Ancient and Modern Meet in Holy Land Study Tour

Overlooking the remains of Crusader Castle

Photo courtesy of Grace Stults

By Morgan Consier

In the fifth Holy Land Study Tour led by Professor of Theology Dr. Mark Meehl, students and alumni got to experience the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of a small region where so many events happened.

“It’s a lot of fun because you’re seeing these places that you’ve read about all your life, and they’re very important to you spiritually, and suddenly you’re there. You’re seeing places you never imagined you’d see,” Meehl said.

This trip, following tours in 2000, 2009, 2012 and 2015, was started as a way for Meehl to introduce others to Israel and Palestine, areas he has visited many times as an archaeologist.

“(M)y experience over there is that I started going in 1984 when I worked in an excavation in Jordan, and then I went probably every summer until ’96, working on digs,” Meehl said. “I worked on a dig in Syria in 1987, then worked back in Israel, and then went back in ’98 for publication stuff and then started the trips in 2000.”

In addition to working on digs, Meehl was also a fellow at the Albright Institute in Jerusalem for two years in the late 1980s.

“It’s really interesting and enjoyable to me to see people respond to things they may not have known or considered or been aware of,” Meehl said.

In order to have enough people to go on the trip, it is not just limited to students, but also extends to include alumni.

“I think it’s been a pretty good mix, because you get the enthusiasm and the excitement of the students combined with the more mature reflections and perspectives of the (alumni),” Meehl said.

One day, the group went to an Israeli settlement and a Palestinian refugee camp, an experience Meehl describes as “mind-blowing.”

“(E)verything they have known could not prepare them for what they see and hear,” Meehl said. “I’ve done my job when that type of experience occurs.”

Meehl said that another memorable experience was visiting the Sea of Galilee where Jesus was and driving out to the middle and just sitting and listening with the engine turned off.

“(T)hat’s one of the most meaningful things that the group does, I think,” Meehl said. “Other places, maybe He was there, but you know that’s where He was.”

Senior Brennan DeForest said that one of his favorite parts of the trip was seeing sites where biblical stories occurred, his favorite being the Primacy of Peter, where the events of John 14 took place.

“I figured that it would help me in my future career as a pastor by helping me to understand the geography and locations of biblical events,” DeForest said.

DeForest also enjoyed trying new foods, including chicken mushakhan and shawarma, as well as swimming in the Dead Sea and riding a camel.

“(The trip) has helped me to see and observe and understand cultures besides my own,” DeForest said.

Like DeForest, junior Amanda McDowell enjoyed learning about the history and geography of the region.

“It was really interesting to see how much of an influence the history of the country and the religions affect the people living there now,” McDowell said.

McDowell highlighted the camels that the group saw as a fun memory from the trip, even saying that she kissed one in particular named Jackie. Some of her other highlights were sitting in an ancient bathtub as well as eating pita bread with many different types of dips.

Senior Leah Werling, while wary of the pita bread at the beginning of the trip, says it and the salads with which it was stuffed grew on her and ended up being one of her favorite meals to eat while in Israel.

Werling said that she wanted to go on this trip to further her experience with the Bible stories she has read since she was a child.

“After this trip, the way in which I read and understand Scripture will be forever changed as I have now followed the footsteps of Jesus from the place of His birth to the empty tomb. To experience the place where Jesus taught, walked, and performed miracles is truly humbling,” Werling said.

Meehl plans to lead another tour in 2021, so he says that best thing for students who think they might be interested to do is to talk to other students who went on the trip and hear their experiences.