one last Magnum ice cream bar

Sunrise over Jerusalem

terrace garden

Terrace of Ecce Homo

Ecce Homo terraces

Day 14 Saturday, Travel home.

We are sitting here at Quality Suites in Toronto with a glass of beer and a glass of wine on our final leg home.

It was difficult saying good-bye to everyone. Most left late on Friday or in the very early hours of today. We were lucky and could spend one last night in Ecce Homo, one more sunrise over the city of Jerusalem before we had to leave for the airport.

What an amazing trip. It will certainly take many months to digest it all.

time for reflection

the journey of the cross

an old old olive tree

St. George’s Monestary

Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadows, Thou art with me

a Bedouin, a friend

friends

Day 13 Friday

Today was a day to be our own tour guides. Go back to places that we missed or were meaningful, do some final souvenir shopping just enjoy this amazing place.

For David and I, we wanted to get back to Gethsemane. It had been closed to us that first full day of touring because of the Pope’s visit. The courtyard at the church, which has some of the oldest olive trees, looks more like a garden rather than the olive grove that Jesus would have prayed in, but the trees themselves were amazing. What was most special was the time spent outside across the street from the church. Sitting on a wall overlooking an olive grove toward the lions gate and down the Via Delarosa. If you (click on the picture to bring it full screen) look carefully for the small dome with a cross way in the distance, you see the Church of the Holy Sepulcher that marks the spot of the crucifixion. We couldn’t help but think of Jesus in prayer, at the beginning of that long journey and all that lay before Him, the end from the beginning. I talked to David, in the only way I could relate, about how scary childbirth is before you start. The pain, the duration, the fear you have as you start the journey. The hardest moment is the moment when you still have all that pain ahead of you. While you are going through it you just take 1 pain, 1 breath at a time until the end, when you have the immense joy of that new life.

Yet for the JOY set before Him, He endured the cross. That I might have new life.

I have also been so very touched by Jesus’ immense PEACE. It just seems that He walked the journey to the cross knowing Who He was and what His Mission was. Again, I said to David, I want to pray over our children and for us, that we have a quiet assurance for our mission for this season. Because I think that regardless of the circumstances, there can be a deep abiding peace when we are walking in God’s Will for us. Knowing He will never leave us nor forsake us, that always He walks that journey with us.

I also thought about how often Jesus went to the Mt. of Olives to pray, by Himself, and with His disciples. To have some time away from the hustle and bustle that must have been Jerusalem during the times of Festival. Just about everywhere you go in Israel there are crowds, tours, bus tours, school tours. At times it was difficult to find a corner for just our group where we could study and contemplate the significance of where we were. Again, sitting there among the olive trees I thought of how often Jesus searched for a time and a space to spend time with His Father and His disciples.

After Gethsemane and St. Anne’s church at the pools of Bethesda, where the lame man kept waiting for someone to lower him into the pool when the waters stirred, we did some final shopping for coffee and falafel pitas and a prayer shawl for David. Then some quiet time back at Ecce Homo.

It is absolutely so relaxing there on the roof top terraces! And, I found the chapel there a wonderful place to spend time for prayer and reflection.

Our very last group activity was to go back to the wilderness along the road from Jericho to Jerusalem. There is a place called Wadi Qelt. You are on an extremely high point and look out towards St. George Monastery, built over 1000 years ago right into the cliff. The wind was so overwhelming there that I had trouble standing up, trouble hearing Aaron reading Psalm 23 and Psalm 63. We arrived just at sunset so we watched the sun sink below the wilderness hills as we stood there. He gave us about 20 minutes or so for personal reflection and prompted us with thoughts to Remember. Remember this place and all the times you feel you are in a dry wilderness and have the need of a Savior, a Good Shepherd to lead you through valleys of shadow to streams and comfort and restoring for your soul. Such a powerful way to end this most amazing trip.

And now we turn our hearts toward home.

exploring the ruins of Latrun

Studying the story of Samson

Harvested wheat fields like those Samson set on fire

Looking out over the valley where David fought Goliath

Stalactite Cave

Tmol Shilshom

Day 12 Thursday

Lovely cool weather in Israel! After temperatures at 40C/110F yesterday, we spent almost all day under overcast skies and highs about 25C/80F. What a welcome welcome relief!! Walking home from dinner tonight we could have used jackets :).

