Encountering Israel

Left the Sea of Galilee this morning as we made our way to our destination: Tel Aviv. Packed up our suitcases for the last time and it felt so good! Stuffing that thing as full as possible got harder as the trip went on! And the checked bag Erika and I shared was breaking along the way and probably couldn't make another couple of days! The duct tape can only hold for so long :)  Our first stop was at Caesarea. This beautiful city was built by Herod once again and his wealth was evidenced once again through the beautiful ruins that still stand. We made our way to the ampitheater where Ben explained a little bit about the city before letting us roam and learn for ourselves through all the signs and beautiful ruins that there were to explore. Cesarea was probably the last place that Paul was before going to be executed and it's also the place where Cornelius, the centurion, was led to being converted by Peter.  Our first view looking out from Caesarea  Ampitheater...

Today was our last day with Jared, and we had to start the day off a little earlier because he needed to have enough time to make it back to Jerusalem for Shabbat that evening with his family. So we left our hotel around 7:30 and drove to Golan Heights. These mountains are at the northern part of the country and from these mountains we could look out and see Syria, as well as know the general location of where Jordan and Lebanon are. One unique part about this area of land is that it is not recognized as a part of the country of Israel by anyone except Israel. All the other countries recognize this piece of land as being occupied by Israel but not actually belonging to Israel. Knowing that this place could potentially be a source of conflict at any moment was a little eerie! Just off in the distance we could see an abandoned town in Syria where many rebels hide in and where fights break out between government and rebels. Jared said he has been standing on the Golan Heights and seen the...

This morning we woke up and left our lovely home by the Dead Sea to travel up north! Another full day of travel with some stops along the way! Our first stop was at the Nazareth Village which was an outside museum. There were people who acted the parts of Joseph and Abraham for example as we learned the lifestyles of people back in Jesus' day. While it was kind of cheesy to a certain extent, it gave a great visual. We got to see a wine "press" area outside and also an olive press which were both popular agricultural opportunities during that time and which are referred to by Jesus in many of the Scriptures since these are familiar traditions he grew up with. We got to see how the women spun wool, which was similar to what we saw a couple days ago with the Bedouin women. We ended the tour in a synagogue that was constructed like many of the ones back in the day and heard about Jesus' experiences in the synagogue. Specifically we focused on the time where Jesus read t...

4:30 came way too early this morning as we rolled out of bed and made it to the bus at 5. But let me tell you, what came afterwards was totally worth it. We climbed Masada, a very steep hike where my buddy, Marta, and I questioned what the heck we were doing and if we would ever make it to the top!! We stopped and watched the sunrise along the way as it rose over the Dead Sea. (As well as catching our breath throughout those multiple stops) Even though we were certain our calves and legs would fall off, we made it to the top! It was stunning! No picture can capture the view that we had! No words can describe the beauty! Yep, we climbed that!  Sunrise about halfway up Masada! At the top of Masada listening to Jared Then Jared gave us a tour of Masada and described the story according to the account of Josephus. Masada literally means fortress and it was a place that was a backup for those living in Jerusalem to flee to if they ever needed it. However it's in ...

This morning we left Tantur and the Jerusalem area. After spending over a week there it felt weird to leave but we're ready for the next adventure! And we have Uncle Jared back for the rest of the trip so we're excited!!We headed east from Jerusalem to the Elah Valley. We hiked to the top of a hill there and at that hill we learned that there is a very good chance that this was the battle line between the Israelites and Philistines in what turned out to be the story of David and Goliath. We read the intro to the story of David and Goliath that talked about geography and is something that is so often glossed over in the story but reading it and realizing where we were made the story so much more authentic. We drove for a while and then ended up at Ber Sheeva. This potentially could have been a logical place where Abraham came and settled down for the first time before God asked him to take his son Isaac and sacrifice him. There is no evidence if Abraham was here however but it...

This blog post is titled almost the same as to one of my very first blog posts that I had before this trip began. In that post I talked about how God had provided the resources and finances I needed to make this trip possible and now when I'm here I continue to see his provision day to day and that just made itself very evident specifically today.  We started off the day a little earlier than normal at 7:30 because we had a little bit of a longer drive ahead of us! We had a new tour guide for the day before we go to having "Uncle Jared" for the rest of our trip! We're excited to have him back. Dan took us today to the Judean Desert. Man is that place desolate! No trees, no shade, not a lot of water. Perfect place for a monastery, which we got to visit. It was a nice lovely hike down on a super hot day and of course the men and women all have to cover up! Men have to wear pants, women have to wear skirts and scarves that go around their shoulders and heads. And ...