This friday was different from other weeks since we did not have class but a field study. This field study took us to Ephraim and Samaria. We stopped on Mt. Gerizeem for a lengthy period of time and both took in the sites, and we learned about its strategic access point to main routes in Biblical times. The Hike was alot of fun and the view was spectacular. We also visited a church in Samaria where we saw Jacob's well. This is the well where Jesus asked the Samaritan women to draw water for him. They believe that this is the well since there is great access to water in the town eliminating the need for wells, so there are very few wells in town and Jacob's well dates back to Biblical times making it the most likely well that Jesus would have visited. The church was beautiful beyond words, there were mosaics and beautiful paintings and the structure of the building was done with such detail. What was truly amazing is that the building itself was pale white in colour so the paintings on the walls and the ceiling stuck out incredibly, they were truly vivid. Finally on our field study we visited the ancient site of Shiloh which is where the Ark of the covenant and the Tabernacle would have been. This site was cool because some ancient ruins were still in place, but you could also see where Archaeologists have excavated. The view from Shiloh was fascinating in that you could see for miles, it was great. Every field study that we have brings us to new places that are amazing and all have a beauty about them.
Well...the next day we had the chance to go on an optional hike to some water falls. The bus left Jerusalem at 8:00 and we had about a 3-4 hour bus ride. Amazingly the hike was fun, even after an all day field study the day before, and the trails were cool. The trails wound through cliff edges and through some forest with creeks running through. There were 2 separate falls one about 40 feet high, and one about 120 feet high. We decided to swin in the big one since you could sit under the falls and swin around in this cold pool of water, which made my day because it was hot out. This extra hike was the most fun I think I've had all trip, it was a chance to get out of the classroom and just wind down and have fun. The danger about being here in Jerusalem is that you're always learning new things everywhere you go so in a way you feel like you never leave the classroom, and I could feel some stress building. So, I loved this hike because it took some weight off.
Wow, I'm going on for a while, but there's alot that I have to say. Saturday night we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre because it was the reunion of the church and the had a special ceremony. It started at 11:00 pm and went to about 4:00 am. I didn't make the whole ceremony! What I saw though was really cool. They were burning Incense and blessing all the historic, or Holy sites in the church. They also brought in cross and had some rituals to go with that. There was alot of prayer, singing and worship...but it was all in Hebrew so we didn't understand a word; nonetheless, it was an amazing experience and something I'll never have the chance to see again so I was glad that I went. Anyways, I don't want to keep you reading for too long. This week thursday I begin traveling to EGYPT! I am really pumped and can't wait to tell all of you about it!

So, another day in the Holy Land on Mt. Zion, and what can I say it was great. I had a test in Physical Settings this morning, which went well, and the rest of the day off. As you might be thinking, yes I am converting to a middle eastern life style.....very laid back. Unbelievably I took some time to do laundry, some homework, and I played soccer. Even as I write this I am lounging around drinking hot Tea...hmmm I love Israel. But seriously, at supper today I went to Forum table, which is where students meet with Dr Wright and have a discussion about...well anything.
The discussion today focused on Midrash CHAZAL. What is Midrash CHAZAL? (you don't even know it but I just used a Rabbinic teaching method, I asked a question to begin discussing the topic) Well, M.C is a method used by practicing Jews to interpret the Holy Scriptures. By using M.C they attemp to fill into Biblical stories information that is missing. They try to understand the purpose of the scripture text, what is being said, why it's being said, and then they try to fill in the missing information to get the whole picture.
The question that we adressed today was: As Christians how do we view M.C, and is it useful for our own interpretation of scripture? The cool part of this discussion was that there was a wide range of answers that we as Christians came up with. People voiced there opinions and beliefs and it was an important time of growth. We also discussed what interpretation is and what authority interpretation has in comparison to the authority of scripture. We discussed some questions many us had, and though we may not have gotten a clear, clean cut answer it has brought us to a greater curiosity in terms of what we believe about some of these things. The question I asked that has been on my mind was: Is there importance to reading and maybe interpreting Extra-Biblical Texts such as the Gospel of Thomas, or Philip? I can honestly say that I know now, after hearing what was said in the discussion, what I believe on this issue.
I guess what I'm getting at is that this forum or discussion is just one of the examples to show that I am truly maturing in my faith here in Jerusalem and that real Christian growth is happening in my life. I have been blest to be here and to have this oppertunity to grow, and I'm glad that this experience is just getting underway.

