Israel At Last!

We made it! Yeah- we all feel so good to be here. Better food, better accomodations and a lighter feel all the way around. We have a new appreciation for why God brought the Israelites out of Egypt! The scenery there was beautiful, but it is a very dirty, dusty, grimy place. So much air pollution that you couldn't completely see the sun set at night. We all laughed at dinner tonight that at our Egyptian hotel, they were rotating the meat around as and presenting it as a new dish - we were all sustaining ourselves with hard-boiled eggs, rice and bread.
Communication will be much easier now too. In Egypt the entire group had to share one computer placed in a smokey, urine-smelling lobby. So we would all just take turns checking emails from home.

So what are we doing each day?! Laughing a lot, learning a bunch and hiking everywhere. There are about 22 pl. in the audience group and another group of 25 make up the film crew. They are incredible- they have been carrying gear everywhere we hike! Only once on Jebul Catrina did they have help from camels. We get to a teaching spot, lay out where RVL will teach from and where we will stand, they set up their cameras then we re-hike in. They film the teaching and film us hiking out. Then we have to repeat the walk ins and outs a few times for different camera angles, etc. There are always 3 camera's going. 2on RVL and one catching our reactions. It's difficult sometimes to keep engaged when there is a camera right in your face. The team is incredibly gifted. They sense who is moved when and they are on it! It's fun to watch it all.

The main teaching theme of the trip is about how God is telling a story. He started it with Adam & Eve and it has continued throughout history and includes us today. Same story just different characters. If you remember our Isreal trip 2 years ago, we studied Herod quite a bit and how his "kingdom" juxtaposed Jesus's kingdom. We see that same theme in Pharoah. The world keeps trying to sell us the "anti-kingdom" (power and might are what's important) versus God's kingdom of love, mercy and compassion. It has been fascinating to see what the Israelites picked up from the Egyptian culture and how God is so patient and loving as He tried to re-teach them and as He tries to re-teach us today.

I'll write more tomorrow. We have the best community ever and we love you all!
Cathi & Scott