Kanakuk Institute

Enjoy the photo slideshow one of our students put together of Spring Break pics…

Untitled from Kanakuk Institute on Vimeo.

Untitled from Kanakuk Institute on Vimeo.

Untitled from Kanakuk Institute on Vimeo.

While in the church at the Bethesda Pools in Jerusalem, we tested out the awesome acoustics with some worship. Imagine our delight when other tour groups from another country joined in–same grace, another language!!

Our last day of touring and we know it’s almost time to leave. Maybe it’s a good thing, since we all feel like our brains are full to the brim of the new knowledge we’ve gained. It’s amazing how one little trip can teach you so much about your faith, about history in general, and about the ways of the world. This trip has changed us, for sure, and we may not be fully able to explain all the ways how.

We began our day at Yad Vashem, the Jewish Holocaust Museum. Right off the bat, our guide explained how subtly the persecution of Jews began, and how it became so mainstream that many people were sucked in to believing Hitler’s cause. How did he convince so many people that Jews were a social problem? How did he initially mislead the world into thinking that the ghettos were humane? We had two hours to wander through the halls of Yad Vashem, but we could have stayed all day. At times we were literally in tears. Seeing the display of the parents who sent their children away to other countries to save their lives or the videos of survivor testimonies playing in the background—you just can’t imagine what these people experienced. Coming out of that museum, we were somber and heavy, but wiser and grateful for the difficult experience. Our eyes are opened not only to the history of the Holocaust, but also cautioned to the possibility of future injustices.

After decompressing from Yad Vashem a bit, we went to the Israeli Museum to view the to scale Jerusalem Model and the Dead Sea scrolls display. This was so helpful to allow us to see all of Jerusalem at once and to review all the places we’d toured and their location in relation to one another. Roni did an excellent job navigating us through the gates, valleys, old city sites, and new additions, and it was cool to follow the process of discovering, saving, studying, and displaying the Dead Sea writings.
We went to the Jewish Market intentionally to experience the chaos that occurs each week before the Sabbath (Shabat). It was PACKED! Children, old women, families, all pulling carts full of veggies, fruits, fish, breads—all the supplies needed for the Sabbath meal. It was not our idea of relaxing shopping, but it was an eye-opening experience!

Our last spot to tour was Caiaphas’ house, where Jesus was questioned and accused and where Peter denied Him three times (Matthew 26). After touring there, we heard some loud booms and bangs, and from the courtyard could see across the horizon some people gathering and smoke in the Arab/Palestinian section. Israel has literally built walls around the Palestinian Autonomy, because scenes like this are common there, and the walls have made it much more difficult for violence to reach into the city limits. We weren’t in danger at any point, but it was interesting to note how normal an occurrence this was for the area.
So, now, we’re headed to the airport. On the way out of town, we had a delicious Farewell Dinner at a local restaurant, which, of course, included a variety of salads, pita, falafel, chicken, lamb, coffee and tea. Staples to the Mediterranean diet!

Israeli Airport security was a little extensive—just lots and lots of lines to pass through. Luckily, we were there with plenty of time and they approved all of us to leave the country without too much trouble. Aren’t you glad to know that it’s hard to leave so the world is safer? From Tel Aviv we jumped onto a twelve hour midnight flight (it takes longer on the return flight because of the headwinds). We arrived in Newark again about 4 am their time and had about 5 hours till our second flight left. Some of us were so tired we took naps on the airport floor, but give us a couple days and we’ll be back on the jet lag track…We jumped onto another teeny little plane to St. Louis, caught a bus back to Branson, and welcomed the site of K-Kauai’s gates. We loved, loved, loved being in Israel, but once you start the journey home, you can’t get there soon enough.
Now our task is to rest up, process, organize our photos and memories, and get ready to jump back into real life. Thank you Lord, thank you Chanceys, thank you everyone for such a great trip!

