Today was the official start of classes and to be honest I was pumped. I had only one class today which was sweet, I had Dr. Wright for Physical settings of the Bible. This morning was introductory of course, but we found that the majority of the class will be out in the field. Not only that, but the class covers alot of very cool places I had no clue we'd be visiting.
The other thing that I realized is that this semester is gonna be more challenging Academically than I thought. Tomorrow I start studying Hebrew...please pray for me...I do like challenges though, so i'm sure it won't be too bad.
As I had much free time today after class I decided to walk through Jerusalem, and I went to see the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is also the location of the Crucifiction. Check out this link for interesting pictures and fatcs about the church: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-church-of-holy-sepulchre.htm.
I have learned after a few Field studies now that it is difficult to really appreciate these historical sites during class. When I visited some of the historic sites in Jerusalem during class it became difficult to grasp, or it hadn't sunk in right away that Jesus and his disciples had actually been here and walked where I was walking. As I walked the Old city today on my own I really focused on trying appreciate these spots, but also allow them to impact me. As I entered the church I walked around and enjoyed all the amazing artwork like the mosaics made of millions of tiny stones to form the most beautiful pictures. I visited Golgotha again today, but being there for my own devotion made this visit a different experience. You could truly feel that this was a Holy place, and as I stood there in the shadow of the cross I could feel God's presence in a way that I have never felt before and it became real to me that Christ had been there.
I've had to buy some of my books and supplies and I've realized that Shekels don't take you very far...my Hebrew book alone was 180 Shekels. I've met alot of really cool people and I can tell already that some good friendships will be made. I met a guy that shares my love of soccer and so we plan sometime this semester to watch a game. I went last night with a group of about 8 people to a party at a local club/restaurant which was alot of fun (and had free appetizers...which every student can appreciate). As the semester gets going it's gonna move real fast so I need to appreciate every moment.

So today, being Sunday, I had the oppertunity to go to a local church. After some consideration, and not being able to find a CRC, I attended Jerusalem Baptist church with some friends. The service was very modern and even a little bit American in its style and format. We had to leave church a little early however since we has a Physical Settings of the Bible Field Study.
Today was the first guided tour of Old Jerusalem, which was very exciting, but it had a serious tone to it. The first place that we stopped was the place believed to be the location of the last supper for Jesus and his Disciples. We had the oppertunity to see the building, but also to walk inside the room where Jesus and his disciples would have gathered. As we moved on we saw other places such as the Mount of olives and the Ressurection Church dedicated to the Ressurection of Christ. We started to learn more about the Mountains and valleys that make up Jerusalem which gave us an idea of what the Biblical Jerusalem would actually look like. Another amazing place that we saw was a big church in Jerusalem, which in the Biblical time would have been located just outside the city walls. This Church is very significant because the church is built over the site of Christ's Crucifiction. As we walked into the church we saw many pieces of art which portrayed the crucifiction. As we explored through the church we came to the location where the cross of Christ was believed to be placed. There is a beautiful memorial with the original rock that lay on Golgotha and you can touch the rock in prayer and meditation on Christ's cross. Also within the church is the location believed to be Christ's grave site. Walking through the church and seeing these places was an experience that I won't even try put to words, but if I had to say something I would say that you could feel the power and the presence of God. The most difficult aspect of seeing these amazing locations is grasping the reality that Christ was indeed here in Body and walked this land, and now here I am walking in his footsteps. God is awesome and we have seen some amazing sights in the short time we've been here.
To shift gears a little bit I want to share a little about the JUC campus. There is 36 students on campus and a handfull of students off campus. The dorm rooms are huge, and I share a room with 3 other guys that are all from the United States. I am the only Canadian student (that I know of at this point), but there is a few students from places other than North America or Israel. The food is really good, alot of veggies (and I'm eating them all, you can be proud mom), rice, pita bread, and some meats. So far everything has been going really well, and tomorrow classes officially start...can't wait.

