Day 4 of touring...

March 11, 2011

Today we completed our fourth day of touring. We left the Sea of Galilee and headed south for Jerusalem. Along the way, we first stopped at a place called Herod’s Spring. It is the traditional location where the story of Gideon in Judges 7 took place.

Here God told him that he had too many men going into battle with him to fight the Midianites – he didn’t want them to win the battle and believe that it was because of their great military might that they were victorious. In order to thin the crowd of soldiers a bit, God told Gideon to have his men drink from this spring. The ones who knelt down to drink from the spring were out – the ones who cupped the water in their hands and lapped it like dogs were in. Out of 10,000 men, only three hundred cupped it in their hands and lapped it like dogs. They were the ones who were to go into battle with him. It’s a tremendous story of trusting God and remembering that God is the one who is to receive all glory and honor and praise.

After we left Herod’s Spring, we traveled next to a hot spring pool known as Gan Hashelosha. It was beautiful. In this natural pool (about as long as and half as wide as a YMCA pool), the water was crystal clear and warm. If we had planned on it, we would all have gone swimming in this. It was a nice, surprising, and unexpected addition to our itinerary.

From there we traveled to Beit Shean. This is one of the most incredible archaeological sites in Israel. We were able to see another ancient Roman theater, as well as Roman roads, pillars, shops, bathhouses, and so much more. You could easily spend an entire day there – soaking in all of the history of this place that was built 2000 years ago.

Our next stop, following Beit Shean, was a lunch stop. But it was so much more than food. We drove south, past the point where the Israelites crossed the Jordan River and entered the Promised Land, towards the Dead Sea. We passed Jericho to the west and eventually arrived at a place called Abraham’s tent. It is located in the Judean wilderness, in the region where Abraham himself would have set up his tents with his family and flocks. When we visited, they helped us to “travel back in time” with a camel ride, so that we could experience what it would have been like to visit Abraham and his family several thousand years ago. I was so proud of our group – every single one of us was brave enough to ride the camels. It was quite an adventure. And to be honest…that is an understatement. Adam’s got a little rowdy, and Jan’s did a shimmy shake, which made her hold on a little tighter. We had an amazing lunch and took some incredible pictures of the Judean desert as well.

From there we had the privilege of being able to visit Leor’s (our tour guide) family at his home just outside of Jerusalem. His wife treated us to coffee, tea, soft drinks, and some delicious homemade cakes. It was so nice to once again be in the home of someone who lives here. Thanks to Leor and his family for making the visit possible and for inviting us over!

When we left their home, we entered Jerusalem. We started out with a group picture at the Mount of Olives – with the Temple Mount in the background. Then we visited the Nissan Bros. Olive Tree Wood Store. They make some of the most beautiful pieces carved from olive tree wood in Bethlehem. We had a great time buying some souvenirs and gifts for ourselves and our loved ones back home.

Finally, at the end of the day we arrived at our hotel in Jerusalem. We are staying at the Dan Panorama hotel – it is five star…top notch. The rooms are perfect, the lobby is very modern and sharp, and tonight at dinner…the food was so good that many of us ate about 3 or 4 plates more than we should have (that’s right…I said plates).

We are now chilling out for the night at the hotel. We’re going to play some cards and chat about the day. It might be a little more difficult to post on here, since we have to pay for the Internet service. Since we hear the blog has become a bit of hit back home though, we’ll do our best.

Tomorrow we begin the day with a baptism service at the Jordan River. Then we head to the Dead Sea to visit Masada, Qumran, En Gedi, and go for a float in the water. More on all of that later.