Today had a gentler pace. We began at a decaying crusader fortress at Latrun. It hasn’t been restored, but we could explore certain areas and some in the group even found the large hall which is below ground level at this point. Interesting that, as a high point, it was also a place that the Israelis fought hard for in the war for Independence (and weren’t able to take), finally winning it from the Arabs in the 6 Day War in ’67. The land, the strategic high points don’t change.

Mostly, we explored the tels along the Shephela, the ridge along fertile lands between the coast and the Judaen highlands. We looked out over Timnah and talked about Samson and the Philistines, and at the Tel Azekah we looked out over the valley where David fought Goliath. Once again the importance of understanding the land and controlling key high points to control trade routes and the access to fertile land and water supply. More and more we realize that the land itself is an all important “character” in the story of Israel and the people.

We had some extra time so we made an impromptu visit to a national park that is a stalactite cave discovered only recently when they were blasting at a quarry. Amazing amazing formations!

One of the sad realities of this land continues to be the tension between the Palestinians, Arabs and the Israelis. Last night on the way back from dinner we stopped to do a little shopping at an Israeli Arab shop and got into an interesting discussion with a young Arab Israeli who is studying to be an engineer. He was saying, “I have all kinds of friends, we play football together, we want peace. It is the politicians who can’t get along.” Yet, there is also anger here, and frustration. Palestinian men will walk arm in arm in a thick group to protest something and the the army and police will appear in full riot gear to close off streets and be a menacing presence. We encountered some of that on the way home tonight and we were forced to use a different parking lot and walk into the old city. That part of this trip makes me so sad. Heaven will surely be when all God’s children can live in peace.

The evening ended at Aaron’s favorite restaurant/coffeehouse Tmol Shilshom. Everyone gathered around the table together for wonderful food and conversation.

Friday is our last day here. A free day to rest, shop, do any last tourist visits. It will be hard to say “good-bye” Each person has become so very dear to us.

Mt. Gilboa was located on the tel at Beit Sha’an

Scytopolis at the foot of Tel Beit Sha’an

Earthquake distruction

Looking down from the tel

Lunch

Brief look at the ruins of Jericho

Road from Jericho to Jerusalem

End of Shavout

Day 11 Wednesday

Last night at sundown, the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost began. Originally an agricultural festival, since the destruction of the Temple it has become more a celebration of the giving of the law of Moses. They celebrate it by closing all the stores, going to synagogue, and eating lots of dairy. Not sure why the dairy, but at breakfast today we had lots of varieties of cheeses and things made with cheese or cream and even squares of cheesecake!

It was with a sad heart that we left the Sea of Galilee today. Aaron told us that the area of the Galilee has often been the place where rebellions, zealots, and “messiahs” have come from, but now it is just such a pretty gentle area.

We began our day on the other side (as in went to the other side) of the Galilee at the Tel of Beit Sha’an (Mt. Gilboa from the Old Testament) and the roman city of Scytopolis built at the base of the tel. Such an interesting place!! David and I read Mitchener’s book The Source before coming here. It is a story about an archaeological dig on a fictional tel in the upper Galilee area. To see the height of the tel and the layers going down as they were excavating it was so interesting for us. From the tel we looked down on the roman city of Scytopolis which was a HUGE city at one point with magnificent columned main street, temples, 2 story bathhouses, and more. The whole city was destroyed by an earthquake about 749 AD. They have begun some restoration of the columns, in other areas they have left the columns as they fell. Fascinating.

Today the car registered 40C, which is about 110F. There was no where to escape the heat. Still Aaron pressed on and got us to Jericho … the oldest city in the world with Elisha’s spring. We had a passable picnic lunch grouped around Elisha’s fountain, but then Aaron took us up onto the ruins of the old Jericho. HOT! HOT! HOT! Our friend Ezer, one of the two youngest of the group has had untouchable energy this whole trip … he runs up stairs, down paths, over fences and obstacles doing twice as much as anyone else. Today, after about 15 min. the poor guy was back down off the ruins looking very wilted! We finally found a city that conquered Ezer instead of the other way around.

