I'm off to play in the dirt.

I leave in about 8 hours to begin flying out to Israel.  I have been explaining this trip to people a lot recently and the more I say it out loud the more I have to remind myself of what I'm actually saying.  It is easy to simply say, "I'm going to Israel for a month."  I can say it just like I would say I went to Chicago last weekend.   I know that this isn't just another vacation though. I do not want to glorify this trip to be more than it is but when I think about how this all came about I know that this beyond me.  

During the fall semester of this past school year, I took a class called Archaeology of the Ancient Near East which was my first academic study of archaeology.  Studying the Bible in that way really challenged and expanded the way I teach and study the Bible.  So I applied in February (two days after the application deadline, mind you) for a scholarship that would allow me to go participate on an archaeological dig somewhere in the Mediterranean Basin.  I put a lot of work into the application but was not expecting much because I had never heard of an undergraduate student receiving this scholarship.  Plus, I knew I am not planning to be an archaeologist, I just want to learn how to teach the Bible better from this important historical perspective.  

A few weeks later, I was down in the mail room at school with a couple friends and I found a letter in my box with the scholarship title on it.  I opened it and started freaking out as I read the first word, "Congratulations!"  Brant was standing right in front of me so I handed him the letter to explain my excitement.  As he was reading over it, I was realizing that there was a lot in the way of actually getting to go on this trip.  Through tears I told him that I was really excited but I did not know what this would mean in light of mom being sick at the time.  He reminded me that it was not for me to worry about and helped me to enjoy the moment for what it was.  

Over the next few months I continued to plan for this trip but with a constant question of whether I would actually get to go this summer or not depending on mom's health.  All of my summer plans were waiting in that balance but this one would require the most work so it seemed the heaviest to plan. 

You may know the rest of the story.  Since Mom's passing I have decided to go ahead and go on this trip.  There were a lot of thoughts, feelings, and prayers that went into that decision but that's a whole other conversation.  When I received this scholarship I told mom, secretly, that I planned to invite Dad to join me for the second part of the trip when I would be touring around the country.  I finally got to invite him officially about two months ago and the Lord has graciously provided a way for him to come out from June 21-July 3rd to join me in Jerusalem.  God's provision throughout this whole process has been evidence of the grace that he so generously gives.  

Reflecting on how all of this has come together, I cannot deny God's work in it.  I do not know His purpose in this trip but I eagerly anticipate the process of that discovery.  I look forward to sharing stories, experiences, and maybe even some history with you.

  

-Haley Kate