Out of Egypt and on the way home!

It's about two-thirty in the morning Israel time and I have now been up for 24 hours and have a full day of travel before me. We woke up last night in the wee hours of the morning to hike up Mt. Sinai to catch the sunrise. It was an incredible way to finish up such a rich semester. I am so thankful for the things I've been able to learn and experience while in Jerusalem these past few months. Being that I have 20 hours of flight ahead of me and do not anticipate much internet access.....here is a picture of the sunrise on Sinai and I'll blog about Egypt once I get home! Also in the mean time, here are some reflections on my semester in Jerusalem that I jotted down a week or so ago.

I will not forget waking up to the bells

The abbey billows from behind
Waking up to the sun over the Mt. of Olives
In triumphal procession over the valleys below.

Dwarfed by the walls that seemingly protect
The record of what has been and what is to come.
I will not read your words the same
They speak so differently now
Rich like the moon over the citadel of David
Deep like the tightly knit valleys and streaming rivers.

I will not forget how your voice sounded against St Anne’s walls
Grand waves of sound sensation, melodically moving
Speaking bravery into insecurity
Painting my soul with dreams and trust, wiping away any trace of trembling.

I will not forget that you have been my portion
I will not forget but rejoice that the boundary lines of my life have fallen in pleasant places
I will not forget that you are the God who dwells in the very crevices of my soul
Yet commands a place of honor in the promise land.
Oh, I will not forget
I will only remember the every shape of this Holy land
How You’ve fought for Your children
And still you captured me, enraptured me,
You tell me the epic story of who You have been, who You are, and all that You will ever be