Back in wifi land for a few hours.
The last two nights have been in tents and there will be one more tent night tomorrow in Wadi Rum (change in schedule; we’ll be in Petra the two days following due to weather).

We left Jerusalem on Wednesday and started traveling south.

Highlights include:

Wednesday
Walking one of the four possible Emmauses and breaking bread over lunch at a monastery there.
Luke 24 13-35

Meeting with a women’s cooperative in Lakia which was started to raise the quality of life for Bedouin women and children (you’ll be hearing more from me about that in the future as I ponder how to support this good work)
www desert-embroidery.org

Thursday
Meeting with the pastor of the only Christian church in the city of Beer-Sheva; a Roman Catholic Church with an open table; it has no sign, and they can do no evangelism other than word of mouth

Walking the ruins of Tel-Sheva (was this the ruins of the Beersheva of Scripture?) and Tel-Arad that had an altar built to the specifications of the book of Numbers ( some prayers said there for those dear to my heart)

Staying in a communal tent watered and powered with ecology in mind and spending one of the nicest afternoons and sunsets ever watching the colors change on the expanse of rock and sand below.

Friday
Walking the ruins of Advat, a Nabatean community that flourished on the ancient Spice Road; two early examples of Christian churches

Long drive through miles and miles and miles of wilderness that puts the journeys of our Biblical ancestors in fresh perspective.

Crossing from Israel into Jordan and experiencing how very complicated it was to travel between these two neighbors

Tonight we had a lovely dinner outside overlooking the city.

Appreciating my own room and my own bed and my own bathroom for this night.

Saturday
Off to swim in the Red Sea before we trace a piece of the Children of Israel’s route and then to Wadi Rum for the night.

I hope to write again from Petra.

It is really in our weakness and dependency on God that the way will open for us to live in union with Christ, and so experience his strength being made perfect in our weakness.

-Br. David Vryhof
Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Today we had a preview of the next week as we got into our minibus and drove around Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives to south of the city overlooking the way Abraham may have approached as he took his son, Isaac, to be sacrificed.

We stopped several times for the view and for excellent teaching that placed the geography of the city in the context of a particular time and of Holy Scripture.

Very sweet.

I’ll write again when I’m in wifi friendly land. For the next week I’ll be traveling with the other pilgrims through Israel, Palestine, and Jordan.

Traveling mercies to us all.

Today is our last day at St.George’s College before we leave for a week in the wilderness. It appears that at least three nights involve tents though one supposedly has electric outlets.

This may be my last day of WiFi for a while, so I wanted to talk about room at the college which will be the place to which I return from the wilderness.

Each room is named for a place or event in Jesus’ life. Mine is called Tabgha. I have to admit that I did not recognize the place when I entered for the first time. With only a little research, I decided that I am in the perfect room for this pilgrimage.

See if you agree:

Matthew 14. 13-21, Mark 6. 30-44, Mark 8. 1-9, Luke 6. 17-19

This is one of the places my brother Richard and I will go on our pilgrimage after the pilgrimage.