05 June 2011

It was one of the longest but greatest days since I have been in Israel. It was a field trip day, but it wasn’t just any old field trip. For the first time in what feels like forever, we didn’t visit ancient ruins; we didn’t discuss the importance of the remainder of a city wall; we didn’t have examples of temple relics point out to us. Rather, we took Biblical parables into our own hands. We were able to be shepherds, make unleavened bread, grind hyssop plants into herbs, draw water from an ancient cistern, and more. It was one of those days that will stick with you forever. I know that I will never forget it.

The buses left promptly at 8:20 in the morning. But first, I ate pancakes with peanut butter on them. They were delicious. Back to the field trip…haha. The bus ride wasn’t very long. I attempted to read an assignment for Dr. Chadwick’s class, but I fell asleep after three pages. This isn’t a new action. I seem to fall asleep every time I open up one of the books for Ancient Near Eastern Studies, unless Chaddy, himself, wrote it. As much as I love geography (that’s my minor, for those of you who don’t know), I don’t enjoy reading forty pages about the geography of 10^th Century BCE Israel. Our field trip was in a place known as Neot Kedumim. If I knew what that meant, I would tell you, but I’m not really sure. I wouldn’t call this place a city; it was quite similar to a national park, actually. We spent the day with a tour guide who took us around to different sites that taught about different Biblical parables. We began at a 2,000 year old cistern where the story of Rebekah and Isaac was acted out. Ashley W. happy played the role of Rebekah and was able to pull water up out of the cistern. It was really cool. I wish we would have had the time for me to draw water as well but time was short. Our guide next led us down to a covered area where she discussed a plant called hyssop. Hyssop is a plant that deals with the cleansing of the leper; it was also the plant that was used to paint the blood onto the doorways during Passover. We ground our hyssop plants into powder to use as a spice or seasoning. I am really excited to get home and use it in pasta or homemade pizza. I hope it lasts until then! Next came my favorite part of the entire day: herding the sheep.

Goats and sheep are my favorite barnyard animals. They can have the most disgusting, matted down coats in the world, but they have the cutest little faces. We split up into two groups and herded the animals. Because of my prior life of being a sheep/goat herder, I was able to explain to my group the need for the alpha goat to lead the way. Once he stepped out, the other goats and, of course, the sheep followed. We were able to succeed in corralling our sheep. We were also able to take a few pictures. I was able to hold a baby lamb. It remind me of a painting done by Greg Olsen called The Good Shepherd. I was holding the lamb in the exact manner of Christ in that picture. It helped me to understand the parable of the Good Shepherd much more. You fall in love with your herd. Remember, their faces are the cutest things in the world. You have to be their guide; you have to keep them on the path. They will stray, but they can come back. You can help them come back. Christ is our Shepherd. He laid the path for us to follow. We might stray, but we can come back. He has created a way for us to return to live with Him and the Father again. We just have to trust in Him and follow His lead.

Leaving the sheep, we made our own unleavened bread over a fire. That was an adventure. Most of us felt like we were back at Scout Camp or Girl’s Camp! But it was really fun. And we used some of our hyssop and some oil to make a delightful dipping sauce. It was delicious. Next we went to a threshing floor where the story of Ruth was acted out by Morgan, Josiah, Lizzie, and Niffer. We have quite a talented group at the Jerusalem Center. They did such an amazing job. Morgan, as the narrator, spoke in different accents; Lizzie, as Naomi, spoke in a British accent. It was all just really fun! Next we headed to a water wheel where I was able to run inside it like a hamster to draw water for my crops! I almost fell on my face a couple of times, but it was worth it! We then went up to an olive press. It isn’t the season for olives so we weren’t able to press them, but we talked about them. We ended the field trip by watching a scribe write the Torah. He then chanted. It was really cool. This was probably my favorite field trip that we have been in so far. I wonder if another field trip will ever take the lead. It’s hard to beat sheep when it comes to the ‘World of Michelle’.

My volleyball time was brutally murdered in both of our games this evening. It was awful. We have really good players. We just need to work on communicating with one another. Hopefully we can get that down sooner rather than later. I was able to end the evening by talking to my mom and dad on the phone. You are probably all thinking that I talk to them a lot. But when it really comes down to it, I was calling my mom an average of three or four times a day before I came to Jerusalem. Plus, I have two of the greatest parents in existence. They are two people who I could talk to for days on end. They mean the world on me. I wish I could share this experience with them. But for now, I will continue to call them and post as many pictures as possible… I have posted more for those of you who were curious. It was a great day. Tomorrow is bringing with it another day in Tel Aviv at the beach. Let’s see if I remember to put sunscreen on the backs of my legs this time, shall we? Cross your fingers!