Follow up to that previous thought.

I talked about the postmodern belief that we as humans have no sin nature. We are naturally good, and only our environment makes us bad. I talked about how I believe we are naturally evil, and our sin nature is something that each one of us must deal with in our lives.

I have a few more thoughts about this idea though. Mainly, one idea. Postmodernists who believe that mankind is good, are not bad people. (Of course they are bad in the sense of the whole sin nature... but in the sense that their values might not be as far off as we think.) They still value good above evil. They value love and good works. They want mankind to do right (whatever their conception of right is at least). However, they believe that man can do this by themselves. They want to take the easy way out and say that it is something we do naturally. They have been blinded to the fact that we cannot fully love. We cannot completely rid ourselves of selfishness. They believe that if didn't just have that dang environment, we'd be in a utopia. They want this utopia to happen. They want good for mankind.... they just take the easy way out. They make excuses. They are on the right track, but still far off from the goal. But, by seeing it this way, we can at least have a platform, in the form of some common values or some inherent human desire, to begin dialog with them. Keep this in mind when talking to all your post modern friends. Or if you plan on traveling to Europe and staying in hostels in order to chat with this exact people group. Yay, I finally have some useful things to say to past, present, and future YHMers!

Polar Opposite Days in Greece

Today and Yesterday might have been the two most opposite days that I have had on this trip.

Yesterday, I spent the morning in the ancient agora here in Athens, then I had free time in the old city. We knew that protests were scheduled to happen, and we knew where they were scheduled to happen. So, at the beginning of free time, a few of us decided to go and see what the protests were like. However, we quickly realized as we approached Syntagma Square, that it was no a protest we were going to see, it was a riot. Two blocks away from the square, the atmosphere changed from a normal Euro-urban street to something I don't know how to describe. The first thing that I noticed was that almost everyone had what looked to be white face paint and some sort of gas mask on. The next thing I noticed as we approached the square was that the air smelled funny. Then my nose began to burn a little and my eye watered. Tear gas had more or less filled the air of the entire square. The next thing I noticed was the smoke billowing up at different points around the square. Seems as if people had decided that fire was a good way to protest. Then I saw the protesters. They all had decided that throwing things at the police would get the attention of the parliament. In the same way, the police had decided that tear gas was a good way to calm the crowd. Neither of these things helped. As I was watching all of these things going on, I could tell that one of the girls in the group that was there was a little skiddish and didn't want to be there anymore. Then a tear gas canister exploded across the square and she turned white and turned right around and almost ran away. That is when we decided to leave. We wandered for a bit, and eventually I hooked up with another group heading down to the riot. We can from the same direction, and this time, things looked worse. The police had formed a wall right near where I had been standing before. So I stood a little further back. The riot police were assembling in a building close by. Rioters had set fire to bag of garbage in the middle of the intersection I was at. Tear gas canisters went off again. This time, not right across the square, but 20 yards away. It seems that the police had thrown them into the crowd, and someone in the crowd had kicked it back at them. The girls again flitted about a block away. I stayed for a few more minutes with 3 of the other guys. It was at this point, that I began to talk to one of the protestors. He explained to me the situation. He and other nonviolent protestors didn't want this bill to pass in Parliament. He wanted the country to declare bankruptcy and just start anew. The bill was planned to be voted on on Wednesday. He told me that a bulk of the people protesting did not want violence, just to be heard. He also said that most of the people in the square were not part of the political activists, but that they were just anarchists. So the fight was between 3 groups. The Police vs. All Protestors, and Activists Vs. Anarchists. It seemed to be an interesting dynamic. After talking with him, more tear gas went off, and the police holding the line seemed to slowly moving backwards. And indeed, they were. So, the riot police assembled across the street from me, and began to move up to support the police. At this point, the crowd around us began to boo and I decided to remove my self from the area.

In a polar opposite day, Today we went to the Special Olympics. It was SO MUCH FUN! I saw several events, including power lifting, swimming, basketball, and volleyball. AMAZING! For the most part, the fans there were family members or close friends. So, being one of 50 college students walking around and cheering on the teams was a distinct privilege. The athletes seemed to love it almost as much as we did. The amazing emotion of the events was what impressed me the most. The passion and the hard work was obviously there on every single athletes face. The love for all and not just the love for their own, was on the faces of each of the fans. It was truly a pinnacle of human kindness. Almost heaven on earth. I am pretty sure that Jesus would support the special olympics.

These two days were incredibly insightful in terms of a Christian and Psychological aspect. In these two days, I have seen the depth of human fallenness, and the ability of humanity to love. People often use the problem of pain and suffering as an argument against God. They say that God cannot exist because of pain, and that if He does, they want nothing to do with Him. However, the problem in their thinking, is that they believe that man is inherently good. We have no sin nature, according to them. But, I believe that we do have a sin nature. And, I believe the thing that is more important is that we as humans are capable of loving on another, exactly like Jesus said. He wasn't just talking about abstract ideals. He was giving an actual picture of what it will take from us as humans to see the Kingdom of God. Imagine what else Jesus had in mind. Given your cloak away lately? Just a thought...

Greco-Roman World Pt. 2

So I realize that I didn't get anything in the last post about how the Greco-Roman world affected the spread of the gospel. Well, I the last week has been tough in terms of getting a holistic view of this place/culture and how it relates to how I read the New Testament. We have seen some sights, like the ancient sight of Olympia (birth place of the Olympics). We have seen many Roman forums. We have seen Byzantine churches galore. But it hasn't clicked like it did in Jerusalem. It could be because I am tired. It could be because our tour guide, while great, is no Paul Wright (our professor in Israel). It could be that sights are so far spread apart that our time at each place is decreased. It could be that there are just less sights. Or it could be all of these things combined. No matter what, the fact is, this part of the trip is much harder academically. I feel like I went from doing a 1,000 piece puzzle in Jerusalem to a 10,000 piece puzzle in the ancient Greco-Roman world. So, what has stuck out to me during this part?

1.) Paul had to deal with Zeus. Well, not only Zeus, but all of the Greek gods. And not just all of them, but the whole mythology and religion surrounding them. I never really realized this. I have read Acts countless times. And I have read how the Ephesian metal workers wanted Paul out because their sales of Artemis statues was going down. However, I never realized that Artemis was the twin of Apollo, and a daughter a Zeus. If that is something commonly known, I have been in the dark for a long time. I saw a similar thing in Corinth. I knew that the people in Corinth struggled with sexual immorality. But why was this? Why did they struggle with this more than any of the other cities? Well, in the city of Corinth, there are 2 temples. One to the healing God. Here, people would place clay replicas of their body part that was plagued. Many different replicas of male and female sexual organs were found. Apparently this city was struggling with STD's. The second temple was a temple to Aphrodite. The Greek goddess of love and beauty. This temple was said to have over 1,000 temple prostitutes. Of course STD's would be a problem. Living in this culture, where sex was just a part of life, it is very easy to understand why the people of Corinth were struggling. There have been other interactions with the greek mythology that we have seen. But some of them relate to the greater subject of greek culture and the NT.

