Hodu L'Adonai ki tov!: Egypt!

So as you all know... I went to Egypt for travel study break. We had a great time, my roommate Ryan Heathers, Brooke Estrada, Emily Sheehy and I. Ours was the abbreviated version of the Egypt trip, allowing for many of the hot spots in Cairo and Luxor, but not exactly exhausting every corner of Egypt. However, we had a blast! We traveled student style, going days on end without a shower, spending two nights in a row sleeping on the night train from Cairo to Luxor and back, starting the hike Jebul Musa (the best candidate for Mt. Sinai) at 3:00 AM in order to see the sunrise, and using a total of 21 taxis in the process!

We prepared for the worst in Egypt and were pleasantly surprised. My established stereotype of Arab people was challenged many times! Sure, we always ran into the odd Egyptian who was trying to rip us off, simply because as Americans we are considered "dollars on legs", but it seemed that every time we left the standard tourism areas, Egyptians were genuinely warm, friendly, and helpful to us as strangers (in stark contrast with how strangers are treated in America...)

Also interesting about Egypt was some of the amazing structures which makes it so famous (the pyramids, temples, obelisks, all that). This also is in contrast to the focus of our study this semester, Israel. To be honest, Israel has nothing really that spectacular at all when it comes to ancient ruins. It just has a spectacular God! I was continually hit with the thought: "Wow, its amazing to what extent these pharoahs went to to exalt themselves!" Almost as if these great building projects could somehow prove to others that they were more than the mere humans that they were. I even got to see many of these "great" pharoahs in a mummy exhibit in the Cairo museum, and their shriveled little preserved carcases are pitiful. God doesn't need earthly buildings to recommend himself (even the great pyramids would fall sadly short of His glory). The tabernacle and even Solomon's great temple were really relatively humble. Rather, God is the One who is great, everything else falls short.

Thus says the Lord, "Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? For My hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being," declares the Lord. "But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word."
-Isaiah 66:1-2

After Egypt, Emily went with another group to Jordan and Brooke went back to our campus at Yad HaShmonah, and two other girls, Megan and Gracie joined us for a hiking trip in the Negev (southern desert portion of Israel). For two and a half days of hiking, we packed in 42 liters of water, 2 kilos of "tea salami", pita, apples, cheese, peanut butter, chocolate spread, granola bars, and other basic anemities... We had fun, we didn't die, and God's nature is BEAUTIFUL, even the desert. I know this is all just a brief summary, but hopefully it will give you all a better idea of my trip... Enjoy the following pictures!