What Is This World Coming To?

by Georgia Miller

Well, I have wondered about posting my personal notes about our trip to Israel. I took many pages of notes!   Our group was only 15 people. Most of us didn’t know each other at the beginning of the trip, but by the end of the trip, there was a special bond among us.

I would invite others who went to Israel to also share their stories. Each would have a different perspective, and our experience would be very different perhaps.

We arrived in Tel Aviv at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 22. We boarded our very large tour bus, the Nazarene Express, which seats 55. After being so cramped in airplanes for a day and a half, each of us takes a full seat and I smile to myself as I realize everyone on the bus is sitting separately. It’s nice to have space!! (I chuckle about our little trip coordinator at the airport who quipped — “we have camels waiting for you outside.”)

Boaz takes the microphone and welcomes us to Israel. He and our driver will be with us all week long.

I am amazed to look out the window to see sights I never expected to see. I enjoy the scenery from our bus. There are hills and stone buildings and different landscape, and traffic (just like home). We were on Highway 6. Boaz points out many things that bring income to Israel and he states that tourism is not a major source of income these days.

After dark we pass the lights of Nazareth in the distance, and we also pass Armageddon. Finally we reach Nof Ginosar where we will stay. We must rush to remove our bags from the bus and then hurry to the dining room for dinner. We are told we could see the Sea of Galilee if it were daylight, and we long to see the Sea!

Name of this hotel/kibbutz is Nof Ginosar Hotel, Kibbutz Ginosar, Tiberias, Israel
We will be here 3 nights.

Day one

Monday, March 23

It’s 8 am and we are on the bus and ready to head out for the day. Jack prays over our day.

Our first stop is the Mount of Beatitudes. We listen to Boaz and we take pictures and check out our surroundings. When we reach the Mt of Beatitudes, the sign reads “Monte Belle Beautidini” Jack reads from the Bible and we all imagine Jesus being on this hillside.

We head to the Golan Heights. We see snow on top of Mount Hermon.
We are 7,500 feet above sea level. Golan Heights are to the right. We can see volcanic hills as well. Mount Hermon is not part of the Golan Heights and is the only ski area in Israel.

Boaz explains that millions of birds migrate from Africa to Europe and land in Israel.

Land is very fertile in spite of the rocks. We’re driving now to a part of Israel that is desert.

We see the Nepthal(?) mountain range on the left and Golan Heights on the right.

There are apple and orange groves, cotton fields, and wheat. There are cattle in the rocky field on my left. It seems out of place to see cattle in these fields, which are so full of rocks and are hilly.

We are at the bottom of the Golan Heights. There is still some military. Israel conquered the Golan Heights in 1967. A few tanks (old, rusty) dot the landscape.

Now we are in the Golan Heights. It was under Syria until 1967. Old mines still exist in the mountains to our left and signs are posted of the danger. Still, Boaz says there are casualties due to these mines every year. We parked to oversee the Golan Heights and Boaz tells us we are 50 miles from Damascus. He points out places of interest in each direction. A man appears and he is selling apples. He has many bags of small, green apples for sale. Jack buys apples and shares them with us. Then we all buy apples, and I think the man sold almost all the apples he had! They really were very delicious. Boaz tells us these apples are never sprayed and they are good to eat. The salesman asked Ken where we were from and Ken told him, and the salesman commented “OH–OBAMA GOOD!!” Ken replied, “No, Obama NOT good.” More than a few apples went rolling down the aisle of our bus that week as we shared them for snacking along our trips.

It’s 10 a.m.
We are now at Caesarea Philippi. Unbelievable to be here!
There are temples here built to Zeus and Pan and there is a goat graveyard. Goats were sacrificed here and there are holes carved out of the rock to hold the bones. Boaz tells us that Jesus said at this place “On this rock I will build my church!” It was a pagan place but Jesus had other plans. The springs here are pure mountain water springs. It’s a lovely place. We walk this area in a misting rain and I ask Jack if he prayed the rain would cease (he did), because it never did rain heavily and the rain diminishes as we walk. I remember when Jack was at our house and it rained on our OL meeting. Jack prayed and the rain stopped, so I just knew Jack had asked the Lord to ease the rain for us this time too. I smile and thank the Lord for His wonderful grace to us.

Back on the bus, we are traveling the road to Damascus.
We passed a church built in honor of Saul’s conversion (he was then named Paul and wrote much of the New Testament).

We drove through a Druze village, all Muslims.
Our driver is from this village. It’s a rather poor village for the most part. We hear that one can never convert to become a Druze. One is a Druze by birth only. They are born into their religion. They have an oral religion, meaning their religion is passed from father to son, without written words (no books). There are 150,000 Druze. They wear a white turban and a black dress with a wraparound cloth that is below the knee and linked to each leg of their garment. I guess it would be like wrapping a belt around both legs below the knee. It can’t be easy to walk in these garments, I think. It is very strange looking but it symbolizes their belief in reincarnation. I don’t think we understood the full meaning, but the Druze dress is quite unique. They stand out like Amish in our country.

We are now seeing a part of Israel that was Syrian before the war (1967). We see lot of cedar trees now and remember the Cedars of Lebanon. There are pine trees also.

We are passing a large vineyard. Much wine is made in Israel, and very good wine too. I tell Ken we need to purchase wine to take home, but somehow we never did.

We are at Qazrin, an Israeli village of 10,000.
The old village exists from Jesus’ time and the new village was built since 1974. It’s about noon, March 23. Our first day and it’s unbelievable what we have seen already! I am amazed at the close proximity of everything.

We have made a huge circle back toward the Sea of Galilee now. The Sea is very large, like a very large lake, and is just awe inspiring. The Sea of Galilee is also called Lake Tiberius, and the region where we are is called Tiberius.

The length of the Sea of Galilee is 17-18 miles. It is 7 to 9 miles wide. And the deepest depth is 200 feet.

Now we see an orchard of date palms! Just gorgeous, about 150,000 trees

We just passed Bethsaida, “house of Fishermen”.  “Beth” means House. We crossed the Jordan again.

