...brought to you in a not-so-nightly fashion.: Jericho

Our first 'real' field trip was to Jericho. To get there we drove east of Jerusalem, down to the Dead Sea. And by 'down', I mean down. The elevation of Jerusalem is 2,700 ft, Jericho is -850 ft, and the two cities are 17 miles apart, so it is a pretty rapid drop in elevation. When the Bible talks about going 'down' to Jericho, that is literally what they are doing. I just love learning all these things and seeing it for myself. It'll never get old. The only thing that gets old are tells, which I'll explain later.

Once we got to sea level, the group on our bus started singing 'Under the Sea' from The Little Mermaid. So fun. I know I keep saying it, but I'll say it again: I just love our group!

Part way to Jericho we stopped at the Inn of the Good Samaritan. There are actual archeological remains of an inn here, and some people have speculated that Jesus might have been referencing this very inn when he gave the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Byzantines found these remains and built a church there. We got to go in the remains of the synagogue and sing 'A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief.'

Kylie, Kristi, me, Jocelyn
outside the inn of the Good Samaritan

After the stop at the inn we went the rest of the way to Jericho. There is an actual town at Jericho, but the biblical Jericho is now just a tell (which is an archeological mound) outside of the current city. I'm not going to complain about tells yet because at this point they were really cool.

James, Johnathon, Robert Buss, Alyssa, Talia
marching around Jericho

I think it's important to address how entirely awful and frumpy I look on this field trip. It was SUPER hot that day, and I was trying to dress accordingly. (Yes, I realize the black shirt makes zero sense. Clearly, I did not think this through very well. But hey, at least the genie pants were super lightweight.) Fear not, I realized how frumpy I was looking partway through Egypt and addressed the issue. Also, I realized in Egypt that fanny packs are NOT cool, nor will they ever be. I finally came to grips with the concept and have stopped wearing the pack. I do miss the convenience though, so I have compromised and now use it as a shoulder bag.

me & Matt
(p.s. this was Matt's birthday!)

Zacchaeus Tree

We also went to a tree referred to as the Zacchaeus tree, which is a tree that is likely similar to the one Zacchaeus would have climbed when he was trying to see Jesus.

Then we drove back 'up' to Jerusalem.

Just a random view outside my bus window. :)

On the return trip we stopped at a lookout over the Judaean Wilderness. We talked more about the parable of the Good Samaritan and also discussed Jesus fasting in the wilderness for 40 days and being tempted by Satan. Brother Judd has the best insight, and I really love how he applies the scriptures to our own lives. I love, love, love how much I have learned/am learning here.