Israel March 16-20, 2015

After an overnight flight we arrived in Tel Aviv just about an hour behind schedule.  We were traveling with Viking Cruises going on a cruise down the Nile River in Egypt with a before excursion to Israel for 4 days.  Gordon Tours in Israel was our contact and our tour guide was Nachum Yardeni. I would highly recommend both Gordon Tours and Nachum Yardeni if you want to tour Israel without a church group.  Nachum was able to get us in back doors, in front of lines, etc.  Also added on the Dead Sea and Masada which wasn't even in our schedule.  Nachum was so knowledgeable about the history of Jerusalem.  Also when our flight to Egypt was canceled Gordon tours stepped up and held our hands through getting us a new flight, hotel etc.

We stayed at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.  It was a 5 star hotel and I would highly recommend it.  All the restaurants inside the hotel have great food as well.  After our plane to Egypt was canceled the airline put us up in a hotel (forgot the name)  It was on the beach in Tel Aviv.  The bus driver got lost and we saw a part of Tel Aviv maybe they don't want people to see.  It was dirty and poor.

View from our room at our hotel in Tel Aviv

Our first day out we went to Mt. Scopus and Mt. of Olives and saw magnificent views of Jerusalem.  What a beautiful city!  I don't know why but I imagined it desert like, but it was green and hilly.

We went to see the Garden of Gethsemane which had the most awesome ancient olive trees.  We also went to the Church of Peter in Gallivant and the Upper Room where Jesus had the last supper.  The Upper Room is probably the correct location but the inside has been updated and not at all original.  We had a little fun watching our guide argue with another person who was trying to block him from parking because she as saving the spot.  (lol).

View of Temple Mount and Old City

View of City of David

Close up of Temple Mount

Garden of Gethsemane

Upper Room (no point in showing the inside)

We also went to Bethlehem which was in Palestine control and Nachum as an Israel citizen was not allowed into Bethlehem by Israel law.  So we had to switch tour guides for that portion.  The Palestinian tour guides were not so great.  We had lunch in Bethlehem, visited the Church of the Nativity which was all gaudied up.  They have some ridiculous set up where they believe Jesus was born.  (Picture below).  I highly doubt if they know the exact spot he was born.  All sorts of people going in and kissing the ground etc.  I love my Lord and wouldn't it be nice if we really knew the exact spot he was born in, but I doubt this is it, and if it is, they really jacked it up.  

Here it is - the spot Jesus was born at?

The next day we went to David's Tower which is an ancient citadel on the old city wall, we walked the Via Delorosa which is supposedly the path that Jesus walked with his cross to the place where he was crucified.  

There are two separate locations that he could have been crucified and buried.  The Church of the Holy Sepulcher houses what is most notably the place where Jesus was crucified and buried.  Again it is so gaudied up that it is hard to believe it is the actual place.  We also went to a second possible site (which to me appears more likely).  The mountain looks like a skull (which in the last month with rains and erosion, the bridge of the nose has collapsed).  It is believe he was crucified under the skull on the street below.  Near the mountain is an old tomb where it is believed Jesus was laid and risen.  I won't get into to the stories both locations claim as their reasons for believing they have the right location, but I will say that the place of the skull and its tomb seem so much more likely.  Again we have no way of actually ever knowing this for sure.  

We had falafel for lunch which was great.  We went to the Western Wall (wailing wall).  The jewish tradition has females on one side and male on the other.  They stuff prayers in the wall and believe it to be a holy site.  The Temple Mount is right above it with the Muslim Mosque on top.  We had to go thorough check points to get into the area.  There was no required dress unless you are of the Jewish religion.  

We walked through the old city and all four quarters (Armenian, Arabic, Christian and Jewish).  The roads are filled with shops.  If you go off the beaten path you will find that inside the old city there are actual neighborhoods where people live.  I will make note that a lot of people smoke.  Coming from a country that is trying to do away with smoking in public places, it was very noticeable.  I loved the old city just walking around realizing how very old it really is.  

Streets of the old city

Western (Wailing) wall

Via Delorosa

Place of the Skull

Jesus' Tomb

Entrance to the tomb at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

We then went to the Israel Museum where the Dead Sea Scrolls and Shrine of the Book were displayed.  No pictures were allowed but it was very interesting.  

The next day our wonderful guide, Nachum, took us to Masada and the Dead Sea.  So glad that these were added.  Masada is this ancient stronghold city on a hill build by Herod.  It was amazing the abilities of men so long ago to build a huge city on a hill so high about the land.  It had cisterns for water that could last for years, a courtyard for growing vegetables etc., plaster facades that looked like stone and were painted with brilliant colors.  The story goes that the Romans surrounded it on every side and build a ramp to reach it and everyone committed suicide rather than being captured by the Romans. There are still ruins of the Roman military camps.  You can walk up and/or down to Masada or take the arial tram.  You have to have a good amount of time to walk it.  We then headed to the Dead Sea where we took a quick float.  