2.) Paul had to deal with the very very VERY different greek culture. Not only that, he was still dealing with the jewish culture, and was probably dealing with an combination of the two. He came from Tarsus, but also spent time in Jerusalem. He was probably comfortable in this situation, much more comfortable than that back country fisherman named Peter. In Jerusalem, the culture was based around the Pentateuch. It revolved around following the law of Moses. This was a very conservative, eastern culture. Greece however, was known as the birthplace of culture. Much more of an Ancient day New York, London, or Paris. Here, the people were open and welcoming to different perspectives. They were every changing. For example, their art became more and more realistic, and the styles of vases or patterns changed with the times. Comparatively, the art in Jerusalem was only ever patterns, and rarely changed. Israel was focused on living simply and praising and worshiping God by following the law. Similarly, the Greeks worshipped their gods. However, the methods were very different. They built buildings that housed shields, swords, statues, and figurines of animals. They used all these to show their devotion to their gods. In addition to this, they competed to win honor for their gods. This was the origin of the Olympics. They were played for individuals to honor Zeus. It was into this ever changing culture that Paul carried the Gospel.

(It kinda reminds me of what YHM does today. We take this Good News that applies to our worldview, and heads into a post-modern culture. Sometimes what we have to say is radical and unheard of to those in this post modern society..... plenty to say here, maybe another time though.)

These were the two main observations that I made. More to come when I get a chance to process this all.

Enter the Greco-Roman World

My journeys thus far have focused on things anywhere from 3000-4000 years old. Ancient sites, where mankind has deemed particular places as valuable living space. I have seen ancient houses on this sides of hills, I've trekked through tunnels built nearly 1500 years before Jesus walked the planet, I've swam in water that was once walked upon.

With all the focus on ancient things, I began to lose sight of the modern day world. I had a disconnect from the sights of Abraham, Joshua, King David, Herod the Great, and Jesus and Powell, Ohio or Wheaton, Illinois. How could I relate to events of all the archeological and geographical places to my life as a suburban student in the "New World"? Is the Jesus who I have been following this entire time, the real Jesus? Or is He a product of veggietales and sunday school stories? Did Jesus have heros?

All these questions swirl about in my mind, and I don't have answers for many of them. I have thoughts, I have the beginnings of answers, but to say I have answers already would only hinder the growth I can undergo in seeking out the truth.

As per the disconnect between what I saw in Israel and the life I live, the picture is beginning to become a little more clear. I tend to focus on the big picture things in life. (Anyone who knows me, knows I am not a detail oriented person.) So, as I traveled through Israel, I was looking for the big story. The grand narrative of the Bible. I saw a little bit of everything from Abraham to Jesus.

We ended our time at a cute little site where some people believe the resurrection took place. I have my doubts, but nevertheless, we ended focusing on the phrase "He is not here, He Is Risen!" Which is the crux of the Christian message. Without the Resurrection, we lose. Game over. But, He was raised. He ascended to the right hand of the father, and will return at the end of the age. Sounds like a great stopping place right? Sums everything up in a nice neat package.

But, the ascension of Christ was not the end of the story. We see this clearly in the first chapter of Acts. Acts 1:9, (when Jesus is taken out of the sight of the disciples on the Mt. of Olives) is not where the Bible ends. Acts 1:10 is a verse that I have come to love.

Much as Genesis 12 is a turning point for the Old Testament, Acts 1:10-12 is a turning point of the New Testament. The verse says, "They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city." I imagine 12 grown bearded men, standing on the Mt. of Olives, outside Jerusalem, looking up into the clouds with utter bewilderment. Maybe they were wondering where He was going to come down, maybe they were hoping it wouldn't be on top of their heads. Anyway, the angels come and tell them, He's gone to heaven. So, these 12 men have a choice. What next? Back to fishing? Or, do we really believe?

Side note: The road they were on is called the Ascent of Adumim. It is the natural route between Jerusalem and Jericho. From Jericho, the rift valley leads right up back up to the Sea of Galilee. These men would have associated this road with the start of going home, much like I associate Chicago Traffic with my returning home. They could have easily turned around, picked up their nets a week later, and been back to the normal, comfortable life. But they didn't.

The men made a choice; the verse tells us that they went into Jerusalem, about a Shabbat's days travel (Not far at all... like maybe a half mile.) They decided to heed the call Jesus gave them to spread the gospel unto all the nations. He called some of them to move out of their comfort zones (see earlier post on Peter), he called some of them to meet people in their back yards. He called one man (who my next several posts will focus on) as he was walking from Jerusalem to Damascus to persecute the early church. He called most to sacrifice, even a sacrifice of life.

It is within this call that I have realized two things. One, I have realized the connection of the time in Israel with the Turkey/Greece/Rome part. Now that I have the base of knowing and understanding the things that went on in Israel, I can better understand the events and places here. I have to know the message before understanding the movement.

Secondly, these verses have given me a clear connection from what I have been seeing and learning here to my life back in Powell and Wheaton. As most people know, I am involved in the Youth Hostel Ministry back at Wheaton. I participated last summer, spent the year working on cabinet, and now am the Chair of the ministry. I feel called to be outside of my comfort zone, to reside with people who think differently than me. I feel called to tell them about Jesus. Just like the 12 made the choice to return to Jerusalem, I have made a choice as well.

The grand narrative has started to take form. It has become person.

Fun stuff...

