A Rough Itinerary of My Trip

June 1 - Depart the USA
Your spiritual pilgrimage begins as you depart the USA on an overnight flight.

June 2 - Arrival in the Holy Land
You will be welcomed to the Holy Land by our airport representative and transferred to your hotel. Enjoy dinner before you rest.

June 3 - The Galilee
With Bible in hand, cross the waters of the Sea of Galilee aboard a Kinnereth Sailing Company boat. Along the way, participate in a special on board worship service. Travel to Capernaum, the center of Jesus’ ministry in the Galilee. Visit the synagogue which stands on the site where Jesus taught. Recall his teaching and preaching the gospel of the kingdom (Matt.4:13, 23). At Kibbutz Nof Ginnosar, you’ll learn about the “Ancient Boat”, a rare example of the kind of boat in which Jesus would have sailed. Travel to the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus preached to the people (Matt. 5-7). At Tabgha, the traditional location for the calling of the disciples and the feeding of the 5000, you’ll visit the Church of the Fish and the Loaves (Luke 9:10-17). You’ll also visit the Chapel of the Primacy where three times Peter professed his devotion to the risen Christ (John 21). At the River Jordan you can remember your baptism in the Yardenit Baptismal Site.

June 4 - Beit Shean, Nazareth, Megiddo and Caesarea
Visit the ruins of Beit Shean which was continuously inhabited for 5000 years and was one of the Roman cities Jesus passed on his way from Galilee to Jerusalem. Visit Nazareth, Jesus’ boyhood home (Matthew 2: 23). Travel the ancient caravan route to Tel Megiddo where 20 different cities lie superimposed upon each other. Visit the Roman Aqueduct and Theatre at Caesarea, a center of the early Christians. Here, Cornelius became the first Gentile convert to the new religion (Acts 10) and Paul was imprisoned before being taken to Rome for Trial.

June 5 - Jericho, Qumran, and Bethlehem
Travel to Jericho and visit the ruins of the ancient city, which was conquered by Joshua (Josh. 6: 1, 2, 20). From Jericho, you can see the traditional site of the Temptation of Jesus (Matt. 4: 1-11). Even today, the road from Jericho to Jerusalem twists for miles as it climbs from below sea level into the Judean mountains. Jesus traveled the nearby Roman road, the setting of His parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 30-36). Travel to Qumran, site of the Dead Sea Scroll discovery, to discuss the mysterious community of Essenes who once lived on the shores of the Dead Sea. In Bethlehem, you’ll visit the cave revered as the place where Jesus was born (Matt. 1: 18 - 25; Luke 2: 1- 7). The church, which was constructed on the site, is the world’s oldest functioning church. Nearby you’ll view Shepherds’ Field where the Good News was first heard.

June 6 - Jerusalem
Visit the Haas Promenade and enjoy a panoramic view from the south of Jerusalem, the Old City walls and the hill called Mount Moriah where Abraham was commanded by God to offer Isaac as a burnt offering (Gen. 22: 2, 4). View the Kidron Valley and the Valley of Gehenna. Stand atop the Mount of Olives as Jesus did and enjoy a remarkable view of the “Golden City” of Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock. Forty days after his resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1: 9 - 12). Pray in the Garden of Gethsemane as Jesus prayed (Matt. 26: 36 - 44). Continue to Mount Zion to visit the House of the High Priest Caiaphas where Jesus was imprisoned for a night (Matt. 26: 57 - 65). Stand in the Upper Room, revered as the place of the Last Supper (Mark 14: 12 - 26). View the site of King David’s Tomb.

June 7 - Jerusalem and the Old City
Visit the Southern Wall Excavations of the ancient Temple, including the Teaching Steps and the Western Wall. Walk the Cardo, the ancient main street of the Old City. Once lined with shops it is now partially restored. View the Pool of Bethesda (John 5: 1-31) where Jesus performed the Sabbath miracle, and sing a hymn in the Church of St. Anne. Visit Herod’s Antonia Fortress where Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilate (Luke 23: 1-11). Walk the Via Dolorosa, “the Way of the Cross,” and stand in reverence at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

June 8 - Leisure Day with Optional Masada and Dead Sea Tour
Explore on-your-own or visit Masada (additional charge), Herod’s mountaintop fortress which became the last stronghold of the Jewish Rebellion against the Romans. Ride the cable car to the top to explore. Peer down upon the remains of the Roman camps and siege ramp below. Time permitting, you’ll stop briefly at the Shores of the Dead Sea for a quick dip in the salt and mineral laden waters.