We are on the way to Capernaum and it’s almost 1 p.m. now.

Oh goodness, Capernaum. We saw the synagogue where Jesus preached and taught and we saw Peter’s house. The stones at the synagogue are original as are some of the walls and doors. Peter’s house is so close to the synagogue, just steps away!! It’s all so overwhelming. We touched stones Jesus must have touched. The stones above the door, the floors, the columns, are all original. There is no roof but we sure got the idea. It’s beautiful here. Huge areas around the grounds are covered with vines and bright pink, red and purple flowers. It’s a lovely place. We try to take it all in while we are here. We see an ancient olive press and other artifacts on display, but the items are fenced off so we cannot touch.

We just ate St. Peter’s fish at a little Jewish restaurant. I never wanted one of the fish as it doesn’t look that great, and the head is still on, but the fish was very mild and tasted good! I believe it was fried. I just had to get over looking at the whole fish! LOL At least I was brave enough to try it, and I’m glad I did.
We also ate hummus, salsa, tomatoes, flat bread (pita), corn, and had dates for dessert. What a great meal today after the synagogue.

A short time before dusk we took the boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.
As we head to the boat ride, there is a sense of awe that we are really going to be ON the Sea of Galilee. They raised the US flag on the boat and we listened to the Star Spangled Banner. We all stood with hands over our heart. Some cried (I did), I think because the moment was so sweet, and the flag waving and anthem were unexpected — but the entire day had been unforgettable. I remember singing, too loud I suppose as I can’t really sing, but my heart could not contain the moment, so I cried and sang “How Great Is Our God” along with the CD they were playing, and truly felt His presence as we looked out at the Sea of Galilee. We then enjoyed music by Michael W. Smith and some other praise and worship on board the boat. They also played some Hebrew folk music. I think most of us couldn’t get over the fact that we are really here, on the Sea, where Jesus walked, where Peter joined Him on the water, where so many things happened that we read of in the Bible. I bought some souvenirs on board the boat and regret I didn’t buy more. The people on the boat were so very friendly to us. What an awesome ending to this day, but we aren’t finished yet.

We exited the boat at dusk and entered the museum built near the boat dock, and viewed an ancient boat unearthed on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. We heard the story of how the boat was discovered and how it took years to preserve the boat and put together as much of it as could be salvaged. It was quite a project, and took over a decade to excavate and preserve. The excavation was a wonder in itself! As soon as air hit the timbers, they would turn to dust so the archeologists had to seal the boat. It was a very long process of preserving the boat.

The boat is believed to have come from about the time of Jesus and is about 2,000 years old. I loved the display of the boat and they had created a floor with tiles resembling waves, with turquoise lighting underneath. It was very pleasant.

We did a little shopping at the gift shop before dinner that evening. We also met a very friendly character (store owner I think), who was portly and round, with a full white beard and a huge smile. He was also just full of Jesus! Jack couldn’t wait to pull this man aside and visit with him! Before we left the shop, as we were being led to get back to the bus, the kind man blew the shofar for us.

This is the end of the first day.

Day two

Tuesday, March 24

It’s 8 a.m. We are headed to Cana and Nazareth.

Jack has prayed over our day, for our driver and our guide and all that we will see.

We are in very hilly terrain. The mountains are covered with rocks.

It’s a gorgeous day after a night of constant, soothing rain. There were birds in our kibbutz that seemed to fight all night long. They must have nests in the hallway. I lost some sleep but got up at 5:30 and dressed so I could take an early morning walk, and take pictures at the Sea of Galilee. I had a very pleasant, solitary walk to the Sea, in the early morning, what a special time for me. I just looked at all the surroundings and the green mountains or hills all around us, and the communities built into the mountains on the other side of the lake. Birds were everywhere that morning and I just enjoyed the peace of the morning. I thanked God for allowing me to be here.

Many towns in Israel are actually Arab, and you can tell by the mosques, which are tall and slim and lighted at the top. When we pass a community without a mosque, then it is a Jewish community.

We are arriving at Cana and it’s only 8:30.
It’s our first stop today. Jack says we can renew wedding vows here in the chapel built to commemorate the first miracle of Jesus. We are in the lower Galilee Mountains. The majority of people here are Arab Muslims. The minority are Christian Arabs. In Jesus day, 7,000 people lived here in Cana. Now it’s a heavily populated area. It’s such an old town and so quaint and built on the slopes of mountains. Everything here is just old, so I fit right in!

We ask about the big cans on top of houses and we learn that these store solar energy for heat and water. The cost is about $500 to install the device

It’s 10:30
Ken and I just renewed our wedding vows in the church at Cana. Jack did the honors of performing the ceremony. I cried and embarrassed myself. Ken didn’t cry. He did fine and grinned through the whole thing! I didn’t want to renew vows because I always get emotional about everything. As I left the stage, I didn’t see a step and fell forward and can still see Frank as he reached out of his pew and caught me (seems like it happened in slow motion). I fear what a fall I would have had if not for Frank. Thanks, Frank, you reacted very quickly, and you are very strong! LOL

Larry and Erika were married today. Theirs was the ceremony before ours.

We saw the 4th century church, the 1st century church and the 12th century church. All are built together, with the 1st century church being sealed below the floor. There are stairs to the old church.

We left Cana and discovered Fred was missing. We were on the bus already and had driven for a few minutes. Ken and I remembered him being in the little gift shop in Cana, and we feel bad we didn’t notice he wasn’t on the bus. Everyone felt bad.

Our bus driver has to turn our big bus around, and in this area, it is an amazing feat. He turned this large bus around in a very small area and we all comment about his skill at driving this bus. Anyway Jack tries so hard to keep us all together but we don’t make it easy for him. Jack prays for Fred’s safety and for our ability to find him.

Boaz leaves the bus to search for Fred and returns 10 minutes later with Fred in tow. We are all very relieved. It isn’t safe to be on one’s own in this strange place. It was a scary experience but all is OK, and we thank God for it.

