Vox Lucens

I just returned from a truly terrific weekend in CA. Sunsets, beautiful scenery, celebration, and the best company in the world gave me what was basically just a perfect time.

I am learning to love my camera’s manual settings. Getting the right shot takes me forever, with lots of practice shots, but when it works, the pictures are just…better.

But not all the trip was sunsets and seagulls…one morning, Katie and I were out picking oranges, when she almost stepped on a rattler. Such a cute little deadly snake…

I think it scared me worse than it scared her, but we couldn’t just let it sit there.

So we killed it. And kept the rattle as a trophy.

Yesterday I went through all of the trip’s pictures, and was again mind-boggled by thinking back on Petra. So I have a bunch more shots that I just can’t resist sharing…

[As always, click the pic for a fullsize version.]

Natural Beauty

Petra was not just about the incredible ancient facades - it was also set in one of the most ruggedly gorgeous locations in the world (which is one reason it was such a valuable city location - only one way in and out was easy to defend!).

Treasury Detail Shots

A Sense of Scale

Scale can be hard to see in pictures, but the sheer massiveness of Petra’s monuments was the most breathtaking thing about it. Hopefully this series of shots will help communicate that.

This is me by one of the small facades.

Here are the porticoes under the tallest facade (which I mentioned in my previous post).

The porticoes in context.

The upper portion of the facade.

The whole thing.

The large facade, on the right, in the context of the entire cliff and temple complex.

Ever since knowing that we would be heading for a full trip to Jordan, I hoped that we could take the trek to Petra, one of the new wonders of the world - and rightfully so. Anyone who has seen Indiana Jones knows of this ancient city, and let me tell you, seeing it in person was far more amazing than I had even guessed.

Petra has been a city since around 300 B.C., if you can imagine that, and remained prominent for hundreds of years. The Nabateans founded the city, conquering it from the Edomites, and it survived, and indeed thrived, through the Greek, Roman, Christian, and Islamic periods. It is filled with Nabatean, Greek, Roman, and Byzantine influences, combining incredible history with unique and fascinating beauty on an incredible scale.

If you’re interested in a full history, check out this site from Brown University, which is actively involved in excavating the ruins. But enough words - let’s try pictures. I only wish they could do the ruins justice.

The most famous facade in Petra, known as the Treasury.

Anyone else singing the theme song?

The team in front of the “poor people’s tombs” that catacombed the cliff walls just past the Treasury.

The tallest facade at Petra.

The view from inside the tallest facade.

History was everywhere.

For instance, this facade dating back almost seven decades before Christ.

I could show so many more pictures - these have been weeded out from the 400 or so that I took during this day alone. But you should just go yourself, sometime, and be blown away as I was…

It looks like my full Petra post is going to have to wait until I get back to the states.

Until then you get this…

Gratuitous rhyming aside, I have lots of both shots and thoughts from this trip.

Pictures and thoughts are at Remember Ambassadors.

A powerful story in the Weekly Reminder.

And a few of my favorites…

Last night I couldn’t help but sit and wonder at the Lord’s amazing power, as I sat with a brother in Christ on his porch overlooking a huge portion of Amman. He spoke limited English, but our conversation was rich and deep – it was true fellowship with broken communication.

Did you know that Uriah was killed only a few miles from where I am today?

Did you know that when the angel of the Lord commanded, “Unto the church of the angel in Philadelphia write…” the letter went to modern-day Amman?

I didn’t. But this brother was from Jerusalem, and his wife was from Nazareth, and her family was from Bethlehem, so he was well acquainted with the history that surrounds us. It makes Scripture come alive to see these places, up close or even at a distance. But it is perhaps even more profound to see the Body of Christ come alive by seeing it at work. We’ve worshiped with them, talked to them, ministered to them, and yes, been ministered to by them. And we share a very common bond.

It’s beyond amazing to fellowship with each one – my conversation with this brother was just one example that I could give. He is 40 years older than I, with a vastly different life experience than any I can anticipate. His language, his culture, his home are so different than mine, but we share a Savior. And we share a common eternity.

Some shots from the last two busy days…

The olive grove that is supporting the hospital we visited today - from the orphanage that this ministry is building.