This morning when we woke up we headed over to the city of Magdala and we saw all the ancient ruins of the city where they had dug and found ancient artifacts. They had found a stone that was carved into what the exact temple looked like when Jesus was here. The stone itself was also dated back to the time of Jesus. The name of the synagogue that we saw was the Migdal synagogue. We also got to see the ancient ruins of the market place, as well as the pools where they would sell the fish. We looked on and got the see the hill where Jesus told the Sermon on the Mount, know as the Mount of the Beatitudes, Blessed are the poor in spirit etc, also where Jesus performed the miracle of the multitude of loaves of bread and fish. This is also the mount where Jesus healed the leper which would of been a huge sign and miracle at that time. Back in that day no one would ever of touched a leper man or women. With all of the city gathered there around Jesus and with that healing taking place Jesus knew that it would make a huge impact on the people and His fame and popularity grew very much so after this miracle took place. We walked along the Sea of Galilee and dipped our toes in the water and just soaked in the beauty of the sea. We then headed over towards Capharnaum where Jesus performed his first miracle, of turning water into wine. In the city of Capharanaum was the ancient ruins of the house of Peter, and not to far from his house was the synagogue in Capernaum. This is where they would have their debates and teachings and talks as well. We then headed on over to the Jordan River, the river where Jesus was baptized, we did not go to the exact spot, but we did see the river as it was a lot smaller then I would of expected it to be. We walked along what is known as the Jesus trail, which is to be believed as the area he walked along during his time in that area. We were also given a surprise for the day, and that was that we were able to ride on a boat that took us across the Sea of Galilee where we along the way across, danced and listen to music and looked out across the Sea as we got to feel the water breeze and go across just like Jesus did, but a little more modernized. :)
Jan 6th, 2016
Today we went up to the golden heights where there is mainly a lot of battles taking place as they are at war with Lebanon and need to protect their borders. While we were near there they had fired into Lebanon the day before. Also at the Golden Heights were signs that pointed to how far we were from Jerusalem, and Baghdad and Damascus, as well as Tiberias. We were also able to see the active military unit that had fired into Lebanon. We then from there headed up towards Casera of Philippi, and we saw the cave where the people of that time believed that demons dwelt, and the people would go up there to sacrifice virgins to them. We then from there headed on over to St Paul's church, where the apostle Paul had grown up. We also heard a little bit about Lebanon as they have gone from having about 6,000 Christian to only 700, because the terrorist there are either killing them off or driving them out of the land. We went to Shimron which is an archeological site that has not yet been dug up. We drove along the border of Syria and headed to Jerusalem to spend the next 5 nights. I then headed out with a group of guys this night and we walked on down to the wailing wall, and to the dome of the rock. We wrote down some prayers, I specifically wrote down the names of my parents and my brother and a little prayer for them, and stuck it into the wailing wall. We also checked the old outside wall of Jerusalem, where the old city was back in Jesus's day. I had a hard time climbing down it as I thought I was going to get stuck on the side of the old Jerusalem wall. It has been an incredible day and I can not wait to explore Jerusalem, the rest of our time here. This is Jesus's city this is his town and it brings me to tears of joy, and great gratitude, as well as feeling overwhelmed and blessed beyond measure, that I am able to have this amazing opportunity God is soo good. Please keep us in prayers I love you guys. Praise Jesus.
Jan 7th, 2016
This morning we heard from an Israeli negotiator who was there with President Bush and a negotiation between the Palestinians who talked about how the negotiations take place and how the Palestinians made changes to one of the deals and when he read it he acted as though he was fine with it even though he was not. The Palestinians saw that he did this so they were worried they had made a mistake and they took out the changes which is what he originally wanted, he said its a big game between the Israelites and the Palestinians. He said Israel is constantly in a victim mentality always thinking that someone is going to attack them or stab them in the street. They are daily making calculations if going somewhere is worth the risk. He also talked about being with President Kennedy and how he had accepted a deal right away with the Palestinians right away, and when he did so they retracted the deal, because they saw that he was appreciative of it, and they were looking for a disappointing reaction from him. He said that even though he liked the deal that he should of acted like he did not so that the deal would of stayed. He said how Israel is not perfect, but the character of the Israelites is very well written. We went from there and headed up towards the skull of Golgotha where Jesus died, the actual place would of been a little lower from the skull, very near the street so that people could see as they walked by. We also went and saw the tomb that is similar to what the tomb of Jesus may of looked like. From there we headed on towards the Gaza Strip to a little community there that is attacked almost daily with incoming missiles and bombs. We were able to go and see what it was like in some of their bomb shelters. We also saw pieces from motor shells that had landed in the Kabutz which is the name of the area near the Gaza Strip, also shrapnel from a bomb that landed in the same area. The lady mentioned about her sister and how a bomb landed very close to her and how she is very traumatized to this day, and that after the bomb had hit she would not leave out of the shelter for a couple of weeks from the trauma. They showed us a therapy game for kids that have to deal with the bombs that are landing there. Some of the questions are, If a bomb was to hit down on my way to school where would I run to? This is part of their daily life, as they are attacked. The dome of the rock which shoots down missiles that are coming into Israel is too far from this area to shoot them down in time before they land. A siren will go off when a bomb is coming in and from the time the siren goes off to the time the bomb hits they have 10-15 seconds to get to a shelter near by. Since the time she has been there she has said they only lost one of the people that lived with them. We then headed out towards the police station, where we saw bombs that had landed in the city we were able to as well hold them and feel what they were like. We came across some active IDF solders as I told them I am praying for them and appreciate what they do for the country of Israel. Which is a very peaceful nation. As I had mentioned we saw the are of where Jesus died, we were able to take communion at the spot where he resurrected. When a bomb is coming into the Kabuts area near Gaza Strip there is an alarm that will go off in a female voice saying red code over and over again from the time that they hear this like I said they have 10-15 seconds to gather children that can't help themselves and also get themselves to safety, and sometimes they don't make it to a shelter, but get lucky that a bomb did not land near them. Like I mentioned about the game for the kids one of the questions is, What should you do when there is a red code alert? She said that the enemy had also dug tunnels to go underneath the fence to try and kidnap them and send in suicide bombers. This is there reality for those that live near the Gaza Strip, please be praying for Israel they are very peaceful as a people and a nation, they just have a lot of enemies that do not like them at all.
