus, with Pitch by our side, for nearly 20 minutes. When it came, we said our temporary goodbyes to Pitch and boarded carefully, trying to stay together as a group. 

When all the seats were filled, we expected those left would be asked to wait for the next ride, but not only did we cram our whole group of 45 onto a 40-or-so seat bus, we made standing room for 8 to 10 more Arabs and one Jewish gentleman to ride with us. I gave up my seat to a middle-aged, Arabic-speaking mother traveling with her two sons, and a few others from our group did the same for the other Arab women.

It took a good 10 minutes to get everyone loaded and situated on the bus, which then seemed pointless when we stopped at our next check point, not 2 minutes up the parking lot. I assume the only reason they had us ride the bus was to keep us in one controlled location, instead of scattering and entering the gate by foot. An armed Jordanian soldier entered our bus to verify every passenger’s passport, then exited the bus and waived us through towards the last check point. We unloaded and were grouped with our luggage to meet our Jordanian guide, Firas (“FEAR-ahs”), and receive further instructions. Leaving all bags and belongings outside the main building with one person to guard our things, Firas led the rest of us inside the security office to form a line in front of the passport-check windows. We approached the clerk behind the window, when called, one by one.

Handing over my passport, the expected questions were asked – verification of name, purpose of travel, expected destinations, etc. The process seemed more official and thorough than my experience at the airport, yet I felt more relaxed. This guard, although a male, was far less intimidating, which certainly helped to keep me feeling calm. My passport was stamped for entrance, and for extra security, and eye scan of me, as for each person crossing the border. 

Successfully clearing boarder control, I claimed my backpack from our group luggage pile outside and walked to a small, white metal building to have my luggage screened. It’s a good thing I knew the procedure from airports, because the men with guns running the x-ray machines barely spoke a lick of English. I plopped my bag on the conveyor belt, and bending down to unload my laptop to be scanned separately, I got that funny feeling that I was being watched. I looked up to see 5 or 6 pairs of eyes – Arab men with guns – staring me down, looking pleased. Grossed out, I moved discretely behind the machine to wait, and snatched my bag off the belt the instant it cleared the x-ray-er, then hurried out the door. This was only my first taste – a very mild taste, indeed -- of the forward, aggressive demeanor of Arab males that I would experience throughout my time in Jordan. Good grief, little did I know…

Safely out the back door, and free from the dirty stares, I found our bus and some of our bunch waiting for the entire group to be passport-cleared. With a long drive towards Petra ahead of us, it was necessary to use a restroom before departure. I had been waiting to find the “W-C” or “wash closet”, as they call it, since leaving Israel, so my stop was urgent. I walked a short distance from our bus to the tiny, stucco restroom. It was a far cry from any Israeli WC, especially the polished porcelains we had grown accustomed to at Ginosef. The smell was overpowering, and the only light came through a small window in the ceiling. I pushed open the first unlocked stall door, and there it was: a HOLE.

See? I TOLD you. Definitely harder than it looks....
[The hose on floor to the left = ""toilet paper""]

I laughed audibly upon seeing this authentic Jordanian toilet – or lack thereof – somewhat from excitement, since I felt the experience about to take place would definitely authenticate my overseas travel, but mostly from horror in realizing what I was about to have to do. It took a lot of courage, and a fair amount of coordination, but I can now say that I have peed like a true Jordanian! Enough said. Or too much said. Whatever.

Returning to the bus with our entire group finally loaded for departure, Firas presented us to our new bus driver, “Aladdin”. As if riding through the dessert now in a "magic bus" was not cool enough, we were introduced to the young, handsome tourist police officer that would be traveling with us as well -- “Saddam Hussein”. Ironic? Firas had to state the poor guy's names more than once because nobody believed they were real on the first announcement.

Left: Aladdin (al-ah-DEEN) patiently waits as our groups loads onto the bus.
Right: Saddam, rarely seen without a smile, looks down through the ceiling
of a Crusader castle to "keep watch" as we tour the rooms below.

We commenced our drive towards Petra, at last, listening to lectures by Firas and Dr. Wyrick while riding. Traveling north, we visited the Decapolis cities of Pella and Jerash. As one of the mos important and best-preserved cities in the Near East, Jerash is sometimes identified as the 'Pompeii of the Middle East', due to its magnificent size and impressive excavation -- only, Jerash was never covered by a volcanic ash. Viewing the amazing architecture of Jerash made the wait to view Petra even more exciting.

