Day 2

I woke up early in the morning and went to buy some food before the shops closed for "Shabbat" (the Sabbath). I bought a few things at the campus store but found it extremely difficult as most everything was in Hebrew. After this, I took my Bible and a notebook and went out and found a spot for some alone time with God. I spent about three hours reading in Romans 8. I already was fighting off some intense loneliness and frustration simply from being alone in a brand new place, and this passage was an excellent reminder to me. Verse 5 says, "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." Those words were so powerful to me that day, and continue to be. It is amazing how my whole life changes when I shift my focus from the complaints and worries of my flesh onto the perfect peace and joy of the Holy Spirit. The entirety of Romans 8 was deeply encouraging to me that morning. The reminders that God has not given me a spirit of fear but of sonship, and that the Spirit strengthens and helps me in my weakness, have become more real and profound to me than ever before.
After my time with God, I went and laid down for a "short nap" that turned into a four hour coma. Hooray for jet lag! :)
Later that night, I shared my first Shabbat dinner with about 40 other students from the international program. Most of the students were American and overall, no one took it seriously. This was very different from what I was expecting and I found it to be somewhat upsetting. Speaking with others since, I think this experience is the result of a combination of the general lack of devotion and seriousness in my generation and a move toward secularism among many Jews. None the less, it was a very interesting experience, and of course... I spilled the wine on my white shirt...

A note about my surroundings:
It is so incredibly beautiful here. Our campus is on the very top of Mt. Carmel. From here we have the most picturesque views of the city all the way out to the Mediterranean Sea, the mountains of northern Israel, and a gorgeous national park. The weather is perfect too, sunny, breezy and about 75-80 during the day and cool and foggy in the evenings. Up here on the mountain, there is the spookiest rolling, misty fog. I can't explain it other than it makes me feel like I'm in Anne of Green Gables, the second one, in that scene where Gil and Anne talk in the gazebo and Gil gives her that note... yeah... in her words, "it's so romantic". Anyway, the fog gives me a feeling that is a cross between that scene and something "Draculaish".