Masada, En Gedi, and Qumran

Wednesday morning Jerusalem
Today is our final day, and it will be a busy one. Wakeup call is at 5:30 and we must be on the bus at 7 a.m. We will drive for an hour and a half to Masada, come back to En Gedi, and then to Qumran. Masada was an awesome experience. It was the Alama for the Jewish people. In 70 AD when Rome destroyed Israel, about 1000 Zealots headed for Masada, Herod's home away from home with 3 huge palaces filled with water, food supplies, and everything necessary to survive for a long time. The fortress could almost have been impenetrable, and in actuality, there was no reason for the Romans to drag all of their war machines out to this desolate wilderness to snuff out these Jewish rebels. The legend says that they came because the Zealots made a horrible mistake. They had gone to the citizens of En Gedi to convince them to join in their battle against the Romans. They refused because they had a financial, peaceful relationship. It seems that these people made a perfume called Persimmon - not from Persimmons though - that supposedly could make people fall in love. A woman would take the "craw" of a chicken, fill it with the perfume, and tie it around her ankle. When se saw the man of her dreams, she simply had to shake her ankle releasing the perfume and it would be like the man was hit in the head with a hammer. The Romans were their biggest customers, buying it and selling it around the world. When the citizens of En Gedi refused to join the fight, the Zealots came and killed 750 of their own people. You see, the Zealots were a horrible group who killed few Romans but many Jews. When the Romans heard what they had done, they laid siege to the fortress and built a ramp. Using slaves, they built the ramp and pushed their war machines to the gate, but the Zealots killed the slaves with arrows. They then brought Jewish slaves to do the work, and the Zealots would have killed them as well, but the wife of Eleazer, leader of the Zealots, said they would kill no more Jews. The Romans were then able to breach the gate, but decided to wait until morning to finish the job.

The Zealots could not imagine living the remainder of their lives as slaves, so Eleazer convinced his people that death was preferable. Since the Jewish tradition precluded suicide, the men drew lots. 10 men were chosen to kill 1000 men, women, and children. Then the ten men would kill each other, after a lot was chosen for the one who would then fall on his sword. When the Romans came into Masada the next morning, only one old woman and a few children had survived and told the story. Archaeologists have actually found the lots, and the story was recorded for posterity.

Qumran, of course, is the area where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. The Essenes, another Jewish sect with strict rituals and membership requirements spent their time copying scripture and telling their story. John the Baptist was a member of this sect, but left before the 4 years of service and study were through to become a full-fledged member of the community. When they knew the Romans were coming, they hid their scrolls in clay jars and placed them in caves where a young shepherd boy found the original scrolls which contained the oldest existing copies of most of our Old Testament. The beauty of the discovery was that these manuscripts proved the accuracy of our translation. Even recently, more scrolls have been found in different caves, and more are probably out there. You have to see the area to understand, but perhaps hundreds or thousands of caves have been covered over by landslides and are only discovered when the torrential "streams in the desert" roar through the wilderness as the rains fall in the northern part of the country. The week before we came, a rain such as this occurred and within an hour, 3 to 5 feet of water rushed through the wadis, dry river beds, washing boulders and sand into the Dead Sea. At times, the streams reach as high as 10 feet and destroy the road leading to Qumran and Masada. The truths here open our eyes to the words of Scripture in ways I have never before imagined. What an experience. Thank you, Sonya, and thank you, church, for giving me this opportunity. I will never forget it.

Finally, we came to the Dead Sea. This was strictly about fun and relaxing. Apparently people pay good money to cover themselves in the mud. I think that is just wrong. It was nasty. As soon as you step in, you sink almost to your knees. You can hardly walk out any ways -- you have to basically crab walk backwards. But it is insane how you float. We have pictures, and I will post them later. After a quick cleanup at the beach, we headed for Abraham's tent where we enjoyed camel rides (3 times this trip) and a marvelous meal. Chicken baked in date honey. We had to hurry back to the hotel for good showers, packing, and a quick trip to the airport. Customs, as usual, was fun. I won't tell you who packed something they shouldn't have in their carryon, but his initials are P.A. We all made it through fine, but we did have a couple of our ladies that had to get their VAT money back. One of them arrived at our gate when we were just about finished boarding. Close call.