Jan 8th, 2016
This morning we heard from a Palestianian journalist talked about the peace processes and how there not working and lack and absence of education of Israel on the Palestinian side and lack of leadership to make conditions with Israel. Yesha Odifat was bribed by the US and other governments. There was an off record meeting at Camp David. Yesha was offered 97% of what Yesha was asking for and also asked to end the conflict between Arabs and Israel, but he did not accept it because it was not 100% of what he was asking for he would of been killed in his homeland. He spoke with John Kerry and his staff, Arab leaders only have a deal to make peace with Israel if they get 100% of what they ask for. The Palestinian government has radicalized there people so much against Israel that if anyone says that they should make peace with Israel and even give them 1% of a deal they will be shot and killed. The Palestinian government has poisoned the minds of the people against Israel with saying they will never take a deal with Israel, unless they get 100% of what they ask for, and this has caused a problem with the Arab community where they will start killing each other if they can not kill a Jew. Last night four people were killed who tried to kill Jews. The Arab leaders are lying to their people saying the Jews are trying to take your mosque, so you must go out and kill them to protect what is yours. Their president is telling them that if they do this they will go to heaven. He said if the Palestinians do not change the way they view things which has been grounded into their head, no peace deal will ever take place. There are 1.5 million Arabs living in Israel with Israeli citizenship. He has said that as a journalist they have committed a big crime against Israel, because the international media is telling lies. There is a perception in the media that if you write against Israel you will be liked, and possibly promoted. International media will hold Israel responsible no mater what, because of the hate stirred up by the Palestinian government. Israel is the only country in the world that gives aide to Gaza, even though Israel left Gaza. He said,"it is time for the people in the Arab world to stop putting the blame on Israel, and assume responsibility for their actions. Also a lot of Arabs will go to Israel for aide. Now onto the fun stuff, today we saw the Damascus Gate, as well as the Mount of Olives where Jesus was right before he was arrested. We then headed on over to the Old City of David, and saw the Mosque which is the 3rd holy place for Muslims. We then looked out over an area where in Ezekiel talks about the Valley of the Dry Bones, (one of my favorite chapters) which was the valley we were seeing. We also looked up from there to where we saw the hill, as a church is built there where they believe Jesus ascended into heaven, after the 30 days of his resurrection. From there we went to see King David's Palace as we saw all around the inside and the outside of the structure. After that we headed down to Hezekiah's tunnel that has a natural springs water system. We saw the Canaanite Pool that was in Hezekiah's tunnel where they believe King Solomon was anointed. During our view of the Temple after King David's Palace, the Muslims were doing their time of prayer over the loud speaker so we were not able to go near there, because if we did our guide said that they wold start throwing rocks and it would be possible they could attack. We were then able to see the place where Jesus had flipped the money changers and whipped out the people selling the animals outside of the temple. We were also able to view the Dome of the Rock which is pretty amazing. We went from there to Mt Zion Gate, and headed down to the room where the last supper was held. After this we took a little break and went to what is known as the Shabbot, which our leader said we would experience the Shabbot of a lifetime. As we went to the Wailing Wall I noticed as there were many Jewish people as they were jumping around and dancing on the inside of the wailing wall. They would pray loudly, and dancing, but as I looked on I noticed that a lot of them were so close yet so far, because the Jews do not recognize that Jesus is their Messiah that has already come and they are still waiting for him to come one day. Afterwards we enjoyed an amazing meal with a Jewish family for the Shabbot ceremonial dinner and their family was amazing. PS In the city of Jerusalem, Israel has a tribute to Sept 11, 2001 when the 9/11 attacks took place, and they are the only country outside of the U.S. to have a tribute. We also saw that spot where the Romans and taken stones and thrown them off the temple which showed what Jesus prophesied about about one stone not being left on another came true.
Jan 9th, 2016
Today we started off with visiting the Israeli Museum which was a smaller version of the temple itself and all of that area. We then headed unto the Mount of Olives as we overlooked the city, this was the place where Jesus wept as he himself was overlooking the city, and just seeing how much they were lost. This is also where they believe Jesus will return in his second coming and the grave site that is in front of the mount of olives, is a Jewish gravesite, as they want to be as close as possible to where Jesus will return, as those who are in Christ are resurrected. We then headed over the the Garden of Gethsemane where Judas came and betrayed Jesus with a kiss. From there we walked down the road called Via Dolorosa where Jesus had to carry the cross to his death. We also were able to see the area where Jesus was whipped with 39 lashings before his crucifixion. As we were walking along the Dolorosa we saw the place where Jesus fell while carrying the cross, and the place where he had placed his hand along side the wall to hold himself up. We also stopped at the place where Jesus fell and the women came with the robe and wiped the blood off of Jesus's face. After walking down the Dolorosa we were given sometime to ourselves to go out and explore, so I went out with three other guys, and me and one other named Lucas started sharing the gospel with some Muslims as well as the Jewish people. We went to the Muslim Corner as I started talking with a Muslim, and we were sharing the gospel with him and how Jesus was going to return one day. We got into a crazy conversation which led to me sharing with him how the Jews were God's chosen people and how Jesus is the Messiah who is going to come back one day. (It's crazy how bold you can become when you are in the place where Jesus was.) While we were talking with him just boldness came over me and it felt like the holy spirit just took over. It led into me telling him that Muhammed was a false prophet, and this made him really upset to say the least. He told me "you don't say that" and got pretty hostile towards me. We then left and went down into the Western Wall, and there we shared with the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah that was promised to come. We tried to share with them a little bit of the New Testament and the older ones were not interested at all, but the younger men were, but the older guys kept us from sharing with the younger. They told us that they were not interested and that it was against the law to do missionary work in Israel. (which by the way is not true). So we kept on sharing with one guy who seemed really interested in what we had to say. The older Jews started gathering around Lucas and I and they forced us out of the temple, just how they did not believe Jesus himself when he was here and he at times slipped away from the crowed we had to do the same thing. We try to share with the Jewish people a chapter from Isaiah in the Old Testament ch 53 that talks about the coming of the Messiah, and then we take them to the New Testament where the prophecy was fulfilled. Since we have been here some of them have been interested and go and check it out for themselves while others, as you had read kick us out of the Western Wall. After this we then finished the day with hearing from a Rabbi named Bennie Lau, this was a very interesting time as it was my first time hearing a message from a Rabbi.
Jan 10th 2015
Today was not as crazy and some of the pass other days, but overall still amazing. We headed down towards the Dead Sea, and it was one of the most incredible things I have ever done. With the Dead Sea the location that it is in it contains more oxygen then other areas. With this it creates an extra natural ozone layer, so while you are there you do not need to wear any sunscreen. It has a natural protection, and it will also naturally cure some skin diseases. The Dead Sea contains nearly 34% salt and because of that you just float in the water without ever trying. From there we headed to a waterfall near the dead sea, which was in a place called En Gedi, which is to be believed where David came as he was running away from Saul for his life, it was up high and in a beautiful area as we were able to drink the water from the fall. Afterwards we headed over to the Masada National Park, and the view from up top was amazing as it was overlooking the Dead Sea. Masada is the place where it is believed King Herod spent his time in the winter, which is known as his winter palace. We also were able to from the top of Masda able to look out where Abraham and Lot divided the land. We saw the place over looking Sodom. Which back then use to be green and full of life, and now is just a desert and dry, while the area where Abraham got and of course wherever his feet traded was given to him it is still beautiful to this day. The Dead Sea every year gets smaller and smaller and one day there may not be a Dead Sea. While we were up there on Masada a mountain goat which here is known as an Ibex came up to where the shops were and I was able to get really close to it in less then an arms length, and it was pretty amazing. Tomorrow we are heading out from Jerusalem, it has been such an amazing time here in Israel I am not looking forward to leaving this place and going back to Chicago, even though I love it there. Israel is so beautiful and is God's Holy Land who wouldn't want to be here. One interesting fact the Dead Sea is the lowest place on the earth.
Jan 11th 2015
Today we visited the Holocaust Museum here in Israel. We saw tools and different garments and stickers that the Nazis used to identify Jewish people. One thing that was interesting learning about how some of the women would survive going from one ghetto to the next, is that they would put on lipstick to make themselves look healthier and stronger then they were. We also went from there and visited the Israeli Parliament, and we got to hear from a representative of Israel. A quote that he said is "if you don't find anything worth dying for then what is worth the living?" Pretty amazing even though we messed up in our sin all the time and I have as well messed up many times in my sin even on this trip. We still need to find something worth dying for. so that our lives are worth living. The name that I have found is worth dying for is Jesus.