It’s 10:40 and we are in Nazareth.

It’s a very large city today. The Hebrew word for Nazareth means “crown”.  2,000 years ago it was a very small village and now it’s a main town, very crowded and the largest town we have seen yet.

We see homes built with rebar attached to the roof. Boaz explains that sometimes families live together in one home. Homes are built with rebar on the roof in preparation to build another story to extend the house. Arabs live in clan facilities and Jews live in single family homes. Jews don’t marry and then live with family as Muslims do. The Arabs build onto their homes when their families increase in size.

Street signs here are in Hebrew, Arabic and English.

We are going now to the Church of Annunciation.

There are 70,000 Muslims and 30,000 Christians in Nazareth. But, Christians have many denominations here. Muslims have no such different denominations.

10:50
We just left Mary’s house and the church built over it and we are headed to Nazareth Village.

I’m just amazed at Nazareth. Busy, narrow congested streets and so much population. Housing is positioned close to each other.

Again, I realize this bus driver is very skilled. The bus narrowly fits through streets and gates and this guy just backed up into a very small gate to straighten the bus. We had an inch or two it seemed on each side, maybe! But, he made it.

We visited Nazareth Village. What a special place to see. We took a tour of the way life was in Jesus’ day. We saw a carpenter shop, a cross as it would be used for execution, etc. Our little Jewish guide was just passionate about Jesus and he was so intense about all he was telling us. He knew Jesus and knew the Word. He brought things to life for us. He tried hard to get us to respond to what he was telling us, and to help us understand why the religious people would consider Jesus a heretic in his day! We sat in a synagogue where the scrolls were read.

At Nazareth Village, we saw a threshing floor, shepherds with sheep, a wine press (where we learned why grapes were pressed using one’s feet, so as not to crush the seeds into the mash), we saw an olive press, the way wool is made into thread (Hannah showed us how it’s done). We saw a house from the time of Jesus (Hannah’s house). Everyone at the Village was dressed in Biblical attire, and it seemed we had walked back in time.

We visit a working olive press and our guide explains about the first press, the second press, and the third press. I believe the first press is extra virgin olive oil, the second press is used for cooking and the third press is used for heating oil.

Now we go to the Valley of Armageddon.

We saw Mt. Carmel (Carmel means Vineyard of God)

12:00 Tuesday

We had lunch at a very Americanized place. At least it had advertisements of COKE about the building. It was a buffet. The salad bar was Mediterranean and there were lots of new things I chose not to try. I had roast chicken with veggies I didn’t like but the sweet potatoes were excellent. Ken had the pork leg and so we were not at a Kosher place today. It was a lovely lunch and looked like an American grill. We were surprised to see cheeseburgers on the menu.

1:30

OK. We are full now and off to drive through the Armageddon Valley. The land is 40 miles long. It’s a 20 minute drive from here.

We’re driving through farmland and miles of fields and occasional homes.

We are now at Hill of Megiddo.

We just left Megiddo where we climbed down it seemed like 5,000 feet of stairs in a King Ahab water tower. What an awesome and scary trek for us. Some stairs were made of rock and were damp, but most stairs were steel slats with visibility to the bottom, that was hundreds of feet away. I had a trying time with the descent. I was very frightened of falling and my shoes seemed to fit exactly so that I felt I was going to lose my balance. Still, I managed the trek, however, I was the last one to exit! Megiddo is from earlier times than Masada.

This site was from Canaanite and Amorite times.

Wheat is grown on both sides of this highway so we watch the fields as we pass by.

We are on the way now to the Jordan River baptismal site. It’s a 45 minute trip. That gives us a chance to recover from our climb and then the deep descent into the depths just now. I can’t believe I climbed down all those steps and thankfully we had an exit at the bottom and did not have to climb back up! However, I am amazed I am walking and climbing so well on this trip. I thank the Lord for helping me with my walking. This trip is literally a faith walk for me. I knew the Lord would help me with all the walking we had to do.

It’s 2:53
Rain is falling and is very soothing just now. There are mountains on both sides of our highway. I really am enjoying this trip. I try to write down many things but I’ll never get it all written the way I want to. While I’m writing Boaz continues talking, and I also miss looking and seeing. Sometimes I have to watch the road and listen to Boaz. But I want badly to keep a journal of this trip.

We have stopped to view the valley and to the right is Jordanian mountain range. Beyond that is Jordan. We are able to see the south part of Golan Heights, and Sea of Galilee.

So far we have seen the borders of Israel, Jordan and Syria. This is only our second day.

4:40
We’re on the bus after visiting the Jordan River. I got baptized again! This was my 4th baptism experience. One day, it should take! LOL

I think 10 of us got baptized in the Jordan, the same river where Jesus was baptized. It was a very special experience. I always say the dumbest things when I am trying not to be emotional. So, when I reached Jack and Ray in the Jordan River, for example, I said to Jack “I sure am glad I wore my socks into the water”. Dumb!!! But it was also a true statement because the water was a bit icky and I felt strange stuff around my ankles. I dressed in an old pant set for the baptism. There was no way I was going to wear a white robe that was so thin you could read a newspaper through it! I was dressed from head to toe and I caused some odd looks, but at least I didn’t feel ill at ease coming out of the water with a thin white robe clinging to me. Everyone else wore a swimsuit but I don’t like being seen in a swimsuit. I threw away the pant set and the socks, which were black on the bottom! It would be too hard to dry the items and it saved me suitcase space too.

We didn’t know it but a video was taped of our baptism. Several of us paid $20 for our videos. Ken and I have viewed our video many times.

On the way back to our kibbutz, we stopped at a date orchard and herb farm, Boaz’s idea. It’s a very interesting place with many unique items. It was actually a very nice shopping experience, and we met lovely people there. The dates were so fresh and delicious that several of us bought boxes of dates. Ken and I also bought date syrup and cinnamon/date bars.

