Happenings at the kibbutz

Laundry: We just had our last laundry day. Laundry day is Thursday. Before we would leave for digging we would put our dirty items in garbage bags, tie them, and leave them out on our porch for pick up. A truck would come by and collect the clothes while we were away at work. ALL of the clothes for our group and the Polish and Israeli teams would be washed in one, maybe two loads. I wish I could have seen this gigantic washing machine! Upon returning to the kibbutz, we would "pick up" our laundry, which involves picking through everyone's clothes until you found yours! Beware of washing light color clothes too. One kid picked up a beautiful purplish blue dress shirt from the laundry room. Actually, it had been a white shirt before it was washed! I myself have not had any of my clothes lost or stolen, which is good, but as for the provided bed linens, well, there may not be any left for you if you pick up your laundry too late. In summary, laundry here is some sort of odd feeding frenzy. I'm just thankful that I don't have to wash my workclothes by hand; sweat and dirt make a nasty combination!

The Raft: Andrea and I have swum to the raft numerous times since the kibbutz first put it together sometime last week. One time was during the heat of the day, when many kibbutzniks (people who live on a kibbutz) were out there too. Teenagers hanging out, a couple middle aged guys just sitting there enjoying the sun, and a dozen or so Israeli kids playing tag or something in the water around and under the raft. They were counting and talking and screaming in Hebrew. It was a very different feeling, knowing that you are a complete outsider in their world. They live in a culture similar to our own, but also entirely unique. As I thought about my preconceived notions of what their country was like, I can only imagine what they think the United States must be like.

Hike to Hippos #2: On Friday Dr. Schuler, "Dr. Mike", Linda, Arnie, Hawaii Mark, Andrea, and myself arose early to make the ascent up to Hippos. It was somewhat miserable, definitely uncomfortable even at 5:00 in the morning with no wind and higher than normal humidity. We made it though, drenched with sweat as we were. I took dozens of pictures of Hippos, of our church, and of the NW church. The group took measurements of the locations of wall and pillars and such, which will serve to help Andrea draw the layout of the church accurately. We were not there for long though, and we hiked back down, sometimes on the trail and sometimes cutting corners using cow paths. We even came across a group of cows standing right in our way, but as we approached them they scattered. As I walked back down the hill I just couldn't stop thinking that the landscape and vegetation, and especially having to open and close barbed wire cattle fences, reminds me of central South Dakota, though perhaps rockier.

Spiritual thoughts: I love being able to read the Bible here, right next to the Sea of Galilee, after dark. I can look up and glance in the direction of Capernaum, I can see the hills where crowds flocked to here Jesus speak, I can say "Nazereth is just up and over those hills" or "this is the lake that Jesus would cross in a small boat with his disciples" or "somewhere in these hills a demon-filled herd of pigs rushed into the water to drown, while a possessed man was now free: free to live and preach the goodness of God to the pagan Greek Decapolis cities". God changes things. Even by sending one man into the world, who never even really "got around" much in the Roman world, the whole world was changed by him. Millions and millions and millions have been brought into salvation through HIM, and these events I'm reading about this ancient book, the bible, happened right over in those hills, right in that lake, right HERE.

Relics, cult of the saints/martyrs?: Ask most Lutherans what they think about preserving relics , and the honoring of saints and martyrs. Dirty looks maybe? "That's why we had the reformation, to get rid of that Catholic junk" perhaps? There are two sides of the story. Yes these practices have been abused throughout history. Salvation had become something to be purchased, while at the same time the church's wallet began to bulge because of this lie. Salvation cannot be bought, nor attained through the intervention of saints, or touching their bones, or whatever. Salvation is freely given through Jesus Christ! But... that is no reason for us to forget those who have gone before us in the faith, whose examples can still encourage us in our own walks of faith and guide us through our own struggles. Their struggles have become or struggles, God will bring us through as He has brought them through, and the same salvation they have been given is ours as well through Jesus Christ. At our Northeast church in Hippos, saints were held in very high regard. A family and an elderly woman were given the honor of being buried in chancel of the church, a very "holy area". They were honored by the anointing of their bones with oil. Their bones became sacred relics. They were not forgotten, and future generations of Christians from Hippos were no doubt told their stories. They thus had a connection to those who had gone before them in the body of Christ and, importantly, were encouraged in their own faith. Perhaps these practices aren't so blasphemous as they appear. One of God's great gifts to His followers is the people He surrounds them with. The Christians at Hippos certainly had these connections, these bonds with their fellow believers, both present and past. We can certainly do the same today, that is, uphold people as gifts from God, as examples, as guides, as stepping stones even, and as companions on our journey of eternal life in Christ.