sabbatical views and notes

Weaver

2008-09-15T03:34:00.001-07:00

Our time away from Milton-Freewater is drawing to a close. We have only three more nights before we fly away from Scotland, and only two are here at Clachan Seil at Ardara Cottage. Sensing how quickly time flies, our hosts, the Rae's, offered us one last adventure: a trip on their sailboat, the "Weaver" to the Garvellachs and the Corryvreckan Whirlpool. On Sunday, after worshiping together,

Sabbath Worship, Nature Style

2008-09-13T09:47:00.001-07:00

At The Edge Of The WoodsSince there is no Adventist Church on our island, Ole and I have been attending the Church of Scotland on Sundays and having our own worship services on Sabbath. This morning, however, we decided to join a nature group from the island on their monthly nature walk. This month, the topic was "Lichens", and I have never had anything to do with lichens. I really didn't think I

Basking in Beauty Again - We Apologize

2008-09-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

It's hard not to want to share delightful moments. Please ignore if you're bored :-)This week ended an hour ago when Vonnie and I walked to a shore-line north of our cottage to see the afterglow of the Sabbath sunset. We stopped there to sing some songs and take a few snapshots. Of course they can't capture the sounds of the herons winging by, or the waves way out on the sound, or other subtle

Jerusalem Stories, #2

2008-09-05T06:41:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone,Since Ole and I are just basking day after day in the glorious beauty surrounding us here in Scotland, we don't want you to get bored with the tediously repetitive ecstasy of our blog, so I thought I would try to write a little story every day from the adventures we had in our travels that I didn't have time to report. I thought I would start with the weekends we spent in

Scottish Distractions

2008-08-31T14:29:00.000-07:00

Our major purpose here on Seil (pronounced "seal") is to write sermons and two books we have dreamed of. But sometimes it's not easy! Because of wonderful opportunities and necessary exercise. Let's talk about the distractions this Sunday evening. Yesterday, Sabbath, after some home-therapy for Vonnie's "owies" (left over from her fall in Leeds), we used some maps to choose an afternoon walk

Scottish Views

2008-08-27T14:08:00.000-07:00

While the weather has been consistently cloudy, often rainy, and rarely sunny, (the storekeeper told me they had a "drought" of six weeks back in May), still this is a beautiful place to be. While Vonnie and I are successfully using our computers to write (and communicate by email and blog), we do get out and see the beauty as we can.#1 - a autostitch of two photos of kayakers on the sound that

Campus Adventiste to Dover

2008-08-25T02:48:00.000-07:00

This rainy Monday morning in Scotland, I want to share two days worth of traveling last week. A week ago yesterday, we woke up in a guest room at Campus Adventiste de Collonges-sous-Salève, just across the border from Geneva, Switzerland. We packed up our rental car to return to Cointrin Airport in Geneva, but made one last stop to see if we could say hello to my old roommate from 1965-1966. René

Arrival at Clachan Seil

2008-08-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends,On this Friday evening, Vonnie and I have arrived at our final, sabbatical, destination: Ardarra Cottage, in the little village of Clachan, on the "wee Isle of Seil". Here we will work, and rest, until it is time to fly home to Milton-Freewater.This morning we awoke in a guest house in Edinburgh, Scotland, (on a street that seemed to be nothing but old row homes turned

Rome to Collonges-sous-Saléve

2008-08-16T13:37:00.000-07:00

Writing this Saturday night from the girl's dormitory office on the Campus Adventiste of Collonges-sous-Saléve, France. 44 years after I left France, Vonnie and I have explored my old school together - even attending church services this morning with me translating a fascinating sermon by a lady, the secretary of the school of theology here. It has been a wonderful day!But, of course there are

Animal stories from Mt. Carmel and Athens

2008-08-10T22:08:00.001-07:00

Animal Stories from Mt. Carmel and Athens:(Especially for Teo, Stevie and Pablo)The Raven of Mt. Carmel:On our last day in Israel, Grandpa and I drove from Nariyya, a dear little city on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in the North of Israel, south through the big city of Haifa. Haifa is built by the sea, too, but just inland from the sea is Mount Carmel, the mountain where Elijah invited the

Athens Special

2008-08-10T01:04:00.000-07:00

How to describe our few hours in Athens! Magical? Enchanted? When we checked into the Athens Hilton (Thank you Merrel and Marie) the receptionist upgraded us to the executive floor, and then changed the room so we would have a view of the Acropolis with the Parthenon on top. From the 10th floor, it is truly an absorbing view of the city. (This is the evening photo of the city.)One minor

From Tell es-Safi to Tiberius

2008-08-05T22:57:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Wednesday, we continue our exploration of northern Israel. However, before we pack up and move on from the Eden Hotel in Tiberias beside Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), Vonnie and I want to share a few photos. (one photo is from our window overlooking Tiberias and the lake.)There’s another photo of our dig site (Area E) under the awning. Just wanted not to forget our four weeks there

