Sunday, February 25, 2007

Hello for the last time from Israel. We had a wonderful last day here in Israel. None of us can beleive that our time here is over. We have great stories to tell and cannot wait to tell you. It is 10:15pm here and we leave in 2 hours for the airport. So, signing off from Israel. See you tomorrow in Pennsylvaia.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Well, folks, what a Saturday! One thing's for sure-we sure know how to pack in a full day! We began early today to maximize our time. Our first stop was an hour and a half away at Masada. Masada was a fortress originally built in the middle of the desert by Herod the Great. If there was one thing that Herod feared, it was a national revolt. Therfore, he built fortresses around the country to which he could flee on a moment's notice. Though there is no proof that he actually ever used Masada himself before his death in 4 BC, we do know that in 66 AD, the Jews began a revolt against the Romans that would last until 73 AD. Masada became a refuge for Jews fleeing from all over the country. A total of about 1,000 Jews called Masada their home during the revolt. The Roman forces, after taking hold of the rest of the Jewish fortresses, surrounded Masada and began figuring out a way to conquer the last of the rebellion. By the time the Romans finally reached the top of Masada in 73 AD, the Jews were all dead and it is believed that they killed themselves to die as free individuals and not as slaves to the Roman conquerers. Masada was an impressive sight with one of the best views of the Israeli desert. To get to the top of Masada, there is a cable car that can fit 80 people. Ian, being our resident daredevil, decided to climb the mountain on his own and actually beat the rest of us up there! Masada was incredibly interesting and a sight we will not soon forget.

Our next stop was Qumran, the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. We had a lunch together in the beautiful desert weather and enjoyed a brief tour of the grounds, led by our always informative tour guide, Mike. After Qumran, we moved to our most interesting sight of the day-The Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is 13oo feet below sea level and is so high in salt content that anyone and I mean ANYONE can float in the water. A few of us brave travellers decided to get into this water. After rubbing some good Dead Sea mud on our skin and being careful to avoid getting the water in our eyes or mouth, we exited the famous lake with smoother skin and a new definition of buoyancy. We shared a final official night together at a leisurely dinner back at the King Solomon Hotel, where our hosts were more than gracious and the laughter was plenty.

Tomorrow is our last official day in Israel and looks to be another spectacular one as we travel to the Biblical Gardens. Thank you to all who have made this blog a useful and fun way to communicate. We have truly been blessed by your comments and your prayers and ask for your continued prayers as our group divides, with some flying home early and others continuing their journey into Jordan. We love you all and look forward to sharing all of our experiences with you in person.

Friday, February 23, 2007

Thursday,February 22, 2007

Free Day in Jerusalem

A day of sleeping in (alittle), fun and still even more touring...but most of all shopping! Most of us spent the morning shopping over the "Old City". Then at 12:30pm, the group met Bill for a surprise from Nan Harter (thanks Bud). The surprise was a lunch at a restaurant in the Armenian quarter of the city. It was a great surprise and a wonderful lunch. I had been before, and I would have to agree that it is one of my favorites too!

This blog is dedicated to personal notes from us to you. Know that not everyone has given me their notes and they will be added as I receive them. Here are the ones I have thus for:

Mary Ann writes, "Dear Wanda and Bill (Hutchings), You both are with us- in our thoughts and heartfelt prayers. Because you're, in spirit, a part of the loving and caring family we 21 individuals have become, over here. So much love always, Mary Ann."

Joan writes, "Hi Stef and Bec. Been to Jerusalem, Sea of Galilee, Palestine, Bethlehem and had lunch in a Armenian restaurant- Luther and Monndust ok? I need your email! Love, Mom."

Jerry and Deb write, " To: Kidders, Vasquez, Stewards, Weckers, and Friends! From Dad, Debbie, Papa Jer, Grandma Debbie. Greetings from Israel. We have lots to talk about and nearly 400 pictures to support our stories. Glad to know you are "walking" here with us. We're having a great time."

Park and Evelyn write, "To Curry Clan, Arrived in Israel Sat. am- safe and sound. Alls well. Great trip! Love-Mom and Dad"

Ken and Victoria write, "This Holy Land experience is more than we ever dreamed it could be. We will be anxious to share it with you when we return. Ken and Victoria Curry"
Ian writes, "Hello Dad and Deb, Mom and Kevin, Harters, Brad and Laura, Sara, Van Horns...and others. I have really enjoyed sharing this trip with you. Cannot wait to share pictures and stories. This is my 4th time here, and it just gets better and better. Miss and love you all, Ian"

Remember not everyone has given me messages YET. Keep on checking. Have a great night.

