Epilogue

While we were traveling, we were overwhelmed by the magnitude of everything we were seeing. We knew how important and life-changing our experiences were, but it felt impossible to process in the moment. This blog helped us to document, remember, and share all of our experiences. Now that we’ve been back home for a week, we’d like to reflect on what our experiences mean to us.

Lauren, In Context.
Reflections by Lauren Shears

This trip was my first transatlantic flight (and what a doozy it was). I had travelled to the Caribbean on a cruise and to Canada, but I had never been to somewhere so far away and so culturally different from my home in the American South. Reflecting on our experiences now, one phrase reverberates in my mind: Lauren, in context.

Historical Context - I have been exposed to my historical context. I had never seen ruins so old. Experiencing prehistoric ruins, biblical history, Roman ruins, and modern structures all coexisting really put into perspective where I fit in the whole scope of human history. Living right now at this moment with these people around me is a gift. Understanding how humanity got to the year 2023 here helps me live more fully into my present, and helps me to understand how the choices we make now will impact the future.

Geopolitical Context - I have been exposed to my geopolitical context. It was eye-opening to understand just how privileged I am as an American to live in a country with relatively stable politics. American politics certainly feel tumultuous and scary at times, but for the most part political discourse in the United States is a war of words. Our existence as a nation feels steady. People living in other countries don’t have that stability. One of our Arab friends explained that his people have experienced the rise and fall of countless nations on this same plot of land over and over again through millennia. Their identity can’t come from the nation they're living in or the powers that control the land. Instead, their identities come from their values.

Religious Context - Last, I gained a greater understanding of my religious context in terms of my own personal faith, the context of my faith within the history of Christianity, and the context of my faith alongside other religious groups. It was also incredible to walk in the places where Jesus walked. I reflected on how my own Christian identity comes from the legacy of all Christian experiences over the last 2000 years. Each religious site we visited was built over and over again, each time incorporating ancient tiles and cornerstones from the churches and landscape that came before, while also incorporating their own experiences. My faith is the same —  a new experience built upon ancient foundations.

It's All About Love
Reflections by Carol Lewis

Lauren said it all so well that I'm having difficulty adding to her thoughts. While this trip had major intellectual aspects for me, learning so much all at once about the amazing history and culture of this part of the world and its influence on the rest of the world, I'm finding as I reflect on what it all means to me, that it all comes down to love. That, after all, is the heart of Jesus' message to the world. This love was felt so strongly in the Arab people that we met and friends we made during our time in Israel. They took such good care of us while we were with them, making sure we were welcomed and fed and hugged and entertained, and they shared their faith constantly with us, and this in spite of hardships and horrific history that they and their family had lived through. These families of Arab Israeli Christians have been there for 2000 years, since Jesus lived and died and rose there. We could see the physical evidence of His time on earth every day. But we also felt the evidence of His love flowing from his people there and it opened my heart in a new way and kindled a greater love for Him and for humanity, in all its brokenness, foolishness, greed, and sorrow.

Also, traveling like this with Matt and Lauren (for the first time, hopefully not the last) was pure pleasure, and thoroughly reassured me that we're handing over the caretaking of our world to a fabulous generation of young people. The curiosity, friendliness, good humor, and, yes, love that they showed to everyone we encountered -- and me too -- made it a joyful trip, always! Thanks to you both!