June 9 - Jerusalem
Travel to Ein Karem, known as the birthplace of John the Baptist and the place where the Virgin Mary visited Elisabeth (Luke 1: 26-40). Time permitting, you will visit Yad Vashem. Visit and worship at the Garden Tomb, possible site of the garden of Joseph of Arimathea and experience the reality of the Resurrection. Your afternoon is free for exploring.

June 10 - Return to USA.

itinerary from www.eo.travelwithus.com

Making My List and Checking it Twenty Times

Tomorrow I leave for Israel. For the past week I have been making lists of things that I need to bring on my trip, going over items I am bringing on my trip with friends and family, and checking my bag over and over again. After all of the checking and rechecking I have decided I am ready to go. Well, I am going whether I am ready or not.

As I write this I am lying in bed with Tucker (my dog) and he brings me comfort. I am anxious, excited, nervous, tired, but I think I am mostly feeling thankful. I am thankful for a loving set of grandparents who are sending me on a trip to Israel. I am thankful for a family that supports me in what I do and travels far distances to not only watch but cheer me on as I finish last in races, and clap loudly for a five minute (if that) appearance in a play. I am thankful for friends who are excited for me and give me encouraging words, who have stayed up late talking, and are always available for a run in the woods or a run to Arbys. I am thankful for two church communities in Greensburg and New Wilmington who have raised me and nourished me. I am thankful for professors who have taught me and cared enough to take time to mentor me. I am thankful for a loving girlfriend and her family who take me in as one of them, even letting me be the grill master. Most importantly, I am thankful for God who has blessed me with all of these people and communities in my life and the countless blessings that have come from them all.

As I have been thinking about this trip, it is not just me who is going to Israel, but all of you are going with me. All of you, the people that I am thankful for, are what brought me to this point in my life. Without the love, encouragement, friendship, and growth, I would not be blessed with the opportunity to travel to the Holy Land. Paul talks about us as the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12. Not only does this passage celebrate and encourage our differences as we are all different parts of the body, but it also celebrates community and unity showing that we are never alone as we need each other. So while I will physically be the only one flying on a plane tomorrow for many many many hours, you all will be there with me forever interconnected as a community of believers. As I walk the streets of Jerusalem and the surrounding towns I will be thinking of you all. As I eat the highly anticipated Middle Eastern food I will be eating an extra portion for you all. As I smell the sea where Jesus preached and listen to the language that the disciples spoke, I will be thinking of you all. As a community of faithful believers I thank all of you for your love and the opportunities that you have given to me. Please pray for our group for safe travels, and for the surrounding area of Israel for peace. The hotels I will be staying at claim that they have internet access, so I hope to update as I travel.

Peace,
John

The Spirit of Spontaneity

Ever since I read Donald Miller's book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years I have attempted to be more spontaneous. Miller's book discusses the idea that life is a story with God as the creator author. Miller had fairly large success with his book Blue Like Jazz and consequently had movie producers want to make a film about his life. During the process of making the movie and rehashing his personal experiences, Donald Miller realizes that his life is not that great of a story. The book calls us to look at how we are living our lives, who the characters are, what our goals are, and if we are going with or against what God as the author has written for us, and continues to write for us.

With that said, I have come to agree with Donald Miller that one can look at life like a story. Ever since I have read this book (which is not too long ago, so I will see how well I am doing a few months from now) I have tried to go where the spirit was calling me, attempting to live life, not just watch it fade by. Movies are great, I have a huge collection of movies. Don't you think however that living out a story would be much more interesting than watching one unfold on screen? Enter the spirit of spontaneity. I have come to enjoy these past few weeks moments of spirit driven spontaneity with friends and family. Last week I went on a creek hike with my friend and roommate Nathan. We spent the afternoon walking through the creek, looking under rocks, picking flowers, and walking through fields with God's beautiful nature around us. From that spontaneous hike with Nathan, we were able to have one final adventure together, talk about college, our future, and anything else that was on our minds. After that walk I was not worried at all about whether or not Nathan and I would remain friends. Through the past week other moments of spirit driven spontaneity have come up and each one has solidly built upon a relationship of mine. Moments have included visits to grandparents, bike rides with my dad, taking my sister out for desert, dancing with my girlfriend in a parking lot, and late night walks. I feel like since I am embracing my story that God has written for me, I am more fully able to reap the benefits of that story.