A Full Day touring Jerusalem:
I don’t think we can fully convey our events of the day without a lengthy description with lots of pictures. But from Israel the pictures take forever to load, so they may have to come later…

1. We started the morning with a trip to the Mount of Olives. This is the place the Messiah is supposed to arrive from, so Jews and Christians alike see this as an important spot. Thousands of Jews are buried here, hoping to have a front row seat for when the Messiah comes and raises the dead. But the Mt. of Olives overlooks the whole city, and there we got to sit with Roni and hear an overview of Old Testament history and a general explanation of why the city has so much “holiness per square inch” and how it is divided. I got most of this description on video, which is another thing I’ll post when we’re back in the land of free wifi.

2. One thing we saw from the top of the Mt. of Olives is the Gate called Beautiful, which is the gate through which the Messiah is prophesied to enter the Old City. In order to prevent this from happening, the Muslims, who control that specific area, have sealed it up tight and buried their dead beside it, which would be an unclean place for a Jew to pass.

3. Walking down from the Mt. of Olives, we walked on the Street of Palms, where the people waved branches and sang Hosanna as Christ entered the city.

4. Halfway down the Street of Palms, we stopped at a possible site of the place where Jesus wept over the city.

5. Then, one of the favorites of the day, we entered the Garden of Gethsemane. We got to spend a little time there reading and praying, reflecting on how Christ might have felt when he was there praying. It was so cool to read the account while sitting in the garden itself. A highlight for life!

6. We walked a little further to reach the City of David, which, as you might imagine is primarily underground. The City of David is an interesting mix of excavation sites and Hezekiah’s Tunnel, which was dug to direct water into the city, thus protecting it from attackers who might try to hold the people captive by limiting their water supply. The tunnel was hand-chiseled along an existing crack. The two sides started chiseling and eventually met in the middle! Anyway, we waded through the knee deep Gihon Spring that still flows through the cave. A memorable experience for sure!! We also got to see the excavation of the potential house of David and a pool where Jesus healed a blind man.

7. From there we headed to the traditional site of the Upper Room, though it is very likely that it is not the actual Upper Room. It looked nothing like we would have imagined, but also it has had some renovations over the last 2000 years… Either way, this site was atop Mt. Zion.

8. Next we grabbed some lunch in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, where our choices included burgers, pizza, bagels, and schwarma (and probably some more, but these stick out). We will be back there again, which is good because we didn’t have any time to explore or to shop!

9. Next we headed to the Wailing Wall, or the Western Wall (two different names for the same place). The second Jewish temple was flattened in 70 AD, not yet to be rebuilt, but the retaining walls that King Herod built to flatten out the plaza there on Mt. Moriah still exist to this day, and the Western Wall is the one that would have been closest to the temple itself. Therefore, it is, to the Jews, “the holiest place in all of Jerusalem today” and is the place where Jews go to pray and to stick prayers into the cracks of the Wailing Wall, believing that they will be answered when the Messiah comes. Interesting side notes: The strictest of Jews refuse to even go onto the Temple Mount, for fear that they would accidentally tread on a portion of the old temple that they didn’t have the right to enter (there were separate areas of the old Temple for women, men, priests, etc. Also, to pray at the Wailing Wall guys and girls have to go to separate areas. Men must cover their heads and women must cover their elbows (and at least part of the leg, and most everything in between). This is the most important place for the Jews because it is as close as they can get to the old Temple, and restoring the Temple is probably their most important goal.

10. One of our last stops of the day was the Davidson Center, which houses some important Temple excavations like the Southern Steps and a cornerstone. The excavation around these areas is tricky because the Temple Mount itself belongs to the Muslims for now, and because of shaky peace, either side is extremely limited in what they can do in this area.

11. Our final stop of the night was the Hebrew University on Mt. Scopis. We had the opportunity to tour the campus a bit and to hear a lecture about “How Christ Got Into Trouble.” This lecture’s aim wasn’t to speak against Christ’s actions, simply to point out which words and deeds irritated the Sanhedrin the most (such as His cleansing of the Temple, His claims of authority and the ability to forgive sins, His defense while on trial, etc.). Ironically enough, the lecture was given by a professor who traveled from Dallas Theological Seminary (with whom we have a partnership!!!), Darrell Bock. We enjoyed getting to tour the campus, and though we had to leave the session early, it was interesting to mix and mingle with graduate students at Hebrew U and to hear Dr. Bock’s thoughts.

