This is such an incredible mission that God is taking me on. From the land where Communism once ruled, to beautiful Athens and onto the city of one thousand mosques. Our flight over the Mediterranean landed us in Cairo, Egypt. It was a short visit, twelve days, but it was a new flavor, exciting, full of life.
We kicked off our week studying the Pentateuch, specifically Genesis 1-11. It opened my eyes, to see these books with a clear perspective. We were able to coincide our teaching with a visit to the Cairo National Museum. To see what the Israelites were living in, the belief systems, culture and religion of the Ancient Egyptians. To understand why it was so hard for the Israelites to trust and believe in God after four hundred years of slavery and oppression, under a culture that was so contradictory to their ancestors.
Our living circumstances didn’t last long as we headed off on the weekend for the Sinai. As we left Cairo it was incredible to see the landscape change into a barren wilderness hundreds of miles long and deep. It gave me more of a realization of the hardship that the Israelites faced by walking in a desolate land for forty years, where coming across an oasis and the shade of a tree is rare. Where little grows in this vast land, as rocks and sand cover the earth. We finally made it to Dahab, Sinai, Egypt. Situated on the Red Sea, within seeing distance of a land that we cannot enter, Saudi Arabia. Full of shops and tourists it was a so foreign to what we had just experienced.
This week was going to be about tasting just a little of what the Israelites ate for so long. We began the week with a hike up Mt. Sinai, well it was more like a trek! We set off at 11PM and made it to base camp at about one, where our three hour climb started. It was one of the most exhausting hikes I have ever experienced as your body is screaming at you to sleep but you refuse and continue to stumble over rocks and ache all over. But it was worth it!!
We finally made it to the top at about 4:30AM and laid out our sleeping bags out on some rented mattresses. I was so cold but the blanket of stars was enough to keep you ignoring your body. At 6 o’clock I was woken up by a beautiful deep blue sky and just on the horizon the colour of blood. As the minutes past, the sky was the colour of a rainbow. From deep red like lava, to orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. As the sun peeked its warm face out, the mountains lit up and the land was more than just barren, it was beautiful, it was creative, and it was God’s creation. I have come to learn of God’s beauty in all things, you just have to look hard enough and see with God’s eyes to see it was created for us, by Him.
After hiking down three thousand stairs we came to the monastery that the burning bush supposedly was. I touched it just for the sake of it but I was not convinced this was the genuine deal. After another bus ride we were met at the side of the road by thirty camels that would take us into the desert. So me ‘climbed’ aboard and set off into an unknown world, at least to me. After an hour of rocking back and forth, getting ‘crushed’ and climbing down another mountain, we arrived in our little oasis. Even though this was a little touristy, it was beautiful. Bedouin tents, men in long dust robes, women in black head coverings and a fresh pot of tea waiting for us over an open fire. We all plopped on the ground covered in colourful cushions and basked in the sun after our twelve hour journey. After a wonderful Bedouin lunch we got back up on our new form of transportation and headed further into the desert, past sand dunes and rocky cliffs to a set of canyons. That night was the coldest I have ever been and I knew why when we woke up to see that the tea pot was frozen solid. I said to myself that I would do it again, but with a proper sleeping bag next time!
After our adventure in the desert it felt like it had already been a week but only three days had gone by and we continued on to cross the Gulf of Aqaba and into Jordan (yes Jordan is a country). Our time in Jordan was also very short but exciting, as we visited Mt. Nebo (the death place of Moses) and Petra (city built into the rocks and filming of one of the ‘Indiana Jones’ movies). Two days later we landed in Jerusalem, Israel.
It is so exciting to be here as so much of what we know and learn in the Bible took place in this very land. Things have changed a lot since then but it is still wonderful to dig deep into your roots and experience the land that Christ was born, lived and died on the cross for man kind. What a privilege and blessing it is so be here and I hope God opens my eyes a lot more!
Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers over the last several months. Things have been so amazing, but it always comes with challenges. Heck, life for anyone comes with challenges and everyone needs prayer. So please continue to pray for me and especially for my team. It is exhausting sometimes for four staff to organize and lead twenty two young people around the world. As well, if you have any prayer needs I would love to be a part of that process, so let me know. Another exciting thing coming up is that my Dad is coming to visit me for ten days during my time in Jerusalem…excited to see you Dad!
Blessings,
Aaron Harcourt
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Jordan
PLEASE DO NOT COPY/PASTE/SAVE PHOTOGRAPHS! THEY ARE FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT BUT NOT TO KEEP. THANKS, AARON
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