Sorry that our blog has not been updated recently. The past 4 night we were staying at a Kibbutz (Jewish community) and had limited internet. That week was interesting to say the least. We spent time learning about the different wars that have gone on in the past and about how the Jewish people came to live in Israel. We had some awesome meetings or "Mifgash" with Israeli soldiers and university students. It was very eye opening and really helped shed some light on the situation. The Kibbutz had great food and was a great place for us to grow as a group. We also went for a sweet boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. The rest of the time was spent playing cards, throwing a frisbee or having some serious time on the courts playing basketball with Allen "Iverson" himself.
Today we drove 3 hours and caught our first glimpse of the West Bank. We drove through Jerusalem and are now in a Palestinian home for the next three nights. All of us have split into groups of 2 or 3 and have been welcomed into the homes of very hospitable people. We look forward to the next few days getting to know the faces of Palestine. Today Josh and I took a cool walk through the neighbourhood and honestly could not have felt safer or more welcome. We went into a small convenience store and the sweet old lady that owned the store shared her apples and carrots with us. It was awesome. We will try to get a blog up a night from now on so stay tuned and sorry for the delay!
Loving Life,
Jeremy and Josh W
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Day 7... one week down!!
The automobile... what a GREAT invention!! Well, actually it was a bus today... our first day since arriving in Israel that we didn't have to walk all day :)
We had a late start today, a nice reward for our tired bodies, and met our bus at 9:30 this morning. We were transported to Caesarea (about an hour from Nazareth, by bus) and walked through the ruins beside the Mediterranean. We saw the remains of Herod's palace (with an indoor fresh water pool), the theatre, the Hippodrom, the temple, the harbor and the prison where Paul spent two years of his life awaiting his trial (and writing what would become books in our bible). We saw all of this in about half an hour, so it's a bit of a blur! Side note... it's not a good idea to tempt a crab to bite your finger...
We bussed to our lunch spot, a restaurant run by the Druze (an offshoot of Islam), and ate pitas with felafel or chicken in a beautifully landscaped garden. It's amazing how many pitas we've eaten in one week!
From there we went to Mount Carmel and heard Linford explain the story of Ahab, Jezebel and Elijah and how God made it rain after a three year drought. Linford is very good at connecting story to geography and really made the story come alive. Side note... we were on the highest point in this area and the views were amazing!
Our afternoon ended with a trip to an inland, freshwater swimming area whose name is long and hard to say. We were supposed to meet with Elias Chacour this morning (if you're following our itinerary) but he is actually in the States right now so had to cancel our visit. While we were disappointed with not hearing from him, we were pretty psyched about the swim that was added to the day.
This is our last evening in Nazareth at the Fauzi Inn, from here we go to the Kibbutz to meet our next set of adventures... :)
Thanks for reading!
Christina
We had a late start today, a nice reward for our tired bodies, and met our bus at 9:30 this morning. We were transported to Caesarea (about an hour from Nazareth, by bus) and walked through the ruins beside the Mediterranean. We saw the remains of Herod's palace (with an indoor fresh water pool), the theatre, the Hippodrom, the temple, the harbor and the prison where Paul spent two years of his life awaiting his trial (and writing what would become books in our bible). We saw all of this in about half an hour, so it's a bit of a blur! Side note... it's not a good idea to tempt a crab to bite your finger...
We bussed to our lunch spot, a restaurant run by the Druze (an offshoot of Islam), and ate pitas with felafel or chicken in a beautifully landscaped garden. It's amazing how many pitas we've eaten in one week!
From there we went to Mount Carmel and heard Linford explain the story of Ahab, Jezebel and Elijah and how God made it rain after a three year drought. Linford is very good at connecting story to geography and really made the story come alive. Side note... we were on the highest point in this area and the views were amazing!
Our afternoon ended with a trip to an inland, freshwater swimming area whose name is long and hard to say. We were supposed to meet with Elias Chacour this morning (if you're following our itinerary) but he is actually in the States right now so had to cancel our visit. While we were disappointed with not hearing from him, we were pretty psyched about the swim that was added to the day.
This is our last evening in Nazareth at the Fauzi Inn, from here we go to the Kibbutz to meet our next set of adventures... :)
Thanks for reading!
