Day 7 began EARLY in the morning for some of our pilgrims who decided to venture back into Petra at dawn to catch the Treasury in the early light of day and in the absence of other tourists. The rest of us casually made our way to a delicious breakfast (made-to-order omelettes!) and then off for a long drive to Mt. Nebo.
Mt. Nebo is Moses' final recorded stop, as he brought the Israelites to the mountain that overlooks the Promised Land, and then died shortly after. Moses' tomb has not been found to this day, but according to Christian tradition, Moses' burial site is on Mt. Nebo.
After Mt. Nebo we drove down to the Jordan River on the Jordanian side. The river has moved in the last 2,000 years, so the original site of the river and Jesus' baptismal site is actually on the Jordanian side of the river. There's a long walk through the desert to get to the site, where we renewed our baptismal promises. We then walked to the current Jordan River, sang hymns together, and received a blessing at the river. The Spirit was moving as we cried and sang and hugged one another. It was a beautiful, holy experience for many of us.
We then said "goodbye" to our guide, Issa (Jesus in Arabic), and made our way over the border back into Israel and Palestine. We arrived to our beautiful hotel in Jericho, enjoyed a delicious dinner, and went off to sleep!
Comments