Closing Words

The Yella program in Israel/Palestine is now complete, but the experiences we had will continue to shape participants and faith partners for years to come. Here are a few concluding reflections from some of the Yella 2010 faith partners. Thanks to everyone who has been supportive of the Yella program along the way...



They say the hardest part of going away cross-culturally for any length of time is coming home. That probably would have been very true were it not for the sickness that hit our group right at the end. I would imagine, there's nothing that makes you more happy to be 'home' than being grossly sick in a foreign land.

That has me thinking.

What is it about our 'home' that makes us so happy to be there?

When we were in Israel, the one thing we kept hearing about from both sides of the conflict was how 'connected' they were to the land. The land, we discovered, was what the struggle was really about. This undeniable, unmistakable, and unfathomable connection to a very specific piece of real estate.

The Dome of the Rock for example is built upon the rock that tradition says Abraham was to sacrifice Jacob on. This rock has become the foundation stone of faith. Abraham proved his faithfulness to God above all else, and from Abraham has sprung the 3 largest and most influential religions on the planet, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

The Rock is also where King David's son Solomon built the first Temple, the first 'home' for God on earth. The first temple was destroyed, but then rebuilt again in the same spot.
The Muslims also believe that this Rock is where Muhammad ascended to the heavens and received the Qur'an. Another more obscure thing I heard is that the Muslims also believe this Rock is where God created the world from...it was the starting point of all creation.

The Rock then has become a 'home' where heaven and earth meet, and for created beings who are both spiritual and physical in nature, it begins to make a bit more sense why such a place holds our attention.

Maybe we can't fully comprehend why these people are so attached to this piece of real estate. I know the entire time I was there listening to both Israeli Zionists, and Arab freedom fighters I couldn't do it. When I heard a Jewish settler talk about why he decided to leave his high paying job in Chicago to move to a little suburb in Israel, about how the land had called him, and that he felt he was fulfilling God's promises by living in that specific part of the world...I tried but I couldn't relate.

I listened to the story of a Palestinian who had been beaten, had had his child's teeth bashed in, and his wife had lost two pregnancies because of attacks by radical Jewish settlers, and yet he was going to stay in his home even if they killed him. When I listened to him, I tried but I couldn't relate.

Their connection with the land was so strong, and they were willing to die and kill for it.
It seemed very foreign to me. That is until 17 of the 24 of us got leveled with food poisoning, my wife included, and I started hearing people say...'I just want to go home'.
There was agony, panic, shock, and fear as one after another fell victim to this horrible sickness. Although food poisoning only lasts a short time (24-48 hours), it is violent and extreme. It has become a window into the suffering and struggle that both the Jews through the Holocaust and now the Palestinians through the realities of the Jewish state has experienced. That pain and fear, agony and shock makes humans say, 'I just want to go home.'

Compounding this very human instinct to get home when things get bad, is the mysterious intersection of the Spiritual and Physical which appears all over the land in the form of 'Holy' sites. Places in space and time where God has visited His people and left a mark. I believe that we have been designed to contain both natures, the physical and the spiritual. That we are drawn to seek reality beyond what we can see, touch, taste and smell. We are drawn so seek the Designer, the One who created both the human and the land. There is no doubt that we get confused in that pursuit. We make false gods because it's easier to worship something we can see and imagine in the physical, or we reject the good that is in the physical world and condemn everything that isn't spiritual.
Living with both the physical and spiritual at once, acknowledging the relationship between the two, and the importance of both is foundational to the Christian faith. After all, it is Jesus Christ who is both God and man in 1 person. He showed us how to live with the tension, and how beautiful it can be. He showed us how to live well in the land and yet not live for the land only.

In the gospel of John Jesus says some profound words to His disciples. He is preparing them for the bad news of His death. He knows that they will experience pain, shock, and fear when their Messiah dies. This is how He comforts them:

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:1-3

Our final 'home' is in the Father's house. A house with many rooms, and Jesus is preparing a place for us there, just as He is preparing us for that place.
Israel has been a tremendous experience. I have gained some insight into the world and life of Jesus, and have come face to face with one of the most intense conflicts in our world today. I strongly doubt that I am aware of all that this experience has taught me, but I have recognized 1 thing above all others – God desires that we trust Him.

- Steve Cox


I've been reflecting this past week how challenging and stretching my 3 weeks in Israel/Palestine was - emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Each day had challenges I never could have anticipated. By facing each challenge and engaging fully I have grown and been transformed. I didn't know I could climb a mountain!! Didn't know I was capable of trekking through an under-ground water tunnel either. During my 3 weeks I was continually faced with my fears and recognized the choices I had to make along the way - I could push past my fears or allow my fears to rule. I'm so grateful for the strength and courage God provided along the way. I continually looked to the hills and was reminded of Psalm 121:

I lift my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord maker of heaven and earth.

The ancients believed the mountains were God - the Psalmist reminds us that our God CREATED the mountains. I was assured of God's protective presence upon our group and guiding hand each day.

