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.

So…. I leave in 9 hours and I’m still not packed. Everything’s there… I promise! It just hasn’t hit me yet… that I’m leaving on a trip of a lifetime. This trip has been on my “bucket list” since forever… and the only response I can muster up when people ask me if I’m excited is… wide eyes and a mouth halfway to a smile, and halfway ready to say something… but nothing comes out because I have no words.

There are so many thoughts running through my head, it’s hard to catch one… they’re fast and I’m out of shape. But one that has allowed more contemplation is the memory of leaving for YWAM in 2007. It’s weird to think this was 3 years ago because it still feels so fresh. But remembering who I was and the significance of that particular adventure opens my heart to the wonderfully different realization of who I am now, and the significance of this new adventure I’m embarking on tonight.

Last time, I was making the decision to leave my Junior year of college–everything I knew and thought I wanted. Last time, I took a gigantic leap of faith, trusting that a small hobby of mine would develop enough for me to call myself a mission photographer by the end of it. Last time changed who I am today. It’s about a 7 hour long story… so I won’t go into it now…. but the important thing is I’m a completely different person than I was when I boarded my nonstop flight to Germany in 2007.

This time is different. This time feels like a dream…. one that I never dared to have in 2007. I never thought that hobby would develop into a passion, that would develop into another leap of faith, that would develop into my job. I never thought I would have the privilege of doing what I love as my JOB…. and I never thought I would have the opportunity to combine it with traveling. The best of both worlds have become friends and tonight I’m embarking on the first leg of this new adventure.

You guys….. I’m seriously so excited. I sincerely hope you’ll join me on this new adventure… and I hope something about this trip inspires you to dream big.

Our life-changing journey begins this evening as we board our overnight flight to Cairo, Egypt.

Here’s some shots from my last adventure that bring back many memories of some largely defining moments…

Sitting on a bench overlooking all of Herrnhut and Ruppersdorf, Germany…. the birth place of The Order of the Mustard Seed.

Some shots taken one of the first days I went exploring in Herrnhut. I was unsure, nervous, but excited all at the same time!

See you in Cairo!