12. At last, our day was complete and we headed to dinner at the hotel. A full day, a great day, and we’re ready for another one tomorrow. We tour Jerusalem all day tomorrow and half the day Friday before heading to the airport. What more surprises does this city hold for us???

Tonight the tiredness is getting to us, but at the same time, we realize we have arrived at our last hotel and that means our time in is Israel is passing by. But not without return! In four days we have seen so much variety of countryside and so much important Biblical history that our brains are in danger of overload!!

So, today…we awoke this morning from a night’s sleep in the Bedouin camp. The Bedouin camp was a neat experience—not the best night sleep for everyone, but a once in a lifetime thing and worth it.

Our first and longest stop of the day was Masada, which is a fortress built by King Herod in 37 BC. Herod was an incredibly paranoid king, killing 6 or 7 of his wives and 2 of his own sons when he felt they had become a threat to his throne. As a part of his lunacy, he built several fortresses throughout Israel for escape in case of revolt, and Masada is the one that remains to this day (2000 years later). It’s built on the side of a cliff in the Judean Desert and was impenetratable. He designed this incredible water cistern system, taking advantage of the low elevation of the Dead Sea area and channeling the little rain water the desert does receive to be stored in his cisterns. Today our guide said that Herod’s stores could supply 1000 people with water for seven years. That coupled with the dry air in which fruits and foods don’t spoil easily, and the cliffside fort with only one way in made it a very secure and well-supplied place for the king (though he never used it for that purpose).

The Zealots, a Jewish sect around 70 AD, long after King Herod’s death, did actually use it as a military stronghold in battle against Rome, and held out for 7 years in Masada. The only way the Romans found to defeat them was to use Jewish slaves to build a massive ramp up to the cliff, knowing that the Zealots wouldn’t shoot their fellow countrymen. Anyway, this stronghold is the place we toured today, seeing ruins of the walls, the palaces, the bathhouses & saunas & pools of Herod, hiking through the desert all the while. It was a perfect 70ish degrees and very cool scenery. Their deserts are rocky sand, not like the smooth sand dunes seen in other places of the Middle East.

After Masada, we went for a little dip in the Dead Sea. The most important things to know about the Dead Sea are:
1. It’s the lowest elevation in the world.
2. It’s so full of salt and minerals that nothing really lives in it.
3. The water is so dense that if you pick your legs up you float with no effort required.
4. The mud from the bottom is very good for your skin and actually an expensive spa material.
5. Never, under any circumstances, should you immerse your mouth or eyes!!

We enjoyed some time in the water and on the beach, and I’m sure we are all moisturized and exfoliated by our short Dead Sea spa experience!

From the Dead Sea we drove up to Jerusalem, where we will spend the rest of our time. The scenery out our bus window turned from rocky desert to slightly greener hills to, boom, the out of nowhere city scene. Jerusalem is like a mystery needing to be unlocked—so full of history, so full of conflict and tension and dispute. We can’t wait to learn more about it in the days to come. Jerusalem has one section called the Old City, which is the focus of it all, but it is surrounded on every side by hotels and homes and buildings. The structures don’t look American at all, but this city looks much more American than the others because it is much more commercially developed and crowded than other places we have visited. We stopped at Mt. Scopis, where Hebrew University is located, to see the whole view of the cityscape and to take pictures. We settled into our hotel here, had some dinner, ordered Hebrew jewelry (anyone that wanted it) and even had a headband crafting night. Gotta get a little group bonding time in there too! So, a sun-filled, happy day—we’re still soaking in every single part of it!!

That’s all for now! We’ll give you more details about the city itself as they develop in the days to come!

PS–Now we are in the Tel Aviv Airport, but it’s the first time we’ve had working Internet in a while. So, I’m going to back post the recap of each day of our trip!! Here you go!