Our "non-tourist tour" experience knit our group together in a most unique way. We encouraged one another through so many challenges - caregivers arose from our group as needed - care and support was abundant. What a joy and delight to walk alongside others in our group and encourage them as they faced their own challenges!

The conversations along the way with both Israelis and Palestinians continue to churn within me. The sights were amazing but the conversations along the way have most likely had the greatest impact upon me personally. What a remarkable experience to listen to other's stories and learn from folks who call Israel/Palestine home. Such a complex situation in the land our Lord called holy. The personal connections were an important contribution to my learnings.

I have returned home full of sights, insights, learnings, conversations, and endless questions. I am aware that Yella was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. As I continue to reflect I am curious how God will prompt me to share these experiences in ministry settings. As a full-time student, this experience has been invaluable! I have been able to connect the bible story in new ways - have a greater appreciation for the land and for Jesus' ministry in an occupied land.

- Kara Carter



'Now I see in part, then I shall see fully'

I thought that I would learn the most about Jesus by walking the Jesus Trail, literally following the footsteps of God. It turns out that as I reflect on our travels, it is the present day conflict that is informing me the most about the character of our God. We witnessed incredible stories of hardship and pain and at times it felt like more than I could handle.

Living in fear of army raids, having your children abused and beaten, being forced into the army, these are the struggles that I am left thinking about. And yet these are the struggles that Jesus was faced with every day of his life. He lived in an occupied land, in the midst of a very hierarchical society. The Gospels are full of stories of Jesus encountering the pain of this world and offering the hope of a new one. 'The Gospels' or 'The Good News' never sounded so good.

- Christina Cox

The crazy day of May 26

This is the same day, but from Allens view.

"We hiked from below Jerusalem to Jericho, which took about 4 hours. Not a long hike (downhill almost the whole way), but really hot and dry. It is very extreme conditions to say the least. We arrived just above Jericho at one of Herod the Great's palace's, where the bus was going to pick us up. The bus wasn't there.

Lin called the bus driver and asked where he was but he said he wouldn't come up to meet us where we were. We didn't understand what was going on but decided we might as well walk the 2 kilometers down the road with the group to meet the bus instead of waiting. Turns out that the road was being paved (which the driver could communicate in his broken English and our lack of Hebrew and Arabic).

Once we arrived at the bus, after passing the fresh tarmac which was about 200 degrees, we found out that the bus was broken down. There was a little shop where everyone got drinks and snacks as we waited, out of the sun.

After about 30 minutes of waiting the bus got started (just needed a jump in the end), and we proceeded to the old city of Jericho (an archeological site with walls, a tower and some buildings from at least 8000 years ago). Jericho is supposedly the oldest continually inhabited city in the world.

By this time Christina (Steve's wife), who had started feeling sick when we were waiting for the bus to start, was not doing well. We assumed she was really dehydrated and we decided to send her back to Jerusalem in a taxi with Lin and Steve so she could get to a clinic. The rest of us got on the bus and started on or way back to Jerusalem.

Within 5 minutes we got stopped at a Palestinian Authority checkpoint and waited there for over 20 minutes. I am still not sure what that was about but the bus driver had to speak with about 4 separate people before they let him go.

By this time there were a few others in our group that were starting to feel sick...all we could think of was that the hike had really dehydrated people. It had been so hot and we figured some people hadn't brought enough water (even though we had stressed the importance of having several litres each).

We got on our way from Jericho after the Palestinian Authority let the bus driver go. One or two people threw up on the bus (in garbage cans or plastic bags), but we were getting close to home which was a relief. We passed through an Israeli checkpoint coming into Jerusalem and the bus pulled over to the side. I asked the driver what was going on...the bus was overheating!

A few of the sick got off the bus to get some fresh air as we waited. I asked the bus driver what was the plan and he said another bus was coming to pick us up. No timeline, but it sounded like things were being organized quickly.

A few other people started feeling sick and the number of yella participants stepping off the bus to get fresh air increased. Two of the guys said that they had diarrhea and had to find a bathroom right away. I went with them about 500 meters back down the road towards the checkpoint trying not to alarm the heavily armed soldiers who I knew wouldn't appreciate three guys walking down the road the wrong way towards a security checkpoint.

"What are you doing?" said the first soldiers I came to, with a pretty stern voice and holding his automatic rifle a little tighter...

I explained that our bus was broken down and that we needed to find a bathroom. He was helpful and pointed us in the right direction, and mentioned that there was water there as well. We had to explain this to two other sets of soldiers before we got to the bathroom, but within a minute or two, the two sick young men were on the can.

I walked back and forth about 3 or 4 times filling up water bottles for people in the group, each time I went back to the bus there were more people sick. I asked the bus driver how much longer and he said 10 minutes.

By this time the bus was fine, but the driver was not. The driver was incapable of continuing the trip as he was sick as a dog as well. There were about 8 of the group, including the bus driver that were sick by this point!