Transition Period

Well, I find myself at a similar place to my favorite college team. I am in a time of turmoil and transition. A time of trying to figure out what is going on. We left the country of Israel on Saturday. This is the biggest transition of the Holy Lands program. For the first three weeks, I have been inundated with information. I have had solid tests to gauge the degree to which I was absorbing the vast amounts of people, places, and events. All three given by a brilliant professor who made everything extremely interesting. Here in Istanbul, we have seen some of the most amazing sights in the world (Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Ephesus' Amphitheater, ect.) and yet all I feel like I haven't learned one thing. Most of this is probably because our tour guide, Oz, as knowledgeable as he might be, is straight up boring. He seems to rush us through sights and not allow us to absorb the surroundings or understand how the sight flows. We push fast all day... but still I am left wondering what we saw. I could write pages on every sight we saw during our 3 weeks in Israel. I don't know if I could write a substantive page on our 2 days here in Turkey. Tour guides make all the difference apparently. Life will go on though. On the bright side, my only assignment for the next 3 weeks is a paper on what the church today could take from the church of Ancient Turkey, Greece, and Rome. I will probably end up talking about the value of Tradition, which is often overlooked or misrepresented in protestant circles. I will also talk about the need to constantly be learning from those who witnessed the work of Christ... i.e. the Apostles and those who wrote the New Testament. I hope that I get more information to talk about over the next few weeks. Otherwise, this second half of the trip would merely be a vacation.... which as nice as that would be, is not my goal for this excursion. I hope i gain some greater insight on the New Testament, particularly the Epistles in this second half of the trip, much like I did for the Old Testament and Gospels on the first half.

A Few Photo's

So, one thing my blog has been missing is beautiful photos from my travels. The reasons behind this are two fold. First, I can't take beautiful photos (nor do I want to, I am content with close up face shots. Just Kidding!) Secondly, I forgot my camera cord back in Columbus. Bummer. Well, I uploaded photos from the entirety of my past 2 and a half weeks, and here are some of

my favorites in No Particular Order:

Dome of the Rock

Typical... Lots of Stairs

Class in the Desert

David Vs. Goliath

Welcome to Israel- We Love our Flag

Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Old City Jerusalem

Hezekiah's Tunnel-Real Small, Real Fun

Paul and I with Western Wall and Dome of the Rock in the Back

Class in a Roman Amphitheater in Caesarea Maritime

Jesus and Peter

My favorite moment of today, was probably at the place where Jesus asked Peter 3 times "Do you love me?" I was reading the passage, and Jesus responds to Peter every time with "Then feed my sheep." In the past, that hasn't really struck me as anything more than Jesus teaching Peter a lesson, or something of the sort. However, today a few things struck me about this particular passage. First off, when Jesus first calls Peter, the way He phrases the work Peter has to do is "be a fisher of men". This would be language that would be enticing to Peter, who was by trade a fisherman. So, why would Christ change the language? Several things could explain this. First, maybe Peter has become accustom to the life of a Shepherd in the past 3 years of hanging out with Jesus. Problem. Jesus was a carpenter and not a shepherd by trade. (Side note, carpenter does not just mean wood worker, it means he was a builder and used all kinds of materials, whatever the local stuff was.) So why would Jesus use a shepherd term? The land for shepherding is far from the land of fishing. I think it is two fold.

First, our professor made a good point. While fishing, the main goal is to catch fish and kill them to provide food. The goal of a shepherd is to keep his sheep alive. What Jesus is doing (among other more blatant things) is showing Peter his new role. Peter's main role has gone from being an Evangelist Preacher (getting folks to die to themselves) to a Care Preacher (keeping his congregation alive and well). This doesn't seem to mean that Peter is supposed to stop evangelizing. He in fact continues to do this throughout Acts. It simply means that his main job has changed.

Secondly, this could be a call from Jesus for Peter to prepare himself to leave his comfort zone. Peter had grown up around Galilee and was familiar with fishing. So equating following Christ with fishing helped Peter adjust to his role as a disciple. Not only that, but the area in which Peter was being a "Fisher of Men" was mainly in the North, and in fact was mostly around the lake where He grew up. This lake was mixed cultures of Jewish and Roman. Peter was used to the climate and Jesus was face of the movement called "The Way". But now, Christ was preparing to leave. This means 2 things for Peter. First, he will need to step up to be a leader. Maybe, he needs to reign in his impulsivity a bit. But the greater lesson is that Peter needs to prepare himself to leave the comfort of his own home. He needs to prepare to step out of the things he is used to (Galilee, the sea, the culture, the political climate, family and friends always by his side) and step into territory that is different and uncomfortable (Leadership, jail, Jerusalem, other cities, Rome, and even death). Christ is subtly telling Peter to step out of what is today called the "comfort zone".

Just a thought.

The Climax of Our Time in Israel

So, for the past 4 days, we have be "Working up to the Climax of our 3 weeks here in Israel" according the Paul Wright. (Paul is the President of the Institution here in Israel, and he is our Professor and personal tour guide. The man is Superman with an amazing knowledge of the land of Israel and the Bible). We spent our time in the north.

The First Day, we looked at approaches to Galilee. First, we went to Caesarea, an ancient city on the Northwest coast of Israel. This city was straight up Roman. It had theaters, a hippodrome (place where they could have chariot races or fight gladiators), Aquaducts, a Sea Palace (For Herod), and a Prison. Incidentally, in the 1st century, this prison held a jewish man from a place called Tarsus (in Modern-day Turkey). Apparently, he was going around to cities and stirring up a group of people who followed Jesus. Once he was put on trial, this man revealed that he had roman citizenship and was promptly shipped off to Rome. His boat crashed and he kept on preaching about Jesus. Later that day, we went to Mt. Carmel, Meggido, and other sights in the Jezreel valley. We spent the night in a Hotel overlooking Nazareth.

The second day, we continued from our resting spot, to a first century Roman settlement, which I can't remember the name of right now. The one with the Mona Lisa mosaic.... ZIPPORI! I remembered. We continued and looked over Nazareth, and eventually moved to the Cliffs of Arbel. From here, we could see the entirety of the Sea of Galilee. We climbed down these cliffs (actually literally climbing at parts), and ended the day south of the Sea at a Roman Settlement called Beth-Shean. This place was huge, and very VERY Roman. Corinthian Columns and everything. (As you can probably tell, we focused on the Helenization of Galilee for the first few days). We ended the day, staying at basically a resort right on the Sea of Galilee. We saw, ate dinner, watched the sunset over the Sea, and swam some more.

The Third day, we traveled north. (Just a note. The night before, some Syrian protesters decided to try and cross Israel's boarder. This happened up on the Golan Heights... which is where we ended up for the afternoon on the Third day. We went through an impromptu check-point, and overall didn't feel very threatened.) We say places like Hazor (the head of all the cities in the North), Caesarea Philipi (where Christ asked the Disciples who they thought he was), and saw from a mountain the place where that guy that I talked about earlier (the one in the roman prison, and ship wreck) would have been heading to Damascus to persecute Christians (the people who he would eventually come to lead and instruct) and would encounter Jesus. This day, my foot hurt the entire day. I'm not sure what happened to it. I woke up in the morning and the entire right side of my right foot hurt when I walked. (Yes dad, I know... just walk it off.) I limped through the day, avoiding putting a ton of pressure on that side of my foot. By the end of the day, the right side of my foot was feeling a little better, but the left side, where I had focused most of the pressure, was riddled with blisters. Not really sure what was wrong with it in the end, it was probably just a muscle strain from climbing down the cliffs. I wasn't going to complain about it though. Too many people on this trip have already gone to the hospital. I'm beginning to think that the professors are a bit over-cautious. In the end, my foot felt even better this morning and other than the blisters, it feels pretty normal now.

