The last day with the whole group

On Thursday (July 1), we embarked on our last bus tour with the full group we've been with since we came to Jerusalem. This group consisted of people from all over the US, not just APU people. We've gotten to know them, learn Hebrew songs with them, joked with them and trudged up Masada with them. They have truly become friends. It will be sad to say good-bye to them at the certificate ceremony tonight. But, I get ahead of myself...here is what we did with them on Thursday:

We headed out to the Ephraim and Manasseh areas of Israel. Ephraim is the heartland of the early settlement of the Jews in Israel, dating back to the time of the judges. We started our tour of the area with Mt. Gerizim, the place of blessings (as opposed to Mt. Ebal just north of it, which is the place of cursings). Afterwards, we stopped at a Samaritan museum with a presentation by the head of that museum. He's the grandson and the son of the former two high priests for the Samaritan people. He gave quite an in-depth overview of who the Samaritans are and what they believe. He told us that his people are currently the bridge between the Palestinians and the Israelis; that the Samaritans want peace above all else. There were many artifacts to look at, and a replica was displayed of the most treasured item in their possession: a beautiful Torah scroll. He also mentioned the community needed more girls to continue their lineage. I think he was offering to our female students a chance to come be a part of them! None of our girls took him up on his offer. But one of the girls said she would keep it in mind if nothing panned out for her in the states!

After this, we had lunch at a cafe/market right down the street from the museum, and also had a devotional from one of the group. This member of the group was overcome with the burden for the Samaritan people and talked about their religious practices and long history of being a people of God. But it is the appearance of salvation without knowing the One Who is our true salvation - Jesus the Christ. They believe He lived and was a good example, but He is not the Messiah. Our group member's heart was burdened for them and for all people who don't know Him as the Messiah. We are surrounded by such people in Israel. One other member of the group shared about her father who had had a stroke almost two years ago. At that time, she was crying out to God, so sorrowful that the dad she had known all her life was not the man he is now. The Lord showed her that the yearning she felt for her father and the feeling of loss she was experiencing was the same yearning the Lord has for us. He wants so much to have fellowship and closeness to each of us; to be our Abba in the truest sense of the word! We bowed our heads in prayer. A few others led out in prayer and we sang "As the deer panteth for the water." It was a God moment; a divine appointment for many of us that blessed us tremendously. God is so good!

We then went on to Shiloh where Dr. Mullins pointed out where the place of worship probably would have stood and where Samuel might have had his dwelling. I picked up a few pottery sherds along the way and Dr. Mullins identified them as Middle Bronze Age (age of the patriarchs) and Late Bronze Age (Canaanite rule in the area and Moses and the Exodus). Amazing! The timeframes on all that we are looking at and studying is mind-boggling!

After Shiloh, we were headed back to Jerusalem. About 20 of us had not yet gone to the Holocaust Museum (Yad VaShem). So, the bus dropped us off at the museam and we took a city bus back to JUC afterwards. The museum was very troubling and thought-provoking. We have all seen pictures of the Holocaust, but this was much more detailed. The one place that made me gasp was the Children's Memorial. You walk in the building and everything is dark. There are a few lighted pictures on the wall of children in the concentration camps. You round a corner in the dark and there, before you, are thousands of points of light in the darkness, with a voice naming these points of light; children who never had a chance to live. As I stood there, the voice named a boy, stating he was 12 years old. That's about the age of my oldest grandchild. It makes you weep.

Last night we had a time of worship in the garden behind the buildings on campus at JUC. Just as the sun was setting and the breeze was blowing we started singing. Our voices wafted over the Hinnom Valley, just as the music from the wedding I wrote about earlier had done. Students read scripture and others prayed. It was a sweet time and one I will never forget.

We are coming to the end of our time at JUC. It's been a remarkable experience and the facts and figures I've learned will, hopefully, stay with me. But, what I will miss the most are the people I've met. They are wonderful people. If you don't know already, our APU students are amazing! I love every one of them!

I'm not sure if I will have internet access at the kibbutz we're going to for the archaeological dig. This starts on Sunday. Hopefully, I will be able to continue to send out blogs. But, if there is not a handy computer, I'll need to borrow one of the students' laptops. So, my blogs may be more sporadic.

Until next time...

Bev