Days 4 and 5

Day 4 was at Beit Shean, a location I knew nothing about before we visited. I was not expecting more than a few crumbling ruins, but as far as ancient cities, this was the most well preserved one that we visited on our whole trip, and I was so amazed!

The Roman city:

Below, the Roman Theatre:

Below is a Roman bathroom, with toilets on the right

Our group walking up to the top if Bet Shean 

Ran into a goat herd...

We also found little artifacts on the way up. Dillon found lots of Roman glass (a pale blue), and I found a broken piece of pottery, likely from the Byzantine era (around 400 A.D)

At the top, we saw where the Egyptian Governor lived, 12 B.C.E... my mind can't even grasp how long ago this was!

View of the City from the top of the hill/mountain:

Walking the ancient streets...

We had lunch here (falafel), and then drove to the ancient town of Sephori/Zippori. This was where Jospeh and Jesus likely would have walked to work everyday from Nazareth. The picture below is a view of Nazareth from Zippori:

The Crusadors, as well as the Romans, also inhabited Zippori at various times. Below, old Roman roads, and mosaics:

Day5 began at Hatzor, where we saw more ancient waterworks. 

Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted to build the LORD’s temple, his own palace, the terraces,^[a] the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer.1 Kings 9:15

From there we drove North to Tel Dan. When we first arrived I saw someone familiar, asked if she had a blog, and turns out she did- I met Caroline In Texas! She was so nice and didn't seem to mind that I am a blog stalker~

Tel Dan is a nature reserve in North Israel. We hiked through a forest and came to the Israelite Kingdom, as well as the Sacred Precinct,

"After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” ²⁹ One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan" I Kings 12:28-29

At Tel Dan, we also saw the Canaanite gate, dating from before 1200 B.C.E. It's possible that Abraham and Sarah could have passed through here:

We then drove to Cesarea Philippi, where Peter confessed to Jesus, "You are the Messiah"

After, we drove to a Druze village (the Druze are a branch off of Islam, a very private people group). We had lunch here then drove through the Golan Heights. There are still dangerous land minds located in the region from the 6 Day War. We made a quick stop at Gamal ( a mountain where Jews lived, known for its shape like a camels back).

I am tired just re-capping these days! We saw so much history, biblical and non, it was all amazing!

Since Returning

 One thing I told Dillon while we were in Israel was "I miss our small group" and "I hope people don't forget about us". 2+ weeks being away from Texas felt more like 2 years! Just as traveling opens your eyes to a new world view, it also opens your eyes to the blessings in your life- for me anyway.

Since returning, we have been blessed to spend lots of time with our family and friends and we love it! We had a couple of nights to recoup and then we were ready to see everyone and share our stories.

Our first week back we had Mexican food thrice - at On the Border Saturday with the Taylors, Chuys on Monday (a holiday off yay!) with the Geyers, and then Blue Goose on Tuesday with our bible study group. We also had Dillon's family over to give them some Israel goodies.

Our second weekend my family made the trip to Dallas, bringing 2 important packages with them- Polly and Penny! We are so glad our dogs have a place to be spoiled when we need a break. It was a short but sweet (as always) weekend with them, and of course, shopping and eating were the essentials.

Last night we went dinner with friends to Eatzi's downtown then heard Tim Keller (author of The Reason for God) speak at Park Cities. There was a huge turnout, and a great message was given about having peace. If you are interested in listening, it is worth your while, click here: http://audio.pcpc.org/archive/entry/5983/

While we LOVED our trip, we are also thankful to come back to our friends and family, and resume life with them~

(I will continue posting about Israel but wanted to document this month before it's gone)

Day 3

Today was one of my favorite days- we went to a couple of places that I was not expecting to be so amazing but they were incredible!

Our first stop of the day was at Yardenit, a baptismal site off the Jordan River. It was not a really special place to me because it is not the actual location of the baptisms in the bible, but it was nice to remember the significance of baptisms.

