Last Wednesday (February 10th) was a Volunteers' Day Out. I was on the breakfast shift but only worked until 9:30am. Thirteen of us piled into two vehicles for a day of vacation and seeing different scenery than the Christ Church compound!
Our first stop was a place called Mini Israel. Mini Israel is a miniature park located near the city of Latrun, in the Ayalon Valley. Opened in November, 2002, its motto is "See it all--small." Covering about 13 acres, the Mini Israel park is a permanent exhibition containing about 350 buildings/landmarks, 30,000 figures, animals, and 15,000 real miniature trees. The time, planning, and detail work that has gone into this is absolutely amazing!! Some volunteers had packed lunch for everybody, so by the time we got there, the general concensus was to sit and eat before taking off to explore. It was so different from an American experience--we walked in carrying our lunch bags and sat down to eat with no problems. Very few exhibition parks in the States would let you bring in your own food!
After lunch, we were given 2 1/2 hours to do our own thing. Being the structured person I am :-), I pulled out a map of the place and proceeded to start seeing the exhibitions in numerical order. Many of the places I recognized as I have been in the actual cities/buildings (Capernaum, Caesarea, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, Eilat, etc), but as a friend pointed out, it could have been depressing to see just how many cities/buildings/landmarks I haven't been to. There are so many!! I need to make a list of the various miniatures that caught my intrigue and see how many I can get to while I'm here volunteering.
I have uploaded some of my pictures from Mini Israel to the Flickr website: http://www.flickr.com/photos/47795290@N08/sets/
It was an extremely warm day for February (easily in the 70s). I didn't even think about the sunscreen (it's February for goodness' sake!!!), and I paid for it. I got a nasty sunburn on my face and neck. Lesson learned: it doesn't matter what month of the year it is, if it is sunny and we're going to be out in the sun, bring the sunscreen!
After Mini Israel, we went to Tel Aviv, and CMJ's property there: Beit Immanuel. It is also a guest house and home to a Messianic Jewish congregation. We climbed up and out onto the roof of the building. It was a beautiful view over Tel Aviv and Jaffa. The manager (Pedro) shared with us the absolutely fascinating history of the building. It was a relaxing visit. After we returned down to the ground floor, a couple of the volunteers found a guitar and harmonica and put on a spontaneous concert.
Looking west over the Tel Aviv skyline from Beit Immanuel. That is the Mediterranean Sea in the background.
A church steeple near Beit Immanuel.(More of Tel Aviv in the background)
From the rooftop of Beit Immanuel--the afternoon sun over Jaffa.
On the roof of Beit Immanuel . . .The sky and the sea were so beautiful! And, I have a not so nice sunburn . . .
Before dinner at a beachfront restaurant, we walked around old Jaffa (also known as Joppa--the port from which Jonah sailed when he fled from the Lord). I had been here in 2008 with Uncle Kenny as guide, and it was fun to return to a familiar location. As we walked, the sun set over the Mediterranean Sea. It was a beautiful and pleasant evening.
The Mediterranean Sea and setting sun at Jaffa--absolutely beautiful!
The beautiful evening sky over Jaffa. We got out of the cars and walked across to watch and listen to the waves of the Mediterranean Sea. Nothing replaces the rhythmic sound of the waves or the salty sea breeze.
The ever changing weather of February in Israel . . . I had worn a light, long-sleeved sweater, and at Mini Israel in the afternoon sun, rolled the sleeves up. We were all quite warm there! As the sun went down, the temperature got much cooler. At dinner, we were actually asking the restaurant staff for blankets (and got some!).
I took this same picture in 2008 in the afternoon. Here is the Tel Aviv coastline (taken from Jaffa) again, only this time it is 2010 and dusk.
Jaffa is the home of Simon the Tanner where Peter had a vision of a sheet with animals in it. This is Jaffa at dusk--the lighted tower is the bell tower of St. Peter's.
After walking around Jaffa for an hour or so, we headed down the beach for dinner. Our table was outside and illuminated by strings of light. Quite a few of us had a hamburger and french fries (or chips, as they seem to be called here). :-) I'm not adventurous when it comes to trying new things at restaurants, so a hamburger with cheese was fine with me. The other thing I considered was sweet potato ravioli, but a hamburger sounded better that night. :-)
After dinner, while some had their evening coffee, another volunteer and I walked down to the beach. It was so peaceful in the dark. The white caps reflected the lights of the beachfront shops, and there was something enchanting and alluring to listen to the waves roll in in the dark. I have never lived by the sea, but I absolutely love the sight, sound, and smell of the water. I don't know if all seas are as beautiful as the Mediterranean, but the colors are so deep and varied. I picked up a couple shells to take back with me as souvenirs of our beach walk in the dark. We had been so cold at dinner, but the walk along the beach actually warmed Yehudith and I up! We were trying to guess the temperature of the water. We thought it might be cold and were trying to get our hands in the waves without getting wet! When we finally succeeded, I was pleasantly surprised--the water was not near as cold as I expected. I wouldn't have wanted to go swimming that night, but it was quite a pleasant temperature. As I was thinking about this, one wave came up further than the previous waves, and I didn't notice and move fast enough. I ended up with a soaking wet shoe and sock! But, it was a small price to pay. This walk along the beach is one of my favorite memories from that day.
We did not get back to the guest house until after 11pm, good thing I had a day off the next day! Overall, it was a very enjoyable day and well worth the late night.
St. Peter's in Jaffa is lit up along the Mediterranean coast, I attempted this picture while walking along the beach after dinner. It actually turned out decently well! Too bad, I can't put sound with it. :-)
Today was also a day off, and I was able to walk around Jerusalem for a couple hours with one of the volunteers here who has done some guiding himself. We had lunch and then he took me through the streets of Jerusalem to a beautiful rooftop view of the city. My request had been to walk up the Mount of Olives, so that is where we headed next. We walked through the Jewish Quarter, out Dung Gate, and down to the floor of the Kidron Valley. I have seen the Kidron Valley before many times and driven along it, but I have never actually been down to the valley floor, so that was a new thing.
We then began our climb up the Mount of Olives. I'm guessing the ascent is not quite a half-mile, and it is a steep climb. I knew it would be, but I also knew it would be well worth the effort. And it was! It can be easy to get wound up in all the drama of where I volunteer, and it was quite refreshing to go for a nice long walk and remember where I am. I am in the city of Jerusalem, a city which I absolutely love, a city which feels more like home to me than anywhere else. The panoramic view was as breathtaking as always, and I am so grateful I had the opportunity to take it in today. The trek to this view is not something that's completely safe for me to make by myself, so I am also grateful for John's willingness to take time off and walk with me.
After spending a bit of time at the top talking about the view and points of interest, John asked where I would like to go next. I didn't really have a plan after this hike up, so I let him choose. Since it was Saturday, the churches and Jewish sites are closed, but there were still options. We walked back down to the Kidron Valley, back up to Jerusalem's Old City, in the Dung Gate, out the Zion Gate, and around Mount Zion. Again, he took me places I hadn't been before, and I had an enjoyable time following his lead and seeing these new buildings and lookouts over the city of Jerusalem.
We were gone not quite two hours but covered a lot of ground. I wouldn't say we walked quickly but we didn't lollygag around either. I would guess we maybe walked 5 miles, and little of it on level ground. I so enjoyed the time around Jerusalem--it was a great day off!!
So now, it is close to 10:00pm and I have the early breakfast shift tomorrow morning. The alarm will be going off at 5:30am--not that long from now! This post has gotten quite long, but I hope it is enjoyable and gives you all a good glimpse of some pleasurable excursions I've had lately!
