The Whirlwind Tour Begins......Tomorrow.

It's beginning!!! And by that I mean it's the beginning of the end. So far this is what I have accomplished today:

• Finished paper
• Packed for trip
• Washed Clothes
• Studied for final 2 exams
• Had my final Egyptian (well actually Lebanese) dinner with Andrew
• Watched 2 episodes of Fringe
• Freaked out about looming departure

Guys. Packing today was the strangest feeling. tomorrow I leave for Jordan and Israel for 6 days. Guys, I have no idea what id going on. As Ron Burgundy would say:

.....I'm in a glass case of EMOTION! 

Unfortunately that's a completely accurate description of my current mental state. I'm beyond excited to be heading off on this whirlwind tour to Petra and Israel/Palestine, but there's so much going through my head! 

It's finally starting to hit me that this semester is over. And unfortunately it is ending with one of those sad, strange, unexpected, random farewell periods. That is to say that instead of everyone leaving at once, people leave at random times and often you don't get the chance to say goodbye. Well, i've said it before but i'll say it again; i'm not terrible with goodbyes...if i'm  leaving. But, knowing that when I return from this insane adventure i'm about to go on a lot of my crew will already be gone? DEPRESSING.Then, on top of that, i'm going to Jordan and Israel on my own! And, while I am excited to go to both of these places, the prospect of making sure I get to Petra and back to the hostel and whatnot all on my own DOES freak me out a tad bit. But, i'm thrilled to get the chance to walk the streets of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. 

But, on the bright side...i'm going to have a crazy amazing few days in Jordan and Israel. Plus, when I get back I'll have one more full day in Cairo to go to all my favorite places, say goodbye to some of my favorite girls and just enjoy this country for one last day. I'm sure i'll sit down and try to write a final blog that day since I won't want to sleep that night anyways...but this has been such an incredible semester. God answered so many prayers, i've made incredible friends, seen amazing things, been to crazy places, eaten delicious food, grown in my faith a ton, and just generally felt insanely blessed. 

So, here we are again...off on yet another adventure. But, as I leave this one behind I can't wait to take a day to reflect on how insanely good God has been to me=] I love you all so much! Thanks for listening to my stories and i'll be sure to post more before I leave!! 

Love Unexpectedly

This is actually an old note that i found...that has absolutely nothing to do with Cairo...BUT i didn't want to lose it and thought it was worth sharing. So here we are. My apologies for the random post.

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”- Romans 12:4-5

Interesting isn’t it? Think about this for a moment. Now you could interpret this in a few different ways but let me point out just one. We are ONE BODY…meaning we are meant to WORK TOGETHER. We may work in different ways but whatever we do is to be for the BENEFIT of the ONE BODY. I know that seems like something that has been preached over and over but lately i've really struggled with the realization that I haven't quite got this idea full through my head yet.

We as Christians are called to:

1. Love one another ---John 13:34-35
2. Love unexpectedly---Matt 5:46
3. LOVE.

We are called as Christians to be the hands and feet of Christ. We are a part of the ONE BODY of Christ with the mission of spreading the amazing news we have to others. But far too often, I miss that call. I hear it. But I'm not listening.

There’s a quote I rather like that says: “you may be the only Bible that some people ever read”. Mull that over will you? YOU may be the ONLY BIBLE that some people EVER read. It is incredible and terrifying. We have been called to  live a life in which we are acting out the will of God. Did you catch that? Yeah, that’s what we signed up for.

So what am I getting at?

1. We are one body who is supposed to work in a way that is beneficial for the whole.
2. We are the hands and feet of God and thus our actions should reflect that

Not in every case, but in many, Christians (myself included) have not stepped up to the task. When people are living through everything that is wrong in the world, God wants to meet. But so often, God works through us. So, while it may seem obvious and simple, we need to remember what we are being called to do: Love. Love unexpectedly. Love the way Christ loved us. Matthew 5:46 says “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?” We are to love UNEXPECTEDLY. Love when no one else will. It’s not always easy and it’s bound to be frightening from time to time but God will see us through as we love others to Him. THAT is what is beneficial for the whole. Loving others into the light of Christ.

I have watched hearts crushed and turned away based on the inability on the part of the body of Christ to match actions to words. It is heart wrenching to watch people looking away from Christ based on the actions of His followers. And yet, it happens all the time.

So, in the end, I guess this is just a simple reminder to myself and whoever else happens to stumble upon it...


Love. Love joyfully, love abundantly, love unexpectedly.
People need it. We all need it.

1 John 4:19

Sunrise Sinai.

  Yes, that is correct. I hiked Mt. Sinai. Whattup Moses! I feel you! Just kidding. I mean, I did climb Mt. Sinai for an amazingly spectacular sunrise. But, most biblical scholars don't actually think what we consider Mt. Sinai is the actual mountain Moses went up...sad. Nonetheless, I got a tiny taste of what it might have felt like to hike up a mountain in that region and got to see the spectacular view that Moses would've seen when he wasn't chatting with God and all. Oh, and if you aren't totally sure what i'm talking about here's the info: Moses on Sinai.

So, here's the story. The crew that ended up going were me, Andrew, Anjana and Johnny. So we hopped a bus ride to Sinai Friday morning, got there around 7pm-ish and went to Desert Fox Camp, which is at the base of some of the mountains. We ate a rather unappetizing meal for dinner, then slept for a few hours until we met our 17-year old guide at 1am to begin our hike up the mountain. It was incredible. The sunrise was insanely beautiful and you know, having amazing people with you doesn't hurt either=] We got down around 7:30am to St. Katherine's Monastery, walked back to camp and then proceeded to sleep for like 5 hours. It was GLORIOUS.

Desert Fox Camp

excited about animals. yup.

church at top of Sinai

our guide showing us down the steps of penitence.---more like jagged rocks.

WE MADE IT TO THE BOTTOM!

St. Katherine's Monastery

From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,

    the name of the Lord is to be praised.  

Psalm 113:3