6 - Day 3 Highlights

St. Peter’s Church:
We entered our first deliberately Christian space this morning, the Roman Catholic St. Peter’s Church in Jafo. Standing at the edge of the beautiful port-town cliff, St. Peter’s provides a sanctuary from the heat and a snap shot of early church history. We were told that this cliff had been the site at which God revealed to the Apostle Peter that followers of Christ were no longer bound by the Kosher laws. It should have come as no surprise to me that as the disciples of Christ traveled across the region church-planting in the year’s after Christ’s time on earth, that they would have visited cities like Jafo. And yet, after two days of experiencing Jewish history, I was pleasantly and quickly reminded that so much of our time in Israel will inform my understanding of the New Testament of the Bible as well.

Market Yemeni lunch:
Hummus, hummus, and hummus. Fresh pita, eggplant prepared four ways, salsas, chick peas (Hebrew word: whole hummus), beans, mushrooms, etc. All from a back alley street shop near the largest Tel Aviv market. And as for the market, we could have been in India for all of the spices, and we could have been in Italy for all of the olives. Smells, sights … what a sensual experience!

Natanya:
It is really nice to have family in Israel! We visited Puppy’s nephew Philip and his wife Judy at their lovely apartment with a divine cross-breeze. Atop a cliff and overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, we took full advantage of the opportunity to swim after a long day of touring. The Mediterranean water is crystal clear, and the most pleasant temperature. We had great waves to ride, and the sand in Natanya is nearly as soft as flour. For some reason, I found it took much more energy for me to float than it did yesterday in the Dead Sea J.

Laughing about being a tourist:
Aside from wanting to call Israeli hero’s the same name as Harry Potter characters, which I promise has only been happening in my head, I do find that some of the reflexes of being a tourist are hysterical. For instance, I know that I do not speak the language, and have a very limited vocabulary through which I can express myself, but we have been finding that sometimes we forget which language we need to speak! For instance, I nearly thanked a waiter yesterday by saying “speciba” … yup, that’s Russian. And today, to a French boy who said good-bye to our group going up the elevator, I replied with the Italian “ciao.” For the most part, language has not been a barrier here … English, while not an official language, is incredibly prevalent. But I do enjoy using the few Hebrew courtesy words I have learned, as they help me feel more connected to this land, and I also enjoy the smiles and chuckles that we receive in response to our heartfelt effort.