Playing the Heinz Bottle

So I am behind a little I suppose. Time to play a little catch-up. (Just in case you didn't get the connection, the title and playing catch-up together make up a rather cheesy, but nonetheless effective, pun of rather great proportions. 1. we don't really have much ketchup over here, 2. I'm behind 3. I have a story about a bottle I will tell later)

Anyway, so this little post is not going to be anything like the last one. For one thing I couldn't stand being convicted/challenged/whatever better word there is for that very often or I would collapse and maybe even die. Neither option works very well for a life of service to the Lord.

The rest of the Dead Sea adventure was awesome. We hiked over the ridge to the wadi David, where En Gedi is - you know, where David hung out and cut Saul's robe... Anyway, it was beautiful and we got to swim! Which was real good because when we came to En Gedi last March I didn't swim, not a day that I think about that trip went by without feeling some regret on that choice. So I rectified that situation and swam lots. It was great. And I did a real big cannonball in honor of all my friends from that trip. "Here's to you, one and all," I thought to myself as I splashed the rock walls.

Moving on, this week was pretty busy yet pretty laid back. We had less to do in general, but like always, life is always busy. Wednesday wasn't a mandatory trip, it was for the Modern History class, but anyone could go. I needed a day off real bad, so I hung out around here in the nice weather and got some things done. Oh taxes, how I wish you were done.

It's been a good week, but it's also the week where people are becoming 100% themselves, they're getting somewhat tired, we're more or less comfortable around each other and lots of people are hacking up their lungs, no thanks to the guy who has had a cough for a month and hasn't just taken a day to get better - so he got worse - and now lots of people have been infected, great. I have a sore throat, my nose is running like a track star and I hope I get better before we go to the Negev, but Bill and Abner both have touch of it too, so I don't feel as bad about it.

Today was cool, cool and weird. We went to a Conservative Jewish Synagogue (Conservative = Liberal in Judaism because conservative as we think of it is fulfilled over here by the orthodox jews. In essence, orthodox = USA conservative religious person; conservative = liberals in USA) So we got to listen to the reading of the Torah, the prayers and songs. Oh my goodness, the woman who led all the prayer/songs has an amazingly powerful voice, it dominated the whole "sanctuary" or whatever they call it there. It was really cool, she's the first joyful Jew I've seen I think. Then the rabbi gave a sermon - English, which was part of why we went, that and they are the only ones who would let us come :) - which was really good actually. He talked about giving and how it's outlined in the Torah (slash in our Bibles too) and people question why it's a mandate instead of something that we are just trusted to do of our own good will. The point was that we stink at being selfless on our own and we need the obligation. But much more than that we should give beyond the 10% tithe, we should give as much as we possibly can, not just what is comfortable. Give so that it is a sacrifice. That is a line I want to hang on to in my life. It was neat and sad, there were people who were so genuine, and yet so off. Oh that they would see the True Messiah...

Then we walked over to the Old City and had luch, hardly any shops were open, we thought it might be because we were there earlier than normal, but we found out from our friend Shabaan that the shopkeepers were on strike because the government wants to evacuate and bulldoze a palestinian area so that can develop the area (though we're not really sure what that means). Somewhere between 800 and 1,500 palestinians would be ousted, so finding an open shop was pretty rare, but we did find food.

Then we went to a man's house in the Jewish quarter, he was an advisor to the mayor of Jerusalem a while ago, the mayor who is now (or just was?) the prime minister of Israel. He talked about all sorts of things, it was really interesting to get his perspective on politics in the middle east and religion and all the other topics that make people mad in America. It was an neat experience, though my rear end hurt real bad afterwards, almost two hours on a tile floor, I'm still feeling it. It is sort of like watching basketball games in high school. So much time on a hard wooden bench. At least this time I got something out of it instead of sitting on the bench during all four games, even the game I was theoretically playing in :)

And here's something that is good. Yesh geshem, there is rain! (I felt like I was in Salem today, we had hard rain, mist rain, clouds on your face rain, etc.) It's wet and cold, but the Lord is gracious and is giving this land some badly needed H2O.

Here's a little product of my Hebrew learning for you (though not written in Hebrew because I can't do it with this blog, though in real life I could write it for you):

Yesh geshem baheretz shel Israel, hodu l'adonai ki who tov. "There is rain in the land of Israel, give thanks to the Lord because He is good!"