University of Arkansas, Little Rock

Greetings from Little Rock, Arkansas! I will be here from June 19 - 24, teaching Advanced Placement concepts to middle school English teachers. Ought to be a great, hot (pant) week. :)

Mackenzie Graduated ! Whoo Hoo !

I traveled to Delaware for Mackenzie's high school graduation from Alexus I. duPont High School in Hockessin, Delaware, on June 4, 2011. So proud of this kiddo for sticking with it and having something awesome to show for it! It was a short trip to Delaware, but one of the most important trips I have been on in a long time. Look for the next posts - they will be from England and Scotland and Mackenzie will be with me - her first overseas trip!

Spring Break Rules!

Joshua, Papa, and I got to go to some fun spots during Spring Break! We rode the train from Rusk to Palestine, we visited Blue Bell, we played in San Antonio, and rode horses at Cowgirl Cheri's in Boerne, Texas. Oh, and best of all (it would be according to Josh), we got to go to Buc-ees and get lunch!! Whoo hoo!

I've Been Traveling but Too Busy to Blog!

I need to catch up everyone about my travels!

Joshua and I went to Colorado over Thanksgiving 2010 and drove over 600 miles to do all of our fun stuff!

First we went to Estes Park, where it snowed and we hunkered down at Rockmount Cabins, near where our family used to stay when we were kids. We drove into the Rocky Mountain National Park so Joshua could play in the snow at Bear Lake, and so his Meme could drive on her favorite road - Trail Ridge Road.

Well, long story short - Meme slipped on the ice at Bear Lake and burst her bahookus and thankfully, enjoyed the snowcapped views on Trail Ridge Road.

After Estes Park, Josh and I drove down to Southern Colorado to Canon City to go to the Royal Gorge and ride on train that Santa visited!!!

From Canon City, we drove back north to Colorado Springs to see Santa, yet again, at the North Pole. Man, it's changed since I was eight years old! :) LOL Josh had an absolute blast on the rides and some of them even I rode with him (I'm not saying it was a fabulous idea, but I rode with him).

Then we drove back to Denver and came home. Aaaah, the memories!

Fund For Teachers

Fund For Teachers is to be applauded for having such wonderful programs that avail teachers of the opportunity to go to wonderful places.

I intended a very long time ago to put this post here, and got caught up in the packing and sightseeing and never did it.

I am so very grateful to them for the opportunity that Sarah and I have had to take such a fantastic journey.

If you know of a teacher in the Houston area that would like to pitch a wonderful idea for learning, please have them see the Fund for Teachers website - you can Google their organization and get the most wonderful items.

Thank you, Fund for Teachers. I had an absolutely wonderful time in Greece. :)

Kindness Reigns Everywhere

I have found that my one saving grace this trip has been the use of kindness. It hasn't gotten me to the front of the line, and I have not received anything free, well, not technically. I have observed it is universal. I begin with a "Kali Spera" or a "Shalom" or a "Hello" and a smile and all is well. An Israeli taxi driver bought me an Armenian lemonade because I looked like I was burning. He and I had some wonderful discussions. I was finally able to ask how the Ultra-Orthodox Jews can wear coats, black head to toe, and a fur hat in 100 degree heat. He asked man once that very question and the Jew replied that they are "calm and cold in side like no one else" and that heat didn't even register to the Jews. We both don't understand that. The kindness of a Grecian taxi driver prompted me to call him again to come and take me to the airport the other day. You can never be too nice!

Searching for a Special Bible

I found a bookstore on the Internet called "Immanuel Bookstore" inside of Jaffa Gate in the old city.

For years now, I have desired a Hebrew to English Bible and this bookstore claimed to have it.

I had to rest at Jaffa Gate and then began to inquire as to where it could be.

I was directed to check by a site called Christ Church around the corner, and there it was!

The owner was a very learned gentleman and had the one Bible that I was searching for.