So I ask you and myself, who are the characters that we have in our stories, what are our goals, what activities come up most in our stories, what do we fight for? Similarly, who are the characters that God wants in our stories, what are God's goals for us, what activities does God want us to be paying attention to, what does God want us to fight for? Do we spend more time talking about others and what they have done or do we take matters into our own hands? Are we selfish with our gifts and talents that God has given us or do we open our hands and give them to God? Do we actively pray for guidance and intercession in others lives, or do we think that we know best? The list goes on and on. There is no reason to fight the creator author God and attempt to write our own story. God is much better at writing than we are and has greater ideas for us. We don't know what triumph and trials we will go through if we follow God's story for us, but if we attempt to follow God's plan, we will be actively living.

The Lost Art of Letter Writing

The other day I sat down to write a few letters to the members of the youth group. Each year on the mission trip the youth group members receive letters to read each night. Ever since I first went on a mission trip with the church to New Orleans four years ago I loved this tradition of receiving letters. On the trips I would receive letters from members of the community and other leaders of the youth group. Since I will not be able to be on the mission trip this year, and it is my last year with the youth group, I wanted to be able to continue to be a part of the tradition of the letter writing. The mission trips with New Wilmington Presbyterian Church are such beneficial and life forming trips, and these letters are a formative part of the trip.

Once I began writing the letters though, I realized how tired I became. Now, part of this was probably due to the fact that I was a week out of school and was not used to writing, but that couldn't have been all of the reason for me being tired. I then realized that it had been a while since I had written a letter. Real letters, letters that you can hold in your hand, put in your pocket, save and read over and over again, use as bookmarks; these letters take work, and I was "out of shape." Real letter writing takes practice, time, and effort. I wouldn't write a letter like I do an e-mail, letters are full of emotion with different hand writing, on different paper, and different formats.

While I did become surprisingly tired from writing about twelve letters, I enjoyed the experience. When writing my letters I was not at a computer, but was sitting at a table, drinking coffee, listening to music. Letter writing was not only a time to share with others, but also a time for me to be silently reflective. I hope to continue this practice more frequently, maybe a few times a month at first and then weekly. I would urge anyone to write letters as well. Is there anyone that you have been wanting to talk to, wanting to catch up with, see how they are doing, or just share with them events of your life? You may be out of shape of letter writing at first, but the only way to get "in shape" is through working out. So when the pulls and tugs of letter writing come, sit down, turn off the tv and computer, cuddle up with a cup of coffee or tea and get out your pen and paper; take time to yourself and just write.

Surprise Conversations

I had a nice conversation today with a friend. Like most good conversations it took me by surprise. I was expecting to sit, drink some cold coffee, and write some letters. However, I was presented with a conversation about beliefs, hell, who is saved, and relating issues.

These are topics which I do think about but rarely discuss with others. What I realized during this conversation is that I know what I know and I know what I believe, but I have very few experiences of vocalizing these ideas. So this discussion was good practice for me. I learned a few things.

First of all, I realized there are times in conversations when I need to speak and times when I need to listen. It is easy to sit back and be apathetic or to be aggressive in the conversation easily making it one sided. Especially in conversations about faith, something so many of us hold dear, it is easy to either not listen to the other person or to dominate discussion if we disagree with whom we are talking to. We need to realize though, we will never learn anything if we do not listen to those with different opinions and beliefs, It does us good sometimes to hear reassuring comments from those who agree with us, but when talking to those with whom we disagree we not only learn another perspective, but are better able state our own beliefs.

Secondly today, I learned that we must address all topics even the ones we do not feel comfortable talking about. I admit that I do not spend too much time discussing who goes to hell and who is saved. I do not know the formula or how it all works out. Jesus does talk about those who are cut off from him, but Jesus also speaks of love. I may be naive in focusing on love, but all I can think of doing is to love others so that they may know Christ. If I obediently obey the Holy Spirit working in me, I believe that the Holy Spirit will also be working in others both outwardly and inwardly. God has set us in a story as the great creator, and I believe that he wills and hopes for all of his creation to be with him. I am not sure what this looks like, but I hope to be a part of it.

What excites me about my conversation today is that I never know where God will be using me or how I will be used to further the kingdom of God. However, I do know that the only way I will be able to accomplish any of this is by obediently listening for God moving in my life, and by having difficult discussions which make me think about my faith, my role in life, and how God is using me. In the end though, through all of this talking and thinking, I believe I need to be silent and attentive to where and to whom God is calling me, engaging all in love.