Christina
LAST DAY!!!...of the hike :)
This morning we left our beautiful guest house to descend Mt. Arbel. It was this beautiful mountain top that had a lone olive tree right at the precipice and was just a beautiful sight to behold. After our devotion at the brink we began to descend Arbel, and wow! was that a challenge and a half! The descent involved some ladders, some windy paths inches from the edge, and overall just a lot of praying :) The hike proved to be slightly more difficult due to the increase in blistered feet. However on a positive note some of our group members have discovered their passion for blister care, blister popping, and have honed their mole-skin cutting abilities. hehe :)
It's always daunting to see at the beginning of the day the mountain top far in the distance where we are supposed to eat dinner, but somehow we always reach our destination with smiles on our faces. Nearing the end of our hike we first visited Tabgha which is where it was said that Jesus fed the 5000. Next we visited the Church of the Primacy of St. Peters which is built in the place where Jesus was supposed to have had a meal with his disciples after his resurrection. In the middle of the church surrounded by a beautiful mosaic was a rock which is where they were supposed to have sat exactly. This I think was amazing, it's moments like this that reinforce the reality of of Jesus life and miracles. Then we climbed up our last mountain (!!), Mt. of Beatitudes where Jesus preached his sermon on the mount. Finally, after a looong day we visited some of the archaeological ruins of the city of Capernaum. Then in the Sea of Galilee we washed the feet of a partner as kind of a symbol of how we had finally reached our destination and in recognition of how Jesus washed the feet of his disciples.
Then we all got on our wonderful air-conditioned bus, which I think was a welcome relief to all. The drive back to Nazareth took about 45 minutes, the trek that had taken us 4 days to complete on foot! Although this might seem a little bit frustrating I think it served to increase our appreciation for the invention of the car. But more importantly helped us to put into context the life of Jesus, and to gain a better basis of understanding for the learning that is still to come in our adventure.
Thanks so much for all your prayers and thoughts so far! and keep checking our blog for more fun and fact filled stories!
Katie P. on behalf of the group :)
It's always daunting to see at the beginning of the day the mountain top far in the distance where we are supposed to eat dinner, but somehow we always reach our destination with smiles on our faces. Nearing the end of our hike we first visited Tabgha which is where it was said that Jesus fed the 5000. Next we visited the Church of the Primacy of St. Peters which is built in the place where Jesus was supposed to have had a meal with his disciples after his resurrection. In the middle of the church surrounded by a beautiful mosaic was a rock which is where they were supposed to have sat exactly. This I think was amazing, it's moments like this that reinforce the reality of of Jesus life and miracles. Then we climbed up our last mountain (!!), Mt. of Beatitudes where Jesus preached his sermon on the mount. Finally, after a looong day we visited some of the archaeological ruins of the city of Capernaum. Then in the Sea of Galilee we washed the feet of a partner as kind of a symbol of how we had finally reached our destination and in recognition of how Jesus washed the feet of his disciples.
Then we all got on our wonderful air-conditioned bus, which I think was a welcome relief to all. The drive back to Nazareth took about 45 minutes, the trek that had taken us 4 days to complete on foot! Although this might seem a little bit frustrating I think it served to increase our appreciation for the invention of the car. But more importantly helped us to put into context the life of Jesus, and to gain a better basis of understanding for the learning that is still to come in our adventure.
Thanks so much for all your prayers and thoughts so far! and keep checking our blog for more fun and fact filled stories!
Katie P. on behalf of the group :)
Friday, May 14, 2010
Safe Haven
The third day of the Jesus trail was the longest day so far. We walked from the goat farm up the Horns of Hattimm which was an pretty intense hike but was well worth the incredible view. We caught our first glimpse of the sea of Galilee and that was really incredible! We could just see the corner of the Sea through Arbel (A mountain split in half by an earthquake). The hike down that mountain was pretty fun and we ended up at the Druze (Spelling?) Center. The Druze are a sect of the Muslim religion who borrow ideas from pretty much all the mono-thiestic religions. We had lunch here and filled our waters at this spring. We had ice cream. It was good :) Then the hike continued through the valley of the mountains, and MAN was it hot. At lunch, we were about 1km away from where we were staying BUT we walked about 5km through the valley to get to where we were staying. The last 20 minutes of the day was all uphill to get out of the valley to our destination. We were really hot and really tired. We were hoping that the place we were going was a good place to rest. Well my blog reading friends, let me tell you, this place was incredible! Let's see, did they have a pool? YES. Did they have Wifi? YES. Did they have nice showers? YES. Did they have AC and a 42" tv? YES. Also, this place had a restaurant on site, and we enjoyed an amazing dinner at the "Best Restauraunt in Tiberias." This place truly was a great place to relax and restore our bodies. You can definitely call it a "Safe Haven."
