Israel 2019

This morning we woke up early to see the sunrise. It was the first day without cloud cover while in the Galilee. We had the perfect spot to watch the sunrise from ... the deck outside our room. After breakfast we started driving down the West Bank toward the Dead Sea. The road is safe and there was one checkpoint with two young Israeli girls with machine guns casually slung over their shoulders. They couldn't be more than 18 years old. It is mandatory for every Jewish Israeli to serve in the military - girls for 2 years and boys for 3. They serve in the military between high school and college so most soldiers look like kids. We hadn't planned to stop in Jericho but we pass right by it on the map so I decided we would take a detour and stop. We have never been because it is not safe for large tours to go but I heard it was okay for smaller groups. We turned off the highway and immediately saw the sign below. Traveling a little further didn't make us any more comforta...

Yesterday we began our day visiting the Mount of Beatitudes. It was the one place along the Galilee that we hadn't been to. If it wasn't for all the tourists it may have been easy to picture Yeshua preaching to the multitudes on the hillside. We then traveled all the way up to Dan (the furthest most part of Israel) to the Mount Hermon Nature Preserve. I was driving north on 90, missed our exit, and I was glad the road ended ... otherwise we would have been in Lebanon. This nature preserve has ancient ruins of the temple of pan and beautiful hiking trails. The area is lush and green. Unfortunately, it is also surrounded by land mines left by the Syrians when they controlled the Golan Heights. There are areas sectioned off by barbed wire warning you not to enter. This water is the source of most water in Israel - leading down to the Galilee and in to the Jordan. Mt Hermon Springs

Although it's still overcast the sun was shining bright this morning as we ate breakfast on our deck. Ann made a friend, named him Wiggles, but we told her that she couldn't take him home! Yesterday we spent the day driving around the Sea of Galilee exploring the places where Yeshua walked. Our first stop was Magdela, the home of Mary Magdeline. Did you know that you cannot build before the department of antiquities checks first to make sure you aren't building on top of something significant. Well, the Catholic Church had plans to build a retreat on the Sea and found a first century synagogue and town. The retreat is being built around the ancient town. the site of the synagogue where Yeshua taught a menorah on the Magdela stone It was amazing to see the difference 6 years made. When we visited 6 years ago Magdela had just been discovered and wasn't even open to the public but Ari, our guide, got us in anyway. There was nothing but the uncovered sy...

It's 8:30am (just after midnight in Coloado) and I am sitting on our deck drinking coffee, overlooking the Sea of Galilee. It is overcast but not raining (yet). Forecast says 100% rain for most of the day but a rainy day in Israel is better than most days anywhere else. Yesterday was rainy and foggy most of the day. We started our day with a beautiful breakfast on the deck, despite the chill and rain. We drove north to the Golan Heights Winery for a tour and wine tasting. They are one of the larger wineries in Israel and grow many varieties of wine with the varied temperatures along the Golan Heights. Most of their wines are "new" wines which take a short time to ready and should be consumed within a few years. Other wines are stored in oak barrels from France for several months to a year or two. We then drove to Tzvat which is a city steeped in the history and mysticism of the Jewish people. Tzvat is one of Judaism's four Holy Cities (the other ...

The street traffic this morning was almost non-existent as we left Tel Aviv early this Shabbat morning. We drove up the Mediterranean coast past Ceasarea in to the port of Haifa. We stopped briefly to show Ann the Bahai Gardens which are beautifully terraced gardens up the hillside. The reason why we drove through Haifa was to go to Tents of Mercy, a Messianic Jewish congregation started by Eitan Shishkoff. Eitan has spoken at Rocky Mountain Church and wrote the book, "What About Us?" which explains the purpose of the Gentiles as it relates to the Jews and Israel's restoration. Click here to read more about his book. It was a treat to see Dan Juster who was the guest speaker. He spoke about the Jewish roots of communion and then we all shared communion together. We also saw Eitan and AviShalom. wonderful worship Dan Juster who preached in English with a Hebrew translator Ann - Alison - AviShalom - Steve We drove up to Akko which is a crusader city but ...