Feb. 24th...ish Boarders hunger sets in and to this day Protein Bars are one food I cannot EAT!

I am being literal in my opening explanation

Where the air is thin and people are thick, where deserts and skies meet to embrace and no distinction is made between the twain, where mountains take shroud by using the clouds, and more stars in the heavens have never been seen, Welcome To Bolivia!

The road north was not necessarily an easy one.  Though we made 2 stops in route to the norther boarder of Argentina and Bolivia, the poor bus service, refusal to exchange more currency, and one quit disagreeably customs officer made this trip exhausting.
From our last stop in southern Argentina we left a small glacial town and headed north all the way to the infamous Mendoza   Here we rested and enjoyed the town for a short couple of days and booked a 7:00am bus ticket to Bolivia.

After deciding that it would be best to sleep for the majority of the 25 hr. trip before us, we proceeded to stay up all night.  That evening before leaving we enjoyed an all night BBQ and some long goodbyes.  I was able to sleep away the first 13hours and when I awoke it was 8 pm and I was hoping I would be able to stay awake a few hours and then sleep away the night.  (I should stop here to inform you that the bus service to Bolivia apparently loves the Wayan Brothers, Monic, and Eddie Murphy as these were the only movies being played)!  I am truly thankful God allowed me to sleep through this time of my travels haha.

Next we spent several hours going through customs and exchanging US$ for Bolivian Pesos and purchasing train tickets.  Now it was time to eat! We ate several plates of chicken each as it felt as if we were going to starve.  We stuffed ourselves to exhaustion and it felt so good.

Let me explain. 28 hours earlier we realized we had only enough Argentinian currency to catch a cab to the bus station.  Not wanting to pay the exchange fees and have pesos left unused when we crossed the boarder we decided to eat only what God provided or that we could purchase with on visa.

Our bus service turned into a nightmare and we had no food.  Also because the bus was running late they did not stop long enough for passengers to enjoy a restaurant.  WE WERE EVEN LEFT ONCE!

We ate protein bars which we our mother had tucked away for us weeks earlier when we left NC and those were all we had eaten.  When we finally had reached the boarder we tried to hurry the mile or so from the bus stop to the crossing, but found ourselves exhausted due to high elevation and thin air.

The train ride up the Bolivian Andes and to the Desert

Finally we made it proudly presenting our Bolivian currency to the guard.  He however was only interested in US$ cash.  This made no sense, but after a confusing several hours we were finally on the Bolivian side and in a little wild, west town of Bolivia.  We stood there clinging anxiously to our train tickets to Uyuni with about four hours to spare until 2:30 that afternoon.

So we bought chicken, bread, coke.  It was a fantastic feeling and even that long train ride deep into the Bolivian desert seemed so peaceful and so relaxing.  I had just crossed a boarder into my 9th country and each bus, train, taxi, or boat ride was now taking me one step closer to home.

The Grand Conclusion to "One of the Most Amazing Adventures!"

Continued....

Where was I? Oh yes, I was being asked a very serious question from a very concerned Israeli citizen.

"So did we kill Jesus? Do Christians look unfavorably of us Jews?" He asked.

"Well, it is true that the Jewish religious leaders wanted to have Jesus put to death." I confessed. "But they could not issue the death penalty for any crime without Roman permission.  So they to take him to King Herod for permission."

"Jesus himself told Herod that he could not kill him. Saying what he did he did willingly.  He said that if He wanted He could call 10,000 legions of angels even in that moment to come to His rescue.  Herod only wanted a free magic show, but finding nothing deserving of death he released Him."

My new friend was quiet, wondering what I would say next.  I continued. "The religious leaders then took Jesus to Pilot who was the governor of the whole territory.  After Pilot investigated Jesus, he wanted Him to be released.  He did however give the sentence by saying, 'Do with Him as you will.'  No one could kill Jesus, He knew He would die.  He chose to lay down His life and He did this willingly.  He even told his disciples and many other that this would happen.  He wanted to do it because it was God's plan."

"The difference is that just as no one could have killed him, likewise no one could keep Him in the grave."

"True Christians believe God's promise to Abraham still stands.  God will bless those who bless all the descendants of Israel.  We believe this and pray for God's protection over the nation and that America will remains a strong ally."

So there on a bus leaving the world renowned "W" and the Torres Del Paine, I was given the opportunity to share the rest of the gospel message with an Israeli.  He had been led to believe that protestant faiths shunned he and his people for the harsh sentence of sin which was taken and carried out willingly by our Savior.

One of the most amazing opportunities of any adventure!

Feb 13, 2010  (My journal entry taking a bus back to Ushuaia after hiking the 'W')

As I have mentioned throughout this journal I have had the chance to meet many Israelis.  It seems to be quit popular to travel here in Patagonia after serving the mandatory two years of military service.  As I sat chatting with a young, Israeli, man in his mid twenties he confessed that he was non religious and wanted to ask me a couple of questions.  It was only after I promised to answer them as honestly as I could did he proceed.

"Have you read the whole thing?" He asked as he noticed my Bible.

"Almost" was my reply, "I may have not read every verse, but I have read it through."

He became very serious and questioned, "How does the Bible portray Jewish people? Are we good, bad, evil? What does it say about us?"

I tried to explain that this was a difficult question and would take some time to answer fully.  If he really wanted to know exactly how the Bible portrayed Jewish people I could give a detailed explanation.  This answer would take awhile, and if he were just making conversation then now would be his chance to drop the matter.

It was only being thoroughly convinced he sincerely desired the answer regardless of time that I continued.  I knew we would be on that bus for approximately three hours, so I had his complete attention.

What a fantastic opportunity!  I started with Adam and Eve and how sin entered the world.  Then went through Moses and Abraham which I knew would be of interest to this young man as he would be familiar with all of these stories.  I told him that according to the Bible salvation and redemption from the sin nature which has been passed down since Adam to all mankind was available to the Hebrews only.  They had the commands and promises given to Abraham.  Even though he and his family were chosen by God they were still enslaved to the nature of wrong-doing.

I further explained that the law was simplified into 10 commands and given to Moses along with a series of traditions and ceremonies to be performed ritually.  This law came only to the Hebrews, because they were God's chosen people.  God promised to take care of the Hebrews and bless them and those who treated God's people favorable.  I exampled Ruth and Rahab stories which he was vaguely familiar.  I assured him this promise is still true and that true Christians in the U.S. pray often for the nation of Israel.

"But", he interrupted, "Do you not believe we killed Jesus?" He asked.

So I continued, "Just as the sacrifice of animals was not enough to break the hold of sin on our lives, neither could a set of rules be kept.  So God had to send His Son."

"Jesus!" he said, "and Mary was a virgin. No?" He asked

I smiled, "Exactly!" I confirmed. "Jesus wasn't born into sin because his mother was pure. Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies which were foretold by the prophets in the Israeli Bible!"

He was on the edge of his bus seat, literally and was so intently hanging on every word that I was afraid he would soon be sitting in my lap! "So did we kill Jesus? Do Christians look unfavorably on us?"

I promise to finish this story before the week is over, I won't procrastinate.