YL Zababdeh Camp

First day of YL camp!

So we have been at camp for 3 days now. We have all been given responsibilities and jobs to do. Hannah and Rachel have been leading music at club, Bethany is our Sound Tech, Tracie and I have been leading worship and devos at the leaders meetings as well as some head leader stuff, and Randy has been doing a little bit of everything, including staying up until the wee hours of the morning helping to get kids back to their cabins! It has been very fun but also challenging as we do not speak their language so it can be hard to communicate. But the kids and leaders have all been pretty gracious about things! 

Praying before kids arrive at camp...

Getting ready to welcome kids!

Kids coming into camp off the buses!

Camp tour with Program team

Tour of the pool and watching selected kids and leaders dive in or go down the water slides. It was so hot they should have just let the kids jump in with their clothes!

Kids waiting to go into the club room. A leader started playing a drum and they all started singing arabic songs and jumping and dancing. Lots of energy that was contagious and fun to watch. They are so excited to be here! This is the only thing all summer that these kids will get to do away from their town. It is a huge deal for them

Prepping for club...

Singing at Club

Girls pull apart guys at club. So fun but soooo hot in that room afterwards! 

 Giving the club talk

Scary rickety bridge we had to cross every day to go to the upper room for the leaders meetings every morning.

night swim pool party with glow sticks. A bunch of us hid in the slide above the pool and threw glow sticks in...

 Yesterday during free time we drove about 5 minutes over to the Herodium. It is a truncated cone-shaped hill, located 7.5 miles south of Jerusalem and 3.1 miles southeast of Bethlehem, in the Judean desert (the West Bank). Herod the Great built a fortress, a palace, and a small town in Herodium, between 23 and 15 BCE, and is believed to have been buried there. Herodium is 2,487 ft above sea level the highest peak in the Judean desert.

 Archaeologists believe that the palace was built by slaves, paid workers (contractors), and architects. Herod was considered one of the greatest builders of his time—his palace was built on the edge of the desert and was situated atop an artificial hill, geography did not daunt him. The largest of the four towers was built on a stone base 18 meters in diameter. This was most likely where Herod lived; he decorated his rooms with mosaic floors and elaborate frescoes. The other three towers, which consisted of living spaces and storage, were 16 meters in diameter. Outside, several cisterns were built to collect water that was channeled into the palace.

 Herodium was conquered and destroyed by the Romans in 71 CE. At the beginning of the Bar Kokhba Revolt sixty years later, Simon Bar Kokhba declared Herodium as his secondary headquarters. Archaeological evidence for the revolt was found all over the site, from the outside buildings to the water system under the mountain. Inside the water system, supporting walls built by the rebels were discovered, and another system of caves was found. Inside one of the caves, burned wood was found which was dated to the time of the revolt.

We are Super heroes plotting our next move...

This was the response when Beth asked them to express their true emotions. It was over 100 degrees with no shade.

For some reason this website randomly edits my pictures by taking all of our freckles out. We are offended, freckles are cute!

View of Jerusalem and surrounding land from the top of the Herodium.

Camp has been amazing. It is so fun to see the leaders interacting with their kids and doing the same kinds of things that we do with our kids in the states... getting them to go to bed at a decent hour, asking them to sit down and be quiet at club, shooting them with Super Soakers at the pool, girls not wanting their picture taken until they can adjust their clothing and hair. Our cultures are so different, but teenagers are pretty much the same all over the world. We have an amazing opportunity here to teach and serve, as well as see God work in the lives of youth. The message is the same and it is being heard all over the world thanks to obedient leaders and staff answering God's call. So thrilling to be a part of and also to recognize that we aren't an island in Billings, MT and neither are they an island in Bethlehem, Palestine. YL has created an amazing family network that reaches past any color or race or divisions. It is the love and acceptance that can only come from Jesus, the author of it all.
So very grateful for the blessings that God provides through the avenue of YL.

37 The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: "Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” 10 I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

11 Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, "Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. 14 I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act,” says the Lord.