The trip was long, crowded, warm, and noisy. Not as bad as the trip to Israel, but sleeping was difficult. On the trip over, we traveled in daylight almost the whole way, but the way back was in total darkness until we got to New York, and the first rays of sunshine appeared almost as if to say, Welcome home. As much fun as it was to go, there is nothing like landing on American soil. Even though I am still hundreds of miles away from my family, I feel like I a home.

Thanks for going on this journey with me. I will probably do some editing on this, add some pictures, and make it a little bit more readable. I need to add some of my thoughts that will take some processing, but let me conclude by saying that my life has been changed. I have grown to love Israel even more. I have discovered that the Jordanians are a people that welcome us with open arms. And I am praying even for the Palestinians that need to see Jesus even more than the others.

So much to see

Tuesday afternoon Jerusalem
Man, what a day. We started early at the Garden Tomb where I am convinced Jesus was buried. Just up the way from the tomb is a hill with the image of the skull. All of the evidences point to this place, at least in my opinion. What a moving experience just to be in that place. Then to have the privilege of leading a devotion and Lord Supper service. I am so blessed that I cannot even begin to express it in words.


Entered the Old City through the Lion's Gate. Exciting to see the Old City for the first time.

Went to the Pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed the lame man on the Sabbath. How mind-boggling that the Pharisees would get so angry when a man's life is changed.

Walked the Via Dolorosa. It is an uphill walk difficult under the best of circumstances.

Armenian Pizza for lunch. We were told it was the best pizza in the world. Good, but not the best.

Ethiopian Chapels - these are the poorest of Christians, and their chapels stand in stark contrast to the gawdy extravagance of the Catholic churches.

St. Anne's Church - a church dedicated to the Mother of Mary. The acoustics were great. We sang Alleluia and How Great Thou Art. Beautiful experience.

David's Tomb - where King David is buried inside the city. The only person to have that privilege. The amazement was in the Orthodox Jews that stay there reading Scripture and praying constantly.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre - another huge Catholic church where Helena, mother of Constantine, believed Jesus was buried.
I still believe it was the Garden Tomb.

Crossed the Muslim and Jewish Quarters

Saw the wall of Eliakim - more later.

Mt. Zion

The Upper Room - not very dramatic.

St. Peter Galicantu/Caiaphas house - 99.9% sure that this is the place due to the rooms found there and the location. The room where Jesus was held had one entrance and exit -- at the top. The prisoners would be lowered and raised by rope to stand before the Sanhedrin.

Western Wall - a beautiful experience to stand as close as a Christian can stand to where the Holy of Holies once stood. I didn't place any requests into the wall because I think that is merely superstition. I did, however, stand at the wall touching it and praying. Praying for my family, for the peace of Jerusalem, for my church, and for so many other things.

It was a busy day, but wow, what emotion. Seeing and hearing and doing all of that leaves a lasting imprint on you. Realizing how grueling the walk is under normal circumstances demonstrates how difficult it must have been for Christ. Perhaps I will spend some time later filling in the gaps. Suffice it to say that the emotions were overwhelming.

Jerusalem and Bethlehem

Monday morning Jerusalem time
We went to the Pool of Siloam this morning and the Old City. We saw the ruins of David's palace, and the tunnels of Hezekiah bringing water into the city. It was very steep and slippery and some places were very narrow. Pat took a fall, but he seems to be okay. It is amazing to think that the men in Hezekiah's time dug the tunnel from each side of the city and actually met in the middle. Without the aid of modern technology, they were able to do what is an incredible miracle. In some of the tunnels, the Jews fled the Romans and tried to hide in the sewer tunnels but were speared there. Their blood ran into the pool of Siloam. I was able to put my hands into the water. Amazing. Half of the actual pool is on the Palestinian side, and the people refuse to allow any excavation so that they cannot find evidence that the Jews were there before them.

