Walk The Via Dolorosa

We Are Safely Home

I just wanted to let everyone know that we are safely home. I think some of our family members developed a more devoted prayer life while we were away.lol! I know there are dangers, but we didn't experience anything that caused alarm. Thank all of you for your prayers-I know they made the difference. Josh and I both had to go back to work Wednesday after getting home at 3:30 a.m. that morning. The jet lag majorly kicked in that evening, and I slept for almost 24 hours straight!!! Josh hasn't had the luxury of a day off, yet, so he is still felling the effects of 30 hours of travel. We would like to thank each of you for sharing this journey with us-It's great to know that the late hours we stayed up to post were not in vain! It truly has been a special joy for us to share this amazing trip with you. Now that we are home, we would like to add more pictures and reviews, perhaps filling in gaps for sites and activities that we didn't have time to post abroad. If, like us, you are sad this trip has come to an end, stay tuned for more from Israel...

Sights from Day 10

Hey guys!
Sorry the blog updates have been short and sweet the last few days ... We have been running all over the place ... long hours of touring, very few hours of sleep, and time for the blog has been hard to find!
That's the case again tonight because we have to get up in about two hours at 1:15 am to leave for the airport! Ugh!
The next day will be crazy: we have over 30 hours of traveling ahead of us ... We'll be in five different airports, on four different planes, an 1 1 / 2 Hourbus ride, a 2 1 / 2 hour car ride, in three different countries, through international customs three times, through eight different time zones ... .
Wow ... I'm getting tired just thinking about it!
But even though I do not have time to create an amazing, inspiring, detailed blog entry ... I still wanted to share some snapshots from today ... So here you go:

The Old City

Standing by the West Wall of the "Old City of Jerusalem"

(Sarah & Danae)

Danae-Inside "The Old City"-Sarah

The Bizarre (Market)

 Scarves,                                               Hats,                                     Coffee!!!

Guess where we ate for lunch???

Jerusalem's best Pizzeria-Basti

I think God answered Josh's prayers:)

More to come...

The Garden of Gethsemane

Day Nine - Jerusalem

The geo-political center of the world... Jerusalem!

Today we had the amazing experience of walking the streets that Jesus walked...going to the temple just like he did...

Sitting on the original temple steps that Jesus walked up!

Sarah, standing in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed before his crucifixion.

Day 8-Palm Trees & Wilderness

Today, we visited Jericho,
"The City of Palm Trees."
(Sort of like Miami Beach of the United Sates)

This is where Joshua fought the battle of Jericho (not, my Josh, Joshua in the Bible.)

In Contrast, we also visited the Judean Wilderness...

• Psalm 23-"The valley of the shadow of death"

I guess all of us have a different image of the valley of the shadow of death, but this is what David was talking about when he wrote the 23rd Psalm. The sun doesn't reach the lowest part of this valley. I am so thankful that even when the sun isn't shining, I don't have to fear, because God is with me!

May He be with you.

God bless!-Sarah

Masada

I am stupid.

Ok, I know that's a weird way to start a blog. lol
There are three things that should never be mentioned in the same sentence: me, vacation, climbing.

Most of you have heard the story about Dad and I climbing Pike's Peak in Colorodo on vacation a few years ago. Well apparently I, ahem, didn't learn my lesson... lol

Today we visited "Masada"... for those who don't know what it is:

Masada is the name for a site of ancient palaces and fortifications in the South District of Israel on top of an isolated rock plateau, on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea.

The cliffs on the east edge of Masada are about 1,300 feet high and the cliffs on the west are about 300 feet (90 m) high; the natural approaches to the cliff top are very difficult. The top of the plateau is flat and rhomboid-shaped, about 1,800 feet by 900 feet. There were many towers, and the fortress included storehouses, barracks, an armory, the palace, and cisterns that were refilled by rainwater.

There's a cable car that offers a very smooth, quick ride to the top. For the stupid people, there's a brutal climbing trail to the top.

Guess which one I chose? lol

Out of our group of 42, four of us chose to climb. (Me, Nathan, Heather & Evan) Nathan's asthma started giving him trouble and he had to turn back, so only three of us finished.

Heather and Evan are in extremely good shape and they do alot of climbing.

I am fat and lazy and discovered after about 20 minutes that I'm not in near as good a shape as I thought! lol It's a very steep climb. There is NO shade on the side of the mountain and it was about 140 degrees today. (That's what it FELT like, anyway!).

Four hours, 34,000 calories burned, and 65,000 steps later... I reached the top! (Ok, so maybe I'm exagerrating a little bit.)

 

The view from the top is amazing. You are looking down on the Dead Sea. (This, by the way, is the area where the children of Israel were wandering.)

 

"I made it!" (Snapshot taken when I reached the top.)

Day Seven!

We started this morning by visiting Nazareth, Jesus' home town. (Jesus of Nazareth) What a feeling! Standing in the valley where the Son of God grew up... Under this sky...between these hills... a little five-year old boy, playing in the street with other kids... A teenage boy, working in a dusty carpenter shop... right where we were standing!

We then ascended Mount Carmel. This is the mountain where Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal, and God answered by fire. This is also the place where the prophet sent his servant to look for rain and he saw a cloud the size of a man's hand. The view is amazing! But even more amazing is looking up into the sky that God's fire had fallen from.

Above: The view from Mount Carmel            
Left: Standing at the peak (Left to right: Josh, Sarah, Danae, Nathan)

Eating with friends from Indiana on the way down from Mount Carmel. (From left to right: Sarah, Heather, Evan, Josh.)

On the Mediterranian shore between Herod the Great's palace and the oval where chariot races were held.

Sarah and Danae eating gelatto (ice cream) in Ceasarea.

Standing in the exact spot the apostle Paul stood when he was tried before Agrippa in Caesarea.

And I'll leave you tonight with one more picture I took on the sandy shore of the Mediterranean late this afternoon...

Thanks for checking the blog! Love all of you.

- Josh

Sea of Galilee

Imagine trying to fill in the Grand Canyon with dirt ... Using only a spoon.

That's what it's like to try to explain how amazing this trip is ... Using only words!

It is Indescribable! We arrived last night at the Sea of Galilee. This is such a special place in Scripture and in the life of Jesus. He spent most of his earthly life on and around this small lake.

The Sea of Galilee is tucked away in the quaint rolling hills and mountains of northern Israel and we awoke this morning to a beautiful view of it. This gorgeous area is an intoxicating and fascinating mix of tropical and middle eastern climates and foliage. The glassy sea is shrouded in palm trees, rocky cliffs, green hIllsides, pasturing sheep, and snow covered mountain peaks. The result is stunning ... I promise you that these few pictures can not even begin to capture the beauty of this place!

After a boat ride across the sea, we ate lunch at a very nice restaurant on the outskirts of Capernaum.

We all ordered "Peter's Fish", and guess what we got? Umm, well ... a fish!
Despite the way it looks ... it tasted really good! (Once I got it to stop moving ...)







Afterwards, we visited Bet ShEan, an archaeological Excavation site of an ancient city that exhisted in Jesus' day. You can see the ruins of the market, temple, and a large Roman theater (among many other things) ...

Our day ended at the Jordan river, where we were baptized as the sun went down. There, in the very same waters that Jesus was baptized in... under the same heavens from which God spoke "This is my beloved Son..."

What a trip this is! From planes and subways and cities to standing in the waters of the Jordan on the other side of the world!

Continue to keep us in your prayers... we love and miss you all!

"And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized."  - Mark 10:39