We scrapped the rest of the day! Just too too hot. The road from Jericho to Jerusalem is desolate wilderness. No water, no vegetation, no shelter. It was sobering to think of the story of the Good Samaritan taking place along this road.

We are back in the Old City. So many Russian Jews walking the streets in their large fur hats and long black coats on their way home from synagogue as sundown marked the end of the holiday. As I write this the loud blasts of the Muslim call to prayer overwhelms the night air.

A city, certainly like none other.

Aaron’s Blessing

Israel victory over Syria in Yom Kippor War

Holding the high ground

found object sculptures

Mameluke Crusader Fortress

“Garden of Eden” at Dan

greenery, pools of water, abundant fruit

BBQ on the terrace

Day 10 Tuesday

Today was very much a walk through Jewish history.

We started the day in an old Jewish settlement that has been partially restored to reflect the time of the Talmud scholars. Scholars who began to write down the Torah and its interpretations that had been oral traditions passed down through respected Rabbis in the Temple. But, once the temple was destroyed in about 70 AD, and the Jews dispersed, they began to write these things down and the writings became known as the Talmud. The village reflected the first century, so similar to life in the early years of Christianity, but with an emphasis on this post-temple time period of Jewish history.

From there we jumped ahead to the time of the Yom Kippur war (1973) and made our way backwards in Jewish history. We drove to Mt. Bental an area attacked by Syria during the early days of the Yom Kippur war. It remains in Israeli hands, but is contested and we looked out at the surrounding countryside which included lush farm land, grazing lands, vineyards, and the demilitarized zone between Israel and Syria under UN peacekeeping protection. I remember seeing a documentary before we left that the Israelis focus on controlling the high points in the land and Mt. Bental was a clear example… such commanding views of the countryside from there. On a more mundane note they have decorated the walkways leading up to the look offs with these adorable sculptures made of abandoned army tank/military parts, the paths are covered in wild red poppies (the only place we have really seen red poppies), and a little cafe where I was able to buy mint tea with honey :).

We were at the Mameluke crusader fortress in Nimrod at lunch time. Quite an amazing fortress built high up on top of a mountain to guard the trade route to Damascus and the north.

Our last stop was in Dan where we recalled the richness of Solomon’s Kingdom the farthest boundaries that the nation of Israel knew, broken into two kingdoms by his sons. The Northern Kingdom had its upper limit at Dan, the headwaters of the Jordan River. It was an amazing lush area, nicknamed the garden of Eden. It had the most lush vegetation and most water of any place we have visited. We saw fig trees, pomegranate trees, pistachio trees, olive trees, all laden with fruit on our walk past rushing streams. Tomorrow we will be in the Riff Valley, one of the hottest areas in Israel and, right on cue, we are expected to have our hottest temperature of the trip … a predicted high of 101F. So, it was good to enjoy the cool of the trees and water today.

We had a delightful end to the day sitting on an outdoor patio of the flat/hotel enjoying a Korean Bar-b-que cooked by one of the couples in our group and sharing the wine from the vineyard tour yesterday.

Tomorrow we will have our last full day of touring and return to Jerusalem to spend our last 3 nights at Ecce Homo.

Painting

Capernaum

Winding whipping up over Sea of Galilee

Gamla

wine tasting with our tour guide

Day 9 Monday

Tonight, writing this email seems so very difficult. I am so very overwhelmed by emotions. It has been such an amazing trip. No one can describe to you the geography that surrounds you and no pictures do it justice. The land is so much a part of the Bible story. As we have sat at various sights and read the stories that occurred there and Psalms that those places inspired, everything takes on a richer fuller meaning.

But more than anything else, I have felt this unbelievable closeness to Jesus the man who came to earth to do His Father’s will for my sake. Jesus my Savior. Jesus who has this overwhelming love for me, for each one of us, that it just keeps bringing tears to my eyes even now as I try to write this.

We spent the day in His land. The places where He came to teach, to call His disciples, to heal, to save that not even one of His sheep might be lost. We read the story of the man called Legion (Mark 5) filled with so many demons that when they entered the pigs, 2000 pigs went over the side of the cliff. We talked about the fact that the man was a Gentile because Jesus was on the Gentile side of the Galilee, we talked about the fact that to Jesus, saving that man was more important than all the pigs that were lost, and we talked about how the man was so good at telling others his story of his encounter with Jesus that the next time Jesus came to the area, (Mark 6: 53-56) everyone came to Him for healing. Then in a very touching example, Aaron showed us the meaning of touching His garments which actually meant touching the ends of His prayer shawl. Those words are a way of describing a father having a prayer shawl over his head and as he prayed, he covered his prayer shawl over the shoulders of his children to give them his blessing and protection. So it was as if Jesus was standing there covering them (us) with His prayers, His blessings, His protection.

