Keeping Portland Weird with my Sister

God's plan is so much better then ours, don't you think?

Last weekend my sister, Meg, and I took a trip to Portland. Really, it was for no other reason then to connect and love on each other.

As most of you already know, I'm headed off to West Point in a little less then a month. This summer is going to be intense as I go through basic training and move towards cadet life at the academy.

My sister wanted to take me somewhere for us to connect. We threw around some ideas, but none of them seemed to fit the grid for a place to both have fun, and connect with my sister. Finally, I landed on Portland.

Portland? Yeah.

I think my sister thought it was a pretty odd place for me to suggest, seeing as other ideas had been Lagoon and Silverwood (both theme parks.) Why Portland? Why not? I'd heard from several people that Portland is the cat's pajamas, and I simply had to go there and see what's up.  As my sis had been there before, I figured she could lead the expedition, not to mention the fact that she is great with directions (not a strong point for me.) Still, she felt more comfortable with having my GPS enabled iPhone with us.

My sister made the plans early on (about a month ago) and we were looking forward to the trip with anticipation, and rightly so! After all, where two or more Mansfield's (or Roe's) are gathered, there incredible fun can be found.

Last Saturday at 6am the trip began. We arrived in Portland at 6am, due to the hour flight and time change that worked in our favor. Here are the highlights of the trip, and how Papa really showed up:

Click here to read the rest.

Israel Day 6: The Desert

Today has been so much fun!
The day started with a bus ride to the Ahava store/factory. All of their products are Dead Sea based, and plenty of people spent plenty of money on loved ones! It was a fun time, and there were alot of laughs.
After Ahava, we hopped back in the bus and headed for Masada. On the way we saw En Gedi (mentioned In the Bible, and historicaly belonged to Cleopatra). We also saw an Ibex on the way, which are native here!






-Masada-
Masada is historical on two levels. First, it was one of King Herod's desert retreats and is one of the amazing structers the crazy king had built duri g his life time. The second historical level is far nearer to the hearts of the Israeli people.
We learned from the writings if Josephus Flavius that Mosada was the last stronghold for the Jewish Rebels in ~72 AD against the Roman Empire. They were besieged in the old mountain fortress until the Romans realized they weren't moving anytime soon. At this point, the Romans built a huge earth ramp up to the wall of Mosada so that they could wheel a huge battering ram to the top and take the city. The Jews put up a fight, but couldn't hold out against the Romans' unyielding attack. The final desperate act was decided by the leader of the Jews, and all the people agreed to the plan. 10 people were chosen to kill the other families (men, women, and children) so that the Romans wouldn't make them their concubines and slaves. Finally, the leader of the Jews at Mosada was the last alive, and the only one who had to take his own life (considered a sin). This story of desperate measures has been passed down from person to person, and written down by Josephus Flavius and finally it was re-discovered, excavated, and can be journeyed to by tourists.
What an amazing place to see Biblical truth and historical record meet.

It's interesting to note that we were at Mosada at the same time as Mrs. Biden, the second lady. (pictured in pink)















-Dead Sea-
After Mosada we headed to the shore of the Dead Sea for some fun and floating! The super salty mineral rich water and mud is excellent for skin, and for a hilariously fun time! What a blast!












Today was a more relaxed easy-going day, and I think we all needed it. Tomorrow is a free day to explore Jerusalem for everybody except the High School Students (Shalom, Sara, Hannah, and me). We are volunteering at the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem! We're not sure what that means, but I'll keep you posted!

Colin

Israel Day 5: From the Garden Tomb to Bethlehem

Yesterday proved extremely tiring, but was so awesome! Today should be incredible as well!

-The Garden Tomb-
So peaceful. The Garden Tomb is such an amazing place to reflect and remember the ressurection of Jesus. Whether or not this is where it happened, the point is that Jesus is no longer dead. So awesome!










"The place of the skull"






Inside. The tomb is empty!

-Random Jerusalem-
We went to the upper room, King David's Tomb, and the Western Wall! So awesome!









-City of David-
This was not a part of our original tour, but it was such a blessing to be able to go! The City of David is everything within the old walls, and we got a chance to see the spring that would have been directly outside of those walls. The spring provided water for all of Jerusalem, and was well hidden from Israel's enemies. It had to be fetched using a series of tunnels, which we got to walk through!






-Bethlehem-
Because Bethlehem is under Palastinian control, it is really an interesting experience. No Hebrew, sheckels not accepted, no Jews. Arabic, mostly Muslims, very dirty. That being said, all of the holy sites are well protected by Churches and wonderful staff. We saw two sites in Bethlehem: the sheperds field, and the Church of the Nativity. The shepards field has a beautiful church made by the same guy who did the church on Mt. Tabor, and the Church of All Nations. The Church of the Holy Nativity is an incredible site as well. The church is built in the shape of a cross, and the top of the cross features beautiful Greek Orthadox iconoclastic art work. After walking the length of the church, we decended a staircase into the cave: the birthplace of Christ. Unlike many other "traditional" sites we've seen, this is very likely the spot Jesus Christ actually was born.












Colin

Israel Day 3: From the Jordan to Jerusalem

To be honest, I'm going into today not at all knowing what we're doing or where we're going. I do know that we're ending up in Jerusalem however! So, here we go!

-Baptisms on the Jordan-
Our first stop today is to a baptismal place on the Jordan river! Several on our team wanted to be baptized, including our own Shalom, Sara, and Bart!
It was such a cool experience. I was baptized in the Jordan during my last visit, so it was cool for me to observe and take pictures this time around.















Also, a really cool thing happened here. After our group was finishe with baptisms, my dad saw a group of college students standing off to the side. My dad being how he is (amazing) went and talked to the students. They were on a YWAM DTS and had been serving in Tel Aviv! This was the touring part of their trip. Four from their group wanted to be baptized, but didn't have a pastor to help them out. My dad and another pastor on our team volunteered to lend them a hand. Four of the students decided to go for it! It was a really cool thing to watch! The students were really blessed, and my dad thought it was so awesome!

Such a cool thing to see Papa bring two completely seperate groups together in one experience. Totally a praise!




-Mt. Tabor-
Considered to be the Mount of Transfiguration by Catholics, Mt. Tabor stands 1800 feet tall over the Jezreel Valley. A beautiful church stands at the top which is kept by Franciscan monks, and has three seperate rooms: a main sanctuary dedicated to Jesus, and two side chapels dedicated to Elijah and Moses. A beautiful garden with plants from around the world is also a beautiful addition. This was a special place as Tim, our fearless leader, had never visited Mt. Tabor (neither had my family). Such a beautiful view!















-Lunch-
Deli sandwiches from a delicious Israeli supermarket-esque store. Really great!

-Nazareth-
Nazareth is a largly Arab/Muslim town today. We went to the spring in Nazareth, where Mary, Jesus' mother, would have drawn water. This is the only spring in Nazareth, so it is the defenite spot. The church built over the spring is a beautiful Greek Orthodox church. Very cool!
Now, off to Jerusalem!






Jerusalem is beautiful! We made it safely to our hotel, and tomorrow is going to be a CRAZY day. Lookin forward to it!

Colin