So today was another day in the field, and we traveled to Benjamin today both the North and south side. Here's a fun fact for you all reading, approximately 60% of all Biblical events occur in Benjamin, at least according to Doctor Wright.
We started our journey today in the barren wilderness on the east side of the mount of Olives, and suprisingly enough it rained. Rain and desert in september...you figure that one out. Anyways the desert had a beatuy of its own that can only been seen. Once we moved from the desert lookout points we moved to the New Testament city of Jericho. Basically all that we studied was Herod's winter palace, which was or would have been beautiful. Harod used many techniques to build his palace that added to the palaces beauty. We stayed in New Testament Jericho for about a half hour and then moved into Old Testament Jericho. The reason that there are 2 Jerichos is that Herod built his palace away from the OT site and so the people followed and formed a city around him. Anyways, OT Jericho was fascinating because we could see some of the original structures from when Joshua moved in and took over. The walls, or part of them were still standing after all this time. Old Testament Jericho is dated to 8000 B.C and is supposed to be the lowest point on the earth, how cool. Even more cool was that down inside where the old city used to be there was a watch tower that now stood 10 feet off the ground. In the center was a hole that was dug out with steps going verticly down for about 20 feet into the ground and on top was a cage. Well, some friends and I climbed on in and we got a cool picture of us stuck in this pit with the cage down, it made for a cool pic (which I will add later due to internet problems). Once we toured Old Jericho we had lunch and moved on. The last major site that we visited was the Old city of Gezer. This place was incredible because it landed on the Coastal plains and you could see Ashkelon, where the philistines used to be, Tel Aviv, and almost Jerusalem. The views today were spectacular and it made for the best field study yet. Anyways, I have a test to write tomorrow morning, and I think I should study. Until next time, thanks for reading, and God bless.

Wow, so another year has passed and now I'm 20, hard to believe. I can honestly say that it feels great to no longer be a teen ager(and no longer be subject to all the teen stereotypes). It was a very good day. I started with only one class, which was a test, and had the afternoon off. I spent the greater part of my afternoon in the old city touring around, which was alot of fun. Around 2:15 I had to leave to go coach soccer. Jordan and I, Jordan being a classmate I am coaching with, left and hopped on the bus taking us to Beit Jala (a city outside the city). Not knowing that Beit Jala was in the West Bank I left my passport on campus so we had to get off the bus, walk back, get the passport, and hop on another bus. We figuered we would be incredibly late, but we would do our best to arrive as soon as possible at the Jerusalem school where we would be coaching. When we arrived, however, we realized Beit Jala is an hour behind Jerusalem, so we ended up arriving early for the practice, so I guess everything worked out to plan.
After practice some friends and I headed for Zollies, which is a pub in New Jerusalem and we enjoyed an evening out for the birthday. It turned out to be one of the funnest birthdays I have ever had. I had a great group of guys with me, and we had a ton of fun spending the night together.
We also encountered our first conflict here in Jerusalem. Know that everything is now fine and under control but it was scary for a while. I was in the student lounge when I heard 3 distinct screams coming from a women's voice. A women had been assulted near the JUC gates. Before anything too terrible could happen the man assulting her was scared off. Later that day, and night the man was seen hanging out around JUC, and we were thrilled to learn that the local Police have caught him, and he is off the streets, thank God.
Anyways, it's been an eventful couple off days, and there is much more adventure awaiting.

