Roadtrip Videos

Driving to Masada

Hiking down from Masada

Floating in the Dead Sea and driving home

Dinner and a Movie

Thursday night in Israel is the equivalent to Friday night in the States. Kim & I are anxious to see Indiana Jones & the Crystal Skull, so we figured that Thursday might be our golden opportunity. On that note we can only say that Israel is a strange country with complex mysteries so deep that they can easily befuddle the most experienced movie-goer. Kim & I are experienced movie-goers but apparently still new in this country. Kim not only likes movies, she can even tell you the best seat in the theatre (thank you Doug Miller for teaching that in your class). Unfortunately, our lack of Hebrew understanding of certain cultural norms, such as the movie theatre make for a very entertaining and educational evening.

First, did you know that most theatres have assigned seating? Second, did you know that these numbers are printed on your ticket, which coincidentally, is also printed completely in Hebrew? Third, did you know that it is socially acceptable for you to sit in a seat other than your assigned seat? It is equally not okay to remove others out of your rightful seat by harsh cajoling in the middle of the movie after the wrong seat that you intentionally sat in was reclaimed by its rightful owner. In such case, you must sit somewhere else.

Apparently in Israel, the majority of the theatres do in fact have assigned seating. However, most of those attending do not sit in their assigned seats at all. It is apparently socially-unacceptable yet technically-correct to reclaim your assigned seat if you are sitting in a chair someone else would like to sit in. Kim & I sat in someone else's seats by accident. Nonetheless, it did not matter. Because they sat in another seat before we occupied theirs, they had to give up their assigned seats and let Kim & I sit where we chose. Confused? We are still sorting it out ourselves.

This is the part where we thank the Lord for sending nice English-speaking Israelis to kindly clue us in to cinema customs.

We ended up not being able to see the latest Indiana Jones installment mostly because it wasn't playing at that particular theatre. Instead, we were able to see the latest Diaz chic flik complete with Hebrew subtitles. We were completely shocked when halfway through the movie the lights came on and the movie shut off. After we nearly screamed and had mild panic attacks (we thought Hamas or Hezbollah was behind the lights coming on because Shabbat was still a day away), we were astonished that our fellow movie-goers got up and left without complaint. I turned to Kim and asked her if she knew what time the theatre closed and if there was a curfew or some sort of something that might prevent us from seeing a movie in its entirety. Utterly clueless, we turned to our new nice English-speaking Israelis, the same new friends who had delivered us from a near-disastrous chair debacle, for guidance on the sudden switch-off. In Israel, the custom is to have regular intermissions. About half-way through the movie, viewers are offered the convenient opportunity to use the restroom, buy popcorn, or talk loudly on their cell phones. Never mind, they talk loudly on their cell phones any time they choose during the movie.

All in all, Kim & I learned two new customs in Israel. Note to self: Learn to count in Hebrew. Second note to self: Don't scream when the lights come on; Hamas may not be invading just yet.

The Shops

Shopping is an olympic sport. When in Israel, the shopper will no doubt have their mental knowledge, and physical stamina challenged. Shopping in the US is a breeze to those who speak English. Even in the UK, shopping is hardly considered an adventure sport that requires the precise combination of skill and wit as it does in Israel. In fact, one might argue that shopping in any Middle Eastern country or in the Orient involves unique tests of human ingenuity. Check out some of our experiences:

"Yellow Car I Win"

After almost two weeks of sitting in the office, going out on shoots, and site-seeing around Jerusalem, Kim and I were ready to see some other parts of the country. Since both of us enjoy things being relatively planned, we researched the Dead Sea region for a few days. We found out how to get there by bus and tried to book a night at a Kibbutz (a communal farm). When those plans fell through, we ended up renting a car for a great price Masada & Snake Path
and spending one whole day at Masada and the sea.

It is at this point that I should interrupt the blog to describe a car game we play here at the bureau. I think this simple game started when Chris Mitchell (our boss) and his daughters needed entertainment on long road trips. The point of the game is self-explanatory, and oddly enough, quite competitive! Every time you see a yellow car you say, "Yellow car. I win." The car has to be completely yellow - not a goldish or orangey hue - only yellow, and you have to be the first one to say it. It is very similar to the slug bug game that you play when you see Volkswagen Bugs. Granted, you were probably 8 years old the last time you played...

Well, "Yellow car we win." We rented a yellow Hyundai Getz, and it was oh so cute. However, renting a car was the easy part; driving in Israel was the challenge. Kim drove like a pro, despite all the motorcycles driving within inches of the vehicle, irregular traffic patterns, anxious horn-honkers, random security checks, the odd camel or two, and her fellow intern obsessing over the Hebrew and Arabic radio stations.

