And we're off

So we've eaten dinner and we will be leaving soon for the airport. Hopefully everything will go as scheduled and we arrive in Kansas when we should. See you all then!

Peace

Today was another awesome day full of walking, but before we start on that I want to own up to something I forgot. Yesterday we also, while in King David's City, walked through the Cannanite Tunnel, which was an old tunnel used to pass water under the city walls.
Now that that's done, on to today. We started off at the Garden Tomb and Gordon's Calvary, one of the places where it is said that Jesus was crucified and buried. We saw the skull in the hill, giving the place its name, Golgotha, and the tomb where Jesus was said to have been buried. It was really interesting to see how all the pieces fit, and it made some of us think how we can't be sure, and maybe that's a good thing. Then we had Communion there as well, and that was an awesome experiance. Then we visited St. Ann's church, who was the grandma of Jesus (Mary's mom, not God's). This was also the first stop on the Via Dolorosa, or the Way of Sorrow. We walked this path, which is the one that Jesus is said to have walked from Caiaphas' house to the hill where He was crucified. There were 14 stops on the way, places where Jesus stopped on His walk, and many of us did not catch all the names, but there are many ways to learn about this path (http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-via-dolorosa). The last few stops on this path were at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is the other place where Jesus was said to have been crucified and buried. It was a beautiful church and the artwork in it was very intricate (ask your kids to see pictures). After this we got on the bus and went to Bethlehem, where we had really good chicken or falafel for lunch. Then we visited the Church of the Nativity, where it is said that Christ was born. This was another gorgeous church, built before the time of the Crusaders. We saw the manger where Jesus was said to have been laid after He was born. Then we visited the Church of St. Catherine, the first female Christian martyr. This is where Christmas services are held in Betlehem. Afther that, we visited Yad Vashem, which is the Jewish Holocaust museum. It was very well done, and informative, and huge. But we only had an hour there and many of us felt rushed. Then we returned to the hotel for dinner and then Janet Lahr Lewis from the General Board of Global Ministries came and spoke to us about the state of Israel from a side that tourists don't normally get to see. She was really neat and informative, and we ended our day with her talk.
Today was a really good day, full of good things and lots of information. But we all need some process time, rest, and to pack, since we leave tomorrow. So, pray for the peace of Jerusalem, Israel, and the World, and goodnight.
Abby Clark and Kourtney Berg
youth conveners

Walking the Paths of Kings

Today we spent the day in the city of Jerusalem, walking the city and seeing the sights. We started the day at the Mt. of Olives, which had a great view of the city. Then we walked down to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed to God on His last night and where He was betrayed by Judas and captured. We also visited the Church of All Nations there too. It was really beautiful but we could not enter since Mass was going on. From there we took the bus into the old city and walked through a lot of the market area. We visited another church dedicated to Mary, where the stones that she is believed to have rested on before she ascended are held. We also visited King David's Tomb and walked the Palm Sunday Path. This took us through the old cardo, or main street, of Jerusalem, where we saw another market, pieces of old Jerusalem being excavated, and an ancient map of the city. We spent some time in the cotton market, which was another busy street full of shops and streetside stands. Also during this time we visited the church built at the site where the Upper Room, where Jesus ate His last meal with the disciples, was. Then we went up onto a rooftop and had some great bagelas. After the snack we went to the Dome of the Rock, which we were'nt allowed into, and the Western Wall. Both of these places just felt really reverant, and our guide took the time to explain Islam to us, which was really cool. After that we walked to the Teaching Steps, where Jesus is believed to have taught with the rabbis. This had another breathtaking view of the city, and it was really peaceful there. Then we walked down to King David's City, where we saw some excavations being done and pieces of the city in David's time. After that we ended the day at the Pool of Siloam, where healings took place. One of the most prominant of these was when Jesus healed the blind man.
Also, for all you worried people out there, we are all safe. We were not close to the bombing that took place earlier today, so there is no need to be worried.
Tomorrow we hope to have just as great a day, maybe without so much walking. We did just over 6 miles today, mostly up and down hills. But it was a great day, and we'll all sleep well.
Abby Clark and Kourtney Berg
youth conveners

Pieces of History

Today was a very history based day in our journey through the Holy Lands. We started with the ancient fortress of Masada, which was built by Herod the Great. Here is where the last of the Jewish rebels held their own for 3 years against the Roman conquerers. When the Romans finally breached the walls and entered the fortress they found that the Jews had killed each other and themselves rather than become slaves to the Romans. An amazing experiance for some of us was walking down from Masada, it was an amazing view. Then we went to Qumeran, which is where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, and we learned about the ancient people who resided there as a community of worshipers. We then traveled to Jericho, which is the oldest city in history. We saw the ancient city, and the sycamore tree that could have been the one Zacheus used to see Jesus as he passed by, it was dated over 2000 years old. After that many of us rode a camel and had some conversation with some Palestinian school girls on a field trip. We ended the day floating in the Dead Sea. From there, you could see the Mount of Temptation, and it is also believed that John the Baptist lived by the Dead Sea for some time. All in all, it was a very good day. History is an important part of our society and our religion. It was a good thing for us to learn about and see, and something that we should not soon forget.
Abby Clark and Kourtney Berg
youth conveners

When do we ride into Jerusalem? Today!

