Pictures!!

I found some free wifi, so that means you guys get pictures!!! Here are a few from our first 2 days (mostly in the Negev and Judean deserts):

Bedouin women preparing fresh bread for us just outside Tel Arad (this has been one of the coolest experiences thus far)

Wadi Avdat was our first site to visit. Here's a group picture after we hiked up the canyon behind us. Our tour guide, Marty, is the one on the far right.

Here we are hiking through the desert - literally in the middle of nowhere. This is just before we walked into the Bedouin village and received their hospitality.

Mighty fortress of Masada. This place was unbelievable. Pictures do it no justice.

One cistern (holding place for water) at Masada. The water was full up to the window at one point. No, I'm not kidding.

Here is our group swimming in some 'living water' in Wadi Argot in En Ghedi. It's possible that this could be one of the aquifers that David used when hiding from Saul. How cool is this?

End of day 2. Marty is teaching us about Mikvahs at Qumeran (where Dead Sea Scrolls were found) while the sun sets behind us, reflecting on the Mountains of Moab and the Dead Sea in front of us.

I cannot express to you all how wonderful it is to be here. Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Big Day!

Hello to all!

What an amazing day we had today and what sights we got to see! We began the morning with a devotional by the Dead Sea. We then hopped on a bus and drove up to Masada. Once we made it atop the fortress, Boaz, our Israeli tour guide, gave us the entire story of Masada and its significance to the Jewish people. After hiking up, down and around the palace, we made our way down the serpantine trail (long, steep hike down the mountian) back to our bus. We then drove up to En Ghedi and hiked into Wadi Argot - a place where it is believed David hid while Saul was pursuing him. We had a special moment as we learned about living water (as opposed to the dead water we swam in the day before) that you'll definately need to hear about. After hiking back out of the wadi (no small feat either), we had a late lunch and made our way to Qumeran (where the dead sea scrolls were discovered). We learned much about the Essene way of life and their influence on our scriptures today. After all that, we made the 2 hour drive up to Tiberias (southwest side of sea of Galilee) to our hotel. We are all pretty exhausted, again, but are excited for our day tomorrow.

Israel needs rain, badly. We do not. It's supposed to be rainy and cold tomorrow, so we're hoping the Lord will be gracious and give rain to all the places where we are not. :)

Everyone continues to remain in good health and good spirits! We continue to see God's favor and blessing wherever we go. Thanks for your prayers and thoughts!

I have internet access at this hotel and will be able to post again about this time tomorrow night. I hope to include special messages from the group so they can say hello. I wish I could post pictures, but that's not a possibility here.

Shalom!
Matt

Good Morning from the Dead Sea!

Hello friends and family!!

We had a WONDERFUL day yesterday! We didn't do anything that I thought we'd do (turns out we're doing Masada, Qumran, etc today). Instead we went south into the Negev desert to visit Tel Arad and Tel Avdat. We spent the majority of the day looking at ruins of ancient sites there. We even got to have tea and bread with a Bedouin family (easily the coolest part of our day yesterday). We made it to the Dead Sea last night just in time to put on our suits and go float in the (very cold) sea. It was quite an experience and we loved it. Our hotel last night was quite nice and we're well rested and ready for another BIG day ahead of us. Today should finish up our time in the south and we will be staying up in Galilee tonight. All of us are feeling well and are in good spirits. We continue to see the Lord's favor as we go along our way each day.

Internet access is harder to come by than I expected, so I'm hoping the Lord will continue to allow us to find ways to get you guys updates.

Shalom!
Matt

We're In Israel!!!

Hello friends and family! At long last we have made it to our hotel in Arad, Israel and we are safe and sound. We're headed to bed for the night after a really long day of travel. It's not every day that you get to see the sun set twice in one day (or travel over 6500 miles around the world!). Tomorrow we're off to Masada to see the great palace, En Ghedi where David hid from Saul, and Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.

We are all feeling great and REALLY excited to be here. Thanks for checking in with us and for your thoughts and prayers. I hope to be able to post pictures of our day tomorrow.

Shalom!
Matt

Not so Sleepless in Atlanta

We made it to Atlanta! In order to try to beat jet lag, we slept in the airport during our 5 hr layover (since it's the middle of the night in Israel). Everyone is feeling fine and in good spirits! Thanks for your prayers!

Matt

at the airport!

We made it to DFW and are anxiously awaiting our flight to atlanta and then on to tel aviv! More updates to come as we have opportunity! Even figured out how to make posts from my phone! :)

Matt

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