We arrived at port at 7 am, and spent the day touring Athens
with our tour guide George Terezakis
The Acropolis
lunch at a Seaside restaurant
Temple of Poseidon:
Modern day places of idolatry
Friday, June 7, 2019
Athens
Monday, May 13, 2019
We arrived at port at 7 am, and spent the day touring Athens
with our tour guide George Terezakis
The Acropolis
The view from Mars Hill
The plaque which quotes the Apostle Paul, marking the place where he spoke to the people of Athens
lunch at a Seaside restaurant
Temple of Poseidon:
Modern day places of idolatry
We arrived at port at 7 am, and spent the day touring Athens
with our tour guide George Terezakis
The Acropolis
lunch at a Seaside restaurant
Temple of Poseidon:
Modern day places of idolatry
The Fountain of Tears
Our first day in Israel, we had the opportunity to visit the Fountain of Tears in Arad. While we approached the humble looking building from the dusty parking lot, I had no idea how moving this experience would be. Inside the tented building, was the Fountain of Tears: a “Sculptured dialogue of suffering between the Holocaust and the Crucifixion” created by artist Rick Wienecke, who has now created and opened to the public a second Fountain of Tears in Poland, just outside the Death Gate of Auschwitz. You can watch the same explanation we saw here: https://fountainoftears.org/
In the Fountain of Tears, there are several frames with bronze figures with shaved heads in striped prisoner garb in the foreground, and a depiction of Christ languishing on the cross behind them. Pillars of rocks separate each scene, with rivulets of water streaming down, signifying the tears of the Father. There is a visual identification between Christ, writhing with pain upon the cross, and the Holocaust victims, as Jesus' head is shorn, and the number 1534 is tattooed upon his forearm, just as all prisoners of Auschwitz were tattooed with a number. Mark 15:34 is the cry from Scripture, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" It is this very cry that haunts the Sondercommando who recorded these tragic events in his memoir. Sondercommandos were Jewish prisoners who were forced, on threat of their own deaths, to aid with the poisoning and disposal of gas chamber victims during the Holocaust. They lied to the prisoners to prevent revolt, reassuring them that they would be fed after they had taken their showers. Once up to 2,500 people were sealed inside the chamber, the poison gas took nearly 20 minutes to bring death. The screams of agony of the first ten minutes are seared upon his consciousness. Psalm 22: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" was the loudest and most frequent cry.
When the artist, Rick Wienecke, first began the sculpture, he said "I had a sense that this was not just a piece of art that we were about to do, but it was actually an intercession." The viewers of this work are often deeply moved, and many healing tears by both Jew and Gentile have been shed here. Putting the crucifixion and holocaust together has been a complete reframing of the crucifixion for the Jewish audience. I was saddened to realize that the Jews look often at the image of the crucifixion of Jesus from their collective memory as being the most negative image ever, because the persecution toward them in Europe was often propagated by the church, and under the banner of them deserving punishment for being the "Christ killers." How ironic to lash out against the "Christ-killers" while failing to recognize that very lashing out as part of the reason why Christ had to come to die. The undeniable history of Christians being involved in Anti-Semitism through the ages is tragic, and compels me to be involved in the many opportunities for the prayerful work of blessing God's people Israel and doing the work of reconciliation.
In the Fountain of Tears, there are several frames with bronze figures with shaved heads in striped prisoner garb in the foreground, and a depiction of Christ languishing on the cross behind them. Pillars of rocks separate each scene, with rivulets of water streaming down, signifying the tears of the Father. There is a visual identification between Christ, writhing with pain upon the cross, and the Holocaust victims, as Jesus' head is shorn, and the number 1534 is tattooed upon his forearm, just as all prisoners of Auschwitz were tattooed with a number. Mark 15:34 is the cry from Scripture, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" It is this very cry that haunts the Sondercommando who recorded these tragic events in his memoir. Sondercommandos were Jewish prisoners who were forced, on threat of their own deaths, to aid with the poisoning and disposal of gas chamber victims during the Holocaust. They lied to the prisoners to prevent revolt, reassuring them that they would be fed after they had taken their showers. Once up to 2,500 people were sealed inside the chamber, the poison gas took nearly 20 minutes to bring death. The screams of agony of the first ten minutes are seared upon his consciousness. Psalm 22: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" was the loudest and most frequent cry.
