Israel Trip-Day 6

On Tuesday we began at the Western (“Wailing”) Wall where we could touch the stones and leave a prayer.  We entered the Old City at the Dung gate and walked through the “Rabbi’s tunnels” along the Western wall which empty out into the Muslim Quarter.  

 Then we visited St. Anne’s Church (pic below) where we sang a couple of hymns and looked at the ruins of the Bethesda pools (pic above) where Jesus healed the lame man.  St. Anne's was the childhood home of Mary, Jesus' mom.  

  After this we boarded the bus for Yad VaShem (the Holocaust Museum pictured above) where we ate lunch and beheld Schindler’s actual “List”, real train cars used for transport to concentration camps and the trees planted in honor of those who helped save the Jewish people from the camps (on the Avenue of the Righteous, pictured below), among many other moving displays.

 A very moving section to me was the section dedicated to the children who were killed in the camps.  Below is a tribute to them, a future that was cut off.  There was another area where the names of the children who died are continually read aloud in a dark room with many mirrors and only 5 candles but the mirrors made it look like there were millions of stars in the sky.  We only had a short time to see this museum but I could have spent all day there.

 Finally, we concluded at the Israel Museum where we visited the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea scrolls are housed (pictured below).  It was designed very uniquely depicting the jars in which the scrolls were found and the inside feeling like you are entering a cave.  We also saw the massive model of Herodian Jerusalem, and the museum.  Some of us went various ways to see items of interest in the museum, and Ken guided a large group in the Archaeology wing where we saw many interesting things including the "house of David" inscription found at Dan where Ken is currently digging. 

   

Israel Trip-Day 5

On Monday we checked out from our hotel on the Dead Sea and we visited Masada where we took the cable car up and down (no snake trail, thank you!).   The story of Masada is an amazing one and has become a story to promote modern Israeli patriotism.

 Herod, being the paranoid man that he was, had built a palace on Masada, a place immune to attack.  Below is a model of waht Herod's palace would have looked like during his time. 

Fastforward a few decades and the Romans were conquering Palestine but there were a few rebels who stood against them.  Many of the rebels went up to live on Masada.  In a show of their strength, the Romans decided to squelch any rebellion and they had Jewish slaves build a ramp up the side of Masada.  The Jews on Masada watched this for months, unwilling to attack the Jews building the ramp because they probably knew some of them from before their capture.  The Jews on Masada had a difficult future to face-when the Romans finally came up, they would ravage the women, enslave the children and many would lose their lives.  Soooo, the Jews on Masada decided to take the lives of their families and then kill each other (rabbinical law forbade suicide).  When the Romans came up, they found everyone (except 1) dead. 

Above is the area they kept pigeons and other birds for food.  They had plenty of food and water.
Below is the siege ramp that the Romans had built.  Many of the Roman camps are also visible from the top of Masada.

 Then we proceeded to En-Gedi where we enjoyed a waterfall (and a few of us hiked up to see a few more).  This is the area where David hid from King Saul when Saul was trying to kill him.  There are loads of caves and hiding spots here.  And it is beautiful!

 Then we visited Qumran where the Essenes livedand stored more than 800 scrolls in the surrounding caves. 

 And finally, we made our pilgrimage up to Jerusalem and got the first glimpse of the Old City from Mount Scopus. We checked in to our final hotel—the Dan Boutique which is on located on the southern bank of the Hinnom Valley and has a view of the southern walls of the Old City. Jerusalem’s weather was much more comfortable than the Galilee or the valley.

Israel Trip-Days 3 and 4

I became very sick on Saturday and stayed back at the kibbutz with a few other people from our group who were also sick.  I was really bummed to miss out on seeing Dan where Ken is currently digging!  The rest of the group traveled into upper Galilee and the northern borders.  It was another VERY hot day.  They visited Hazor, Dan, Banias (both the waterfall and Caesarea Philippi), and finally, the bunkers at Har Bental where we could see the national borders, Mt. Hermon and the Golan Heights.  In the evening, we held a meeting where we shared our thoughts about the tour so far and we were also treated to hearing the testimony of Tali, our Israeli (Messianic) guide. 

On Sunday, we rose early to baptize 6 of our brothers and sisters in the Sea of Galilee.  After breakfast we departed the Kibbutz and visited Mount Arbel (scenic overlook of the Sea of Gallilee) and Beth-Shean.  Beth-Shean contains many Roman ruins as well as an ancient tel.  Ken and an elite group hiked up the ancient tel but I opted for a posicle. 