It’s 6 p.m and we are at the hotel waiting now for dinner time. I am just reflecting on the last two days and all we have seen. I wish I could retrace my steps in order to refresh my memory as I’m having a hard time remembering everything.

After dinner tonight Jack had a teaching session. So, it’s around 11 and we are all very tired. Also, very energized by this trip. That probably doesn’t make sense but as weary as we are, we are still amazed at what we have taken in, in just two short days.

Ken tries to get our computer up and running but our conversion plug doesn’t work so we hit the sack in preparation for tomorrow, our 3rd day. I want so badly to connect with the OL members and post something about our trip but we have no computer access. I can feel the prayers of our friends on the OL, and I know they have us in their hearts. I have them in my heart too.

DAY 3

Wednesday, March 25

8:08
We left the Sea of Galilee just now. We’re not coming back to this area and we are staying at another hotel (in Jerusalem, this evening). It is tough to depart such a special place but we are headed to Jerusalem. Ken and I were up at 6 to pack all our belongings and the gifts we have so far. We are just so blessed. We have 4 nights ahead of us, in Jerusalem! Frank is so excited to be headed to Jerusalem he is giddy!

Jack prayed over our day.

The Lord has provided all our needs. I thank Him again for my good ability to climb stairs and just have the stamina needed to keep up. Thank you, Jesus.

We just passed where the Jordan River flows from the Galilee.

We’re passing the Jordan mountain range (Giliad) and on the left is the beginning of the Golan Heights.

We can see the security fence between Israel and Jordan and we passed a hill with a Jordanian flag. The Jordanians are very unfriendly to Israel.

8:49
We are at Beth Shean National Park. We just passed a theatre found during the excavation. It’s three rows of seats built down into the ground, an amphitheatre. We are not yet at Bet Shean but this theatre was uncovered some time ago and sits off the main road to our right.

10:30
On my goodness, we saw the excavated city of Decapolis (??)

The city was built 5,000 years BC and was functional until 749 AD when an earthquake destroyed the buildings. The floors and columns are still standing for the most part. The middle of the street was so interesting. The street is very wide and the center of the street was pitched at an /\ angle because the sewer system flowed through the middle of the street underground. Chariots straddled the sewer system when they passed through the street. Pedestrians walked on the sidewalks. We saw the theatre and the shops, the sidewalks, a toilet room, baths, etc.

The old city had to be beautiful as what is left is really spectacular. With a bit of imagination one can just envision what life was like. We see places that were shops along the main street, and floors still have some of the very exquisite mosaics.

Now we are headed to Bethlehem, a 2 hour trip, but we see many sights in between!

10:42
We are at a checkpoint at the west side of the Jordan River, entering the West Bank. This is Palestinian country. There are 200,000 Jews here since 1967.

We can see the Jordan to our left. We see the fence that is controlled by monitors.

11:30
We are entering Jericho. Story of Joshua and Zaccheus.

We can see Mount Temptation. There is a wall, a fortress on top of the mountain. It was there that Jesus was tempted by Satan.

We can see Mt. Nevo where Moses saw the promised land. It’s across the road almost from Temptation Mountain. Moses saw the land but was forbidden to enter it.

We passed the main border crossing, the checkpoint from Israel to Jordan. There is much tension (hatred) between them we are told. We are still on the way to Bethlehem.

We are at the beginning of the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is 60 miles long. Has healing powers in the mud and water. I must get the MUD! LOL There are many beauty and cosmetic products made from the Dead Sea. People come from all over the world for the healing powers.

11:45
We’re in the Judean Wilderness. We always climb up to the Holy City, by the way. It’s 2400-2700 feet above sea level. King David set up Jerusalem. It’s over 3,000 years old. There are about 250,000 Muslim/Arabs who live in East Jerusalem. West Jerusalem is Jewish. East part is the old city with the wailing wall. About 350 religious settings are concentrated in Jerusalem.

We are passing a Bedouin camp along the highway. We see these places along the road. These are nomadic people who live in the dusty mountains and have been living this way since Moses’ day. They have always been nomads. If you come to their camp as a guest and are on a horse, you are treated well, and they will serve you, but if you come to visit them and are riding a donkey, you are are on your own and are not served. There are 150,000 Bedouins in Israel. (The funny thing is that I never did see a horse in Israel, but did see donkeys.) We passed several of the Bedouin villages, they look like shanty towns or tent cities. Very poor and rustic dwellings. The Israeli government has provided water pipes along the mountains to serve the Bedouins. The pipes run above ground. On occasion, we see camels or donkeys.

12:05
Headed to Bethlehem ” House of Bread” (Bet means House)
We have come from Jordan Valley. Jerusalem is built between Judea and Samaria, built between two old cities.

Left side is Jewish people. Right is Palestinian. We just passed the road to Somalia.

All buildings are made of limestone. All buildings in Jerusalem must be made of stone.

12:30
We are in Bethlehem, City of David. We had to cross the border where the tall fence is and there is a major checkpoint. We are in Palestinian territory. We were told we could not visit Bethlehem but Boaz worked out a plan for us to cross the border. We will meet another guide from this side of the wall shortly as Boaz could not come to Bethlehem with us.

1:50
We had lunch at a very good restaurant.  A very large place and empty except for our group. Food was very good. They even served mashed potatoes! We were well served and treated kindly by the people there.

2:49
We spent an hour in the Three Arches shop in Bethlehem. Jack explains that Hal knows the family that owns this shop and told Jack that if we supported this family, we would be doing a very good deed. Ken and I supported them well, I believe. We are very happy with our purchases. Ken and I bought an olive wood nativity set, a carving of Christ with a lamb, and jewelry, etc. I was able to buy jewelry for myself and daughters, blue opal, which is lovely. I also purchased the diamond necklace designed by one of the sons who owns the shop. The necklace is called a Jerusalem Cross but can be pulled apart to make another design. We are told that diamonds are very good quality here, and at a good price. Israel cuts and polishes 50% of the worlds diamonds.