When the artist, Rick Wienecke, first began the sculpture, he said "I had a sense that this was not just a piece of art that we were about to do, but it was actually an intercession." The viewers of this work are often deeply moved, and many healing tears by both Jew and Gentile have been shed here. Putting the crucifixion and holocaust together has been a complete reframing of the crucifixion for the Jewish audience. I was saddened to realize that the Jews look often at the image of the crucifixion of Jesus from their collective memory as being the most negative image ever, because the persecution toward them in Europe was often propagated by the church, and under the banner of them deserving punishment for being the "Christ killers." How ironic to lash out against the "Christ-killers" while failing to recognize that very lashing out as part of the reason why Christ had to come to die. The undeniable history of Christians being involved in Anti-Semitism through the ages is tragic, and compels me to be involved in the many opportunities for the prayerful work of blessing God's people Israel and doing the work of reconciliation.
Samaria
Tuesday, May 21
The town of Ariel on the West Bank of Israel
Today we had the privilege of meeting a family who had willingly yielded their lives, experienced great persecution and suffering, and counted it all worthwhile to continue to be God's witnesses in Jerusalem, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
We went up a twisted staircase in a home on the West bank in Israel, after a day spent traveling within Samaria. There, we met David and Leia Ortiz, who had answered God's call to be His witnesses in Israel in 1985, and had been on location ever since. The joy of the Lord was evident on David's face, as he shared with us the trials and miracles, sacrifices and victories they had experienced in sharing the gospel with both Orthodox Jews and Muslims for the last 34 years in their region. Many times, David would be in dangerous scenarios sharing the gospel, while his wife waited at home with their five children. She found strength in constant intercession.
Their greatest trial came in 2008, when they received a gift basket on their doorstep, during a large Jewish holiday where it was customary to share such packages. David and his wife had unexpectedly stepped out, so it was their 18 year old basket ball star son Avi, who opened the basket, detonating a bomb which was intended for his father. David and Leia walked us through the agony of those days, and the way God met them in the midst of the darkness, grief and despair. While having every earthly reason to leave the area with her family and never look back, the Lord spoke His Word to Leia, that He planned for them to remain their as His witnesses, and that He would miraculously sustain them and use this event to bring many to Himself. It was God's grace alone which helped Avi to not only live through this horrific attack, but to make a miraculous recovery, which would be shared on national and international news, along with the story of his parent's willingness to forgive his attacker (an ultra-Orthodox Jewish terrorist). Such miraculous forgiveness put the love and power of Jesus Christ the Messiah on full display.
I was humbled by being with these evangelists who had experienced great persecution and sacrifice for the sake of the gospel, and who remain on task, through the highs, lows, and everything in between. Leia suffers from progressive MS, and I was convicted about my complaining attitude, as I thought of her cheerful service, amidst the difficulty of climbing those flights of stairs every day. Sometimes I have an unconscious expectation, that when someone is doing great things for God, the "least God can do", is go easy on them/give them the best of circumstances/spare them from the griefs and trials. Yet all of my least favorite tools of His, do indeed put the glory of God on display, showing that all that is done is through the power of God, not man.
You can read more of their story here: http://evangelicalfocus.com/world/2161/I_bring_the_gospel_to_the_terrorist_that_could_kill_my_son
We went up a twisted staircase in a home on the West bank in Israel, after a day spent traveling within Samaria. There, we met David and Leia Ortiz, who had answered God's call to be His witnesses in Israel in 1985, and had been on location ever since. The joy of the Lord was evident on David's face, as he shared with us the trials and miracles, sacrifices and victories they had experienced in sharing the gospel with both Orthodox Jews and Muslims for the last 34 years in their region. Many times, David would be in dangerous scenarios sharing the gospel, while his wife waited at home with their five children. She found strength in constant intercession.