At the Museum of Israel, we saw a scale model of the city of Jerusalem. It was a recreation of the city including the Temple. Beautiful. Now we are heading to Bethlehem. Our guide, Shimon, will not go into Bethlehem because it is likely that he wouldn't make it out. Even the Arab Christians who have lived there for centuries have mostly left the city because of the lack of business/jobs and I'm sure out of fear for their lives. How sad!

Monday afternoon Bethlehem

We have toured Bethlehem. It is a very tense city. Usually you have to show your passports to get in and out, but we didn't have to going in. I don't know about going out. We had a wonderful lunch at a Christian restaurant. The salads were delicious, and the meal was barbecue. Not barbecue like we think of barbecue. It was grilled shishkabobs. We had a choice of chicken, beef, lamb, or a mixture of the three. I had the mixed, and it was wonderful. It came with potatoes, grilled onion, and grilled tomato. MMMMMMMM MMMMMMMM! After lunch we headed to the Church of the Nativity where we viewed "the rock and the manger" where Jesus was born. You cannot imagine the people who had to touch it for whatever reason. The church is a Greek Orthodox church, and it was extremely gawdy. From there we went to the shepherd's field where the angels came down to announce the birth of Jesus. It was definitely not what I expected -- covered with rocks and on top of the hills. And so now we are in line at the checkpoint going very slowly. Maybe we will make it back to the hotel in time for dinner. :)

Jerusalem, Jerusalem

Sunday morning Jordanian Time
The hotel was amazing. When I walked in, nothing worked. No electricity. No air conditioner. I saw a lighted slot on the wall, and I thought perhaps there was something I had to do, but I couldn't figure it out. So I called the desk, and found out you have to put the key card in the slot and it turns the electricity on. When you take it out, it goes off. What a country. Two of the ladies saw the minibar in their room -- no alcoholic beverages were in it -- and they thought it was provided for them. So they helped themselves to water, Sprite, Snickers, Twix, and found out the hard way that nothing is free in this country. $22 later, they realized their mistake. What a country.

Headed to Mt. Nebo, the place where Moses looked over into the Promised Land in Dt. 34. It is very strange waking up on Sunday morning and not preparing for church. I miss my church family, and I miss Sonya a lot. By the way, I hope you moved your clocks forward an hour yesterday or you will be missing your church family, too. We heard last night that Israel bombed the Gaza Strip and 15 Palestinians were killed. While we are a long way from the Gaza Strip, we passed close to the area on Friday as we headed into Jordan. The people in Jordan are extraordinary -- friendly, courteous, gracious.

Our guide, Dauod, pronounced David, saw that I had tootsie rolls, and became my instant friend. He took several of them out of my bag, and then he came back for more. On the last stop of the day, I put my last one on his seat and he announced to everyone that I had his back. He then wanted to know if I had more. I thought I did have some in my suitcase and told him I would give him more today. Sadly, I find that I left them on the bus in Israel. Well, I don't think they still offer human sacrifices at Mt. Nebo. If I don't make it back, please take care of my family. Just kidding.

