So Much!

Again, there was so much to take in on this our second full day in Israel. This morning we visited the remains of the ancient city of Dan (though were not totally convinced that the remains were all that ancient) where we saw the headwaters of the Jordan River. We took a beautiful walk through this, now, national park.

Next, we stopped at Caesarea Philippi, which, interestingly enough, is different from Caesarea. To be honest, I wasn't feeling great by the time we got there so I may have missed a few things but in essence there is a HUGE rock there that is simply stunning if you are into rocks. By "rock" I mean basically an entire hillside of solid rock, complete with a huge cave. It was here that Jesus asked Peter in Matthew 16:15 "Who do you say that I am?" After Peter replies "You are Messiah, the Son of the living God," Jesus goes on to say in Matthew 16:18 "Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. . ." I'm pretty sure Jesus didn't mean the physical rock that we were looking at but it sure makes for a cool analogy.

One of my favorite stops of the day was at Capernaum. Here we saw remains from the old city of Capernaum and the synagogue where Jesus healed the man possessed by a demon. The story about this is in Luke 4:31-37. The remains we saw were actually built on top of the original synagogue from the time of Jesus but was very cool. There is also a church there close by that was built so that it basically hovers above the remains of Simon Peter's mother-in-law's house. If you keep reading in Matthew 4 down to verse 41 you'll see the story of how Jesus left the synagogue and went to this home and healed Simon Peter's mother-in-law and continued that day healing many people. We had a time of prayer and scripture reading at this site which made the whole story just come alive.

We ate lunch by the Sea of Galilee. I still have to pinch myself to believe that I'm really here. Some of our team members chose to have what is referred to as St. Peter fish for lunch. Our guide said it tasted a lot like tilapia but even better. This was no filet of fish, by the way. We're talking whole fish, complete with head, tails and bones. I actually ordered chicken but due to my still somewhat upset stomach really ended up only eating the pita bread that came with the meal. It may be the mainstay of my diet while I'm here but I figure if the Israelites can live on manna for all those years that they wandered about in the desert, I can go a week on pita bread with no serious side effects.

After lunch, we went to the spot where Jesus taught what are now referred to as the Beatitudes. Let me just tell you that in Matthew 5:1 where is says Jesus went UP THE MOUNTAINSIDE, they aren't kidding. It's not like the Rocky Mountains but it's not just a few steps up from the beach either. It was a beautiful area that is maintained by the Catholic church. I'm pretty sure it looks nothing like it did in Jesus' day but still it's easy to see where Jesus might have stood and taught to the masses who gathered around on the mountainside.

There was so much that we enjoyed today but I'd have to say the highlight for both John and I was at the end of the day when we took a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. It wasn't what I'd call stormy but still there was quite a breeze and the waves were a bit choppy. While we were on the boat we read the story of Jesus walking on water found in Matthew 14:22-32. I was a bit overcome with emotion as I gazed out on the choppy water, knowing it would have been much worse on the night when Jesus walked out on the stormy sea. And then, I began to wonder if Jesus just stepped over each wave or if he kind of jumped from the top of each wave to the next one. (Sometimes I worry about the way my brain works.) No matter how he did it I just don't think I'll ever forget how the sea looked today and how Jesus desires for me to keep my eyes on him when I feel like I'm sinking under the waves that this life brings.


After dinner tonight we actually went out and waded in the Sea of Galilee, now were watching the Vikings/Packers game, and tomorrow morning we're going to get baptized in the Jordan river. What an wild sequence of events, huh?

Thanks for reading. I'll be back at you tomorrow. I hope you don't mind the rather lengthy posts. Besides updating you, it helps me process the day. Shalom.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

A Huge History Lesson

Right now I feel like I've crammed a year's worth of college history into one day. It was such an amazing day, I don't know that I can do it justice in just a few paragraphs. I want to start by saying that I'd love to post tons of pictures every day but it takes too long to upload them so I'll stick with just one and post more when I get home.

We started the day in Cesearea which, even without it's rich history, is a beautiful area. It's known as the Beverly Hills of Israel. One of the most fascinating things we saw was an aqueduct that was built before the time of Christ to bring water into the city. The most amazing thing about this aqueduct, other than the fact that it's still standing, is that is has archways all along it to hold it up and yet no sand or cement was used between the rocks it's built from. This aqueduct was built under the reign of King Herod, and amazingly enough, went all the way to his palace that overlooks the Mediterranean Sea. You've got to give him credit, he knew how to pick a good real estate spot.

