From the time I was in high school, I subscribed to Biblical Archaeology Review. It was a passion my Dad and I shared. When I got to graduate school, he would come out to Claremont whenever there would be a visiting expert on archaeology in the Holy Land. Every time I read the magazine I would think about studying in the Holy Land. Or spending a summer on a dig in the Holy Land. Or just traveling to see the Holy Land.
There are lots of people who want to "walk where Jesus walked." That's not my prime motive. I wanted to sense what life was like for our Old and New Testament fathers and mothers. I wanted to see the great monuments, the magnificent ruins, the wells where ordinary people drew water and the remains of ordinary houses and orchards and graveyards.
Later, as study of Jewish life and Torah became a part of my education, I wanted to see what Israel had become under the stewardship of 20th-century people making it a new and growing land where the horror of the Holocaust might be redeemed and humanity could always remember the evils we are capable of perpetrating on one another.
About a year ago, our Choir Director, Stephanie Feder, was showing me the photos from her most recent trip to Israel. I was so moved by her stories and the joy she shared about that trip.
Then she taught me something I didn't know (but should have.) Somehow, I had the idea that the Wailing Wall was the western wall of the temple that was destroyed in 70CE. It's not. The Wailing Wall is the western wall that was built to create the temple mount. It's actually a huge retaining wall, but it was all that was left of the great temple that was the center of Judaism.
Recently, however, a small portion of a temple wall was discovered and is visible to tourists. It's underground and when Stephanie showed me the picture I realized that fulfilling this dream of mine was long overdue.
In January I am leading a tour of the Holy Land through Educational Opportunities, a well-respected tour group that specializes in the Holy Land. Final plans are being made now and I hope many of my friends from churches and elsewhere will join me. I know it's a hard time economically, but this is a very reasonably priced tour. For more information, please ask me.
In the meantime, please pray for those of us going that God will renew our faith as we travel in the Holy Land.
Pastor Paula
| I'm passionate about the local church, being God's people in the world.
I love living with a community of imperfect people sharing the joy of the
faith journey together. I'm a bookish sort, always reading, listening to
great music (new and old). I also love travel and will go at the drop of
the hat to Pismo Beach, New York City, France or Israel. But, my favorite
thing in all the world is spending time with Rebecca, 24 and Daniel, 21
and sharing their lives. On my blog page I'm eager to share with you what I'm reading, what I'm listening to and how it's shaping my faith day by day. |
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