China

The last stop on the two month journey was Chengdu, China. Before we made it to Chengdu, we spent 4 days in Beijing to see the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. The Great Wall was pretty much as I expected it to be; a large wall. But, what struck me was the terrain that the wall was constructed in. It would literally climb up one side of a hill just to turn around and come back down to where it started. I can't imagine how the workers managed to build this amazing wall. It was difficult climbing it at some points because of the slope of the incline. There was also a surprise at the wall. One of my co-travelers, and very good friends, Laurence asked his girlfriend Emily to marry him while we were on the wall. Dave and I arranged roses on a tower and the privately got engaged in the country where they first started dating a year ago. The lone adventures of Team Magellin ended after Beijing and we went on to teach in Chengdu for 5 weeks. The summer was amazing. I will never forget it. But, I am already having fun planning next summer......

Israel

In the middle of our stay in Jordan, we were able to get to Jerusalem for 3 days. One year ago, when I was in Tibet, I told Dave that I the next place I really wanted to go was Israel. Border controll was insane. It took two hours move about 200 yards. We stayed in the Christian quarter of the Old City in a hostle. It was pretty disgusting but we didn't spend much time in our room anyway. We got to see everything that we wanted to and we even made it into Palestine to go to Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity. Golgotha and the garden tomb were the most moving sights. This picture pretty much sums up my feelings about the Holy City. The mixture of influences was almost unbearable. It is truly a unique place in which Christians, Muslims, and Jews revere as "their" holy place. The picture is of the western wall or Wailing Wall; the wall the Jews go to and recite prayers. In the background is the Dome of the Rock; the third most holy location in Islam. It was here that muslims believe Muhammad ascended to heaven. As you look out over the city at the Mount of Olives and the garder of Gethsemane, you can't escape the Dome or the sound of the calls to prayer five times a day. It was a frustrating but expected sight.

Jordan

After a brief layover in Lebanon, the next stop on the trip was the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. We stayed with the brother of one of my traveling friends. Most of our stay was spent in Amman, the capital of Jordan. Jordan has maintained relitive peace dispite being bordered by Israel, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. It was in Jordan that I met the most unique people on the trip. Three Iraqi women made us a feast that could have fed a small army. Another Iraqi man told us stories of being in prison camps. The Middle East was somewhat like I expected it to be, but I was still surprised by many things that I saw. One of my favorite things was the shwarma stnads. Raw meat would be heated all day, rotisserie style, and when you ordered it they would simply shave off the roasted part and rotate the meat. I must admit that I was pretty hesitant about eating many shwarmas until I had my first one. Then I couldn't get enough. The highlight of the trip was probably Petra. Petra is a city that was completely carved out of stone by the Nabataeans around the time of Christ. We had to trek along a narrow path between two cliffs until it opened up to the Treasury of Petra. It was difficult not to feel like Indiana Jones as I passed the Treasury on my camel. One of the more memorable moments was when I got seperated from my friends when wondering around and I decided to sit down and talk to two Nabataean children. They made me some tea and taught me a game they played with stones. The little girl gave me a stone and told me to remember her. She was probably 10 years old, and she sold jewelry at Petra.

Greece

On the journey that would take me around the world this last summer, my first stop was Greece. My two friends and I traveled around the whole country in 7 days. We started off by climbing Mt. Olympus in one day!! It took the whole day and it was very exhausting. Most people break it up into 2 or 3 days. From there we spent some time on the Mediterranean Sea. We stayed on an island named Santorini for a day and all agreed that it was one of the most beautiful places on the planet. The stone washed churches with blue domes, the cities built up on the cliffs, and the amazing sunrises made it a memorable stay. Finally, we spent some time in Athens seeing all the necessities: the Acropolis, temple of the Olympiad Zues, and Mars hill where Paul preached. It was a great beginning to a long summer.

The Story

I was assigned to write my worldview based on the Bible in 200 words or less. This challenged me to only put in what was of absolute necessity. What do yout think I left out? What could be taken out?? The main thrust of the Bible is the relationship that God desires to have with man. The Bible teaches that the Triune God exists from eternity past to eternity future. This God created the world and everything in it, including creating man in His image. Man chose to rebel against God and the perfect relationship between God and man was broken. However, God did not give up on man, but He entered into a covenant relationship with His chosen people, the nation of Israel. Israel chose to rebel against God but He still did not forsake man. God the Father sent God the Son to earth to incarnate as a man. This virgin born Messiah would go on to live a perfect life. Jesus ultimately laid down His own life to die a criminal’s death for man. His blood paid the price for man’s sin so that only those who put their trust in Him would be restored to that perfect fellowship with God in eternity. Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to His Father in heaven. The Spirit has now been sent to indwell believers and comfort man before Christ comes again to receive His believers unto Himself.