Shalom,

IAN

Ash Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Beautiful, fantastic Israel has not let us down. What a wonderful day exploring the Holy Land. After breakfast, the group set off for our first day of exploring the "Old City" of Jerusalem. This time we entered through the "Lion's Gate" or what is also known as "St. Steven's Gate". This is the site believed to be where Steven was stoned to death for believing in and preaching about Jesus Christ. Our first stop was right through the gate at Church of St. Anne, Anne being the mother of Mary. After a quick walk-around, we headed through the back doors of the church and out to the Pools of Bethesda. At these pools, Jesus told the lame man to "pick up his mat and walk." From here we started to walk down the Via Dolorosa.

The Via Dolorosa means "the way of the cross". Catholic tradition states there are 14 stations on the Via Dolorosa, and we visited each one. The Via Delorosa starts in the Muslim quarter of the "Old City", goes through the Christian quarter, and ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We had to stay close together, being that the streets are narrow and busy. Small shops lined the streets selling colored linens, candies, shoes, and a number of other things. The air was filled with all different kinds of smells, spices, food, smoke..., which made every moment of our journey even more exciting. As I said before, we stopped at each station of the cross, where Jesus was condemned, where He fell, and finally where he was crucified, dead, and buried. We stood in the traditional spot where Christ was crucified and then went down stairs to where he was buried. This was a cave craved out of the mountain enclosed and adored with gold,silver and various other decorations. (Pictured above with Joan Sachs entering). After this long walk and emotional morning, it was time for lunch.

After lunch, we continued to tour the "Old City". We visited 2 sites were there are remains of the city in Jesus' day. Just amazing! Pictures do not do justice to this land, the colors are beautiful, the smells are amazing, the sounds of different languages all around, the excitement and anxiety...being here is just amazing!

Next, we headed over to the Israel Museum. This museum houses the Dead Sea Scrolls. These ancient documents were found in the Dead Sea area. These are writings and teachings of 2000 years-ago. Seeing these artifacts and ancient cities and places proves that God wanted and wants this Land and these People to survive...teaching the words of God, and, to us, spreading the good news of Jesus Christ.

Like I said before, this was a long, very long day and week. I do apologize for not up dating the blog until now. We have all enjoyed interacting with our friends and families this way; hope you are all having fun too. Today is a free day...look forward to personal comments from your friends or family members today on the blog! See you, my fellow bloggers and know that God is good and alive through this Land and these People here and through all of us.

God Bless

Looking from my window in Jerusalem into the Holy City,

IAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICK LOMBARDOZZI!!

Mrs. Milner's English Class

Hello students at FCCTC! Hope all is well. As you know, I am in Israel. I am learning many new things and seeing some amazing sites. Prior to leaving, Mrs. Milner and I talked and decided to have you guys complete a assignment using this blog site. Read the following for directions:

1. I must receive a comment from you to receive credit for this assignment (Mrs. Milner knows who to do this if you have questions).

2. Pick one of following blogs dated February 16 -20 and read through the entire entry.

3. Write a response with your thoughts and what you learned. (2 paragraphs)

4. Pick one topic within the blog you read and research it on the Internet. (2 paragraphs) You must document 2 websites where you got information about the topic you picked.

5. Write one paragraph about a place where you want to visit and why you want to go there.

Have fun and enjoy this assignment! See all of you in a week.

From Israel,

Mr. Jacobs

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Well,we finally made it to the Holy city of Jerusalem. After a good night sleep at the King Solomon, we loaded the bus and headed off to the first site of day 5. Yes, we were blessed with yet another beautiful day here in Israel; blue skies and just the right temperature. Our first stop of the day was the Mt. of Olives...wow, what a view. As you stand on the top of this mountain, you can look right down into the "Old City" of Jerusalem. The most dominate object of this view is the "Dome of the Rock". This 24 carrat dome is a modern day Muslim mosque. In the Hebrew Scriptures, this is the place were Abraham almost sacrificed Issac (in the Muslim tradition it is almost the same but they say it was not Issac but rather Ishmael). After taking in everything we could see and learning more about Jerusalem, we started down the mountain but not before taking in some fun activities..ie riding camels. Pictured above is Tracy Lombardozzi on one of these camel rides ( other riders included: Joan Sachs, Bill Beyrer and Ginny Regi, and Justin Hanks).

