Is it dead here or is it just sea?

Last Friday, Tom Meyer, a fellow student at JUC, mentioned to me that he shrewdly obtained a free pass for him and three of his friends at a spa in Ein Gedi, right off of the coast of the Dead Sea. Tom is a journalist and a phenomenal Bible verse quoter; he used the former to his advantage, telling the people that he may do a review of their spa if they allowed him to come for free with three friends. It worked very well. When we arrived, he pushed to get a free meal as well. He said to the manager, Moshe, "Do you want to see a magic trick?" Taken by surprise, Moshe agreed and was shown a magic trick involving the number 4016. At the end of it, Tom said to him, "I'll teach you the trick if you give us free lunch." It was a failed attempt, but hilarious nonetheless.

Tom, Craig, Joel, and I started our day in the luxurious, sulfuric bath inside the resort. It smelt absolutely terrible. However, all of those failed attempts as a child and young adult to float were finally redeemed. The water was warm and thick but not anything beyond what you would expect water to feel like. Mind you, this is still just the indoor pool. We journeyed to the beach, where the excitement truly began.

You ever wonder what it would be like to see snow on the ground on a hot day? To be able to make snowballs and play in it? Well, that is nothing like the dead sea. It is more like a sheet of bumpy, jagged ice, ready to do nothing more than to pierce your heel at the drop of a step. "Hey, let's go in without our sandals on, it won't be so bad under the water," we thought. Yeah, right. It was just as terribly painful under the water; the glossy, hardened salt was still bumpy and hit pressure points that I did not know existed. Once I put my sandals on, it was smooth sailing, almost literally. It is a challenge to stand up without treading water with your arms. Ridiculous isn't it? The lukewarm water plunges your body into a more relaxed position, almost as if it is saying, "Take a load off, welcome to Lay-Z-Sea." I loved it. We took many pictures that you should view on facebook. It was an absolute blast, despite the painful beginning.

We went back up to the resort after our floatatious fun and soaked ourselves in Dead Sea mud. It was in what resembled a cauldren, filled with this ugly brownish gray muddy water. In the bottom of it was gobs of sludge that we intentionally grabbed to get the full experience. Hey, we had to make sure to exfoliate our skin, right? We showered off and moved on.

We had a lunch, for which, by the way, we did end up getting a discount. It was delicious, even with the sulfuric stench lingering in the air. Alright, I'm making it sound worse than it is. You get used to it rather quickly. After lunch, we just hung out and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The salt really was like snow in some places. You could pick it up and play with it. You couldn't make a snow ball, and you really wouldn't ever want it to be thrown at you in a clump, but it was beautiful. For the pictures, just get facebook or go on your existing facebook and check it out.

It was truly such a tremendous blessing. I have never dreamt, or even dreamt of dreaming of such a blessed opportunity. God is good in the good times and the bad times. Fortunately, I had the "good times" today. Please pray that I rejoice in God's goodness even, and especially, in the bad times.
Grace and peace.