Walking Where Jesus Walked

At 7:30am, we loaded the bus and headed towards the Temple Mount (Dome of the Rock): Holy to both Muslims and Jews, the Temple Mount is the most remarkable well-known symbol of Jerusalem and the most controversial too. For Jews it is the ancient Mount Moriah, where Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac, and where the First and Second Temples were built. For Muslims it is their third holiest shrine, said to be the site from where Muhammad ascended to heaven. Visible from almost anywhere around the Old City, the Temple Mount is a wide area with the Dome of the Rock in its center and the El-Aqsa Mosque at its southern edge.

Next we walked down to the Western Wall Tunnel. The underground tunnel starting at the north-west of the prayer plaza passes close to the part of the Western Wall that is hidden by the buildings. It goes through a system of vaulted areas and water cisterns. In a tunnel the largest stones of the Wall were found, including a giant stone weighing approximately 400 tons.

From there, we walked The Via Dolorosa. The Via Dolorosa is also called the way of the cross. This is the tradition path that Christ took before and leading to the crucifixion. We ended our walk on the Via Dolorosa at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is located in the ancient city of Jerusalem. As large as a football field, the church was originally built in the 4th century AD to cover the locations of Christ’s crucifixion and His burial.

Finally, we visited the Western (Wailing) Wall. The Western wall is a remnant of Herod's grand temple, and is the holiest site for Jews. It attracts thousands of Jewish worshippers daily, who come to pray and lay out their problems and seek for heavenly guidance. They feel the presence of God's spirit, who according to their belief resides for thousands of years in the holy temple.

Today was a long day of walking and wonderful sites. We are all looking forward to our day off tomorrow. This day will be spent visiting sites on our own, walking through Jerusalem, and of course shopping! Hope you have been having fun following our journeys. We all look forward to sharing stories with you personally! Shalom!

Jerusalem...Jerusalem

Early this morning, we woke up to our first day in Jerusalem. We started the day by going to the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives is located on the east of Jerusalem, Israel. The mountain is named after the olive trees that used to cover its slopes. Mount Olives is holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims, and many religious traditions are tied to it. This mount is associated with some of the most important events in the life of Christ. Here, Christ ascended to heaven, foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, and taught his disciples The Lord’s Prayer.

Then we walked down the Palm Sunday Road to the Garden of Gethsemane. The Garden of Gethsemane is at the foot of the Mount of Olives, within the walled grounds of the Church of all Nations (also known as the Church of the Agony). It’s a peaceful garden among a grove of ancient olive trees, looking back at the eastern wall of the City of Jerusalem. The Garden of Gethsemane is where Jesus prayed the night of his betrayal and arrest (Mark 14:32-50). According to the record in Luke, Christ’s despair in Gethsemane was so deep that he sweat drops of blood (Luke 22:43-44).

From there, we ventured to the Pools of Bethesda. At the time of Christ, the Pools of Bethesda were thought to be imbued with the power of healing, attributed to the troubling of the water by an angel (John 5:4). It was here that the Christ healed a 38 year old paralyzed man. At the same located, we visited the Church of St. Anne. This is the traditional location of the mother of Mary.

Finally, we traveled to the Palestinian Occupied Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity. The Church of the Nativity is the oldest church in the Holy Land still in use, commemorating the birthplace of Jesus Christ. We have had another great day of site seeing and wonderful experiences not to mention a little shopping too. Stayed tuned for more, leave comments and ask questions. Shalom!

Internet Problems...Thursday and Friday

Thursday, April 3, today we went to a beautiful nature reserve with gorgeous trails leading through dense forest, streams and the Chatzbani River (one of the tributaries of the Jordan River). This is the site where the tribe of Dan once lived. This area was the northernmost dwelling place of the Jews, as we find many a time "from Dan to Be'er Shevah"- Dan was the northernmost point while Be'er Sheva was the southernmost point.

Next we headed to Caesarea Philippi. This city was built by Herod's son Philip on a large plateau at the foot of Mount Hermon where the headwaters of the Jordan River emerge from a grotto. From ancient times the place was the site of worship of pagan nature gods, first Baal & then Pan. In Matthew 16:13-19 it states “When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi …He said to …Simon Peter … you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church …”

Friday, April 4, we started our journeys by going to Tabgha (Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes). Tabgha is the traditional site of the Miracle of the Multiplication of the Loaves and the Fishes (Matthew 14: 13-21). It is situated in a narrow, fertile valley on the northern shore of the lake, watered by several springs.

We then went off to Capernaum. The site is a ruin today, but was inhabited from 150 BC to about AD 750. The town is mentioned in the New Testament: in the Gospel of Luke it was reported to have been the home of the apostles Peter, Andrew, James and John. In Matthew 4:13 the town was reported to have been the home of Jesus himself. According to Luke, Jesus taught in the synagogue in Capernaum, and a building which may have been a synagogue of that period has been found beneath the remains of a later synagogue.

We ended our day with a stop at the Jordan River. After that we loaded the bus for a 2 hour ride to Jerusalem. Past the Bedouin villages, across the desert, and finally through a tunnel we entered the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem, Jerusalem…we are here at last. Tomorrow we head into the Old City for a day a walking and touring sites new and old. Sorry about not having a blog last night (the internet was down at the Kibbutz). Take care. Shabbat Shalom.