Today was an absolutely amazing day. We started our Field study on the Mt. of Olives and overlooked Jerusalem. Prof. Wright outlined the major features such as the Temple, and David's city so that we could get a prospective from outside the city. Seeing Jerusalem from a different place revealed a beauty within the city that can only be appreciated from afar. As we continued to another viewing sight I saw my first Camel! I know I sound like I'm in Kindergarden but the Camel was soo cool. You could pay money to sit on the camel and get a picture of Jerusalem, but since I was on a field study, and on a tight scheduale, unfortunately I did not get to sit on it. One of the most fascinating places was the Garden of Gethsemane, which is beside a church dedicated to Christ's prayer and his betrayal. The church was beautiful and was dimmed to make the appearence of midnight which is when Christ would have been praying about.
After the Mt. of Olives we headed for the Herodian which is a partially man made mountain made by, and dedicated to Herod the Great. They have a saying here, " You have not seen beautiful architechture until you've seen that of Herod the Great. When we climbed up this mountain we got the view of both Jerusalem and Bethlehem. On the top is the location of Herod's palace, or oasis. You can see the original ruins and layout of what the palace would have looked like, incredible. Next we moved on to Bethlehem for our last stop and we visited the church of the Nativity. This church is also beautiful and dedicated to the birth of Christ. The entrance is about 3 and a half feet high so when you enter you must get really low. This is to humble people before entering the church, and once we entered we saw beautiful paintings and mosaics and alot of Gold decore.
Again and again I continue to see amazing places that are in Scripture and the word of God comes to life. There is no greater feeling than reading about Christ's ascension on the Mt. of Olives, or reading about his betrayal in Gethsemane, or his birth in Bethlehem. I was told that once you go to Israel you will never read the Bible the same again, and now I see why. If I only learn a few things here in Israel one thing will be to gain a greater appreciation for scripture and hold God as the highest authority in my life. Our verse, or one of the verses today, was Psalm 23, but we read it as we overlooked David's land and it came to life.

Hezekiah's Tunnel

Today, since I had only one class this morning I decided to walk Hezekiah's tunnel. Let me first just say that this was one of the coolest experiences i've had here in Israel. Well, let me start with some facts about the tunnel:
The tunnel is a 1750 feet long, or 530 m, and was carved during Hezekiah's reign. The purpose of this tunnel was to bring water from one side of the city of David to the other. the tunnel goes from the Gihon spring to the Pool of Siloam( Jesus healed a blind man by making mud with his saliva and told the man to wash in the Pool of Siloam). The shape of the tunnel forms an 'S' shape, and the believed reason is that the diggers were following a natural crack in the rock. Further exploration in this tunnel revealed the digging tools used, and the Siloam Inscription(an inscription by the diggers).
Hezekiah's tunnel is mentioned in 2nd Chronicles 32:30 which says "It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled the water down to the west side of the city of david...". Again in 2nd Kings 20:20 we read "As for the other events of Hezekiah's reign, all of his achievements and how he made the pool and the tunnel by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?".
As I left this morning to go walk this tunnel I had seen pictures of the tunnel, and had seen the entrance, but had not gone in. I was excited but also nervous since the tunnel is narrow, the roof is of the tunnel is not very high, and it is filled with water. JUC has student cards for everyone, so when I got to the passgate the attendant wasn't happy to see it since it got me in for free. I had to first walk through Warren's shaft (which is also a tunnel with a big hole where Archaeologists dug). Once I got through there I arrived at the entrance. Before I began I read some Bible passages to get the background of the tunnel. As I was reading, two other tourists past by, and as they saw the entrance (which was pitch black) and they stood there talking about how scary the tunnel would be(this made me feel great since I was walking it on my own). As I finished I entered the tunnel. At first you walk on a small platform and then stairs going into the water. I borrowed a flashlight so that 'I could see, and as I started walking through it was amazing. You could clearly see on the sides where rock had been scraped away and where the diggers dug. The most interesting thing about walking through was that the diggers, a couple times, dug in the wrong direction for about 5-6 feet so you could take a wrong turn. The water levels changed throughout the tunnel, at the beginning it was waste deep, then throughout the rest about ankle deep or a little more. As I got about half way you could hear the echoes from my feet sloshing in the tunnel and it was really freaky because it seemed as if someone was following me. So about every ten minutes I would keep looking back because of the echoes. I was amazed at how narrow the tunnel was, my backpack was rubbing the walls almost the entire time. Near the end it's amazing because the roof shoots up to about 10 feet high, and then about 10 minutes later the tunnel ends. The entire tunnel took about 45 minutes and it was great, freaky at times, but great. I'm sure that I'll walk the tunnel at least one more time before I leave...