You can check out the place we stayed at www.canaguesthouse.com
Thanks for reading,
Josh B and Jer E
You can check out the place we stayed at www.canaguesthouse.com
Thanks for reading,
Josh B and Jer E
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Goat Farm Adventure
Our second day on the Jesus Trail: Regarless of the heat of the day, we were able to enjoy our hike to our next destination - Ilaniya. We stayed at a beautiful goat farm. The family that hosted us, welcomed us like if we were family. Some of us milked goats for the first time. The guys and I before dinner went on another hike - We adventured an old cave that was at least 2,000 years old. It was grand! We continue to experience God among us and hope to encourage one another in this journey. Peace. D.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Friends, family, and followers,
Shalom! Here we are at the end of day number 2... and what a day it was! We started with an early (we're talkin 7am-breakfast early) start in Nazareth, setting out on our way to begin our 4 day adventure along the Jesus Trail. The first stretch was by far the toughest, challenging us to a trek up what felt like a million stairs to reach the edge of Nazareth, shortly after which we were graced with an unbelievable view of the many valleys and hills, and what would be our path for much of the day ahead.
Part way through our hike, we reached Zippori where we explored the park, including the ruins of a first century Roman city. We carried on to find ourselves completing our first stretch in the city of Cana. Happy to check off our first hiking day, we were relieved to get out of the heat, hang up our sweaty gear (trust me, sweaty is an understatement. there were even incidences (ie. Brigitte) where exact backpack lines were visible via sweat. yum.), and relax in a wonderful guest house here in Cana. Walking through the city to get to the guesthouse, we were greeted by children who were delighted to see us, following us through the streets, waving, smiling, and talkingt to us (both in some English words and Arabic which, no, we didn't understand). It was heartwarming to see how welcoming and excited they were to have us here. Even at one rest spot along the way, a gentleman offered us all large buns (similar to a submarine bun, just to clarify). He passed us later on in another part of town and was sure to honk his horn and offer us a smile and an excited wave!
Our guesthouse is right next door to the Cana Catholic Wedding Church where it is thought that Jesus performed his first miracle, turning water into wine. The beautiful church is a wonderful view from our windows, and inside we were suprised by getting to see some young school children practising prayers and songs for what we think might be their first communion.
Tomorrow we take on day 2 of the Jesus Trail, where we hope to find another moving, beautiful, and fun hiking day. Just a short way into our adventure, we're enjoying not only the things and places we get to see, but also getting to know the wonderful group of people we're with.
We are safe and well! Thanks for following us on our travels!
Smiles and Love
Heather
Shalom! Here we are at the end of day number 2... and what a day it was! We started with an early (we're talkin 7am-breakfast early) start in Nazareth, setting out on our way to begin our 4 day adventure along the Jesus Trail. The first stretch was by far the toughest, challenging us to a trek up what felt like a million stairs to reach the edge of Nazareth, shortly after which we were graced with an unbelievable view of the many valleys and hills, and what would be our path for much of the day ahead.
Part way through our hike, we reached Zippori where we explored the park, including the ruins of a first century Roman city. We carried on to find ourselves completing our first stretch in the city of Cana. Happy to check off our first hiking day, we were relieved to get out of the heat, hang up our sweaty gear (trust me, sweaty is an understatement. there were even incidences (ie. Brigitte) where exact backpack lines were visible via sweat. yum.), and relax in a wonderful guest house here in Cana. Walking through the city to get to the guesthouse, we were greeted by children who were delighted to see us, following us through the streets, waving, smiling, and talkingt to us (both in some English words and Arabic which, no, we didn't understand). It was heartwarming to see how welcoming and excited they were to have us here. Even at one rest spot along the way, a gentleman offered us all large buns (similar to a submarine bun, just to clarify). He passed us later on in another part of town and was sure to honk his horn and offer us a smile and an excited wave!
Our guesthouse is right next door to the Cana Catholic Wedding Church where it is thought that Jesus performed his first miracle, turning water into wine. The beautiful church is a wonderful view from our windows, and inside we were suprised by getting to see some young school children practising prayers and songs for what we think might be their first communion.
Tomorrow we take on day 2 of the Jesus Trail, where we hope to find another moving, beautiful, and fun hiking day. Just a short way into our adventure, we're enjoying not only the things and places we get to see, but also getting to know the wonderful group of people we're with.
We are safe and well! Thanks for following us on our travels!
Smiles and Love
Heather
Monday, May 10, 2010
Nazareth
We've made it!!