After about 30 -40 minutes a taxi showed up and the bus drivers swapped, and within 5 minutes we were dropped off at Lion's gate (the entrance into the old city that is closest to where we are staying, a convent called Ecce Homo).

Those of us who were feeling fine went straight to dinner, which had just started. By this point it was 7 pm. Food was great, but we were a little worried about all the dehydrated people. Within an hour a few more people dropped of and threw up. "Okay, what the is going on here. This is crazy. There is no way that everyone is dehydrated."

Steve and Christina got back from the clinic within an hour or two and gave us an update. She was dehydrated after loosing a lot of fluids. The cause?: a bacterial infection of some sort.

Brendon couldn't stand all the racket of fluids in the boys dorm and so came by to ask if he could spend the night on the extra bed that Lin and I had in our room. I left for 5 minutes only to get an update that he had vomited all over our floor...This was getting ridiculous.

Then Hannah got sick. I knew that she was not dehydrated so I figured by this point that we were dealing with some type of food poisoning.

I knew there was an American Doctor staying at Ecce Homo with us, so I tracked him down and asked if he would be willing to help us out. Dr. Robert Stall and I went into the the dorms and visited each one who was sick. It was awful. As we went through the dorms you could hear participants vomiting.

His recommendation in the end was that we get everyone who was sick to a clinic/hospital to get checked out.

At this point there were 11 people sick (not including Christina who had already been to a clinic and back) so we hired a van and hauled off to the Hadassah Medical Center, a hospital on mount Skopus. Lin, Dr. Rob, and I took a taxi to the hospital. After a bit of chaos getting everyone admitted (Sean laying sick on the floor, Charles vomiting into a bag in the lobby etc...) we soon had 11 patients being treated and tested. It was now about 10pm. Things we under control...

A few minutes later I got a call that Kara was on her way, she was sick. 13 down. Linford and I drew straws and he took Kara's taxi back to the old city since we realized that we both didn't need to be there.

By about 1:00am 10 of our group were released, and went home with Dr. Rob. What a day. But it was not over yet..

I was looking forward to having the last two participants released. It was about 1:30 (I have been going to bed at about 10pm here, so this was getting late).

Just as the first group was on their way back to Ecce Homo, Lin called to let me know that the last two boys were on their way to the hospital - same symptoms. Christina was still terribly ill, so she was going to come to the hospital as well. 15 down. I joked with Lin that it was only a matter of time until we got sick.

By this time, I was exhausted. I was beginning to crash...it had been a long day. That is when it hit me. I was not going to make it. I thought that I was in the clear...it was almost 2:00, I had just checked on Pader and Willms who were fast asleep getting their last installment of saline, when I felt it. It was a harmless wave of warmth that washed over me...but I knew I was a goner. Within 3 minutes I was on the toilet. Less than 5 minutes after that I was vomiting. I lost. I had fought bravely....but I was defeated. 16 down. 16 of 23 in our group got sick.

By 2:00am the final shipment of sick came via taxi from the old city. I helped Pader and Josh check out, and order a taxi to get us back home.

By 2:45 we were back. It had been a long night and I was ready for bed."

May 26

Today we hiked from Jerusalem to Jericho... well we bused two thirds of the way there then hiked the rest. We stepped off the bus into a mountaneous desert. Immediately everyone grabbed there sunscreen and lubbed up because there was no shade in sight. So from here we started our 12 km trek.
Our first stop was at this Oasis with trees, a spring and a little pool area that some decided to go swimming in. The spring ran into an aquaduct that King Herod built. Our path followed this aquaduct for a while, until we moved down the mountain into the valley which is a dried out riverbed. Here we got some glimpses of the wildlife here which was mainly rock badgers, but some of the lucky ones saw a gazelle.
Before we knew it we were at St. George's Monestary, which means lunch break in the shade. Here after eating our lunch we did our daily devotions here aswell. We were hoping to fill up with water in the monestary but for some reason we were only able to get a jug of water for the whole group. But since we only had an hour and a half left until we were done, we decided to push through.
From here we continued our hike on the side of the mountain which overlooked the valleys below. The views were astonishing. The only downside to the afternoon hike was that there was limited water and I guess the scorching hot sun and lack of shade was brutal too. But our hard work paid off when we got to the end of our hike at one of King Herods' palace and some kid sold us some popsicles. They were delicious and well worth the 5 sheckels.
The bus was supposed to pick us up here, but because of construction, we had to walk another 2 km in the hot sun before we got to the nicely airconditioned bus. Once we got to the bus, it would not start, but luckily there was a store down nearby with ice cold water and AC. Soon the bus was up and running we bused to the old city of Jericho.
Here we saw some of the surrounding scenery and some walls that were about 8000 years old. Some of us hopped the fence and ran down and touched it. That was neat. After we had seen all of the excavations we had a chance to go and get some drinks and/or food in a little market nearby.
Some people weren't feel too well, so we had to wait about an hour until we left here. Finally on our way we headed back to Jerusalem. On the way we were delayed about half an hour, but we got through and were happy to be on our way. Once again we were delayed when the bus broke down on the side of the road about 15 mins from our hotel. But after about another half an hour the bus was up and running, but then our bus driver became too ill to drive. So we had to wait for another bus driver to come and drive us back to the hotel. In this time of waiting, about half the people on the bus began to not feel very well, and after a long time, we finally made it back to the hotel.
Most people were too sick to eat dinner, so after dinner we had a doctor come check us out. He gave the suggestion that we go to the hospital, so about 11 of us went to the hospital. Soon after more people came, everyone was dropping like flies. 10 of us checked out at around 1 after getting an IV and some medication. Everyone else checked out by the morning. I think there was about 16 total that got sick. Crazy, rediculous night, but everyone is now feeling much better, and Im sure by tomorrow everyone will be completely better after a good nights rest.