4:04
We are leaving Bethlehem. We have just visited the church of the Nativity and stood in the place where Christ was born. We saw the underground cave where Mary and Joseph stayed and where Jesus, Son of the Living God, the Christ, our Messiah, was born. It brought tears to us and we were moved to think that Jesus really did come and He is our Savior if we accept Him. We enjoyed our tour guide Boaz sent to us. He spoke good English and had an outgoing personality and love for the Lord. When he left us so we could return to Israel, he waved to us as he was to exit the bus and said “I’ll see you in Heaven!” AMEN! Our group took up a little collection for him, and he was so pleased and commented to Jack that “Now I can feed my family tonight.”  We are all moved because we know we are so blessed. These people are not spoiled at all but have to work hard to make a life for themselves. The gratitude of our guide touched our hearts.

We were approached by many street vendors and I found it a bit on the scary side and also a bit hectic, but it was so thrilling to be in Bethlehem. Thank you, Lord. It”s been a great day and a wonderful experience. Jack told stories later of how the vendors would not take his money if he didn’t buy anything. In this country, they told Jack, we must work to feed our families. They didn’t want charity. Again, we were touched by these people.

On the bus, Ken starts to razz me a little about all the stuff we bought in Bethlehem. I was kind enough to remind him that just 24 hours ago, he said “for richer or poorer.” We all had good fun with that.

4:19
We’re at the celebrated West Bank wall. The wall is between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. It’s 30 miles long. We have a checkpoint to go through to get back to Jerusalem. The wall is 20 ft high and concrete.

4:35
A guard just boarded our bus (armed Israeli guard) and and he walked the aisle and just looked at us and our seats. There was also a Palestinian guard at the checkpoint. I felt a bit ill at ease at this point but we were happy to be cleared to enter Israel. A few of us breathed a heavy sigh and a “thank you Lord!”

We’re back in Jerusalem, PTL!!! And, we are safe. This really is an amazing place. I am always peering out the window, trying to take in every bit of memory I can possibly store away.

The architecture throughout the city is just so amazing. All is built with rock.

5:15
We just stopped at a vista point where we could see all of Jerusalem. What an amazing view! Golden dome of rock, Al-Aqsa Mosque, Mount of Olives, Kidron Valley, the Old wall, just too much to take in. We see the west side of the Old City wall. Arabs live in the old city these days.

It’s cool in Jerusalem because it is built on top of the mountain so the temp here is much cooler than in Galilee and we need our jackets. We take many pictures here at this place.

6:30
We are in the Hotel now, the Prima Royale. We are on the 7th floor with a nice view, and we’re in Jerusalem! It’s really hard to believe we are here and I just love to gaze out of our window. It’s dark and I stand at my window and watch the people, the cars and the lights.

Now we head to dinner with the others, in a very nice dining room.

Day 4

Thursday, March 26

(Somewhere along the way Boaz has decided to single me out and he is constantly asking me questions, testing me on what I have learned so far. He doesn’t realize I have no comprehension and what a struggle it is for me to remember! What everyone giggles about is how Boaz says my name “George-EE-a”. So, now I am Georgeea. LOL
A little note — Boaz also pegged Lyla Nash as “Nash” (and she will forever be “Nash” to us) and he picked on her too, and also Eric. Eric told me he was very happy when Boaz asked my name as it took some pressure off him, as Boaz had been testing both Eric and Nash to this point. Boaz was a taskmaster at wanting us to remember what he was teaching us but he has known these facts for 20 years, we are hearing volumes of information in one day. What fun we had in spite of our lack of memory skills!!)

It’s 5:30 a.m. It strikes me that daylight comes so early here. It’s daybreak already and it looks like 8 a.m. at home!! I didn’t sleep last night. Now I have been 2 nights without sleep, but am ready for what we will see today.

I shared on the OL about the armed guard on the bus yesterday. I feel that I shouldn’t have and spent all night worrying about that. Now I am afraid everyone is scared for us. That wasn’t the most exciting thing that happened but it was unusual. Seeing where Christ was born and knowing He came to us to save us, was really the most important thing to share.

Thank you, Jesus. My heart is full of gratitude. Thanks for coming to be our Savior.

8:09
We are on the bus going to the Mount of Olives. Oh my heart!!! Then we go to Gethsemane, the Via Dolorosa, and the Wailing Wall, all today.

Jack prays over our day as we drive away from the hotel. I am thankful that Jack prays.

We are passing the old city wall. We saw the new gates too. There are 7 gates. 1816 is the first time people went outside the wall to live. The city used to be locked at 10 pm and no one could go in or out.  That went on for centuries and that was the way people protected themselves.

Now we can see Damascus Gate. The old Roman gate is still there. We are in Arab part of Jerusalem. Wall was built in Ottoman’s time, 1537 perhaps.

We are passing a museum financed by the Rockefeller Family.

Now we see the University of Jerusalem.

We are in the Kidron Valley! Driving past, we see fields among developments. This valley is private and cannot be built on but the mountain slopes have homes built on them.

We are headed to Palm Sunday Road. We walked the path where Jesus entered Jerusalem on the donkey. It’s humbling to be walking where Jesus entered. I can’t help but wonder what it was like back then.

We have entered the Mount of Olives. We see the city of Jerusalem and are in awe of the beauty of the city. Right below us is a cemetery, which we look down upon. Many graves have rocks on them. That is because when someone visits the grave, they place a rock on top, symbolizing that we are dust and will return to dust. Boaz explains this to us. No one who is Jewish is cremated here.

We entered Gethsemane and tried to imagine. It’s a calm, very moving place. Each of us has thoughts that belong to us alone. This area is smaller than I imagined but in Jesus’ day it may have been much larger, and of course, there is a church here now. Olive trees in Gethsemane could be the same ones there when Christ prayed. We try to imagine how this area looked all those centuries ago. We enter the church and sit for a few moments. This is one place where we women had to cover our head. Outside, still moved by the experience, Frank has tears and we share a hug. There is a sweetness to this place.