Arriving in a blanket of haze to muggy Tel Aviv, we stepped off the plane giddy with delight and bouncing off the tarmac with excitement for what these next few weeks had in store! Actually, most of us were tired to the point of delirium, and soon found our giddy, wonderfilled hearts were equally exhausted as they were happy after our 12 hr. flight NON STOP from Toronto. Allan and Linford met us at the baggage claim and herded us onto our airconditioned bus for a short 1 1/2 hour ride up the far side of the Jezereel Valley to our final destination for the next week: Nazareth. We made our way through the winding (and some what confusing) streets of Nazareth to the Fauzi Azar Inn, run by the gracious Maoz Inon [check it out! www.fauziazarinn.com]. The Fauzi Azar Inn, we learned from Maoz (pronounced MOUZE.. like mouse.. you get it), began thanks to the efforts of both Maoz and his wife after they examined several Guest House communities in places like Israel and South America. Their hope as a couple was to develop a place for travellers to stay that encouraged the involvement of the community surrounding the guest house. Developing infrastructure to support the businesses and neighbourhoods connect with the village/city by connecting their guesthouse to the community proved to be a very effective and encouraging project!The Inn itself is beautiful, old marble floors and beautifully decorated ceilings greet you in the main reception area, and the rooms are so cozy and homey I can't help but be excited for sleep tonight!
We had a chance to travel to the Nazareth Village today, a experience that took us back to 1st century Nazareth during the time when Jesus would have lived. Truthfully, we were all so exhausted that even our vivacious and kind tour guide Linford had to encourage us to keep trekking through the hot sun to see almost exact replicas of 1st century homes built out of the rock and an old press used to make olive oil. Never the less we enjoyed our selves, and made it safely back to the Inn to settle in for some dinner and a MUCH needed shower power hour (most of still haven't slept since waking up yesterday morning at 6am to get to Pearson. We spell like stuffy airplane and dust and sweat.. yuck!)
Tomorrow we start our 4 day trek of the Jesus Trail [www.jesustrail.com]. We will eventually end up here again at the Fauzi Inn. I'm hoping to grab one last Shwarma before we head to our next destination. It's been so wonderful here so far: I wish I could some how get you all in this room with me so you could smell the hot, sticky air and hear the call to prayer ringing throughout the city.
Unforunately we can't get any pictures to load here at the Inn, but we'll be sure to add some as soon as we can!
We love you all in many great and wonderful ways. Breath deep! We're safe!
Arielle
Arriving in a blanket of haze to muggy Tel Aviv, we stepped off the plane giddy with delight and bouncing off the tarmac with excitement for what these next few weeks had in store! Actually, most of us were tired to the point of delirium, and soon found our giddy, wonderfilled hearts were equally exhausted as they were happy after our 12 hr. flight NON STOP from Toronto. Allan and Linford met us at the baggage claim and herded us onto our airconditioned bus for a short 1 1/2 hour ride up the far side of the Jezereel Valley to our final destination for the next week: Nazareth. We made our way through the winding (and some what confusing) streets of Nazareth to the Fauzi Azar Inn, run by the gracious Maoz Inon [check it out! www.fauziazarinn.com]. The Fauzi Azar Inn, we learned from Maoz (pronounced MOUZE.. like mouse.. you get it), began thanks to the efforts of both Maoz and his wife after they examined several Guest House communities in places like Israel and South America. Their hope as a couple was to develop a place for travellers to stay that encouraged the involvement of the community surrounding the guest house. Developing infrastructure to support the businesses and neighbourhoods connect with the village/city by connecting their guesthouse to the community proved to be a very effective and encouraging project!The Inn itself is beautiful, old marble floors and beautifully decorated ceilings greet you in the main reception area, and the rooms are so cozy and homey I can't help but be excited for sleep tonight!
We had a chance to travel to the Nazareth Village today, a experience that took us back to 1st century Nazareth during the time when Jesus would have lived. Truthfully, we were all so exhausted that even our vivacious and kind tour guide Linford had to encourage us to keep trekking through the hot sun to see almost exact replicas of 1st century homes built out of the rock and an old press used to make olive oil. Never the less we enjoyed our selves, and made it safely back to the Inn to settle in for some dinner and a MUCH needed shower power hour (most of still haven't slept since waking up yesterday morning at 6am to get to Pearson. We spell like stuffy airplane and dust and sweat.. yuck!)
Tomorrow we start our 4 day trek of the Jesus Trail [www.jesustrail.com]. We will eventually end up here again at the Fauzi Inn. I'm hoping to grab one last Shwarma before we head to our next destination. It's been so wonderful here so far: I wish I could some how get you all in this room with me so you could smell the hot, sticky air and hear the call to prayer ringing throughout the city.
Unforunately we can't get any pictures to load here at the Inn, but we'll be sure to add some as soon as we can!
We love you all in many great and wonderful ways. Breath deep! We're safe!
Arielle
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