Okay so now that there is a small lull in life here at IBEX, I am excited to blog again. I’m going to try to blog more consistently but life has been crazy over the past week or so. It started on Sunday September 16 with Rosh Hashanah. We had a free day and then at night was when the fun started. We ate hot dogs and yummy food such as apple crisp down in IBEX park before going up to the Miklat to watch the second half of Fiddler on the Roof. After Fiddler, I was really craving some good food and the tradition here is to eat apples with honey on Rosh Hashanah, so we decided to get John’s knife and clean it so that we could cut up some apples and have a Rosh Hashanah party! It was so much fun! Then I stayed up talking with a few of my friends and just having a good time! It was such a good day!
On Monday, we had a Land and Bible test which I was very
relieved to get done. After the test,
On Tuesday, we had women’s Bible study and I am just
thankful over and over again for the blessing that the older women in IBEX are
to me! Then since it was our day, my room cleaned the bathroom! We had some
classes and then because there were no tests in the imminent future, we played
volleyball after dinner! It was so much fun! Sadly, I hurt my knee and so I’m
just hoping it gets better soon and that nothing is seriously wrong with it.
On Wednesday, we did a field study in Benjamin. We went to
places like Emmaus Nicopolis, Nebi Samuel, Jericho, Michmash, and many other
places. Also, Jericho is the lowest city in the world! I was excited that we
could go there! It is also where Joshua and the Israelites marched around the
walls of Jericho in Joshua 6 and God caused the walls to fall down. Also, We
were able to walk up many stairs near Jericho and go to an old Byzantine
church. The way that we got to those stairs is the best part! We rode in the
Jericho Cable Cars(pictured here)! It was such a blast! I absolutely love the random exciting
things that happen here!
On Thursday, I had a day that was pretty full of classes.
But, it was my two favorite classes: Regional Studies and Jewish Thought and
Culture! Though I absolutely love all my classes here, those are the best
because they are so interesting and exciting! Regional Studies is the advances
hiking class that 18 other students and I are in! There are only 6 girls in the
class, so it is pretty exciting to be one of them! They are the girls pictured below.
On Friday, we had Land and the Bible class plus a quiz! I
was glad when that was over. Then, we played Ultimate Frisbee, had Chapel Band
practice, and Kabbalat Shabbat. In other words, we had Shabbat dinner and had
chapel!
On Saturday, we went to church in Jerusalem and went to the
Old City afterward.
On Sunday, we had a Regional Studies hike all day and it was
also daylight savings here so we got an extra hour of sleep. This hike was so
cool because we were able to go back to a place that we had briefly seen on Wednesday. This picture is of the girls in Regional in the possible site for Rachel's(the wife of Jacob) burial. We walked from Geba to Ein Parat. We were able to walk through the Pass which
is mentioned in 1 Samuel 14 where Jonathan goes up and defeats the Philistines.
What was really cool is we reenacted something like unto what that battle would
have looked like. I was a Philistine. The coolest part is we did what Jonathan
did which was to walk from Geba and through the Pass. It was such a cool
experience. Right now, almost the entire group is on a continuation of that
hike (09-30-12) but because of my knee I had to skip out on this one. I hope to
go on all the other hikes throughout the semester! Also, Ein means spring, so
at Ein Parat we were able to swim in the spring and there were a bunch of fish
in there who nibbled our toes! It was so much fun!
On Monday, we went into Jewish Thought and Culture and
something was weird. Usually our professor is there quite early and he was not
there, nor did he come within the first 15 minutes of class. Then, they
announced that he was sick and there would be no class. I really hoped that he
would be fine because he is such a sweet man, but I was very thankful for a day
off from class! I utilized my time to get some studying in! On Monday night, we
had a lecture from a Rabbi who told us about the Documentary Hypothesis (JEPD),
which is a 4 author theory as to how the Pentateuch was written. He explained
to us why it is no longer a credible hypothesis. By the way, the Pentateuch is
the first 5 books of the Old Testament. Then afterward, we went to reception
and got ice cream!
On Tuesday, we had Women’s Bible study and one class, Land
and the Bible. Then we had lunch and I went back to my room to get some
studying done. We cleaned the dorm (it was my room’s day to clean) and were
very happy to have a clean wing again. Once this was done, we changed out our
towels and sheets. As I was changing the cover on my comforter, I realized that
I had put the comforter in the sideways and so the cover was too long. I
thought about fixing it and the next thing I know, my roommate waking me up for
dinner! The nap felt so good!
We went down to dinner; this is an important dinner for two
reasons. First, it was made by our administrative assistants so it was chili
and cornbread with honey and other amazing foods, and second it was the last
meal we would have before eating after sundown the next night. After sundown on
Tuesday the holiday of Yom Kippur started, which is a day of fasting and
remembrance. It is the day when in the Jewish mind the book of life is closed.
This means that they are repenting of their sins and it is their last
opportunity to try to make things right with God in hopes that their name will
be written in the book of life for the next year. The concept is that if you
die in that year, then your name was not written in the book of life and you
did not repent well enough of your sins. It is quite different from the book of
life that our names are written in. I am so thankful for that!
For the IBEX student body, Yom Kippur has been a day of
fasting and prayer while we remember the goodness and faithfulness of God. I
personally have been reminded of dependence upon God and have been thankful for
His constant provision in my daily life. He is so good! Even if He did not
provide, He would still remain good. Also, through my knee being hurt, it has
constantly been humbling me and teaching me dependence upon the Lord. I have
never really had an injury and I am quite independent in many areas of my life.
I truly believe that God has been and will continue to teach me dependence upon
Him through this injury and throughout the remainder of my life!ps. these are my roommates and I! They are great! This is when we were getting ready to go onto the Temple Mount on the 12th of September!
I'm so glad!! No problem :)
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