Our day began with a tour of the ruins of Beth-Shean, a Roman city in the first through fifth centuries. However, that time period only refers to the ruins of Romans, the area itself has been called that much longer. Beth Shean is where Saul was killed in 1 Samuel 31, and it was later rebuilt around 63 BC as part of the Decapolis (the ten cities east of the Jordan River). The city prospered until an earthquake in 749 AD leveled it all. Excavations will continue in Beth-Shean for years to come because there is so much to uncover! Beth-Shean was home to Mt. Gilboa (specifically the hill where Saul’s death occurred and the hill from some scenes in Jesus Christ, Superstar), a hippodrome (for horse racing), a theater, and lots of cool Roman features—public toilets, column-lined streets, bathhouses, etc.
Our next stop was Qumran, which is the area where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered in caves. The finding of the Dead Sea scrolls was important because these manuscripts were much older than any other copies of the Old Testament, and important to determine the accuracy of the words we read today. We had a little lunch at Qumran and then headed to the En Gedi Desert for a short hike to a nearby oasis. Along the way, we met the mountain badger (hard to describe what exactly this is like for Americans—we don’t really have an equivalent animal, but I guess it looks kind of like a groundhog??? But it climbs trees? You’ll just have to see a picture). The En Gedi Desert is referred to in the story of Saul and David—King Saul (who was trying to kill David) went into the cave where David was hiding to relieve himself. David did not want to kill the Lord’s anointed king, so he simply cut off a corner of his robe as a sign-I had the opportunity to kill you but chose not to take it. Also, the Cave of Adullam is near there. But we didn’t go to any caves, just to the oasis.
As we left Qumran and headed further into the desert, the scenery out our bus window changed drastically, from green and lush to tan and rocky. It changed rather quickly. Soon we could see the Dead Sea, a large body of water and a very beautiful blue against the brown of the desert. We followed the Dead Sea almost down to its tip before stopping at the Bedouin camp for a camel ride. Bedouins are a group of Middle Eastern people, usually Muslim, who live in tents (those these tents were pretty elaborate, furnished, and comfortable). I think we stayed in the cush Bedouin tourist place. Abraham was a Bedouin. One of their main focuses is hospitality, so we were offered tea and coffee as we heard their music and a little explanation about their life.
Our rooms were heated (like I said, cush) but we had small padded beds and a blanket for a door. I was quite comfortable there, and plenty warm as long as we were inside. Dinner last night was amazing—a pita bigger than a large pizza full of meatballs, chicken, rice, and veggies. It was delicious, and a nice change from the salads we have been eating. A once in a lifetime, memorable experience!
After dinner we went for a short night hike in the desert. It was very cold but also very dark and quiet—only the stars and our thoughts were present during the reflection time we had together and individually. It is a powerfully spiritual experience to lie on your back in the desert in another country and realize how big God is. After our hike we sat around the campfire and listen to our Jewish guide discuss his faith and his doubts. We want so badly for his eyes to be opened to Christ. And he wants so badly for his eyes to be opened to something. Anyway, the Lord’s got that under control, and for now, we’re just glad to be a part of his world. Every trip K-I takes is always with him, so we have a long-standing relationship with him, which is awesome!
For now, it’s off to bed as a tent-dweller. Hopefully we’ll sleep soundly despite the setting and the fact that both the groups on either side have decided to sing loud late into the night! We’ll see!!!

The morning began with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. That’s right, we rode a fishing boat, saw a net casting demonstration, and experienced the waters and the views that Jesus and His disciples would have seen. It was at this Sea that Jesus and Peter walked on water, that He calmed one storm and slept through another. Here he called the disciples to fish for men and told Peter to cast his nets on the other side, and here after His resurrection He appeared to some of the disciples and cooked them breakfast. One of the coolest things about this cruise was just picturing all of those scenes, and as one student described it, “getting to know a best friend a little better by visiting His hometown”.

After our time on the lake, we went to Capernaum, and saw the synagogue of Capernaum where Jesus taught as well as the Franciscan monk-run Catholic church, presumably built over top of Peter’s house. In between the two (which are literally almost side by side) you can see the remnant stone walls of a small neighborhood. Jesus spent much of His ministry in Capernaum; Matthew was from there and Christ ultimately cursed the town for its lack of faith (Matt 11:23).

