Well hello again. Kaif holek sahbi? (Arabic, "How are you, friend?"). This is Jordan and...Jordan! I know what you are already thinking in that pretty little noggin of yours: "What do you mean 'Jordan' and 'Jordan'?" I will answer your question: I, Jordan the Man, am at the right here, at Jordan, the River (and I am going to visit Jordan, the country next week!). This is a significant river, not the least because Jesus was baptized in it (Matt. 3; Lk. 3; etc.). Yesterday, Sunday, after church my friend Mariano (from Ozark), Majd (from Nazareth), and Majd's sister went to Mt. Tabor and the Jordan River. Mt. Tabor is only about 2-3 miles (at most) Southeast of Nazareth. In fact, you can see Nazareth and Mt. Precipice from Tabor. Then we went on Northeast to Tiberias, at the mouth of the Sea of Galilee, where the Jordan River continues on down south. These two beautiful young stallions are Mariano (left) and Majd (right). Mariano is staying in Tel Aviv for the summer, and Majd is from Nazareth. I must say, it was purely delightful to spend the day with Majd and his sister, as they were so kind to take us around the Galilee a bit. Look below to see the goods.
Look at this beautiful picture of the church (of course there are churches on every major biblical site). About the only thing more beautiful than this picture is the one who took it. But that goes without saying.
Why hello all you readers out there...all 2 or 4 of you. At the first, I would like to say that I am astounded that time has slipped away in such speedy-fashion. It was only today that I realized I had not written in over 2 or so weeks! This past week has been a good one, although "busy" would also adequately describe it. It was kids camp at church! So every day (Mon-Fri), from 9am to 1pm camp would be in session. There were about 60+ kids, so at times chaos peaked its little head up and had its time. But for the most part, the kids were rather delightful. People are creative here, and in a school where there is not a whole lot to do this is most evident. To your right is a picture of kids lining up to run on a yellow-lined square on the pavement. Yep, that's it. Running around and around was the game. However, do not be deceived, the kids loved it!
Above is a picture of some of the camp counselors. Yes, they are all girls. Girls do most of "this kind" of work with the kids here. They enjoy it though and are quite good with the little crazies. Here are their names starting with the left: Anwar, Bara'a, Luna, and Jasmine. This here is Azar Ajaj. He is the one I contacted to come to Israel, and he is truly a great man. His kind heart is evident, as I'm sure you've noticed, even in his smile. He did a good portion of the "administration" of the camp, seeing that things went as smoothly as possible. He and his wife, Ibtisam, had me over a couple of days ago for dinner...it was incredible. The last thing that makes Azar awesome, is that his last name, "Ajaj", means "on chicken" in Arabic. I love chicken. I love Azar. When it comes to him, it just works. As can be seen in the backdrop of the picture of Azar, we also had a day at the pool. The kids loved it. I loved it (though I got burned in such a way to make me look like an albino leper-man), and the hight temperatures demanded such a refreshing excursion. It was great.
Here is a good example of one of the many adorable children of Nazareth. Awww...
I thought this sign would be a good ending to this post. It just says it all so well. So well...
Here are just a couple more scenes of what I have been seeing while in Israel. The first scene (top left) is of the Sea of Galilee. It is quite the view. The picture to the right is a shot looking north down Palladius Rd. at the ruins of Beth She'an (Roman Scythopolis). This was one of my favorite places...I spent 4 hours there!
The next picture is of Masada, a fortress of Herod the Great's. This was quite the place...a huge camp on top of a huge plateau works very well for defending against an oncoming enemy force. Hence, this is where the great revolt of AD 66-72 ended. The only way the Romans could breach the fortress was to make a huge ramp leading up to the top (which took 12-18 months to build).
The picture right above is a scene from Ein Gedi, the valley David fled to when he was being pursued by King Saul. It was quite the scene and the hike was worth it!
This last picture is of Jerusalem from the Mt. of Olives. Excepting some significant build-up and all of these tombs, this could very well have been the scene Jesus was beholding as He gave His discourse from this spot in Mt.24, Lk. 21, and Mk.13 (of course the Temple would be in place of the Dome of the Rock!).
Here is what went down on that dizzle ("day" in hip-hop slang): Here I am , enthralled by the incredible scenery, and I see a rather noticeable man walking to my right. He looks like quite the cool cat, so I decide to greet him: "What's up, man?" He stopped, twisted his head to the side a bit and retorted, "Sup man." I thought, "Sup man?" --that's not Israeli talk. And then I noticed his face...where was that image from...I turned, hesitated a bit, and half-belted out, "Excuse me, aren't you on TV?" So clique, but it's not like I could take it back. A rather large grin burst forth and he responded, "Yep." "You're from The Office! No Way!" I yelped out like a school-girl receiving a lollipop. It is true, I met Craig who plays "Darryl" the warehouse manager on "The Office." I had just watched an episode in which this guy played a major role--incredible. Here is the picture to prove it...each your heart out Alex Nielsen.
