Jon Huckins

We are on a 3 day field trip to Southern Israel where we are going to a bunch of biblical sites that include the Elah Valley(where David and Goliath met), Beersheba, the Dead Sea, the Zin Winderness (where YHWH provided manna and quail to the Israelites) and much more…it is supper hot, but amazing. Only have a few minutes of internet, so here are a couple pics:

Janny wandering the Philistine hill/city of Azekah that overlooks the Elah Valley

Jon inside the caves at Maresha. Members of the early church would get thrown to the lions and get put in these caves to live for the rest of their days.

Well, we have finally cracked the code to our camera and have downloaded our pics from our recent adventures. We had the last day and a half off of school, which gave us much needed time to rest and catch up on other responsibilities (for some reason the responsibilities of home didn’t leave us when we flew away!). Class continues to be very intense as we are studying everything from soil types, to topography to architecture to dates/locations of events. With all that said, it is fascinating and we feel as though we are getting a comprehensive understanding. The experience is already creating so much fresh insight into the Story of Scripture that we have study for so long.

We continue to approach our time in a spirit of sensitivity towards towards the Israel/Palenstine tension. Primarily, we are seeking to hear the stories of the individuals behind what we hear in our fear driven media of the West. We are gaining lots of great insight and are looking forward to sharing a meal with a Christian couple from Palestine this coming weekend.

Tomorrow morning we head out for a 3 day field study to the Dead Sea region where we will staying in a nearby town and visiting a half of a dozen other significant sites.

Let’s see if I can add a few pics:

Coming out of a 30 minute underground journey through Hezekiah’s Tunnel that was built 2700 years ago.

Our professor Dr. Mullins at the Pool Siloam where Jesus healed the blind man with mud. Dr. Mullins got his PHD from Hebrew University and lived in Jerusalem for 20 years. He’s brilliant.

Western Wailing Wall

Janny riding like Mary on the route that Jesus road into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday

Jon with Ahmed and Esau who own a shoe store in the West Bank. They were some of the nicest fellas we have met on this trip as they shared their personal orange juice with Janny and I as we tried on shoes. Their story was incredible.

I would post more from the Temple Mount, Bethlehem, etc…but this internet connection is way to slow. Shalom from Jerusalem!

Our folks hooked us up with a sweet camera as a combined bday present for Janny and I this year. With our travels and the baby on the way, we figured it was time to replace the duck tape ridden version we have been using. Unfortunately, we have either not figured out how to properly use the new one OR there is something wrong with it. We have a ton of sweet pics, but are unable to get them onto our computer. I was hoping to mainly post pics and only say a few words…not happening. Hopefully we can find a “techy” in our class tomorrow.

As I last mentioned, the class is really involved, but it is allowing us to explore the country academically and physically. Our professor has his PHD from the local Hebrew University and is an American citizen who lived her for 20 years. He is brilliant and has some great perspective. Is also quite devotional at times. We have really connected with our classmates (who range from 19 to 60 years old) as we go out to local restaurants and cafe’s most every night to watch the World Cup. It is HUGE over here.

Today we visited Bethlehem, Herodian, Garden(Orchard) of Gethsemane and the Mt. of Olives. Over the past few days we have stayed in Jerusalem and done extensive study and exploration of the Old City of Jerusalem (Hezekiah’s Tunnel, Temple Mount, the Upper Room, Calvary, Jesus’ Tomb, David’s Palace, etc…) Stunning stuff.

Our professor said something profound that struck both of us in a similar way. He spoke of the Western minds’ desire for accuracy, data and information in visiting these sites (questions like: how sure can we be that this is REALLY the place that…happened?) He went on to say that the religious of the Middle East (specifically Israel) don’t seek data, but instead they worship and remember. As we travel these grounds and ask the hard questions based on thorough scholarship, it is shocking how many places can’t be confirmed as 100% accurate locations of the original event/structure. The point isn’t accuracy, the point is worship. Such is the posture we hope to adopt moving forward.

Hopefully we get the camera fixed!

Picture of Old City Jerusalem from the window of our hotel

Well, this is the stuff that makes Janny and I come to life. This is our 3rd day in Jerusalem after about 24 hours of travel and a 10 hour time change. Our favorite part of traveling is learning and embracing new culture(at least new to us!). Travel forces us into a posture of humility and intrigue as we have to feel our way through the new setting by trail and error. This has definitely been true of our first few days in Israel.

The main reason we are here is to study at Jerusalem University College for a 3.5 week graduate course. I have FINALLY finished about 30 hours of pre-work and so we were able to rest and get a taste of the city for these first few days. We check into the school today.

The hotel we have been staying in (we are now moving to campus housing) is a 0 star and is packed with other low budget travelers from across the globe. We have already traveled with, exchanged email addresses and watched the World Cup with people from England, Holland, Costa Rica, Switzerland and a bunch of locals. Although the facilities are modest (to say the least!), we have an incredible view of the Old City and the Mt. of Olives…and it came with free breakfast! Nothing like hummus and tomatoes @ 7am. It is located in the Arabic part of town and the guys that run the place are super friendly and accommodating. We were told not to stay in this part of town, but we have really enjoyed getting into the rhythms of this culture. Most are Muslim and we can hear the prayers 3 or 4 times a day that are amplified through the streets. They exhibit so much devotion, it is quite admirable.

There is an upper lounge at the top of our hotel where we can watch the World Cup games. Super fun. I offered to get some Hebrew Lager for myself and our English friend David and quickly realized that Muslim’s don’t drink alcohol, so we had to leave the area. We ended up finding some Hebrew beer call Maccabee Lager(LOVE the history! If you’re not familiar with the Maccabee’s influence in the Jewish story, click here) and enjoyed the USA vs England match. Janny had this guy on his heals with her strategic smack talk. We just liked to hear him fire back comments in his English accent.

We have been able to walk the Old City streets and are excited to be moving to our new hotel which is actually inside the city walls. Our favorite meal has quickly become falafel and Turkish(or Arabic) coffee. We will share more about the city and some of the sites next time.

Any tips or insight, please feel free to throw it in the comments. We should have internet pretty consistently.

Cheers and Shalom from Israel!