Still processing. So much to think about. So many images to process. Here’s some. More to come. We leave Israel in the morning. To view the gallery, click here. See you on the flip side….

Yesterday we had the opportunity to do baptisms in the Jordan river, in a place some scholars believe was the actual site where John the Baptist baptized Jesus! Apparently there are many sites “scholars believe to be the actual site”, however, this one was supposedly the most accurate. Haha. Over 25 members of our Horizon group made the decision to be baptized and it was such a joyful experience. As each person waded into the cool water, sounds of singing and guitar softly filled the air. It was such a privilege to join in such a sacred moment. I didn’t get baptized myself (I’ve already been baptized and I didn’t really see the need to do it again… sorry Mom) but it was privilege enough to be a part of so many others’ decisions to do so. Here’s a few shots from the morning…

I’m currently working on the post from Israel today, but it’s super late here in Jerusalem and I’ll probably be posting it tomorrow night. Until then… Shalom!

It has been a whirlwind couple of days… we’ve learned a ton from our expert guides Mido and Aladdin and we’ve seen some amazing places specifically talked about in the bible! From Cairo, we took a quick flight to St. Catherine and prepared for a sunrise hike up Mt. Sinai. After a delightful 3:30am wake up call, we rode our camels up through the mountains as the sun peacefully rose into a warm sunny day. It was unreal being up on the mountain where Moses had spent so many days and nights… and the 2 hour camel ride up the mountain gave us a new appreciation for the effort he went to to meet with our Lord. We shared a special time of song and devotion on that mountain as we took in the glorious sights below. God’s creation truly is magnificent! From there, we visited St. Catherine’s Monastery, claimed to be built around the area of Moses’ Burning Bush, and then we continued on our journey to the Red Sea. We stopped for lunch on our way to Jordan for a quick view of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel to the north. Our border crossing experience was… thorough… and we finally made it to our destination in Jordan, Tibet Saman (The Bedrock-esque hotel with rooms built into the stones! Definitely one of my favorite places thus far!)

This morning, we woke bright and early for a hike to the amazing mountain fortress of Petra, known to be inhabited by theEdomites – the descendents of Esau. The tour began by walking through the “Siq,” an immense crack in the Nubian sandstone, to the city of Petra carved out of the rose red rock…. again, it was UNREAL! The immensity of the rocks screamed God’s name, as there’s no other way to explain them… they’re just that amazing. On the other end of the “Sig”, the rocks open up to the glorious “Treasury.” The Treasury, El Khazneh, is one of the most elegant remains of antiquity. Beyond El Khazneh we were surrounded on both sides by hundreds of Petra’s carved and built structures. We spent the early afternoon enjoying the sights,  worshipping his name with the natural acoustics of the rocks projecting our voices for everyone to hear. Our small gathering and music attracted some tourists who joined us…. and some Colombia University Journalism students studying Religion and the Holy Land interviewed us for their project. A divine appointment, if you ask me!

We left Petra and headed out through the King’s Highway, which took us all the way through the land of the Moab. We stopped to visit Mt. Nebo, believed to be the site of the tomb of Moses, and now we’re in Amman for the night prepping for baptisms in the Jordan River tomorrow.

I apologize for not being as thorough as I usually am… it’s been a wonderfully exhausting trip and I’m trying to get at least 5 hours of sleep a night if I can help it…

Here’s just a few favorite shots from the past few days…

There are a ton more pictures, so if you’d like to see more, click here to view the gallery.

Hey everyone! It’s late here in Cairo… we’ve had a jam packed day… but I wanted to share just a few shots from today with you before I hit the sack. Today we traveled back through the ancient world of Egypt, some of the places we visited date back to 1000+ years prior to Abraham! (It was UNREAL!) We spent time at one of the seven wonders of the world- the pyramids. Cheops, with an original height of 496 feet, is the most colossal pyramid ever built. We also saw the Sphinx and toured the Egyptian Museum, location of Tutankhamen’s treasures and ancient remains. WHEW! Basically I’m exhausted… but Egypt is so cool so far! There are so many thoughts running through my head… thoughts on the tremendous poverty juxtaposed to some of the most important historic monuments ever… thoughts on Moses and the Egyptian history. Some heavy thoughts… but good news is… it’s been a growing, learning, and adventurous experience thus far. Talk to you soon and enjoy…. we’re off to Mt. Sinai tomorrow.