Their greatest trial came in 2008, when they received a gift basket on their doorstep, during a large Jewish holiday where it was customary to share such packages. David and his wife had unexpectedly stepped out, so it was their 18 year old basket ball star son Avi, who opened the basket, detonating a bomb which was intended for his father. David and Leia walked us through the agony of those days, and the way God met them in the midst of the darkness, grief and despair. While having every earthly reason to leave the area with her family and never look back, the Lord spoke His Word to Leia, that He planned for them to remain their as His witnesses, and that He would miraculously sustain them and use this event to bring many to Himself. It was God's grace alone which helped Avi to not only live through this horrific attack, but to make a miraculous recovery, which would be shared on national and international news, along with the story of his parent's willingness to forgive his attacker (an ultra-Orthodox Jewish terrorist). Such miraculous forgiveness put the love and power of Jesus Christ the Messiah on full display.
I was humbled by being with these evangelists who had experienced great persecution and sacrifice for the sake of the gospel, and who remain on task, through the highs, lows, and everything in between. Leia suffers from progressive MS, and I was convicted about my complaining attitude, as I thought of her cheerful service, amidst the difficulty of climbing those flights of stairs every day. Sometimes I have an unconscious expectation, that when someone is doing great things for God, the "least God can do", is go easy on them/give them the best of circumstances/spare them from the griefs and trials. Yet all of my least favorite tools of His, do indeed put the glory of God on display, showing that all that is done is through the power of God, not man.
You can read more of their story here: http://evangelicalfocus.com/world/2161/I_bring_the_gospel_to_the_terrorist_that_could_kill_my_son
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Ayalon: An Underground Ammunition Factory
Southeast of Tel Aviv, we got to visit the site of a secret ammo factory built under a commune, which played a crucial role in Israel's fight for its own place in the world.
On the site of Ayalon, there was a kibbutz training center, which was started in the 1930's. Here, people could learn how to form and run a kibbutz: a communal living setting typically involving farming, where resources were pooled and tasks were shared. When a Zionist group came to Ayalon in 1945, they were just the recruits the Haganah (a Jewish paramilitary organization during the British Mandate of Palestine, from 1921–48, which became the core of the Israel Defense Forces or IDF) were looking for. It was then that the Jewish underground began to implement their plan to build and operate a secret underground ammunition factory, in preparation for the fight for Israel's independence. 45 of the 75 people in the kibbutz training facility were enlisted in this clandestine operation. The 30 who were not "in the know" were called giraffes, for giraffes only see what is ahead of them, and they don't look down or around. The secret team worked day and night for 21 days to build the carefully laid plans for the bullet factory, saying they were building a large, underground refrigeration unit. The machinery required for producing the bullets was purchased in Poland and was smuggled into this hidden ammo factory that would produce more than 2 million bullets from 1945 to 1948, the 3 years between the end of WW2 and the foundation of the State of Israel. The way they obtained the copper they needed to make the bullets was by saying that the copper was needed to make lip stick cases in a factory in Tel Aviv, which seemed plausible enough for them to secure the copper the needed.
Above ground, the Kibbutzim Hill seemed to be a peaceful commune with its living quarters, dining hall, chicken coop, cow sheds, vegetable garden, laundry, bakery and workshops. At the height of operations, 40,000 bullets a day were made, all under the noses of the British, who even came to there to have their laundry done, and to enjoy their ice cold beer. The utmost secrecy was upheld by carefully orchestrated and strategic daily plans. The loud laundry and sewing machines ran the same 8 hours as the downstairs machinery, to disguise the noise. The smell of fresh bread from the bakery would mask the scent of gun powder. The 45 operators would take turns appearing in the fields where they were supposed to be working, and also sat under the underground sun lamps to give them the appearance of having worked outside and the benefits of sunlight which they missed while laboring below. They used a secret stairwell under the laundry machine to show up for group gatherings and meals, pretending to have come in from the fields. The bullets were smuggled out however they could: in half-filled milk jugs and in empty diesel trucks.
The ingenuity, courage and perseverance of these people struck me. If their operations had been detected, they would have faced imprisonment or even hanging, as both Jews and Arabs were under the British Mandate at that time, and were to have no access to, use of, or production of any type of weaponry. They successfully kept their secret and produced their bullets, which ended up being the only supply which was not in shortage during the war that was to come. There is no doubt that the efforts of the Haganah members who chose to labor here under harsh conditions played a crucial role in the success of the War of Independence. Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion praised them for their heroic efforts.