Created to create

So this morning/afternoon Nathan and I built a trampoline in Lisa Hickman's back yard. We counted all of the nuts, bolts, piping, and springs. We set out the instructions and began our work. The morning started out cloudy like the last four or five days, looking like rain. However, as we began working, the sun came out and the air warmed up. Soon enough Nathan and I had our sweat shirts off and were sweating and grunting. For the past few days Nathan kept reassuring me that building the trampoline would not take too long. Each time he told me that I felt like it was a bad omen and we would be up to our waist in springs tangled in mesh all day long.

As the work continued, we methodically followed the directions one by one and the trampoline began to take shape. There is something to working with your hands that is quite appealing to me. During the building process of anything I look forward to the problem solving, conversation, the tired feeling like I accomplished something, and the tangible product when done. In so much of my course work the past four years I would have reading to do; for hours I would sit and read and at then end of my time studying I would have nothing tangible to account for what I thought was hard work. That is why I find escape in working with my hands. I created something. I took many parts which are useless by themselves and put them together forming a functional jumping device. I think a part of human nature is to create. As God created the earth and all that is in it including us, so too we find ourselves called to create, as we were created in God's image.

After our work putting together the trampoline, we went to the bio field to enjoy not our creation, but some of God's creation. The sun was shining, and the cool waters and lush green underbrush were calling the inner boy in my and Nathan to come and explore. At the bridge we met two furry friends, Juno and Tessa. Immediately we jumped in the water and began to play. The water was cold but refreshing. As Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Nathan and I explored the creek bed, picking flowers, throwing rocks, and poking sticks and potential treasure. I felt free in the bio field, with the sun shining on my face, the water rushing by my legs, surrounded by beautiful flowers and the sound of birds. Again it makes me think about God's role of creating. It took me three hours to put together a trampoline, instructions included. Did God use any instruction book? How long did it take God to create the creek I was walking through? How many people have enjoyed/used God's creation and not even thought of the one who has created it.

As I worked with my hands today it made me think about creation and creators. Most of the time we use something without thinking about who created it, how long it took them, where they were when they created it. But as you observe God's creation it makes me thankful for not only God as creator, but for those around the world who create. Take time to notice where your clothes and food come from, be appreciative for the author of your favorite book, stay until the end of a movie and notice how many people went into the process of creating the film you just watched. Just as you become more aware of the creators around you, find your inner creator and create something of your own to offer to the world whether it be cookies, poetry, a bench, flower bed, or even a trampoline.

The Final Final

For the last four years I have walked the halls of Patterson and the streets of New Wilmington. It is hard to believe that I will be leaving here for Greensburg and then Pittsburgh in just one week. The fact that I am graduating and leaving New Wilmington has not hit me yet. I am not sure if I will ever become sad when I leave New Wilmington, not because I am itching with anticipation to get out of here, but because I have found a new home in New Wilmington and plan on making frequent trips back here. Meeting members of the community and being active in the church have been my "field education" in some sense. I love thinking of the people I have met here and the people who I hope to keep in touch with. I think of Mrs. Moss and at first being intimidated by her, and the relationship we have come to build from many late nights on mission trips. I appreciate all of the loving neighbors in town who have given me countless meals and opened their doors to me. The Hunters will always be a place that I feel welcomed (especially now with the new addition). I have come to feel like a family member there and appreciate all of the family functions that I have been invited to. They have taught me what it means to live out your faith. I am also thankful for Lisa and Jason, they have provided me with snippets of wisdom, encouragement to spread my wings, and food enough for many meals. Although I was Lisa's student and she was also my boss, she always treated me as an equal and a friend. For that I am thankful. As I think about going to Pittsburgh Theological next year, I am excited for the friends I have made in Lisa, Jason, Ralph, and Chris, and hope to continue the community of those in ministry.

Westminster and New Wilmington are not places that I just came to attend college, but where I came to live and invest myself for four years. I hope that I have left a part of myself in town that others will appreciate, and I hope to continue this communal living wherever I go. This town has taught me about community, what it means to be a neighbor, and the benefits of an intimate small town. New Wilmington will always have a place in my heart. I was introduced to how fast "news spreads" in a small town, but also how willing everyone is to lend a helping hand. I am so thankful that I did not stay in the bubble of Westminster, but branched out into the community and was able to meet the people that make up the town. This leads me to one of my favorite compliments anyone has given me (other than being told that I look like Ryan Gosling). For the past few weeks as people began saying their goodbyes and started asking about what my plans were for next year, multiple people have asked me, "Are you staying around here, you are from town right?"

Isn't that what we should be striving for? Living in community with those around you so much that they even think you are one of them? So this has given me motivation for my ministry in life, it has given me hope and encouragement that I will be able to live among others and have God work through me. We will see where this takes me.