As daylight expired, the chit-chat quieted and most of us, including Firas & Wyrick, dozed off. We traveled mostly on straight stretches of deserted highway, passing a village or small town every half hour or so. After 3 or 4 hours, we approached the first bit of thick traffic. Our speed slowed gradually until we came to a complete stop, where we waited for nearly 15 minutes before Firas and Saddam could discover what was causing the standstill. Negotiations were made by Saddam, and our bus was given clearance to bypass the traffic by off-roading for a bit to reach a different highway. After another 20 minutes of travel, we stopped at a rest area to use restrooms and briefly stretch our legs. Returning to the bus again, the last leg of our trip began. We continued to the hotel and arrived around 8 pm that night. We found our rooms, ate a delicious dinner, and sleep came quickly after.

The next morning on the bus, Firas announced that the large traffic jam the night before had been caused by political upheaval which had escalated to violence, leaving at least two people dead. Other tour buses that had been on the road behind us were stuck on the road, not allowed to pass for over 7 hours. They did not reach their hotels near Petra until 3 am. Saddam had told the road police that night that our bus of tourists only needed to get through to reach the rest stop 15 minutes away. He did not tell him that we were traveling towards Petra, which was 2 more hours past the rest stop. Without realizing the severity of the traffic jam and the potentially dangerous situation we might have found ourselves in, the Lord miraculously caused our bus to be the only one that passed immediately that night. We had prayed, but did not know what our prayers had accomplished until that next morning. 

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God."

Romans 8:26 & 27

Day 3

The most exciting event of the day was a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Our hotel in Tiberias sits on the shores of the Galilee, but this evening was my first opportunity to look at the water from closer than our dining room window. Unique from many sites throughout Israel, the Sea of Galilee does not mark a ‘traditional site’ of where Jesus is assumed to have visited. We know absolutely from Biblical texts that this is the exact spot where Jesus walked on water and taught multitudes of people on shore during his years of ministry on earth. Floating on a boat in the middle of the very Sea where Jesus had been, and looking out over the misty waters, imagining a boat carrying the 12 disciples, was truly an awe inspiring experience.

DAY 2 - Mediterranean, Caesarea, Mt. Carmel, Megiddo, Nazareth

Beginning the day with a wonderful, three course breakfast helps to get any tired body started! I awoke more exhausted today than the first morning. Touring across two Mid-East countries in only 15 days seemed hard to accomplish at the outset of the tour, but with our delayed departure cutting three days off our schedule, we’re practically going 90-to-nothin’.

Our first experience today was a stop at the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Piling out of the bus, our group of 45 scattered along the beach, and some of the students – who are the most athletic and adventurous of the group – abandoned their shoes at the parking lot and took off towards the water. Nearly up to our knees, the water was freezing, but the color was the most beautiful I’ve seen. Florida’s crystal clear waters are pretty, but could not be half as beautiful as what we saw of the Mediterranean Sea. The waves are the most deep, aqua blue you can imagine.

"The Youngin's", as we were called by our senior traveling
companions. L to R: Heather, a fellow UMHB student;
Jenna; David, a California college pastor; Jessica, my
roommate, a Junior at Baylor (Waco)

With barely 20 minutes on the shoreline, we quickly snapped pictures of an aqueduct on the beach, which had been part of the city of Caesarea (different from Caesarea Philippi), dried our feet and returned to the bus to drive up to see the ruins of ancient city itself.

The wonders of archeological excavation continue to fascinate me during this trip. Under large hills of sand and gravel, ruins of vast cities have been unearthed to reveal the most precisely engineered architecture. I’ve been reminded that the knowledge we have in our modern world related to building, structural engineering, and architecture has been modeled, in fact, after the incredible structures of ancient cities like Caesarea and others. The giant theater was especially extraordinary, as it is the oldest of its kind within Israel. Built during Herod's time and for his use, the incredible area is engineered to accommodate 4,000 people. The vast seating, built facing the sea, allows the audience to view the stage with the backdrop of the gorgeous Mediterranean waters behind it.

Looking at the sea in the background, you can get a feel
for how huge the visibility was -- the horizon appears to
be warped, barely showing the earth's spherical shape.

In close proximity to the theater, sits one of Herod's great palaces, positioned perfectly on the shoreline of the sea. It was prime real estate back in Herod's time, and I'm sure someone would kill to live on the spot of land today. Archeological excavations have uncovered a Herodian amphitheater between the palace and the theater. More than twice the size of the theater, this place of entertainment is more like a stadium, with room for over 10,000 spectators. The huge area between the seating and the beach was likely used for horse racing and large sporting events. Not only did Herod pick a primo spot to build his mansion, he spared no cost to create a giant 'playground' to go with it.

Next we drove to the top of Mt. Carmel, where Elijah’s encounter with the prophets of Baal took place. Much to our disappointment, the monastery built atop the mountain was closed for New Year’s Day, so we were not able to enter through the gates to see the marvelous view of cities and valleys below. We peeked through the thick trees next to the monastery gates and took as many pictures as we could through the thick brush, before hitting the road for our next location of interest.