We managed to arrive at Masada around 10:30 AM, passing the Jordan-Israel border checkpoint, the West Bank, and the Qumran Caves (where the famous Dead Sea scrolls were discovered by Bedouin herders) on the way. At the Masada visitor center, we watched a melodramatic educational video, complete with laughable English translation dubbed over the Hebrew-speaking narrator, then hitched a ride on a hanging gondola up the mountain. Like most of the tourist attractions we've seen, Masada has a rich history. And I don't just mean Peter O'Toole playing the part of a Roman general saying, "What have we won? We have won nothing," when he enters the fortress on horseback for the first time. Aside from the classic Hollywood film, Masada is actually King Herod's famous desert fortress on top of an isolated mountain cliff that is only accessible by a snaking footpath. (Josephus, the Jewish historian, called it 'Snake Path'...no one ever said the old historian wasn't creative.) During the time of the Roman conquest of Jerusalem in the early 70's AD, several Jewish rebels, including women and children, fled to Masada to seek shelter. Well, the Romans could not allow any rebellion for the sake of the empire. The legions tried various ways to reach the mountain-top fortress (complete with a palace, water cisterns, bath house, and comfortably-stocked storerooms) while the rebels pelted them with stones and other available weaponry. The Romans eventually piled dirt higher and higher to build a siege ramp leading up to the fortress wall. This huge ramp is still visible, although not traveled by tourists and pilgrims today.view of Dead Sea from Masada
By the time the Romans breached one of the walls, they entered the fortress only to find that all the rebels had committed mass suicide. Today, ideological victory is given to the Jewish rebels (hence O'Toole's famous movie line). Historians, archaeologists, and of course, the Jewish people, believe
Masada to be a testament to the resilience of Jews to withstand conquest, even at the expense of their lives.



So, Kim and I walked atop Masada for more than an hour and decided to hike our way down the mountain via the Snake Path. This little adventure ended up making us hot, sweaty, sore, and very glad to have our camel-backs (fancy water bags view of the siege ramp
with a rubber straw running from our backpacks to our mouths) to keep us hydrated. I played a joke on Kim and fully embarrassed her by wearing my white and blue socks with sandals. She ended up making a funny documentary of other tourists wearing socks and sandals,
taking note of the age and gender of each. According to Kim:

"Without exception, all cases were men who most assuredly flashed their AARP cards in order to get the senior discount for the ride up the mountain. That's what was so embarrassing. If you must wear socks with sandals, at least go with the trend: dark dress socks that reach mid-calf. Athletic ankle socks, Bonnie...really? I'm nominating you for 'What Not to Wear, Retiree Edition."

Ready to cool off in the nearby Dead Sea, we drove to the Ein Gedi Spa and paid a small entrance fee to use their lockers, showers, fresh water pool, beach, and mud. The inside hall of the spa wreaked of sulfur pools and sulfur hot tubs. I'm not exactly sure what benefits bathing in sulfur might give your body, but I'm pretty sure that it is not enough to convince us to swim in the putrid yellow liquid, bubbling up the stench of rotten eggs. And, in case a dive into the sulfur isn't enough for you, the spa has conveniently provided guests with yellow sulfur powder next to the Dead Sea mud pits. We managed to avoid both liquid and powdered versions of rotten eggs.

Walking into the Dead Sea was pretty exciting all by itself. After hearing about the salty sea for most of our lifetimes, being there for the first time reminded us again of how awesome it is to be in Israel. We chose a great day to go. The weather was moderately warm, the water cool, and the visibility amazing. We alternated video-taping the other's first floating experience. To quote a fellow American in the water with us, it was more than a little 'trippy.' You literally float, and it takes powerful core muscles to cause your body to sink or force yourself to stand. Salt crystals on the sea floor will slice the skin if you're not careful, so wear thick sandals when you go. By the way, Dead Sea water stings like fire, even on tiny abrasions! Its amazing how many scrapes we had that we didn't know about before we entered the water.

After floating for an eternity, we rinsed and walked over to the mud pits to experience the mineral effects of the dark chocolate-colored mud. If you've ever used any type of mud mask, then you can easily live vicariously through this ritual. We proceeded to bake for the recommended 20 minutes. Afterwards, our skin resembled that of elephants. Trying to walk to the showers was painful because the mud had hardened so tightly that walking became both difficult and painful. Moreover, the spa eagerly displayed its obsession with sulfur because we were provided with our choice of sulfur showers for rinsing off the mud. Even as I type this I can smell the rotten eggs flowing like a deluge from the shower spout. Kim accidentally rinsed in it before smelling her mistake. Another note from Kim:

"The smell wears off eventually. But, for the record, it is not an effective man repellent."

