A Lot of Catching Up To Do

I fully intended to write about the rest of our Petra/Aqaba trip, but time truly went by so quickly and busily these last couple of months that I was never able to give the attention needed to finish the story. It's really too bad, because now you'll never know about our amazing adventures in Petra, which included a camel ride, getting ripped off again, spectacular scenery, Wilma's donkey ride, and other honorable mentions.The Treasury


My Fun Camel Ride


Wilma's Donkey Ride. (There is a much funnier picture of this, but she would kill me if I posted it.)



On the Edge of a Very High Cliff. Very dangerous. Look at how calm I am.


More Carved Stone. . .


My Summer Home/Guest House. As you can see, I had some guests. They didn't seem to understand that it's actually my house. I couldn't get them to leave.


My Winter Home. That little speck in the doorway is me.


Camels in Petra. I really like this pic.


And you'll never hear of our stay in Aqaba, which included getting ripped off yet again on the way there, sleeping in a mosquito infested room for a night, a romantic swim through the coral reef in the Red Sea hand in hand with an Arab man I had never met before - yes, indeed...please ask me about it (it's really not what it sounds like), and my miserable journey back to Palestine. (I was terribly sick, but God was wonderfully gracious; the kind people at the hostel in Eilat really helped me out!) It was a truly wonderful trip & I would love to go back someday.
About a month later, Wilma, another teacher named Mary (from Tennessee), and I decided to go to Turkey for our 2nd Easter break (Orthodox Easter). It was a really cheap trip, so that's how we were able to manage it. We went to Antalya - oh my goodness...the scenery was breathtaking and we had such a great time. We met such wonderful and interesting people - lots of Russian speaking people (which I absolutely love), the hotel was really nice, and there was lots of entertainment. I didn't quite know what to expect in Turkey, but I certainly had no idea it would be so beautiful. I must go back. The highlights of this trip were: meeting great people, an unexpected fashion show, the beautiful city of Antalya, and participating in the hotel's evening entertainment. This consisted of an Easter egg painting contest in which I tied with 3 other people for the best egg, and then had to do a dance-off to Justin Timberlake's "Sexy Back" in front of a room full of people to determine the winner. (Just so you know, the winner was the only guy in the dance-off & I don't think he even danced. I totally won.) The journey home was a bit frustrating because our plane was delayed for 7 hours, but it turned out well because we met some more really great people. It was a fablulous trip.The Fashion Show


Ridiculously Expensive Rings. Wilma's was worth about $250,000 & mine was worth about $500,000. Some people have entirely too much money. My ring wasn't even pretty-I can't imagine anyone paying half a million for that gaudy thing.


Waterfall In Antalya


Antalya's Harbor


Turkish Boat



Our Hotel.  Aren't the mountains deliciously mysterious??


The Coolest Chicken Ever.


Proof That I Won the Dance-Off. See, that guy's just standing there.  His wife was screaming like a banshee for him & that's why he won.  Seriously, I hesitated to put this pic up, but whatever. This is me, and yes, I did.


School was now coming to a close and there was no slowing down from then until the end. The last day of school was on June 4th, and I really miss my kids. I love them so much! Something really great happened during the last week, but I won't share it here...I'm sure that I'll have an opportunity to share it with most of you this summer. On top of the end-of-the-year responsibilities at school, we then had to start packing up our apartment as well. Jerusalem School is moving and so are all the American teachers. It was a very hectic time, but we did all that we could before we left. Wilma and I are now back in Georgia as of last Tuesday night, and as far as I know we'll be here until sometime in August. Erin and Eric stayed behind for a little over 2 weeks to help out with everything at the school, which is what I was intending to do, but there are 2 weddings that I wanted to be home for, and so...here I am. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be surrounded by family & friends and the beauty of NW Georgia again. I'm looking forward to a great summer break, and the leading of the Lord as to what exactly I'll be involved with next year in Palestine. Your prayers are greatly needed and appreciated. Much thanks to all of you who have kept me in your prayers this past year - I couldn't have made it without you!!