The final day (today), was our climax for the time in Israel. We spent the entire time circling the Sea of Galilee seeing sights. We saw the place where Christ cast legion into the pigs and they ran off the cliffs into the sea, we saw the place where Andrew, Peter, James, and John were supposedly from (we also talked about how these men were fishermen and might have lived multiple places along the Sea), we saw the Jordan river up close and personal, we saw the Mt. of the Beatitudes, we saw Capernaum, we saw the place where the feeding of the 5,000 took place, we saw the place where Jesus asked Peter 3 times if He loved Jesus, and we finally saw the 2,000 year old boat that was recovered and preserved. Quite a day. Feeling overwhelmed and tired, we returned to JUC finally after 4 long days. But Paul Wright was right. Today was the climax of our time here in Israel. I have really gained a better view of who Jesus was and who the disciples were.

Sweat, Salt, and Cheers

So, remember how Moses led the Israelites on a 40 year walk through the wilderness? I do. Remember how we just sorta skip over that 40 year period, and move onto Joshua? I used to do that. However, this past 3 days (more like 2) we spent in the wilderness of the Negev (means southern dry land). Trust me, it was hot and sunny. This land gets less than 4 inches of rain the entire year! I felt like I was sweating rivers the entire time... and I wasn't the only person doing so. Let me break down the different days:

Monday: We spent the day monday focused on the verse 1 Kings 4:25 (in fact most of the three days focused on this verse) and the open land to the west of Jerusalem. The verse talks about every person from Dan to Beer Sheva living under their own vine. This looks very different for many people in the land of Judah. For the people in the foothills, this was almost literal. We saw a cave where people lived for over 2,000 years. Coming to Israel, I would never have considered the hilly country to be the safe and comfortable land. Being from the flat land of Ohio, I would have thought the open plains to the west are the comfortable country. There you can see for leagues and leagues, you can easily talk to those surrounding you, and you don't have to deal with walking up and down all day. However, in ancient times, this meant that you were exposed and vulnerable. The hills provide safety at the expense of connectivity. (This is why Judah is always warring with someone around them.) Plus, up in the hills, you get a nice breeze which helps cool the noonday sun. In the afternoon, we looked at the plains. Here we focused on 2 Old Testament stories. First, we saw the place where Samson did all of his work. We saw the village where he came from and the village he set on fire via fox tails. (I also found a piece of possible philistine pottery but probable crusader era pottery here.) We then continued to the valley where David fought Goliath. Still can't believe I saw that place. We finished out the day by seeing Lachish (A Judean Stronghold that was overrun by both the Assyrians AND the Babylonians), seeing Ashkelon (A huge, ancient city on the coast), and some swimming in the Mediterranean sea. It was an amazing day, and I learned a ton.

Tuesday: We spent the day in the Negev. First, we went and saw Beer-Sheeba. This place was the place that Abraham was supposed to have settled, but the Archeology showed no middle bronze age remains. But not much should be expected to be found from that time, since Abraham would have had a goat hair tent. That would have totally decayed. But, we still should have found a well or something. But instead, it was merely and Iron Age city and well. However, this doesn't mean that Abraham was some fake, archetypal character. His well could be anywhere under the modern city or out in the desert surrounding the area known as Beer-Sheeba today. We then went to an archeological sight called "Arad". This was a fortress built out in the middle of no where seemingly. But at second glance, and prodding from the professor, we realized that this sight was an Egyptian area of control for the Salt and Tar route. Arad was also a spot, where they found some interesting finds in the Temple at the fortress. First off.... there was a temple. Secondly, the temple could have been used to worship both Yahweh and some other deity (or, the duel stones found at the sight, one standing one laying on the ground, could represent the power of Yahweh over all the other deities). We then climbed and hiked the Zin Wadi, a place of wilderness wandering. We saw a major sight on the great spice route from Saudi Arabia, and ended the day overlooking the worlds greatest erosion crater. It was far down (don't worry mom, I stayed away from the edge for the most part...)

Wednesday: Today, we spent the morning at Masada. This was the greatest of Herod's Palaces. I saw 1st Century mosaic, a million gallon cistern, and heard the possibly incongruous story of the Zealots vs. the Romans. We then did the grossest swimming ever... in the dead sea. It didn't feel gross getting in. But when in, it slowly goes from being novel to icky. My lips tasted of salt even though the water never got past my neck (from the evaporating water around me). One of the guys got water in his eye and freaked out. He said it hurt a ton. Once I left the water, I realized how nasty I actually felt. Luckily, all my scratched bug bites were cleaned nicely. We then went to natural springs and swam some, and ended the day at Qumran (the place where they found the dead sea scrolls). That is where we thought the day ended and we would head back to JUC (Jerusalem University College, our residence while in Israel). Well, not quite. Today was the beginning of a festival called "Jerusalem Day". And apparently it is where people from around the country come to celebrate Jerusalem. The streets were flowing with people and everyone was chanting in Hebrew, waving flags, and having a generally good time. However, on the other hand, it felt as if the people were at a near point of rioting. In fact, 24 people were arrested around the gate we entered into Old Jerusalem for throwing stones at Arabs. The tension in the city was possibly palpable, or maybe the place where we were was the only place of tension and everything else was peaceful. I felt ok once we got through the area, and the crowds thinned out.

But, while we were there, I was glad that I looked American and everyone there assumes most Americans support Israel whole-heartedly. Which brings us to the subject of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I think that it is a complex subject. Often, American Christians believe that we are told in the Bible that we are to support Israel. I agree we are told to support the people of God. Whether or not this is still the entirety of the Jewish people is still an area of debate. However, this entity occupying the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea is not that. It is now a political entity. Still, that does not disclude them from any support. It simply keeps them from that wholesale inclusion of the people of God (at least in my eyes.) I believe that all who follow Jesus Christ, void of any ethnicity, culture, or nationality are the People of God. I believe that Jesus died and fulfilled and expanded the covenant that was given, like when he expanded it during Moses' and David's time. I always believe that we are told to love everyone and help those in need. I don't believe that we have a biblical mandate beyond those to support the political entity that is Israel. However, neither the Israeli's nor the Palestinians are without blame in the conflict. And generalizing a population on any single feature, such as religion, is a dangerous tactic. I do not know how to solve the problem here, but I do believe that violence (any kind, be it rockets or concrete walls) here only makes things worse. To make it clear, I am neither a supporter of Israel nor Hamas. I am a supporter of peace (I don't know how to enact this peace, nor do I feel that I am in a place to make a difference here.) And in the words of Forest Gump.... That's all I have to say about that.

