Shalom Israel

Shalom!

I have been to Israel, the chosen land of God and back. Feeling melancholic, there's a desire to pen (or type) some thoughts down before the pictures are processed.

On the contrary of what we have seen on CNN, BBC and other news broadcasts, Israel basks in a peace and tranquility that can only be experienced by setting foot on the holy land. Quoting my tour guide, Amir, a really charming and eloquent man, "I used to tell the Americans that the most dangerous part of the trip is the journey from their homes to their airport." Indeed, it's true.

No bombs, no guns and not even terrorist-suspicious-looking locals. This is a nation of peace-loving people. Believe it or not, Bethelem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, became a popular breeding ground of terrorirsts. What happened to it? It has been cordoned off from the rest of Jerusalem! The security checks into and out of Israel is so strict that we had to be questioned and our luggages thoroughly scanned and physically checked before we could pass the immigration. If this is not sufficient to illustrate its stand on security, we drove on the West Bank, right into Palestine and back to Israel to get a sense of its peace between the stretch of two walls separating the countries. This is how secure that country is.

My interests in this country has risen by a few notches. I now look at this country differently - from a historical and archeological point-of-view and a spiritual, Christian point-of-view.

The country is steeped in history - having been under the rulings of several types of cultures. The Persians, Romans, Greeks, Babylonians, Arabs, Crusaders and so on, until they became independent under Isralis' ruling in 1948. Because of this, Israel has many charming sites where cities have been built upon cities. Through the ruins, we saw traces of the different cultures - architectures, materials used for buildings, household items and so on, spoke of the thousands of years of history that Israel had before becoming independent.

Israel is also the only country in the world that's transacting in the biblical age shekels. Of course, to fit into the economics world, US dollar is accepted. Its first language is also the biblical age Hebrew, which I thought to be extinct, as a Christian, reading the bible from a spiritual point-of-view. On top of that, we also witness the aged-old traditions of the Jewish rituals at the Welling Wall, where the Jews prayed with all their heart, mind, soul and body. This site was predominant even at the airport. While waiting to move on to our coach, we saw a group of Urtho-Orthodox Jews praying in front of a wall. Of course, it was a good start to the trip. We were full of curiosity of this country that we understood through our bible, which, we have so far considered a spiritual tool to understanding our Abba Father.

The bible, is in actual fact, more than just spiritual and the words of our God. It also contains thousands of years of history of Israel. The core of the "story" is of course, God. And indeed, this country has seen the works of God. The miracles that kept Israel's survival, which otherwise, the country would perish.

Geographically, it's located on the globe such that it has very little water access. It's also surrounded its enemies, who could wipe them out easily, population-sense. Geographically, it also has a bad military strategic location. But Israel has lived on, through God's promises.

It's a flourished land, where peace prevails. There's no barren but lands filled with green pastures, olive trees, springs and farmlands. As we drove by its neighbours, we could see the contrast of the barren lands as opposed to Israel's.

I can't speak enough of the beauty of Israel, and this Emmaus walk or the journey of Christ deeply seeps into my heart. I long to visit this Holy Land again.

For pictures (Day 1 - 6): www.picasaweb.com/pepperick

(Note that it's up to day 6 because the other pictures have been destroyed when the computer crashed. Very sad indeed. Nevertheless, enjoy viewing.)