Right around the corner from King Herod's palace we saw the amphitheater that was built for the purpose of entertainment. It was pretty cool, and had there not been a hundred or so other tourists there at the same time, I might have broken into song or something. At this same location we saw the Hippodrome where they used to have chariot races. Apparently, "hippo" means something like circus and no real hippos were involved in these races, though I do think a hippo race could be quite entertaining.

Our next stop was Mt. Carmel where Elijah had a little show down with the prophets of Baal. You can read the story in 1 Kings 3:17-40 but the Reader's Digest version is that Elijah basically told all these prophets of the "god" Baal that his God was stronger so they set up a little competition which ends in the prophets of Baal being a tad bit disappointed in their "god" but the God of Elijah shows up big time and does a miracle so big that it can't be denied as "coincidence."

One of the coolest parts of the day for me was looking out over the valley that you can see from Mt. Carmel towards Mt. Tabor and as I looked at it I could imagine the story of how Deborah helped defeat Sisera as told in Judges 4 - 5. It's one of my favorite Bible stories because it's a woman, chosen by God, to lead the people into battle. (And they say women's lib is a new thing.) But, the reason it was so cool for me is that I could actually picture the battle taking place, even though I had forgotten that the army Deborah lead all met up that day on the top of Mt. Tabor until our guide reminded us of that, literally about three minutes before it came into my mind.

After we left Mt. Carmel we headed to Megiddo where it is believed that the final battle of Armegedon will take place. Well, the battle will be in a valley, but to see it we had to walk up to the old city that was built around the time of King Solomon. By now, the temperature was about 80 - 90 degrees and humid. It was actually pretty awesome to see the old city but like I said, it was hot and by the time we got to the top of the hill, I was a little ill; a rather annoying combination of heat and jet lag mixed with a body that has apparently skipped the workout center just a few too many times recently. Then, we walked down 183 steps to see how they got water into the city using an underground tunnel. We actually walked through the tunnel and out the other side (another 80 steps up!) It was at this point, I considered just lying down and waiting for the paramedics to show up, but I persevered, rehydrated at lunch and was fine the rest of the day.

Believe it or not, we fit all of this in BEFORE lunch which we had at the YMCA. I was surprised by the luncheon location but it really was pretty good.

After lunch we visited just a few more sites before we quit for the day. First we went to the Church of the Annunciation which is built over the house that is believed to be where Mary, Mother of Jesus, lived and was visited by Gabriel. It doesn't really matter to me whether it was the exact house where Mary was visited by Gabriel, or if Gabriel met her someplace else, but it was just kind of cool to see what the homes were like around the time of Christ. The ONE picture I chose for today was taken UNDER that church and shows the ruins of Nazareth from when Jesus walked the earth.




We left this church to head to a Greek Orthodox church which is over a well that Mary most likely used. The Greek Orthodox church believes that this is where the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary. Like I said, my faith does not depend on where Mary heard she was going to be the mother of Jesus. I enjoyed seeing both spots.

As we headed to the Kibbutz where we'll spend the next two nights, we stopped at "Sea Level" and looked DOWN on the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is approximately 650 feet BELOW sea level. Our kibbutz is on the Sea of Galilee and it's a beautiful location, which I can only imagine will be much quieter than last night's stay in Tel Aviv.

Phew! No wonder I'm so tired tonight. It was a LONG day and tomorrow promises more of the same. Time to get to bed.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

First Impressions

Two planes, 13 in-flight hours, not so much sleep, and we've arrived in Tel Aviv. There are always funny stories along the way but my favorite today was when I asked the woman next to us if she was going to Israel for fun. She said, "No, unfortunately not. I'm coming to visit my mom and sister." Apparently they aren't all that entertaining.

Tel Aviv has a beautiful HUGE airport. Getting through passport control went quickly but then we went to get our bags and apparently all flights that had just come in were using the same baggage carousel. You see all the people in this picture?


When we got our bags, there were just five people left waiting! It was like having a huge cruise ship of people all getting off the boat at one time. But, on the bright side, there was no lost luggage.

