HOME!

In case you didn't already know, we arrived back home safely last night at about 8:15 p.m. Only one lost piece of luggage along the way. Everybody's glad to to be back - a nice comfortable bed, a pillow with no lumps, a potty that we know and love - all things we have looked forward to. Thanks for praying for our group. Shalom and out! The Rabbi.

From the Garden to the Grave

Day 4 – Jerusalem – Our tour is coming to a close. We started today at the Israeli museum and saw a model of Jerusalem from Jesus’ day and the Dead Sea Scrolls. We then went to the Mt. of Olives to see a panoramic view of the Old City of Jerusalem. It is amazing to see. Some of us then walked down to the Garden of Gethsemane via the Palm Sunday road (everyone else road the bus). We visited Dominus Flevit which marks the place where Jesus wept when he saw the city and then on to the Church of the Nations which is over the spot where Jesus prayed just before his arrest. There are olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane that are over 2000 years old – so they were there during the time of Jesus’ arrest. We then walked through Old Jerusalem to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (the traditional site for the crucifixion and tomb of Jesus. After lunch and shopping we went to the Garden Tomb for a communion and worship time. We now have to pack! We leave for the airport at 1:30 AM so we will be extra tired when we arrive at RDU. We are looking forward to seeing everyone – but it has been a treasure to be in the place where Jesus walked. Thank you to all of you for praying for us and following our journey. We are so thankful to have had this chance to be here.

Pictures: 1) Overlooking Jerusalem from Mt. of Olives 2) Walking down Palm Sunday Road 3) Church of the Holy Sepulchre 4) Damascus Gate into Old City Jerusalem 5) Garden Tomb – Virginia and Edna got to see the empty tomb!! 6) Lord’s Supper Celebration at the Garden Tomb

New Return Itinerary

Lufthansa 691 Tel Aviv to Frankfurt 4/25 5:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Lufthansa 426 Frankfurt to Philadelphia 4/25 1:50 p.m. - 4:35 p.m.
US Air 3103 Philly to RDU 4/25 6:20 p.m. - 8:03 p.m.

Masada...Dead Sea... Jericho

Day 3 – Jerusalem – We left the city for the day today to take in sites in the surrounding countryside. We stopped for a quick look at the Wadi Kelt – the setting for the parable of the Good Samaritan. Our morning was spent at Masada. This fortress was built by Herod and is famous as the last stand against Rome by the Jews in 73 AD. We rode a cable car to the top of the mountain. We then visited Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Sixteen of us then took a dip in the Dead Sea. We were able to do the “Dead Sea float” and rub the healing mud on our skin! There is really no way to describe how the water feels. Our last stop of the day was in Jericho – we saw a sycamore tree much like the one Zaccheus would have climbed, viewed the city walls that Joshua led the Israelites against, and saw the site thought to be the place where Jesus fasted for 40 days and then was tempted by Satan. It was a full day again! We head back into Old Jerusalem tomorrow for our last day. At dinner tonight everyone seemed to be much better!! We expect everyone to be able to go with us tomorrow.
Pictures: 1) Wadi Kelt 2) Masada 3) Baths at Masada 4) Dead Sea float 5) How Graydon spent his time while Judy was sick at the hotel 6) Dead Sea 7) Jericho