The (limited) view from atop Mt. Carmel

Walking to the bus, I passed a couple trying to take a picture with the mountain view behind them. I noticed they weren't talking to each other, and only motioned to a passer-by to take their picture. They got a picture, but didn't appear to be pleased with the result, and I had the suspicion that they were deaf, so giving camera instructions to someone else would be difficult without speaking. Having completed 4 semesters of American Sign Language (ASL) at UMHB and working for my deaf professor as a teacher's assistant, I was prepared and excited to approach them in their native language:

"Are you deaf? I know sign!"

They were pleasantly surprised, and signed back: "Oh WOW! Yes, we are!! How amazing to meet you!!"

"Would you like me to take your picture?"


"Yes! Please do! We appreciate it!!"

They were finally happy with the result, and I was thrilled to find a deaf couple on the other side of the world using ASL, and signing in a similar "accent" to the one I had learned. We understood each other perfectly! I told them my name and that I was from Texas, then asked what state they were from:

"We're from Florida. In fact, you see that bus over there? *pointing* It's full of deaf people, because we came here with a huge group from Florida and we're traveling together through Israel!"

The couple wanted me to meet some of their friends, but they soon noticed that their bus was waiting on them to leave the site. They were sorry to leave quickly, but we shook hands and extended blessings to each other for the remainder of our travels. Catching up with the rest of my group, some of the comments from friends were funny: "What were you doing over there?" or "What was that about?" came from some who were confused, while some that were excited said, "Did you just...like...have a whole conversation with your hands?! That is so cool! Where did you learn that?" It was definitely a fun and unexpected experience!

Arriving next at the gate of the city of Megiddo, we climbed to the top of one of the large hills where the city rests to overlook the Jezreel Valley.

The gate of Megiddo

We received detailed instructions from Pitch and Dr. Wyrick explaining the impressive view from atop the hill of the city. We learned that the 'hill' of Megiddo is not a completely natural hill. In fact, the high place is a pile of 26 cities that were built one on top of the other. They were built, destroyed, rebuilt, destroyed again, built up again, destroyed again,......on and on.

Layers, upon layers of excavations...

The site is impressive, not only for the history of how the 'high place' became high from the piled cities below it, but also for an underground tunnel built below the city that was constructed in a manner similar to the system of Tel Dan, during the time of the Israelite kings. Like Tel Dan, the system was constructed for the same purpose of bringing water into the city from within the walls, to be used during a time of attack. A humongous 36-meter shaft was created, and connects to a tunnel (70-meters long) that reaches a spring.

Dark, slippery stairs led down to the base of the water system

Cut at an incline, the tunnel was engineered so that water would flow from its underground source directly to the bottom of the shaft so that water could be accessed from the top. To be even more sneaky, the outer entrance to the water was closed securely with a stone wall and covered with earth. The people of the city could draw water when the enemy cut them off, and they could conceal their means of doing it if the enemy besieged the city!

Our break hour was spent at a local café which neighbors a small supermarket. Actually, I’m not sure if the store was small or not, since it is the only supermarket I’ve visited here in the Near East. At any rate, we were quite delighted with the charming displays of native products of all sorts, and even many familiar foods sold with Hebrew labels. The ratio of fresh products to canned goods was, not surprisingly, more favorable to fresh foods than the US. There was no pre-sliced bread for sale, only freshly baked breads and pitas; deli meat could only be obtained from the fresh deli, since there were no packaged lunch meats either.

Pitch, our Israeli guide, shops for lunch

It was exciting to hear Hebrew all around me and look at native Israeli products while shopping with the locals. I never blended in for a second – you can spot a tourist a mile away here – but it was fun to act like I knew what I was doing, and pretend I was shopping like any other resident.

To complete the day, we drove through the city of Nazareth for the first time on our way to the high mountain that overlooks the city and miles and miles of other Biblical sites below. Traveling at a break-neck speed can be nice when we approach less interesting sites, since we are done quickly and move onto something new. Coming to the top of the mountain to look out over Nazareth, the home city of Jesus himself, made us all wish we could have stayed for hours.

Looking out over Nazareth -- Jesus' hometown

Sunset quickly approached and we met our bus to travel back to the hotel, enjoying another three course meal before retiring for our much-needed sleep. 

Coloring Book Blogging

I apologize for the lapse in updates. While internet connection has not really been an issue, finding the time to sit and write, as well as the accessibility of adequate electric adapters and WiFi spots, makes it quite difficult to keep up daily posts. Outlines of each day will be added as much as possible in the remaining days of the tour. Expect a ‘coloring book blog’ of sorts – simple outlines will give you a mental picture of tour experiences, and post-trip explanations will finally bring color to these experiences through personal reflections and added details. Thank you for your patience, and especially your PRAYERS!