Jerusalem – the old city

Dear Friends,

My husband and I were blessed to have the opportunity to join 43 others in our church family to go and experience the Holy lands of Israel.  We saw where Jesus was born, lived and died.  It was truly a trip of a lifetime and we all came back changed.  It was an honor to carry your prayers with me, and each day as we celebrated mass they were placed at the foot of the alter and prayed for.  I was humbled at all you experience and the prayer requests you sent.  Know that although on the last day, we left all the prayers there in Israel for future pilgrims and visitors to pray over.  You all continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.

I hope you enjoy this photo montage of my experience and time in Israel.

Beautiful paintings in the churches.  Here in the city of Bethlehem.  I think I’ve seen this one turned into a Christmas card.

Homes of the wealthy

Homes of the poor

Church of the Holy Sepulchre built over Calvery.  This was the most moving and memorable place for me on our trip.

Morning sunrise coming up over the Sea of Galilee.  It was sunny every day of our trip with temperatures in the 80’s.

On a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee to the city of Capernaum.

Synagogue ruins in the city of Magdela where Mary Magdeline is from.   These were discovered in 2007 under 2 feet of dirt.  This was just opened to the public 2 months ago and they are some of the best preserved ruins.  This the the tile floor of the synagogue and they are 99% certain Jesus taught right here.

King David’s 23rd Psalm – Valley of the Shadow of Death.  The sun never reaches areas of it.  Thieves would hide in the shadows yet travelers wanted to take the trails their to be out of the heat of the sun.

We were fed well.  Buffet breakfast and dinner.  Note:  I was expecting to eat a lot of beans.  I wasn’t sure what we would get to eat.  We had seafood with every meal.  Always hummus and bread.  Stuffed grape leaves with supper.  Always amazing desserts.

Streets of Old Jerusalem

This is also in Old Jerusalem and it is open to air.  It is more modern, yet it is just an open shop and we just walked right by.  We could touch the meat hanging there as we walked along the cobblestone streets.  🙁

More beautiful paintings

In Cana.  We had just finished renewing our wedding vows.  We wore the ear pieces in each church so our guide could speak quietly and we could all hear what was being said.

Delivering coffee and tea to the merchants.

Spices for sale

We spent an hour of prayer at a church here at the Garden of Gethsemane.  It was from 9 to 10 pm.  Like Peter, I could not stay awake.  Some of these olive trees are over 2000 years old.  I imagine they would have been quite young and small when Jesus prayed here.

Jordan river.  People were getting baptized here.  Behind us is a rope with buoys.  The other side of the rope is the country Jordan.  Signs all around stated do NOT cross the rope or you may get shot!  If you look past all that has been added by man, you could just imagine Jesus getting baptized by John among the reeds.

One cannot see these things and remain unchanged.  I think about this trip every day since my return and how it has brought the Bible to life.  One of the greatest things to see was the strength of the Christian faith and the community of believers from every country around the globe.

Much love to you all,

Nancy