Today we visited the grave of John Clark in Haifa. He was one of the 1st missionaries in Israel in 1895. He died after being here only a few months. It was because of him and his companion that the Church could prove there was an LDS presence in Israel prior to 1948 that allowed them to build the Jerusalem Center. From the top of Mt. Carmel overlooking the Jezreel Valley. It was on this mountain where Ezeekial challenged the 450 priests of Baal. You can see the runway for an Israeli AF Base. We could hear the planes overhead, but I could never see them. At the Nazareth Center the had reenactments for several scenes like the would have been in Christs day. This is a sheepfold where the shepherds would keep their flocks at night. A man and his donkey work an oil press. A carpenter. A woman preparing food. A woman spinning wool. He who follows me will never walk in darkness. Jesus The city of Tiberius at night from a boat in the Sea Of Galilee. While out on the boat I got to lead the group in Master The Tempest is Raging. I had my headphones off and forgot that I was still holding the mike close enough for everyone to hear me sing loud and clear. Hope I stayed on pitch! Tues The ruins of Capernaum on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. This is where Jesus healed many people including Peters mother-in-law, the Centurions servant, the man with palsy let down through the roof and many others. This is also the place where he called Peter, Andrew, James and John to Come follow Me and I will make you fishers of men Statue of Peter holding the keys. Mount of the Beatitudes - looking out to the Sea of Galilee. This is where the Sermon on the Mount was given. The plants growing under the netting are banana plants! This is about the only picture I got here without hundreds of people in it. There are bus loads of people here from all over the world. There are several little amphitheaters where groups can arrange to have a private lecture or service. Dr John Lund, who is leading our tour, talked to us for about an hour about the Beatitudes and the witness of the Holy Ghost and Jesus Christ. As we walked around we could hear other groups singing. Having so many people there kind of took away from the feeling I hoped to feel there, but the kicker was that there was even a gift shop! The ruins of Tel Dan - this is right next to the Syrian border I went part way up this rocky hill (its steeper than in looks) but decided not to continue the rest of the way up. I had my boot on, but the going was very difficult in the boot and I didnt want to risk falling. This shows the Canaanite walls that form the entrance to the city of Dan. The River Dan runs right by here and eventually joins with the River Jor to form the Jordan River. Dr Lund teaching us at the site of Caesarea Phillipi, at the base of Mount Hermon, one of the possible site for the Mount of Transfiguration ( the other is Mount Tabor), where Jesus questioned Peter Who do men say that I am? He then proclaimed himself the Messiah and told Peter that he was the rock that he would build the church. Wednesday What a busy day today. Our 1st stop was Caesarea, the deep water port on the Mediterranean built by, guess who? If you said Caesar, you would be right. The 1st picture is of the Hippodrome where they raced chariots (not hippos). The 2nd picture is just some of the ruins columns. The next place we went was in the city of Netanya at the University there. What a surprise to see a beautiful garden dedicated to Orson Hyde who dedicated the land of Palestine for the returning of the Jews in 1841. Imagine a garden in the middle of Israel where each tree is dedicated with a plaque honoring another President of the LDS Church plus Apostles and others who have been a help in furthering Israels cause. Even though we were on the campus with students around, (but no other bus loads of tourists) this was one of the most touching moments of the trip. One of the places I have been looking forward to seeing is Bethlehem. It is a Palestinian city and you have to go through a checkpoint gate to get there. The streets were crowded and noisy, far from the serene pictures that we have of the city on a Christmas card. The Church of the Nativity was crammed with people. Only part of our group got to go down into the grotto because they were getting ready to start a Mass, I was one one of the last. The few moments we were there we were constantly told to hurry, go quickly. The area was so gaudy with lots of lamps and other things that it was very difficult to feel the spirit, let alone be able to take a thoughtfully composed picture. The 14 point star is the traditional place of Christs birth. Just across from that is where the manger was supposed to be. Because of the low light, the longer shutter speed and being told constantly to hurry, the picture of Patty is blurry. After we got out of the Grotto the whole group got to go down into St Jeromes cave where Jerome lived for several years while he translated the Bible into Greek. While there we sang Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem, Away in A Manger and Silent Night. This was so much sweeter than being rushed past the gilded grotto. Outside on our way back to our bus, it was like running the gauntlet with all the vendors hawking cheap souvenirs. As we drove through Bethlehem we could see down the slopes to where the shepherds fields would have been. The Palestinian side of the wall was decorated with graffiti, but the Israeli side was nice and clean. Tomorrow should be a great day, we will be at the Garden of Gethsemene early, hopefully before too many hordes get there too!
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 05:11:37 +0000
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