We began our ninth month away from home in Egypt, Jordan, and Israel.
Cairo, where life truly began according to some of the ancient Egyptians. Coincidentally, this is the week that life as we, Jay and myself, know it all began as well. Twenty-five years ago the life changing hockey game occurred and how our love story began.
The Egyptian people are so friendly and welcoming. As we were walking along the Nile river, I told Jay I might need to put my hair up in my hat. People are staring. The next thing I know we were stopped so they could take pictures with me. Jay asked if they wanted him in the picture too, they said no. So then Jay asked if he could take a picture. Then an older women just stop and began talking to me in Egyptian while holding my hand. I love these people.
The downside is their horrible air quality. With over 27 million people in one city and 20+ types of transportation, the air and traffic is bad.
Before we began walking Moses’ steps, Jay got to sail a felluca boat on the Nile while watching the sunset.
The Pyramids are truly one of the wonders of the world especially when you hear the history of how they were built 4,500 years ago. It is an engineer’s dream come true to calculate what all was done to build these wonders. As we approach the Christmas season, I realize how wise the wise men really were.
The Egyptians love their history. The Copic (Egyptian Orthodox) churches were amazing to see. One has a cave where they proclaim the Holy Family stayed for several months and showed the bed where Jesus slept as a baby.
Mount Sinai is one of the most important sacred places in the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic religion because it is the place where a covenant was made with God and His people. This is the one place where these religions have a commonality.
Mount Sinai is between 7,400 and 7,500 feet high. We got up at 12:30 a.m. to hike up the mountain, first on camels, then on foot the remaining way. It is a six hour journey round trip and zero celcius at the top.
Attention neices, meet Aladin, our Egyptian representative. He’s single, born August 18, 1993, educated, and very polite with a great sense of humor. Uncle Jay has his WhatsApp number. Aladin met us at the Cairo airport and traveled with us the days we were in Egypt.
Here is the sunrise as we were coming down the mountain with a crecent moon peeking out in the second picture.
This is the suggested place where the golden calf was erected. Just turning from the hilltop a calf is etched in the rocks.
Exodus 32…..7 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'”…..Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets….And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain…”
The site of the twelve wells with our fun group : “there were twelve wells of water and seventy date palms,” and that the Israelites “camped there near the waters”...Exodus 15:27 and Numbers 33:9
A little sidetracking from Moses – the Red Sea. The mountains in the background is Saudi Arabia. Susan Boyd, we are so close, but still so far!
You might take the girl out of the oil business, however you can’t take the oil business out of the girl.
After many hours of border crossings, we made it to Jordan to see Petra. WOW!!!! The closest we can come to the beauty of the sandstone would be in Zion or Bryce National Parks. How in the world did the Nabataeans build this city?
Jay decided to go walking without our guide. So, I found another who wanted to hang with me and take selfies. I don’t know where his owner was, but he just came up from behind and snuggled up to me. Whenever Jay saw the picture, he asked, “Who’s the most stubborn”? Brave man!
This little local guy, Mohammed, was bargaining with me. He was trying to trade neck wear. We didn’t trade but we had some great conversation before he had or go have dinner. His sister lives in Chicago apparently.
This is Angie Link, a singer on YouTube. She was filming another worship song when we met her. Her voice is as pretty as she is.
Back to Moses – the waters of Meribah in Numbers 20. “Now there was no water for the congregation…and the people quarreled with Moses…then Moses and Aaron went to the entrance of the tent and fell on their faces. The glory of the Lord appeared to them….and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.’ And Moses took the staff from before the LORD, as he commanded him…Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, ‘Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?’ And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them. These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the LORD, and through them he showed himself holy.”
Here we are looking over the promise land on top of Mount Nebo.
“Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. And the LORD said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD, and He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day.”Deuteronomy 34:1-6
The highlight of these past days was at the river Jordan on the Jordan side where I was asked to perform a baptism. What an honor. We all wished we would have known we were going there and had clothes to change into for a dunking, and I wish I would have been better prepared with my words. However we know it’s not about our clothes, the dunking, or being better prepared with the words to say. It’s about our heart for Jesus.
The footsteps of Moses reminds us of what serving our God really means. Day in and day out Moses was serving God’s people. Day in and day out Moses served wholeheartedly. We probably won’t be responsible for a million plus people, however we know God equips us for the service He has for us.
May you serve well and wholeheartedly. Blessings, Jay and Kelly
A Year with Jay and Kelly 