After a brief stint in the fresh water swimming pools and enjoying popsicles and cold drinks, we were back on the road to Jerusalem. We were too exhausted to stop by the Qumran caves after all, but safely drove our winner of a yellow car back to the apartment.

The Call

Less than a week after being in the country, Kim & I were asked to assist with one of CBN's stories, The Call/Global Day of Prayer/ God TV event. For those who aren't acquainted with the event,
The Call is a 12-hour prayer conference that takes place all over the world at various times, is sponsored by the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, and includes a time of worship and optional fasting. For the Jerusalem Call, The Global Day of Prayer also participated, and God TV simulcast the Call to various stadiums and auditoriums across the World. In fact, something like 122 nations participated, making the event the largest organized prayer conference in pretty much the history of Christianity.

The event was also significant for Jerusalem. As you may know, the body of believers in Israel (including Messianic Jews and Christians) is small. Believers experience a good deal of persecution and threats, especially from the ultra-orthodox Jews. Some rough numbers suggest that there only 14,000 Messianic Jews residing in Israel (Messianic Jews, aka those who believe in Jesus as the Messiah, do not usually use the label "Christian" due to the negative inference oftentimes drawn from the label...think the Inquisition). Also, Messianic Jews do not exactly broadcast the fact that they are believers. The good news is that the number is growing. The downside is that Kim & I have to be pretty careful
as to how we describe who we work for. For example, we can't describe CBN as a "ministry" or refer to ourselves as "evangelists", "missionaries", and so forth. All that to say, when we attended The Call in Jerusalem, we didn't enter a huge 30,000+ seat stadium or an arena packed with people. Instead, we entered a convention center auditorium that seats maybe 2500, filled with a majority of people not from Israel at all. Also unique to this Call was the number of times the Shofar was blown and the emphasis on Zion & the Messiah's return.

After sitting in the auditorium for only a short while, we went outside to interview all those in charge or helping to direct the event including Lou Engles, Mike Bickle, Misty Edwards, Graham Power, Jill Austin, Heidi Baker and several others. The time of interviews created interesting work situations and challenges which can be read about in another blog describing our daily internship duties.

All in all, we spent the majority of Sunday working and diving head-first into the internship. As usual, Kim has put together a video showing highlights of the event including a few interviews.





Kim & I exhausted after working all day.

Mount of Olives

"On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south."
Zechariah 14:4 (NIV)

The Mount of Olives (aka Mount Olivet) may very well be the most well-known landmark in Jerusalem, if not Israel. Part of what makes the Mount so revered is not for its past history (which consequently is very rich) but for its future history. The Old Testament book of Zechariah mentions it as the place the dead will be resurrected during the arrival of the Messiah. Christians and Messianic Jews believe this event will take place during the Second Coming (see the book of Revelation). However, Jews believe this event will take place the first time the Messiah comes. Because of this, many Jews wish to be buried there. In fact, the largest and oldest Jewish cemetery in the world stretches from the foot of the Mount up to the top and dates back to biblical times (think Gethsemane). Graves are literally stacked on top of each other, while many graves are placed vertically to allow room for more. According to Wikipedia, there are an estimated 150,000 graves. Famous people buried there include Jesus (only for a little while), Ben Yehuda (the dude who revived the Hebrew language), Oskar Schindler (as in Schindler's List), a plethora of rabbi's, Israeli prime ministers, and royalty.

Those objects that look like white rocks are actually tombstones. The steeple marks the Mount's peak. The taller buildings are a neighborhood.

The Mount of Olives is actually a hilltop east of Jerusalem and is named for the numerous olive groves once found on it. It's Biblical references include:

• David's flight from Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 15
• Solomon's houses for idols in 1 Kings 11 & 2 Kings 23
• Zechariah's prophecy in Zechariah 14
• The place of the Glory of the Lord in Ezekiel 11
• Where Jesus taught & wept in Matthew
• Garden of Gethsemane
• The road Jesus, Apostles, and Paul walked on their way to Bethany