O.K., it's been a long day so I'm going to give you a quick overview of my first impression of Tel Aviv. As we drove to our hotel we saw palm trees, bougainvillea trees (or are they bushes?), a freeway, a metropolitan skyline and smog. And suddenly, I thought I was in Los Angeles!

Today is Friday and the Israelis are celebrating Shabbot. It's a huge family night and as we were walking around town we saw families at the park, having a fabulous time at 9:00 at night. Everyone seemed to be having fun and it was great to see families spending some quality time together.

We had dinner at our hotel. It's all part of the package deal. It was fine, Nothing I'd consider outstanding. I decided to be brave and taste this little delicacy wrapped in grape leaves. I'd had something similar to that when we were in Armenia that wasn't too bad so I was living on the edge. Welll, it just about put me over the edge. It tasted as though it had been pickled and if you've ever been out to eat with me you know I DON'T LIKE PICKLES. Let's just say it wasn't pretty.

But, after dinner we took a walk down by the Mediterranean Sea to a lovely little restaurant called Max Brenner. Max Brenner specializes in all things chocolate. We'd heard about it before leaving home. Here's just a sample of someone's dessert.


It's probably best that we're leaving here in the morning so that we can't go back there. The poor waiter. We hadn't stopped for local currency yet, and let's just say, he was incredibly patient with us as we figured out how to pay. You can't put your tip on the credit card so one of our team member had some change. We showed him the change and asked if it was something like 40 shekels. It was more like 40 cents. Good thing we asked or he might have thought of us as cheap!

Well, time for bed. Hopefully more tomorrow.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

This is a Test

I have decided that I was born a half generation too early for all of this technology stuff. But, I'm trying. So, I bought an iPad with the intent that it would be much lighter to haul around when I'm traveling. It all seemed so simple, and yet, not so much. It seems that I can't post directly onto my blog account from my iPad. Well, that's special!

Now what? It turns out that there is an "App for that" as they say. Sure, it cost $3, but still, a small price to pay for a lighter load. So, this blog is a test to see if it actually works. Tomorrow we are leaving for Israel, thus the need for the test. I'm hoping to post about my adventures while I'm gone so check back. If there isn't a new post every day (starting Saturday or Sunday) it will mean one of three things. 1) There is no Internet access. 2) I'm too tired to type. Or 3) I've wasted $3.

I'm closing this note with a picture of our beautiful granddaughter due February 8. It's the only picture currently on my iPad at the moment and seriously, I already think she's pretty cute. Don't you?


Oh, I forgot to say, that I'm hoping to be able to upload photos during our trip, depending on the internet speed. That's why I had to add one to this post. And look! It worked! Now I can finish packing.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Want to Complain about Your Government? Thank a Veteran

I just came inside from hanging up my flag. It’s Veteran’s Day today. Some might not realize that until their mail doesn’t show up. I have to admit, that some years, I’m probably one of those people. But, this year, I’m on top of it and even managed to get my flag hung before noon. Did you know that if you are going to hang your flag on Memorial Day you’re supposed to wait until noon to hang it if you don’t have a flag pole that allows you to hang it at half-mast? But, I digress. And this isn’t Memorial Day. Today, I’m here to talk about our veterans, all of the brave men and women who have served our country.

Last weekend the Cannon Falls Rotary Club sponsored “A Salute to Veterans.” The Bloomington (MN) Medalist Concert Band came to our little town and played some excellent renditions of patriotic songs. It was a moving and inspiring program that also included narration regarding each war along with some photos taken during those war times. One might wonder why we’d need to see some of the pictures, and yet, I think that sometimes it’s too easy for us to forget the price that has been paid for our freedom.

As part of the program we were addressed by Dennis W. Schulstad, retired Brigadier General, USAF. One of the things he said really hit home with me and thus, I’m sharing it with you today.

Reporters didn't give us Freedom of the Press
Authors didn't give us Freedom of Speech
The Clergy didn't give us Freedom of Religion
Campus organizers didn't give us the Right to Protest
and politicians certainly didn't give us the Right to Vote

....all of these rights and privileges we enjoy in this great nation were given to us by Veterans who fought for them over the years.

