Fursts of the Summer

This Blog is sadly neglected, but there have been a whole ton of "fursts" in my life lately.

Number ONE on my list, and affecting all other areas, is my engagement to whom I consider to be the most shining knight alive - Benjamin D. McEndarfer. ~ <3 ~ (For those of you who missed the one-year romance, don't worry! I will be posting the background story.) Being engaged - feeling the peace of God that you have found the person you want to spend the rest of your life with - is blissful, and joyful, and comforting. It can also be seriously difficult, since Benjamin and I are going to be so far apart this year. Benjamin will be taking construction classes at NMCC in Presque Isle, Maine, this year and we don't want to get married during the school year; however, this leaves me a little up in the air about what to do while waiting, and I do want to make the most of my time in serving the Lord and preparing for marriage. We will see what God does. This is going to be a huge lesson for me in waiting patiently, taking one step at a time, truly trusting God and loving others, and being content to serve in every small area of life instead of looking for something big and exciting to do. Please pray that Benjamin and I will grow in maturity this year and in love for each other, and that the Lord would reveal His will for our lives that we may continue to follow Him.

The Newly Engaged!

Hiking with my Best Friend.

Another furst is teaching at Camp Shoshanah this summer. I have been working here for the past four years, but have never been in a teaching position - I have always been babysitting or assisting another teacher. There are only 2 weeks of Camp left, but I am currently teaching 3 classes a day, one to each age group. This has been an ENORMOUS step in my teaching career. I asked to be on the teaching staff this summer so I would have the opportunity to learn and grow under mentors that I know to be godly and supportive, but it truly has been stretching. The children here are all wonderful and it is a blessing to interact with them and share with them during classes, but it can also be very draining to prepare for and lead classes every day.

Chillin' with Shoshanah Students

I am also trying to officially graduate from TESU. One possibility for this year would be for me to acquire my TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Certificate and teach English online. There are many programs for that now which would provide me with more teaching experience as well as income during my "year of transition."

Well, that's the official update! I am struggling right now to have peace and joy and wisdom, without knowing exactly what my next steps will be - but that is the essence of faith! Being able to maintain your trust and buoyancy in God, ESPECIALLY when you can't see clearly ahead. It is easy to "trust" when the sun is shining and flowers are growing and you know exactly what you should do. I am very blessed to be surrounded by Christian friends and mentors right now who are willing to invest in me and pray for me. I am truly thankful for all that I have learned while preparing for my classes this summer, as well as the daily devotions that Benjamin and I have together which are so refreshing, and I am looking forward excitedly to what God is going to do in and through Benjamin and I this year!

Me and My Sister <3

Tips and Tidbits

Tips

Tip #1, in case you haven't discovered this, clicking on any picture in one of my blogs will enlarge it and give you the option of scrolling through the rest of the pictures in that post.

Tip #2, if you have any questions about my trip here I would be happy to answer them through email!
I do try to include information that I think will be interesting to all of you, but I am not sure what you would like to know so please don't hesitate to ask!

Now for the tidbits! 

In this post, I would like to give some information and random pictures that did not fit in the categories of my last two posts. 

For instance, for the first two weeks, we did not have access to a laundry facility. Therefore, I did all of my laundry by hand in the tub and hung it on the patio to dry. Thank you Mom and Autumn!

We are required to wear "longies" in order to visit some holy sites. This means we must dress in a way that our heads, shoulders, elbows, and knees are covered (and everything in between). It was suggested that ladies bring a large scarf and a wrap-around skirt for this purpose, and I, being the obedient soul that I am, did exactly that. I found that this made me as much of a scenic attraction as the building we were viewing, and had to patiently undergo my picture being surreptitiously taken.

I also found that it can be hard to keep a scarf wrapped when standing on top of a roof where the wind is blowing. It is actually because of the wind though that I was wearing my scarf instead of a hat and I found that a scarf can be a preferable method of shielding one from the sun and 90 degree heat. By the way, I have only burned slightly since coming here.

 

We have seen so many extraordinary places so far, and I have enjoyed every day and garnered quite a list of favorite places. I wanted to mention three of my favorite places so far, excluding sights within New and Old City Jerusalem. 

One was definitely Hezekiah's tunnel.  This was one day that I had no camera, but this website gives the necessary background information on the tunnel as well as a virtual tour: Hezekiah's Tunnel.

My second favorite place was the escape tunnel at Susya. My family will be able to enjoy (or suffer through) the videos that I took of my passage through this tunnel, but here is a picture of the entrance:

 

It was pretty awesome to be walking around above ground looking into this underground community. 

Third, I loved Beth She'an. We stopped there on the way to Jordan. Being in Beth She'an made it easy to visualize this as a Roman city, though it has changed hands numerous times through the centuries. 

The model

Above is a view of the city portrayed in the model. This view is outlayed opposite of the model  because we are looking at the earthquake-ruined city from the far hill which in the model has a small building on it.

 

 

Yeah, those were my favorite places so far. 

Also, I thought that y'all might like to see some Israeli wildlife. We have seen over 10 different kinds of animals / birds so far (not including insects). Regardless, here they all are! ~

 

   

  

 

  

 

 

  

Whew! So I know I am making you work for some of those. I'm sorry I don't doctor my pictures before posting, but I guess that means that you'll have to look as hard for some of those animals as we do! Dr. Fruchtenbaum does not slow down for animal sightings -

The Van (the women in the van): "Awww!! Puppies!!!" 

Dr. F: "Puppies are not part of a Biblical geographical tour!"

Now that we have our longing to see a shepherd, with sheep and goats, quenched, we are on the hunt for camels. I'll let you know when we find some!

Highlights of Week One, Jerusalem - Part Two

Dr. Fruchtenbaum likes to close evening lectures with a Rabbi joke 

so let's open with some humor, shall we?

These are the "hip" Israeli / Hebrew sayings. Sabbaba?

Okay, in this blog I would like to give you some broad brush strokes, as well as some specifics. Let us start with the specifics:

THE DOME OF THE ROCK

(Also fondly referred to as the "abomination" by some of us)

I really don't have any more or better pictures of this site because, quite frankly, I didn't really want any pictures of it, though it is a very beautiful and impressive building. 

I do have plenty of postcards of this building though, so if anyone would like one just let me know ;)

THE WESTERN / WAILING WALL

Of course, this was a must see, and was also an amazing experience - women on the right, men on the left, and back away from the wall when you're done. 

This wall was part of the Herodian temple that Jesus taught and healed in! But still, just a building. This day was special for making me realize that - those streets "that Jesus walked" - that I was so eager to walk after him, were mostly buried under hundreds of years of rebuilding. And even if he had walked that street, so what? Millions of people have walked the streets since then. 

The important thing is that Jesus was here. He died for the sins of the world - He is risen - He is returning - And I am so privileged to commune with Him every single day.

GENERAL SCENERY

I'd like to switch topics now from specific and important places to general scenery of Israel. 

I came here, expecting to find a beautiful land. I thought, "It must be beautiful somehow, if this the land God gave to His chosen people and precious possession." However, honestly, my mind was full of arid scenes, like the following:

  

(See the shepherd?)

And even some pure desert:

Wilderness of Ephraim and Judah

Sea of Galilee on left horizon

However, what I have discovered is that Israel is indeed a land of intense beauty and of variety, deserts not excepted:

 

Sometimes I even find myself wondering if I am really in Israel,
or back at home in the Adirondacks:




I think the most beautiful scene yet is where we are now - on the shores of the Sea of Galilee: