This morning our group split apart, but will meet back together at the hotel in Amman before we leave early, early for our 3:00am (Jordan time) flight to Frankfurt, Germany.  Sixteen of the forty in our group are making their way to Petra since we did not get to see it that very first day, while the remaining 24 will continue on our itinerary as scheduled!

The first stop of the "staying in Israel longer group," was the Sea of Galilee!  We took a boat ride around the Sea, which is really more of a lake, and had a BEAUTIFUL day for it!  We could see the northern shore of the sea, where Jesus taught the Beatitudes and Golan Heights where Jesus called the demoniac from the rocks.  Very calm and peaceful on the Sea of Galilee; we had to use our imaginations as to what it would have been like scared from a storm and then seeing Jesus walk on water.  

From the edge of the Sea we made our way up to The Church of the Beatitudes.  You guessed it, a site that could have been where Jesus presented the teachings in the Beatitudes. They found an ancient church here and there is evidence of it being built over, many times, and is in the place where it would seem logical to share the Beatitudes.  Now a Catholic Church, it is octagonal shaped because there are eight sayings.  It is  a beautiful site out to the Sea!

Next we made our way down to the Church of the Multiplication, or the church built where Jesus would have multiplied the fishes and the loaves.  The very specific mosaic tiles t this church give evidence that it was here because there are no other churches with that style of mosaic.  It is a stern of two fish and FOUR loaves, because Jesus, the Bread of Life is seen as the fifth loaf of bread!

Our final stop was in Capernaum where we can see Peter's house (again, a church built on top of it) and the synagogue in Capernaum where Jesus would have called the demons out of the man, according to Mark.  There is also an ancient street in Capernaum that they believe to be the very original street of that city!  

After so many wonderful things and sites we finally make our way back to Jordan and back to the airport.  We made our way to the border crossing and it was much much smoother than last time!  We made it in record time, got a few more stamps on the passports and made our way back to Amman, Jordan.  We have a short "night" if you could call it that, arriving at the hotel around 7:00pm and departing at 11:30pm for our 3:00am flight!

We can't wait to share all the stories and photos with you and appreciate all the prayers you've offered us so far.  Just keep them coming until we safely make it home to KC and other various places!

Today we continue through parts of Jerusalem and celebrate he New Year with the Armenians! There is an Armenian quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem the recognized this day as the beginning of the New Year.  Between all the ethnicities and churches present in Jerusalem and the many different ways that they each recognize time and Holy Days, it seems as if there would always be a celebration happening!

We started our day by visiting Ein Karem, the birthplace of John the Baptist and the place where Mary spent time with her cousin Elizabeth while she was awaiting the birth of her son, Jesus.  As with most churches in this area, there are remnants of an original church, but after conquests and earthquakes they are mostly new-ish churches built upon ancient ones.

Next we drove to Yad Vashem to visit the Holocaust Museum of Jerusalem, but we had to wait nearly 45 minutes until the Japanese Prime Minister left the premises.  Who knew he was on the same travel plan as us?

Yad Vashem was overwhelming to say the least, and certainly quite powerful.  There are many different parts to the museum, in different buildings that remember the Shoah, The Rupture (name for Holocaust according to Jews) in many different ways.  It documents the rise of Nazism and Anti-Semitism, most poignantly in Europe, and also goes to great lengths to remember all those who perished.  One of the most powerful portions is the Hall of Names that goes to great lengths to document the names of every single person who died in the Holocaust.  When we say we will never forget, we will remember, they mean it.  There are notebooks upon notebooks of names that are still being added to so as to remember each and every one.  They use family records, historical records, interviews and anything they can to document these names.  In another part of the museum they continually read the names of the children who died in The Shoah, as to recognize the particular tragedy in losing so many innocent children.

Deep breaths were needed after taking in so much.

Next we made our way to Jericho, that is under full Palestinian control, but where Jews/Israelis are allowed to go.  It has been something I'm not sure many of us anticipated to be traveling back and forth between Israeli and Palestinian controlled areas so frequently.  At any rate, we made our way to Jericho to see A sycamore tree, but not THE sycamore tree in which Zacchaeus climbed.  Although this tree we stopped at is only 300-ish years old, the tree root system is nearly 2500 years old!  So it is entirely possible that this tree root system is the same one as the tree which supported Zacchaeus!  

We were able to see some of the remains of Jericho, but there is still a lot of excavation to be finished in Jericho.  They have discovered a wall which is nearly 10,000 years old.  You have to climb a big hill to get up high and then look down into a deep whole where the excavations began.  There is still much to be discovered under that large hill but it will take time.  We had lunch in Jericho and then onto the Dead Sea!

The Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth, 1,400 feet below Sea Level and certainly the lowest place on earth.  You can float in the Dead Sea, but it is not recommended to float front side down in the water, as you should not even let the water get in your mouth/eyes.  It is 8 times saltier than any ocean on earth and is also filled with many different minerals.  You cannot drink the water at all, although the water and mud are extremely good for your skin.  Our tour guide said that it will make you look 19 years younger.  You will have to let me know if I look 13 years old again. (I kind of hope not. :) )

Our final stop of the day was at the Garden Tomb close to Jerusalem again.  There is another place in which some believe that Jesus was crucified because this rock indeed looks like a skull.  The church of the Holy Sepulchre is built entirely around a mount/rock so it is hard to determine if it did look like a skull before being built over.

The Garden Tomb on the other hand is a modern garden that is cared for by the Church of England.  It is right next to a place that indeed does look like a skull, and there were remnants of an ancient garden/vineyard discovered in this place.  It also has a tomb that was discovered and appears to be the tomb of a rich man, etc.  There are signs that this tomb was at one time used as a church, which again points to the fact that pilgrims have long believed this to be a very special place.

We were able to celebrate communion in the Garden Tomb and had a special worship time filled with prayer, singing, and scripture.

Whew! That's a lot to think about as we re-type this! So we are headed to bed now! :). Don't forget to check out our OPCC Facebook page for all the photos!

Today was our last morning in Jerusalem as we we are headed into Caesarea and Tiberias for the night.  We started our day with a look over the Kidron Valley from Mount of Olives looking into the city of Jerusalem.  We took a group photo and some even got to ride a camel!  After one last look and last minute photos we made our way out of Jerusalem and onto Caesarea.  

Caesarea was a bit of a bus ride away and we found ourselves on the coast near the Mediterranean Sea.  Caesarea  was built around 22 BCE during the time of Herod the Great.  It was important for us to see it because it is where some of the first Christian community was formed.  Paul was imprisoned here for nearly two years before being sent to Rome, but unfortunately there are no remnants of the prison left.  Like many other places here, Caesarea experienced conquest after conquest and the ruins were built upon many times over.  One really neat thing about Casarea is that our tour guide Menzur had worked here as an archaeologist himself and shared some unique tidbits others might not have known.  We also learned that it was right there in Caesarea that the concept of First/Gold, Second/Silver and Third/Bronze became known. Even our modern day Olympics can say thanks for that!

Our next stop on this busy day was El Meggido National Park.  After another delicious lunch we walked through the ancient city gates and made our way up to the top of the hi where many of the ruins have been uncovered.  Meggido comes from the same word for Armageddon, so this is the place where it is believed that the final battle for good/God to overcome evil, will take place.  (I guess I never realized hat Armageddon was a place, not necessarily a time!).  Meggido was conquered and rebuilt 25 different times, but is important to us because King David conquered and resettled this land/city on the 16th time.

Meggido had a grain silo to ensure the town had food and also had a unique way of getting water into the city.  The water source was outside the city so in order to get water safely and without compromising the safety of the city, they built a tunnel underground into one of their cisterns.  That way they could fetch water without ever having to open the gates of the city.  We walked 183 steps down into the tunnel, through the tunnel and 80 steps back up the tunnel and for some that was a real accomplishment!  Seeing all these different cisterns makes one very aware just how important water was to these societies, and how meaningful it would have been for Jesus to tell someone that he can quench that eternal thirst.

After visiting the end of the world, Armageddon, or Meggido, we made our way to Nazareth where we visited the church of the annunciation.  Many people in Nazareth lived in caves at the time of the announcement to Mary, and some people still live in caves in Nazareth, today.  But according to our tour guide they now have electricity and cable in their caves!  The Church of the Annunciation was built on top of the cave in which they believe Mary received the announcement that she would carry and deliver God's Son.  A beautiful church, it has many different paintings dedicated to Mary and the Annunciation.

Our final stop for the day was at the Church at Cana, where Jesus performed his first sign.  There are actually two churches in Cana, right next to each other, that lay claim to THE spot, the Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church.  We visited a newer Catholic Church that was of course built on top of the ruins of another church, and another from many centuries ago.  The Catholic Church in Cana used to sell and make wine, and would also give a bottle of wine to those who were getting married.  Unfortunately for Laura, they don't still do that, oh well!

After another full day we made our way to Tiberias where we will overnight next to the Sea of Galilee before a few more spots, and then back to Jordan tomorrow.  We appreciate the continued prayers for safe journey and keep checking that Facebook for more photos!