xjwsforChrist

This is all tremendously interesting, Shelby. I am literally almost drinking it in, going back and poring over each picture.

Do you know...did you ask and find out...the dates of the pictures you photographed in St Mary's Zion Church? I imagine the first long one is of the Ark being carried to Ethipia? Would that be right?

The one of Saint George interested me especially. You mentioned that you hadn't heard of him. If you or anyone is interested, he is in fact the patron saint of England, and the English flag, not the Union Jack of Great Britain, but the English flag, the simple Red Cross on a white ground, that is the flag od St George. His story was brought back from the Middle East in the early Middle Ages, and he is very well known and venerated among the Palestinians.

I hadn't known about the connection with Ethiopia, but now I do as I flew straight to Google to educate myself! He is, I discovered, as important to Ethiopia as he is to England. He is known here for killing a dragon (representing evil) and the same is obviously true in Ethipia, where some stories have him killing a five-headed dragon rising out of the Red Sea. One surprising link Google offered led straight to events surrounding the deposition of Haile Sailasse in 1974.

I included a link there to a Guardian newspaper article, but it was ruined by a big protective blue poster with a big letter g, and no article. Obviously protecting the newspaper's copyright.

It's the least we can do, dear Char (peace to you, dear one!), share what we can since you dear ones weren't able to be with us!



According to our guide, the original book (which we could not see) was made in the 15th century AD and each Ethiopian Orthodox Church has a copy (the one in the newer St. Mary's of Zion in Axum is the original copy and all others came from that, including the following, a book about one in Gonder that is said to have been done in the late 17th century, during the reigns of either Yohannes (whose crown and robes we saw) or Iyyasu I:

http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/ex ... rican/Mary




If you mean the one showing the priest to the right with a box on his head (I can't tell, sorry), yes. BTW, each church ALSO has a copy of the "Ark" and tablet. And contrary to what we/you (may) have read (on the Internet/in books/tourguides)... our guide was ADAMANT that the real "Ark" (gold box) and tablet have NEVER left the chapel, even to be paraded in the street during religious festivals, but only a replica of it (from which all of the other replicas were made)!



I do intend to look him up. Do you know the history of his slaying the dragon, though? Details and timeframe? Again, I am aware of the account of Daniel and Bel, but not of George. Can you enlighten us? If so, thanks in advance!



Ahhhh... Do you know when this was to have occurred? Again, I will look it up but thought perhaps you had some deeper understanding. Here is a Wikipedia summary as to DANIEL and Bel, the Dragon:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bel_and_the_Dragon



Hehehehehe... well, one must make a buck, musn't one? None of that "I/we received free some I/we must give free" melarkey for such folks, right? LOLOLOL!

If anyone's interested, here are some additional links to websites with information very similar to what we were told:

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/ethi ... ry-of-zion

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/ethi ... r.jpg.html

http://www.theorangemango.com/the-seven ... -ethiopia/


Note, they still do the coffee ritual everywhere: hotel lobbies, airports, etc. Also, note, the "monastery" currently being renovated was the 17th century church of St. Mary. The ruins of the original church (dating from sometime in 300AD) are shown in the pics above, just below the chapel.

Peace, dear Char!

Your servant and a slave of Christ,

Sheldiana

I knew that Saint George was a real person who lived in about the third century, a great hero in the areas of North Africa and the Middle East, and found a very informative page confirming this.

http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/syne ... eorge.html

So, not the same story as that of Bel and the Dragon, which I know well as it's in my Bible. (Catholic.)

As a saint he began to be very popular from the very early Middle Ages. I was interested to read in that linked page that the young St George was famous for his chastity, which provides a real historical basis for the traditions and legends that grew up around him. As I said, he is the patron saint of England. Mediaeval chivalry was very much linked with devotion to St George, and the story of him protecting a maiden's virginity is ne of the key pillars of mediaeval chivalry. Knights wore his emblem proudly and "St George" was the English battlecry in war after war. He is still very important to England. His day is celebrated on April 23rd, often with church services with uniformed attendance by Girl Guides and Boy Scouts, and often units of the army too.

Interesting account, dear Char (again, peace to you!)... and you are right: it is not the same as the account re Daniel and Bel, the Dragon! Here is what I received about it from our Lord:

The two tales have been combined. Diocletian first represents the "dragon" (the Adversary) in that his attempts to "tempt" dear George and, when that didn't work, ultimately kill him... replicates the accounts by Matthew and Luke regarding the Adversary's attempts to tempt our Lord and, later, to persecute, wage war with, and finally kill him (Christ), through killing him and those of his Body. That George stood fast in his integrity and devotion to Christ, no matter what Diocletian threw at him including, ultimately, his death, was seen as him "fighting" and eventually "conquering" the "arkaic dragon" (the seraph, Beli'Jah'El, aka "Satan" and "Devil" - Revelation 12:10)... rather than being conquered BY that one.

