Day 12

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Well this is our last day in Israel! We got up early to head into Jerusalem for a day in the old city. We began by going up on the temple mount. Then we went to the church of all nations and had a group picture taken. Then we went back around through the Jaffa Gate and went through the Arab Bazaars to the holy sepulcher and then to lunch in an Arab restaurant where we ate shwarma and falafel. Then we headed back to the bazaars for some shopping. After that we went to the Davidson museum and down to Hezekiah's tunnel, the burial place of David or Solomon and the Pool of Siloam. Then it was time to head back up ti the temple mount. We had to take public transportation because groups of kids were throwing rocks at tourist buses. Our bus was finally able to pick us up and then we made the slow drive through evening traffic up to the Mount of Olives for another good devotional time by Mike Hess. We also had a time to share testimonies before heading to dinner. To our surprise, Paul had arranged for us to have dinner in the Elvis Restaurant! That was a lot of fun! We stopped quickly at the hotel to grab our luggage and head to the airport. We all cleared security and passport control without much incident and are now sitting on the plane waiting to take off. This has been the experience of a lifetime! We are all praising God and feeling humbled to have had such an opportunity. We have made some wonderful new friends who love the Lord and it was amazing traveling together!

Bye for now

Day 9 - 11

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Monday morning began with a dip in the Red Sea. What a way to start a day! We went to Timna where we saw a life size replica of the tabernacle. Our tour guide was a wonderful lady who was a believer. She has unite a ministry. We also stopped at Beersheva--home of Abraham. Then we conti Jed making our way to Jerusalem.

Tuesday was another early morning for our appointment at the rabbinic tunnels under the temple mount. From there we went into Bethlehem which is under control of the Palestinians. We visited the Church of the Nativity. We spent some time shopping at "George's" which had some reasonably priced olive wood items. Then we went to George's "Happy Days" restaurant where he gave us a wonderful meal of middle eastern cuisine. After that, there was time to do more shopping and then headed back into Jerusalem. We had an appointment at the Temple Institute where we were able to see pieces that are ready for a third temple! From there it was to the Garden Tomb. What a wonderful experience! Our guide was a British believer who volunteers his time there. We had a nice devotion and a time of music. Gene and Vona sang a duet and then had the rest join in as we closed with "Because He Lives" and "Thank You, Lord.". Then it was back to our hotel on the kibbutz Newe Ilan for dinner and map-marking.

It seems hard to believe that our time has gone by so quickly!! Tomorrow will be our last day here. This has been a phenomenal experience which will impact our lives forever! This morning we began our day at Beit Shemesh- home to Manoah and Samson. From there we went to Ashkelon where we got to spent a little time playing in the Mediterranean Sea. The water was incredible! Then we went to Yad Mordecai, a kibbutz which played an integral part in holding off the Egyptians during the war of independence. Then we stopped at Lachish, Maresha--where we had a nice picnic lunch. We visited the Bell Caves where we listened to some Korean believers sing "Praise to the Lord" and then they listened to us sing "Great is Thy Faithfulness." Then we stopped at Beit Guvrin and the Elah valley. We had a devotional rime there reading the story of David and Goliath and then wandering into the wadi to choose our own 5 smooth stones. On our way home we stopped at the Elvis cafe which supposedly has the world's largest statue of Elvis. They give away an Elvis mug with every cup of coffee-- it was an amusing end to the day of touring. Tonight will be dinner and a final map-marking session with some time to prepare for our final day in Jerusalem and our long journey home.

Days 7 & 8

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Shalom! Greetings from Israel! It has been another couple of very full days. Saturday morning we left the Galilee very early in the morning to make our way south. Our first stop was in Jericho which meant we entered Palestinian territory- which was without incident. We saw the traditional site of Gilgal along the way. Then we stopped at Qumran to see where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered. After that was a stop at EnGedi where David hid from Saul in the caves. There is also a beautiful nature reserve with a series of waterfalls. This is where we ate lunch before heading to Masada. At Masada some of our group decided to hike the Snake Path to the top. We all made it- even in the mid-afternoon heat of 85 degrees F! However, we all chose to ride the cable car to the bottom--imagine that! After that, we all enjoyed a dip in the Dead Sea. After an ice cream break it was time to continue south another 2 1/2 hours to the southernmost point of Israel at Eilat. It was a long and tiring day full of adventure.