As we walked down the mountain, we pasted old Jewish cemeteries, the Church of Mary Madeline, and many other beautiful sites. Once we reached the bottom of the mountain, we rounded the corner and entered into the Garden of Gethsemane. This is the garden where Jesus was betrayed and then arrested. The olive trees in the garden are said to be thousands of years old; dating to the time of Jesus. Olive trees are "generational" trees meaning that there is a grand-parent tree that produces many generations from its roots. These generations wrap around the grand-parent tree, making it thicker and thicker and causing it to last for thousands of years. Pictured above is just one of these wonderful olive trees; can you find the camel head hidden in the tree? We visited the Church of All Nations at this site and the boarded the bus to move onto our next site.

Next, we headed towards Mt. Zion. The route to Mt. Zion meandered along the walls of the "Old City" and eventually to a gate through which travels could enter into the city. The "Old City" is a large, busy city of more than 35,000 residents. We unloaded from the bus, stayed close together, and raced off, following our guide to the building that housed the room of the Last Supper. Here Rev. Harter read from the scriptures and led us in singing a beautiful hymn. From the Last Supper room, we headed right down stairs to the tomb of King David. After paying our respects and a moment of prayer, we headed off to lunch at a kibbutz just on the out-skirts of Jerusalem.

After lunch, we moved towards Bethlehem. Before entering Bethlehem, we had to change buses because our guide and bus driver could not enter Bethlehem being that they are Israeli. Yes, we went into the Palestinian Authority (but not to worry, we would never do anything that was not safe). Once we changed buses and got a new guide, we made our way to the Church of the Nativity. This is the tradition site of Jesus' birth. Again, scripture was read and the group joined together to sing "Silent Night". After this amazing experience, we headed off to do some well earned shopping. After going through a security check point, we re-joined our guide and bus driver and drove back to the King Solomon for an early dinner.

After dinner we loaded onto the bus again and headed back over to the "Old City" for an evening tour of the inside of the "Western Wall". Within the wall we got to walk on streets that are over 2000 years-old and to see building blocks weighing over 400 tons (two of these building blocks are the biggest in the world). This was yet another day of amazing experiences, breathe-taking views, and life changing events. Who needs a picture Bible when you can see it all in person (which I personally suggest to all).

We are all enjoying you comments...keep them coming! Hope you are enjoying this virtual tour, but think and pray about coming to Israel yourself. We'll pray for you, You pray for us!

From Israel (Jerusalem),

IAN

Monday, February 19, 2007

Hello to all! Wow, another wonderful day in Israel. The day started off by waking up at our Kibbutz, Kfar Giladi. Yet another amazing morning with beautiful weather. After our breakfast, we left for to start a day of site-seeing, journeying, and learning. The Mount of the Beatitudes was our first stop. Red, blue, yellow, and mutli-colored flowers set the stage for a breathe-taking experience. To think that we were at the spot where Jesus taught: The Sermon on the Mount. Side note: The most common quote on the trip, "I cannot beleive that we are in the spot where Jesus..." Jerry read Matthew 5 and 6, which is the Sermon on the Mount. Again I say WOW!

Next we headed off to Tabgha, the site of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. This Catholic site was also just amazing. Within the church housed one of the most famous mosaic floors in Israel, the loaves and fishes. Read Matthew 14:19.

Down the road we went to Capernaum. This is the town where Jesus "set up His headquaters." Many miracles took place here, more specifically in Peter's mother-in-laws house. We were able to walk on the remains of a synagouge dates back to the 3rd century AD. We were able to picture what it might have been like to see Jesus reading the scriptures to the masses. Take a moment to think about it-what would he have sounded like? Where would the inflection in his voice have been? Would he look you in the eyes? Now imagine thinking these thoughts while standing in Jesus's home base. Have chills yet?!

Our next stop was Bethsaida. This is another Tel (city built upon city built upon city), like Dan. It was only confirmed to be a Tel twenty-five years ago! Bethsaida was formerly under Syrian control and was used as a military position. When it was returned to Israel, they discovered that Bethsaida was a fishing town and that, at one point, the Sea of Galilee's shoreline actually reached Bethsaida, which today is a mile and a half away from the actual Sea! There is only one street in Bethsaida and we know Jesus was there...so we can almost certainly believe that we walked where Jesus walked!

After a quick lunch in Tibereas, we visited another synagogue with a beautiful mosaic floor. Next, we went to Kinneret Cemetary, which was a cemetary for the Kinneret Kibbutz. The Kinneret Kibbutz was founded in 1911 and is the 2nd oldest Kibbutz. Our final stop before the Holy City was Yardenit, a baptismal site on the Jordan River. We all shared a deeply spiritual moment with each other as we reaffirmed our baptisms.