Mt. Carmel
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| View from Mt. Carmel |
After clambering out of our parked tour bus, getting its rest in a line of many others, we joined the by now familiar mass of other photo-taking pilgrims. We entered the gate, wound through a gift shop with reasonable prices, and waited our turn at the overlook on the top of Mt. Carmel. It felt hard to fathom, that within the expanse of land before us, so many key Biblical events have taken place through the ages. We were standing on the Mount where Elijah took on the prophets of Baal, and our leader even pointed out the 24 km route he ran to Jezreel afterwards. From that height, we could see the places where Joseph was taken into slavery, where Deborah and Barak went down from Mt. Tabor to defeat the godless commander Sisera and the Canaanites, where Gideon led a conquering army of 300 against countless more, and where Saul fought his last battle with the Philistines. While I have never been one with a solid grasp on geography, and am prone to jumble my history, being on such sites makes me determined to look further into Biblical maps and timelines, as the land now feels personal.
Saturday, May 25, 2019
Mykonos, Crete, and Santorini
Friday, May 10
evening
Morning of Sunday, May 12, 2019
Santorini
Evening of Sunday, May 12, 2019
Friday, May 24, 2019
Patmos
Saturday, May 11, 2019
On the evening of the first full day of our cruise, we arrived in Patmos.
Patmos is a small island of about 13 square miles, about 40 miles off of the Turkish coast. Patmos is home to 3,000 people, although this fluctuates to 1,500 in February and 15,000 in August. Our tour guide recommended September as a good time to plan a trip to Patmos, as the icy waters have warmed some, and the crowds of tourists have thinned considerably. There are three main villages on Patmos, and the capital city is Hora. The tiny nearby island of Farafi, which is only reached by private boats, boasts three taverns and one church for its whopping five residents.
Patmos' greatest attraction is its historical significance to the Christian church, as it is the island to which John the Disciple was exiled by Domitian around 95 AD (over 1,900 years ago!), and holds a cave where John received and wrote down Jesus' revelation to him for the seven churches in Asia Minor - including the church in Ephesus. Patmos is mentioned in Revelation 1:9. John was more than 90 years old at the time, and according to church tradition was accompanied by a young volunteer named Procolos, who wrote down John's words using a stone ledge for a desk in the cave while John reclined on the floor (where there is a silver-lined space where he is said to have laid his head, a silver-framed crevice in the rock he used for a hand grip, and a crack in the rock above caused by Jesus coming to stand in that place. Each venerated place is slick from the pressing hands, foreheads and lips of thousands of pilgrims. The Church of the Apocalypse was built across the mouth of the cave, and was later expanded into a larger church, a monastery and a school for young monks, and even a gift shop which is there today.
Almost every holy site we visit, we see the somewhat distressing tendency of our forefathers to build, and build, and build some more atop a historic site. I guess it's our human response to the holy, trying to contain it somehow, even as Peter said after experiencing Christ's Transfiguration, that they should set up a building and dwell there. I wonder that we don't marvel more at the Living Lord's presence within us, His footprint on our very lives, as He dwells within us by His Holy Spirit. It is incredible to realize, that as believers, we are the temple of the living God. We don't have to memorialize what He has done in us before, as He is always at work, and completing the good and perfect work which He has begun.
After visiting the Cave of Revelation and the compound around it, we sat in the shade along a rock wall, and listened as Pastor Ted spoke with us about how the book of Revelation should encourage us as a church today. He shared some thoughts from Dennis Johnson who had shown him that Revelation was less about giving us a timetable fore the end times, and more about encouraging and empowering believers in Jesus as we face our own spiritual conflicts every day. What is written below is from Pastor Ted's teaching notes.
1. Revelation helps Christians see our situation in its true perspective. We are to walk by faith and not by sight The paradox of the slaughtered Lamb as the raging Lion of Judah remind us that in our weakness, God is overwhelmingly strong.
2. Revelation shows our enemies in their true colors. While Satan is stronger and savvier than we are, he is an already beaten foe. While he can still persecute, deceive and seduce - he does not win.
3. Revelation reveals our champion in his true glory. Jesus is our glorious champion, and we will see him in all His might and glory when He returns.
4. Revelation enables us to see ourselves in our true beauty. Even though we still battle against our sin nature, Rev shows us that our Bridegroom loves us and will not rest until He presents us to Himself "as a bride adorned for her husband" (21:2)
In light of these truths, we are to endure through the inevitable suffering we will experience, to stay pure amidst temptation, and to bear witness as we await God's victorious return.
