Mt. Sinai

Hi there,

Sorry for no pictures yesterday, here are a few that should catch you up to date and get you ready for today's BLOG

This morning began for the hardy group of Mt. Climbers that set out to hike to the top of Mt. Sinai for sunrise over the Sinai. There were 17 of us of which 11 rode camels up the trail and the rest walked. There is a Greek Orthodox Monastery, St. Catherines, from which an apparently really sinful monk, several centuries ago, took 40 years to build 3750 steps to the top of the mountain. The camel path ends at the 3000 step level and the last 750 steps are too steep for the camels so everyone, all 17 of us hiked to the top of the mountain to watch a spectacular sunrise. While there, Graig brought us a wonderful devotion, concluded with some great singing and praise for our Savior. You can see, next to Dorothy, our great Bedouin guide Joseph. He not only took very good care of us all, but was lots of fun to have along as we climbed the mountain.

These pictures are taken in a kiosk partway up the climb, where we were able to rest and get a small snack.

This group of people are the most fun a person could have. We had people from age 44 to 82 climbing the mountain and every single one of us summited Mt. Sinai and were exceedingly blessed by the experience and Pastor Graig's great insights from God's Word.

When we finished the climb, we left the village of St. Catherine, where we'd spent the "all too short" night and began our journey north along the Gulf of Aqaba toward the city of Aqaba, in Jordan where we're spending the night before going the Petra tomorrow. Along the way we had to clear passport control from Egypt to Israel, where we were in transit for about 1/2 hour in route to Jordan, where we again had to clear entry into the country. All in all the day was spectacular, exhausting for most of us and is ending in a beautiful hotel on the banks of the Gulf of Aqaba.

Thanks for all your prayers, we are really enjoying the opportunity to follow the steps of the Israelites and learn about God's infinite plans for us.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Doug