Israel: Monday, June 28th

Monday morning, our group loaded the vans to head to Bethlehem. After a short detour at a mechanic's shop, we drove to the West Bank.

I am not going to lie- the wall seperating the West Bank from Israel is pretty intimidating. You have to go through security to get into the territory, but because we looked very American we were ushered through.

We had lunch at a yummy cafe inside Bethlehem. They had amazing falafel and hummus. We did have a slight incident with a stolen backpack, but the backpack was recovered and the day proceeded happily.

After lunch, we walked to the Church of the Holy Nativity. In case the title isn't obvious, this is said to be the site where Christ was born.

Our tour guide was very enthusiastic and insisted that every day was Christmas in Bethlehem.

The doorway into the church was very low. The guide explained that in early days, when the Muslims invaded the church, they road their horses in and slashed and killed people. Because of this, they lowered the door so animals could not get in.

We saw the site where Jesus was born, then where He laid in the manger.

After leaving the church, our friend brought us to an amazing olive wood store that's wall's were lined with hand carved nativities. They gave us an awesome deal on carved wood and we, in turn, gave them huge amounts of business.

Our final stop in Bethlehem was at the home of some local believers. We hosted a followship with about a dozen Palestinian believers who truly knew the cost of having a relationship with Christ. Two people in the group's brother/husband was killed because of their stand for Jesus. This death forced them to move their ministry away from their home to a new place where they could share Jesus's life, death, and resurrection.

Their story was unbelievable. And convicting. My life is so comfortable and yet I am often unwilling to share the Truth with the people I come in contact with. These people have actually endured pain and suffering and threats to their family, yet they continue to seek Christ.

Wow.

Israel: Sunday, June 27th

We woke up Sunday morning and enjoyed a delicious breakfast of toast, boiled eggs, incredible fresh fruit, homemade granola, cereal, hot tea/ coffee, and juice. The fruit was really really good- grapes, cantelope, watermelon. Yum.

After breakfast, we loaded the vans to go to Nazareth for church with some believers in the community. Some of the songs were in both English and Arabic. It was really powerful to worship in a room of believers that did not let language get in the way. They also offered radios to translate the sermon into English making it much easier to understand :)

After church, we grabbed a quick lunch at a local mall. Brian had shwarma, but I must admit, very shamefully, that I had McDonald's. It was the largest beverage I had all week. And I can't deny, it was so good.

After lunch, we went back to the church to prepare Arabic materials for distribution, then split into groups. Part of our group went to a local market, while the other part went to an intersection to pass out literature. We had a much better reception at this market than we had at the one in Beer Sheba and Arad. People were anxious, open, and willing to recieve the Word, which was an encouragement from the beginning of the trip. We also had several conversations that were promising. The group that passed out literature in the intersection was also met with positive attitudes. One car drove through and got the information, then was so interested they drove back around to get a second set for the others in the car.

When we finished, both groups met back up at a local park to reflect on the afternoon's events. Just like every other park we had been to, the view was amazing.

Overall, our time in Nazareth was JOYFUL! God is moving through the people of Nazareth- they seem ready and waiting to be introduced to Christ. Though it is strange to me that the same city that is the home of Jesus (Matthew 2) needs to be introduced TO Jesus, the fruit of the believers working over there is incredible. We can only pray that the Lord will continue to work through His people and that this community will turn their hearts to God.

Israel: Saturday, June 26th

Saturday morning, we drove through the Valley of Megiddo on our way to the Jordan River and Capernaum.

The Jordan River was much different than I originally expected. Unlike many of the Holy sites we visited, this site was very Americanized. Our group walked down to the waterside and stepped in. The Jordan River is where Jesus was baptized by John in Matthew 3.

After leaving the Jordan, we headed to Capernaum. The city of Capernaum is found in several places throughout the New Testament. It is the site of Peter's home, where Jesus called the disciples (Matthew 4:18-22), and where Jesus performed many miracles, such as driving out the evil spirit (Mark 1: 21-28) and healing the paralytic (Mark 2:1-12.) Many of the remnants of the original city still stand, leaving a good tool for visualizing what it might have been like.

