Next we went to Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in these caves...
This is a Mikveh, which was a pool used for ritual purification. Here the Essene Community separated themselves from the world. They called themselves the Children of Light and the religious leaders of their day they called the Children of Darkness...
The Dead Sea was our next stop. It is 28% salt and it is impossible to sink. Steven is floating here...
Joan and I are the two people near the middle (I'm waving to you)
Here along the banks of the Jordan River we renewed our vows of Baptism. There was a young man sitting near us as we read through our vows (Cindy shared her copy with him). He had traveled to this place to be baptized by immersion. The problem was, his taxi driver was a Muslim and he didn't have a Pastor with him. God had that all worked out even though we were unaware of it before we came. The young man asked one of the Pastors in our tour group, David Parker, to baptize him, which he did. It was a definitely a God moment!!
The Jordan River wasn't deep and wide today, but to stand in the spot where Jesus was baptized by John, near the same area where the waters parted for Elijah before he was carried to heaven in a chariot of fire and also for Joshua and the Children of Israel to cross on dry ground when they entered the Promised Land... well, we took off our shoes - we were standing on Holy Ground!!
Our final stop of the day was Jericho, the oldest city in the world. This tower and other excavations dated back 10,000 years.
Joan and I were blessed to walk where Jesus walked when he called Zacchaeus to come down from the tree... and to marvel at the events that took place when Joshua marched around this ancient city and the walls came tumbling down.
Tomorrow we are leaving Bethlehem and headed for the Galilee area.
We left early this morning and headed through the Judean wilderness to Herod the Great's fortress of Masada.
Sunrise over Bethlehem
Judean Wilderness
Passing the Sea Level sign - the Dead sea is 1300 feet below. We started in Bethlehem which was over 2000 feet above sea level. Half finished bottles of water were squeezed together from the pressure drop.
The fortress of Masada was situated on top of the flat top of the mountain.
Ruins at Masada
Pastor Steven
Joan, Nancy and Howard
Me (Aden)
George and Cindy
After breakfast...
we headed to Herodium, which was a palace fortress built by Herod the Great south of Jerusalem...
we entered the tunnels and water cisterns and hiked up many steps to the top!!
Then we headed to the shepherd's field in Bethlehem
Cindy did our devotion...
Next was shopping and lunch in Bethlehem...
Then off to the Church of the Nativity...
to see the birthplace of our Lord...
and the place where they laid him in a manger.
Joan and I finished the evening with a walk, then a gathering time with our group to go over the highlights of the day and dinner... here are some beautiful flowers just outside our hotel...
It was a great day, but now it's time to stop and take a rest!
We arrived safely after a 5 hour drive to Newark (and getting lost... don't ask). And a 10 hour flight to Tel Aviv at 730 mph, altitude of 39,000 feet, -70 degrees outside plane, and 5,900 miles. We are now at the Angel Hotel near Bethlehem.
Our group from Warriors Mark
All nine of us from PA
Our meal at the hotel and our entire group of 16
All The Bags Are Packed! We Are Leaving Soon...
It's Sunday evening and I should be packing! But I need to make some final arrangements for the Gideon speaker that will speak while I am gone... It's Sunday evening and I should be packing! But there's a person in the hospital I need to visit before we go... It's Sunday evening, God's work will be accomplished, there will be time for packing... hey Joan, have you seen that shirt I like to wear...
That 10 1/2 hour flight is looking good right now. At that point, whatever I packed or forgot to pack won't matter, we will be on our way!!
We received our final travel packet in the mail yesterday.
Just reading through the information brought such great joy to my heart! Every time we enter the Holy Land it's like stepping into the pages of the Bible. It's a form of time travel. You are instantly transported to a place that you have read, imagined, and wondered about, but you suddenly experience... And you find that it is more than what you could read, greater than all you could imagine and the wonderment is overwhelming.
Sunset on the Mediterranean at Caesarea through Herod's Aqueduct.
