I Volunteered for This?! Life on an Archaeological Dig
Let’s see, twist my arm again! Yes! Sixty-three days later after flying from Pensacola to Atlanta and then to London and
finally to Israel I watched the sun rise in the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Tel Gezer had become the dig of choice when I learned that the director was Dr. Steve Ortiz, the director of
Archaeology at New Orleans Baptist Seminary. I had graduated from NOBTS and it was like going back in some ways.
Also I had watched the video series That the World May Know put out by Focus on the Family. The first one in the series
was about Tel Gezer, Standing at the Crossroads. Until then I had not realized the importance of Tel Gezer as a Biblical
site. I had always wanted to see the standing stones. Now I was going to see them every day for five weeks. When BAS
gave me the scholarship the terms stated that I would have to stay at least two weeks. However, I wanted them to get
their money’s worth and chose to stay the entire length of the excavation. To be honest, I could see them making a history-changing discovery the day after I left, so I decided to remain the entire dig to be part of the excitement and part
of the team.
Tel Gezer is a 33-acre site that not only guarded the western entrance to Jerusalem, but also stood adjacent to the
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