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.