Petra, Day I

...So, we left after school on Wednesday and headed to Eilat.  We spent the night at a Christian hostel called "The Shelter."  The room itself was not so great (it was clean though), but the people there were super sweet & that made it a really nice place to stay.  We got up Thursday & headed for the Jordanian border.  We got through fine, though they searched my bags (only mine - ??), and then we had to take a taxi to Aqaba.  Little did we know that this would be the first, but not the last time we would get taken advantage of during our 4 day adventure.  We asked the driver to take us to the central bus station in Aqaba and he told us that it was a holiday - Mohammed's birthday, I think - and that the bus station was closed.  He offered to take us all the way to Petra for a "good price."  The thing is that we had a friend call beforehand and ask about the bus schedule and so we knew that the buses were running.  We insisted that He take us to the bus station & it was obvious that he didn't want to.  He took us to a place where there were some big buses parked and so we paid him and got out and he left.  Then we discovered that he hadn't taken us to the bus station at all, but he had dropped us off in front of a hotel with buses parked in front of it.  Jerk!  So we had to tote our luggage for more than half a mile not knowing where we were going, but some friendly people pointed us in the right direction & we finally made it to the bus station.  The station wasn't very impressive & the buses were very small, but it was only 4 Jordanian dinar, or JD, to go to Petra, so we didn't complain.  It took more than a couple of hours driving through the desert with nothing around except a few camels here and there, but we finally made it to Petra.  We took a taxi from the bus station to our hotel, put our bags in our rooms, and then headed to "Little Petra."  It's a much smaller version of Petra, but it's still really cool.  We came upon a high, hewn-out monument with a couple of Bedouins hanging out at the entrance.  They asked us if we wanted to come up & I said yes thinking that there were stairs to walk up.  The guys informed me that there were no stairs and the only way to get up there was to climb up.  (I quickly discovered that Bedouins in Petra are expert rock climbers; they're like mountain goats in sandals. Seriously, they're amazing.)  Michael went up and then I tried.  Now, I'm no expert rock climber - if I can get my feet over and onto something, I'm good, but I had never attempted to climb the face of a rock before.  I didn't think it looked that difficult & so I had a go at it, only to quickly discover that this was going to be much harder than it looked.  I actually got a little nervous because I knew that if I fell I would get seriously injured.  I went back and forth for a few minutes trying to climb & then deciding not to because it wasn't worth killing myself over.  The two Bedouins offered to help me up.  One climbed up and the other stayed at the bottom & the plan was for the upper guy to hold my hands and pull and the lower one to hold my feet and push.  Again, I was really nervous because I wouldn' t have any control over, well, anything really.  I finally just gave up & let them help me & they got me up to a part that I could climb myself.I had to hug the rock for dear life, but I made it.  It was such a great feeling; the theme music to Rocky was playing in my head, you know, when he makes it up the stairs, & the monument was pretty great too.  I made friends with the helpful Bedouin gentlemen, enjoyed the adrenaline rush for a bit, & then we headed back down. The descent was an adventure as well; Wilma got several lovely pics of that part of the climb and of my male attendants who made sure that I didn't fall.  It was a pretty pathetic attempt at rock climbing - my brother probably would've laughed - but I was pleased.  Anyway, we were now friends with the Bedouins & so they walked with us the rest of our time there.  They led us through a narrow canyon wall and up to some breathtaking views.  One of the Bedouins showed me where he stays (he doesn't live there all year, just in the spring and summer) and he basically invited me to stay up there in the rocks and live with him.  He said that the sunsets were always beautiful and that it's wonderful to sleep under the stars every night.  I have to admit that it did sound pretty tempting in a way - the lifestyle, not the guy - but I declined his offer.  The time came to head back to the hotel;  Abdullah, my Bedouin "boyfriend," took a picture of me with his cell phone (yes, he had a really nice cell phone - everyone here does), and then we all said good-bye.  We went out to eat that night and stopped at a store on the walk back to the hotel.  It was here that I met a second gentleman (blue eyes are like gold over here, ladies!) who, after a bit of introductory conversation, invited me to come to his cave in Little Petra for some nice music, dancing, and drinks under the moonlight.  I guess all the men there have their own caves.  Anyway, this guy was really, really cute and I was blushing terribly - he was so charming that I actually got a little light-headed.  Wilma was with me and was thoroughly enjoying my embarrassment.  She bought a diet coke and I grabbed her arm & we walked out as he was still trying to talk me into a romantic evening in a moonlit cave.  It took me half the night to stop blushing...