Day 1: We arrived in Knoxville for our departure at 8:45. Our 11:20 United Airlines flight to Newark was on time. Our connecting flight to Tel Aviv departed at 4:15. The overnight flight was long (9:44) but uneventful. Most people slept at least part of the time.
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| Glen praying for us before we departed Knoxville. |
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| Our wonderful group! |
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| Hanging out in the airport waiting for our flight. |
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| We made it! |
Day 2: We arrived in Tel Aviv on time and with all our luggage. We easily moved through customs and onto our bus to begin our journey. We drove through the large city of Tel Aviv as we made our way northward along the Mediterranean coast to Caesarea Maritime.
Caesarea Maritime
Herod made Caesarea Maritime into one of the grandest cities in Israel. The crusaders rebuild the city after it was destroyed by an earthquake and made it one of their strongholds. We visited the theater that overlooks the Mediterranean Sea, the remains of Herod's palace, and the hippodrome that held 20,000 spectators for chariot races.
Peter preached the gospel to Cornelius here making him the first Gentile convert. We read his story in Acts 10:1-8. Also significant, Paul was imprisoned here for two years, and Pontius Pilot ruled here at the time of Christ.
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| Roman ruins |
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| Jeff and Jaide Belk |
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| Such a perfectly beautiful day! |
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| Our bus for the week. |
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| Our chariot from the outside. Our driver is Hasim |
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| Our guide: Fares |
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| Cricket chariot racing at the Hippodrome. |
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| Glen looks a lot like Ben Hur, don't you think??? |
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| Abby is an amazing traveler and chariot driver of course! |
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| Roman aqueduct to Caesarea. |
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| We had to stick our feet in the Mediterranean! It's Spring Break for heaven's sake. :) |
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| Learning our history lessons. |
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| Our guide Fares is a Palestinian Christian. |
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| Herod's swimming pool. |
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| Spring Break at the Mediterranean Sea..... |
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| Jaide and Lexi |
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| Chance!!! |
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| Three generations visiting Israel! |
We also visited a surviving portion of the 15 miles aqueduct that brought fresh water to Caesarea Maritime. It took Herod 10 years to build this remarkable structure.
We had a wonderful lunch in a Druze village restaurant. We will have opportunities to try lots of different yet yummy food while we are here.
Mount Carmel
After a three and a half year drought, Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel. God consumed Elijah's sacrifice proving that He is God. We read 1 Kings 18:20-39 which tells of this triumph of faith standing on that very mountain. We sang the chorus of Our God which declares that God is greater and stronger than any other.
From the top of Mount Carmel, you can see the whole Valley of Jezreel (Armageddon) from Nazareth to Caesarea Maritime. Mount Hermon, Mount Tabor, and others can also be seen. This means that the fire of God that consumed Elijah's sacrifice would have been visible throughout much of Israel!
Our students enjoyed the view from Mount Carmel!
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| Rachael and Sarah enjoying the view from Mt. Carmel |
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| It's always good to have a little help with directions. |
Nazareth
We walked the path up to Mount Precipice where we overlooked the same valley we had seen from the other side at Mt. Carmel. Glen read Luke 4:16-30 where Jesus went into the synagogue and read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He proclaimed, "Today the scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." The people were angry because they only saw him as Joseph's son. They became a mob who wanted to throw him from the cliffs but he walked past them without being seen.
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| Fares giving us our lesson at Mount Precipice. |
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| This is the most fertile area in Israel and is so green and beautiful. |
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| Christian Cate with Nazareth in the background. |
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| Daniel Ibach sitting above the valley taking in the views. |
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| Our very special group at Mount Precipice. |
After Nazareth we loaded the bus and headed out for a 45 minute ride to Tiberias, our resting place for the next three nights.
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| On the road again..... |
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| Lee Ann Starnes knows how to lead us in songs and fun! |
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| Heading to the Sea of Galilee to check into our hotel. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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| Dinner at our hotel |
After dinner a group walked down to the Sea of Galilee and stopped by the ATM to get some shekels for shopping. As we walked back Glen spotted the "kosher" McDonald's. He has a tradition of eating a Mickey D's in every country he visits. So I guess I know what's for dinner tomorrow night!
We start our day tomorrow with breakfast at the hotel and departure at 8:00. We have a full day planned: Mount of Beatitudes, Capernaum, Magdala, a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee and a visit to the Jordan River where some are going to be baptized. Sounds amazing to me!!!
Goodnight from Tiberias. Thank you for praying for us.
From the top of Mount Carmel, you can see the whole Valley of Jezreel (Armageddon) from Nazareth to Caesarea Maritime. Mount Hermon, Mount Tabor, and others can also be seen. This means that the fire of God that consumed Elijah's sacrifice would have been visible throughout much of Israel!
Our students enjoyed the view from Mount Carmel!
After dinner a group walked down to the Sea of Galilee and stopped by the ATM to get some shekels for shopping. As we walked back Glen spotted the "kosher" McDonald's. He has a tradition of eating a Mickey D's in every country he visits. So I guess I know what's for dinner tomorrow night!
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