Caesarea Maritima

 Today is Sunday, and we went to church with our friends here. It was a christian church and filled with many lovely arab christians very heartfelt in their worship. It was beautiful to watch. They had given us devices that we could put in our ears to translate the message, which we didn't end up needing as there was a guest speaker from the UK visiting. I really enjoyed it and it was so meaningful to see people across the world from from where I live, worshiping and praising Jesus in the same way that we do in Montana. Very moving. Afterwards we enjoyed the most delicious baklava I have ever tasted. Sooo good. We then drove to a nearby town called Afula and had burgers at BBB (Burgus Burger Bar). It was very nice to eat something somewhat American. Then we took a road trip to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea to the city of Caesarea Maritima. We looked at the ruins and spent some time swimming and hanging out at the beach. It was a beautiful relaxing day!

 

 During the Persian rule (586-332 BC), the Phoenicians built a settlement on the shoreline of one of the bays, where the ground water level was high. The village flourished in the Hellenistic Period (332-37 BC) and is first mentioned in a document from 259 BC under the name of Straton's Tower.

 In 103 BC, the village and Straton's Tower was conquered by the Hasmonean kingdom and then torn away from in after the Roman conquest. In the year 30 BC, the village was awarded to Herod, who ruled between the years 37-4 BC. He built a large port city at the site, and called it Caesarea in honor of his patron Octavian Augustus Caesar. Caesarea was a planned city, with a network of crisscrossing roads, a temple, theater, amphitheater, markets and residential areas. It took 12 years to build and great festivities were held to mark its completion in 10/9 BC. By the year 6 BC it became the headquarters of the Roman government in Palestine. After the fall of Jerusalem, Ceaserea became the most important city in the country.

Overview of the Ampitheater, a huge U-shaped structure, used for horse racing, sporting events and entertainment.

All that is left of Herod's giant pool that was attached to his lavish palace.

 During the Byzantine period, the city flourished, and extended over some 400 acres. Towards the end of the 6th century a perimeter wall was built, making Caesarea the largest fortified city in the country.

 Following the Arab conquest in 640 AD, Caesarea lost its political and economic significance. Most of its citizens left the city, and it became a small forsaken village. Only in the 9th century, with the development of sea-trade and recovery fo the coastal cities, was Caesarea refortified. It was conquered by the Crusaders in 1101 AD.

Here you can see the stands on the right. The stands on the left are now in the sea.

 In 1265 it was conquered again by the Mamelukes and was destroyed and deserted. Its ruins became a source of lime and building stones for the region. It remained desolate until the late 19th century, when the Ottoman authorities settled Bosnian refugees there. Today it is a thriving tourist attraction with many shops and restaurants and a nearby Jewish settlement.

Possible holding cells for Gladiators or animals for the arena

They say it seated 5000 people

This would have been the path taken by competitors as they were being announced

Loving the warm salty air. Beth snuck this picture of me

Entering the most ancient of all theaters found in Israel. It continued to be used for hundreds of years after Herod had it built. It could accommodate 4000 spectators. They were getting ready for a concert they were hosting the next day. Can you imagine sitting in this theater watching a band play in the same seat of a Roman 2000 some years ago? Incredible.

 Since Caesarea had no rivers or springs, drinking water for the Roman and Byzantine city was brought via a water carrier (aqueduct). The Aqueduct was consisted of three canals, and in low lying areas, sections of the aqueduct were carried on arches.

The beach was a relaxing time for all of us. We love the beach and the water was so warm it was unexpected! It was nice to take a breather and just be together. The next few days we are just hanging out at the house and resting up before we travel back to Bethlehem for the camp we will be helping out at.

Hannah and our friend's daughter Haley

Searching for shells

playing in the beach sand

God has been so gracious to us while we have been here. The girls have struggled with the different foods and time zones, as well as the language difficulties. They really miss home, miss their friends and significant others, and they miss the American culture. But they would also say that they have learned so much here and that God has been changing each of their hearts in significant ways. We all have been changed. The bible is completely different to me now. It is even more alive and active. I can visualize each scene now and it becomes 3-D. Seeing other cultures and nationalities and countries and learning about their beliefs in God and how they worship has changed many preconceived ideas and notions. I think sometimes we get so caught up in our little bubbles that we don't realize that people all over the world are struggling... are praying... are raising families and just trying to have a home and food on the table. That they are crying out to the Lord for mercy, for strength, for justice, for hope, for peace... just like us.

"For God so loved the World, that He gave his only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16  

Jesus came for all of us. Our brothers in sisters in every country near and far. Praise be to God.