This Past Week

So, I intended to post on this almost daily. However, I fiddled around with the video blog for too long trying to get it to work, and I ended up not posting anything. So, I will give a run down of what we did this week by day, then give some general thoughts.

Monday: Toured Jerusalem- we did a general run through of the old city of Jerusalem. As we walked through, we talked about the intricacies of having a city so fully grounded in three different religions. We talked about how the religions (Jewish, Christian, Muslim) in the city are like trees planted near each other. Although the 3 trees grow separately and are their own identities, they are so old that their branches in some place being to intertwine. (This is not to say that they mix doctrines or that they are becoming one mega super religion. But rather their histories and understanding of the land are beginning to become complex and difficult to untangle.) Similarly, if their branches are becoming intertwined, their roots are becoming a warped mess, so much so that it would be nearly impossible to remove one tree without nearly destroying the other two. But as it is, they survive, and except for a few isolated instances they get along just fine. And it's true, almost every spot in the old city is a holy or historical spot for one of the religions, and at times two or three of the religions. Such as the upper room. It is what we as Christians consider to be the place of the last supper. The Muslims turned it into a mosque at one point, and the Jewish people remember King David's grave there. All three have a vested interest in this spot, and removing one would damage the stability of the entire city. Also, saw the church of the Holy Sepulcher I went to the Western Wall after.

Tuesday- We did another walk through of the Old City, this time focusing on the Old Testament. We saw walls that were supposedly the original walls that Hezekiah put up to repel the invading Assyrian army. Next, we saw the original City of David. It is on the eastern hill in Jerusalem (we have learned a ton about geology and geography and how it affects our understanding of the Bible... see below). We walked Hezekiah's tunnel, which is an extremely small and cramped route for the passage of water from the Gihon spring to be brought into the city. We also saw the pool of Siloam, where Christ sent the man who was born blind to wash his eyes and be healed.

Wednesday: We started out going to the Temple Mount. Here we saw the Dome of the Rock, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Furthermore, I believe this to be the place where Solomon built the Temple, and thus, the place where God's divine presence dwelt during OT times. After, we went to the place of the original street in Jerusalem. A place where Christ would have most certainly walked. Wow. Then we went to the steps which originally went up to the temple. These would be steps that Jesus walked and also possibly the steps where the Pentecost happened. Finally, we ended up at the Pools of Bethesda and Church of Ann (Mother of Mary). Here is the place where Christ healed the man born lame.

Thursday: This was the first of our 2 11-hour days during the week. We saw the Mt. of Olives, and had our first glimpse into the wasteland beyond Jerusalem. We went to the Church in the Garden of Gethsemane. Here I saw the rock that marks the place where Christ cried blood. From here, we went to the Herodian (Herod's palace south of Jerusalem). That dude was rich beyond belief. After, we went to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, and saw the place where Christ was supposed to be born. We also met with Palestinian Christians and talked about how they feel about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It was interesting.

Friday: Our second 11 hour day. We traveled into the wasteland. "Wow, it is desolate out here", was my first thought. There is practically no vegetation and even less water. It was hot, and there was very little shade. It brought new meaning to the words "Valley of the Shadow of Death". Furthermore, come to find out, this area was part of the "promise land" which God gave to the Israelites. So much for a prosperity gospel. We went down to Jericho and talked about how we reconcile the fact that we have text and geography pointing to a place where Jericho should be, but we have no archeological remains of the walls (or any part for that matter) of Jericho that Joshua knocked down. We then finally left the hot area of the rift valley. We continued to look at the northern approaches to Jerusalem, here is where seeing and studying opens up great amounts of the Bible. We looked at places that were around Jerusalem and how the borders were constantly in flux. Knowing where these cities are, and who the players and kingdoms are, opens up great understanding of the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles.

Close Geography of Jerusalem: It is built on 2 hills. The hills of Jerusalem (named the western and eastern hills) are separated by a valley (today merely a dip in elevation) named the central valley. On either side of Jerusalem's hills are two valleys. The Hinnom valley is to the West and after that the ground rises into the Watershed ridge. The Kidron Valley is to the east and rises to the Mt. of Olives. To the south, the Valleys combine and the Watershed Ridge curves around. The North is the weak point. This helps us understand many things in scripture. For example, when David in Psalm 121 says "I lift my eyes up to the hill, where shall my help come from? My help comes from the LORD who made heaven and earth." Understanding the nature of Jerusalem's solitude and the way the City is cut off from friends, helps understand the place of despair and faith that David writes. Furthermore, in Psalm 125 David says that as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people forever. Understanding the geography of Jerusalem helps greatly in understanding the theology built into the text. Furthermore, the Solomon's temple, a great and powerful temple was built on the high spot of the city, which was the north. This helps explain the importance of the Temple being so mighty and well fortified... It was part of the protection of the city.

I have much more to say, but I do have a test this afternoon on everything I just wrote, so I should study. But I will try and be better about posting soon.

The Legendary Old City

Monday was our first walkthrough of the old city. WOW. It was such a unique experience. We first went through a 4 hour lecture on why geography is important to our reading the text of the Bible. Here are some thoughts:

1.) Upper Room- I didn't realize that the first place we went was considered to be the place of the last supper. It was that mundane. However, there were some interesting tid bits about the area. For 1, it had the 3 major religions all tied up in this one room. The room was originally thought to be the place of the last supper. Then, the Jews placed David's tomb to be there. Finally, the Muslims took control of the room and turned it into a Mosque. Eventually, the state took it over, and it is now open from the public. Little side note, from the roof of this building, I saw the wall that separates Israel from the West Bank. It is quite imposing.