We have started our trek to the Via Dolorosa and we stop at Stephen’s Gate, where Stephen was stoned.

We walked the Via Dolorosa and just can’t imagine the walk Jesus took. We took the route of the palm entry en route. We saw the 14 stations of the cross and passed all the bazaars along the way.  Many markets selling everything from food, meat markets with all kinds of meat hanging in the open, fish in the open, produce, leather, trinkets, etc. The area did not smell pleasant overall and seeing all the meat hanging was unusual and really piqued our interest. We are told that when Jesus walked here, he walked the path through shops and open markets, much like today, because a crucifixion was a public humiliation. Boaz instructs us to walk past all the bazaars and not get into bartering or buying but to please stay with our group. Otherwise, we will be taking up valuable time and there will be shopping later.

We saw the wailing wall from a distance before heading to see the model of old Jerusalem.

We saw the preparation table where Jesus was prepared for burial. That was very emotional. Jack wept, as did others in our group. I am touched by the tears of men in our group. I didn’t want to touch the table. It was hard for me to touch it and think of what happened here. The table was very low to the ground. But, after everyone moved ahead of me, I decided to rub the stone table top and touched it lightly and thought of why He died.

We saw the rock at Golgotha, saw people stoop to kiss the stone at crucifixion site, and went down many steps to view the large base of the stone of Golgotha, which was in a glass enclosure underground.

We moved along the Via Dolorosa and stopped to eat at a small Israeli restaurant. Had falavel and other sandwiches. Some of our group had pizza in another restaurant across the narrow road from us.

We see armed guards, just kids mostly, everywhere. I try to sneak in a picture without being obvious.

2:26
We just returned from the Wailing Wall experience. I had lists of names with me that I had printed from the OL unsaved loved ones list. I also printed names of every OL member I could find. (If you are reading this, your name is in the Wall.) Everyone in our group took a list of names from me that they would pray for and we left the lists in a crack at the Wailing Wall. Jack asked Gayle to document this occasion with pictures. (Gayle is our wonderful photographer and she is constantly taking pictures.) For me, this was a most humbling experience. We women went to the smaller wall on the right side, while the men went to our left and their wall is much longer and more spacious. Gayle, Lyla, Erika and I saw women with prayer books reciting prayers. We tried not to disturb anyone. I took pictures of Gayle and Erika and Lyla as they prayed. Once reunited with the men, Jack asked me if this was a special time, and I told him it truly was. I will never forget this experience.

Back on the bus Frank comments that we are blowing through this town, and it’s true, but we are seeing wonderful things (just too quickly). I think we are all amazed at how much we have seen, and in only 4 days. If we slow down, however, we will miss some of our tour. (Frank was so excited to pray at the Wall, and he took more than one list of names with him.)

If Jack and Gayle take another trip I would encourage everyone to come as this is a fabulous trip.

2:50
Ken is asleep in his seat. Frank is as well. Larry and Mike are also dozing. We’ve had a long day of walking so we are emotionally tired from all we have seen, but physically tired as well. Now we sit in heavy, very congested traffic. These streets are just so narrow. Traffic is very bad here as there are so few wide streets. Big buses are everywhere and come within inches of each other. Our driver is just amazing at handling this big bus in tight situations.

This is such a special place and I feel like I would like to live here. It’s just so far from family and friends. But, such a special place. I would be so thrilled to live in this area where we know Christ walked, but also where he is going to come again and set up his earthly Kingdom. How I look forward to that day when He returns and there is truly peace on earth.

It’s 5:30 and we just left the model of the old Jerusalem City in the days of Herod.  The model is just incredible!!! Pictures will have to do but it is unbelievable to see this. We are enthralled at the model and how detailed it is.

Now we are headed to the Holocaust Museum. Preparing mentally for this. I don’t know if I can handle this or not and don’t want to, but know I must. I spent about 30 minutes in the museum and I think I am the only one who spotted the guest book and signed it. I just could not read and watch everything on display. I made the connection between Germany and our present administration. Many similarities I believe.

It’s after dark and the museum closed before all of our group was finished touring it but it was hard to see and take in all the evil that took place against the Jews. We tried to see the memorial to the children but it was just too dark. Our group is quiet now and no one speaks above a whisper, and many are still weeping. It’s hard for some to stop the tears.

It’s been a very long, physically tiring and emotionally difficult day. We walked all day today and are exhausted from the miles of walking, and yet my heart is so full. We saw so much today it’s impossible to take it all in as I would like to.

Day 5

Friday, March 27

It’s 8:10 and we’re headed for Masada. Before arriving there, we will see other sites.

We are reminded that Fri/Sat is weekend here and Sunday is a working day. Friday is the main shopping day in Jerusalem. Also, tonight is Shabbat, the Sabbath Meal, that starts at sundown.

Jack prayed as we left the hotel. I am always happy that Jack prays. We feel the presence of the Lord always on this trip it seems, and to acknowledge Him as a group is a wonderful privilege for us. We also recognize that we are dependent on Him for safety and to learn what we need to learn.

We just went through the Judean Desert/Jerusalem tunnel

We see Bethany where Lazarus lived and where his tomb is. It’s behind the old wall and we cannot go there but we are shown the location.

In Mary’s day the roads were very well built and maintained. The trip to Bethlehem from Nazareth was probably about one day only. Every 15 miles there would be an Inn since that was about the distance one could walk in a day.

8:30
We see desert and Bedouin camps. Just saw camels on a hill.

Bedouins came from 7th century Saudi Arabia and they are Muslims.

We can see the entire city of Jericho. Also, Mount Temptation again, but from the opposite side of where we were on Tuesday.

The most southern part of the Dead Sea is Sodom and Gomorrah.

Dead Sea is drying up. Due to evaporation and less water coming into it. In 4-5 years Israel hopes to have sufficient water and water will flow to the Dead Sea due to some technology being used to help preserve this area. Israel is also trying to work with Jordan to get water from the Red Sea, but due to hostilities, it may not work. I pray that it will work!