Today marks one week that I've now been in Israel, and I feel I've been here for a long time already. Classes started this week so I've gotten my first taste of what studying here looks like. I am taking 4 courses this semester that all fit into my program at Kuyper. I'm taking:
"Physical settings of the Bible", which covers the history of Israel but also the significant places in Israel that major events take place. We've had our first Field study which took us through the old Jerusalem city which was exciting. We saw the "Wailing Wall" where Jews come study and pray, but it's cool because people come write their prayers on a piece of paper and stick them in the cracks of the wall. We visited the church of the Holy Sepulchre which is the location of the Crucifiction, and the Burial of Christ. We saw the Markets and also the divisions in Jerusalem (Muslim, Jew, and Christian).
Biblical Archaeology which so far is my favorite class. Our professor is one of the most famous Archaeologists in the world which is amazing, and he is a great teacher. He actually taught us that Indiana Jones, the movie series, is based off of a real Archaeologist living in Jerusalem currently. When he found out that the movies were being produced he tried to sue Stephen Spielberg but he lost the case. Anyways, we started to learn the process of Archaeology, which is not like Indiana Jones at all...I know that kinda sucks, but it's still really cool.
Biblical Hebrew is also an amazing class, but it is very hard. Learning french was easy because the alphabet is the same as in English, but pronounced different. Hebrew has a completely different alphabet and I need to learn how to pronounce the names, and write the letters. Anyways it very tough, but also very exciting.
Rabbinical Thought and Literature, this class focuses on Jewish theology and the teachings of Rabbis. We are learning Midrash CHAZAL which is a way of interpreting scripture. This, by the way, is very different from Christian Reformed even though the biblical text is the same.
So those are my courses, I share a room on campus with 3 other men named John, Tucker, and Andrew who are all from colleges in the U.S. There are 2 Canadians on campus which are me, and a guy named Noah from Vancouver. On campus there are about 36 students. The weather is cool in the morning (cool until like 10:00), and then from about 10 till night it gets incredibly hot. The heat here is dry though so I sweat like crazy and I sweat constantly. I've gone through most of my socks since I wear shoes basically everywhere because walking long distance is not comfortable in sandles on stone roads. The food is very good, there are always about 3 parts to the meal. We always have Pita bread and Hummus (my new favorite snack), some kind of meat or pasta, and salad. Since tonight was Shabot (the night before the Sabath day) we had a special meal. We had shishkabobs with steak, Pita bread, salad, and hot dogs (explain to me how they fit into the picture). The food is always prepared well as if it is home cooked (not like Kuyper College...). One of the neat things about being in Israel here is the Market. The market goes thoughout all of the old city basically. There are shops on almost all the side streets selling clothes, drinks, pottery, and alot of Jewish decore. You can buy almost anything in the market, but it is a game of bartering. The new city is more reliable for buying things, but you can only buy more modern things rather than some of the cool souvenirs you'd find in the market. Military soldiers are everywhere and police assisting them. In Israel once you are 18 you are conscripted for I think it's 2 years of service. They carry full riot gear, and a scary semi-automatic rifle. The weird part in this is seeing girly girls who have been conscripted carrying weapons when they look like they should be in school, or out shopping, my point is they don't look like soldiers who should be carrying weapons.
Life in Israel is relaxed and laid back, but people here are very devote to their religions, and they make us as Christians in North America seem like we are very un devoted. There is a variety of people living here some are devote Jews with the little hat on their head, some wearing suits with the big hats and curly side burns, and Jewish orthodox wearing Ceremonial robes, you get the point. There are many different branches of religion here and it is cool to see. I find that between classes and homework there is alot of free time to sight see which makes this semester hardly feel like school some times. Now, however is bed time, so til next time, Shabot Shalom.