2.) The Western Wall- We saw it early in the afternoon and didn't even walk down to it. We looked at it from a distance. It is one of the biggest structures that I've seen. And to think that it was made out of rock by men, WOW. What's even crazier is when I try and think of the grandiosity of the city of Jerusalem back in Solomon's time, when all the walls were like that, and the Temple was in place. (Yes, I realize that these walls were built more around Jesus' time.... but the idea still applies.) That would be one of the most impressive, if not THE most impressive structure of it's time... Especially since the structure is mind blowing now when we have buildings like the Sears Tower or Empire State Building. We left the wall pretty quickly. But once we had finished out walk, two of the girls in the group convinced me to join them, and we walked down to the wall. They both had to pray on the women's side. I threw on a Yarmulka and went to the men's side. Even thought I am not Jewish, the experience was quiet intense. Here I was at the Western Wall. I prayed for Unity among God's people, and for peace in Israel. I figured those were appropriate things to pray for at that particular location.

3.) Lastly, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. I'd never really thought about it before this trip. This place is considered to be both the place of the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. It houses 7 different churches. The smell of incense that wafts over you as you walk in is both entices you to continue in and awakens you to the reverent nature of the church. We are spending some time with one of the Fathers there, after it closes later this week. I'm excited to see it more in-depth and better understand exactly where everything is.

Other than that, life in Jerusalem is good. I'll keep you posted.

I'm an Idiot....

I've done this before. I travel on one of these long summer trips, (yes.... ANOTHER Youth Hostel Ministry comparison... get over it, It was probably the most formative experience of my personal experience) and I freak out when I get off the first plane. I did that during YHM. London was such a scary place in my opinion. I felt as if I were being constantly judged or stereotyped. In addition to this, the thought "WHAT AM I DOING HERE?!?!?!" went through my mind. This happened again as I arrived in Rome for a transfer flight. However, I do have a distinct memory of stepping off the plan onto the stairs and having the sun rising and a nice breeze and just feeling the Peace of God flow over me. No other description. I proceeded to still freak. I slept some on the second plane. And we got into Israel. WOW! This place is amazing. It is such a surreal feeling to be here. We are right on the edge of the Old City, right near the Joffa gate for a reference point. We didn't go in today. But we will tomorrow. I'm excited. I will write more about everything that's going on when I get a chance.

The Beginning

In the words of Bilbo Baggins, "It's dangerous business, Frodo, going out your front door. You step into the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." As I embark on this great journey, I can't help but feel as if I have been preparing for this for at least a year (and I didn't even realize it.) And I don't just mean the actual going and seeing. Because in all honesty, that's what I figured this trip would be about. The great tour of the land. But God has really brought about some interesting changes in my life. So this post is to describe the two fold preparation God has been doing in me to prepare me for this trip.

1.) God has prepared me to handle travel. This one seems pretty obvious. I did YHM. That's a ton of traveling. This 6 weeks should be a breeze. However, there is a deeper part of this trip that God has prepared me for through YHM. That is uncertainty. I am really good at adjusting. Coming to college was a big adjustment. I did plenty fine. Sure I miss my family, but I love being here. Even the parts that I don't love can be worked around. But I think I adjusted fine because I knew what was coming. Doing Wheaton Passage (2 1/2 weeks of canoeing/backpacking) helped me understand the limits of my ability to adjust to situations. I do great when I know what's coming. However, when I don't... I can psych myself out. I could have easily done that on this trip. Sure, we have an Itinerary. But that is vague at best. However, I am prepared for this. I've had to deal with worse, and I survived. On YHM, the only Itinerary we had was what city to be in on what day. I was in a group of 4. Much less support. 10 times less actually. This will be a great trip. Just gotta go with the flow.

2.) God has used this past year to help me get over my "Great Prejudice". What was my great prejudice you might ask? Well, mainly it was against theology. I know right! A good Wheaton student like me not liking theology? Unheard of! Well, it's true. Last summer, I went on YHM hoping to love people to Jesus. Which, don't get me wrong, is a great way of going about stuff but definitely not sufficient a lot of the time. And I found myself in situations where I wanted to get into conversations and explain my faith to others, but I didn't have the words to do so. Nor did I have the wisdom to think through that kind of thing before. The Office of Christian Outreach did a great job of preparing me. I did a poor job of preparing myself. Even when I came back from YHM, I had an aversion to theology. I think it was because I do not see myself as a deep intellectual thinker, and I considered theology to be a deep intellectual task. And I do not like to feel incompetent. So that is why I avoided theology. Then, second semester, I had to take my Christian Thought class. Basically it was theology 101. Well, come to find out, I enjoy talking about stuff like that. I loved learning about it. And then came this week. This week, I spent 3 1/2 hours a morning talking about theology. A lot of it was review. But I did learn a lot of new information: mainly about the Orthodox Church and their beliefs, and the Catholic Church and it's belief. Quite interesting. In the past year, God has taken me from not really thinking about Theology, to not really liking theology, to loving theology. Crazy how He does stuff like that.

On a side note, one thing that I found out this week was that I had a pretty narrow view of Christianity. In the past, I considered "Christian" (what I now understand as Protestants), "Catholic", and "Orthodox" to be three completely separate faiths. However, after taking my theology classes, I understand now that we are three different parts of the "Christian faith." (Maybe this fact doesn't come as a shocker to you. But to me it was a !LIGHTBULB! moment.) Yes, we disagree on some doctrine, even some major doctrine. However, we hold much in common. We should be looking at these similarities more, like the similarity that we all follow Jesus Christ as the Incarnate Son of God. Yes, that looks different for each of our traditions. But the church is supposed to be the unified body of Christ. And for that reason, it is the one thing that we should fight hardest for in this world. So, now I go to sleep. Tomorrow: Exam and Flight.

This is just the beginning.....

Return to Class

So, today I returned to class after only a week of break. It was a long day to say the least. Woke up early, and joined my fellow Holy Land participants for breakfast. Headed over for a morning of Theology. But first, we talked about the early church. But not the parts you probably just thought of. We talked about the Early Eastern Church. Still not the parts you'd think of. Like Far East. Starting from Turkey, to Syria, Iraq, and on all the way to China. It was interesting. Global church means something very different now. Then we began to talk about theology. We did the basic discussion on what is theology. Then we talked about the Trinity. It was quite interesting, but still felt repetitive because of my earlier class on Christian Doctrine. Then we had a break for lunch. Then all afternoon was Old Testament. However, it was more about Hermeneutics than anything else. Quite interesting. However, I was dozing off at the beginning and end. Finally, we got out of class. I now plan on taking a break, and then hitting the books this evening. Got some work to do now so that I am not doing it in Israel. No Pics as of yet, since we are just sitting around Wheaton. Those will come later. Hopefully I will be posting stuff every few days while I am on the trip. So, check back early and often.