Fortunately, I found some tootsie rolls in my backpack and took them to David. He was happy, so I made it back from Mt. Nebo. So far, this has been one of the more emotional stops for me. Literally I was overcome as I thought of all Moses had been through. 120 years old and still healthy and strong, and God takes him to the top of the mountain and shows him the entire Promised Land. We could only see a little part of the area because of the haze, but even if it had been clear, we could not have seen it all. God enabled him miraculously to see all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. Amazing. What did he think as he stood there? Did he beg God to allow him to continue on? Did he cry out for mercy and forgiveness? Or did he say thank you for the opportunity to see it all? As I stood there, my human mind could not comprehend what he must have gone through. God, I've led these people for all of these years. I put up with all of their complaints and rebellions. God I deserve to go more than they do. And as I prayed on top of the mountain, I realized that as good as going into the Promised Land would have been, Moses was taken to a far better place. Relieved of the responsibility of leadership, he was granted the greatest gift of all. Where before he spoke with God face to face as a friend, now he would live in his presence forevermore. Thank you, God, for your gentle grace that gives us more than all we could ask or imagine.

6:00 p.m. Jerusalem Time
Yes, we are in Jerusalem. What a blessing. We went to Mt. Nebo (see above) and then to St. George's monastery where they found an amazing mosaic buried under the sand so that it wouldn't be destroyed. They also had a mosaic map on the floor of the monastery that is the oldest existing map dating back to the 6th century. The significance of the map is that it provided the locations to some previously unknown cities.

Then we went to a place where they make the mosaics. Such amazing craftmanship. Some of the work is done on Ostrich eggs. They literally grind the tile into powder and glue it on with things like toothpicks. Beautiful craftsmanship. Yes, dear, I bought you some mosaic tiles for the table you are making. On the way back to Israel, we passed mountains of lavender stone which they used to dye garments. David was kind enough to stop the bus so that we could all go out and pick up some rocks. I'm sure the locals think we are nuts. It is unbelievable, but we passed by fields of banana trees, eggplant, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, etc. All kinds of fruit and vegetables. However, it all grows in one strip of land near the Jordanian border and it provides all of those things for the entire country. The rest of the country is too dry to grow much. Crossing the border was much easier going into Israel which really surprised me. They did not even check our luggage as they had done going into Jordan.

Shimon, our Israeli guide was waiting for us at the terminal. We climbed onto the bus and headed across the country towards Jerusalem to the Mt. of Olives. We took our group photo there, and Pat put me on the camel for the photo. Two camel rides in one trip. How crazy is that. We looked out over the city as our guide described the awesome sight that was before us. The Dome of the Rock/Al Aqsa mosque, the Eastern wall. It was all breathtaking. I cannot wait to actually go there. Then we went down to the Garden of Gethsemane. Shimon knows the owners well, so we were allowed to go into the private garden. There we read scripture and sang, "In the Garden." This was the overwhelming moment -- even more than Mt. Nebo. To think about our Savior coming to pray in such agony, and his disciples could not even stay awake. How much like them a I? are you? Could we watch and wait for Him?

The trip to the hotel was an interesting one. On the way in and the way out, we drove by the wall that separates the Palestinian side from the Israeli side. It is a block wall topped with barbed wire elevated above the road. Some Palestinian boys were on the wall and began throwing rocks at the bus. Fortunately only one of the boys hit the bus and did no damage. Such hatred is taught and caught but it is not inborn. Our hotel is tremendous. I wish I could show you the pictures. Dinner was magnificent. I tell myself each meal that I am going to go easy, but it is so hard. Oh well, with all the walking and only a small sandwich for lunch, maybe I will be okay. :)

Petra

The hotel at Petra was amazing. It was made of sandstone and designed to look like caves. The floors were heated -- and there was no thermostat. When we arrived, the wind was about 30 mph and the temperature was in the low 60s and even into the 50s. And yet the room was way too warm. We left our window open all night and the door for a while. They told us that our wakeup call would be at 7 a.m. Around 5 a.m., the imam beat them to it. The call to prayer sounded for at least 15 minutes, and then the men in the corridors were praying. It is an interesting experience, but so sad that the people are misled.

Saturday morning Jordanian time
We arrived at Petra. The temperature came up quickly, but it was not too uncomfortable. I've had the opportunity to talk with several of the Jordanian police officers assigned to the tourism police. They are very friendly and will answer all of our questions, even teaching me some Arabic phrases. They are hard enough to say, so I am not even going to try to write them. Their language is beautiful, and I could listen to them speaking all day long.

