I can't complain

Two days ago it got hot. Annoyingly hot and summer isn't really even here yet. I'm hot walking to work and hot once I get there. The air conditioner doesn't work properly in the office where the designers are. It works everywhere else in the building; as a matter of fact in the kitchen it's usually about 47 degrees. I was seriously contemplating getting a scooter as I walked home today drenched in sweat. Of course I would have to rob a bank first to be able to afford one, so more than likely I will just keep hoofin' it around town.

So last weekend we had another BFP outing; this time we hopped on the #99 double-decker tour bus and headed around town. On this bus, you see most every major tour site in Jerusalem and you have a little headphone thingie that points out stuff as you go by. Between sites, the audio program consists of various bits of music. I expected the traditional Jewish music, but what I didn't expect was "Dueling Banjos" and the theme to those old Agatha Christie mysteries. Well, I guess we are a diverse city after all. One of the new places I had never been was Mt. Scopus, where Hebrew University is located. It was probably the most beautiful place I have seen here, with an incredible view of the Mount of Olives, the Old City and the New City.

Ultimately, our goal was to get to Yad Vashem, which is the Holocaust Memorial. It was amazing. The main hall was huge and after almost four hours, we still had not seen everything. There were many pictures and movies and interviews with survivors and relics like yellow Star of David patches, diaries from prisoners, and yes, even a cattle car. I had no idea that there were so many countries in league with Germany. I couldn't believe the amount of photos and videos, obviously taken by Nazis who were proud of their work. If anybody doubts that it really happenend or even doubts the severity of what happened; they should be made to walk through the hall. I think it is the most incredibly-designed memorial/museum that I have ever seen. Once you enter, you have to go all the way through to get back out; I'm sure it was purposefully built that way so that once you come out the other side, there's no denying the breadth and depth of what happened.

One of the hardest things for me was in the very first exhibit; it starts out with the beginnings of anti-semitism and there is a statement that Christians believe that the Jews were responsible for murdering Jesus. I know that during that time period there were a lot of "Christians" that felt that way, and there still are today. What hurt so deeply was that it was worded as if it's still a fact and that all Christians still believe it today. I wanted to just stand there all day and tell everyone that read it that it's not entirely true. I wanted to grab the IDF soldiers that were going through their mandatory "here's what you're fighting for" tour and tell them that I pray for them daily and that I'm so thankful for them and that I love their nation and their God. But I didn't. What I did do was to pray for truth. God is able to defend His people. In His time and in His way and He really doesn't need my help to do it.

It was hard to see it all. But I think it was so important. Toward the end in one room there was a section of the floor that was about 4' x 9' and there under the glass was heaped piles of burnt shoes that were retrieved from the burning of victems at one of the camps. It was horrifying to think about the people that once wore those shoes. The whole thing was pretty horrifying. And though I don't want to return any time soon, I am so thankful that I was able to go there and see the evidence and remember what this people that I love have walked through. I feel saddened by my complaining, grumbling heart. All of a sudden the temperature doesn't feel so hot here anymore.

how do you do that little queen wave?

Back in October, I wrote about finding my family tree online. At the time, it only went back to about the late 1600s, and it seemed as though I could only know of my family since they came from Europe, but not before that. I recently revisited the site and was surprised to find that the guy has added a lot more information. He has been studying the history of the clans in the area where Daddy grew up and putting all the data on his web site, complete with references for where the info has been obtained.

I started looking at my grandmother's lineage and found quite a few surprises. I got really excited when I started finding people born in Ireland (I had always suspected I was a bit Irish). And then there were some born in England, really close to the Scottish border—more excitement since I have this fascination with George MacDonald and his beloved Scotland. And then I started seeing titles like "Sir" and "Knight" and "Baron" and I thought that was extremely cool. I just kept going back and back until I noticed "Henry III, King of England" and I thought, no way!!

My jaw was set in permanent "drop" position as I saw the names of those who've gone before me:

Of the Kings of England (circa 1000 - 1200 A.D.):
• Edward I "Longshanks" (The king that William Wallace was revolting against, for all you "Braveheart" fans. I don't know that I'm real proud of that one....)
• Henry III
• John "Lackland"
• Henry II "Plantagenet"
• Henry I "Beauclerc"
• William "The Conquerer"

Of the Kings of Scotland (circa 900 - 1000 A.D.):
• Malcolm III Canmore
• Duncan I
• Malcolm II
• Kenneth II
• Malcolm I

Of the Kings of France (circa 900 - 1200 A.D.):
• Philippe III
• Louis IX
• Louis VIII
• Philippe II
• Louis VII
• Louis VI
• Philippe I
• Henri I
• Robert II "The Pious"
• Hugh Capet
• Hughes "The Great"
• Robert I

There were also Kings of Sweden (Olaf III, Erik VIII, Emund Eriksson and Erik—900s to 1000s A.D.); Emperors of Germany (Otto II and Otto I); but the name that almost threw me off my chair was "Charlemagne, Holy Roman Emperor", who reigned from 768 to 814 A.D.!!

