Hello Everyone!

We have finally found some time to update you on what we are doing in our last two weeks. Our group has dove head first into some super nerdy archeology. We are uncovering a housing complex from the Iron Age II, which in non-complex language means an Israelite city in the northern Kingdom of Israel during the time of Jereboam II or Ahab! We have had great luck with finding things, which apparently is not normal... :). I don’t mind, if we are digging in the dirt at least we are finding something!

What Justin & I have found already:

• a destruction level, from the attack of the Assyrians on Isreal (proven by ash and burned brick that we have found)
• a piece of burned flint, and a piece of regular flint!
• Justin found a few huge pieces of pottery right next to a small oven that we uncovered half of! 
• I found a small “juglet” all the way intact (except where I pick-axed it... oops) this was a big deal, they all got pictures and hovered around... I felt awesome :) (I will put a picture on facebook tomorrow or later tonight!
• lots of pottery handles and pieces! 
• some really old glass (pretty blue color!)

We are having some fun... but we are also tired and very ready to go home and see our families. Our typical day consists of 16 + hours of scheduled time. I know, its crazy. We get up at 5:00am and start digging until 9:00... we eat breakfast and dig again until 11 when we get fruit break. We then dig until 1. We eat after that and have a time to shower and nap for about an hour. At 4:30 we wash and read pottery, looking at the edges in order to see what period they are from. We have seen evidence of burning and edges that help us date the walls and other things we find.at 6:00 we go to lectures, given by the grad students we are digging with. They are sometimes a bit over our heads :) After that we eat at 7 or 8 and are usually sleeping by 10:00, if not earlier. (Yes even Justin is going to bed this EARLY!)

We dig until next week friday and fly out late that night and arrive in Chicago at 6:00pm that time (we loose 7 hours on our way back). We hope to be up in Michigan on Sunday afternoon... and we will be craving some cheeseburgers and some hamballs (hint mothers?!) :)

Prayer Requests:

• strength to move dirt and keep moving
• desire to keep digging, when we desire to nap
• homesickness, for us to enjoy where we are.
• that our group will continue to bond and not pull apart (it has been over a month!)

Love all of you guys,

Leah & Justin Lechner