Petra, Jordan

On the way home, we spent a few days in Jordan. The most significant part of our stay there was our visit to Petra, a massive stone city, partially carved out of the mountains around the time of Christ. Truly incredible sight. A lot of walking though. Joseph never could have walked it and we couldn't use the stroller so I ended up being his primary beast of burden. We also decided to opt for a carriage ride to the first site and a donkey ride back though. Our first experience with either of those! You can see I was a bit big for the donkey and provoked a few snickers from other tourists. This city was a secret for centuries, hidden by the high cliffs you can see in first picture. The treasury building you can see in the next one was far and away the most impressive, hollowed right out of the mountain.

Garden Tomb

Near the end of our Israel trip we got a chance to see what they call the "Garden Tomb."
Some think this is where Jesus was buried. It certainly does have the right feel, devotionally.
It really gives you a sense of what Jesus' temporary resting place would have been like. For that reason alone, it was worth visiting.

Taste of Home

I know, I know, boring pictures from a North American perspective. But I was eating Middle Eastern and Korean food almost exclusively for my five weeks out here, so my two visits to McDonalds were heaven. And I got the unique Israeli experience of seeing a group of young Israeli soldiers, each armed to the teeth, march casually up to the counter and order their big Macs!

Dead Sea and Jericho

Another weekend, another long distance trip. One of the most interesting stops on this trip was, of course, the Dead Sea. The famous salt content of that sea makes it quite an experience. You can't even tred water there, your feet just pop right up to the surface. We never put our heads under the water, but our lips get coated with salt just the same. The rocks out there are caked with salt!

We also got a chance to see Jericho. You can't see any fallen walls there are anything so the most interesting aspect of this place is how ancient the city is. It claims to be the oldest city in history.

and you can see the different layers in the diggings. There we also got to see the spring that Elisha was said to have healed. This is no mere tourist attraction. It is, in fact, still the main source of water for the modern city of Jericho.

For this trip we also got to see the palace and fortress of Masada. This is where the Jews made their last stand against the Romans, after Jerusalem and the Temple was destroyed. A very big deal for the Israelis. There is an amazing set of ruins there and you can still see the massive earth ramp the Romans had to build to breach the city walls. They tried to use the stones seen here to stop the work, but in the end the fighters and their families commited suicide rather than be defeated.

In the end, not a lot of Bible stuff this trip but some excellent experiences and history lessons.

Sea of Galilee

Well we've been to the sea where Jesus walked. All three of our families went up there and had a really good time. We went to a restaurant where they specialize in the fish Jesus probably served his disciples after his resurrection. We got to swim in the sea itself and in a nearby pool. We even dug up a few clams and ate them when we got home! I know Joseph looks a little grumpy but he actually really enjoyed himself there. Yet another good experience.

Hezekiah's Tunnel

This is the tunnel built by King Hezekiah to allow the Kingdom of Judah to have water during the Assyrian's seige. Today walking through it is about a 40 min. hike sometimes up to your knees in water. Don't let the pictures fool you, it's pitch black in there. The kid behind me kept yelling at me to turn off my flashlight so it could be more "scary,"but as you can see by some of these pictures that could have resulted in a concussion for me! It wasn't always this cramped but it's clear this tunnel wasn't built for Dutchmen!

National Parks

Ami's brother has taken us to a number of national parks. In the top picture, we're at Beersheba, where Abraham dug a well. There there is an altar with horns similar to the one described in Old Testament.

The second is a local temple in the town of Arad that was a model of Solomon's temple in Jerusalem, complete with a Holy of Holies. Such temples were condemned in the Old Testament because sacrifices were only able to be offered in Jerusalem. In these local temples there were often used to sarifice to more than one God, hedging their bets. It was destroyed in King Josiah's time and reconstructed later. Regardless, it reveals the structure of Solomon's temple so it was extremely interesting.

The last is a cave where thousands of holes carved into the sides. Each of these holes served as a "cage" for a pidgeon. They used them for food and sacrfices. These things are huge, almost as big and with a similar structure to a modern chicken barn.