I stared at the computer screen for a long time. How could I be descended from royalty? And not just the royalty of one nation that no one has ever heard of, but of nations that ruled the world! How cool is that???

As Christians, we're often exhorted to believe that we are royalty—heirs to the Kingdom of God. And we are—I believe that with my whole heart. The only problem is that I've never actually felt like royalty. I've always just felt pretty much like a nobody, or actually like an "anybody"—not extraordinary at all. And practically speaking, my new-found ancestry doesn't really change anything about my everyday life—nobody treats me any differently; I still have to push my way through the crowds at the souk and carry my groceries home in my backpack and scrub my own toilet. But I think I'll keep practicing that little "queen wave" just in case anyone ever discovers that I'm heir to the throne....

independence day at the dead sea

If I could be anyone in the world right now, I would be Elastigirl from "The Incredibles". I'm peeling. Shoulders and back. It's bad. Last Wednesday was Independence Day here and I went with three friends to the Dead Sea for the day. We all got a bit fried in the sun (but we also agreed that it was totally worth it). If I were Elastigirl, I could just reach around and peel all the dead skin off my back and give it a good scratching.

I had never been in the Dead Sea before and I must say that it's one of the strangest feelings ever. The water has a huge concentration of salt and the consistency of oil. And you bob. You can't sink. I kept laughing at myself because I couldn't get the hang of it and all of the sudden my legs would just shoot straight up in the air. I felt like a Weeble—I kept wobbling, but I didn't fall down.

It was such a relaxing day, though. And there were some pretty interesting sights. Umhmm. Some bodies are just not meant for bikinis. That's just all there is to it. And you try not to look, but it's like passing by a car accident; you have to look. It's like a bikini wreck. And old, tubby guys in skimpy little speedos? What's up with that! Well, dispite the "view" and getting sunburned, it was really a wonderful day. We rented a car to get there, and it really made me miss the freedom of having a car. I don't mind walking to work and walking to get groceries and pretty much walking everywhere else, but sometimes you just gotta get out of the city. And I miss being able to go pick up stuff that I want—like lava rocks. I would love to get some for my little garden to cut down on the mud when I water, and I would love to get a swing to put in the garden, but I have no way of getting the stuff home. It's probably just as well, cause that stuff's probably really expensive here anyway!

I can't believe I've already been at Bridges for Peace for over a month. It feels so natural to be there, and it's going well I think. My life is so incredibly different since I came back from the states this time. I'm still getting used to it. All of a sudden, I have so many more people in my life and so many more social engagements. I'm starting to feel so much more like myself again. I'm really thankful for the six months of "acclimating" that God gave to me, but it really made me hunger for more relationships as well. I love people (well, most people, anyway!) and it's hard when you feel so isolated. I've also plugged into a local church fellowship called "King of Kings." I know I've needed that accountability, but just haven't felt at home until now.

The Davis boys are still the love of my life, though I feel like I don't see near enough of them. Sunday was Levi's 6th birthday and I took him to the toy store and let him pick out a gift and then we went to McDonald's with Jeremiah and Sandra before heading out to Andrew's soccer game. Those little guys are such a gift from God to me; I don't know what I would do without them.

Well that's probably enough for now. I need to go find some kind of back scratcher!

my little desert adventure

I think I've finally recovered enough to write about the adventures of last weekend.

I spent last Saturday night in a Bedouin tent in the Negev Desert (sounds cool, huh?). After starting out bright and early on Saturday morning with about 28 other people from Bridges for Peace, we spent the day climbing "tels" (and learning what a "tel" actually is); seeing the valley where David bested Goliath (pix #1); hiking through a desert pass (pix #2)and climbing 139 horrifically steep and narrow steps (pix #3) carved into the side of a canyon wall (not good for the claustrophobically challenged). I saw an ibex for the first time. Actually I saw quite a few. They look kinda like deer to me, but are amazing to watch climbing canyon walls.





Our tour guide was a wonderfully informed and experienced Christian. He was also ex-military. I wanted to kill him by the end of the day. We finally got to the Bedouin site and saw the long black tent (pix #4) that we would be sleeping in that night—boys on one side, girls on the other. My friend noticed the somewhat agonizing look on my face as I took it all in and commented that this should be a piece of cake for me since I had spent time in China. I must have forgotten to tell him that I stayed in five-star hotels in China.



