Galilee

Sometimes I wonder how my mind works the way that it does, in the sense that I don't always completely realize the uniqueness of what I am doing until I am leaving the place I go to. I just returned from eight days in northern Israel, also known as Galilee. What an amazing eight days it was! We went to Nazareth, Cana, Mt. Carmel, Jezreel, Capernaum, Bethsaida, Chorazin, Caesarea Philippi, Dan, and of course, the Sea of Galilee, to name a few places. We went inner-tubing down the Jordan River, we hiked the Nahal Yehudiah, and road on a boat at night on the Sea of Galilee and read about the times when Jesus rode on the same Sea. Each morning some of the girls and I read through the Gospel of Mark while we were sitting on the shore of the Sea in front of our rooms. It wasn't until we were leaving and had our last look back at the Sea that I realized the enormity of what I had been doing for the last week. Praise the Lord for all the things I learned about Him this week. Praise Him for the reminder of the perfection of His plans and the awesome gift of His Son! I'll write more about my experiences soon.

A Day in Samaria

A day in the land of Israel. A day in Samaria. A day where so much Biblical history took place. Many Biblical "heroes" spent time in Samaria. Abraham. Jacob. Joseph. Joshua. Samuel. The Tabernacle. Jesus. A day in the West Bank. Honestly enough, we didn't even realize it, other than being told we were on bypass roads built by Israel, or the fact that we can't return there on our own. It was a peaceful day. We saw many things and had a great time.

In the picture below I am standing on Mt. Gerizim overlooking ancient Shechem (today Nablus). On the lefthand side of the picture you can see the eastern slope of Mt. Ebal. In the book of Joshua, the people of Israel stood on these two mountains and listened to the Law being read. They then recited the blessings for obeying God's law on Mt. Gerizim and the cursings for disobeying on Mt. Ebal. Shechem also is where Abraham was first promised the land of Israel, and later Jacob bought land and dug a well here (today called Jacob's Well). This is also where Jesus met the woman at the well (John 4).


Even when we are visiting ancient sites and learning so much about history, we like to have fun and make learning more applicable by acting things out. In Caesarea, built by Herod the Great, there is a hippodrome, or the ruins of one. They used to have chariot races here and other sporting events (Ben...was also filmed here). The guys had to imitate a chariot race by carrying a girl on their backs. Actually, Alan is carrying Isaiah Schlegel who is 7, and Seth is carrying Michael who weighs more than him, but the rest of them were following the rules. :)

Also in Caesarea are the reamins of Herod's aquaduct. It's always fun to get pictures there. Here are most of the girls from the group. I look funny because I had just got soaked by a wave while I was walking along the Harbor. It's impressive to see how much of the aquaduct is still standing today.

We were by the beach at sunset and it was a perfect time to take pictures. This is my prayer group. From left to right: Sarah, Christie, Isabel, Rachel, Marlyse.

We ended the day by going to dinner at our bus driver, Na'el's house. Na'el is an Israeli Arab who is a believer in the Messiah. We had a traditional Arabic meal. It was delicious! We were able to help prepare part of the meal. Here is a picture of the guys rolling out the dough for the pizza and pita.

It was then taken to an outdoor oven. It was fun to watch the pizza cook right before our eyes, but even more amazing to see the pocket pita made in the same oven. Wow! I want an oven like that someday.

It was a very neat day. And even though I didn't feel very well, it was still a privilege to see so many Biblical places and learn about what happened there. Often it is hard to comprehend the fact that we are seeing these places until after we leave them. That's kind of how I feel today. I just spent time walking where the Tabernacle stood...I went to the place where Paul was held as a prisoner...I sat in the theater where Herod Agrippa was eaten by worms and died...I stood on the same mountain where Joshua said, "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD"...