The Calm Before the Storm

As you can tell, I have not been good about blogging in the past week. So let's catch up. I completed all of my exams, moved out, and did a good chunk of work on YHM. The exams were just fine, and moving out took about 2 to 3 days. Then, I came home. I have spent the week here, preparing for Israel and trying to relax. However, I have not fully been able to relax this week. I have had this feeling in the back of my mind that I am not really home. I have been focusing so much on school work and this summer for the past few weeks that I overlooked my week at home. I guess I really felt that my real summer starts on Holy Lands. I might have done this to protect myself from the stress of adjusting. I didn't want to adjust from being at school to living at home to doing Holy Lands. I am good at adjusting but that would be a bit much. In addition to this, I have felt bored this past week. Not that I haven't enjoyed my time with my family. I have. But the transition from TONS of stuff to do to wide-open days is a tough one.

But this week is now past me. I leave for Wheaton tomorrow evening. Spend a few days with the family, and then a week worth of classes. Then Israel. I'm excited. Seeing the Holy Lands is going to be great. Studying and understanding what I am looking at is going to be even better. Doing this with old friends while meeting new friends! THE BEST! 6 weeks of awesome. So stoked. Be praying for me. It'll be a great summer. But I am going to miss the family, and the girlfriend. I want to focus on my time there, but also I do not want to neglect the people dearest to me. I'll post more info in terms of what's going on when. And I will be posting throughout the summer on what I am learning. Stay Classy.

Why I shouldn't be stressed about my stressful list.

So, normally I don't get stressed. It's one of the perks of being me. I take things day by day. Conquering tasks one by one, just waiting for that next time when I can just chill with people. However, this week has gotten the best of me. By all means, it shouldn't have. Yes, I have the most work due this week, and the most extra-curricular work to do as well. Let me outline it for you.

4 exams: Spanish Competency, Christian Thought (basically an intro to theology class), Abnormal Psychology, and Cognition.

24 Travel Folders for YHM to assemble: these have roughly 30-40 pages a piece and are specific by person.

1 Mega travel binder to assemble.

Several couches to find new homes for.

An apartment to clean, pack up, and move out of.

A new OCO leadership meeting to attend.

The continued search for the elusive 6th and final cabinet member I need for next year.

As well as many goodbyes to say as my senior friends transition into a new stage of life, and as I go away from my girlfriend, roommates, and friends for the next 3 months.

All that being said, it doesn't sound like that much actually. SO I'm going to stop complaining. I could have it much worse. I am so blessed to be at this awesome college that pushes me to do my best and to always be considering how I am living my life. I have a supportive family who loves me. I live in a country where I am not persecuted for my faith but have amazing opportunities to serve and love those around me. I have been to Europe in the past year, and am headed to the Middle East in mere weeks. So why am I so self-absorbed and stressed?

It's cliche, but let's blame it on the fall. I am a man. And thus, I am fallen and can't see past myself to the glory that God has put around me. Thankfully, Jesus died on the cross for me, was raised from the grave (not by any magic or mankind miracle medicine), ascended to heaven, and sent the Holy Spirit to help me get over myself. (Actually, "thankfully" seems trite and wholly insufficient for this particular emotion. However, my mind is shot, so I am going to depend on God's omniscience to understand what I mean.) That being said, the Holy Spirit has gifted me for a life of service. Add this gifting to the talents and personality which God has given me and I end with the question: How do I use my personality and gifting to live this life of service thoroughly ? Well, I could be a counselor. I could teach. I could help the mentally disabled. There are any number of things that I could do. But, in order to fully pursue a career in most of them, a college degree of some sort is required. So I should take this week, the blessing of education and friendship (aka college), and revel in the blessings God has given me.

Hopefully by doing this, I will take a difficult week and at least see it as a growing experience if not something to be enjoyed. I would encourage you to do the same.

Exam Week.

In the words of the notorious GLaDOS, "I'm still alive". However, exam week has begun to bare down on me. So I will be adding occasional pithy little posts so that my devoted six (6) fans can monitor my sanity. Let the games begin.

Annoying Dude

So today, an annoying dude yelled at me on the street. He was driving his truck, and I was returning to my apartment. I was waiting for the light to turn green at the main intersection before my apartment. The WALK and DON'T WALK signs are notoriously bad at that intersection. I waited for the light to turn, and when it did I proceeded on my merry way... at least until I heard a horn blare behind me. I turned to look and saw the truck fly around the corner. As he did, he looked at me and yelled "DON'T WALK" in a tone that was like he was training a disobedient child. He also pointed to the sign as he was driving in an angry matter.

This action upset me. What did I do to upset this stranger?

I have the ability to read. I understand the full implications of all that this sign means. It is there for my protection and keeps everyone in order... or at least it should if it works properly. But from almost a year of experience, it never works properly. However, I also understand that maybe this guy doesn't know that. So he can't really be blamed for that. Sure, he could have been a tad more polite about it, but that kinda stuff isn't a huge deal to me. He could have been making sure that I could hear him over the traffic by yelling, and merely supporting his argument by pointing to the sign. So let's give him the benefit of the doubt.

But still, why did this action get under my skin?

I guess it is because one of the things that annoys me most is being misunderstood. I knew that I had the right of way on the street today despite the broken sign. But the other guy didn't. And he assumed that I was stupid and could not read the sign. ANNOYING. Now, he will forever think of me as that "stupid kid who tried walking across the street when it was my own turn". I don't like being that guy. But there is nothing I can do now to change his mind. But maybe I can clear my conscious by blogging about it. So in conclusion: I AM NOT STUPID, AND I CAN READ JUST FINE. Phew, glad I got that off my chest.

What is YHM?

This past week, I found out that I was selected to be the chair of the Youth Hostel Ministry program at Wheaton College for the 2011-2012 year. Woot! I am pretty excited for this opportunity. But what is YHM?

By definition, YHM is a 8-10 week program which sends students to join the traveling community in Europe with the purposeful intention of serving and sharing the gospel. Sounds like a pretty straight forward mission right?

In many ways it is. Still, along with that mission come difficulties. The biggest thing I had to deal with was my own self-expectations. Going into the summer, I thought that I would be meeting people all the time, and that sharing the gospel was going to happen all over the place. I saw myself making great arguments that an unbeliever couldn't resist. I saw myself listening to people's troubling life stories, and preaching the gospel to miraculously make it all go away.

I would never have told you that those were my expectations. And I would have been sincere. I honestly believed that I was not expecting those things. But deep down, I was.

Meeting people is easy. Young people who travel Europe often travel for anywhere between 2 weeks to over a year in small groups or completely by themselves. Without any outside companionship, this time can be tiring. Even if you are traveling with people who you enjoy being around very much, you are bound to get tired of them (trust me, I know from experience). So naturally, when traveling you want to meet new people just to spice things up a little bit. Wish I had known this before I left...