Finally, we made it up to Jerusalem. As we entered the Holy City, we heard the beautiful words of the old song, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Lift up your gates and sing! Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna to your King!" Entering Jerusalem at night was incredible. The lights of a city that is home to over 700,000 residents seems to look more beautiful at night. Even Condoleeza Rice was here! We'll ask her to come over and visit later!

Keep praying as we enter into the Holy City sites and move into exploring Bethlehem tomorrow. Your comments are so wonderful. Every morning and evening, we look forward to seeing what our friends and family have written to us! We love you all and can't wait to share all our beautiful memories with you. God bless! Keep writing!

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Hello friends, family, and faithful blog checkers! How wonderful it is to communicate with all of you, even though we are on opposite sides of the world. Today, as expected, was another extremely fast-paced day. From our dining room this morning, we were able to see Mt. Hermon in all of its snow-capped glory. From our kibbutz, we headed to our first stop: Tel Dan. Tel Dan is another layered city, like Megiddo. Dan was a tribe that moved North in Israel to an isolated Phonecian town. They took over the town and made it an Israelite city. It started to rain just as that dated back to the days of Abraham. We were walking where Abraham's sandaled feet may have stepped! We were able to see where the gates and the courtyard were. Mike told us just what a crucial role the gates of cities represented through several scriptures (Genesis 23, Ruth 4, Amos 5:11,12).

Our next stop was the Golan Heights. These mountains used to belong to Syria and served as a lookout over Northern Israel. Eventually, Israel regained these mountains. We were all able to walk at the top of one of these mountains and look out into both Lebanon and Syria. It was breathtaking. Mike was able to broaden our horizons with some historic perspective by discussing with us the military actions that have occured in Israel's brief history.

After another falafel lunch, we moved even closer to the border between Israel and Lebanon. We were able to see land mine sites and even more spectacular views. Our final stop of the day was at Caesarea Phillipi. This was built by Phillip, one of Herod the Great's sons. The third tributary to the Jordan is found here, Banias. The word is dervied from "Panias", coming from the god Pan. This was an extremely Paganistic region where Caesars were revered as gods. It is in this town that Jesus visited with Simon, who later became Peter. Dr. Harter read for us Matthew 16, where Jesus tells Peter that he is the Rock upon which the church will be built. The cliffs of Caesarea Phillipi represented the earthly rock, which has no comparison to the Rock that Christ was explaining himself to be. The Cave of Pan represented the gateway to hell, or moving away from the Rock, Christ Jesus. Bill tells us all the time that seeing Israel is like experiencing the "fifth" gospel. Truly, I don't think any of us will ever read the bible or hear Jesus's words the same way ever again. Our perspective has been turned upside down. Blessings are abounding here.

Tonight, Mike is going to give us a lecture on contemporary Israel and afterwards we are going to share our last fantastic meal at the Kibbutz. Tomorrow, we move into Jerusalem. We'll write more about it then! Thanks for the posts-keep them coming! And to Chris Lombardozzi-Happy 18th wedding anniversary! Tracy didn't forget! Love to all!

February 17, 2007

Hello everyone! First off, no pictures-we apologize! At the kibbutz where we are staying, there is no wireless internet. Therefore, we are writing to you from a computer in the lobby. The keyboard has the Hebrew symbols on it! It's been another jam-packed day. Where do we start?

The day began early with breakfast together and the arrival of our final guests. Victoria, Evelyn, Ken, and Park finally joined our group after 18 hours of flights. We headed to Nazareth to see the hustle and bustle of this city of Arabs, Christians and Muslims. Our first stop was The Nazareth Village. This village is a recreation of Nazareth as it was 2000 years ago. It is a window into the history of the life of Jesus. We got a tour of the "grounds", which consisted of a wine press, a few homes, and a synagogue. At the end, they gave us our own oil lamps! After this neat stop, we walked up the hill to the Church of the Annunciation. It is believed that this church is the location where Mary was visited by the Angel Gabriel. They say this is where she found out she was to be the mother of the Son of God! Throughout the church grounds, there are mosaics contributed by different Catholic factions from all over the world. Portrayed somewhere in the mosaics is each country's own representation of what Mary and the babe looked like. There were vibrant colors and brilliant designs. Our fabulous tour guide, Mike, pointed out that Catholic masses are no longer performed only in Latin. They are now performed in the language of the region. In this region, for instance, the Stations of the Cross have captions in Arabic. The church was a beautiful portrayal of the preservation of Christian sites in the Holy Land.