Why hello there all of my fans...I have not updated this thing in a couple of weeks on account of travel. Yes, that's right, the Jord-man is becoming cultured. No. Anyway, this past week was one of excursions. I met up with a tour group from my hometown area and bummed along with them for about three days. These days were quite jam packed of adventure. Here is a list of the places I visited: Qumran, the Dead Sea, Masada, Ein Gedi, Jericho, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem (pictured below). The first four places were accomplished on day one, while Jerusalem took the remaining two days. It was incredible. There is so much to see in Jerusalem--from the Pre-Canaanite ruins, to the Israel of David and Solomon, to the Herodian Era under Rome, to the Byzantines, to the Turks and Muslims, to the Crusaders, to the Ottoman Empire, to modern expressions of piety from many hearts and perspectives. As can be seen from this simple list, Jerusalem has indeed, in the figurative sense, been the cross-roads of the world--both ancient and modern. It is beyond words, so I will stop striving to convey the experience through them. This past weekend was also spent in travel to two main places: the first was Beth She'an, also known as Scythopolis under the Roman Era (pictured with my beautiful head). It was also amazing, especially for a Roman History lover like myself. Monday was spent at the Sea of Galilee, swimming my cares away. Anyway, I wish you could have all experienced it, but that just isn't realistic is it?
This is me as...an angry disciple. On this past Sunday, I was a part of a group who went to the Sea of Galilee in order to shoot some footage for a documentary being filmed here. Things didn't work out (the boat we were to use did not show up), so we ate on the shore and went back home. So here I am, dressed up in first century garb (hand-made, might I add)...angry...I don't know why. By the way, how about that beard? It's coming along, right?
Here are just a few of the many people I have met here in Nazareth. The first picture (sunglasses) is of the tour-guide coordinator (he trained me and assigns my tours) who is called Amer. He is a hard working man with precious little time to waste as he runs all over the Village supervising nearly everything. The man in the green shirt lounging in my chair is Ibrahim (like Abraham, but Arabic). He is one of the most light-hearted guys I have met here. He is a funny man, laid back, and very very welcoming. He works in the Village Gift Shop...I buy my Pepsis from him. The three gentlemen in the next are hanging out in the courtyard of the Basilica of the Annunciation. The first (foreground) is Marcos, a worker from Brazil. The next is...well I can't remember his name, but he is from France. Both of them are staying and working at the Basilica. The one farthest away is Mariano, the friend who is staying in Tel Aviv for the summer. He came up to visit me for the weekend. The last picture is of Rani Espanyoli, a native of Nazareth and fellow (more experienced) tour guide. He is also known for playing in video productions the part of Jesus, as he is doing in the latest documentary being filmed in Nazareth Village. He is a great, hard-working young man. There are many others, and hopefully you will be able to see them in future postings...but for now...Salamot!
Here are a few glimpses of where I am helping out: You can see the village from the view of the village watchtower. These would have been used to watch for impending dangers to the crops such as wild animals and thieves. Another shot is one of a few villages just hanging out and talking. The front shot of the building is a picture of the synagogue. Obviously, this is not the authentic first-century Nazareth synagogue, but it was built the exact same way and with the exact same materials they would have used. There is much more to see...but these pictures take forever to upload. This is all for now...The Nazareth Village at your service!
Here is where I have spent my first days in Nazareth. I live in the upper portion of the building, and from the balcony you can see much of the city. This building is known as the "Baptist Center" and here is where Azar, a minister, is looking to start a kind of Christian college/study place in coming September. In the bottom half of the building, another Baptist church meets on Saturday nights. I get hear their church services, and they are quite amazing. I have been blessed by my brothers to have been able to stay here for the opening days of my trip.
Greetings from Nazareth, Israel! This is me, Jordan, on my balcony in the middle of Nazareth. As you can see, it is beautiful...and the landscape ain't bad either. Anyway, I will be posting pictures every so often so that you can share a bit of my experience here in the land Jesus Christ walked (well, the actual land is buried quite a ways underground, but you get my point). I pray this summer is glorifying to Him, and that you can come to appreciate this land and these brothers and sisters as much as I have/will. God Bless!
Well hello again. Kaif holek sahbi? (Arabic, "How are you, friend?"). This is Jordan and...Jordan! I know what you are already thinking in that pretty little noggin of yours: "What do you mean 'Jordan' and 'Jordan'?" I will answer your question: I, Jordan the Man, am at the right here, at Jordan, the River (and I am going to visit Jordan, the country next week!). This is a significant river, not the least because Jesus was baptized in it (Matt. 3; Lk. 3; etc.).
These two beautiful young stallions are Mariano (left) and Majd (right). Mariano is staying in Tel Aviv for the summer, and Majd is from Nazareth. I must say, it was purely delightful to spend the day with Majd and his sister, as they were so kind to take us around the Galilee a bit. Look below to see the goods.
Look at this beautiful picture of the church (of course there are churches on every major biblical site). About the only thing more beautiful than this picture is the one who took it. But that goes without saying.