A Holy Hike

Friday afternoon, Kim & I traversed down to the Old City to walk the Via Dolorosa. Many Christian pilgrims revere this walk as a holy walk- the same steps that Jesus walked from Pontius Pilate's to Calvary. Along the route, there are 14 stations marking various actions as recorded in the Gospel. For example, station 3 marks where Jesus fell and station 5 marks where Simon the Cyrene was appointed to help carry the cross. Various historians disagree to the actual accuracy of this route. In fact, the route itself has changed several times. At any rate, it is a significant walk nonetheless, even if it is only symbolic (type and shadow) of the real thing. On another note, the Via Dolorosa (Walk of Tears) is actually located in the heart of the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. So as you visit each station, you will invariably be asked by one Arab shopkeeper or another to purchase his goods. He will tell you that "We are friends," and "There is no charge for looking" and "This is it. This is real wood from the cross" and so forth. If you are a blonde American woman, of which Kim & I both are, you may actually get hit on in the process. In fact, these shopkeepers may beckon you to come visit there shop by wooing you with such self-esteem building phrases as "I like your eyes. They are very beautiful" to "My name is Vin Diesel" and "You from the States? You very beautiful." One such shopkeeper emphatically declared to Kim, "My friend, you dropped something." Once Kim turned around to check, he continued, "See, it is my heart." Wow...

While we hardly know what to do with such words of poetry, we found it more intriguing not to get smashed along the walls by other Christian pilgrims- more thoroughly dedicated to the stations than we. In the video, you'll see Kim describing a group of pilgrims wearing green hats and carrying a cross. Without any hindrance to themselves, these pilgrims faithfully stopped at each marked spot and recited various Latin prayers, songs, and chants. This is all very normal of course.

The last four stations are located within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This church is kind of like Mecca for Christians, especially for Greek Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Ethiopian Orthodox and Coptic Christians (Orthodox sects stem from the Byzantine Empire, during the beginning of which, the church was built). Located in the church are several "holy" spots, including the place where Jesus was crucified, where His body was prepared for burial, and where He was buried. We have taken pictures and labeled them accordingly. In the video, it may seem that we are irreverent. We do not intend to be. However, neither of us believe that these are the exact spots where the Gospel events of salvation took place. If you believe more along the lines of the pilgrims, then perhaps it is best if you don't watch the video. ;)

Top: the Edicule of the Holy Sepulchre (Tomb of Christ)

Bottom: Golgotha (place of crucifixion)

More about the Church of the Holy Sepulchre: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre

**It is wikipedia, so read it with a grain of salt.


About the Ladder:

A few years ago, one of my favorite history professors, Dr. Dan Hoffman, told us about this ladder during our Roman and Early Church history class. Apparently, this ladder has been left outside in nearly the exact same spot because no one agrees to move it; moreover, the various denominations/sects that are custodians of the church can't remember who left it out there. This may seem silly, I'll admit. However, these men are so adament about their various custodial divisions in the church that they will literally fight & brawl (sometimes leading to hospital visits) if they feel that another denomination/sect is invading their zone in the church. I dreamed of one day being able to see the ladder in real life, and I did! I took these photos during yesterday's visit.

Kim & I will be visiting the Garden tomb and Golgotha (marked by rocks in the shape of a skull) shortly, which is where we believe the crucifixion/burial/resurrection most likely took place.

Out in the Old City

In our fist 48 hours of being in the country, Kim & I decided to explore the Old City on our own after John Waage (our boss) took us on a little mini-excursion there during lunch. Here are a few snapshots of the bazaar in addition to the video.

First impressions of the Holy Land

In this video, we survive the flight into Tel Aviv, gather our luggage and meet Chris Mitchell. This video shows highlights of our first 36 hours in the Holy Land. You might notice that we look a little bleary-eyed and somewhat dazed & confused. We were suffering from a common condition travel experts refer to as 'jet lag.' We've since recovered and have gone on to film many more memories for our mothers' scrapbooking ventures. Kim has been diligent in editing and uploading these.

Today's weather is moderately warm with a light breeze. The ambiance surrounding the CBN bureau is currently accompanied by helicopter whirring. Bush is in town and is staying at the hotel next door to the office. Kim spent the morning soldering XLR cables with Yoel, our hyperactive cameraman, and Bonnie wrote her first news script for Chris. Yoel took us to the Government Press Office this afternoon for our official press credentialing.

The Flight:

Ever wonder what it's like to fly internationally with two Texas gals who don't exactly get out much? Well, we thought we'd show you highlights from the two plane rides and airport adventures. Word of caution: Towards the latter portion of this video, we are EXTREMELY jet-lagged, so please don't think we normally get this excited about new things. We had reached that point of exhaustion where just about anything was funny.

Airport Zoo

Howdy! Tonight at 9:30 PM Eastern time, Kim & I will be flying to London via Virgin Airlines. We land about 9ish in the AM and then catch a flight to Israel via British Monarch. We should land in Tel Aviv around 8 pm tomorrow...ick. If you want to know Jerusalem time without having to do all the yucky math, check the homepage of the website. There is a clock at the bottom displaying current Jerusalem time.

Please pray for traveling mercies tonight and tomorrow.

Shalom,

~ B

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