Middle East Memoirs: Day 4

Date: Sunday, April 3
Location: Mt. Sinai, Paradise, and the Red Sea
Temperature: Mildly hot with a cool breeze
Excitement Level: *****
New Discoveries: Eau de Camel clings to Under Armour like glue.

Good Morning, Mt. Sinai!!! Can I please have the feeling in the toes and fingers back? Please? Me so cold. And me so stinky. But me no care. Because I brought my trusty Dove deodorant along with me and wasted no time in masking the Eau de Camel smell with the refreshing smell of butterflies and hope. Little did I know just how much of the remainder of our trip would be affected by a simple wave of the hand under the arms. Stay tuned for days six and seven.

Morning has broken on the mountain. Megs and I were actually awake at approximately 4:00 a.m. to visit yet another bathroom cut by the hand of God. I will spare you the details, but just know that bathrooms cut by the hand of God are NOT all they're cracked up to be. Pun intended. Especially at 4:00 in the morning when it's dark. And cold. And sleeping camels resemble large rocks. But we made it back to our sleeping quarters with dry clothes and managed to catch a few more zzzzz's before being forced out of our cocoon to enjoy a bedouin breakfast prior to the remaining 15 minute hike up to the peak.

And here's our sleeping beauty.

I have a great shot of the two of us completely comatose, however, it's on Jeff's camera, so you will just need to wait for that precious moment later.

Breakfast...




"Uh, so how did you sleep, dude?"

"Oh, me? Like a rock. You?"

"Oh, I was passed out before dinner. Carrying two backpacks up 8500 feet is exhausting!"

"Tell me about it. I carried three."

Boys. Can't climb with 'em, can't climb without 'em.

Speaking of climbing, let's get this remaining 15 minute jaunt to the peak out of the way, shall we?

The top!

Worth
Every
Step.



Climbing Mt. Sinai was the most physically demanding thing I've ever done in my life. When we reached the top, George, our Rabbi, asked us, "How many of you think that you got here by your own strength and power?" Oh, I KNOW I didn't. I could feel God's presence with every step. With every breath. And the reward for our hard work came the next morning as we stood on the peak, breathing in God's goodness, faithfulness, and love. We were surrounded. by desert. We were surrounded by God's majesty. We were surrounded by an overwhelming sense of pride. Not our own, but rather, from our Father above. A word that we heard over and over again on our trip was "Aliyah". Aliyah is Hebrew for "ascent". We were always climbing. We were always going up. Why do we always need to go up to God? Can't he come down to us? Can't he meet us half way? Nope. Because that would take away the struggle. Did you know that the word Israel means "struggles with God"? It wasn't a coincidence or bad fortune that Moses led the Israelites into the wilderness. Because with wilderness comes struggle. And with struggle comes trust. Christianity today tries to take the struggle away, tainting believers' views that following Jesus will be easy; no problems. It's our struggles that bring us closer to the One who provides in all circumstances. It's our struggles that mold us into the people that God has destined us to be. It's our struggles with God that make us the people of Israel. God's people struggle WITH him; not AGAINST him. It's only been four days in the desert, but already I'm beginning to see why God took His people out of the fertile land of Egypt and brought them here. To wilderness. To struggle. It was here that he would mold and shape His people. It was here that God's chosen people would need to find the blessings in the struggles.

A 6:00 Sunday morning faith lesson on the peak of Mt. Sinai. There's a sentence I never thought I'd say.

Coming back down from the peak...


A view of our camp as we made our way back down.


And this guy was ready to head back down the mountain as well. And he was nice enough to carry some of our bedding. What a guy.


And 2 1/2 hours later, we were back at the base of the mountain. Once there, we took a detour through some local desert dwellers' abodes. Some bedouin women were selling handmade beaded bags and jewelry. While some of the ladies in our group of investments shopped, one of the fathers sat and played his harp for us. This is similar to the harp that King David would have played. Minus the gas can, of course.


Then, we met up with the bedouins again, and went for another joyride through the Sinai wilderness. This time, however, we were off-roading through a wadi. A wadi is an Arabic term referring to a valley. Most wadis are extremely dry and only contain water during times of heavy rain. This heavy rain, in turn, causes flash floods and often times many deaths for anyone who is in the area and in unable to get to high ground fast enough. So, we were hoping it wasn't going to rain.


Fun Fact: Did you know that the #1 cause of death in the desert is drowning?! I know! And now that I think about it, that's not really a Fun Fact as much as it's a Totally Depressing Tidbit. Still fascinating though. Drowning in the desert. Who would've thunk it.

After a quick stroll from the main road to Wadi Stop #1, we all piled out and enjoyed the shade under an acacia tree tree while Farak, the Sheikh's son, educated us on living life in the desert and well as the history of the acacia tree.




Fun Fact: (not a fun fact disguised by tragedy as in the first one) The Ark of the Covenant was made from acacia wood.

The acacia trees that we saw in the wadi that we visited were older than the United States. Some, nearly 1000 years old. Wow.
Then, we crawled back into the 1984 Toyota Land Cruisers and continued our way through the wadi. Farak wanted to show us something. And we drove. And we drove. Then we drove some more. Finally, I asked, "So, where are we going next?" And he replied, "To paradise." Ummmm, OK. Isn't that something that they say to martyrs? Here we are, in the middle of the Sinai wilderness, piled into the back of white Toyota Land Cruisers and told we're being taken to "paradise." And cue the incessant giggling.

Here's my buddy, Andrew, letting his imagination get the best of him.

Where was paradise? What would it be like? Paradise scared him.

Turns out, paradise was just another bus station along Route 66 that runs through the Sinai Peninsula. Silly us. So, back on the bus we go.


We arrived at our Hilton hotel early. And I'm not kidding. It was a Hilton hotel. On the shores of the Red Sea. So, some of us who took full advantage of every Biblical body of water offered on this investment tour, went for a swim.

It was glorious.


Tomorrow, we will head for Israel and spend our night on the Dead Sea. But first we need to go through Israeli customs. My mom,Cheryl, plans on doing all the talking for my dad, Roger. He can't be trusted with his own words.