Farewell to Tell es-Safi/Gath

2008-08-02T13:25:00.000-07:00

The new gateway spire over West JerusalemAs I type, it is Saturday night in Jerusalem and Vonnie and I have just had a wonderful Sabbath. It's hard to believe that I had the privilege of sharing a few thoughts at Advent House this morning for the English congregation. The President of the Israel Field, Elder Elofer, was with me on the platform, just hours before he and his wife would fly off to

Brief Note from Revadim

2008-07-24T13:34:00.000-07:00

Heather told me people were noticing our "absence" from the blog - just as Israel was more in the news than usual. Well, we are fine, but terribly pressed for time. I'm writing this at midnight, and must wake up at 4:45 for this week's last day on the dig. And then it's back to Jerusalem for another weekend of adventures.Today was a big day on the dig as Area D (we are working in Area E)

Two Weeks of Digging

2008-07-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo from Wednesday, July 16. We are just at the end of our dig day with lunch and pottery washing to follow. Actually with a shower and a long nap to follow the washing, too.I had one of our dig partners take this photo so we could share it with the on-line readers of Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR). Why? Because we were the blessed recipients of a dig scholarship from BAR's parent

People who have touched our lives: Benzi

2008-07-14T11:59:00.001-07:00

Benzi: Many of the people at this dig are young Jewish University students. They are astonishing in their beauty, brilliance, and character. We have been deeply impressed. One of the young men on our team in Area E is called Benzi – short for a name that means "Son of Zion". He has dark curly hair cut in a way that makes it curl up around his skull cap and form a halo around his beautiful,

People who have touched our lives: Ana

2008-07-14T11:56:00.001-07:00

Stories of People who have Touched our Lives: Ana: Daddy and I went to the little Post Office here at the Kibbutz to mail some postcards to you. There is a little red-haired lady who is in her seventies who runs it. You know how Daddy is, he asked her about some photos she had on the wall, and she told him about them. Then she said, "You come sit down. I have story to tell you. Story

Stories from Israel

2008-07-14T11:54:00.001-07:00

Since it's been several days since I've written to you, I have many stories to tell you again. Don't feel bad if you have to read them a few at a time.Surprising sounds: Last Wednesday morning, not too long after sunrise, our group was hard at work in our Bronze Age dirt. I had gone to the bottom of our area to get my bottle of water from Daddy's backpack and was just stepping back under the

“Jerusalem Below”

2008-07-14T11:16:00.001-07:00

Galatians 4:25 26 "But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother." Back from our first weekend in Jerusalem, we can testify that the Jerusalem below is definitely not “free”. Of course I’m making a pun with what Paul wrote; he was not writing about financial cost. Whether the two kinds of freedom are linked or not can be debated,

Taking a Break

2008-07-10T11:48:00.000-07:00

Life at Kibbutz Revadim and dig-site, Tel es-Safi, is SO full and busy that we are running out of time! But it is going so very well.Today we dug from 6 am to 1 pm (as usual), then washed pottery (as usual), and then had a field trip to Askelon (Asquelon), and then had an end-of-week BBQ with the team, and now must get all our belongings packed for storage over the weekend, or to take with us on

Life on the Kibbutz and the Tel

2008-07-09T11:23:00.001-07:00

Yes, we are having the same sense of awe, mentioned in your comments, as we touch the pottery that someone used 4500 years ago! Today I was chipping away the mudbrick that surrounds the stones of the short wall in the area where I'm working, and I was wondering about the person who built this wall so many thousands of years ago. Was he a young married man building it for his bride, or was he one

First days at Tel es-Safi

2008-07-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

Is it possible? Thursday is about to begin? It's just 5 am, and we must be on the bus in 20 minutes. And last evening Jonathan (Yonathan) and I stayed up till 10:30 discussing Jewish halakic (sp?) laws (clean and unclean).My battery recharger is not working through the 220 adapter, so I'm not getting many photos, but here are a couple from our first days. And Oh my! They have been full!

Dead Sea Float, Masada and Tel es-Safi

2008-07-07T04:40:00.000-07:00

Hello to everybody! As the photos show, Vonnie and I have enjoyed floating on the dead sea and also visiting Masada, only twenty minutes away.It is true, what they report, that it is almost impossible to sink in the Dead Sea. It is so dense with salts (not just table salt) that it's like wearing floaters all over one's body - or like wearing a wet suit without a lead-belt to counter the

At the Dead Sea

2008-07-05T03:33:00.000-07:00

Aqaba to Dead Sea, Israel Happy Sabbath – and Happy 4th of July! By the time it gets this dark in the USA, the fireworks will be lighting the hearts of all who treasure our American freedoms. What a great privilege it is to live under a constitution that has made our country unique for over 232 years.Tonight we are in the Tulip Inn, 150’ above the Dead Sea. We watched the sun linger on the

