Dead Sea

We've just returned from our first little get away.  Wow - we way over did it!  Tried packing as much in as Scott does on his trips - lesson learned.  Next trip we wont bite off quite so much.

I picked up a rental car on Friday before Shabbat, when everything shuts down.  Scott returned home from a day trip later and brought 2 friends home from school to share our Friday night Shabbat dinner with us.  Our very own Ben Blevins and new friend Josh, Youth Pastor from CO.  Apparently food isn't so good at JUC so they were happy for a "home" cooked meal.  Fun to laugh with friends!

Next am we got up early and headed out of Jerusalem, driving east towards the Dead Sea.  It is amazing how the geography changes so rapidly here.  You leave lush, green Jerusalem and enter the desert within minutes.  Then in no time you are looking at a huge blue, beautiful-looking body of water with Jordan dimly outlined along the horizon.

Our first stop was Masada.  Huge historical landmark.  Built be Herod around 37 BCE, it is a fortress on top of a mountain.  It included palaces, storerooms, cisterns and pools.  Pools to swim in, in the middle of the desert, on top of a mountain - think on that for a minute.  Then of course, it was a Jewish stronghold against Roman forces in 74 CE when Jewish families took their own lives instead of surrendering to the approaching Roman army.  So much history for a mountain in the middle of the desert.

Next stop a national park called En Gedi.  The kids knew they had some work to do before getting to the reward.  Hot again and hiking up steps cut out of rock, we ascended upwards.  When the kids came around a corner and first spotted a small pool of water they were estatic and ready to jump in.  But Scott pushed them onward, saying "There's something even better."  We came across a second and third pool of water - each time wanting to stop and swim, but Scott continued.  Finally, we came to our destination.  An incredible waterfall and a huge swimming hole!  The kids learned about perseverance that day.  Also about trusting their earthly father  - that the path may look tough and they might want to quit or settle early, but that's he has been where they are going, knows things they don't and wants the best for them!  Good lesson about God's hopes for us too.

So we dove into the freezing water!  Anyone that  has been on a Study Tour will recall how shockingly wonderful the cold water feels in the middle of an apparent desert.  The kids played and laughed and forgot all about the heat and hike.

Would you believe we went to the Dead Sea next?!  Across from En Gedi we found a public beach and made our way down.  When you are at the Dead Sea, you are at the lowest elevation on earth, 200 feet below sea level.  The water is thick and oily feeling.

Three of the seven of us bailed within a few minutes  Poor Kylen's skin reacted violently.  He started screaming "stop it" and plucking at his clothes like something was biting him.  He rashed up everywhere.  Ethan hung in there longer before getting some water in the eye.  Emily lasted all of a minute.  If you have you have a cut, burn or rash anywhere, the salt begins to do its job and it BURNS!  So sweet baby girl ran off screaming too!  Laughing now : )


So Scott was all too happy to get out and wash off little ones while Emma, Ryan and I played and laughed awhile.  It was burning us too, but you decide to deal with it just to experience the sensation of not being able to swim and to float without any effort.

Finally, washed off and made our way to a young city of Arad.  Spent the night in a quasi-bed and breakfast, less the breakfast part.  Very simple home with leased out rooms.  Kids enjoyed it because it had an above-ground pool to splash around in.  They wanted to stay there the rest of the summer just for the pool I think.

Whew!  Good to be back "home" again.