Holy Land, Egypt… then to Ethiopia!
Posted: February 26th, 2008 | Author: admin | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: advocate, awaken, christianity, compassion, egypt, garbage city, God, human trafficking, injustice, Jesus Christ, love, Palestine, photoblog, photography, travel | 2 Comments »Leaving the Holy Land was a surreal experience. It had been a month, spent almost all in Jerusalem, a haven for tension. A couple trips to Galilee broke up the monotony and opened my eyes to more of what the Holy Land has to offer and a better idea of where and how Jesus lived.
[The Wall of separation from the Bethlehem side]
[Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, Jerusalem]
[Palestinian Man in the Old City, Jerusalem]
My head is still wrapped around the whole concept of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. I don’t think that I will ever understand it; never be able to choose sides. I don’t think that is my job or my place; it belongs to the One who is sovereign of over the affairs of nations. My hope is that all nations go down in flames, not with the physical tongues of fire but with a fire that consumes the monuments of hatred concealed in the hearts of all men. Laid waste by the love of Christ, refined with unquenchable intensity, and transformed into citizens of the Kingdom whose new passion is found in the grace and love that flows from the heart of the King. The wasteland is replaced with streams of light and a garden of life; lush pastureland and abundant fruit trees.
[Looking West from Arbel]
[Area of Tubqa, Sea of Galilee: See John 21]
[Group of Apples in the hallway market outside of our hostel in Jerusalem]
My heart burns for the Holy Land to have this kind of transformation, but I don’t want it to stop there. I want that for Egypt, East Africa, Nepal, Colombia, the United States; any location containing those God made in His own image.
[Laurus (Seagulls) in the Rain, Galilee]
We arrived back in Cairo about a week ago and have been engaged in learning since we landed. I love this city and this country. I have a feeling there may be some more time spent here in the future. We have been learning some more about “Painting with Light” which is the actual definition of photography but also a type of photography which I will give examples of. This week, Luke Moon is back from Kona teaching us about Worldview; he actually leads the Humanities school at the U of N in Kona. He provides some practical and contemporary insight that enables me to think clearly about the world around me and how others think about it as well.
[Pictures that were taken as assignments during the week: Seeing Light, Studio Lighting, Night Photography, and Light Painting]
[Said, one of the doormen/watchmen of our building]
[Minibus driver in Tahrir Square (via sideview mirror)]
[Tahrir Square Mosque]
[Tahrir Square from the top of our building]
[Experimenting with open shutters, satellite disks, and external flash units... and the moon]
[Light Painting + Night Photography + Waterscape on the Nile]
[Breakfast light painted]
[I just like it]
At the end of the week I, as well as the rest of PhotogenX, will be going to Ethiopia. For those who didn’t receive my blog updates last year, I did my DTS outreach in Ethiopia from January through February of last year. This will be the first time I will be going back and I am so excited. Please pray that distant connections will be renewed and that Ethiopia will be a place for all of us to reconnect with God’s heart for the world. Sometimes it is easy to get tired and worn out with moving to a new place every 3 or 4 weeks. We need renewed vision and a greater revelation of the love of Christ for all nations and all people.
[Pictures from Garbage City, a Coptic Christian area of Cairo, Egypt]
The financial needs on the Track are always present as well. Recently a student has to leave the program because of financial reasons. We all know what it is like to struggle with finances, but it was made very real this week. For my situation, I collected a bit of debt especially during college that has been weighing on me lately. God has always provided for my immediate needs and paying the bills as well, but I long to get out from under the pressure of those payments. I am trying to set up a website to make my pictures available for purchase, but am in need of assistance for that as well. I appreciate your prayers for me and the rest of the team as well. We are becoming very close (as you can imagine from constant time together) and it’s very hard when someone has to leave.
Pray for protection as we travel to and around Ethiopia and that we will do exactly what God wants us to do in Ethiopia and the rest of the time in Egypt. I have all of these ideas for opportunities and would love to see them come to fruition.
Thank you for your time, thoughts, prayers, and communication as well. I would love to hear from you. In response, I will try to get back to you in a timely manner, but with the internet situation, might take a few days.
Because of Jesus
John Paul Vicory
Epic Picture from Arbel Brohan. You are a professional photographer and my mentor. I hope you have a safe trip to Ethiopia.
Awesome pictures, John Paul, and truly an awesome adventure with the Father of Light. Keep the faith in fulfilling His commission. Be encouraged with His eternal love for you and all mankind. He has promised to go before you and never to leave you. All our love and prayers.