In the past week I have had my mum and dad visiting me. It was great having them here, showing them around and letting them meet people who plays a big part in my stay here.
Besides sightseeing in Jerusalem we went on a trip to Qumran, Ein Gedi and the Dead Sea and on aother trip to Galilee and the Sea of Galilee.
Furthermore, they were also at a service in the Danish Church – the last Sunday of the church year.
This weekend I was on a trip to the Dead Sea area. It is the hardest trip I have ever done (but next week’s three-day desert trip might even exceed that). Still, it was an amazing trip with great people and great teamwork!
We started out at Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in caves in 1947. The content of these texts include Old Testament texts and dates from the 2nd century BC. After the discovery of these writings there have been found an old city where the Jewish group of essenes is believed to have lived in the time of Jesus’ birth.
After that we had to continue to start our “walk” from Ein Gedi to Masada with Piers, a British guy who lives here and likes to hike! The trip did not proceed as planned. We were delayed and the trip took much longer than expected – as much as 5 hours longer. According to the plan we should reach Masada (Herod’s large fortress from the 30s BC) at sunrise. But we did not arrive there until 12 o’clock after 13 hours of hiking/climbing (where we for a while in the dark just went by compass, because we were lost) and 5 hours of rest under the stars.
Lying there under the stars was clearly one of the highlights for me! I probably lied for 2 hours looking at the sky before I was ready to sleep despite the 7 hours of hiking at the time. I came to think of Abraham as he was told by God that he would have descendants as numerous as the stars. How unrealistic it must have been for Abraham? He and his wife were in relation to their age far from the ability to have children, and yet God gave Abraham the promise. But today – look at Israel – see how numerous the people have become. God kept his promise!
The sky with all it’s stars was for me also a reflection on us, 13 hikers in the middle of the darkness of the desert battling through mountains and canyons with our head torches. Small lights indispensable in the vast darkness and unfamiliar terrain. As Christians we are also indispensable lights in the world’s darkness and evil. Candles lit by the main light to the world – Jesus!
I have to admit that I was very close to losing consciousness at the very end of the hike. After going on an empty stomach for 6 hours (which is partly my own fault) and after drinking too much water at once, I got nausea, really dizzy and had to lie down, while two others uncomfortably were looking at me, considering whether they were able to carry me. Luckily, I pretty quickly improved and was able to continue. After reading a post on a volonteer’s blog, I realize that he and the other one experienced the situation still worse than I did!
Israel experienced by Heidi 