Years of studying Hebrew have prepared me for this moment...now I will never go hungry. Actually, their is no Hebrew word for McDonald's. As with other foreign words, they just use the Hebrew letters that sound like the foreign word.



The Ancient Jerusalem City Walls, with stones from Herod, the Muslims, the Crusaders, the Maccabeans, and others through its many reconstructions.



This is Hezekiah's tunnel. When King Hezekiah learned that the Assyrians were coming to invade Judah, he built a long tunnel through the bedrock underneath the Temple Mount (the huge platform the Dome of the Rock sits upon). The purpose of this was to provide a secret water source to the inside of the city so that the Assyrians could not cut off Jerusalem's water supply and thereby dehydrate the Jerusalemites into surrender. The tunnel is long and at points the water is up to the mid-thigh, other points down at the ankles. Sometimes the tunnel is 4' 5" tall and at other points is appears to be about 20' tall. If you are claustrophobic, this is not the activity for you. We walked for what felt like a mile or more. Hezekiah's men started on either side of the massive bedrock mound and tunneled through until they met each other in the middle. To this day it confounds archaeologists how they were able both teams found one another. Along the walls you see pick marks facing in a distinct direction. Halfway through the tunnel the pick marks change direction, indicating where the teams met. At the end of the tunnel, there is a Hebrew inscription left by the teams stating that they had done this. The Hebrew is quite ancient (paleo-Hebrew), so I am not able to make it out. This is the Hebrew before our earliest copies of the Old Testament. Obviously it has been translated and you can probably look it up online if you want.


Don't let the brightness of these photos deceive you--it was pitch black in the tunnel. The flashlights behind me were blocked by the width of my shoulders, so I couldn't see very well where I was walking. I just turned the flash of my camera on and aimed into the dark. The guys behind me are college students who, whether out of nervousness or a need for attention, chose to sing "Barbara Ann" and "Party in the USA" (Miley Cyrus) at the top of their lungs.

I finally made it on the flight from Germany to Israel--Praise God! I got off my plane in Germany with a 25 minute layover, so I ran the full length of the Frankfurt airport terminal with 50 pounds of luggage on my back. In the process I lost my passport, left my computer laying somewhere and almost lost my mind. Thankfully, I retrieved everything and made it on the plane to Israel just as it was taking off. If I had missed that flight I would have to get on the next one which left 12 hours later--If there was even any room on that flight.

Finally!

Jordan made it safely to Jerusalem! Praise the Lord! He barely made his connecting flight from Germany but was able to hop on just before it left! The Lord was surely with him! He is missing his luggage and the airline isn't quite sure where it is! Please continue to pray for him and that his luggage will arrive soon!

For those of you who would like to "see" Jordan you can download a free program called Skype. All you have to do is go to Skype.com and set up your account! We have done this and it has been so amazing to be able to video chat with him! Kelsie is constantly going to my computer and looking at the screen and saying "Daddy, Israel"! It is too cute! Once you have set up your account all you have to do is add him into your contacts. His name is righteousinchrist.

Thanks for all the prayers and support!

Airport Terminals

Well, I've been lodged up in the Dullus International airport terminal since 7pm yesterday (01/03/2010). My flights were delayed due to strong winds (45mph) in D.C. so I couldn't get on my connecting flight to Frankfurt, Germany. As of now (01/03/2010), I'll be getting on the 7:15pm flight to Frankfurt out of Dullus, then I have 45 minutes to get through customs and security in Germany until I have to board my connecting flight to Israel. If I can't make that--and I probably won't--then I'll have to get on a 10:50Pm flight out of Germany for Tel Aviv, Israel. Unfortunately this means I will have missed about 2 whole days of traveling through Israel, but I can only go as fast as they let me. After all, I don't want to be in a plane that lands nose first into the ocean due to wind.
The lady sitting beside me on my flight from Roanoke to Dullus said, "you can't fight Mother Nature." The truth is, you can fight it but you might lose. In light of that, it's reasurring for believers to know that Someone rather than something is in charge of the wind (Matt. 8:27).

Thank you for you prayers and support!

Traveling Update

"Shalom" Friends,

I just wanted to give you an update on Jordan. His flight from Roanoke yesterday was delayed by 2 hours due to the weather. This caused him to miss all of his connecting flights in order to get to Jerusalem on time. He got to Dulles and there was another flight headed to Germany but after standing in a line for 3 hours to try and get on that flight it was completely full by the time he reached the front. He spent the night in the airport and will be leaving for Germany at 7:15pm tonight, Monday January 4. Once he has gotten to Germany he has 45 minutes to get to his connecting flight to Israel. If he misses this flight he will have to wait another 24 hours for the next one. Please be in prayer for his as he travels and that everything will go smoothly tonight and tomorrow as he continues his journey!

Jerusalem Bound!!!

Jordan is Jerusalem Bound! He flew out of Roanoke and is headed to Dulles. From there he will go to Frankfurt Germany then will land in Tel Aviv Israel! Pray for safe travels!