It is because of those veterans that we have the ability to complain about our government, criticize or applaud the current administration, and even rally in orderly protest without concern of being jailed, tortured or shot. Not all countries have that privilege. Actually, most don’t.

So, today, if you are out and about, or you know a veteran of ANY war, please stop and say thanks. You have the right and the privilege to do so. Use it!

My mother-in-law, Emily Holte, was a veteran. She is no longer around for me to thank but I wanted to share a picture of her taking her oath with the WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service - don’t you love that?) in February 1943. Emily is in the first row on the far left (as you look at the picture) wearing a camel colored coat. She has her hand in the air - that'll narrow it down for you.

And thanks to my sweet, Boppa, who served in WWI, and passed on many years ago. I probably didn’t know enough to thank him for his service when I was younger. Don’t miss your chance.

Starting a New Campaign

Have you noticed anything different in the last four days? There hasn’t been one television ad, radio ad or flyer delivered to your door in support of a political candidate or referendum. I don’t know about you but I think there is something about the week after elections that is akin to the week after New Year, but way better. Instead of post-holiday let-down, it’s more like post-election celebration. Oh sure, if our candidate lost we may not be as excited but there is still a certain amount of relief when it’s all over.

After my son, Paul, voted on Tuesday he said he felt like he’d just taken his ACT tests. He’s not far off. I think it’s more like a college exam. You go to class, get handed a sheet of paper with little circles on it that need to be filled in (at least in Minnesota), and you start filling in the answers. You studied, you know the answers, but wait, no one told you that there’d be bonus questions and suddenly you find yourself woefully unprepared and it’s too late to ask for help. Who should get my vote for judge in the 9^th district? Shoot! I should have studied better!

The truth is that I’m probably one of the most apolitical people you’ll ever meet. I’m not without an opinion, mind you, I’m just not politically inclined. I won’t argue politics with you and I won’t post on Facebook who I’m voting for, but make no mistake I will vote. Lots of people worked very hard to make sure women had the right to vote and I don’t intend to let them down.

All that said, there is ONE thing that I might consider fighting for in the political arena; some common decency. We’ve all seen the ads. It doesn’t matter which side of the line you’re on, the ads are nasty. They are filled with hateful remarks and half-truths about the opposing candidate. Is this really the kind of behavior we want to see from anyone, let alone the people representing us at the local, state and national level? Is this the kind of behavior we’d like our children to emulate? Isn’t there any way to stop this craziness?

Listen up politicians of the future. I promise you, if you can run a clean campaign in which you tell me what you’re going to do for my country, my state, or my local town and you refrain from telling me how evil your opponent is, I’ll most likely vote for you. There are a few major issues that could swing my vote the other direction, but in general, I think a person who can show some morals during a campaign might actually show up on the job with those same morals. (I do need to go on record here and say that I have a couple of friends in politics whom I know to be morally upright people and would not play dirty in their campaign but they don’t live in my area so I didn’t see their ads.)

Who’s with me? We could start our own campaign; PMUA - People for Morally Upright Advertisements or PADAC – People Against Dirty Ad Campaigns. If we start now, maybe by the time the next election campaigns start we’ll have made some progress. We’ve only got about 12 months. Yikes!

Dave Ohlerking

You may or may not remember that in March 2007, John and I went on our first mission trip together to Swaziland, Africa. While we were there we had the privilege of meeting Dave, Ohlerking, the founder and president of Children's Cup. Dave was an amazing, godly man with a heart as big as Africa itself. I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to meet him.

On Wednesday, October 13, Dave, and his wife, Jean, had been back in Africa for just a few hours when Jesus called him home. The cool thing about this (if there can be a cool thing about dying) is that Dave had always said that if he could choose, he wanted to die in Africa. And sure enough, he did! God honored his greatest desire. I love that!

Today, October 23, Dave's life is being celebrated, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I wish I could be there to celebrate with his family. His daughter, Susan Rodgers, and son-in-law, Ben Rodgers, are some of my favorite people and not only would I love to wrap my arms around their necks, I'd also like to honor Dave's life. Even though we didn't spend a lot of time together, Dave has had a huge impact on my life.

