The early morning wakeup call seemed to come even earlier this morning. A quick breakfast at the hotel then tidying up the room. The food at breakfast was again an opportunity to experience new and interesting flavors, fresh breads and cakes. Timely taking of the bags down to the bus made for an on time departure for the main site of the morning, Mt. Nebo.
Off we go in the bus South and West down the airport highway, shortly turning off to go up to Mt. Nebo. What does God have for us to experience today? What do we need to hear if we are listening? What is his purpose in having us first see the Jordanians, interact with them, appreciate how they see their God of Islam make up a part of their lives Maybe remembering Moses and remembering God's gift really is the best place to start the journey back to Israel. Ace, after singing to us the song "This is the Day The Lord Has Made" reviewed with us the Biblical histories of this area surrounding Moses' travels in Jordan and God's promises about giving the land of Canaan to the Israelites, but not to Moses. Moses stayed on Mt. Nebo and Joshua, lead the Israelites down to Jericho. Lynne Misenheimer gave us an inspiring devotional using Joshua 6: 1-27 and Luke 19: 1-10. Arriving at the top of Mr. Nebo we walked from the bus into a whirl wind, as if God was telling us to pay attention to what we were about to see. The breeze was so brisk that it was difficult to stand upright in some of the gust. Untied hats and scarfs had to be held onto tightly or they would have since blown off the mountain. The Three Chapel Church was under construction by a Benedictine order on the top of the mountain, the result of a recent series of discoveries of ancient structures by people who searched for places mentioned in ancient stories. We looked out over the top of Mt. Nebo North and West into the "promised land" just as Moses was supposed to have done. Though it was cloudy that day, we were really high above the valley and could see a long way through the smoke and haze. Riding down the mountain we saw off the road various Bedouin tent communities, eeking out a living with their animals and family. Once down and off the mountain we took the road leading to the Israeli border for the ordeals of leaving Jordan then entering Israel.
Ace again spoke in detail of the various Old and New Testament Biblical places in Jordan, speaking about the Crusader sights and John the Baptist. He spoke of the importance of Jordan in the pilgrim route for people going to Mecca. Then Ace gave us a an extended speech about the possibilities we may encounter at the border. Apparently, the people looking us over on both sides are serious and do not appreciate a joke. So, we sat and waited to receive stamps of approval on our passports. Finally, Ace came out of the checkpoint and gave us our passes. We sadly left Ace here at this side of the border. Once at the Israeli check point, we took all our luggage out and changed buses and drivers. As we went across that border we went through the Israel border check ordeal, which is pretty painless.
Driving through the last gate we turned right, then left onto a road that lead to a place on the River Jordan designated as the place for pilgrims to dip, swim and enjoy the river. Our Wesleyan Fellowship pastor, Amanda, lead us in a service on the steps leading down to the river in the midst of dozens of other pilgrims and various people doing the same thing. LuAnn and Amanda helped us remember our Baptisms, while being serenaded with an unknown hymn by a passing group observing our service. Wilson Hayman lead us in a couple of appropriate hymns. Afterwards, while we took pictures of ourselves and others, a group from Eritrea came up. Children and adults came into the water in great excitement, some even swimming in the water. Some of us talked to them and passed mutual acknowledgements of the special nature of seeing each other at the river.
Leaving the river we bused the few miles to Jericho, driving through the center of town to "a sycamore tree" that is designated as a remembrance of Zaccheus climbing a sycamore tree to see Jesus more easily. Afterwards, we went to a market/restaurant for lunch and the so called site of the original well in Jericho, Elisha's Spring.
From there we rode North up the Jordan Valley, beginning in a dry country, which gradually became greener and greener as we kept proceeding. Just North of Tiberius we stopped at the dig site of the recently discovered city of Magdala, the home of Mary Magdalene. We saw an excavation work in progress for a synagogue where Jesus most probably spoke and taught. At the site is also a sanctuary dedicated to women of all nations and races. We sat and sang as a group in a chapel named the "Universal" chapel. We sang a hymn and Betty Ann gave us a God moment, both moving experiences. Afterwards we made the short drive to our hotel. After eating a good meal and meeting another group of people from Sanford, N.C., we took our nightly rest in anticipation of a long day.
Paul Carruth
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