The trip down into Petra was amazing. The colors of the sandstone, the formations of the rocks, all of the caves carved into the rock, and finally the main part of Petra. It was unbelievable! The Nabateans carved channels and laid clay pipes for nine miles to bring water into the city from a spring. They also caught the rain water in cisterns. Many of the caves where the people lived were simply caves, but they prepared/carved elaborate decorations for their tombs since the afterlife was more important than life itself. I say carved, but the truth is, they basically scrubbed the sandstone to make the amazing designs.

Other than the overall experience, my favorite part of the trip into Petra was talking to some of the children. Of course, they were trying to sell me postcards. One dolla, one dolla. I must have heard it a million times. But they all wanted candy. One little boy came up to me while I was taking a picture, rubbed my belly and said, "Two babies." Then he asked me for candy. He came back three times for more. I finally bought some postcards from him, and gave him the rest of my candy. He promised me that he would share it. Riiiiiiight. He also said that he just wanted it for the plastic bag it was in. Riiiiiiight. Of course, I am the sucker, and I think they must have taken a picture of me in Jarash and sent it on ahead. "Hey, this guy will fall for anything," they said. Case in point: I bought an ice cream after the long, arduous, difficult climb back to the top -- by the way, I was the first one back to the top among the ones who walked -- and they charged me three dollars. One of the ladies got her for 1.50 and further down a kid was selling it for a dollar. SUCKER!

Second favorite part -- I rode a camel. I have pictures and video and I will get it posted as soon as I can. Wow, what a trip. Horses, donkeys, camels, goats. Simply a trip of a lifetime.

Almost forgot. One of the young ladies was trying to sell me a necklace for my wife or mistress -- honey, I don't have a mistress -- and I told her, "No." So she gave me a souvenir- a rock from Petra. Now, understand, there are millions of rocks from Petra, but it really is the thought that counts.

going to jordan

Friday morning 6:30 a.m. Israel time
Another beautiful sunrise on the sea of Galilee. It is still pretty hazy so you can only see the outline of the mountains around the sea, but it is still very beautiful. The evening was quite restful and enjoyable. Dinner was fantastic. Stuffed bell peppers, beef goulache, and a host of other options. Once again, I ate too much. I will definitely have to cut back when I get back home. The best part of the evening was getting to Skype with all of my girls -- Sonya, Jennifer, Ashley, and Hayes. I even had the opportunity to show them the full moon over the Sea of Galilee and one of the party boats celebrating Purim with a nighttime cruise and loud music.

Purim is the celebration of the Jews deliverance through Esther and Mordecai. It is the most joyous of all Jewish holidays in which the children (and some adults) dress up in costumes and people give them candy.

Today we go to Jordan. We will be in Petra today and then to Amman tomorrow. I was hoping to be in Israel for the Sabbath, but Pat said it is incredibly difficult to get anywhere during that time. Still, it would have been very interesting to observe the people. Every hotel has a "Shabbat" or Sabbath elevator. Once Shabbat begins, the elevator goes up and down constantly stopping at every floor so that the people do not have to push a button which would be classified as work. Amazing. But Jesus said it: they strain the gnats and swallow the camels. Well, I will share more from Jordan. Shalom.

Friday 10:45 a.m. Jordan time
What a morning! We left the hotel and have driven to the Jordanian border. After I had taken pictures of the guard with the big gun and the "Welcome to Jordan" Sign, they said, "Do not take pictures!" The lady behind me, Shannon, wanted to take the same pictures as I did, but her husband was afraid of being shot or arrested. I honestly thought he was going to wrestle the camera out of her hands, but she prevailed. You have to go through Israeli passport control to exit, and then we have to go through Jordanian customs where passports are checked by facial recognition camera. Then our bags are x-rayed again. We had to go from our tour bus to a public bus that took us from Israel to Jordanian customs and then transfer our luggage to the next tour bus. Whew! Once we got our passports back, we all breathed a sigh of relief.

