Our Little Traveler

Here's my little traveler in Petra, Jordan. They had a great day there.  One of the other women took charge of the camel-riding party and haggled for rides. Pearl rode a camel named Suzu.


I'm told she hasn't been homesick once, but we do talk every day, and her days are full.

Now they are in Jerusalem. Today they saw the Dome of the Rock and the Temple Mount.

They were also going to see the Garden Tomb. This is not the actual tomb, but it is from the same period. What a great thing to do during Lent.

Bean-worthy

One way we prepared for Pearl's trip to Israel was by reading the passages from the Bible connected to the places she would see.  Through this study she discovered that her favorite Bible passage is Matthew 5:1-12, the beatitudes.

When we got to the beatitudes she paused, blown away by its message and beauty. She spent a long time thinking about it.

Last week I was thrilled to hear that she had an opportunity to lead the tour group's devotions while they were actually at the Mount of Beatitudes. Here she is reading the scripture aloud right where those verses were first spoken.

Their first stint was in the northern area around Galilee, and Pearl and her daddy were able to walk down to the Sea of Galilee from their hotel each night for an evening wade. They ate fish from the Sea and toured the area before heading into Jordan. They were a little nervous about leaving Israel, but their first night in Jordan was glamorous. Instead of telling me about the sights, they spent our Skype time telling me about the fantastic food and desserts the hotel had.

Today they woke early to drive the three hours to see Petra. This was the day I was most excited about.  In case you fear we overlooked it, we did watch Indiana Jones, The Last Crusade in preparation for the grand stone cut facade of the Petra temple. A woman on the trip is posting short blog entries and lots of pictures of my daughter.

Meanwhile, back here in PA, the little girls have been working to earn their way to the Hands on House in Lancaster. This requires bean-worthy behavior, which, I have to say, had been a little sparse up until today.

Whenever they do a particularly loving sisterly act, they get a bean. This has resulted in some sweet moments, so maybe they are learning. You can see the little sisterly love adding up in those pint jars. Oh for it to run over!

Today Ruby requested a 'stay in our jammies' day. This is probably the only day we'll be home during this fortnight of family separation. Tomorrow we are going to see "Little Red Riding Hood" performed on my campus stage.

Congratulations for finishing. You earned a bean!