Aqaba to the Dead Sea

Today was a travel day - back across "no-man's-land" from Jordan to Israel. We got to sleep in a little and enjoy last trips around town or quick swims in the Red Sea. This has been one of my favorite cities we have visited - very beautiful, worth a visit.

We pulled out at noon, crossed the boarder, and met up with our previous Israeli tour guides. Micky told us about the Rift Valley stretching from Turkey well into Southern Africa. We rode along for a couple hours looking out at a wildlife preserve (ostriches were everywhere) and then pulling up along side the Dead Sea. It was apparent that salt was caked onto the shoreline.

Wadi Rum and the Bedouins

For a few days we stayed at a hotel which is actually a former Bedouin village. Though we are in the desert, it is quite cool and windy. In May summer will come and the temperature will be much hotter; we have all marveled at how good the weather has been...we hear some of you have been driving around in snow, in the Spring!?

The word wadi means valley. Today we went off-roading on the sand in Wadi Rum. Looking up at the 7 pillars of wisdom rock formation, a handful of us took on the challenge of hiking up a red sand dune. We met the local Bedouins (nomads) who are represented in the Jordanian government but are permitted to travel from place-to-place wherever they choose - they have ancient roots and are known for sheep, goat, and camel herding. They produce goat cheese and many women are being trained in a jewellery trade using silver and beautiful wood or stones. Often there children do not attend the local schools, but the government has begun to provide housing (even though they continue to migrate based on seasonal weather and climate changes) for assistance.

A Call to Prayer

Hello to our friends and family back home "walking" along with us through the Holy Lands via this blog. A few people over the past couple days have been ill either from exaustion or the food and water. Usually these have been taken care of with rest, bottled water, and over the counter medications. We would greatly appreciate your prayers though.

Last night we had our very own church worship service - singing, a message from Pastor Tanner, a testimony from a traveler in our group who lost and then found his billfold, as well as a visit from some local missionaries who told us about life and ministry here in a Muslim country.

We are all in awe of how the Lord allowed us to come here. There is great beauty here, but also we see how blessed we are by God as there is far reaching poverty in Jordan. Please pray with us for the salvation of these people.

Someone in our group put it well: "Now I understand Paul's life here more. Sometimes he stayed in a 5 star hotel and sometimes he was a bedouin."

*Note: Please come back for pictures and further updates.

City in the Red Rocks

After our buses struggled up into the mountains I wondered if we would have to come back down those same curving roads. Soon I saw we were to stay up near the clouds as we passed through Madaba and continued along the ancient King's Highway. There are many villages scattered all over the mountain sides of Jordan - men and women and children are easy to see along the roadsides. Men and women wear head coverings. Mosques are everywhere; in the morning and evening we can hear the prayers of the Muslim people streaming in the open air over loud speakers. In the evenings men sit in small groups outside restaurants or on front stoops drinking tea and smoking. Women and children herd goats and sheep and camels are hitched to posts here and there.

Today we went down to Petra. Some of us walked down while others rode carriages. The guide showing my group around pointed out ancient statues for worship of the gods as well as ruins of rock-wall dams which helped control flash floods. He also pointed out sky bridges and petroglyphs among the soft and vibrantly colored sandstone walls. When it came time to walk around the corner to see the most famous sight of Petra, the treasury (and perhaps disspell our misconceptions), he lined us up single file telling us to cover our eyes. One by one we walked forward opening our eyes to see stunning, carved architecture. Several of us rode camels at Petra or hiked up to see more monuments.

Mosaics

Our first stop in a modern Jordanian village was Madaba where we learned about the Byzantine style mosaic craft. Local disabled villagers are employed by this growing business and we, along with other visitors from around the world, were able to admire their art and even bring some home to the States.

Bethany beyond the Jordan

Today in the distance, looking back over to the Holy Land, Jericho was pointed out to us; when archaeologists excavated the ruins they noted how the wall had fallen inward instead of crumbling as usual. We arrived in Bethany where Elijah was taken up to heaven. This part of our journey was very hot as we walked out to a spot on the Jordan River where, our Saviour, Jesus Christ was baptized by his cousin John the Baptist.

On to Mount Nebo - as our motor coaches strained their way up steep grades, we were on our way to see the traditional burial site for Moses. Traveling across endless desert mountain and valley vistas in all directions, Aaron's burial site was noted also. Now 800 meters above sea level, we sang and prayed together. Sadly Mount Nebo is the location where Moses looked down into the Promised Land not being permitted by the Lord to enter into it before his death because of his anger towards his fellow Israelites.

Border Crossing: Crossing the River Jordan

This morning began at 6:00 a.m. as we prepared to cross the River Jordan into the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Starting out at 100 meters below sea level at the Sea of Galilee, the day only went downhill from there, literally - we made our way to the Dead Sea (400 meters below sea level and the lowest point on earth). Although the "no-man's-land" between Israel and Jordan along the river is still fruitful, there is a noticeable climate difference between the two nations.

Most of us said we were surprised and even troubled by the immediately obvious disparities between the neighboring nations. One woman in looking out over the Jordan River Valley rightly quoted scripture about Israel saying, "the land flowing with milk and honey". Our tour guides in both countires pointed out one of the major difficulties in the Middle East - water use.

At the border crossing we were not permitted to use our cameras and much of the experience required the fourth fruit of the Spirit. Even though a Peace Treaty is in place between Israel and Jordan and there is a Free Trade Agreement between Jordan and the United States, tension remains - barbed wire fences, soldiers with weapons, and watch towers. We submitted our passports and luggage to be stamped and inspected. I often wonder what this land was like while Jesus and John the Baptist as well as Elija and Moses lived here.