Charles

May 23rd and May 24th, 2010 (Jerusalem)

May 23rd-

This morning we prepared to leave Beit Sahour and our host families. Many, if not all of us, found it really hard to say goodbye to the generous and very welcoming families who've hosted us for the last three days. Many of us will take along with us stories of hardship and triumphs, as well as joyful experiences that we've been so priviledged to hear. This experience like no other will be remembered by all of us. After that experience, like many other persons we've met along this journey, we visited Ardie Geldman at a Jewish settlement in Efrat who is an American Jew who moved to Israel in the 80's. We heard a speech about various topics such as: his opinions on Jewish history, Judaism, Jewish settlements. Jumping on the bus, we headed to the big city of Jerusalem. First impressions of this place: big, beautiful, eye catching, many synagogues and temples and churches, historical sites galore, and a sea of many faces. It is definitely a place that holds a lot of pain and suffering to many religions, and was fought for by many peoples. The old city's streets are of stone, made slippery from centuries upon centuries of inhabitants. The group of us are staying at Ecce Homo for the rest of this trip and it is luckily not far from the market streets. Ecce Homo is a big place and the rooms where we are staying are quaint and comfortable. But, we have to remember to be quite as this is a convent and there are many other guests here. The rest of the day was open to exploration. Spliting up into smaller groups we explored the various tourist sites and markets quarters. In conclusion to this first day here in Jerusalem, we've all been quite overwhelmed by the enormity of what this city has to offer us in not only site seeing but in all the people and history behind each wall that we will be learning about. Tomorrow will be our first tastes of Jerusalem as a group and we hope to learn loads of stuff that'll definitely blow our minds!

May 24th-

This morning we met our tour guide for the day named Jared Goldfarb. He took us a top the City of David and gazed upon the Mount of Olives in the distance. From that point we could see the whole old city and the ancient city of Jerusalem. Then he took us on an extreme adventure under Jerusalem. We trenched through thigh high water in the very narrow and winding Hezekiah's Tunnel. What an amazing experience it was to travel under the city and explore the under ground of what used to be just stone. Not necessarily in order, we visited the Wailing Wall from a far and saw watched the crowds of people lined up for a personal prayer by the wall. We visited King Herod's underground water tunnel. We also got the chance to visit the Western Wall of what were the remains of it. As well, we visited the Archaelogical Park and got some more history lessons. When lunch came, we all split up once more and looked for a place to eat and relax within the four different quarters. After lunch we had a lecture by Jared back at Ecce Homo and then we once again walked under the tunnels beside which the Wailing Wall is. Coming up out from below ground, we ended up not far from Ecce Homo. This is just a very brief explanation of where we visited and is not very detailed.

Pader :)

Tuesday, May 25th - Jerusalem

Greetings Yella Followers,

Today we ventured outside the gates of the Old City of Jerusalem. This morning we left the Ecce Homo and had a lecture with Hamar who is a member of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolition (ICAHD) an organization dedicated to ending the Occupation and achieving peace between the Israelis and Palentinians. Our lecture was held on the Promenade which over looks East and West Jerusalem, with an excellent view of the Old City including the Dome of the Rock. Needless to say it was quite a site to see!

We drove through the city of Jerusalem and had a better look at Jewish settlements and Palestinian villages. We were able to see how they were divided within the city with and without The Wall. That drive led us to the look out point over the Mount Scopus Forest. From this point we were able to see the Dead Sea in the distance where we will be swimming on Thursday and I can't wait!

Then came lunch. We drove to a town outside of Jerusalem and our bus couldn't make it through the busy and tight streets. In order to make it to our destination we had to take taxi vans to navigate the streets. We arrived at the House of Peace around 1pm for a meal of rice, chicken, salad and watermelon. The purpose of this visit was to hear the story of a Palestinian man and his family who have had their house demolished five times by the Israel Government over the span of approximately 10 years. This was all at his expense because he didn't have a building permit to have his house there. However, the Israeli Government wouldn't give him a permit after applying four times.