After a busy morning in Nazareth, we moved on to the city of Tibereas on the Sea of Galilee. It is said that 80% of what Jesus did or said was done on, around, or in sight of the Sea of Galilee. What a thought! We shared a lunch on a deck overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Our lunch was St. Peter's Fish. This means it was a whole fried fish. When I say whole, I mean head, gills, etc. It was delicious. After a desert of fresh figs, our group hopped on to a boat to ride out onto the Sea. It was incredible. It was calm, clear, and soothing. Definitely an experience to remeber! Our boat took us to the museum of the "Jesus Boat". This is a boat that was discovered 21 years ago on the shores of the Sea. It has been carbon dated to prove that it dates back 2000 years. The remains have been preserved and the structure is so interesting. It's made of twelve different types of wood!

After some shopping and some coffee, we headed back onto the bus and off to the kibbutz of Kfar Giladi. We are about to head into a dinner together and afterwards, some much needed rest! It's been an eventful two days and we look forward to what tomorrow brings! Keep commenting and we'll keep checking! Love to all!

February 16, 2007

Hey all! Day 2 and we're so excited about all we're seeing. After a good night's sleep, we got up bright and early to enjoy our first full day in Israel. Some of us started early with a quick toe dip into the Mediterranean Sea. Though no luggage had arrived in the morning, we were hopeful for some good news later in the day. We shared a breakfast of fish, cheese, cucumbers, yogurt, and some fantastic cappachino. The day was upon us and we were ready.

We started the day at Caesarea, a town city built by King Herod the Great in honor of Octavian Caesar. There were spectacular theatre remains that they still use today for concerts and shows. From the seats in the theatre, we could see the beautiful Sea. As we walkied along the coast, we could see where Pontius Pilate had his palace when he stayed in Caesarea. Our tour guide, Mike, shared some very interesting historical anecdotes and Bill shared with us some insights into the scriptures. Caesarea was was also the place where the gospel was first shared with the Gentiles by Peter. It was a phenomenal sight with spectacular views.

After our first falafel lunch, we saw Megiddo, an Old Testament city that has been excavated over the years. In the excavation, they've found over 25 layers dating back 5,000 years! It was an impressive sight. After the spectacular views, we moved on to an even more impressive sight at Mt. Carmel. This was the sight of Elijah's rebuking of the Paganistic peoples (1 Kings 18:17-46). It was absolutely astounding. At the top of the mount, we could see out over Israel. It was deeply moving-something we hope you can all see!!

We finished the day by arriving at our Christian Kibbutz of Nes Ammim. We shared a Shabbat dinner together to observe the sabbath. It's been a long day, but a day that has brought us new insights into the scripture, new thoughts to ponder, and luggage! It's been such a blessing. Thanks for posting! Once again, we appreciate it. Keep it coming! Shabbat Shalom!

Love to all

February 15, 2007

We arrived in Israel safely after a very long day of traveling. Once we boarded our plane, we waited and waited to take off. After about 3 hours, we finally took off for Frankfurt. We landed in Frankfurt at 10:30am (our connecting flight was at 10:10am), luckily the flight was delayed till 11:10am. Israel...here we come.

The flight was going great until we had about ten minutes left. Just then a horrible thunderstorm came. We got the word that we couldn't land. So we started to circle. On the second time around, we (and I am not joking) got struck by lightening. I saw a red spot on the wing; that then turned into a white light. Some saw the lightening shoot through the cabin. Never-the-less, it was very scary.

Upon our "shocking" arrival, we discovered that a rather unfortunate event had occured. Many of us were "luggageless"! At the time of this posting, we are patiently awaiting the arrival of toiletries, clothing, and some much needed voltage adapters. A rainstorm welcomed us on to our tour bus and we finally made it to our first stop: The Blue-Weiss Hotel. After finding out that most of our rooms had a beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea, we embarked upon our first meal of Israeli food! Course after course after course kept coming to the weary travellers until eventually, we said "To da!" (Thank You) and headed to our rooms to get some much needed sleep. Tomorrow, we're headed to Caesarea to see many interesting sights that we will tell you all about soon! Keep posting-we love to hear from you! Love to all!

Leaving in 2 days!

Well, 2 days until we leave. The time has gone by so fast and I can't believe we leave on Wednesday. Thanks for your prayers and please continue to pray for us.

On Wednesday, we have a long day of traveling, anxiety will be high, and we will all be very excited. Think of us often; I know we will be thinking of you (our friends and families).

Know that we are excited you are journeying with us through this website. Know that we will be praying for you. Know we are safe and having a blast. Ask questions...make comments, and check on us often. Thanks again for checking up on us and journeying with us. I'm excited to go and to be in Israel, but more excited to share my experience with others. So put on your hiking shoes and get ready to "walk through Israel with us."