We were able to rest for a bit before the traditional Bedouin "feast" which consisted of sitting on cushions around little trays of food—roasted chicken on rice and veggies with flatbread, followed by dessert of baklava and the worst coffee I have ever tasted and also the best tea I've ever tasted. This was all mingled with our host, Salim, telling stories about the Bedouin lifestyle—men with 5 wives and 45 children and giving camels for wedding presents and how a tracker could tell that a camel didn't have a tail by the way his poop hit the ground (only he used different word for "poop" if you know what I mean).

Then came the night walk and study of the stars. I'm not sure why the tour guide asked us to bring our torches (flashlights) since he wouldn't let us use them at all. He started out by making us do some military-type maneuvers. My group was definitely the worst. We could never find each other and I busted it a time or two trying to get into formation. It was really cool to let my eyes adjust to be able to see in the darkness, though. The only bummer was that on the way back to the camp, the guide was going a little too fast and dear, sweet Bob, who's in his seventies, fell head-first and ended up fracturing two bones in his hand and hurting his knee. They had to take him to the emergency room and didn't get back to camp until about 2:30 am.

Some of us were to go on a camel ride at 7:00 the next morning. I managed to somehow wake up about 15 minutes before my alarm went off (yay! I didn't want to wake the whole tent!), and with a borrowed, semi-wet towel in hand, I headed to the shower. I didn't care about the big ol' bugs crawling around on the floor, I just kept my sandals on and rejoiced under that stream of warm water. It was one of the nicest feelings ever. So then we were on to the camel ride. Two people per camel, and I was in the front saddle of mine. Now a camel gets up back-side first, and I thought I was going to tumble headfirst into the rear end of the camel in front of me, but somehow managed to avoid that catastrophe. I gotta say that the ride was my favorite part of the trip, even if I did walk like a bow-legged cowboy for the rest of the day. Camels have the cutest little faces in the world and I loved watching their feet (hooves?) as they confidently walked the path!!!!

After breakfast, we went to some Nabatean ruins, and from there my memory is a little shaky. I fell asleep in the car and I just remember stopping at some point and everybody else climbing a big hill while I slept. Then I awoke as we were driving down into this giant crater and I wasn't sure we would ever get out, but we did eventually. The last sight-seeing stop of the day was this place where they have all these greenhouses. Right in the middle of the dessert, about a 100 ft. from the Jordanian border, they are growing all these fruits and vegetables and sunflowers. We read Isaiah 35 while we were driving through and it just became so alive... "The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom....Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert....The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow."

From there it was back home to Jerusalem, and overall, I'm really glad I went. The desert seems to magnify any issues that one may be dealing with, and if you are willing, you can learn a lot about yourself, and hopefully let God deal with your heart on those things.

I learned that I don't particularly like the desert. When you grow up in the beautiffuly inviting, lush Appalachian Mountains, surrounded by nature's green and cool mountain lakes, non-descript tannish brown sand and little scrubby growing things just don't cut it. Especially when that's all you see for mile after mile after mile. I was able to endure it because I knew that I would soon be returning to my cute little apartment by the park in Jerusalem. Maybe that's why Paul tells us to set our minds on the things above (Col. 3:2); if our minds are set on the good to come, we can better endure the hard times here on earth.

I also learned that somewhere along the way I transitioned from an all-out tomboy to a complete girly-girl. When did THAT happen? I didn't even notice. I mean, I knew I was getting a little more girly, but I think I finally crossed over. I didn't feel like a girly-girl in the desert, and I didn't like it! I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing; I think it's just a thing in general.

I learned that I really like to go my own pace when I'm exploring and trying to keep someone elses pace just wears me out. I think I could have handled the weekend so much better if I had been going my own pace. Unfortunately, that just doesn't get to happen in big groups, and if you do decide to break off and go your own pace, chances are that you'll get a label attached to you—something like "loner" or "rebel" or that you're not a "team player." Funny how nobody ever says, "Boy, that Melissa knows who she is and she knows her limits and abilities—it's cool that she understands who she is..." Nope. Nobody says anything like that. I'm not saying that anybody actually labeled me; but experience has taught that if I had broken away it wouldn't have reflected well on me. I know this to be true because a few did actually walk to their own drum beat and unfortunately they were labelled. It's a silly game we play with each other, and the only way to break out is to have grace for one another. But you can't really force that, can you?

Well, now I can say that I've truly been to the desert. I can also say that I don't want to go back any time soon. Hallelujah! I know who I am and I know what I like!!!!