 Above you can see the Roman ruins in the foreground and the ancient ruins of Beth-Shean in the background. 

Then we drove down the Jordan Valley and checked into a new hotel on the Dead Sea. I got a “mud” treatment at the hotel spa (wrapped in 20 lbs. of mineral-rich, Dead Sea mud), and, of course, did some floating in the Dead Sea. My skin felt amazing after it all and it was nice to relax for a while! 

 This was the amazing view from our hotel room on the top floor.  Awesome!

 Next stop...Masada...but that's another day's blog entry.

Israel Trip: Day 2

On Friday we visited many early Christian sites along the Galilee. These included the Mount of Beatitudes (see picture of the church above), the ruins of Chorazin, a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, the “Jesus Boat” exhibit (a recently excavated fishing boat from the time of Jesus), the site of Peter’s primacy (see John 21), and finally, Capernaum, where Jesus and Peter based their ministries.
The social highlights of the day were these: singing “Fairest Lord Jesus” in the Franciscan Chapel on the Mount of Beatitudes, Chum Alexanian modeling a tallit (Jewish prayer shawl) at the Chorazin synagogue, and group dancing during the boat ride on the Sea ofGalilee (i.e., “What happens on the Galilee stays in Galilee!”).

 Picture above is of our friend, Chum, wearing a prayer tallit in the excavated Chorazin synagogue.
Picture below is the boat that our group got to ride on at the Sea of Gallilee.

 The guys running the boat cast their nets to try to catch fish as Jesus and his disciples would have done.

 Ken and I enjoyed the boat trip!

 Below is the boat that has been uncovered in the Sea of Gallilee from the time of Jesus.

 Church of Peter's primacy:

 Beautiful shores of the Sea of Gallilee:

 Capernaum-the spaceship-looking building is a church built over Peter's mother-in-law's house (excavated). 

Israel Trip: Day 1

 Ken and I recently had the wonderful privilege and opportunity to take a group from our church on a 10 day tour of Israel.  We arrived safely in Israel on Wednesday evening.  The flight was delayed by an hour because President Obama was apparently in Philadelphia (the location of our connection).  We merged with the rest of our group in Tel Aviv, then we traveled by bus up the Via Maris, and stayed in Caesarea for the first night.   I was able to dip my feet in the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. 

 This picture above was taken from our hotel room in Caesarea.  Since Ken was one of the leaders, we got the nicest hotel accomodations with the best views.  Definitely different from our usual Days Inn experiences!  On Thursday, June 14 we had our first full day of touring.  We visited Caesarea, Mt Carmel, Megiddo, and Mount Precipice (Nazareth Ridge). We hada tasty lunch (falafel) at a Druze restaurant.  Below is a statue of Elijah slaying the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. 

 This is the valley of Mt. Carmel and we spent some time looking at the story of Elijah.  I was especially excited to go to this site since this is Brad's favorite Bible story right now.  It was amazing to learn that there is still a lot of New Age/mysticism on this mountain.  It seems to still be a stronghold of Satan.

Fun at the Firehouse

 Last week our MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) group toured the local fire department. 

 The kids had a blast climbing on the trucks and learning about what firefighters do.

 The best part was when the firefighters got a call and went speeding off with their lights flashing and sirens blaring. 

Early Father's Day

 Since Ken and I will be in Israel on Father's Day, the kids and I decided we would celebrate Ken early this year.  Ken is such an amazing dad and we wanted him to feel special and appreciated.  Sooo, we made garden stones for him and we got him some doughnuts and spelled the word "dad" with them. 

 Then we took him to a place called Prehistoric Pets.  I had been there a few years ago with Brad and baby Lila and knew then that this would be a place that Ken would enjoy.

 Growing up, Ken had a wide assortment of animals, including a newt and iguana.  This place has an amazing display of MANY reptiles-a 2 headed snake named Thelma and Louise, the largest albino boa in the world (named Twinkie), and a tame monitor that roams the store, just to name a few. 

 We fed the turtles and tortoises...

 The turtles ate live meal worms while the tortoises ate veggies.

 They allow you to handle a few of the reptiles...  Everyone enjoyed this part. 
They host birthday parties here or you can have them bring some reptiles to your party at your house. 

This place also has loads of fossils all around the store and Ken enjoyed looking at those too.  They were very unique and unlike any that we have seen anywhere, even in museums!
 All told, Ken enjoyed his day and we did too!