After lunch we headed to Canada Park which is situated between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. We had a tour of the three villages that were demolished in 1967 because of 'security' reasons. That left many people in those villages homeless and as refugees.

We drove back to the Old City of Jerusalem to the Ecce Homo and we will all prepare for the Wadi Kelt hike from Jerusalem to Jericho tomorrow.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

Katie Erb

Day 14: Covo's Concerning Conflict

I am happy to be writing to you tonight from the comfy couch of my Palestinian Family in Beit Sahour.
Today was an eye-opening and challenging day for myself and I think everyone in the group, it has really reinforced the reason why I came on the Yella!trip.
We travelled to Hebron today,which at times felt like a trip into the world of Aladdin(the Disney version) . Unlike the Tourist town of Bethlehem the city of Hebron is not thriving, despite the fact that it is the largest city in the West Bank. The Palestinian people living here have neighbours of at least 400 Jewish settlers that are protected by almost 1500 Israeli soldiers. This means that main streets are barricaded, homes and businesses are confiscated for "military use" or "security reasons" and the markets are covered by a canopy of protective nets.
While visiting with a spokesperson form Christian Peacemaker Teams we had the opportunity to climb to the roof of the building and achieve a wonderful view of the city and of the conflict. Across the way was a young Israeli soldier who asked us to leave the roof, even though we had every right to be up there(this happened several times throughout our day!). From the roof top we looked over the military building as well as a street that is only for Jewish settler use.
We then traveled through the market again and visited the Mosque of the patriarchs, where the tombs of Abraham and his family are enshrined. this was an amazing experience, this mosque is divided into a Muslim side and a Jewish side, the family shrines are seen by both sides but are divided by bullet proof glass--it is unbelievable to see two religions who are worshiping the same Deity but they are separating themselves with an impenetrable wall.
We then attended a lecture with the Palestinian rehabilitation committee, this group is working to rebuild he old city and restore it to its original grandeur and beauty.
we then traveled through a checkpoint and into an Israeli settlement area where we met and had lunch with a family that is living beneath the settlements. since the occupation of the settlers they are unable to access there front door from the main road and now much walk a narrow pathway behind their neighbours homes to arrive at their front door. due to their close proximity to the setters this family is living under harsh persecution but are working for peaceful resistance, and we all felt as thought we could learn something from them.

we ended our day with a visit to a Hebron glass factory, where we were able to support the local community and artist by purchasing there beautiful pieces of glass artwork and pottery, a lovely example of how the spirit of the people of Hebron still thrives despite desperate situations.

with love
Alysha

Day 13 - Refugee Camp, Solomons Pools, Tent of Nations & Church of Nativity

Hey from Palestine to eveybody following us on our adventure!

Today we woke up at our Palesinian families homes, then met up for our devotional. Great devotional from Hannah and then we were off to a Palestinian refugee camp. The living conditions were much better then I expected; running water, plumbing, electricity, phone, etc. We saw some of the first shelters built in the 50's which were pretty brutal, but not the current housing.

Next we visited "Solomons Pools" which were built by King Herod and allowed water to "naturally flow uphill"(figure that one out.) They were pretty huge but kinda boring.

We soon found ourselves on the bus to the "Tent of Nations" which is a farm run by a Palestinian individual who is living on a piece of land which is hotly saught after by Israli settlers. He has been all the way to the Supreme Court to fight for his piece of land. Luckly he has all the documents for it from way way back (unfortunately this is a luxory not many Palestinians have.) This farm is used during the summer break as a summer camp for many palestinian children, his focus during these camps is education with a twist. He mentioned the education system here makes people really good at memorizing but not critical thinking, so he spends his time allowing the children to be creative and learn in a different way. This was a great experience to get a point of view on the situation which was completely different from what we have been hearing on the trip. His views focused on a sort of re-education for both Palestinians and Isralis, I really liked his views on education.

It kinda hit me here that even though Israli's and Palestinians live in close proximity they really have very very little to do with eachother and ultimately don't know much about each other. It seems to be a bit of a situation where both sides have a fear of the unknown.

After this insightful visit we went to the "Church of the Nativity" and were in the cave Jesus was born (99% sure on the location.) There were tons of tourists here. We got a bunch of history lessons on the church and it was all good.

Hope everybody back home is doing good and thanks for your prayers.

Yella 2010 Group

The views expressed in this post are by Sean Froese and may not reflect the views of the Yella 2010 group. Reader discretion is advised.

Palestine

Sorry that our blog has not been updated recently. The past 4 night we were staying at a Kibbutz (Jewish community) and had limited internet. That week was interesting to say the least. We spent time learning about the different wars that have gone on in the past and about how the Jewish people came to live in Israel. We had some awesome meetings or "Mifgash" with Israeli soldiers and university students. It was very eye opening and really helped shed some light on the situation. The Kibbutz had great food and was a great place for us to grow as a group. We also went for a sweet boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. The rest of the time was spent playing cards, throwing a frisbee or having some serious time on the courts playing basketball with Allen "Iverson" himself.