We started off the day visiting Nazareth, which is the town where Jesus grew up and began his ministry. We visited an Eastern Orthodox church and saw Mary's well, which was the ancient water source for Nazareth. This was the place where Mary and Jesus would have gone to get their daily water. Then we visited a church which was built over the ancient synagogue where Jesus taught scripture. We sang some songs, which sounded awesome because of the acoustics. It was a very moving experience. Then we walked through the town, where we experienced a lot of the culture of Israel. After the walk, we went to the Church of the Annunciation, which was the site where it is believed Mary's home was. This is where an angel appeared to Mary and told her she would bear the Son of God. There we saw depictions of this event from many different countries, including Australia, Poland, and the United States. From there we went to the Church of St. Joseph, which was built over the site where Joseph's house is believed to have been. Then we went to Meggido, which is the site where the final battle between good and evil is supposed to take place in the end of days. The view was amazing, because it was razed and then rebuilt on top of one another 25 times. We had the opportunity to walk through the ancient cistern, which was used to get water during seige. We had a lunch there also, which was falafel sandwiches. Then we traveled to Caeseria by the Sea, which was built by Pontius Pilate to honor Caeser. We visited the theater and where the floating palace would have been. After Caeseria we drove almost two hours to Jerusalem, where we will be staying for the remainder of the trip. The city is very big and beautiful and we hope to see more of it in the days to come! Another thing we learned today was that today is Mother's Day here in Israel, so Happy Mother's Day to all you worrying mothers out there, and remember the greatest mother in the Bible, Mary, Mother of Jesus.
Abby Clark and Kourtney Berg
youth conveners

Water

We started the day off at the Mt. of Beatitudes. It was really neat and we read part of the sermon on the mount while there. Then we took a boat tour of the Sea of Galilee and had morning worship. One of the crew tried to catch us some fish, but it didn't work out. After the boat ride we went to St. Peter's Primacy. This is where Jesus told Peter to feed his sheep. After the primacy we went to Capernum. This is a very important site in Christianity. This is where Peter's house was located, along with one of the early Christian churches, which was located very close to a Synagogue. Here is where Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law and the paralegic. Then we went to a kibbutz for lunch, and they had some pretty good fish. Then we traveled to the ruins of Bet She'an, which was an old city locted near a large tel (hill) where many cities were built, one on top of each other. It was really moving to be able to stand in the places where ancient people, possibly even Jesus, stood and lived. We ended the day at the Jordan river where we remembered our baptism and Elizabeth was baptized as a member of the United Methodist Church. We spent the day on or near the water and we learned how important the fact that the river and sea were there was. It was important because water was their life source, something that they needed to be near to live. We discussed this in the context of the Living Water, Jesus, who gives us our life through the forgiveness of sins. We ended the day safe, and we hope to have a great day tomorrow. Abby Clark and Kourtney Berg youth conveners

We have arrived!

So the flight to Atlanta was pretty uneventful, and the layover was long but good. The flight to Israel started off late because a light broke and a door latch needed replacing. Then we took off and discovered that flight attendants need to know a lot of languages, because we heard at least 5 different ones over the P.A. System. Then Wes got motion sick and no one was able to sleep well. But we got here safe, took a two hour bus ride to our hotel, ate some really good local food and now we're going to bed. We'll let you know all about tomorrow in the next post. Shalom!

Abby Clark and Kourtney Berg
Youth conveners

Tomorrow, tomorrow, can't wait for tomorrow!!

So, we leave in just over 24 hours, and I am stoked!! Spent the morning packing (as I hope the rest of my travel mates did), and now I'm just trying to make sure I didn't forget anything. Hope you all are as ready as I am for this most awesome trip, see you all at the airport at 2pm tomorrow!!

~Abby Clark, youth co-convener

Good Day All!!!!

This is the blog for the youth and young adults (and their parents and friends) who are going on the Kansas East Conference Holy Land Study Trip. If this is what you are looking for, welcome! If not, sorry you got lost.

We have recently recieve flight times, and we will be departing for Atlanta, and then Tel Aviv, on March 18th. Who's excited? I certainly am.

That's it for now, more updates later.
~Abby Clark, youth co-convener