The "dragon" is seondarily represented by an crocodile (which beasts were and are prevalent through all of that part of the earth) but NOT a dragon... which George actually fought and slayed. It was rather large (even by today's standards and since most men, and perhaps even George, were much smaller then than today, considered "gigantic"), but it did not have wings - that part was added to make the beast more fearsome and so the account more sensational.

It was merely a regular (i.e., four-legged, non-winged) crocodile that had been preying on children and small adults who swam/bathed in the water. To appease the beast, the townsfolk, who were superstitious, offered maidens to it from time to time. Tied them up, like goats, so that they couldn't escape from being a meal. George, knowing that it was NOT a "dragon" (which HE knew were actually seraphs... fiery, flying, flesh-eating beings of the spirit world), but just a beast of THIS world, knew he had to kill it to (1) stop it from feeding on people who went in the water, (2) put to rest the superstition of the people to stop THEM from feeding it with maidens from their own people, and (3) build their faith in Christ, to whom he gave the glory for his endeavor and ability TO kill the beast. He did not take the credit for himself (which made the people marvel at the kind of man HE was).

Unfortunately, though, people are prone to believe more the remarkable legend than the mundane (much the same as we do today, hence, the direction of many of our movies!)... and the more sensational, the better! And so the resultant tale of him slaying an actual dragon, in the form of a crocodile with wings... was a much better story than him simply killing a large croc. And SO MUCH more effective in converting folks to "christianity" than a story about a mere man who slew a regular ol' crocodile (while other men had feared it, possibly even given their own children to it!!). Who, at that time, WOULDN'T follow/believe in the God of someone who had literally killed a "dragon", let alone that someone?! They would be a fool, by the standards of the times!

Like the Prophets, Apostles, Paul... and even Christ himself, to some extent, however... George NEVER intended for the event to be used to venerate HIM, at it later was, especially after he was matyred.

All HE used to bring people to Christ was the TRUTH (about Christ and Christ himself, who he led those who listened TO)... by means of the glorification and acknowledgement of CHRIST for all of his (George's) strength, endeavors, accomplishments, and endurance. The uneducated and illiterate, however, needed something more... something more sensational, something related to their daily lives, and something able to fulfill their need for the "miraculous" and superstitious (which for THEM was demonstrated by feats of great courage and strength beyond what was considered "normal") and so the stories were combined... and "tweaked"... so as to do that.

Hence, the two accounts became a "sensational" story to assist in converting pagans (people of the earth) into "believers"... although, believers in what and WHOM isn't what most think! Because, unfortunately, as always occurs with falsehoods people began to believe in... and venerate... the subject ("hero") of the story (here, George), rather than the One HE venerated and TOLD others to venerate: his Lord and Master... the HOLY One of Israel and Holy Spirit, JAHESHUA, the Chosen One of JAH (MischaJah).

This is what I heard from our dear Lord and Master, the same HOLY One of Israel and Holy Spirit, JAHESHUA, the Chosen One of JAH (MischaJah)... and I, SA, share it with you, dear Char, just as I received it from That One.

I hope this helps, truly, any who might be wondering, including perhaps you!

Again, peace to you!

YOUR servant, sister, and fellow slave of Christ,

Shellama

BTW, chikkens... malaria pills... SUCK!!!! Not meaning they don't work (I dunno) but they are wreaking HAVOC on my system! UGH!! Gotta take 'em, though. May not have had contact with any 'squitoes... but heard tell it's contagious and there were quite a few people on those planes (including two little ones with impetigo!)...

Okay, that was all prolly way TMI...

Ummm, peace...

Sheldiana, on her own... and wondering how she's gonna get through the remaining 4 tabs (maybe half at a time, 2x a day... in which case, I'd better get a half down me now... gulp...)

Well, since I haven't stepped foot on a plane since 1979 you are my personal "Rudy Maxa and Rick Steves" taking me thru Ehtiopia, in case you don't know, they have travel shows which air on PBS and the like, which is how I do my traveling now. Those pics in the church were featured on one of their shows, can't remember whom, but I've definitely seen those murals before.

So, tell me, when I was kid on family vacations my MAIN concern was if we were going to have a TV set in our room, did your hotel have TV and how about cable?

I LOVE Rick Steves... and Burt Wolf... and Anthony Bourdain... and Bobby Chin... and... and... ALL 'dem folks, dear Miz Shirley (peace, guhl!). I do summa my globetrotting through these, too!