Today we drove 3 hours and caught our first glimpse of the West Bank. We drove through Jerusalem and are now in a Palestinian home for the next three nights. All of us have split into groups of 2 or 3 and have been welcomed into the homes of very hospitable people. We look forward to the next few days getting to know the faces of Palestine. Today Josh and I took a cool walk through the neighbourhood and honestly could not have felt safer or more welcome. We went into a small convenience store and the sweet old lady that owned the store shared her apples and carrots with us. It was awesome. We will try to get a blog up a night from now on so stay tuned and sorry for the delay!

Loving Life,
Jeremy and Josh W

Day 7... one week down!!

The automobile... what a GREAT invention!! Well, actually it was a bus today... our first day since arriving in Israel that we didn't have to walk all day :)

We had a late start today, a nice reward for our tired bodies, and met our bus at 9:30 this morning. We were transported to Caesarea (about an hour from Nazareth, by bus) and walked through the ruins beside the Mediterranean. We saw the remains of Herod's palace (with an indoor fresh water pool), the theatre, the Hippodrom, the temple, the harbor and the prison where Paul spent two years of his life awaiting his trial (and writing what would become books in our bible). We saw all of this in about half an hour, so it's a bit of a blur! Side note... it's not a good idea to tempt a crab to bite your finger...

We bussed to our lunch spot, a restaurant run by the Druze (an offshoot of Islam), and ate pitas with felafel or chicken in a beautifully landscaped garden. It's amazing how many pitas we've eaten in one week!

From there we went to Mount Carmel and heard Linford explain the story of Ahab, Jezebel and Elijah and how God made it rain after a three year drought. Linford is very good at connecting story to geography and really made the story come alive. Side note... we were on the highest point in this area and the views were amazing!

Our afternoon ended with a trip to an inland, freshwater swimming area whose name is long and hard to say. We were supposed to meet with Elias Chacour this morning (if you're following our itinerary) but he is actually in the States right now so had to cancel our visit. While we were disappointed with not hearing from him, we were pretty psyched about the swim that was added to the day.

This is our last evening in Nazareth at the Fauzi Inn, from here we go to the Kibbutz to meet our next set of adventures... :)

Thanks for reading!

Christina

LAST DAY!!!...of the hike :)

This morning we left our beautiful guest house to descend Mt. Arbel. It was this beautiful mountain top that had a lone olive tree right at the precipice and was just a beautiful sight to behold. After our devotion at the brink we began to descend Arbel, and wow! was that a challenge and a half! The descent involved some ladders, some windy paths inches from the edge, and overall just a lot of praying :) The hike proved to be slightly more difficult due to the increase in blistered feet. However on a positive note some of our group members have discovered their passion for blister care, blister popping, and have honed their mole-skin cutting abilities. hehe :)
It's always daunting to see at the beginning of the day the mountain top far in the distance where we are supposed to eat dinner, but somehow we always reach our destination with smiles on our faces. Nearing the end of our hike we first visited Tabgha which is where it was said that Jesus fed the 5000. Next we visited the Church of the Primacy of St. Peters which is built in the place where Jesus was supposed to have had a meal with his disciples after his resurrection. In the middle of the church surrounded by a beautiful mosaic was a rock which is where they were supposed to have sat exactly. This I think was amazing, it's moments like this that reinforce the reality of of Jesus life and miracles. Then we climbed up our last mountain (!!), Mt. of Beatitudes where Jesus preached his sermon on the mount. Finally, after a looong day we visited some of the archaeological ruins of the city of Capernaum. Then in the Sea of Galilee we washed the feet of a partner as kind of a symbol of how we had finally reached our destination and in recognition of how Jesus washed the feet of his disciples.
Then we all got on our wonderful air-conditioned bus, which I think was a welcome relief to all. The drive back to Nazareth took about 45 minutes, the trek that had taken us 4 days to complete on foot! Although this might seem a little bit frustrating I think it served to increase our appreciation for the invention of the car. But more importantly helped us to put into context the life of Jesus, and to gain a better basis of understanding for the learning that is still to come in our adventure.
Thanks so much for all your prayers and thoughts so far! and keep checking our blog for more fun and fact filled stories!

