The Promised Land

Today I saw the Promised Land. And no, I’m not talking about Minneapolis, Minn., although that comes in a close second. I’m talking about the Biblical Promised Land — the one Moses led his people too but never actually got to enter himself. Mt. Nebo is located about a half-hour outside of Amman, Jordan. It’s the mountain from which God showed Moses the Promised Land, and where Moses subsequently died. We visited the mountain today and were able to see the breathtaking view of the Promised Land. Back in the day, the land was very green – the land of milk and honey says the Bible. Today however, it’s dried up quite a bit, but is still amazingly beautiful. Looking out atop Mt. Nebo, I could see the Dead Sea, specks of Jerusalem, and the ancient city of Jericho resting on the golden valley that stretched before me. It was amazing. There is an ancient church atop Mt. Nebo as well, which is currently undergoing renovation.

Mt. Nebo is located in Madaba, Jordan’s city of mosaics. There are beautiful mosaics found in the church located atop Mt. Nebo, and in a 6th Century church located at the bottom. The mosaic in St. George’s – the church below the mountain – dates back to the 500s and depicts an ancient map of the Holy Land. It’s crazy to think of how long these lands have been around. Even back in the 500s, the map shows the city of Gaza and Jerusalem, both still standing today (although sadly, we all know Gaza is not in such good shape). We get to learn so much cool stuff about the sites we see, and the lands we pass because the embassy hired a really good guide who has been traveling with us and explaining a lot of history and culture the entire time.

Right now I’m in our trusty van heading to Petra, where we’ll be staying for a couple of days. It’s so funny, I feel like I’m in one of those made-for-TV Jesus videos, or the Bible videos they used to show you in Sunday school. The land looks just like the scenes in those programs; the rocks, the fig trees, the olive trees, the deserts – not to mention the sheep and the camels roaming randomly throughout. The gas stations and coke signs everywhere don’t really fit in however, neither do the King Abdullah pictures that pop up randomly by the roadside. Oh well, close enough.

So like I said we’re heading to Petra. Petra is three hours away from Amman in the south of Jordan. If you haven’t heard of it, google it right now. It’s amazing. It’s an ancient city carved into the side of cliffs – and it was lost for more than a thousand years before being discovered in the 1800s. It’s probably Jordan’s biggest tourist attraction. I am pumped to see it. Today started the laid-back portion of our trip. No more meetings with important people. I’m really excited about that because even though the meetings are interested, I really don’t think I can handle anymore. This morning, before we left, we met with a Greek Orthodox priest to talk about interfaith initiatives in Jordan and Christianity. He heads an interfaith organization, and it was really encouraging to hear from him. People over here consider America to be a Christian nation – thus they believe that everyone in America is Christian. That is so far from the truth. So I asked him if American media or policies tainted Arabs perception of Christianity. I mean, Madonna dancing half naked in front of a crucifix could very easily give people the wrong idea. He got excited and said, “Yes! You Americans make it so hard for me! I have to tell people that’s not Christianity!” I laughed at his reaction, even though it’s somewhat sad. He went on to say that slowly however, people in the Arab world are beginning to realize not all Americans represent Christianity. Godspeed that process.

One more thing before I end another long post. Everyone over here is obsessed with Obama’s speech in Cairo June 4th. It’s a really big deal, and its impact will be huge – either in a negative or positive way— so watch the speech if you get a chance. It’s important to be in the know, America, more than ever, is not isolated. One thing I’ve realized during my brief visit to the Middle East is that what happens in this far away land impacts American communities more than we really know.