From there, we drove to Tel (mountain) Megiddo. Har is the Hebrew word for mountain, Harmegiddo is translated Armageddon (location of the battle at the End Times). This mount was located in the Galilee, and was so lush and green. A Tel is a mountain that has layers of history under its soil- ancient cities that over time have been overgrown with grass and wildlife, until someone excavates it. Megiddo was host to many different civilations over time. We saw the ruins of  Solomons gate and a water tunnel built by Ahab.

We ate lunch then went to Ceserea Martima (Ceserea by the Sea). This is an ancient city built by Herod the Great in honor of Cesar. The technology is incredible- from their ampitheatres to their water ducts, this was a beautiful place.

Day 2, Packed Full

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”  ³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

 ⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

 ⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4

This is the passage that Dillon and I read to our group on the Sea of Galilee (our leader had people read at every biblical site). Slighly overcast but no rain, and the sea was fairly calm. It was a bit surreal to be in such a famous place, host of such miracles. I savored the boat right so much! 

We journeyed across the sea from Tiberius and arrived to see the 'Jesus' boat, a nearly 2000 year-old boat that was excavated and restored. Neat!

From there, we drove to the traditional site of the Mount of Beatitudes, a monastery is situated there. We had a quick communion service while we were there.

He said:    ³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
   for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
   for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
   for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
   for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
   for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
   for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

   ¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

After lunch, we stopped at Kursi, the site where Jesus drove the swine off a cliff. The ruins of a Byzantine church now rest at Kursi as well.

Above are the remains of the ornate tile floor, later burned by Romans I believe. Below is the cave at Kursi where the demon possessed men likely could have lived.

When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes,^[c] two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. ²⁹ “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”

 ³⁰ Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. ³¹ The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

 ³² He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. ³³ Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴ Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region. Matt 8

Our next stop was Bethsaida. This is an ancient town recently discovered. It was almost positively where Peter's mother lived. It is mentioned in scripture.

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. Luke 10

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. Mark 8

Our day still wasn't finished! (All of the things we saw this day where in close proximity so we didn't spend much time traveling). We went next to Capernaum, the home of Peter and likely where the first church was, as mentioned in Acts.

Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. Luke4

 Again- so AMAZING to be in these places that I have read about my whole life. I kept thinking how the images I have always had in my head were literally being replaced with every site we went to.

Our last stop, Tabgha, is the traditional site of the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fish. The sun was setting as our day came to an end, and the magnitude of where we were really hit me. I walked to the lakeshore and found a large rock, and for a few minutes, soaked it all in. Looking out onto the sea, I could picture Jesus seeing the same sight that I was taking in. I looked at the pebbles and thought about the feet that could have stood on them. Dillon captured one of my favorite pictures of our whole trip here.

Something that was true for my mom and sister, and was true for me when I was here, is that I didn't feel any closer to the Lord than I do at home. This trip was beautiful, eye opening and fascinating- but not necessarily a spiritual journey... It did however, deepen scripture for me which is priceless.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
   Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
   if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
   if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
   your right hand will hold me fast. 

Psalm 139

Where to Start

 I have been processing this trip and trying to think of how to properly convey it in the nutshell of this blog. I suppose I should just dive in beginning with day 1, I just fear that my words will not capture the moments. It's all still so fresh that part of me knows I will look back in 1 year and glean something new from it all, but for now, this is what I feel...

Getting to Israel was half of the battle. We left our home in Dallas around 5 a.m Monday, arriving to the airport with that jittery excitement. Packing had taken place the day after Christmas so I was nervous that I had forgotten something in the rush. I dressed in my big winter coat, knowing I would need it once we landed in NYC. We were all set with technological devices charged and ready to entertain us during out long flights. We had been keeping an eye on the weather in NY and in our minds we knew delays were possible- but not until we landed in Baltimore did we learn that all flights in NY had been cancelled did our hearts finally believe it! I think we both handled the situation well... Dillon got on the phone with his dad to talk about our options... we could hang around and see about getting on a plane on stand-by or we could book an Amtrack train ride. We went ahead and booked the train for the next morning and it turns out that was a very good choice, since just a few hours later the  train was booked full. 