Katie P. on behalf of the group :)

Safe Haven

The third day of the Jesus trail was the longest day so far. We walked from the goat farm up the Horns of Hattimm which was an pretty intense hike but was well worth the incredible view. We caught our first glimpse of the sea of Galilee and that was really incredible! We could just see the corner of the Sea through Arbel (A mountain split in half by an earthquake). The hike down that mountain was pretty fun and we ended up at the Druze (Spelling?) Center. The Druze are a sect of the Muslim religion who borrow ideas from pretty much all the mono-thiestic religions. We had lunch here and filled our waters at this spring. We had ice cream. It was good :) Then the hike continued through the valley of the mountains, and MAN was it hot. At lunch, we were about 1km away from where we were staying BUT we walked about 5km through the valley to get to where we were staying. The last 20 minutes of the day was all uphill to get out of the valley to our destination. We were really hot and really tired. We were hoping that the place we were going was a good place to rest. Well my blog reading friends, let me tell you, this place was incredible! Let's see, did they have a pool? YES. Did they have Wifi? YES. Did they have nice showers? YES. Did they have AC and a 42" tv? YES. Also, this place had a restaurant on site, and we enjoyed an amazing dinner at the "Best Restauraunt in Tiberias." This place truly was a great place to relax and restore our bodies. You can definitely call it a "Safe Haven."

You can check out the place we stayed at www.canaguesthouse.com

Thanks for reading,
Josh B and Jer E

Goat Farm Adventure

Our second day on the Jesus Trail: Regarless of the heat of the day, we were able to enjoy our hike to our next destination - Ilaniya. We stayed at a beautiful goat farm. The family that hosted us, welcomed us like if we were family. Some of us milked goats for the first time. The guys and I before dinner went on another hike - We adventured an old cave that was at least 2,000 years old. It was grand! We continue to experience God among us and hope to encourage one another in this journey. Peace. D.

Friends, family, and followers,

Shalom! Here we are at the end of day number 2... and what a day it was! We started with an early (we're talkin 7am-breakfast early) start in Nazareth, setting out on our way to begin our 4 day adventure along the Jesus Trail. The first stretch was by far the toughest, challenging us to a trek up what felt like a million stairs to reach the edge of Nazareth, shortly after which we were graced with an unbelievable view of the many valleys and hills, and what would be our path for much of the day ahead.
Part way through our hike, we reached Zippori where we explored the park, including the ruins of a first century Roman city. We carried on to find ourselves completing our first stretch in the city of Cana. Happy to check off our first hiking day, we were relieved to get out of the heat, hang up our sweaty gear (trust me, sweaty is an understatement. there were even incidences (ie. Brigitte) where exact backpack lines were visible via sweat. yum.), and relax in a wonderful guest house here in Cana. Walking through the city to get to the guesthouse, we were greeted by children who were delighted to see us, following us through the streets, waving, smiling, and talkingt to us (both in some English words and Arabic which, no, we didn't understand). It was heartwarming to see how welcoming and excited they were to have us here. Even at one rest spot along the way, a gentleman offered us all large buns (similar to a submarine bun, just to clarify). He passed us later on in another part of town and was sure to honk his horn and offer us a smile and an excited wave!
Our guesthouse is right next door to the Cana Catholic Wedding Church where it is thought that Jesus performed his first miracle, turning water into wine. The beautiful church is a wonderful view from our windows, and inside we were suprised by getting to see some young school children practising prayers and songs for what we think might be their first communion.
Tomorrow we take on day 2 of the Jesus Trail, where we hope to find another moving, beautiful, and fun hiking day. Just a short way into our adventure, we're enjoying not only the things and places we get to see, but also getting to know the wonderful group of people we're with.
We are safe and well! Thanks for following us on our travels!

Smiles and Love

Heather

Nazareth

We've made it!!



Arriving in a blanket of haze to muggy Tel Aviv, we stepped off the plane giddy with delight and bouncing off the tarmac with excitement for what these next few weeks had in store! Actually, most of us were tired to the point of delirium, and soon found our giddy, wonderfilled hearts were equally exhausted as they were happy after our 12 hr. flight NON STOP from Toronto. Allan and Linford met us at the baggage claim and herded us onto our airconditioned bus for a short 1 1/2 hour ride up the far side of the Jezereel Valley to our final destination for the next week: Nazareth. We made our way through the winding (and some what confusing) streets of Nazareth to the Fauzi Azar Inn, run by the gracious Maoz Inon [check it out! www.fauziazarinn.com]. The Fauzi Azar Inn, we learned from Maoz (pronounced MOUZE.. like mouse.. you get it), began thanks to the efforts of both Maoz and his wife after they examined several Guest House communities in places like Israel and South America. Their hope as a couple was to develop a place for travellers to stay that encouraged the involvement of the community surrounding the guest house. Developing infrastructure to support the businesses and neighbourhoods connect with the village/city by connecting their guesthouse to the community proved to be a very effective and encouraging project!The Inn itself is beautiful, old marble floors and beautifully decorated ceilings greet you in the main reception area, and the rooms are so cozy and homey I can't help but be excited for sleep tonight!



We had a chance to travel to the Nazareth Village today, a experience that took us back to 1st century Nazareth during the time when Jesus would have lived. Truthfully, we were all so exhausted that even our vivacious and kind tour guide Linford had to encourage us to keep trekking through the hot sun to see almost exact replicas of 1st century homes built out of the rock and an old press used to make olive oil. Never the less we enjoyed our selves, and made it safely back to the Inn to settle in for some dinner and a MUCH needed shower power hour (most of still haven't slept since waking up yesterday morning at 6am to get to Pearson. We spell like stuffy airplane and dust and sweat.. yuck!)



