Day 2 The Great Sea
Last night we frolicked in the sea. There is no more descriptive word than “frolic.” There really isn’t. haha.
We flew into Ben Guiron. A rough flight, really. We survived the Israeli customs check only to wait for one team member who was delayed an hour behind the rest of us. After the 20 some hours of traveling the delay was wearing, but from there, the exhaustion seemed to mix with the hope and excitement that was our collective heart that first night as we piled on the bus to travel north to Netanya.
We loaded our luggage on the bus, arrived at the hotel, unloaded our luggage, and checked in. After finding our rooms of safe refuge, we went to dinner… most of us, i suspect, were a little dazed from travel and anticipation. I do not remember the dinner conversation much, only the table to my far left that was filled with Jewish and non-Jewish students from the University. I knew this in part from their attire and the other part from eavesdropping on their conversation (in my defense, they were boisterous!). They fought passionately over the effects of the Holocaust on the Jewish peoples who suffered that time. I say “suffered” telling my position in the debate, because I was horrified to hear these students suggesting the trials, the horrific, inhumane treatment of these people was not oppressive—that those who survived were stronger for the hardship and it was good in their lives. I could have cried just listening as my own heart fails to reconcile to any heavenly or earthly understanding of that genocide. It burned in my heart to speak into this, though I knew I had neither the right nor the answer to speak.
Leaving dinner, we conspired together to sneak out and see the ocean; this magnificent body which is spoken of in the inspired Word of God. After we had all changed and done what we needed to do, we met again in the hotel lobby to charge the sea as a group.
As we burst through the doors, the front runners seemed to suddenly look back to me and ask which way to go. I am not sure that it happened all at once, but certain that it caught my attention in an instant, and it tickled me that the natural leaders amongst us had so organically taken the role of headship, but had to look back to me and ask which way…funny to me that they had without communicating with one another all come to the conclusion that I would know! Ha! I made a good show of it, looking first out toward the horizon, and then to my left and to my right; then I quite confidently declared the Mediterranean to be to our right. Just as quickly as I had spoken it, the leaders took the course and led us all that way. I was pleased-stupid with myself, just wishing I had a friend to turn to and laugh with; i think my mouth gaped a little and I certainly looked around for someone to acknowledge the moment. From behind me came a voice of truth. Mary shouted, “J, how do you know where the ocean is? You haven’t ever been here before!” I laughed aloud as I shouted back, “I know, I am just guessing!”
We all strolled to the boardwalk together. When we got to where it seemed the entrance should have been, there was no admittance. My heart sank! I so wanted this experience with this group on our first night. I longed to dig my toes in the sand and have the wind blow my hair with that sweet sweet ocean smell. I began to settle with the disappointment, but a mild indignation rose in my heart. I spoke aloud into the murmurs of the scorners, “no, it is the ocean, it cannot be closed!” I pressed forward in the group, towards the front, to see for myself. It looked as if the path was closed, just as they had said. but I tagged one of the men running in the forefront and said, “come on, we will run ahead and scout it out for the group, like Caleb and Joshua!” He skeptically said, “we may not return with a favorable report as they did.” I playfully hit his arm and yelled, “come on, you wouldn’t let a girl run off by herself in the dark in this unfamiliar city would you?” He chased behind me and when we got to the bottom of the path it led into a local bar. Right before the bar there was an open gate that led down steps to the stairs, which could not be seen from the boardwalk.
We raced in, turning back to usher our group down the path. I took off my shoes and ran to the water. After a while it seemed that the group should have been caught up and joining us, but they had thought we were in the bar and tried to follow us in there. Not knowing, I ran back to the steps to find them just as they were being kicked out! I led them down to the beach. It was such a freeing release after the stress and confusion of travel. Looking at my sojourners I saw a release to God that was so pure, a true letting go –if only for the moment as the wind off the waves hit our faces.
One woman shared with me after the experience that the sheer size of the ocean, the greatness of its expanse, and the force of the waves slapped her with the reality of who He is. It was so powerful to be there, and we were all so small in comparison, standing alone together in the sands of the Bible’s Great Sea.
I played in the winter-cold waters and nearly soaked my blue jeans. We took photos, and eventually felt again the weariness of our two days of travel. We headed back to the hotel.
Some of us seemed to not want the experience of our first day in country to end. There was this “near” bond between us, and an almost-desperation to soak it all in. We seemed to have this fear that it was passing without a real recognition of its significance.
I sat at the bar with a slice of cheesecake. I listened to the most beautiful testimony of the Lord’s faithfulness from one of the Saints I traveled with. She spoke of her experience adopting a child from China; she and her husband were denied a child because of their race! I felt absolutely indignant, but as my imagination wandered to thoughts of litigation, she continued to explain that there was nothing they could do about it. The rejection had come from China and there was no American law that could dictate to another county the rightness of our nondiscriminatory practices. She told of how she and her husband believed in their hearts that the Lord had clearly spoken the country of China when they sought Him, and how they fought to continue in the process despite the “no’s” that they heard.
She showed me pictures and I realized they were not only the first people of their race, as citizens of the United States to ever adopt a child from China, but truly the only people of their race to adopt a child from China from anywhere in the world ever before! They fought an entire country to end a bigotry. I could feel in my spirit the closeness to a mighty work of the King, a bigness that was beyond human understanding, and it brought me near to tears.
I could not help thinking of my dear Beth, at home, mired in politics, awaiting her own child to come home for the first time from Guatemala. I wanted for her to hear the faithfulness of this family as they overcame impossibly unfair barriers, and the Faithfulness of the Lord to them as He delivered their child to them. I wanted her heart to feel the encouragement of their testimony as mine did.
I finally went bleary eyed to bed; completely romanced by and expectant of the country I would see when I woke up.
Runtoward 