Sunday morning saw us getting up very early again for our trip into Jordan to see Petra. We had to leave our guide and bus driver in Israel for a Jordanian driver and guide. We are thankful that the border crossing went without incident because one passport hadn't been stamped at the airport when we arrived in Tel Aviv--but we'll tell you that story later.
Our Jordanian guide, Abdullah, was very informative and entertaining. After spending the first few minutes speaking to us in "broken English" he finally admitted he spoke perfect English and was having a little fun. He was an English Literature major and spoke better English than most of us! We sure enjoyed his expertise--Petra was his home town! Petra is everything you see in pictures and then some! It was a wonderful experience. After the 2 hour bus ride back to the border, we then, again, cleared customs and had a late dinner. After our meal we met together as a group to listen to Matt Candlish share with us. Paul Karpenko also shared what his family is doing in Israel. We are all enjoying this experience very much and the people we are traveling with are a great bunch. Tomorrow we begin making our way back north to spend the rest of our time in Jerusalem.

Days 5 & 6

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The last two days have been very warm and full of interesting traveling in the Galilee. We began the day with a visit to Cana and then to Nazareth. We visited what tradition says is the home of Mary. It is a good example of a cave-type 3 room home typical of the first century. From there we went to Megiddo and viewed the plains where the battle of Armageddon will take place. We then went onto Beit Shean, with both Old Testament and New Testament ruins. Yesterday was a holiday here called The Joy of the Torah so we were unable to visit Gideon's brook.

This morning we started off with a visit to the Jordan River and had a nice devotional time there. Then we went to the hot springs of Tiberius and also the location of a first century synagogue. From there we went onto the Sea of Galilee where we saw the remains of a 2000 year old fishing vessel. We were privileged to take a boat ride on the sea. Today's lunch was at kibbutz EnGev where some of us were brave enough to try St Peter's fish. The rest of us had either pizza or pasta! Then we went to Bethsaida, Capernaum, and Chorazim--the three cities Jesus pronounced woes upon. Then our guide, Paul Karpenko, took us to the banana fields on Kibbutz Ha-On where he showed us how the fruit is grown and harvested. It has been a good day but also tiring. We must get up quite early tomorrow morning for our trip to the southernmost tip of Israel where we will be staying in Elat for 2 days.
Layla tov--goodnight everyone!

Day 4

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Greetings from sunny, warm Israel. We are having a great time! So far on our journey, we have seen Jaffa (Joppa), Caesarea, Haifa, Mt. Carmel, Mt. Arbel where Gene got to share the devotion, Tel-Dan, the border of Lebanon, Caesarea-Philipi, the Golan Heights, Acco, Zippori, Bet-Shearim, and many others. We are busy from sunup till well into the evening every day. This evening before dinner some of our group took a dip in the Sea of Galilee and it was quite refreshing. The food has been wonderful and we are trying many new things!
Today we had an Israeli family travel with us. The wife Aya is a believer and Yossi the husband is not a believer. He is a policeman and carries a nice gun!
We also had the privilege tonight of hearing from some Messianic Jews who came to share about their ministries. It was awesome to hear what God is doing in the land of Israel.
Send more when we can.

Day 4

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We had a very nice day touring more of the region of Galilee. So far we've been to Jaffa (Joppa), Caesarea, Haifa, Mt Carmel, Mt Arbel, Tel Dan, Caesarea Philippi, Golan heights, Acco, Zippori, and a few other sites. Today we had a family from the kibbutz join us. The wife is a believer, but her husband is not. He is a police officer and was armed. They are very nice people. Some of us took a dip in the Sea of Galilee before dinner. It was very refreshing! Tonight we will be meeting 2 couples who have ministries here. Each day has been very full and e weather is ni e

Day 2&3

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We are here in Israel. We are seeing lots. It is great to visit the sites along the north coast of the mediteranian and the northern Galilee region.
We have only pay Internet so will write when we can. We are all having a great time.
The weather is perfect! The food is great. We are trying new foods.
We are busy from sunup to sundown seeing sites.
It is interesting being here at the feast of booths holiday.
Will write more when we get a chance.