Joseph and the Cuzzes

I realise we've recently veered off the main purpose of this blog, that of showing off pictures of Joseph. The problem is, Joseph can rarely come with us on our excursions as the pavement stones are a little rough on the stroller. To placate those who are going through Joseph withdrawl we present these pictures of him playing with his cousins. He is really enjoying being with his cousins whenever we go on our little trips, but without fail has a little fit when we return as punishment for leaving him! (By the way, the watermelon Joseph is eating is truly amazing. We eat it at least twice a day and it's better than any drink.)

Touching First Century Rocks

I know it looks like my time here consists of touching slabs of rock, but these are very, very special slabs. The second one is reputedly the area that Jesus sweated drops of blood on and the third is supposed to be where they wrapped his body for burial. Who knows, could be true! If it is, it is truly amazing.

The top picture is in a building over the site where Jesus was thought to have taught the Lord's Prayer. Inside there are hundreds of translations of the prayer into all sorts of languages in which it has been prayed including languages like Breton, Cree and Haida. Seeing all those languages and realising how far the body of Christ has spread was one of my favourite experiences so far. Ami and I are standing in front of the Korean one. I never could find the English!

Made it to Jerusalem!

Ami describes these pictures as "too typical," but they serve the purpose. We're in Jerusalem! In their lavish generosity Ami's brother and sister, who live in Jerusalem, are putting us up and her brother and brother-in-law are using their wealth of experience to give us some guided tours. We are blessed beyond imagining! We got a full guided tour of Jerusalem in one day. It was a truly exhausting. (I know, your sympathy is overwhelming you at this point). We quick marched through virtually all of Old Jerusalem and saw more historical and biblical sites than we have or will ever see again. For a history guy and a guy who loves Jesus there can be nothing better. Thanks for all who prayed us through to get us here safely!

One Last "In Canada" shot

Joseph showing off his farmer/homey look
Next pictures will be from Israel!

Mommy's Boy

Okay mommy, now I'll show you how it's really done!

Getting the Winning Advantage

Joseph was helping a lady playing rummy cube at the Menno Home, but the little cheater kept stealing extra tiles!

The End of a Loooooooong Road

Well Ami and Joseph obviously made it back to Canada safe and sound. Just in time to enjoy the final culmination of seven years of work for me (4 on classes 3 on the thesis. I know, that's a ridiculously long time!) and four years for Ami. It is so good to have this behind us. We're looking forward to the next chapter of our lives and in the meantime are enjoying our study-less life!

Fun with Hal-ah-beo-ji

Joseph is enjoying his time with Korean grandparents. Even though the bike was too big for Joseph my dad tried for ride. One Sunday evening we went to fishing. Joseph was busy throwing little stones to the water and now busy eating food and my dad was busy throwing the fishing pole. Nothing was caught though~!

Family Worship Time

My family here are trying to have a family service everyday. One day all the families in Korea gathered together and had a service. But! They couldn't continue reading the Bible verses because they were laughing so hard because of Joonyoung (3 yrs) and Nael (2.5yrs). We read one verse in turns and when it was the little kids' turn, they just told their stories (not many people understand though!) or murmuring whatever they wanted. Sometimes, it's very short but other times they did't stop telling, so we just have to say "Amen" to stop them. In the second picture Joonyoung just told his story and it made my mom fall down laughing! :) Yesterday I found Nael and Joseph playing "family service". They brought the hymn books and sang "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" themselves! Nael can sing all three verses by memory and Joseph is only clapping! It was very cute! (Somehow the picture looks weird)

Families in Korea

Okay, I have to explain about each picture.
No. 1 and 2: Joseph's cousin, Nael, and my mom are trying to do "victory V". Joseph followed them for the first time. It seems quite successful!
No. 3: He's doing "Where did it go?!" after throwing the orange (he played with it like a ball) in my grandmother's house (My grandmother's is doing great! She's now 96!).
No. 4: With my aunt in my grandmother's house. They're playing with wind and a dog!
No. 5: My brother came to my parent's house from Israel on Fool's Day to shock everybody! It was a very successful "surprise." His wife who was already in Korea almost had a heart attack! The little baby is their second one, Joel!