Sailing on the Sea

What a beautiful day. We started our day in Nazareth. According to Luke, Nazareth was the home of Joseph and Mary and the site of the Annunciation (Church of the Annunciation), when Mary was told by the Angel Gabriel that she would have Jesus as her son. Nazareth is also where Jesus grew up from some point in his childhood after returning to Israel from Egypt until his public ministry began at age 30 (Mt 1:18-2:23).

Next we headed to the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee, known to Israelis as Lake Kinneret, is only 13 miles by 7 miles, but is one of the most well-known bodies of water in the world. It was on these beautiful shores that Jesus delivered sermons and performed miracles. Many famous sites are located around the lake, including Capernaum, home to at least five of the twelve disciples. The Church of the Beatitudes is said to be where the Sermon of the Mount was preached and Tabgha, believed to be the site where Jesus fed 5,000 followers from five loaves of bread and two fish, is marked by The Church of Multiplication. The nearby lakeside town of Migdal is the hometown of Mary Magdalene.

While at the Sea, we visited the museum at which the Galilee Boat (Jesus Boat) is located. In 1986, an ancient boat was pulled from the mud along the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was a unique and exciting find that gives us an idea of the sort of boat used during the time of Jesus. The Galilee Boat is apparently the type of boat that was used on the Sea of Galilee for both fishing and transportation across the lake. It is likely that this sort of boat was used by Jesus and his disciples, many of whom were fishermen. Boats played a large role in Jesus life and ministry; they are mentioned 50 times in the Gospels!

After leaving the museum and shopping at a wonderful gift shop, we loaded the bus and made our way to the Mount of the Beatitudes. This area is famous for being the site wherein Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount, the Mount of Beatitudes in located in Israel's northern region, adjacent to the Hebrew town of Ginosar and in close proximity to the Sea of Galilee (Kineret in Hebrew).

Tonight and tomorrow night, we will be staying at Kfar Giladi (a Kibbutz). Kfar Giladi has wonderful views of the snow-capped Mt. Hermon, the Golan Heights, and the Hulah valley. Tomorrow we head out for another fun-filled day. Hope you are enjoying following us because we are enjoying sharing our experience with you! Keep posting. Shalom.

From the Mediterranean to Mt. Carmel

Netanya: After a good nights sleep, the morning started off with a walk on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The skies where so clear that one could see for miles in both directions. The smell of the sea air and the feeling of sand on your feet made the experience complete. We then said goodbye to Netanya and starting on our next leg of our journey to Caesarea.

Herod's great city of Caesarea: Caesarea is an important site in Christian history. It was the place where Pontius Pilate governed during the time of Jesus. This was where Simon Peter converted the Roman, Cornelius, the first non-Jew to believe in Jesus. Paul was also imprisoned for two years in Caesarea. During the 3rd century, Caesarea was a center of Christian learning. In the 4th century, the site converted to Christianity and became a major center of the Christian Roman Empire. After a walk around this beautiful and powerful site, we then loaded the bus and where whisked off to Megiddo.

Megiddo: Megiddo or Tel Megiddo, an ancient fortified city, is one of the most famous battlegrounds in the world. Historians believe that more battles were fought at this location than anywhere else on earth. Armageddon, the mount of Megiddo, according to the New Testament book of Revelation, is once again to host one of the world's major armies in a immense conflict between East and West (Revelation 16:16). Our final stop of the day took us to the Galilee and Mt. Carmel.

Mt. Carmel: In mainstream Jewish and Christian thought, it is Elijah that is indelibly associated with the Mt. Carmel, and he is regarded as having sometimes resided in a grotto on the mountain. In the Books of Kings, Elijah is described as challenging 450 prophets of a particular Baal to a contest at the altar on Mt. Carmel to determine whose deity was genuinely in control of the Kingdom of Israel.

According to the biblical account, the challenge was to persuade a deity, light a sacrifice by fire, and after the others had failed to achieve this, Elijah poured water on his sacrifice, prostrated himself in prayer, and the fire fell from the sky, and consumed the sacrifice; shortly afterwards, in the account, clouds gather, the sky turns black, and it rains heavily.

What a great day of traveling. We look forward to many more like this one. Thanks for your comments; especially thanks for the birthday wishes. To the Ocker family, Donny, Ryan and David and the rest of the family, Mom and Dad (Grandpa and Dee) say hello, are safe, and are having a great time. Please continue to follow us as we travel, ask questions, keep us up to date on Chambersburg news, and comment! Shalom.

We have arrived safely!

We arrived in Netanya! The weather is wonderful and the Mediterranean is just beautiful. To sum up our first day...very long with not much sleep. Tomorrow we start touring around and the posts will be much more interesting. But for now...we are here, we are safe and we are tired. Till tomorrow!

3:51am....9:51 here in Austria

The first part of our journey is over. We have made it safely to Austria. We are sitting here in the airport waiting for our next flight; we board at 10:40am. This post is just to say "hello" and to let everyone know that we are fine....but tired. We arrive in Tel Aviv, Israel at 3:05pm. At that point, I will give you full details of our journeys. So far so good. Talk to you soon!

Leaving in a week

Hello! It's that time of the year when a small group of us will be traveling to the Holyland. Though traveling in small numbers, we hope that you will journey along with us. This first post is to help you become comfortable with blogging. Through this blog, you will be able to track our journey, experience what we experience, and keep in touch with us when we are half way around the world.

So practice and leave some messages. Do this before we leave (Sunday, March 30,2008) so if you do have any questions, you can ask. Have fun...and see you in Israel!