There is much to rejoice in today. It is Sunday and we began the day remembering in prayer our loved ones and our worshiping communities back home. Today is also Kay's birthday and she was welcomed onto the bus with a rendition of "Happy Birthday" in English as well as in Aramaic (thanks to the assistance of Omar, our guide).
Our day was spent in one of the seven modern wonders in the world, Petra. As we walked the two miles into this archeological wonder, it is no surprise this place made the list! From the treasury (mentioned in my earlier post) to the Urn Tomb (where we held our devotions), I am amazed that persons 2,000 years ago carved such massive structures into this sandstone. And to think that they did this beginning with the top and working their way down!
As amazing as these structures are to view from the outside, my most vivid memory of Petra will be from within the Urn Tomb which was used as Byzantine church around 477 A.D. The acoustics in this space are so remarkable that this space has not only been a church but used as a courthouse (during Roman rule) in its past life. Now this massive square room sits empty filled only by visitors.
Today we took advantage of these amazing ancient acoustics. Paul greeted us into the space with music played on a classic baroque-style flute. Next we offered up prayer petitions hearing the syllables reverberate on the walls and high ceiling above us. Then we sang...
As Diane put it best, music in this particular space "gets inside you." I had hoped to post a video of our music in this amazing space. However, uploading has not been successful. If I figure it out, you will be the first to know!
There were other moments in our day, rides on camels, donkeys, horses and encounters with the locals that give us much to rejoice about. A group of us even journeyed farther climbing 800-900 steps (the actual number is disputed) to the Monastery, a high point at Petra. Today we walked quite a bit. To simply walk in and then back out is four miles, some of our group probably walked closer to eight.
Those who traveled the 800-900 steps and the monastery we found at the end of our journey!
One of the greatest reasons to rejoice came as I loaded this bus. I discovered that the wind we encountered at various parts of our day was part of a sandstorm occurring in parts of Jordon. This sandstorm has been the strongest in 20 years and actually closed roads and delayed travel for many. Walking at Petra sand did seem to blow everywhere but we realize in other places it was much, much worse. Had the timing of our visit to Petra been one day later we may have never made it to this amazing site. We would have never been able to have our four-part harmony echo on the walls of what once was a 5th century Byzantine Church. Yes, from camels to Lutheran hymns there is much to rejoice about, especially in Petra.
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