The Catholic church built a church on the site of Peter's home, though they did it in a very unique way. Instead of building the church in place of the remains, they build it over the remains so that people could see how the home was structured. You can see the church above the stones in the picture below.

Our next stop was the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5.

That afternoon, part of our group swam in the Sea of Galilee while the rest helped our friends with their car.

While we were waiting for the swimmers to meet us at the vans, I took the liberty of teaching some of the girls the Hoedown Throwdown (Thanks Rebecca!)

That night for dinner, we headed to a local Lebanese restaurant. The choices were chicken, lamb sausage, and fish. Little did we know that it was whole fish... with the eyeballs. We finished the meal with coffee, though it is SO much stronger than the coffee here. Lisa and I decided to try it. You can see our reactions below.

That night, we checked into the Beit Bracha, which was a bed and breakfast style hotel owned by believers. The back deck overlooked the Sea of Galilee and was the most magnificent thing I have ever seen.

We watched the moon rise over the water and sang worship songs together as a group. It was incredible to sing praises to our Savior looking at the place He walked and did much of His ministry. That is probably my favorite memory from the trip- I wish I could go back right now just to experience that again.

Israel: Friday, June 25th

Friday morning, we loaded the vans and headed to Caesarea. Caesarea is on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Aside from the fact that it is absolutely gorgeous, it also has great Biblical significance.

Caesarea is found in the book of Acts. It is a port city where Paul would leave to go on many of his missionary journeys. It is also where he was held in prison and gave the testimony of Christ to King Agrippa (Acts 25.) The remains of King Herod's palace, ampitheater, and

fresh water pool are still visible.

After leaving Caesarea, we headed to Mt. Carmel. Mt. Carmel is where Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal by calling on the name of the Lord in 1 Kings 18. There was a church on the place that it was said to have happened, but you could go to the top of the church for an awesome view looking over the Valley of Megiddo (or Armageddon in Hebrew) and Mt. Tabor. The Bible mentions the Valley of Megiddo many times throughout the Old Testament, but one of the most significant Biblical references is found in Revelation 16, where it talks of Jesus's final battle with the Enemy. Mt. Tabor is the traditional site of the transfiguration (Matthew 17, Mark 9, Luke 9.)

Our next stop for the day was at a small restaurant in Haifa that specialized in shawarma. I didn't get a picture of Brian's actual sandwich, but the one below is close enough. :)

After our before dinner snack, we stopped by a beautiful garden overlooking the Mediterranean Sea before heading to the beach to enjoy a quick swim and an amazing sunset.

Israel: Thursday, June 24th PM

After we left the church, we went to a deli just outside of the Old City and had schnitzel. It is a sesame breaded chicken sandwich which is *delicious!*

Next, we went to the Garden Tomb. The Garden Tomb is a believer based organization that shows what the tomb would have looked like. This tomb dated back to the time of Jesus and was located in a garden.

We looked inside the tomb, then had the Lord's supper. It was so much more peaceful than the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and was a great place to get refocused before we finished the afternoon.

When we left the Garden Tomb, we headed to the Garden of Gethsemane. We thought the garden closed at 5:00, so our entire group ran up the street to get there on time. It was pretty funny.Once again, there was a church built on the site. You could not walk through the garden, but you could see the olive trees throughout.

Our final stop of the day was the Mount of Olives. There were several times in the New Testament that Jesus taught from the Mount. It is also the place where the Lord will return (Zechariah 14:4-9).

We had an awesome worship service on top of the mountain before we headed back to Petah Tiqwa for the night.

Israel: Thursday, June 24th AM

Prior to the trip, Thursday was the day I was most looking forward to. Though the places I thought would be moving were not, those I did not consider were. God is faithful, even in a land that is so lost.

Thursday morning, we woke up and took a 45 minutes drive to Jerusalem. After parking at a nearby house, we walked into the city of Old Jerusalem from the Damascus Gate.

We walked along the Via Dolorosa to the Wailing Wall. The Via Dolorosa is said to be the path Jesus walked, carrying His cross, on the way to the crucifixion site. It was pretty amazing to walk where Jesus walked so that He could save people from their sin. As you walk, the narrow path is lined with shops and people trying to sell you items.

