West Coast Road Trip

Last month I headed off on an overnight road trip with some girlfriends to see the west coast of Ireland. We rented a car and drove across to Galway and then up to Clifden where we stayed the night in a hostel. It was my first time staying in a hostel. The four of us girls were lucky to get a private room for four with bunk beds but we still had to share the bathroom with everyone else. It wasn't too bad but I doubt I would ever stay at a hostel again on purpose! Clifden was a cute little town and we went out for a drink to hear some local music. The next morning we headed out and drove Sky Road. This road is up on hills overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and was absolutely beautiful. Then we headed to Kylemore Abbey which is a big beautiful castle in the side of a mountain, on the end of a long lake, where nuns still live today. The place was amazing! I decided to wait to tour the inside and grounds until I can go back with Matt. We then drove up the west coast further to the Achille Islands where we drove on switchback mountains roads on the sides of cliffs through the fog! YIKES!!! This road trip was the first I have been on with good weather since I have been here in Ireland. It was warm and sunny almost the entire time. And because it was spring there were baby cows, horses, and lambs everywhere. This trip I finally felt like I saw the real Ireland as it was everything you picture Ireland to be. In the photos you will see my American friend from North Carolina, Jessie(girl with blond hair), my friend from Brazil, Camila (girl with long brown hair), and my friend from Germany, Marianne (girl with curly brown hair). We had a great time taking to the narrow roads and rocking out in the car. Thanks for a great time ladies!

Turktastical Turkey

We recently returned from a holiday with our friends the Policans, who flew into Dublin to join us for a week in Kusadasi, Turkey. I was a little nervous but excited to go and had no idea what to expect. Turkey was chosen primarily because of it's close proximity to the ancient city of Ephesus. I absolutely love visiting places with Biblical history! We had a GREAT time and I hope to do some more in depth blogs about some of our adventures in Turkey in the near future. For now you can see some of my favorite photos above in the slideshow.

Visiting the Synagogue

I finished up my Old Testament Survey class a few months ago and am currently well into my New Testament Survey class. I cannot tell you how much taking these classes has given me new eyes to read the Bible with and how much more I understand the Scriptures as well as God's masterful plan of redemption. I am also convinced learning of this kind is the answer for those Christians who struggle with Bible reading.

I have loved learning about the history of Israel in the Old Testament, through the intertestamental period, and up into the New Testament. Judaism is fascinating and we as Christians owe much to it as Christianity was born out of Judaism and Judaism really aided in the spread of Christianity. Recently I was reading about how synagogues formed during the period of the exile. They were formed by the Jews to teach the Torah as they were no longer able to go to the Temple for worship at that time. As the Jews were scattered, because of exile in the Old Testament and because of persecution during the intertestamental period, the synagogues multiplied. By the time of the birth of the Christian church there were synagogues over much of the Roman Empire and so evangelists, like Paul, were able to spread the good news by going to teach it in the synagogue of each town they went to.

Learning about all of this made me curious to go and observe a synagogue service. I found a synagogue not far from where we live about a month ago and tried to go to a sabbath service on a Saturday morning. When I arrived I found out (to my big surprise) that I was not allowed in because of security issues. I would have to get permission through the chief Rabbi's office. I called the office and after giving them my information they approved me to come observe a service a few weeks later. I attended this morning's service. The service was about two and a half hours long and only about 10 minutes of it was in English. Even though I don't speak Hebrew I found the service to be very interesting. The synagogue was a bit different looking from a church inside but not as different as I thought it might be. The women sit upstairs in the gallery while all the men sit downstairs. Most of the women wore head coverings while all of the men wore yamikas. Many of the men also wore prayer shawls which they would situate differently on themselves at different times. Sometimes they would cover their faces and heads completely. It seemed to me this signified that they were going into their prayer closets to pray without distraction. Most of the time the congregation sits but at certain times the people all stand.There were many prayers said, blessings, and some singing led by a cantor. Much of what is said is actually sung instead of flatly spoken. There was an extensive reading from the Torah. The Scroll, or Torah, is taken out of an ark (wooden box) and is carried up to the cantor. As it is being carried up the men kiss the fringes of their prayers shawls and then touch the fringes to the Scroll case. I even saw one man kiss the Scroll case. The Scroll is unrolled only when it is read from and then rolled closed and covered when it is not being read from. The Scroll itself is made of parchment paper and the writing has been hand copied to perfection by a scribe. The cantor does most of the reading but 2 other men also read some passages which I was told was a great honor to be asked to do. In fact a man who has been asked to read from the Scroll must practice at home to be able to read the passage in the service perfectly as the Hebrew words in the Scroll do not have any vowels but only consonants. When the reading is done the Scroll was held up and unrolled and lifted high for all the people to see before it is put away. After this the chief Rabbi gave about a ten minute sermon in English on one of the passages. After the sermon more prayers and blessings are said. The people, Ireland, Israel, and world peace are all prayed for. The prayers include requests for the Redeemer to come to Zion. My favorite part of the service was to hear the Shema recited which the cantor bellowed out beautifully in Hebrew: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One..." It is longer than that (see Deut. 6:4-9) but that is famous first line.

I was able to sit next to a very nice Jewish woman who helped me to understand the service somewhat. She did not speak Hebrew herself but was able to read it in the prayer book and Torah. She has been a Jew her whole life and was quite open to talking with me about Judaism. I asked her many questions and she answered what she could but seemed to feel bad that she could not answer a lot of my questions about Jewish theology. She did tell me the Jews were waiting for a Redeemer to save the world and that they expected him to be a high up Rabbi. She said recently there was a very intelligent and great Rabbi in New York that they thought could be the Messiah but he died. I asked her the Jewish doctrine of salvation which got me a blank stare so I then rephrased by asking how does a Jewish person go to heaven. She told me by doing good deeds, praying for forgiveness, trying to observe the law as much as they can, and charity. I also tried talking to her about how atonement is made for sins since there are no sacrifices being made because there is no temple. She told me about Yom Kippur and how it is the holiest day of the year and on that day how you take all the sins on yourself and and pray for forgiveness and something about how your name is written in the book and your destiny is decided for that year. She did not know if when the Redeemer comes whether or not there will be a new temple with sacrifices being made again. She was very kind and a good sport, asking me about myself and my own faith. I was able to share just a little with her as all of our talking was during the service. She told me straight out that she was not a religious person but that she really enjoyed the traditions of Judaism and would not think of going to another religion. After the service there was fellowship over coffee and treats and she introduced me to many people, telling them I was there visiting because I was studying the Bible. All of the people I met were very nice. Tonight I received an email from her. Maybe I will see her again- wouldn't it be great if I could share Christ with her?!

I enjoyed visiting the synagogue and was told by security I could come back anytime now. I doubt I will go again but it was good to experience. While sitting through the service I couldn't help but imagine what it would have been like to have been a Jew just after Pentecost, to be sitting in my synagogue, to have a visitor sit down to give the teaching that day, and for that visitor to be the Apostle Paul who had come to preach the good news about Jesus Christ!

Rainbow Nights

The other night I saw this beautiful rainbow over the mountain from my patio. There is something funny about seeing a rainbow in Ireland. I actually think it may lead to a pot of gold and a leprechaun. Anyway, I took these pictures at 9:30. It is light out here now until almost 11:00 P.M. It is really hard to get used to and even though I tell myself its late and time to go to bed I don't believe it! Tomorrow morning the Policans arrive from Tucson and we are so excited to see them. The four of us leave for Turkey tomorrow night. Turkish delight, here I come!