My Trip to the Holy Land...part 4

WOOOHOOOO!! It finally happened! My jet lag is over! I woke up this morning wide awake for the first time since I got back, and I feel like a new man. It only took falling asleep at 7 pm last night, right in the middle of what was supposed to be our date night...But don't you worry, I will make it up to her. (Hopefully before I leave for our Mexico Mission trip on Monday)


No, Jane didn't go to Israel with me..this is a picture from her birthday last month when I took her to San Francisco for the evening. If you look in the mirror on the left, you can tell I am taking this picture. We are at the Stinking Rose, a very good and very garlic(ious) restaurant. We also went to Alcatraz for Jane's first time.

On to my trip to the Middle East...

Many of you likely know Dave Curtiss. First of all, his last name is my first name, which has caused all kinds of confusion for those who know both of us (especially since he spells it wrong anyway). Second, Dave was senior pastor at Discovery in Livermore when I first started attending there. He played a significant role in helping me identify the plan God had for my life to be a pastor and has been a mentor to me ever since. When I found out he was going to Israel for this Youth Ministry Summit, I wanted to go even more. We had great conversations and I had the opportunity to be sharpened during my trip through our interactions. And most importantly, he was an ally in making fun of Mike...Mike was constantly abusing me physically and so I was forced to gather allies to help me abuse him emotionally! :)


These, and the last picture of Dave were taken at Petra, back on Day 2. These two are from an ancient Roman temple dedicated to Baal. It actually set right next to an even larger temple dedicated to several gods, but the cool thing about this one was the access we had to it. As you can see from the picture on the right, there were staircases up in the back of the temple that were open and gave you access to the top of the temple. And so naturally, Mike and I climbed to the top. From the picture on the left, you can tell we are about 40 feet up. Directly below me were an altar, some of the original 2000 year old marble floor, and a couple of preparation chambers. One thing to note about Jordan: we had rediculous access to all kinds of stuff that in America would be fenced off, enclosed in glass containers, and put under observation lights in a museum. We touched rocks, statues, and even pottery that was really old. And we had access to places that would be considered litigiously very dangerous in America. They must not have lawyers in the Middle East. We could do with less in California, that's for sure.



The Jordan River...not as large or glorious as I imagined in my head. Thankfully, our guide shared with us how much of the river has been diverted for irrigation and other uses. In other places we could see how the river 2000 years ago (and even longer ago during the time when Joshua brought the Israelites into the land), would have been much larger and more difficult to cross. A couple people from our group were even baptized in the water up at a location to the North. Archeology has uncovered an area where many believe John would have been baptizing, where Jesus would have come to get baptized, and where the Israelites would have crossed the Jordan. Very exciting...though not much to see there, since the river has been diverted and no longer flows through the spot.


In Jordan, a shepherd leading his sheep. Seriously, has anyone ever really seen a shepherd? I haven't. I wonder if in Jordan, when you are about to graduate from high school and you are sitting across from your academic advisor, if they ever say to a student, "you know, your grades and your abilities really show that you would be an excellent shepherd!" But seriously, this is a job that no longer exists in America as far as I know, but yet is such a powerful symbol in the Christian faith and a motif that is found all throughout the Scriptures. Many of the images we find in the Psalms come straight from the shepherd profession and describe God shepherding of us. One of the earliest images used within the Church was not the cross (this image would have been considered incredibly disgraceful to those who lived amongst the Romans), but it was of shepherd carrying a sheep over his shoulders. Jesus said, "I am the Good Shepherd." Driving through the Middle East helped me to understand just how difficult the job of the shepherd was and still is, as they must find clean water for the flock, they must know where to find food for the flock, and they must know how to defend the flock and keep it safe.


Amman, Jordan. The first three pictures are all from the ancient city of Ammon, of the Ammonites. Right outside these city walls are where Uriah the Hittite was murdered when the army of David was fighting the Ammonites, but then to protect his sin David ordered his commander Joab to send Uriah to the front line to get killed. This is where that would have happened. Like every other major city in the region this one was built over by Romans during their reign, then the Byzantines (the Roman Empire under Christian influence), then the Muslims. Remains of each ruling group have been found, one stacked upon the other. It is quite impressive. The fourth picture is the ancient Roman ampitheatre. This was also the site of the only recent attack on a tourist in the region over the last several years. Many don't realize that both Jordan and Israel rely heavily on tourism for revenue. Most people realize this, and thus attacks on tourists are rare.

I still have more pictures...so I will make tomorrow my final installment.

Until then, grace and peace.