This area is dry, hot, dusty and very arid, but in certain times of year it is prone to flash flooding and there are casualties from flooding every year in this area. This landscape is desolate and hot, very sandy and millions of rocks abound.

Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth.

We are passing the end of the Kidron Valley, across the street from the Dead Sea. The valley goes all the way to Jerusalem.

We see the beginning of Moab range.  Ruth came from Moab.

9:02
We just passed armed guards along the road.

This is a surprise — we are pulling into the Ahava parking lot, where they make the cosmetics from the Dead Sea. I can’t believe we are stopping. We watch a video explaining about the Dead Sea and the use of their products, and I have a basket (so does Gayle) and am ready to SHOP. The guys are teasing us but I overhear Jack say to Gayle “You can buy anything you want in here.”  I tell Ken in hopes he will agree and tell me the same! LOL We bought gifts for the guys back home and I got some products for me. I’ll be shopping online from time to time. I already have jewelry for the daughters (from Bethlehem) so didn’t buy cosmetics for them here. Ken spent more than me!!

Gosh, the Dead Sea is huge! Nothing is built around it at all. We are not at the place for swimming yet.

We are viewing where David and Jonathon hid from Saul (En-Gedi). In this barren mountain, all brown, hot and desolate.

We’re coming to En-Gedi. We see the acacia trees. Arc of Covenant was made of those.

In this region where the Bedouins live, a guest can visit for 3 days and 8 hours only. That is because after 3 days relationships become sticky! (They have things figured out pretty well, Boaz jokes.)

We passed the En-Gedi spa where people come to hot springs. The place was full of cars and buses too, and there are no other businesses for miles!

We can see Masada (means fortress) and it was built by Herod the Great. Most ruins are from Herod’s time.

It’s 10:20 and we are arrived at Masada.
Masada was built by Herod the Great and was his winter palace. We took a tram to the top. What a fascinating place! Built in the desert on top of a mountain.

12:50 pm
We just got back on the bus after a great tour of Masada! What a place. Thankfully we got brochures for this tour. There is so much to remember. One of our group, Steve, missed our bus when we left the Ahava labs, and so he arrived very late in this tour. We all feel bad that we didn’t realize Steve was not on the bus! Steve is very good natured about it but Jack is taking it hard. Jack just feels terrible as he believes he is responsible for us, but these things happen and it all turned out very well. Boaz tells Jack he has never lost someone in over 20 years of his career as a tour guide, and he can’t believe that with our group of 15, we have left someone behind twice! We get a chuckle out of that and decide we need a buddy system to watch for one another.

2:05
We have had lunch and now are at the Dead Sea to swim. Oh goodness, here we go.

2:50
We swam in Dead Sea and took pictures of all who jumped into the mud pit. Too much fun for me but I loved seeing everyone else covered in black mud. I just didn’t wish to cover myself in the black mud and decided the salt water is enough for me to remember. LOL I was seated next to Gayle while she was drying the mud on her skin and a young woman asked permission to take Gayle’s picture. Gayle gave permission and we laughed.  Everyone does look funny covered in the black stuff!

I could not stand up in the Dead Sea. I had to have some help. If not for Lyla, I would still be floating there! Too hysterical. My bottom was on the rocks and I still had to have help to stand as my feet could not dip under water to the rocks. The pebbles were terribly hard on our feet and I didn’t think to bring water shoes. Our feet hurt (except for Lyla who knew to bring flip flops for the occasion).

I’m still finding salt in my hair and on my skin after showering. It looks like my skin is peeling but it’s salt residue.

Now we are headed to Qumran. That is where they found the Dead Sea scrolls.
We are spending the day today in the Judean Desert. Not much walking today and we are glad as we felt like we walked 14 miles yesterday.

We are ready to leave the bus and I realize this is a small area to visit so maybe it will be quick. We see the cave where the Dead Sea scrolls were found! They were found because a herder lost a goat that fell into the cave and when he went to retrieve the goat, he found the scrolls in an urn!! God had a reason for that goat taking a fall!

We were done with this tour in 30 minutes but it’s an interesting site. The gift shop was very nice and we purchased more gifts. Ken and I had more items shipped home and Ken tells me I am done shopping! LOL

Then———————we rode a camel. Yep, I rode a camel. Unbelievable. It was fun but kind of embarrassing. Oh well, Jack, Gayle, Frank, Steve, Fred, Mike, Lyla and me all rode camels. My camel heaved a sigh of relief when I dismounted.

4:24
We are headed to our last stop today. Oh man, am I tired. BUT it’s been a fun day. After yesterday we needed this time of fun! I’m glad to have tonight to rest.

I actually rode a camel.

We see camels through the desert, but to be so close to one was very new and a once in a lifetime experience.

We just visited the Valley of the Shadows, our last stop. This was a place of bandits and where the Good Samaritan was able to help one who had been injured by a robber. This is the Biblical valley between Jerusalem and Jericho. What a sight. We climbed up a hill and could overlook that valley and see the valley stretching from Jerusalem and Jericho. The valley is very fertile even today, green and with trees and yet at the very base of sandy, dry, dusty mountain. The wind was strong and gusting when we were on the mountain.

On this mountain, there were Bedouin Muslims selling wares and pressing us to buy. It reminded me of Mexico. I didn’t take money with me when we left the bus, and so didn’t buy, but we were hassled quite a bit. One young lad of about 12 years pretended to sob when I told him I didn’t have money. He told me his mom was going to be mad if he didn’t sell. (I really did not believe the young lad and did not feel bad that I didn’t buy the trinkets.) Some ladies appeared suddenly on the side of the mountain out of nowhere! They were dressed in black burkas, but had jeans underneath, and carried cell phones, and even wore black pumps with a higher heel than I would think one could wear in this terrain. Their outer garments were blowing in the gusting wind. When we boarded the bus Frank and I saw one of the Bedouin men giving us a very hateful gesture, making a gnarly face at us. He was angry that we didn’t buy, I suppose.