Tomorrow we start our 4 day trek of the Jesus Trail [www.jesustrail.com]. We will eventually end up here again at the Fauzi Inn. I'm hoping to grab one last Shwarma before we head to our next destination. It's been so wonderful here so far: I wish I could some how get you all in this room with me so you could smell the hot, sticky air and hear the call to prayer ringing throughout the city.

Unforunately we can't get any pictures to load here at the Inn, but we'll be sure to add some as soon as we can!



We love you all in many great and wonderful ways. Breath deep! We're safe!



Arielle

They are on their way!

Welcome to all you Yella! 2010 blog followers. My name is Jeff Steckley. I'm on staff with Mennonite Church Eastern Canada and serving on the Yella! planning committee. Just thought I'd provide a quick update to let you know that "21 Yellites" departed from Pearson International Airport early this afternoon and are presently en route. The group gathered an hour before check-in to ensure that all the necessary pre-flight details were covered. A few of us planning committee members waited to be sure that everyone found their way through the El Al ticketing and screening procedures. When we left, the last of the group were on their way to the departure gate.

The planning committee sent the group with this blessing and would invite you to prayerfully offer these words to travellers who are near and dear to you as well.

A Blessing…In the spirit of the Beatitudes, we want to bless you as you explore the Promised Land where so many have walked before you.Blessings to you as you follow in Jesus’ footsteps where Biblical stories will come alive.When encountering the beauty of the land, culture and people, may you experience joy,When faced with the brutal reality of conflict in the land, may you have hope,When questioning and searching in the desert, may you find peace,When your heart is breaking and the world seems upside down, may you be comforted,While exploring questions of faith, may you be open to seeing different perspectives,Through your day to day encounters, may you be blessed by the mosaic of Jewish, Muslim and Christian cultures.May the context of Jesus’ life and ministry enrich and nourish your faith.Through this journey, may you see the beauty of God’s creation.

Look forward to receiving the next post from Israel!

The Yella Trip

Hello all those who are checking out the Yella 2010 Trip Blog,

My name is Stephen Cox, and I'm one of the faith partners on this trip.

I thought that it would be good to make the first entry our detailed itinerary so that anyone who's following us knows where we're at.

So here is our travel itinerary which gives fairly detailed descriptions of what we'll be up to each day. This should provide a nice framework as you read the entries to match up what people are writing about with our stage on the journey.

Hope it helps.

Monday 10: Arrive Ben Gurion - transfer to Nazareth introduction to Nazareth - Nazareth Village tour. Short orientation after dinner.

Tuesday 11: Jesus Trail - Walk from Nazareth to Sephoris, the primary city of the Galilee, lunch, then on the Cana, site of Jesus' first miracle. 13.5km.

Wednesday 12: Jesus Trail - Cana to Kibbutz Lavi. Overnight on Kibbutz. 14.4 km.

Thursday 13: Jesus Trail - Kibbutz Lavi to Arbel. Catch the first view of the Sea of Galilee. Overnight on Moshav Arbel in rustic cabins. 16.1 km.

Friday 14: Jesus Trail - Arbel to Capernaum. Visit Tabgah, traditional site of feeding of the 5,000, Mt of Beatitudes. 16.8 km. Back to Nazareth.

Saturday 15: Trip to Haifa to meet with Archbishop Elias Chacour, Mt. Carmel.

Sunday 16: Day in Nazareth. Worship Service and wrap up. Afternoon transfer to Kibbutz Hakuk.

Monday 17: Israeli society and religion, learn about Shavuot, meet with students & Israelis.

Tuesday 18: Tour the Golan Heights, and other sites of Israeli history.

Wednesday 19: Celebrate Shavuot. Work on Kibbutz.

Thursday 20: Leave Kibbutz Hakuk - Arrive Beit Sahour - visit Church of the Nativity, Shepherd's Fields, Solomon's Pools, Herodium.

Friday 21: Tour of Wall/Fence, Tent of the Nations, visit Dehaisha refugee camp, MCC

Saturday 22: Travel to Hebron, visit Efrat settlement.

Sunday 23: Transfer to Jerusalem, check into the Ecce Homo convent. Free time to explore Jerusalem.

Monday 24: Jerusalem tour. Visit Wailing Wall excavations.

Tuesday 25: Jerusalem/Judaism/The Passion of Jesus exploration and learning day.

Wednesday 26: Masada, Dead Sea swim, Qumran caves.

Thursday 27: Depart for Wadi Qilt (hike), and Jericho (Old Testament site)

Friday 28: Depart for Yad Vashem, Kabbalat Shabbat at Wall, Shabbat meal in Ecce Homo

Saturday 29: Free day in Jerusalem.

Sunday 30: Depart.

Obviously, that list does not give all the details of our trip, but that's why you need to come back regularly!