November 18, 2004

Yesterday, after our climb of Mt. Sinai, we boarded our two jeeps and made our way into the desert. The desert would be our hotel this night. We went quite a way into the desert. This was no one or two miles from civilization trip. We left the safety of the main road and began to drive over the sand for miles. Occasionally, we would pass a Bedouin's home. Finally we reached our campsite. Take a look at picture one. My suitcase is on the rock on the left! Another pad and then a sleeping bag would go on top of the blue pad you see. After we set up our camp, we had two hours of quiet time in the desert. I prayed for you there. Supper was cooked and served by our guide and two Bedouins. It was one of the best meals of the trip. After supper, we talked and asked questions about Bedouin life. Very tired, we went to bed. In the morning I would find out that we went to bed at 7 p.m. You picture sand as being soft. I can tell you a different story about sleeping on the sand. It was quite cool during the night. I had sweat pants and a sweat shirt on and still couldn't get enough of me into the sleeping bag. There was a breeze and often, the breeze carried some sand that was determined to be deposited into my ear. I woke a few times and could track the progression of the stars through the night sky. Our Bedouin hosts cooked us a hearty breakfast, we broke camp and began a hike. In the second picture you can see some of my classmates climbing, with our clean campsite in the background. When we crested the ridge, this was our view (picture three). We walked to the valley below and found a wonderful spot to sit and pray and be amazed. I'll show you pictures of this valley when I get home. We got to see how you can strike and walk and have water come out of it. I'm not joking! I can't believe I am writing this, but I was sad to leave the desert. As our chaplin for the trip enjoyed telling us, it is back to the flesh pots.

Eating too much,

Ralph

November 20, 2004

Yesterday was a travel day. We took a ferry across the Red Sea to the port of Aqaba in Jordan. It was a journey I will enjoy telling you about. I need to get to today though. I went to Petra. The people who lived in this City of the Dead, were in the high point of their civilization from about 400 B.C to 100 A.D. It is a city of tombs. You have probably seen a picture from Petra in an Indiana Jones film. Take a look at the first picture. It is the best preserved of all the carvings of sandstone, but is is one of countless places that make you scratch your head in unbelief. I took two hikes today, on top of the walking it takes to get through the valley and see it all. The first hike was to what is called the high places. Sacrifices took place there. Later, after a late lunch, I had to decide whether or not to hike to what is called the monastery. I was tired and thought about going to the gift shop and back to the hotel. I made one of my better decisions. I went up. Two different things stood out for the. One was the second picture. That is the Monastery. People carved these things out of the mountain side! The other stand out, was once again a young person. She is on the left in the last picture. On our way up, we had a lively discussion with the young Bedouin girl. She was alone at that time. The picture is from the walk down. We asked it he was her brother and she responded that he was just a stupid boy from China! Poor smitten young man, quite out of his league. He was speechless the entire time. On the way up though, we got to know her a little bit. Her name is Manal. She speaks four or five languages. She is incredibly bright and articulate. Her sense of humor is keen. Henry, our course director told her she could have a great career as a linguist or such. He asked if that interested her and her response was, "I prefer to be free". I wish you could have met her.

Peace from the high places,

Ralph