However, not knowing this, the fear of not being able to meet people, was one that plagued me before I left for my YHM trip last summer. I am an extreme extrovert and the idea of trying meeting new people every day for two straight months was a daunting thought. This fear persisted even as my "team" began our travels. We pulled into the train station in Frankfurt, Germany, found our hostel, and headed upstairs to set down our backpacks. We were still getting settled and enjoying the view from our room when a fellow traveler came into the room. Almost immediately, he asked us if we wanted to go out and walk around the city and just hang out. He hadn't even gotten our names yet. We joined him and the girl he was traveling with. The next day, we hung out again, and had another girl join us. Obviously, meeting people was not difficult.

Britta and Jake with New Friends!

But that fear of not being social enough was not the only fear I went through. Of course as you are traveling and talking to people about your faith, you are bound to be met with some questions. If that were not the case, and every single person who met a YHMer converted immediately, then I think the ministry would be much less effective. Yep, that's right LESS effective. Yes, in terms of converts and the Kingdom, YHM would be the most successful ministry EVER. However, this would greatly diminish an aspect of YHM that is just as important: the growth that participants get as they deal with questions and hardships. The ministry of YHM is already an effective and life changing ministry. I have spoken to many past participants, and each one of them has talked about the change that the ministry has played in their lives. These changes must originate somewhere. Often, the questions come from fellow travelers. I know that in my time, I had to deal with my share of tough questions. And I can honestly say that the ministry of YHM raised more questions about my faith than it answered. However, in the working through of these questions, I have become more sincere in my faith and belief.

Don't get me wrong, I did not spend my summer quivering in a corner. I had many enjoyable experiences. I got to know 3 of the most awesome Christians ever, Jake, Britta, and Lynn. Being on their team was a pleasure in and of itself. Yeah, things weren't always peachy, but they were never bad. I met a ton of new people, Alex in Frankfurt, Dominic and Nop in Munich, Griz and Afeara in Interlaaken, Rebby in Salzburg, and many more. I got to watch the sunset with 25 (not an exaggeration) Christians in Riomaggiore, Italy. I got to see the beauty of the Swiss Alps. I found an amazing church family in Prague (a city that by the end of the summer felt like home to me). I was able to openly talk with people who believed something very different from me. (This was a first for me because I had grown up in an almost entirely Christian environment.) I met people and got to know them. It really was a time of growth through trial.

So what really is YHM? It is a time for students to push themselves, a time to engage with a wholly secular world, a time to encounter God in the questions life, a time of new friendships both close to home and worldwide, a time of great growth.

The Value of Denny's

Today, I had two big exams. One covering memory, and one covering an abundance of psychological disorders. I spent the majority of my weekend scouring my notes on the Atkinson/Shiffrin model (that's the traditional view of memory... Sensory store, Short term memory, and Long term memory... just an FYI), Dual code theory, Prototype theory, ect. However, by Sunday night, I still did not feel like I sufficiently studied memory, and I hadn't even begun studying for my abnormal exam. That is when I decided to leave the apartment and study at Denny's. I asked if anyone else had homework they needed to get done. Before I knew it, the 5 of us were at Denny's. That was my first "mistake", although not a true mistake. Only a mistake in the sense that I thought I was going to get a lot of work done. I didn't. Between jokes about the names of delicious drinks, fake calls used to spy on certain elected student government officials, and awkward looks from the girl sitting at the next table, I ended up only studying for about 40% of the abnormal exam by the time we left at 1. Returning to the apartment, I decided to surrender and sleep for a few hours and get up with a clearer mind to prepare for my back to back exams. Waking up promptly at 5, I began to realize just how long my day was actually going to be. I spent the next 3 hours studying everything from stress disorders to substance abuse disorders. (At one point, I looked up and realized the sun had risen. Oh the simply joys in the times of hardship.) I have now taken both exams, I am tired, my mind feels like jello, I am tired, I have yet to eat today, I am tired, and I have more homework to do. That being said, Denny's was a good decision. Spending time with the friends, even when facing down the double barrel of Abnormal Psychology and Cognition, is never a bad decision.

Oh yeah, and I dominated those tests

Awkward First Post to get things started...

In the words of the great sage Tobias Fünke, "Let the great experiment begin!" I, however, have no plans of crying in the shower later tonight. As you can probably tell, this is my first entry. If you joined us a few months in, you can probably skip this since it is most likely no longer relevant. However, every good thing has a beginning, and this is my blog's beginning. Whether it will be good or not is yet to be seen. Eventually, I plan on having something interesting to say and some interesting pictures to post. However, as of right now, I am sitting on my couch waiting to start "How To Train Your Dragon". (I've seen itbefore, but am excited to see it again. If you haven't seen it, see it.) That is literally what is happening to me in the immediate present. But as a human being I am not confined to the here and now, I come from some place and am heading some place.

Where have I been?

Lots of places. Particularly in this last year. I traveled through Europe this past summer, spending a month seeing Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland. Throughout this time, I met amazing people and heard amazing stories; all the while

being watchful for opportunities to share the greatest story of all time with whomever would listen. For the second half of the summer, I spent my time in the Beautiful city of Prague. I "helped out" at the youth hostel "The Czech Inn". If you ever swing through the city of a hundred spires, make sure you stay there. While I do not mean to romanticize my time there (it was like 95 degrees for two straight weeks after all), I definitely appreciate my time there now that I am away. I have even begun to feel the tug of nostalgia calling me back to the wonderful capital of the Czech Republic. That's where I have been lately.

In the past though, I have been around. I grew up in Powell, Ohio. A quiet suburb of Columbus. I am the middle of 5 children. And although I don't quite buy into the psychology of birth order, I definitely see myself as the most independent of the Miser clan. I have two amazing older sisters who have two amazing husbands. I didn't have older brothers when I was growing up, but I couldn't ask for two better older brothers to have. They are quite the role models. I have a younger sister, who I will probably always see as my best friend. And a younger brother who has put up with enough crap from me that he deserves my love and respect. I love my parents dearly, even if we have our moments. Eventually, I will be victorious over mom in Jeopardy, or be able to talk with dad about the complexities of the human body. (HA! Fat chance of either of those happening)

Where am I headed?

In the short term, I am headed to Jerusalem, Istanbul, Athens, and Rome this summer. I'll talk all about this in a future post.

In the long term, let's not talk about that.

Well, that about does it for the awkward first blog post....