Our Jewish guide explained the skepticism of the people of Jesus’ day—who was He, a nobody from the countryside who challenged the scribes, priests, and the elite and claimed to be God’s Son? Israel, as we are witnessing, is such a meaningful place to so many countries and religions. The sites are crowded with tour groups from Korea, Russia, Brazil (and on and on and on). Some are Christians (we heard a Spanish version of “Nothing But the Blood”), some are Jewish (we can tell by their attire), some are specifically there to see the Catholic history. Our guide, Roni, was explaining that the area connects the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, and was an important pass-through in that day. Can you see the significance of God’s Holy Land? Not to mention the fact that Israel plays a major role in three of the most dominant religions of the day—in Judaism, Christianity and Muslim faiths. It’s all coming to life for us here, as we see the turmoil and the beauty of the land.

Mid-morning we went up to the Mount of Beautitudes, which was one of the highlights of the day. Disclaimer first, just because it is traditionally called the Mt. of Beautitudes doesn’t mean that it is for certain the actual mount mentioned in Matthew 5. No one knows that for sure. But, it is a possible mount, and as a student put it, “even if it wasn’t the specific spot, we were in the area and saw the same view overlooking the Sea of Galilee that Jesus would have seen as He taught from there”. We were able to hike a bit up the beautiful mountain and spend some time of reflection and worship there together. For our group, it’s the simple places, not the commercialized ones, where we can picture what we’ve read, that seem to mean the most. It’s kind of amazing that so much of Israel is undeveloped, almost untouched—many of the hillsides are still just hillsides—no commercialization. I think in part it’s because they are sacred sites, in part because present-day Israel is still a new country, and in part because some of the beautiful hillsides (BUT NOT ANY OF THE ONES WE WERE ON!!!!!) are filled with landmines from previous wartimes!

Lunch was interesting and yummy. We went to a local restaurant and were served salad (which they have at EVERY meal, even breakfast), delicious bread and hummus, and fish. Like, a whole fish. There were lots of muttered jokes about our meal looking back at us, but once we got past the initial discomfort, the tilapia was very delicious—just watch out for those bones!! An experience for sure!

After lunch we went to the Jordan River to baptize anyone who wanted to be baptized in the same water as Jesus. Three of our group chose to do so. The Jordan River site has capitalized on this opportunity—they have a whole viewing area and charge you to rent gowns and then sell DVD’s afterwards. So, it’s not like a peaceful river scene, but still extremely meaningful. The baptism passage (Matthew 3) is one of my favorites because as Jesus comes up out of the water, you see the Holy Spirit descend on Him like a dove and you hear the voice of the Father say, “This is My Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” It’s cool to see all three members of the Trinity interact together.

Our last stop of the day was a drive through the Golan Heights, which are absolutely GORGEOUS hills and valleys. The top of the Golan Plateau used to be the Syrian border, and heavily armored, until it got pushed back in the 6 Day War. Now you can see a Syrian city in the distance. We drove to a scenic overlook, viewing the entire Sea of Galilee at once and got to see a communal farm, called a kibbutz. The main agriculture in Israel so far has included mangoes, strawberries, banana plants, wheat, olive trees, almond trees, and mustard plant. To get down from the overlook we went down a crazy hairpin turning (but very pretty) winding road IN OUR TOUR BUS, and for a brief moment could see the border of Jordan. When we made it down the turns safely, everyone gave the driver a round of applause. An amazing feat in our eyes, but I’m pretty sure he does this kind of thing all the time.

After a very full day, we came back to our hotel for dinner, more reflection time, and packing. Tomorrow morning we will head for the desert/wilderness and over the next few days we will hike to an oasis, ride camels, float in the Dead Sea, and more. Such amazing days—we’re glad for the opportunity to process it out for you!

Again, we’re having a great time and feel very safe. During our time in the desert we will camp in a Bedouin tent, so Internet won’t be an option at all. But we’re doing well and will be in Jerusalem I think by Tuesday night. I think we stay in a hotel there Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Friday we tour all day and then hop on the plane! But let’s not rush it!!! We’re having a fabulous, faith-deepening, eye-opening, grand ole time! Thanks so much for your prayers and for following our journey!