And yes, both of our hotel rooms had TV (and pretty decent shows, too!) as did the lobbies and restaurants. I dunno whether it was cable but it was very clear... and most was in English! One thing, though: LOTS of ads re condoms... both on TV AND in the hotel rooms (as well as condoms in the room at Axum. Which makes me think that, although folks are Orthodox and so "good"... might be little "night walking" going on, too - LOLOL! I mean, if we were to go by Miss Brickhouse - LOLOLOL! Although, I can't really say what her "occupation" was, but given the area... not a stretch to assume, I'm thinkin'. But, no, no judging - such folks have a right to make a living, too! Up to JAH as to whether their livelihood is acceptable to Him or not, not me - LOLOLOL!).

The airlines had prerecorded TV shows, movies, music, games, puzzles, and flight maps. And it was FREE on Ethiopian Airlines (as was the food - didn't even get peanuts on Virgin (going to DC) and United (returning from DC), though; only beverages/cocktails).

Peace... and girl, you gotta get out and see the world! LOLOLOL!

Your servant, sistah, and a slave of Christ,

Shellama

Hola Sheldiana and everyone today....

Shelby, your pictures turned out GREAT! Camera not so bad after all.
And you definitely remember the dates and names much better than I do, , thank you!

Thanks for the compliment guys. I'm surprised the white that I wore stayed pretty clean overall.
That cave was the one that while we were below a BAT flew out of. Soooooo needless to say, we were ready to bounce from there. We didn't fell the need to see much more after that, LOL ..
Of all the shots we got, didn't need anymore with any rabies and all, Yikes!!!!

Great pics sis, I think the one you have up with the church on the hill is the same one as I have. Closest one!

Enjoying them again myself
Justmom

Hola, chica/Mami (and peace, chile'!). Yeah, I prolly posted a duplicate of that one, luv - I was pie-eyed trying to get these all uploaded, "rotated," "resized," etc. From phone to computerl to photobucket to here (praise JAH, the iPhone just syncs!!). Wanted to give the dear folks a psuedo-experience - LOLOL!

And still think your pics were better... and that you at least had the presence of mind to TAKE some (remember the "video" I "recorded"... all while not even having pushed "record"?? LOLOLOL! My photog skills SUCK! LOLOLOL!).

Hey, gonna send you a PM in a sec. Want you to see sumthin' (no worries, everyone else - nothing you would get - LOLOL!).

Peace!

YSSFS of Christ,

Sheldiana

AH HA! .....so..I don't think this is really as important but for clarification purposes as SOME *points at a few in the back* like to say some smack!

So Shelby actually, by mistake, said incorrectness about how much money was given to the gentlemen in the hotel for exchange purpsoes.

I took MY real name out cause some of you are uh...psychopaths.

So she explains: AHEM "Oh, sorry, [Voices] (peace!)... I posted the wrong info (so thanks for the heads up!). We gave him total $500 USD ($300 me/$200 'Mom - for some reason, I thought $500 me/$300 'Mom). I receive a little over $6,000 birr and she got a little over $3,000. The conversion rate on May 26th said it would be approx. $9,206 birr ($9,205.70)... that sounds about right. We found the folks in Axum to be really quite trustworthy so I knew the error had to be mine - LOL!

Do me a favor, though? [Next time you put out a new song voices, send it to me. I think your music is fantastic and amazing. I don't understand why you havn't published it yet, but I'm ecstatic about the music video you're putting up soon on youtube. I'm a huge fan of yours and hope one day, i'll see you in concert!]

Peace, luv!

YSSFS of Christ,

Shel"

SEE? GOT IT? ....well...actually ....shelby didn't really say that stuff about my music =/ See the brackets? *points* ...right... THERE. Yeah...I made that part up.

ME

Oh my goodness those ROCKS!!!! That amethyst is incredible! I work with crystals and I would have been dragged out of the airport by my ankles whilst clinging to them. I can completely understand your heartbreak. Amethyst is mine and ebabysprouts birthstone and we adore it.

Your pictures are fabulous, shame you couldn't stay longer.

Gonna go back some day, dear WS (peace, luv!); unfortunately, I don't think the prohibition against rock removal will change. They wouldn't have found my opal had I not packed it with the amethyst, though - ARGHH!

Peace!

YSSFS of Christ,

Shel

Definetly put one in your pocket next time I fell asleep with the picture of the amethyst in my head I cant get over the beauty of it and thats just the picture! In reality it must have been breathtaking. Can you tell I adore crystals lol!

Peace