Nachum our guide

View of the Dead Sea from Masada

Us on top of Masada

Us floating in the Dead Sea

Some kids mudding up with the Dead Sea mud

which is supposed to be very good for your skin

Another view from Masada

We loved our trip to Israel and we definitely have to go back to visit Galilee and so much more of Israel.  I would love to go on a Holy Land trip with our church so we could get some good preaching and teaching from the Bible at the same time.  Next our trip to Egypt.  It may take me a while, I have to edit my photos.  

LEAVING TO ISRAEL AND EYGPT

Hello Everyone!  It has been a while since I posted.  Once we got to Spain my iPad would not let me post anymore and I never got back to it.  Well we are soon on our way to Israel and Egypt.  We will be cruising down the Nile River and cruising around Lake Nasser.  We are getting excited.  I keep a journal, take pictures and post my blogs when we return.  I am so excited to see where my Lord as actually walked!

Centro Superior de Teologia in La Carlota, Spain

We left the Camino de Santiago early and arrived here at CSTAD (Centre Superior de Teologia) early on April 16, 2013. This is a college of theology of the Assemblies of God.

La Carlota is a small town outside of Córdoba, Spain. We are set to help with remodeling of CSTAD. Presently we are awaiting permits, but are moving things out to storage bins while we wait in confidence that God will bring the permits, money and workers through.

We have had the pleasure of meeting these fine students and staff here. The students are so hungry for God and most come here on a shoestring budget and trust God to provide the finances. The school has been running in the red or a decade and survives only by the grace of God.   There are only 3 paid staff and the rest volunteer. All the teachers volunteer there time. Hardly any of the students have the finances to pay for their education. Spanish government provides some with scholorships. It has been great to hear some of the students testimonies and the extreme difficulies they overcame through miracles of God to get to this place.

We had the awome opportunity to share our testimony at Chapel hour. I wondered if it would be beneficial for any of the students, but for several days afterward we were approached by students who told us how it applied to their lives. So glad our story could be a benefit to some.

The students here care so much for everyone and we feel like family here already. I wish I could help each student with their financial needs. $4000 euros a year gets you room and board and meals. The cook here is fantastic. So much better than camino meals!

We are blessed to be a part of this. I wish we could do more.

BARCELONA

Well after the nightmare of getting to Barcelona (i.e. delayed, diverted and missed flights, lost luggage etc) we had a great couple of days. We stayed at a cute little bed & breakfast in the old town called Casa del Born. Pablo and Anna spoke great English and gave us all the info of what to see or avoid. It was like visiting relative. I would highly recommend staying with them if you ever go to Barcelona.   We loved the food and the people were very nice. We never felt scared or fearful.

In Barcelona the work day starts at 9 and EVERYONE takes a "siesta" between 1-4 even the school kids. If Anna had not told us this we would had thought something special was going on because EVERYONE comes out of their offices at the same time and it looks like some parade or something. Anyway they then go back to work until 9 or 10 p.m.  So people are eating and shopping until 1 pr two in the morning.   The place is constantly alive. There are so many places to eat that there are no lines or waiting. They have daily menus "menu dia" which consists of 3 courses for average of 12 euros. All day and night they have tapas (very small dishes) to snack on. It was really fantastic.  The food was excellent.

The architecture of course is marvelous. Most the buildings are ancient and have such character. Lots of building by Gaudi some famous architect who had an interesting sense of style.  I saw no single family homes. All apartments. The wonderful buildings are made with tall windows that open to the air and light and most have little patios. Much character. The city has main streets that surround little squares I guess you might call them that have walking only streets so you can walk all around the shops etc with no cars. Its great. Old world style.

WhAt i found amazing was how clean it was foe how many people live there and are up all night. Virtually no trash. Lots of graffiti but only on the metal delivery doors but never on the old ancient stone building.

Here are a few pictures to enjoy. Couldn't up load too many.

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LEAVING TOMORROW!

We will be on our way to Spain tomorrow!  So excited!  We will fly into Barcelona, Spain and stay at a small bed and breakfast called El Balco'n del Born for three nights then take a train to St. Jean Pied de Port.  Counting the hours.

NOTICE EVERYONE!

We are in full speed getting read to leave for Spain to do our Camino and work on a MAPS project.  From now until we finish our Camino part of our trip (approximately May 1) I will be posting mostly on my camino blog (see link).  So if you want to keep up, check it out.  I have a separate camino blog because lots of future pilgrims may use it to get useful info for their caminos, as I did from pilgrims that went before me, and I'm sure they don't want to shuffle through all my other posts that have nothing to do with the camino.

We have our Euros and Passport and everything in between.
We are ready!

TIME TO GIVE UP MOLLY!

We are on our way to Colorado to drop Molly off with our daughter, Alisa.  Molly is 13 years old and hope she can handle us being gone for 3 months while she stays with two big dogs and two little kids.  Yikes!

 We are pretty much ready to go.  We have our euros, our passport, our maps, our reservations, plane tickets, train tickets.  And of course our Bible!  The map below shows the route we are taking.  Starting on the right and walking left (east to west).  St. Jean Pied de Port, France to Santiago, Spain.  Almost time!