So today proved to be a little more exciting, but we still had to sit through orientation and getting our ID's and stuff. Around 3:30 we went on a photo scavenger hunt and had to tour around old Jerusalem. It's amazing how you can walk through the old city and see ruins everywhere of old structures and pillars that existed before. Much of the old city in built on ruins from Jerusalem long ago. It was fun seeing the market and spending time touring. The funniest part of this scavenger hunt is that it exposed us even more as tourists than we already are. People were staring at us constantly and many would walk away laughing as we took our pictures witht the various poses and such on our list. I had to exchange my money today from Canadian to Shekels and I ended up with a good exchange rate, 300 Canadian turns into 800 shekels. Anyways there is a bonfire tonight on Campus, which will be fun, then my first full day in Israel will be complete.

Wow...it'a crazy to think that just a couple months ago this trip was still in the works, and now here I sit on campus at JUC. As I left for the airport this morning I was taken back and humbled knowing that in just a few (around 20) hours I'd be sitting in Israel. As I approached the front desk for Air Canada in Edmonton I was incredibly pumped, but as the attendant asked for a Student Visa my heart nearly stopped (since I was told I didn't need one). It turns out my trip will be lasting about a week longer than 3 months, which is the longest time I'd be able to stay in Israel without a Visa; however, since I will be crossing the border at least once this trip I was allowed to pass through. As the day went on I landed in Toronto which was really cool and I thoroughly enjoyed a 2 hour layover, then I landed in Tel Aviv.
Now, my trip had gone incredibly smooth til this point, but....big 'But', I didn't know that I would be getting myself into a greater adventure trying to get to JUC. The Airport taxi, or Sherut, left the airport on time and arrived in Jerusalem swiftly; however, since the Sherut was packed full I ended up getting a nearly 3 hour city tour of Jerusalem dropping everybody off. As we dropped off the last rider I noticed 2 others in the Sherut with me, and they were also going to JUC, which worked out well. Later that night we finally got dropped off at Mt. Zion only to find ourselves lost! As we made our way around Mt. Zion trying to find the college we asked numerous taxi drivers for directions only to be dissapointed. So after about another hour and a half we bumped into the manager of JUC who then lead us to the college, thankfully. We then brought all of our luggage onto this beautiful campus overlooking the city and began getting settled in while some of the staff brought us the meal they had saved for us....needless to say it all worked out in the end.

Well, I thought that before this adventure begins I better explain how this big thing came to be. As I was peacefully enjoying my second semester at Kuyper College I was beginning to make plans for the future, which is something every good student learns to do...
As I was pondering my future over a coffee I was thinking about another student at Kuyper who had left for a semester in Egypt and all I could think was how cool, what if I could do something like that? Amazingly enough, the next day I came into contact with Prof. Heerema and so I asked about studying abroad. Almost immediately I was given a hand full of options for places I could study . Once I narrowed down my options I had to make a choice between Oxford, Australia, or Israel. Since my program is Pre-Seminary Australia was knocked off the list since it's a semester focused on Arts. Then I began to look closer at Oxford, but when I began reading, students applying needed a minimum GPA of 3.5, well...I'm not that intelligent so Oxford was out. So I began a process of prayer and God not only lead me to choose Israel, but God called me to Israel.
One of the greatest things about being called by God is that everything in the process has worked out perfectly. Every door on the way to making this semester happen has been opened wide, and in fact I felt as though God has pushed me through showing me that this is where God truly wants me. This trip is not only full of great opportunities to learn and grow, but also an opportunity to see scripture come to life. Being able to see the setting of the Biblical world is something incredibly special and I feel privileged to be offered this chance. On the other hand, I have formed many deep relationships at Kuyper in my first year and it is tough knowing that I have to put those relationships on hold. Knowing that God has called me to Israel and that every door has been opened, I know then that God is in control of my life and that also means my relationships. If I trust God and put my faith in him he will provide me with strength and provide me with all I need.
Philippians 1:21
"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain"

So this is it: the first of hopefully many posts on this wonderful blog. As I sit here and write i have a mere 5 days until my semester in Israel begins. It's hard to believe that this summer has in fact blown by; however, hopefully in the next couple of days I will be a little bit more prepared for this adventure in Israel to begin. Over the next four months I look forward to the oppertunities that await and the doors that God has prepared for me to walk through. Israel has both rich history and beautiful culture, and I look forward to becoming a part of both.