Awhile back I purchased a book that Dave wrote called Survival Proverbs for Missionaries. It's not that I plan to go onto the foreign mission field full time, it's just that I'm all about survival even on short term mission trips. It was in that little book that I got some of the best advice I'd ever heard for dealing with the sticky situation of refusing food offered so very kindly by someone who's desire it is to give you their best. Here's Dave's advice: When someone offers you food that you know will make you sick say "I have a medical condition that prevents me from eating that." Brilliant! Now, I just have to remember it when the occasion arises. I know I'll never forget Dave, especially when I need to use this nugget of wisdom.

Dave will most certainly be missed on this earth but I know that there is a HUGE party going on in heaven in honor of his arrival. Dave's son-in-law, Ben, shared some of Dave's other nuggets of wisdom on his blog. He gave me permission to share them here. And so, in honor of Dave Ohlerking, I share with you these nuggets.

Share your strength. Save a child.

-Hope’s name is Jesus

-You can change a child’s life forever

-It’s about the children

-Once you go to Africa, you’ll go back in your mind every day for the rest of your life.

-Pray. Give. Go.

-If you don't hold onto something, you will let go of everything. What is there that you will refuse to let go of?

-The safest place to be is in God's will.

-Jesus said, "Go everywhere, tell everybody."

-When Jesus said, "Come," He meant all the way. When He said,"Go," He meant all the way.

-If we do not predetermine boundaries, how will we know when we've gone too far?

-The highest reach of our faith is to have faith IN Jesus rather than faith FOR what we want.

-You can hold more in an open hand than you can in a clenched fist.

-"Can I go home and live with you?" I have been asked this by many children in many countries. Something in me never stops crying.

-Advice to new missionaries: It will take a year on the field before you really see what you're looking at.

-African pastor wishing to honor me said, "You may have white skin, but you have a black heart." I was honored.

-My ability to do God's will in my life is not subject to other people's decisions.

-Godly meekness is not weakness.Godly humility is not timidity.The strong resist unGodly desire to bluster and brag

-God spoke the world into existence. Is His Written Word any less powerful than His Spoken Word?

-Honesty goes both ways. It acknowledges both weakness and strength.

-If your future looks scary just remember God is already there and He ain't afraid.

-Sometimes the best use of power is not to use it.

-Imagine being an African child who doesn't have $1 worth of anything and then receiving a Tori Box full of school supplies and toys!

-God is bigger than any challenge you face.

-If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

-It is possible for believers to live in such a way it becomes natural to experience the supernatural.

-Being with caring, loving, giving Filipinos who live in poverty challenges my personal financial priorities, God bless them and forgive me.

-"We hours" of the morning again. Wonderful sense of the presence of God.

-Many cultures consider forgiveness to be weakness, but to forgive is to defeat evil by doing good.

-Like ears crave sound, and eyes crave light, my soul craves the presence of God.

-How would it feel to find out in Heaven you gave the dollar that won the last soul before the rapture?

-"Think it not strange" that every evil hell can muster is aimed at the followers of Christ. It's always been that way--but we win!

-One of our greatest thrills is watching our children and grandchildren sell out to Jesus. We are blessed!

-If I tear you down, and you tear me down, we both lose. If I build you up and you build me up, we both win.

-God has let me live long enough to have a memory full of awesome things He has let me see and do and be part of.

-As evil deepens and accelerates, so does God's grace and anointing.

-There is a place in Christ that can only be gained by totally losing one's self awareness. Why don't we go there?

-By definition lie (untruth) proves the existence truth. Truth's name is Jesus.

-Should our embarrassment to witness cost the untold one his soul?

-You will either sacrifice your present to your future or you will sacrifice your future to your present.

-Everything God does is redemptive. He does not waste our experiences--good or bad.

-Personal peace is one of the surest evidences of God's power in your life.

-God is incapable of doing wrong things

-I believe God just asked me, "What are you willing to let go of so a hurting child can live?"

-52 years ago today was the first time I kissed Jean! It was so good I'm gunna keep right on kissing her.

-To find God’s will, seek his presence.

-Touching the world from the heart of America

-Changing the world one child at a time

-Have you ever seen fever in the eyes of a child.

-Giving hope, inspiring dreams, changing worlds.

-Train up a child.

-"Hopeless children. Unwanted children. Diseased children. Unloved children. Raped children. Forgotten children. Enslaved children. Prostituted children. Abused children. Hungry children. JUST CHILDREN."

"I cannot walk away from the children."