Bill baptized all the folks in our group who wanted to be baptized in the Jordan River and it was thrilling, chilling and thrilling! Seriously it was SO cold! But this time was also very emotional and EXTRA special to us all. It was marvelous to have my own husband, my handsome pastor, baptize me and then to get to watch two of our deacons baptize him! God is so good!
As we traveled South toward our hotel on the South most tip of the Dead Sea our guide let us stoop for this photo op at "the lowest point on earth"!
On the way South we got to stop and see in person where they found the Dead Sea Scrolls! Truly amazing!
Bill mastered floating the Dead Sea, immediately! He was truly entertaining as he went right in and mastered the float so fast!
I love this one where he looks like he could be in parachuting posture! He was a natural!
Yes, I waded right in and joined him and the art of floating here is something everyone should experience at least once! Very relaxing, warm, soothing, and tranquil are a few words I would use to describe it!
Our group really enjoyed touring Masada! If you don't know the history of this huge mountain top site you need to read up on it! There was even a Peter O'Toole movie about it!
The place where David hid in a cave from Saul is now En Gedi Nature Reserve. It was beautiful and a bit like West Texas here.
We went to the Mount of Olives to view Jerusalem from there. It is a limestone ridge located between Bethany to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It rises 240 feel above the Temple Mount and is separated from it by the Kidron Valley also known as the Valley of Jehoshaphat. After we saw several sites from here we began our descent to the Garden of Gethsemane.
Yes, we did ride a camel at the Mount of Olives! I had been told this was the best spot to do so and our amazing guide, Nadine made sure it happened! Kojack is this cantankerous camel's name!
We had a private reservation and time just our small group in the Garden of Gethsemane, which means garden of the wine press, located at the base of the Mount of Olives. This beautiful garden contains 8 ancient olive trees claimed by botanists to be over 3,000 years old. We had a wonderful time of praise and prayer in this garden.
On the top and center of The Temple Mount is this shrine known as Dome of the Rock. This top area of 27 acres is the top of Mount Moriah. This is the place where, as recorded in Genesis 22, god directed Abraham to bring his only son Issac and prepare to offer him as a sacrifice. This is also the place where in 2 Samuel 24, God stops the plague and David buys the threshing floor from Araunah the Jebusite. This is the site where Solomon builds the Temple to God, which was first destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. and where the second Temple of Jesus' time was re-built during the days of Zerubbabel, Nehemiah, and Ezra and later enlarged and beautified by Herod the Great. Today, the Temple area is under the control of the Moslems in an effort to keep peace. The Temple is gone and in it's place is the Moslem Shrine you see above. It was built between 687-691 A.D. and is decorated with blue, green, yellow, and white Persian tiles. The dome rises some 108 feet above the ground and is covered with an aluminum bronze alloy from Italy. This shrine was used as a church by the Crusaders from 1099-1187. The Dome of the Rock is used for individual prayers, while on the southern end of the area is the lead-domed El Aksa Mosque where Moslems gather for group prayers. This is the site where King Abudullah of Jordan was assassinated in 1951, thereby allowing for his grandson, King Hussein, to become the ruler of Jordan. Saudi Arabia paid for the dome to be covered in gold.
These are the Southern Steps of the Temple where people, including Jesus entered the Temple many times to worship and sacrifice. They would journey far just to come once a year to this sacred Temple.
We had to secure an Arab guide to go into Bethlehem and see the birth place of Jesus! I am so thankful we got to do this! The cave under the Church of the Nativity is where the birthplace of Christ is and the Manger site.
After seeing the birth place we got to go and see the church by the fields where the shepherds were tending their sheep and the angels appeared to them to tell them about the birth of Jesus!
The Garden tomb right next to "The Place of the Skull" was the conclusion of our trip and one of the most special sites we were blessed to visit! My cousin, Ken Newberry works there 3 months a year and he had just arrived so we got to have him as our guide in this special garden!
Praise God, he is not here, he is risen!
This truly was the trip of a lifetime! It was life-changing! I am so glad we made the necessary sacrifice to make this journey! I am still overwhelmed with all I saw and heard. I feel compelled more than ever to now be an Ambassador for His land! We plan to go again and take another group in 2 years! We would love to have 24 or more! Please let us know now if you
want to go with us!
The prophet Isaiah asked the question, "Can a country be born in a day or a nation brought forth in a moment?" Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children." Is. 66:8. And so it was, on the 14th of May, 1948, in direct fulfillment of this prophecy and countless others, after having been scattered into the four corners of the earth since 70 A.D., the nation of Israel was birthed! God did a new thing. No nation in history has lost it's identity, been scattered and absorbed into other civilizations and then re-emerged after nearly 2000 years a distinct and individual people once again. The people of Israel have returned to their land, revived their ancient language and are seeing the restoration to their land. Do miracles really happened today? One only has to look at Israel to know the answer is yes.