We then walked to the top of the island, where St. Christolos had built a monastery to honor St. John in 1008 (931 years ago), on the site of what was once a Temple to Artemis, the fortified walls dating back to Greek and Roman periods before Christ. In that monastery is a 6th Century partial copy of the Gospel of Mark. The monastery was also a place of refuge for the islanders, from the dangers of pirates.
On the evening of the first full day of our cruise, we arrived in Patmos.
Patmos is a small island of about 13 square miles, about 40 miles off of the Turkish coast. Patmos is home to 3,000 people, although this fluctuates to 1,500 in February and 15,000 in August. Our tour guide recommended September as a good time to plan a trip to Patmos, as the icy waters have warmed some, and the crowds of tourists have thinned considerably. There are three main villages on Patmos, and the capital city is Hora. The tiny nearby island of Farafi, which is only reached by private boats, boasts three taverns and one church for its whopping five residents.
Patmos' greatest attraction is its historical significance to the Christian church, as it is the island to which John the Disciple was exiled by Domitian around 95 AD (over 1,900 years ago!), and holds a cave where John received and wrote down Jesus' revelation to him for the seven churches in Asia Minor - including the church in Ephesus. Patmos is mentioned in Revelation 1:9. John was more than 90 years old at the time, and according to church tradition was accompanied by a young volunteer named Procolos, who wrote down John's words using a stone ledge for a desk in the cave while John reclined on the floor (where there is a silver-lined space where he is said to have laid his head, a silver-framed crevice in the rock he used for a hand grip, and a crack in the rock above caused by Jesus coming to stand in that place. Each venerated place is slick from the pressing hands, foreheads and lips of thousands of pilgrims. The Church of the Apocalypse was built across the mouth of the cave, and was later expanded into a larger church, a monastery and a school for young monks, and even a gift shop which is there today.
Almost every holy site we visit, we see the somewhat distressing tendency of our forefathers to build, and build, and build some more atop a historic site. I guess it's our human response to the holy, trying to contain it somehow, even as Peter said after experiencing Christ's Transfiguration, that they should set up a building and dwell there. I wonder that we don't marvel more at the Living Lord's presence within us, His footprint on our very lives, as He dwells within us by His Holy Spirit. It is incredible to realize, that as believers, we are the temple of the living God. We don't have to memorialize what He has done in us before, as He is always at work, and completing the good and perfect work which He has begun.
After visiting the Cave of Revelation and the compound around it, we sat in the shade along a rock wall, and listened as Pastor Ted spoke with us about how the book of Revelation should encourage us as a church today. He shared some thoughts from Dennis Johnson who had shown him that Revelation was less about giving us a timetable fore the end times, and more about encouraging and empowering believers in Jesus as we face our own spiritual conflicts every day. What is written below is from Pastor Ted's teaching notes.
1. Revelation helps Christians see our situation in its true perspective. We are to walk by faith and not by sight The paradox of the slaughtered Lamb as the raging Lion of Judah remind us that in our weakness, God is overwhelmingly strong.
2. Revelation shows our enemies in their true colors. While Satan is stronger and savvier than we are, he is an already beaten foe. While he can still persecute, deceive and seduce - he does not win.
3. Revelation reveals our champion in his true glory. Jesus is our glorious champion, and we will see him in all His might and glory when He returns.
4. Revelation enables us to see ourselves in our true beauty. Even though we still battle against our sin nature, Rev shows us that our Bridegroom loves us and will not rest until He presents us to Himself "as a bride adorned for her husband" (21:2)
In light of these truths, we are to endure through the inevitable suffering we will experience, to stay pure amidst temptation, and to bear witness as we await God's victorious return.
We then walked to the top of the island, where St. Christolos had built a monastery to honor St. John in 1008 (931 years ago), on the site of what was once a Temple to Artemis, the fortified walls dating back to Greek and Roman periods before Christ. In that monastery is a 6th Century partial copy of the Gospel of Mark. The monastery was also a place of refuge for the islanders, from the dangers of pirates.
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| What a beautiful, and sacred place |
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| Standing at an overlook on the top of Patmos at the Monastery of St. John |
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| The kneading trough for the monk's bread making duties. Imagine, making, and KNEADING this much bread dough! |
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