C.Ryenne Thoughts

This marks the beginning of my travels.

I am sitting in the Dulles Airport waiting for my flight to Jordan.

It feels surreal.

I was nervous when I got to the Nashville Airport, and I teared up when I hugged my dad goodbye. It kind of felt the same as going off to college.

I know that if God can/did provide the plan and the finances then He will surely protect me on this journey.

Day One

Today was insanely exhausting. After we finally got to Jordan (8 PM), we had a two-hour bus ride to our hotel in Petra. We were originally supposed to be there at 6 PM but our flight got delayed in Dulles. We had dinner around 11PM/12AM and then went up to our rooms.

I got 4 hours of sleep…woke up at 6:30 so we could get breakfast. It was really good and very different!

I do not usually like mango, but the dried mango was my favorite.

We walked to Petra and walked the path to The Treasury, also known as one of the wonders of the world. It was incredible and the rock structures were so impressive. I cannot imagine the amount of time it took to carve out everything, especially the tombs.

It was about a 2.5-mile hike to The Treasury and when we got there it was chaos.

The structure itself is beautiful. However, the Jordanians know the tourists are there. Person after person tried to sell us thing after thing – camel rides, bracelets, necklaces, photos, a vantage-point view that was dangerous to get to. It was overwhelming, but overall, a very fun experience. Just be prepared to say no a lot if you go!

Then we walked to see the auditorium and it was unbelievable. It must have taken them forever to build.

We walked the 2.5 miles back, but we rode horses on the last 0.5 miles. (the horse ride is included in the ticket, but the men manning the horses ask for a tip at the end)

It was very memorable! There were lots and lots of flies.

It was hot outside, but I am just happy I got to experience one of the seven wonders of the world!

We had lunch and walked back to our hotel to get on the buses. We had a four-hour drive to our hotel by the Dead Sea. About halfway through, we stopped at a shop and got some snacks.

We got to our hotel, had dinner, and had a night session.

I would say Day One was a success!

Sidenote – our hotel was gorgeous! If you ever want to go to the Dead Sea, I highly recommend the Dead Sea Marriott in Jordan.

Some info on SLU: The program I went to Jordan/Israel through, is called Student Leadership University. They are a four-year program and focus on establishing Christian leadership in the upcoming generations. Each session is to help us reflect on what we saw, but also to learn more about leadership.

Day Two

Today was a fun day!

We woke up and had breakfast at 6:30 and then went to the Dead Sea!

It was so cool. Just the fact that you can float all day, well not ALL day – people recommend about 30 minutes.

There are salt rocks and mineral-rich mud. It is said that the best way to do it is to find the mud while you are in the sea. We could not do that due to the erosion protection our hotel had set up. They did have a big pot of it just outside the sea for any of our mud needs!

We floated, found salt rocks, and then covered ourselves with the mud. I recommend the free spa treatment, even though you can look kind of silly. 🙂

Then we got cleaned up and I got coffee. (Definitely the best coffee I had while I was in Jordan and Israel.) It was a toffee-nut iced latte and I wish I could have it again!

Then we got on the bus and went to Mt. Nebo.

Mt. Nebo is a memorial for Moses and the only spot in the world where you can see all four plot movements in the Bible: the creation, the fall, the redemption, and the restoration.

It was a bit hazy on the mountain so we couldn’t see it all that day. We were able see the same view Moses had when he pointed to the Holy Land, and where he hit the rock.

I wonder how he felt in that moment. The moment he was told he would not be allowed to go into the promised land. He had strived after God, and in a moment where he let temptation in it was all taken away – just something I have been trying to reflect on.

After that we stopped by a beautiful mosaic shop. They make the mosaics by hand. They were gorgeous works of art and expensive. They are worth the price due to how much work goes into them. However, if you do plan on buying mosaics, make sure they are authentic. Some people paint the stone after it is put together, rather than building the design out of the stones.

Then, we crossed the border into Israel and drove two hours to our hotel in Tiberias by the Sea of Galilee.

I wish there was more God-centered time in Jordan. Our time on Mt. Nebo was very rushed, so we could not reflect on the significance. It is going to take a while for me to truly process everything we see on this trip.

We are officially in Israel and will have a morning boat ride on the Sea of Galilee tomorrow!

– C.Ryenne

(These are my typed-up journal entries that I have taken each day, so they are not in real time.)