Friday 3 p.m. Jordanian time
Wow. How can first impressions be so wrong. As soon as we left the border, the land was filled with green trees and shrubs. Almond trees, apple trees, and so many other varieties. And the people we passed on the road were all smiling and waving at us. One little boy was yelling, "I love you." Of course there was one that flipped us off, but so far, our welcome in Jordan has even been nicer than Israel. People are more apt to talk to you -- especially the vendors. I must say that I bought some souvenirs from the vendor. Don't tell Hayes, but I bought three whistle/flutes. It started out as one for five dollars. I talked him down to two for five dollars. To impress one of the other people, he gave me a third one. I am good. Three for five dollars. I am good! Right? Until 50 feet later I saw a kid offering them one for a dollar. Yay me!

Lunch was outstanding. It was a buffet at a top of the line restaurant called Artemis. I had mutton, chicken, cole slaw that actually tasted like cole slaw, some sort of battered and fried cauliflower that was fantastic, a chicken roll that was outstanding. I guess I shouldn't talk so much about the food, but oh man, it was good.

We toured the ancient city of Jerash, and saw the temple of Zeus. The ruins are so well preserved that it was amazing. Today is Friday, so all the businesses and schools are closed. Families were out in great numbers, many having picnics beside the road. Any green patch was covered with people. Except for the patches of green that were covered with snow. Can you believe it? The storm last week dumped snow everywhere, and some of it hasn't melted. I cannot believe it because walking through Jarash, I was sweating like crazy. The thermometer reads 26 degrees Centigrade. I think that is close to 80 degrees Farenheit. And still, people are dressed in sweaters and long robes. Women are covered from head to toe. How can they do it? So now we are heading to Petra. My camera battery is dead -- I forgot to charge it last night. But thanks to Rob, I have plenty of charge on my Asus tablet with keyboard.

What a difference an hour and a half makes. Driving south through Jordan, we traversed Amman headed to Petra. The wealth was amazing. The poverty was astonishing. But suddenly, the green fields have turned to brown deserts. Small areas of grass are grazed by small herds of sheep. Along the side of the road, into the fields, whereever the grass is, the shepherds head that way. We passed by a Palestinian refugee camp with 250,000 people. We saw our first camel. Tents along the sides of the road are evidence of Bedouins or Gypsies. The guide says that the Bedouins work for land and the Gypsies steal it. A group of kids play soccer on a barren field. It truly is a dry and dusty land, barren in so many ways.

At Petra and it is cold and very windy.

Lots of traveling

Wednesday 11:30 a.m. - Israel time
It is 11:30 Tuesday morning, 3:30 your time. What a morning it has been. We have gone to Caesarea on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and it is amazing. The history, the biblical context, is tremendous. I stood in one of the "cells" that the apostle Paul was probably held in before he went to Rome. We saw Charles Swindoll at the theater. He had a huge group and they did a worship service there. Our tour guide is magnificent. If half of what he has told us is true, it is amazing.

We are headed to Mt. Carmel. I hope we don't encounter any false prophets. They had some incredible storms here last week, and everything is green and the plants are flowering.

When we go to the Jordan River, I will actually be doing some of the baptizing. Wow!

Wednesday 2 p.m. Israel time
We just finished at Mt. Carmel. It's almost 6 a.m. for you. It is 2 p.m. here. Lunch was good. I ate a falafel -- crushed chickpeas that are fried and in pita bread. They look like hush puppies and taste like taco seasoning. Pretty good. Everything comes with "salad" which is different types of vegetables, peppers, egg plant, etc. It is hard to describe, so I took a picture. Hopefully I will get to upload some of these tonight.