Shalom, from Tiberias, Israel. We are currently at a hotel right on the coast of the Sea of Galilee, and tomorrow’s activities include a boat ride on the Sea and baptisms in the Jordan River for anyone who wishes. I think most of us are still processing the fact that we are here, in Israel, in a foreign country, and even more so, in a country that has so much Biblical history. Our journey is just getting started!!

The adventure began at 3:00 Central Time on Thursday, and much has happened since! First of all, it is currently 7:00 PM, and most of us are heading to bed early, at least for the first night. Sleeping on the flight proved to be difficult for most, and though we all have made it through the day very well, we’re a little groggy, dizzy, sleepy… I think at home it is about noon, since we are seven hours ahead here.

So, where to begin? Eighteen of us (fourteen K-I students, Keith & Karen Chancey, my husband Jared and I) met on Thursday afternoon for last minute details before boarding a bus bound for St. Louis, MO. After a dinner stop to Panera, we settled into our hotel for a quick night’s sleep before our 7:00 AM departure. At the airport, the Reynolds and the Aikens joined us, completing our group of 22. A little winter weather in STL didn’t slow us down, but the gusting winds in Newark, NJ did. Our flight from STL was slightly delayed, but nothing too bad, and after a couple hours of airtime we arrived at our gate in Newark with about an hour to spare. Our flight from Newark eventually became delayed as well, but I think it left about an hour later than originally scheduled, so again, no big deal there.

The winds continued to be a problem for take-off, but after taxiing a bit we settled in for a ten hour flight. The plane, a 777, was super spacious and each seatback had an individual monitor where we could choose movies, tv shows, video games, music, or flight tracking. We were instructed that to prevent jet lag, we should NOT stay up all “night” watching movies, but instead should try to sleep right after dinner. For the most part, we all followed that suggestion and most of us were able to trick our bodies, which boarded the flight just before 5:00 PM but would exit the ten hour flight at 10:30 AM the next morning. So, we had an impressive for airline food dinner, got ready for bed, most took some sleep medicine, and proceeded to toss and turn as long as they kept the cabin lights off.

This “morning” we awoke, changed clothes & freshened up before having another impressive airline breakfast. Good job, Continental! From the plane we spotted the boot of Italy, Grecian islands, and the whitecaps of the Mediterranean Sea.

Like I said, when we deplaned it was 10:30 AM in Israel, and time for a day of touring. We boarded a tour bus (ours for the week) and headed first to Caesarea, which Herod fortified as a deep water port and palace. Some of his structures are still in place today. In Caesarea, Peter had his Acts 10 vision about clean and unclean foods and it was from a prison cell in Caesarea that he miraculously escaped. Paul also was imprisoned at Caesarea, and it was from that cell that he wrote several epistles. In the theater there he gave his defense before Felix and Agrippa as noted in Acts 25. So, needless to say, it’s a pretty significant place.

From there we grabbed a Mediterranean lunch of falafel, which is basically a pita bread sandwich stuffed with all kinds of veggies and slaws and falafel, which are fried chickpea hushpuppy-type balls. It sounds odd when I describe it, but it was quite tasty!! After lunch we drove up to Mt. Carmel, which is where Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal. Mt. Carmel, besides being a gorgeous area for camping and picnicking, overlooks the Jezreel Valley/the Valley of Megiddo, where the nations will gather for the Battle of Armageddon. This valley is huge!

Our last stop of the day was our hotel in Tiberias. It’s interesting to see the slight differences in a foreign hotel—the light switches, the bathtub, the fact that we have an actual metal room key, not a swipe card. We just had a delicious dinner buffet, with some traditional foods like potatoes, rolls, mixed veggies, and chicken patties, and some not so traditional foods like schnitzel (kind of like a spicy hot dog) and chicken sausage (which was wrapped in greens and tasted like lemon-flavored sauerkraut). Now, we are all tucked in tight for the night, and we’ll see what tomorrow holds!

So, we’re safe and sound and already overwhelmed by the culture we are getting to experience. Thanks for wanting to experience it with us!

A little disclaimer—wifi is expensive if available at all, so as mentioned before, blog posts may be limited during our time. I will try to go ahead write the journals, even if I’m not able to post right away. Good night, or in your case, good afternoon!!! Talk to you soon!