Away We Go.....Here We Are

Our Israel Pilgrimmage is underway and it began with some excitement.When we arrived at the border, Canadian authorities spent an hour and a half checking out our driver.  He, nor we, understood why.  We then had to exit the bus, grab our luggage, be checked by the guards, then reload and continue on our way.  We arrived on time at Toronto, but it was a thrilling start to our trip.

   We arrived 15 minutes early after a smooth (while mostly sleepless) flight.  After getting our luggage (with one bag misplaced and a beloved sweater left behind mysteriously), we met Nir and were on our way to Caesarea.  This was a large city in Biblical times, used by Herod as the place of his summer palace.  Cornelius was saved here from Peter’s witness; Paul was imprisoned and tried here; the deacon Philip lived here; and it was a major seaport for the Mediterranean Sea.  

We lunched by the sea, followed by a short film presentation showing Caesarea’s story throughout various time periods.  We then walked along the hippodrome (where horse races were held).  It was in this area that Paul would have probably given his defense before Agrippa and Festus.  We ended at the theater, visited the aqueduct, and headed back to check into the hotel.  Supper will be at 6:30 and I’m sure it will not be long afterwards that I’m sure we will be sound asleep.  Here are some pics from our two days.












Comments

  1. Lin Aluise HabermanMarch 13, 2019 at 12:45 PM

    What a blessed trip already! Praying that you all enjoy your time! ~Lin

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMarch 14, 2019 at 12:33 PM

    Picture 9. Is that the wake of an Israeli submarine periscope?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

God’s Special Mountain

Image
It feels like God has some geographic bias.  We read about Mt. Horeb that God gave the Law there, and later refreshed and redirected a depressed Elijah.  Earlier in our trip, we learned that just as Peter gave his confession of Jesus being the Christ at the foot of Mt. Hermon, outside of Bania (Caesarea Philippi), so also Jewish tradition holds that it was up on Mt. Hermon that God made the covenant with Abraham.  We also believe that the “very high mountain” that was the site of the transfiguration was also on the same mountain.  Today, we visited another place of God’s geographic bias:  the Temple Mount. After a later night last evening, we had an early morning, leaving our hotel at 7:30 to try and beat the long line to go up on the Temple Mount.  We entered the line just outside the Dung Gate.  To our surprise, it did not take us as long a time to get through two security checks on get up on the top.  We had to be careful with couples holding...
Read more

Final Day

Image
It is hard to believe that this is our last full day in Israel.  Early tomorrow morning we head for the airport and home.  This has been a wonderful group, working together well and caring for each other. Thank you.  It’s been an honor to travel with you. We had a free morning.  Final shopping, resting, packing, running the wall the hard way, all were experienced.  Yes, Dennis was roaming again.  (Sorry Dennis, had to get that in somewhere. 😂😉) Nir arrived at 1:00 p.m.  We went a few blocks away to a park in which is located the family tomb for the family of King Herod the Great.  It was a magnificent tomb complex at one time, and still retains the stone to roll across the entrance and a cave complex. We then went to the Garden Tomb, located near the Damascus Gate.  Kieran was our guide.  He is a former Irish Catholic who came into a personal relationship with Jesus through his wife.  One of the most important points he made...
Read more

A Modern Day Connection of the Past With the Future

Image
Thursday began with most of us having had a really good night’s sleep.  Following a wonderful breakfast, we loaded our bus (Driver’s name is “Shimshon” or Samson) and headed for the Palmach Museum.  The Palmach, military wing of the Haganah, were an Israeli strike force trained by the British during World War Two.  The story told at the museum follows a group of young people who were part of a youth movement and were trained as soldiers in a Kibbutz.  It follows their journey through the war of Independence, through the losses and the wins.  It shows the courage, faith and determination it took to see the nation re-established according to God’s prophetic word. Next we visited a Kibbutz.  Look it up for a definition.  This particular kibbutz supported the war of Independence by making 9 mm bullets in a hidden factory.  It was amazing to hear of their ingenuity and passion.  No one knew what as going on except the people who worked in the fa...
Read more