The Via Dolorosa is in the Muslim quarter of the Old City. It is sad to realize the people who walk Christ's path each day don't actually know Jesus as their Savior.

To get from the Via Dolorosa to the Wailing Wall, you had to go through security scanners. My husband had a teeny tiny pocket knife in his backpack which promptly got noticed. Israel's technology is incredible.

The Wailing Wall or Western Wall is the last standing wall that surrounded the Temple. Though part of it was destroyed, it has been rebuilt since the 7th century. Many Jewish people believe that Divine Presence still dwells in the wall, so many people come to pray, leave prayers, recieve blessings and have Bar Mitzvahs.

After our time at the Western Wall, we went up to the Temple Mount. Strange story, but on our way through, we had to go through security again. This was fine- Brian handed over the knife before they even asked for it- but through the handy-dandy scanner, they saw our Bibles and proceded to take them up. Because the Temple Mount is a holy site for Islam, they did not want proselytising. We were able to get our Bibles on the way out, but it was just another sign of how lost the people of Jerusalem are.

BTW- Don't you LOVE my modest outfit? Modest is hottest. :)

Next, we headed to the Davidson Center, which is an archeological dig of the Temple. We walked the steps that led to the entrance of the Temple gates. The most incredible part of this was thinking of how many times in scripture Jesus walked up to the Temple on these exact steps. Though many of the places we visited were speculated to have been where Jesus was, there is no denying that Jesus had been there. The knowledge of that was incredible.

The entrance into the Temple Courts

Our next stop was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This church is said to be the site of Jesus's crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. There were hundreds of people flowing through the church, making it much less of a place to worship and more of a tourist spot. This, of all the sites in Jerusalem, was the most disappointing to me. Standing in the place where Jesus was said to have died on the cross to ensure our salvation, people were worshiping the spot and the place, rather than worshiping the Savior.

Seeing people kiss the place of the cross while church officials were rushing others through was exhausting and heart breaking. Jesus's death and resurrection was not to leave a place to worship, but to offer freedom from this world. It's not about a church, it is about our God and Savior.

Israel: Wednesday, June 23rd

Wednesday morning, I woke up bright and early to see the sunrise over the desert. It was absolutely gorgeous.

Once the rest of the group woke up, we had a Bedouin breakfast of fresh scrambled eggs, hummus, a cheese spread, pita, tomatoes, and olives.

After breakfast, we headed out to the field to take pictures with the camels. There were LOTS of them and they were amazing!

After the photoshoot, we loaded the vans once again and headed out to our first (very full) day of touring.

First stop- Masada!

Masada was the site of King Herod the Great's summer home. After Herod passed away, it became a safe haven for the Jewish rebels when they were under seige by the Romans.

We rode the gondola up to the site, which was no little deal for me, who is VERY afraid of heights. Once we got up there though, it was very worth it. The view was magnificent.

After Masada, we grabbed a quick lunch at an area mall, then headed to the Dead Sea for a swim!

Swimming in the Dead Sea was unlike anything I have ever experienced before. From the beginning we were warned that if someone was to drink just 8 oz. of the water, their kidneys will shut down and they would die from the high salt content. Because of the salt, nothing can survive in the Dead Sea- hince the name Dead Sea.

The next incredible part of the sea was how easy it was to float. Even the slightest tilt of your body had you floating as if you were on a life preserver.

Our final stop on our tour of the day was En Gedi. En Gedi is found in the Old Testament in 1 Samuel 23 and 24 when David is hiding from Saul. This is where David comes upon Saul in a cave and cuts off the corner of his cloak. When David presents the cloak to Saul, Saul sees that David is not intent on killing him, swears an oath of peace, and retreats.

Walking through En Gedi, you can certainly see why David would hide there. It is incredibly beautiful. The hike, which begins as a walk in the desert, ends at a lucious waterfall and fresh water pool. The water and time spent at En Gedi was refreshing. It was so neat to know that we were walking along the same area as the "Man after God's own heart."

After the hike, we headed to Petah Tiqwa to spend the night. It was our first night to sleep in individual rooms since the trip had started, so it was a nice (and air conditioned) change!