So, Monday we spend the evening in Comfort Inn Baltimore, and dined at their dingy restraunt. We crawled into bed around 8 pm and set our alarms for 2 a.m. I was a little cranky but knew we had to make it to NYC on the train or we wouldnt be able to make our flight to Tel Aviv. Once we boarded the Amtrek we both felt relief. We arrived to NYC Tuesday morning and toured for a few hours before heading to JFK airport. When we got to JFK we saw people sleeping against walls and saw trash cans filled to the brim, and we both mentioned how thankful we were that we didnt get stuck in the airport overnight. We arrived really early and had about 6 hours before our flight left, and I was craving Chili's so we sat eating chips and salsa one last time as we waited in the terminal. We began boarding our flight at 10pm, and finally took off at 1:30 am... exhaustion set in and we both slept pretty well (aside from waking up to turbulence over the Atlantic in the middle of the night- freaky!). 

When we landed in Tel Aviv on Wednesday night, I felt like we had just made it through the eye of the needle... It felt like a true miracle to be in Israel after the past 72 hours of travel. After we made it to Tiberius around 9pm, we ate our first meal in the hotel, took showers, and finally slept a full nights sleep.

Enough about travel- that's the boring part of it all, but I want to remember all of the details!

Here are pictures from Day 1

 Visiting with Elias Chacour in Haifa. His story of living in Palestine as a Christian in the 1940's was so fascinating and eye-opening!

After arriving in Nazareth, about to explore Mary's well (A well that on the outskirts of the city, likely where Mary would have gone every day to get water)

Mary's Well

                                                    

     Walking through the streets of Nazareth on our way to lunch.

 

Church located over the traditional site of Mary and Joseph's home

I really enjoyed Nazareth- it was our first site where Jesus had been and I felt like the city was very Middle Eastern, and it was so exciting to finally be there on our first day.

How It Began...

When my sister moved overseas nearly 2 years ago, Dillon and I determined it was a "must" to visit her and see the land. We asked for money for Christmas 2009 and began to save to visit her in the summer of 2010, all the while unaware of the different plans God had in store for all of us.

Katie ended up returning to America before the trip could happen- but only for a few months over spring and summer, and our plans came to a halt (not complaining at all- it was SO nice to have her home.) We questioned if we should really try to reschedule the trip and when we would be able to go, since the summer window to visit was gone.

Shortly after all of this occurred, Dillon was given a pamplet at his seminary regarding a study trip to Israel for students, at a discount rate for students and spouses. The dates and cost were both very accomodating to our needs and we felt like it was a great opportunity, and we would be able to see Katie. I quickly recieved permission from my job to take the leave of absence and we began getting excited again!

That's the short version of how and why this trip began.

Now that we are back I am so so thankful for this once in a lifetime experience. It was so much more than a vacation - it was a cultural, eye opening journey that has left marks in me that have yet to be uncovered. Every day was amazing. The things we saw were grand. The people were beautiful, and I am so grateful I got to enjoy the time with my sister.

Side story:

We left for our trip Dec 27th, the same day that a huge snow storm went through NYC (our city of departure). We were stranded in Baltimore for a night and once again, were unsure if our trip would really happen so when we finally made it to Israel it was that much sweeter!

As you can imagine, we took nearly 2000 pictures. But before I post them I want to share something that suprised me as one of my favorite things.

Before we left I knew little to nothing about the cause of tensions in the Middle East... I did not know either sides view point and really didn't care too much either way. But- on our first day in Israel we had a meeting with the Archbishop of Galilee, Elias Chacour (Author of Blood Brothers, and amazing true story). His story is a memoir of his childhood as a Palestinian Christian during the (violent and bloody) time that Palestine became the state of Israel. On our 2nd to last day, we met with a Lutheran Palestinian Pastor in Bethleham who shared of his dreams of one day living in a land with full rights. Did you know that there is a wall around Bethleham preventing any Palestinian from leaving? I didnt until now. We also met with a Jewish leader in a Jewish settlement and heard from his side on how they are trying to live in the land of their heritage but live in fear of terrorists (their reason for building the wall). I walked away from the trip feeling like at least now I am not ignorant. I don't have any answers but I can at least relate to both sides and have compassion for injustice. I urge you to investigate what is going on in Israel. There is so much gray area but I'm so glad that I was given a peak into this deep-rooted history of people.