I purchased my new Bible for 200 shekels, which is about $33 dollars, and went back out into the heat, and back to the hotel.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre - The Holiest of Holies

Stops #11, 12, and 13 are here.

#11 - Jesus is nailed to the cross.
#12 - Jesus dies.
#13 - Jesus is taken down off the cross and prepared for burial.

After two wrong turns, I decided to follow a Spanish tour group. I could understand the tour guide, so that wasn't hard, but I'm glad I tagged along!

We went though a small Coptic Sanctuary for Coptic Monks and came out to the front of the church. What luck!

I have to admit, this church was intense and almost too much to take in. You are kind of stunned at first, and by degrees, the light comes upon you.

The first thing you see is a flat piece of stone with candles lit eternally over it. This is the place where Jesus' body was taken down off of the cross and lovingly prepared for burial. People bend over and touch the stone, and I did too. It's indescribable.

To the right of the door is Golgatha - "place of the skulls". The steep stairs almost did me in. Golgatha is the rock Jesus was crucified upon and is 20 feet higher than the floor of the church.

I was able to crawl into a space and reach my hand into a hole and touch the top of the rock where the cross was imbedded.

To the left inside the door, downstairs, is the site where supposedly Jesus was first buried in a "donated" tomb of Joseph of Arimethea. The line was huge! I'm not always claustrophobic, but that was too much. It was 100 degrees outside and worse within the church. There were over 10 tour groups there and so I just went to watching the people, watching the priests spread stinky incense everywhere, and taking pictures.

I would love to go again. It was a struggle, but an awesome and rewarding one.

"I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked..." - the Via Dolorosa

(pictures will follow, I promise) Stop #2 - the Via Dolorosa I got some quick directions and headed to the Via Dolorosa - or "Path of Sorrows" - one of the most important sites to Christians. It was ALL uphill and was a MILLION, JILLION stairs. I did a lot of resting. LOL It's also not easy to maneuver because it seriously is still just as tight, just as small as when Jesus was alive. No cars can even fit on the Via Dolorosa - I have a hard time imagining donkeys, camels, and such there. On the Via Dolorosa, there are 14 stops. Each stop has a Biblical significance that can be corroborated by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Here are the stops: #1 - Jesus is condemned at the place which is now called Madrasa el-Omariyya. #2 - Jesus takes up His cross after being beaten and crowned with thorns, and can be located at the Franciscan Monestary of the Flagellation. #3 - Jesus fell under the weight of the cross for the first time, and you see a chapel. #4 - Jesus meets Mary, his mother, on the road, and you can find this at the Armenian Church of Our Lady of the Spasm. #5 - Simon of Cyrene is ordered to help Jesus carry the cross here. #6 - Veronica wipes away Jesus' blood and sweat at this point. #7 - Jesus falls for the second time, and this can be found at a Roman column in a Franciscan Chapel. #8 - Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem that are crying over Him, and you find the Greek Orthodox Monastary. #9 - Jesus fell for the third time, and you will find an Ethiopian Monastery with a Roman column. #10 - Jesus is stripped of his clothes. The other 4 I will discuss later. As you walk, you totally get it - and take it from me - NO MOVIE has done that walk correctly. It is rugged, uphill, tight around the corners. In the movies, it is flat and on a slight incline. Wrong... all wrong. I think it was more incredible a thought that after being beaten, He could have carried anything at all. And if the cross was as large as the picture we have been painted, there's no way He could have made it easily. Another thought crossed my mind - there's no shade (and I have the burn to prove it). He would have been in full, burning sun the entire time. It's an incredible feeling to locate and follow that road. Numbers 11, 12, 13, and 14 happened at my next stop.

The Light at the End of the Border Crossing - Jerusalem!!

"Shalom."

My Israeli taxi driver put me at ease right away and became my first Middle Eastern tour guide. He was wonderful! He gave me the history of the border, showed me the Mount of Olives, and taught me how to say a little Hebrew, like the name of the street my hotel was on - Lehi - said "Lechi".

