Lessons from the Sinai

Hi family & friends! Forgive us for not posting more regularly. Internet service in Egypt is spotty at best and when we pull up the home page, everything is in arabic. They read from right to left, so just figuring out how to do this is a job.

Tonight is the last night we'll be able to write for awhile. The next 3 nights we'll be at the base of the probable mt. sinai. after that into israel.

Yes, Scott & I finally received our luggage! God used the experience to give us a jump start on lessons you learn in the desert - need for community, enjoying God's daily provision and not worrying about tomorrow, dependance on otherss . . . I could go on. I guess God thought Scott & I need a little extra help with these lessons!

Acacia trees are everywhere - providing just enough shade. Turns out more mature Acacia's also sometimes have thorns and actually are said to bleed. Sap comes out of bruised spots on the tree and falls onto rocks below - looks like drops of blood. Similar to how our groups are shade-giving, but also hard & painful sometimes.

We drove in open-top jeeps through the desert today. Scott was "whoo - hooing" all the way while I held on like grim death - but with a smile on my face : ) tons of fun and what a crazy gift.
RVL is doing some amazing teaching - Praying daily that the film captures his insights in the same powerful way we are experiencing them.

We love you all and are thinking about you often. Our Acacia family esp. today.
We love you all - thank you for continuing to pray for all of us & the kiddos. Reports are they are doing great.

Shema,
Cathi & Scott
p.s. Missing your feet in front of me today Brooke!

On-LIne in Egypt!

Pharaoh was at the center of a system of faith. A system focused on the afterlife. Each of the Pyramids was built for one Pharaoh. As soon as they would die, they would be mummified and placed in their tomb. Immediately work would begin on the next Pharoahs tomb. The workers worked with the promise that Pharoah's afterlife would effect their own.

Bearly Made the Plane

Hi! After a few delays, we managed to catch our flight - just by minutes - over the ocean to Jordan. We leave here shortly and arrive in Cairo. To bed before starting at museum tomorrow along with pyramids and the sphinx then onto Luxor tomorrow night. Love you all - we slept well during flight and are just fine. xoxoxox Cathi

Prayer Itinerary

We're off again!

This a prayer itinerary. Each day has a lesson listed and the main Bible passages to be taught.


EGYPT, ISRAEL, JORDAN FILMING TOUR
March 21 – April 12, 2008

Film Crew

Thursday MAR 20 lv Grooters Prod. Charter Bus 4:45p ar Chicago O’Hare 7:00p
lv Chicago O’Hare Royal Jordanan 264 10:10p
Friday MAR 21 ar Amman 5:45p lv Amman Royal Jordanian 507 7:45p ar Cairo 9:15p
Transfer


Saturday MAR 22 Dinner & Overnight Fairmont Heliopolis Hotel – Cairo

Pyramids and background material


Sunday MAR 23 Dinner & Overnight Fairmont Heliopolis Hotel – Cairo

Pyramids, museum and background.


Monday MAR 24 Dinner & Overnight Pyramisa Isis Hotel – Luxor

Background to Moses and Pharaoh


Tuesday MAR 25 Dinner & Overnight Pyramisa Isis Hotel – Luxor

Background to Ten Plagues


Wednesday MAR 26 Dinner & Overnight Pyramisa Isis Hotel – Luxor

Joseph and Israel in Egypt
Audience Arrives, Actual Lessons Begin
Genesis 37 – Exodus 2


Thursday MAR 27 Dinner & Overnight Pyramisa Isis Hotel – Luxor

Ten Plagues and Passover
Exodus 1-12


Friday MAR 28 lv Luxor Egypt Air 135 7:40a ar Aswan 8:20a
lv Aswan Egypt Air 149 10:50a ar Abu Simbel 11:35a
Dinner & Overnight Seti First Hotel – Abu Simbel

Final Plagues
Exodus 11-12


Saturday MAR 29 lv Abu Simbel Egypt Air 246 7:45a ar Aswan 8:30a
lv Aswan Egypt Air 146 10:30a ar Cairo 12:00n
Dinner & Overnight Royal Beach Hotel – Ras Sedr

Crossing Red Sea
Exodus 13-15


Sunday MAR 30 Dinner & Overnight Royal Beach Hotel – Ras Sedr

Crossing Red Sea, First Test
Exodus 13-15


Monday MAR 31 Dinner & Overnight Royal Beach Hotel – Ras Sedr

Second and Third Tests
Amalekites
Exodus 16-19

Tuesday APR 01 Dinner on site
Overnight Morgenland Village – St. Catherine’s

Set up Sinai Story
Desert Lessons
Exodus 19; Psalm 23, 42; 62,73, 78


Wednesday APR 02 Dinner & Overnight Morgan Land Village – St. Catherine’s

Desert Lessons
Same passages as Tuesday


Thursday APR 03 Dinner & Overnight Morgen Land Village – St. Catherine’s

Exodus 19-34
Set up Ten Commandments Lesson


Friday APR 04 Dinner & Overnight Morgen Land Village – St. Catherine’s

Exodus 19-34
Ten Commandments


Saturday APR 05 Taba Border Crossing
Dinner & Overnight Crown Plaza Hotel – Eilat

Numbers 19-20
Moses Strikes the Rock




Sunday APR 06 Dinner & Overnight Moria Classic Resort – Dead Sea

Tabernacle
Exodus 24-40


Monday APR 07 Dinner & Overnight Moria Classic Resort – Dead Sea

Jesus our Desert, Temptation
Matthew 3-4; Mark 1; Luke 3-4
John 1


Tuesday APR 08 Dinner & Overnight Dan Gardens Hotel – Jerusalem

John the Baptist
Matthew 3,4,11
John 1,7
Luke 3-4
Mark 1


Wednesday APR 09 Dinner & Overnight Dan Gardens Hotel – Jerusalem

The Gans (gardens)
Isaiah 5; 58; Matthew 21


Thursday APR 10 Dinner on site
Overnight Dan Gardens Hotel – Jerusalem

Gethsemane
Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 13-18


Friday APR 11 Sheikh Hussein border crossing
Dinner – Amman Restaurant
Overnight SAS Radisson Hotel – Amman

John the Baptist Final
Matthew 11,14; John 7


Saturday APR 12 lv Amman Royal Jordanian 263 11:00a ar Chicago O’Hare 4:25p
lv Chicago O’Hare Charter Bus 5:30p ar GTI Tours 9:45p

Resurrection Sunday Eve

The Following Post will include an itinerary of where we are headed and the instructions we have been given. (Don't worry, I have only copied and pasted it into the blog)

Cathi and I deeply appreciate your prayers. During the Passover Feast there was a poignant moment for the two of us. It came when we dipped the matzo in the bitter herb again, and then put the sweet apple mixture on top of it. It was to remind us that often in our lives bitter is mixed with sweet.

That is how I feel this afternoon as we pack and plan to leave. Tomorrow we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus with all of you and then we head to Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. We will be gone twenty-one days. Away from our kids, family, and community. We will not be a part of our everyday life for almost a month and we will miss it terribly. At the same time we will experience adventures like traveling in open air jeeps accross the desert to get to the monastery at the foot on Mt. Sanai.

Our hope is to somehow take you with us...

Shema,
Scott and Cathi