I don't have time to write much, except to say that our spiritual adventure is fully underway now and we are having a great time! We have been starting each morning with a time of reflective Scripture reading and prayer to prepare us for what we will be doing that day. With church bells and the Muslim call to prayer echoing off the walls of the city it is a sublime way to start the day!
The group enjoying morning quiet time in the rooftop garden of the Lutheran Guesthouse
We picked up our three vans this morning and headed out into the desert to explore two key sites related to the Essenes and the Zealots, groups who shaped the world into which Jesus came. At Qumran we saw the settlement of the Essenes who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls and some of the caves where they hid them (for 1900 years!) from the Romans. It is interesting that their mission statement was the same as John the Baptists, "A voice crying, In the desert, prepare the way of the Lord.'" They thought their strict asceticism and separation from the world would bring about their messiahs, but John took a different path. He called people to repentance as a way of preparing their hearts for Jesus' coming ...
Bob, Pam, Luke and Taylor in front of Cave 6 at Qumran
After visiting Qumran we drove further south along the western shore of the Dead Sea to Masada, Herod the Great's imposing desert fortress. It was here that the Zealots, the Jewish nationalists of Jesus' time, took their final stand against the Romans in AD 73. It was instructive to remember that Jesus chose a radically different path than these violent revolutionaries and his Kingdom goes on forever!
Art and Malcolm floating in the buoyant waters of the Dead Sea
Last, but not least, we finished our day with a swim (float!) in the Dead Sea--an experience like none other! Believe me, after floating in water eleven times as saline as the ocean, you need a serious shower!
That's all for now. Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement ...