Trip to Israel -2016

   This blog is mostly about pictures, but sometimes we need words to describe things. I just returned from a trip to Israel.  So many wonderful friends were made as we attended a Retreat for Int’l Women in Service. Learning about different backgrounds and ways of ministering.  Seeing God work and heal and encourage so many. And on top of it all, we were able to see the land of the Bible.
  There is so much history in that land. We walked on/through places that date back thousands of years. We saw archeological finds that prove time and time again the validity of Scripture.  We observed so many cultures in that international city of Jerusalem. So many religions and belief systems – or lack thereof.  So little hope in so many who follow rules and regulations and the idolatry of their traditions. So many places that we have heard of in Scripture but now are idolized and hypocritical. Other places are still preserved for the telling. Other places are buried under centuries of war and ruin and rebuilding.  I wish I could remember all the things that guides would tell us about people and places, but the facts were overwhelming.
  In the end we walked where so many walked, we saw many places mentioned in the Word. There were so many more places that we didn’t have time to see either. But I do know that I will never read the Bible from the same viewpoint again.  So enjoy a sample of our pictures, but if you get the chance, go see for yourself.
           
                    The Jordan River                                                                              Boat Ride on the  Sea of Galilee

 

  

Msaada National Park, Calbe car up and down, view of Roman Encampments from the top, Dead Sea behind the walls

  

Floating in the Dead Sea

  
Hezekiah’s Water Tunnel, Jerusalem (mostly the Old City), Western Wall, Mt of Olives(now mostly a Jewish Cemetery), The Temple Mount/Dome of the Rock, The Garden Tomb, Many churches built on assumed sites of Biblical events….
 
 
  
  

having communion at the Garden Tomb

 
     
Dome of the Rock built on the Temple Mount, To the top right you can see the mount of Olives, and below the dome is the Western Wall.