#westmontnolongerinistanbul

[andygrubbs]

HE IS RISEN!

Shots from the Ethiopian Orthodox midnight Easter service at the Holy Sepulcher 

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The procession up the Via Dolorosa on Good Friday.

Thousands of Pilgrims, ourselves included, flooded into the Old City of Jerusalem to walk to path that Jesus walked as he carried his cross to be crucified. Granted the path is probably a little off, but none the less it was an amazing but also very hard thing to take part in. With thousands of additional people roaming the streets the IDF presence was strong and hard to see. It was also very difficult to see how Christians treated each other as they tried to complete what they viewed as their own path with God. Aren't we one body of Christ? That was the question running through my head the whole time. 

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Shenanigans in Jerusalem. 

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On April 15th we crossed the separation wall into the town of Bethlehem. The experience of walking along a 10m high wall, and visiting the Aida refugee camp humbled us all and gave us a different perspective of the conflict. Rafat, the man taking us around Bethlehem, posed the question to us "if Christ were to come back today and see this, how would he react?" I think the answer has to be that he really wouldn't like what he sees. So where do we go from here?

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The one and only, David Baldi

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Palm Sunday in Jerusalem

Members of the cohort joined in with thousands of Christians from all over the world and walked from Bethpage to the Lion's Gate in order to commemorate the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into the city. What an awesome way to kick off a crazy week.

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Fishing on the Galilee 

We spent today with Dr. Caryn Reeder exploring the Sea of Galilee and its surrounding area. Jesus did much of his ministry and performed many miracles here. It is so humbling and thought provoking to be seeing all these different sights where where hugely significant things happened. 

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The Wailing Wall. 

The last remaining part of the Second Temple, and the holiest sight in the Jewish faith

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Shots from the first few days in Israel and Palestine. In just a few short days we have been thrown into the conflict between these two people groups and seen so much. Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, which is going to be crazy as well, but marks the beginning of Holy Week and Passover as well. Being in Jerusalem for these periods of time is something that is hard to fathom and something very few people are able to experience. 

With so much going on it is crazy to remember that we only have 2 weeks left in the semester. I look back and am amazed at how quick it has gone, but it isn't done quite yet. 

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The day at the Dead Sea. Lots of mud, and just sitting (literally sitting) in water.

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Adventures in Wadi Rum (the place where Lawrence of Arabia was filmed)! Our time here was filled with sleeping under the stars, rolling down sand dunes, riding camels, and 4 wheeling. It was an awesome way to finish our time in Jordan

We are now in Jerusalem and will be for the next 3 weeks. It has already been overwhelming, but it is so good.

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[andygrubbs]

After a few days in Amman we ventured to the only port city in Jordan, Aqaba and spent some time in the Red Sea with the fishes! 

Fun Fact: From the port in Aqaba you can see three other countries--Egypt, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.

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The main Mosque in Amman, Jordan. Welcome to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan!