Day Four June 30  

Yesterday, Kathryn and Kathy went to a single mother's home to help clean. In broken english, she asked Kathy if she wanted to "eat" her baby. It took a minute, but they figured out she was asking if she wanted to "feed" her baby. Good thing. It could have sparked an international incident. 

After a night of singing worship songs in hebrew, we spent the day with a Christian guide in the Old City and the City of David (3000 years old - 2 Sam 5:6-10) and the Pool of Siloam (John 9:1-6) and climbed thru the Canaanite tunnel (5000 years old).

This trip is a combination of ministry and spiritual pilgrimage. So we are splitting time between mission work with CPM and walking the Bible. This is like scripture in 3-D. 

Tomorrow we head north to Galilee. Shalom. 

Day Five July 1 

As I reflect on this pilgrimage, I am glad my tie to God is through a living relationship with Jesus. It is not built on shrines or icons or stones.

Biblical sites are considered A, B or C. "A" sites are factual - where the Bible, history and archeology agree. The City of David and Jericho are "A".  "B" is possible. While the Mount of Olives is an "A", the Garden of Gethsemane location is a "B".  "C" sites are traditionally established, but are not necessarily the actual site. The transfiguration at Mount Tabor is a "C".  

Like Ga, Israel is in a drought. Lake (not a sea) Galilee is 13' down. The Jordan doesn't qualify as a river anymore. It's barely a ditch now.

We stopped first at the spot where Jesus first appeared to his disciples after the resurrection (John 21 - Peter, "feed my sheep"). Then to Capernaum where Jesus preached and performed miracles. The foundations and walls of the original synagogue, houses and Peter's mother-in-law's home is here and believed to be the first home group. 

Lunch is at a museum with a 2000 year old wooden fishing boat. Yes. Wooden. Then to Mount Arbel - a possible location for the Sermon on the Mount - and a stunning view of the Galilee. Evening and a traditional Shabat meal at a Bed & Breakfast in Magdala. Shalom!

Day Six July 2

Shabat Shalom! It's the Jewish sabbath here. We are on the side of a mountain facing east (Syria) across the Galilee in the home of Mary Magdelene. A perfect quiet time with the sunrise over the lake. BTW, these people LOVE their Nescafe instant coffee. I don't get it. I have learned to blow a shofar (the horn that is blown before and after Yom Kippur). It's not a duck call!  

We head north to the Tel Dan Nature Reserves. The Dannites captured Laish 3300 years ago (Judges 18) after getting tired of living next to the Phillistines in the south. They built the City of Dan. It contains the main headwater of the Jordan. It's a national park and tel (archaeological dig). We saw the oldest arch in the world - the Canaanite Gate to Dan is 4500 years old. We are right on the border of Lebanon with trenches from the 1967 war. 

Next stop was Bania (named after the Greek god Pan. Remember the half man-half goat with a flute?). There was a temple with sacrifices, nymphs and dancing goats. Later it became Ceasarea Philipi. On the road to CP, Jesus asked his disciples "Who do you say that I am?" (Mark 8: 27-29) setting up the transfiguration (on near Mt. Hermon?). Lunch beside the Snir River-another Jordan tributary.

Our last stop was Meggido - a World Heritage site where 26 civilizations from the Bronze Age to the Persians built on top of each other. It guards the Plain of Jezreel. The forces of evil will gather at Armageddon (which translates 'mountain-valley') and some believe it will happen here (Rev 16:16). Shalom!

Day Seven July 3 

Today is our Sabbath and we celebrate our risen Lord within walking distance of His empty tomb. Hallelujah! But it will not be a day of rest. It will be a day of service. We met with Michael Zinn, the director of Beit Sar Shalom (House of the Prince of Peace) where we are staying to learn more about CPM's ministries. They share the Gospel in a way that is culturally sensitive, host Messianic congregations ("church" is not culturally sensitive), operate several soup kitchens, and a holocaust survivor ministry. They let the love of Jesus shine and that is the best way to share the Gospel here. 

We are planning an American 4th of July BBQ for about 15 single moms + kids tomorrow. (No bacon in the baked beans! Kosher hot dogs only! No cheeseburgers because cheese cannot touch meat. Pita instead of hamburger buns.) 

Some of us went to the market to buy what we need for the 4th. It is not a  supermarket. Every booth is different. One for candy. One for bread. One for fruit. One for underwear. All together, it's kinda like a Super Wal*Mart - but outdoors with cash registers on each aisle. Plenty of blue and white colors for decorating. We have to hunt for red. 

Others went with Zhenya to help at CPM's Jerusalem Distribution Center. A shekel is worth about $3. The poor live on about 2700 shekels/mo (or about $1000). Gas and milk are double what we pay in US. They have a social security-type system, but no food stamps. Health care is a long story - but US is headed there. The pregnant worker has great care. The guy with cancer will wait 9 months to see an oncologist (unless he pays a ton). 

We had to be out of the Center for the evening so that a congregation could use it. So we hit the old city for gifts and dinner. Shalom!

Day Eight July 4

We were supposed to go to a town near the Gaza Strip to distribute food, but the CPM staffer was sick. So we head to the Old City again. You cannot get enough of it.  

We started at the Lion's Gate (also called Stephen's Gate where he is thought to have been stoned) in sight of the Mount of Olives. Then to St. Anne's and the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-18). To me, personally, this was one of the most powerful sites. We all need Jesus to heal us. And it was this healing - MY healing - that ultimately led to the cross. 

Then we celebrated communion at the place of Jesus' condemnation and the start of the 8-12-14 (several versions) stations of the cross. The streets are very narrow here and the crowds thicken around each spot. Several are in the Arab Quarter. 

After lunch we headed to the Holocaust

Museum - Yad Vashem (Isaiah 56:5). This is my second visit to see this tragic history written from the viewpoint of Israelis. It is very, very powerful. This is a good opportunity to put into perspective why the modern nation of Israel is such a miracle and learning about anti-semitism and hatred while praying for the salvation of the Jewish people as Satan would love to destroy the people God has made an eternal covenant with! 

After the museum, it's time to decorate and prepare food for the BBQ. We are having kosher hotdogs, hamburgers, corn on the cobb, fruit salad, baked beans and Paula Deen's peach cobbler for desert! We have games for the kids, including water balloons. Shalom y'all!

Day Nine July 5 

Of course, we believe this prophecy was fulfilled on Palm Sunday (Zech 9:9). 

For some, the brokeness came at the Holocaust Museum as we struggled with the face of evil. Would we have participated (like the crowd who shouted "crucify him!")? Will we be victims of evil ourselves? Others felt broken at Gethsemane feeling Jesus' anxiety at what He was facing. Some felt it at the beginning of our trip when forces were trying to prevent it. 

I felt the Spirit on the morning I watched the sun rise over Galilee. It was peaceful and God's glory was singing praises. Some felt it serving the needy, the single moms or the Coffee House we had for a dozen Messianic Jews that ended with praise songs in Hebrew. Others felt it in one of the Holocaust survivors who became a believer, serves at the food distribution center and shines with joy. One pointed back to the service rep (Ashley Q) at the Delta counter at midnight in Atlanta who took care of us and got us hotel rooms and tickets to Tel Aviv. 

This morning - our final day - we left early and hit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre before the crowds. There was a Eucharist in Latin going on by the cross and a mass started right as we exited the tomb. Awesome. We grabbed some coffee and pastries before hitting the Temple Mount and the Western Wall. If you come, go early. It's cooler and much less crowded. 

Then we helped at the Jerusalem distribution center by packing 140 bags of food and cleaning the floors. Then we had lunch. I'm ready for good old American (mexican, bacon, cheeseburger:) food.