We went to the churches which marked the places to commemorate the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, Peter’s call to take care of the sheep and the area of Capernaum and the church over the area believed to be Peter’s house. They were all lovely and moving in their simplicity. I stuck my toes in the Sea of Galilee 🙂 and we saw the wind whip up over the Galilee and cause sudden white caps.

We had a picnic lunch on a hillside that could have been where Jesus did the Sermon on the Mount.

Later, we hiked in the area know as Gamla where one of the final battles of the Jewish Rebellion was fought in 66AD.

Then we ended the day at the Golan Heights Winery with a tour and wine tasting. Such a beautiful spot. Such a fun way to end the day.

Sorry for the long email this time. I just wish each of you could have been here with me today

Beauty of Caesarea

a view of Psalm 104

Overlooking Nazareth

Sea of Galilee

Day 8 Sunday

Sabbath is over and we are on the road again. Today was a lovely day from so many perspectives, not the least that we spent most of it by water and cool breezes. 🙂

First stop was Caesarea, the Roman city built by Herod the Great. The things he accomplished in building and designing cities, amphitheaters, temples is mind boggling and nothing more so than the beauty and location of Caesarea right on the Mediterranean Sea.

After a stop at a delightful, “modern” Israeli town of Zichron Ya’acov for lunch (which included mint lemonade … I have fallen in love with mint tea and all things mint here … and sachlav, a warm milky drink made with toasted coconut, almonds and cinnamon). We continued on to Mt. Carmel, where Elijah fought the priests of Baal, then Mt. Precipice in Nazareth where they took Jesus after he read from the scroll of Isaiah in his hometown synagogue, and finally to Mt. Arbel where we overlooked a huge portion of the Sea of Galilee including Capernaum and Tiberius where we will be staying for 3 nights.

The views from each of these points were breath-taking! You were able to see areas and far off ridges of distant countries and really get a feel for the land, the trade routes, the geography. Then Aaron would read from the Psalms and the specific passages of the famous stories that occurred at these spots and the stories came alive!

We have a lovely little “flat” hotel room with a small balcony and a view of the Sea of Galilee. We ate dinner right at the shore of the Sea of Galilee, a variety of Lebanese dishes but David and I both had fresh fish, just caught. Good food, good friends, good conversation.

Another amazing day in Israel.

Personal Reflections: At the top of Mt. Carmel we read Psalm 104 and looked out at the amazing lush agricultural area of northern Israel. Seeing what the psalmist saw as he wrote those words. We also talked about Elijah and his mountaintop experience that led to a huge depression. Elijah running away to Be’er Sheva and then Mt. Horeb … it is quite a distance. How far we will run to get away from our problems! our disappointments! Still, God goes with us. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. Even when we are running from Him! He provides for us and goes with us.

Crusader Port Jaffa

Jaffa Marina

Day 7 Saturday

On one level, we could have been at the Jersey Shore. We went for breakfast on the boardwalk and there were kids and families milling about biking and eating and enjoying their “Sunday” morning.

Then a Loooonng walk to find the laundromat but that’s where you meet all the fellow travelers :), lady from Toronto here for a family wedding, young college students from Florida and State College backpacking through.

Back to the hostel to find some cool air and relief from the sun. We have been so busy busy busy that everyone needed a day to relax, catch up with naps and family Skype chats.

Our biggest tourist adventure was finding and learning how to rent bikes from the green bike share and biking down to old port city of Jaffa. Some of the buildings had crusader flags on them and the buildings themselves looked like they could have been from that time period, but the marina was filled with very modern boats! In between Old Port of Jaffa and “Jersey Shore” was the high life of “Cancun.” Big huge highrise hotels with private beach areas, people, bikers, and music …”the good life” all about.

It was good to get back to the hostel for a quiet evening while the “youngsters” went out on the town.