It is a moving experience to be here. We looked over the Jezreel Valley where the last great battle will be fought -- Armageddon. It is a beautiful, green valley with lots of villages. I cannot imagine the horrors of war coming here. But it is.

Well, now we go to Nazareth. Still doing okay. Kind of tired.

Wednesday 10 p.m. Israel time
It is bedtime. We went to Nazareth - the Arab part. Very busy, crowded place. We walked up to the Church of the Anunciation - where Mary was supposedly given the message by the angel Gabriel. It really is a shrine to her. It is a Catholic church that is very beautiful, but it is obvious there that Mary is an object of worship. There is a tremendous disparity between the haves and have nots here. To rent an apartment costs $1300 per room per month. To buy an apartment is over half a million dollars. Cars cost twice as much here as in the USA because they charge 105% tax. We walked down to the Sea of Galilee tonight. It is quite beautiful here.

Thursday morning Israel Time
Pat and I were awakened at 2 am with a phone call. The lady that fell yesterday, Sarah, had to go to the hospital with an infected hemangioma in her leg. I awoke before the wakeup call and watched the sun rise over the Sea of Galilee. Spectacular sight. Breakfast was excellent. Pastries, eggs, eggs with stewed tomatoes, bell peppers filled with cheese and roasted. I knew I should have worn my stretchy pants. We left the hotel and traveled to the Sea where we boarded a boat named Mark and set out for a wonderful journey. We worshiped, we took pictures, we danced -- yes there is video evidence-- and we bought souvenirs. Now we are headed to the Mt. of the Beatitudes.

Thursday 11:15 am Israel time
We just finished at the Mt of Beatitudes. I was a little disappointed. The site was beautiful, but it has been developed into a tourist trap. Many beautiful flowers and even some parrots. There were a couple of beautiful views, but I guess I would have preferred to stand on the mountain and look out over the field where the multitude was gathered. Not disappointed, but I guess I was hoping for a little more natural beauty. The country is so beautiful and green. Shimon, our guide, says that in two months everything will be yellow and brown. Right now it sure seems as if the desert has truly bloomed. Banana trees, mango trees, loquat trees, olive trees, mustard, heather, and Rose of Sharon are blooming everywhere. Cows are everywhere. The storms last week raised the level of the Sea of Galilee by six feet. What a thrill to see it. The sea is 16 miles long, and from the Mt. of Beatitudes you can see all the way across. Now we are headed to Korazim.

We have just finished lunch and it is almost 2 p.m. here. The day has been full. We have taken the boat on the sea of Galilee, danced to Hava Nagila and another song, and watched one of the men cast a net. He didn't catch any fish. :)

After the mountain, we went to Korazim, the place that Jesus cursed. It was destroyed not long after, and nothing was ever rebuilt on the site. They did build a modern day city of Korazim, but according to the guide, they did not know where the old city was. Miraculously, the site is only a couple of hundred yards from the destroyed city. Amazing. I am really wondering how much of what this guy says is true.

We just finished at Tabgha, the place where the miracle of the multiplication of bread and fish supposedly took place. The Catholics built a church around the rock where they say Jesus performed the miracle. Wow.

Now we have been to Capernaum to see the house of Peter's mother in law. Some pretty neat stories about that. I will try to share them later. Now we are heading to the Jordan river for the baptism service. I will be baptized and will baptize some.

Wow. We did go to the Jordan River. I baptized Allen and Shannon Thompson and Pat baptized me. The water was extremely cold. My feet still haven't warmed up. I forgot to buy me some water shoes. If I cannot find some, I won't be able to go into the Dead Sea. Oh, well. If that is the only thing I miss out on, I won't complain.

Lunch was great. I had "shiwama" which is a turkey and lamb mixture with some kind of sauce and cabbage in a pita bread. It was great. Shimon, our guide, brought around an Iraqi sauce made of mango peels. Not very good, but I tried it.

