The day started at 6:30 with a heart-racing run on Israeli hills...and I say heart-racing because I was running with cross-country girls. I'm trying to work my way up to 8 miles by the end of the semester.
After Land in the Bible class, we had a gourmet Mediterranean lunch...so much food I got three plates! In my humble opinion, the food here in Israel is incredible! I've had hummus two meals every day and still going strong...I can't figure out what it is that they put it in to make it so deliciously creamy!
After all that food, me & my "stuffed" girlfriends hiked for an hour & a half. Where else do you get the opportunity to spend 90 minutes of your afternoon walking and talking? I have never had this much free time.
Which brings me to my next point...free time is a double-edged sword.
I was reading A Disciple's Renewal in my [cherished] Valley of Vision,
"help me.
i am so slow to learn, so prone to forget, so weak to climb.
i am in the foothills when i should be on the heights;
i am pained by my graceless heart, my prayerless days, my poverty of love, my sloth in the heavenly race, my sullied conscience, my wasted hours, my unspent opportunities."
So my free time can be a means to greater wisdom [through prayer & reading] or a venue for feeding useless hobbies. Please pray that I use my time here wisely!
But to finish my Friday: we had our first chapel tonight at 8. Not having chapel three times a week has been weird & I definitely miss Masters in that way. There is no other place in the world [besides the church] where a group of people congegrate to join voices in unified chorus. For me, singing to the Lord is one of the most joyful things I can do on earth. We also heard a message from Meno Kalisher, the pastor of Jerusalem Assembly church in Jerusalem. He told us of the persecution their church has encountered from the Jews and how they were unable to find a building to meet in because the Jews would boycott whatever business would give them building space. It is interesting to see how Jerusalem is so religiously divided, & encouraging to know that one day every knee will bow to Jesus Christ & there will be a new Jerusalem [Revelation 21].
Sidenote: check out Meno's church here www.jerusalemassembly.com
Not only can you see where I will be every Saturday, but you can listen to his messages! If you've ever seen the Pink Panther movies, his accent is the real version of Steve Martin's voice...it's awesome. & to top it off, he's extremely witty.
Still can't believe I'm here.
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