Thank you, Jamjam.

The hotel where I am is by a large Hebrew University north of the old city. It is the nicest and most accomodating hotel - the Regency Jerusalem. I hope to return one day!

I arrived at the hotel at 11:30 a.m., dropped my items in my room, and then caught a cab to Old Jerusalem - the "old city" - the "golden city".

Let me just say right here: I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF THE OLD CITY!!!

Stop #1:
I had my taxi driver drop me off at the Western Wall (or Wailing Wall). This is an open prayer area for anyone and you can write a prayer and stick it in the wall. Today, men were celebrating and the women were on chairs looking over into their area and clapping and chanting.

I approached the wall with my head covered, and put my prayer there and stood and watched for awhile. The energy was amazing. After praying, kissing on, and leaning on the wall, women and men walk backward until they are out of the area.

The reason for the title, "Wailing Wall" is because the wall used to just pour water out of its holes and it was a miracle to the Jews.... until some hoity-toity Scientists came along and discovered water under pressure beneath the surface that would shoot up through the pores of the rock. Still a miracle to me!

This is the sign that greets you out front:
Dear Visitors -
You are approaching the holy site of the Western Wall where the Divine Presence always rests. Please make sure you are appropriately and moderately dressed so not as to cause harm to this holy place or to the feelings of the worshippers. Sincerely, Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Site

Maybe we should have a sign like this for each of our churches! It certainly sets a tone.

When there are too many prayers at the wall, they sweep them up and take them out to the Mount of Olives - how comforting.

There are many other stops, so I'll post a new blog. :)

The Road Not Taken for a Reason

I am going to attempt to tell this as well as I can. My mind is still kind of jumbled over this morning's events - I'll get it put in place eventually, but my brain needs a rest.

Last night I finally finished being upset and then decided that the Jordanian hotel room was too gross to deal with. I slept in my clothes and used my inflatable air plane pillow. I woke up every hour. I slept with my glasses on. I couldn't wait to get out of there.

I was up and downstairs 30 minutes before the taxi driver was to arrive. As I checked out, he walked in the door. I jumped in the car and we were off. He didn't say a word - fine with me, Mr. Screw-Everything-Up.

We arrived at the Jordanian/Israeli border at 7:45 a.m. and I'm mad because if he had listened to me, making it last night would not have been a problem. C'est la vie.

I got out of that taxi, paid him and had to ask three armed soldiers where to go. They pointed to a dumpy building and I said, "Lord, I hope you are with me." And I went in. I guess being blonde-haired and blue-eyed in a Middle-Eastern country actually means I have "Help! I don't know where to go!" tatooed on my forehead. And that's exactly what I had on!

I went in and was told by Jordanian police to provide my passport, have my luggage scanned, and have a seat. I did it.

And I sat and sat and sat... time's a wastin'. Luckily an American from Colorado came in and I watched his luggage, and he watched over me and gave me fabulous advice along our journey through the border.

He instructed me to get up, get my luggage, and purchase passage aboard a transport bus. I was lucky enough to be joined by a guy from California and four friends hiking around from Canada - North American insulation is what God sends me and it was exactly what I needed when I was truly lost.

We went through 6 to 8 check points to get to Israel. I can't remember exactly how many - it was to check passports, scan luggage, scan the bus, force us out and check passports again. I'm not easily intimidated, but this one had me.

At ever check point... a motif ... machine guns - fingers on the trigger. Talk about "GULP!" - all Jordanian and Israeli soldiers are under 25 years old... police too.

At the last check point, we got off and got herded into a luggage and passport check point... final destination.

We got off, formed a line, and waited. Slowly we went through and slowly we were sorted. I noticed a pattern - blonde-haired, light skins to the left, Muslim in the center, and all others on the right.

The one thing the immigration officer wanted to know was if I was planning to go to Gaza. I said, "Oh, heavens NO!" She wanted my itinerary, stamped my passport and I was out.

Thank you, Lord. I had arrived.