The hotel has put a special gift in our room since Pat is the tour director. Last night it was a bottle of wine. As you know, it has remained unopened. Tonight there is a thermal coffee mug. I could hide it since Pat isn't here, but he has worked hard to make this trip good, so I guess he should have it. Besides, he said nice things about me when he baptized me.

Tonight, some of the ladies are going to the diamond factory to shop. I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I chose not to go since you don't wear jewelry any more. :) You know that I love you from the bottom of my heart.

So We Are Here

What a great trip. We were scheduled to leave New York at 11:50 p.m. on Monday night. After sitting on board for over an hour due to electrical problems and Orthodox Jewish rabbis problems, we left the ground about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. I will explain the rabbi problems: apparently you can tell an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, but you cannot tell him much. Like sit down. Get out of the aisles. Your carry on luggage is 10 times too large. It was amazing to watch. Even more amazing was the number of times they had to get back into their carry ons during the flight. Sure, most of the time they were getting their garb out so that they could do their prayers. Prayer shawls, phylacteries, bindings, robes. Let me say that I am certainly glad God didn't make me an Orthodox Jewish rabbi -- however, I am told that they had a lot more fun on the flight than I did. Can you say "duty free?"

Anyway, we took off after midnight. I had just dozed off when the flight attendants started serving dinner-- at 1:15 a.m. It was the worst sesame chicken I have ever tasted. The salad would have been good if my Italian dressing packet had not exploded all over Pat, my son-in-law's father and tour director. I had hoped to keep it from him and let him think he had spilled something on himself, but my conscience got the better of me, and I confessed. Oh, well.

So then it was time to get some sleep. However, the temperature hovered around 80 degrees while we traveled almost 5700 miles at speeds of almost 700 miles. At 37,000 feet, the outside air temperature was about -50 and lower, so I thought it would have been simple to have brought just a little bit of that air inside. Sleeping was not easy, but we did sleep some even with all the banging and moving around. Breakfast came about 6 a.m. Omelet with "salad." A mixture of peppers, olives, tomatoes and other things that they serve at every meal. The bread was fantastic.

We finally made it to Israel and through customs, and though everyone had told me to expect to see lots of soldiers with guns, there were none. At least none we saw. I am sure that most of the El Al agents were carrying some, but they were concealed. Well, let me close this post by saying all is well except I have to pay for Internet service. As technological as Israel has become, the hotels are not equipped with wireless or wired internet.

Thank you all for praying for us.

Going to Israel

I can hardly believe that I will be leaving for Israel this coming Monday. We fly out of Atlanta in the afternoon and out of New York at 11:30 p.m. Monday night. We will arrive in Tel Aviv Tuesday morning (around 5:30 p.m. Israeli time). I am excited about what God has in store for me, sad that Sonya isn't going with me, concerned about rooming with my son-in-law's father (Pat Andrews - only because I snore), but not the least bit anxious about our safety.

My plan is to give you a daily update on the trip and include pictures when I can. My first picture should have been of the adventure we had in packing my suitcase. I am extremely happy to say that it closed without too much effort and weighed only 48 pounds. I am also extremely happy that I remembered -- at the last minute before closing the suitcase -- that I had not included underwear, socks, or toiletries. All in all, I think it has been a successful operation so far.

I know that everyone who knows me and who knows the history that Sonya and I have when planning special trips is waiting to see if I actually go. I told our church family last night that should something happen to them while I am gone, my heart would long to be with them, but there is no way that I will be able to come back. The good news is that Bro. Wayne and Bro. Matt, our two faithful staff members, will be here to fill in the gap. Matt has even agreed to do any funerals should the need arise. Of course, as I shared last night, the only other option would be to ask the funeral home to put them on ice until I return. Please don't feel bad about that statement. Sonya told her mother the very same thing.

With that said, please pray for the whole group that is going. Pray for Sonya as she remains behind -- spending her time with Ashley, Jennifer, and Hayes.