On Jordan's "stormy" banks I stood

A long Explanation of a short matter like a true Bullock:

    A few days ago, Saturday morning to be exact, I woke up at 4:30am in order to accomplish my various morning activities in time to catch our bus to Jordan, which was leaving at 6:00am. Getting up around that time wouldn't have been a problem had it not been a Saturday morning and had my roomate not suggested at 10:30 the night before that we watch a movie - since I am utterly incapable of resisting his wiles. A two hour bus ride got us to the Israel-Jordan border just as the border crossing opened at 8:00, where we spent the next three hours. Here's the way the border crossings here work: they soldiers at the crossing have to make sure that you are not up to anything dangerous, so they keep you there for about an hour before sending you across the no man's land in a bus to the other country's border crossing to hang out there for another couple of hours until they decide that you're not a threat to either country, stamp your passport, and let you into the country without ever having checked or scanned your bags in any way - I guess that part wasn't important for them to establish that we weren't dangerous : )

    We spent a considerable amount of time in Jordan make believing we were tourists rather than students by checking out all the popular sites throughout Jordan's limited archaelogical network. On all our previous field studies we end up spending the vast majority of our time hanging out in the middle of nowhere at a hill that perhaps a dozen people in Israel know has historical significance, but to us is of grave importance. Jordan was more like a theme park. We had a blast running around the country - rather riding in a bus hoping we weren't about to become a statistic about what happens when everyone drives on whatever side of the road suits them best at the moment in the thick fog.

    Some of the Biblically significan sites we visited were Succoth, Ramoth-gilead, the Jabbok River, and Bozra. The city/town of Succoth is important for the story of Gideon. Get this: after he narrowed down his "army" to 300 men to fight the Midianites and then driving them out of the country up by Mount Moreh using his surrounding them in the middle of the night and scaring them into killing each other technique, then he and his men - still 300 - proceeded to chase the Midianites down the Jordan Valley, across the Jordan River, and into the mountains on the other side of the Valley. Here's the thing though, they weren't just chasing a few guys into the hills, they were trying to kill the two Midianite "kings" and their 15,000 men! There's some odds for you: 15,000 to 300. Well, they come to Succoth, which in on the road leading into the "hill country" where the Midianites were retreating, and Gideon's men are utterly exhausted and expecting to have to fight this massive army soon so they ask the men of Succoth for some bread and water to try to regain their strength, but the men of the city are too terrified of the retrobution they expect to come from the Midianites, so they send Gideon and his men on their way with nothing - not a drop of water! Well, God uses Gideon to destroy the Midianite army a few days later, so when Gideon comes back through Succoth he "took the elders of the city, and he took thorns of the wilderness and biers and with them taught the men of Succoth a lesson."

    I've already written more than I'm sure anyone has the attention span for, though I would love to write a few dozen more pages about the trip, so I'll just add a bit more with the pictures : )

Pictures:

This is the view we had the first day looking into the Sea of Galilee from Jordan

Ben and myself chillin on the largest canyon in Jordan. This is the historical border between Moab and Ammon, which makes sense because it's basically flat plains on either side until the ground drops out below you in the form of impassible cliffs with a small river along the bottom.

This was awesome! These men are former Arab Legion soldiers. They played the bagpipes, which those of us who have Scottish blood agreed must have been a source of strength in their battles, right Gerad?

"Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" well, we aren't at Ephesus, but we are chillin on the steps of Artemis' temple. Once again with my roomate.

Ben, standing on an ancient column. That type of thing has become common place to us now : )

Petra: like Indiana Jones

The view from the mountains around Petra was awesome!!! - Almost as good as the North Carolina mountains.... almost

Camel riding through Petra with my friends, Ben and Becky!!!!

And of course I am riding a camel as well....

and thanking him for the ride with a kiss - it's the culture here, what can i say?

his owner gave him a kiss too, just so he wouldn't be left out. we had a great talk, he and i. he lives at Petra in the caves with his family, though he's not yet married. In fact he offered to buy my "sister" Jess from me for a few camels. I tried to get 30 camels for he, but he couldn't afford her. oh well, they would have been hard to get on the plane anyways

Our final stop on the Jordan trip was at Mount Nebo - or at least what they think is Mount Nebo - where Moses looked into the promise land before God took him home. What an incredible privilege to be able to stand where Moses looked into the land and then was taken into the true promise land!! I confess, i teared up a bit...

well, i've worn out my welcome in expecting you to read so much in contentment. I hope it wasn't too much of a bore : )

ps- i love you grandma - and i'm doing just fine, despite what you may hear on the news

on another side note, i finished two books this week: Pride and Prejudice, and A Double Story - They were happy times.