The Red Sea is BLUE

2008-07-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

Get out your Bibles. Look up Ezion-geber. You'll find this is where Solomon launched his fleet to get the gold of Ophir. This is also where Jehoshaphat lost his fleet after a prophet told him he had made a wrong alliance. Ezion-geber is for all intents and purposes, Aqaba where we are! In two of the passages, it also lists Eloth (now Eilat, Israel, where we will go tomorrow.) And when the

Our week in Jordan plus tweezers

2008-07-02T05:16:00.000-07:00

Vonnie’s ObservationsSince I haven’t written for days, and I have so much to write, I thought I would break it up into little vignettes so that you could read one a day or something so you wouldn’t get bored:Tweezers: Daddy says I should tell you about an incident that occurred as we were trying to board Royal Jordanian at Heathrow Airport in London. As we were approaching security, there was a

2008-07-01T10:57:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning, July 1, 2008, Vonnie read the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. I heard it very differently having just ridden a donkey the evening before in Petra. OK, I guess I’ll start with the beginning and the end of the story. Through a combination of tiredness, a hot, hot day, a late brunch, shopping in the tourist shops, we finally reentered Petra around 3

Petra Update

2008-06-29T23:35:00.000-07:00

This Monday morning we are headedback to Petra! We had a lovely first visit yesterday late afternoon. Unfortunately we don't have wireless access at this hotel, so this will be photo free until we reach a different situation. Briefly, Sabbath was another answer to prayer. We found the Adventist Church in Amman and stayed for the English Church guest luncheon. There was a whole contingent of

From Umayri to John the Baptist

2008-06-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

Thirty minutes after falling asleep, the phone rang. Three of our four pieces had been found and awaited my signature in the lobby. The joy of seeing luggage again. The shock that Vonnie's bag was still missing, with ALL our toiletries. BUT, there was a note promising it was on its way - with a new tracking number. There's still hope.Morning started early with breakfast and meeting our

Tourists at Ajlun and Jaresh

2008-06-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we did it! Same old clothes, but we hired a driver who drove us north to Ajlun and the ancient castle pictured here, and also to Jaresh, an amazing collection of Greek, Roman, Christian and Muslim monumental ruins. In fact, when we visited the museum, their collection included stone implements from the days before the locals learned to work with metal!Our wonderful guide reminded

Exploring Jordan

2008-06-26T11:00:00.000-07:00

We are once again sitting in the fabulous lobby of the Golden Tulip Hotel after an amazing day of exploring ancient ruins near Amman. We hired a driver named Mustafa (recommended by the hotel staff.) He was wonderful -- a displaced Palestinian born in Ramalah. Ole will put some photos on the blog of the two places we visited: Ajloon castle and Jeresh, site of successive cultures from Roman to

Waking up "on time"

2008-06-26T00:10:00.000-07:00

After our first meal in Amman last night, we went walking, both on the busy streets, and then up into residential areas. It was a delight to discover a street corner filled with children playing in the coolness of evening under the street lights. Nearby we went into a "supermarket" corner store and bought some fast-melting ice-cream bars. The owner apologized that the freezer was due for

Wake up in Amman

2008-06-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

We are both astonished. 12+ hours sleeping! I got up at 3 pm local time. Vonnie even later. I started to walk to a “nearby” bank, returned to get bank-card. Took pedestrian bridge over Queen Alia street to be on other side. Two police found a man who spoke some English. Directed me around next corner. Found the bank on Queen Noor St. Took 300 JDN from checking. Crossed over street by

Jordan At Last

2008-06-25T08:10:00.000-07:00

We loved having Heather, Teo, Stevie, and Pablo say farewell to us at WW Airport.We were, of course, exhausted for either no sleep, or 2.5 hrs of sleep the night before.Good telephone calls from SeaTac Airport.Good Kristin Fry bread sandwiches at SeaTac. And later at Vancouver Airport.Met a young lady from Barcelona on flight to Vancouver. Multi-lingual. Hoping to study at NY University on

Middle of the night - only hours away

2008-06-23T02:48:00.001-07:00

How can it take so long to pack, and get a house ready, and get a yard ready, and say all the good-byes, and ....It's 2:49 am, Monday morning, and time to pack the computer - so this is farewell until I log on again. We fly shortly after 11 am.

First Day! Packing.

2008-06-22T06:55:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my incredible Primary Camp Meeting team, both of pastors and volunteers, it's over. The last "hurdle" is past; the supplies put away; the farewells made. I want to especially thank Pastors Bumgardner, Guldhammer, Knight, Stafford, Johnson, and Kilgore for overseeing SO MUCH of the work of preparation and direct work with the children. Wow! And also for Milton members, Millers,

T -4 Days - Camp Meeting tomorrow

2008-06-19T22:50:00.000-07:00

This Thursday is almost impossible to describe properly. Full to the brim, but not with what I imagined. How does one say that an "emergency" was scheduled, and took up more of the day than expected? Suffice it to say that the emergency is now in the past, the office at church looks cleaner than it has for months, my laptop has a loaner harddrive much bigger than my own, (so it doesn't fill up