Supper is late tonight, at 7. It’s good to be going home but it’s been such a fun, interesting, fulfilling day. I think that after the hard day yesterday, this day has been just the opposite and more fun, lifting our spirits a bit.

It’s 5 p.m. Friday night. We are headed to the hotel, and we arrive at 6. I rushed to our room to shower and remove the salt from my hair and skin before dinner, and the shower felt lovely. I showered after getting into the Dead Sea but I did a terrible job as my skin and hair was still covered in salt!

We enter the dining room that is quiet and respectful. Boaz is there, looking refreshed and dressed quite handsome. He tells us this is Shabbat meal tonight and we have wine that he brought for us, and we share a toast. The food is good and we are ready for a good night’s rest. Boaz and our driver eat together at a table near us, but they never join in eating with our group. By now, we feel they are part of our group, and would love for them to join us at our table, but perhaps that is out of protocol for them. Still, they are very gracious to us and it’s a lovely meal this evening.

Day 6

Saturday, March 28

Sabbath today.

Man, it’s cold and we are really freezing and shivering on the bus. It’s 8:40 and everyone went back to their rooms to grab jackets.

Today is the day to visit the tomb. It’s a solemn day.

Once again, Jack prays as the bus leaves the hotel. He asked the Lord to warm the temperature for us as it is very chilly.

Today we will visit the spot where Peter denied Jesus. The spot of the Last Supper, and the tomb.

It’s our last day and we are sad about that, and we know this is also a very solemn day..

The streets are bare today, no traffic. However, a few groups of tourists are out with us.

9:36
We are leaving Caiaphas’ house where Jesus was condemned. Jack read from the Bible and led our group in prayer in the dungeon where Jesus was held. We saw how Caiaphas could look down on Jesus in the dungeon.  Caiaphas could see prisoners from his floor above. We saw where Peter denied Christ and Christ overheard. What a moving experience for us all. We all shed a few tears.  As Jack reads from the Bible and we stand together in the dungeon, Jack tells us that this is where Jesus understood he was going to the cross. We try to grasp the depth of what it must have been like for Jesus but we know we will never know. This place is hard to take in — we know we are the reason for this place.

10 a.m.

We just saw the upper room and King David’s tomb. The Upper Room is actually built over King David’s tomb. It’s hard to describe the feelings. We were really taken by the Upper Room, and we were touched to see the tomb of David as well.

Our guide, Boaz, re-arranged part of our tour so that on the Sabbath we would see these things. It was a very meaningful way to spend the Sabbath in Jerusalem.

We just passed the Jaffa Gate (we are on the bus again).

11:40
We just left the Garden Tomb. Can’t describe really. We had the sweetest Englishman (Roy) to guide us through the courtyard and the area around the tomb. He showed us the picture of the skull (mountain) and it’s obvious why it was called the Place of the Skull. Roy was passionate about his volunteer tour guide status. He told someone in our group (Gayle, I think) that until a few years ago, he had been an atheist! Then he accepted Christ and his life has changed completely. He loves Jesus, and loves Israel, and now he comes to serve as a volunteer tour guide at the tomb of Christ. We all enjoyed Roy so very much.

We were all moved to tears I believe as we entered the tomb and as we gathered around.

Thinking I was being polite, I said to Jack that he should enter the tomb first. To me, it just seemed appropriate. Jack had taken the rear guard duty all of this trip (to make sure we didn’t miss anyone), and here at the tomb, he should be able to enter first. Jack firmly and kindly declined and I felt a bit embarrassed. Jack never sees himself in the role we see for him.

So, we ladies went in first. I can’t describe the feeling. Tears.

After our visit inside the tomb, Jack moved us to the courtyard that is lovely with flowers and trees and much shade, only a few feet from the tomb. Jack served communion which seemed to move us all and cause us to reflect on what Christ did for us. Myself, I had a hard time emotionally as the tears would not stop falling. My tears were soft and I was not sobbing, but just grateful to have seen this place and know what happened here. I can’t thank Jesus enough for what He did and I begin to understand more fully the great love He has for me personally. I can’t explain what happened today but something happened inside of me.

Back on the bus, Boaz tells us he is ready to leave us and head home to his family in Tel Aviv. He took us to the bazaars inside the Jaffa Gate so we could find lunch, and then shop for a few hours. We had an excellent meal (Jack and Gayle paid for all of us to eat there, and we appreciated their generosity and kindness) and then we roamed through the shops but the atmosphere was a bit unpleasant (for me) since we were hassled by the people selling their wares. I got ripped off by a toy camel salesmen (I never saw toys in Israel and wanted something for the grandkids). I was charged dollars instead of shekels. There are 4 shekels to a dollar! Instead of 20 shekels for a toy camel, I paid $20. Oh well, I decided that was the end of my shopping, but I enjoyed seeing what the others bought and they bought some lovely items for very good prices!

2:30
It’s time to catch the bus back to the hotel. At the bus stop there were 4 children, probably 6 or 7 years old.  Alone, without adults. They somehow spotted me and came to visit. They were just talking and asking me questions. I had Ken take their picture. They waved to us once we were on the bus, and ran alongside the bus, trying to keep up, until we were away from the curb. They were sweet kids, 2 boys and 2 girls. I thought it was a perfect ending to this last day in Jerusalem.

Back at the hotel, I posted on the OL while Ken packed for our journey back home late tonight.

Ken went to sleep for a few hours.

Now we wait for the 1 a.m. wake up call to head to the Tel Aviv airport.

Our trip is over.

We are going home. But, I believe every one of us will return to Israel if we can manage it. I already know I would love to come back and repeat this exact same tour.

What a wonderful trip.
Thank you Jesus.
Thank you, Jack and Gayle.

We will never forget this trip of a lifetime.

There was so much we saw and of course, I didn’t write anything until we got back on the bus. I missed sharing about a lot because I just could not remember everything.

But I tried to share from my perspective and I know I missed a whole lot. How I would love for the others to share memories with you too. I would be so blessed to hear of those things that touched them as well.