June 9th – Friday
Hello friends, family, and loved ones,
Today was day 5 of our adventure out in the Middle East. Let me just start this day off by saying that it has been such a blessing to be out here and be a part of this team. We woke up to a rainy morning here with many of us running up to the roof to see, feel, and smell the lovely rain that is uncommon during this time of year. After our excitement about the rain it was time for us to prepare for our day.
In the Middle East, Friday is the day of sabbath, so Books and More was closed and we were able to go to a Baptist church and experience a sermon in the book of Ruth both in English and in Arabic. The time of worship that we were able to share together was unlike any other. We were able to experience both English worship songs as well as Arabic songs. The energy was amazing and you could feel the power and the passion that the worship team had. We were all greatly encouraged and uplifted by our time in worship and communion and felt ready to tackle the rest of the day.
After church we were able to run back to Books and More, grab our bags that we had packed the night before, and prepare to embark on our first journey of this trip. We piled into two different vans and set out for the Dead Sea.
Let me preface by saying that going into this excursion we all had the impression that we were going to be able to take showers. When I say showers I mean LONG showers with HOT water and us not having to worry about RUNNING OUT of water. So we all packet a backpack with clean clothes and shampoo, conditioner and soap. We were very much looking forward to this, but we will come back to that.
The drive to the Dead Sea was quick and easy. It took us about 35 minutes to drive down to the sea, which some of you may know is 427 meters below sea level! We were warned ahead of time that driving down, we were going to feel heavier and the air was going to be more dense. This was a very accurate statement. Just like traveling to higher elevations where the air is thinner and you feel a bit light headed at times we all felt a similar shift as we descended into a lower elevation than any of us are used to.
Once we reached our destination, the first thing that we noticed as we crawled out of the vans, was that WOW it was so much hotter down there than it was where we had just been. We had got to a resort that we had to go through in order to make it down to the Dead Sea, we made our way through the resort and to a delicious buffet that we were able to eat lunch at before we made it to our final destination. The food was incredible and by the time we had finished eating we were all stuffed. After we had finished lunch we made our way down to the Dead sea.
The Dead Sea was probably the most amazing part of our trip so far. A lot of times people say things that aren’t quite true, or that are extremely exaggerated. When people say that they just float in the Dead Sea, they legitimately mean that you can not stand. Once you get to a certain point in the water you no longer can stand. Your body literally just floats. You don’t have to tread water or even try to swim, you just sit there, float, and exist. We spent the next hour and a half to two hours floating, soaking in a clay/mud mask that you were able to lather on before getting in, and just genuinely enjoying life in that moment.
Now let’s go back to back to the part of the post where I mentioned the showering. After being in the Dead Sea your skin feels oily and salty all at the same time. There is a slight burn to your skin and you definitely feel in need of a shower. However, there were no showers to be found, and the heat was sweltering… We ended up not being able to shower because there was none other than the rinse-off showers which were, let’s just say, not the best. We ended up piling back into the vans, driving back to Books and More and showering there. Day 5 was a success and full of so many fun times, laughter and many memories that will last us a lifetime. We are missing all our friends and family back home, but we are excited to see how God is going to use us here and the adventures that we are going to embark on throughout the rest of this trip.
-Macey
Some Prayer Requests for our team:
- Continued safety throughout our trip.
- Health, and for everyone to stay healthy.
- Peace and comfort for those who are experiencing any homesickness.
- Wisdom and discernment for us and how we carry ourselves and portray ourselves to the community.
- Rest and energy for those who are still struggling with the time differences.