Less than three weeks left in Israel ...

Well, spring has arrived in Israel ... and it's only the second week of January!! It's been in the 70s for the past week or so ... and I'm in the Judean Hills!!! I'm going to miss all of my friends here. It's been SUCH a blast and a privilege getting to know all the people here and just an amazing experience living here in Israel. For example, we went on a field trip for archaeology and the Biblical Narrative on Friday to Hazor ... so during the bus ride (which, btw was GORGEOUS!!!) I read all the Bible passages that relate to Hazor. So I stood on the top of the Mountain and could almost see the invading Israelite army in the 11th century BCE coming up the plane from the south and conquering the city ... I sat inside the ancient Canaanite temple where the fire burned so hot that the mudbricks became as hard as stone ... and could see the Israelites destroying the pagan idols and setting the place on fire ... then they settled on the remains in tents and dug pits for their garbage ... and you can see the places where the pits were dug because the original cobblestone is disturbed. You can walk through the gates that King Solomon built when he refortified the city in the 10th century BCE ... and the extensions of the city wall ordered by King Ahaz. You can STILL climb down in to the massive water system built by the Israelite under the Aramean and Assyrian threats ... and you can sense the impending doom of the Northern Kingdom ... The fields that Canaanite and Israelite farmers tended more than 3000 years ago STILL are farmed by Israelis until this very day.

OH! And I have decided to write a book. I'm not putting the details on the internet because I don't want someone to steal my idea, but if you're curious let me know! Nathan has graciously offered to write the forward for me :)