Author: Kathryn Naef

we arrived in Philadelphia at 5 am… and are through customs and security.

we’ll be here till 1:45 &arrive in Wilmington at 3:12pm..

 

we started our day with an amazing breakfast, then went to Solomon’s quarries, where they cut stones out of what is now a huge cave under the old city…the story has it the stones were used to build the first temple.  super cool.

then after a little longer wandering, we headed to the beach where we spent the rest of the day. had a late lunch & watched the sun set over the Mediteranean.

we are now about to board our plane which will depart at 11:30PM and land in Philadelphia at about 5:30am EST.  PRAY that we can get a better connection from Philly…right now our layover is until 1 pm.

it’s gonna be good to get home.

So we are definitely learning to be FLEXIBLE on this trip.

It was yet another day of not getting on the Temple Mount, as most of the Old City is on ‘lock down’.  (you may have seen this in the news?)  There is a HUGE police presence at all the gates entering the city and many entrances, streets and all attractions were shut down.  We are about an 8-minute walk from the Christian Quarter of the city, relatively far from the violence which seems to always happen in or near the Muslim Quarter.  While we were on the Mount of Olives today we heard shots being fired somewhere by the walls (about a quarter mile from where we were).  In talking with some of the ‘locals’, this is common stuff and they just roll with it.  And as far as we can tell it is pretty easy to stay out of the fray if you just don’t go in certain spots.

Don’t worry, we’re safe.  But please do pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.

We did get to stroll around the Garden of Gethsemane today and it was really beautiful, though most of what we saw on the rest of the Mount of Olives left something to be desired.

We then headed to the Jordan River where we baptised each other.  The river itself is really muddy, but the experience was great.  Chris told me to count to ten before letting him up. 🙂

We were literally about 5 feet from the Jordan border as that country starts on the opposite river bank.

Very interesting approaching this site, as it was an active military location and there were caution sign to stay on the road or you might hit a land mine.  This was one of the ‘cautions’ Chris actually heeded on this trip!

We stopped for lunch

and got to meet this handsome fella…

In heading back to the city, we realized we were going to miss the window of opportunity to walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnels, and planned to do that tomorrow… before learning that tomorrow is a ‘double shabbat’, one of 4 that happen all year – we have hit so many holidays… unintentionally.  If we had known, we probably could have planned better… live & learn.

Chris & I headed to the Jaffa Gate to grab a few gifts & some pizza to bring back for dinner while the girls “chilled” at the apartment – it was peaceful inside the walls there.

So, we have learned a lot.  We have enjoyed most of it, but all agree it is going to be good to get home.

Tomorrow we are packing up and heading to a beach south of Tel Aviv where we’ll spend some time (and hopefully find a good shower) before boarding our plane at about 11PM.  We will fly through the night, land in Philadelphia & then on to Wilmington.  If we’re able, we’ll post again…. don’t know what kind of signal there’ll be at the airport or what kind of time we’ll have after getting through customs.

Thanks again for journeying with us… it’s been great having you along with your comments and especially your prayers.  We look forward to hugging you soon –

 

We dressed in our “modest wear” as we were hoping to get to the Temple Mount today, but learned it is closed until tomorrow.  We met a beautiful Jewish man, “Michael” (say it with the Hebrew ‘ch’) who talked with us and sang some Psalms for us in Hebrew… super cool.

He also led us through the Zion gate to Mt Zion, where we saw David’s tomb and went into the upper room.

This is where we deposited the prayers of our friends back home.  We were told we couldn’t put them in the Western Wall, but found out later we could have… BUT – I like where they are better.  Those prayers are sitting under a copper olive tree in the upper room.

(The room built by the Crusaders, is touted to be in the same location as the Last Supper & where the 120 were at Pentacost when Holy Spirit was released…right above David’s tomb.)

Because it is the Sabbath, no photographs were allowed in the tomb room, but here’s the upper room:

We then went to the Western Wall.

**Correction: Chris wasn’t supposed to take that picture AT ALL.**

We took a walk around and then through the city, had a great lunch & then made our way back to the apartment to rest.

And we saw a restoration project being done by UNC Charlotte!

Now, we are about to go back out with no agenda, been resting, cooling off, doing laundry and posting.   It’s 4:02 pm, here, about 9 am for you.

Timna Park was pretty remarkable – we spent most of the day here after checking out of our hostel.  It has a great history of copper mining & quite a few remaining hieroglyphs, one a cartouche of Rameses III laying claim to the area.  It was about 104 degrees.

They had a life-size replica of the tabernacle, which was really interesting.

On the 4-hour drive to Jerusalem we saw lots of date farming

interesting landscapes

a magnesium factory on the Dead Sea

And while driving through what was once Sodom, we saw a sign for “Lot’s Wife”, so we pulled in.

This is her: 🙂

The cave under her was mostly made of salt.

We arrived in Jerusalem at about 8PM.  Our apartment is on a street that is rail & foot traffic only – thank God for WAZE, it got us one block away where we found a parking place.  Getting in to our place on Shabbot was a small adventure, but eventually we figured it all out & tucked in safely for the night.  This place is super well-equipped complete with a washing machine and dryer.  Yay!

 

 

Oct 1

We had no wifi at the Bedouin Camp, so there are 2 posts for today.

(more pics to come when we download tomorrow)

We were awakened this morning by a peahen who thought she was a rooster on the roof of our tent… Chris has a video – it has a really funny call.

Since breakfast wasn’t going to be served until 8AM, we had some time to relax, drink coffee, read the Bible and pray.

We then had the MOST AMAZING breakfast we’ve had as of yet – Chris took some pictures, but this was not the full offerings.  One of the best parts… warm MILK for our coffee (a rare find).  I tried halva, which is a sesame paste that is sweet and has an almost fudgy consistency – quite good.

We drove 3 hours to Eilat, the southern-most Israeli city & the only Israeli city on the Red Sea (actually the Gulf of Aqaba – the “right finger” at the top of the Red Sea.  The views along the way were stunning.

Eilat is very near both the Jordan and Egyptian borders.

After checking into our hostel, we drove about 8 minutes to Coral Beach, which is a nature reserve.  They really protect the reef here & WOW – just a little ramp to the water and the fish and coral were really fantastic.  I have been diving many times in my life & I think this was some of the most beautiful.  The colors of some of the fish were like none I’ve ever seen – “parrot fish” that were a bright purple with turquoise trim, pink and green corals that were magnificent, and the water was so clear!

We all enjoyed our time here – though after about 45 minutes we were pretty chilly, surprisingly – the air here is HOT, but the water is refreshingly cool.

After cleaning up at the hostel, we headed to the beach boardwalk across the street from where we’re staying and found NIGHT LIFE.  Open stages with blaring music, big flashy amusement park rides, shops and more shops, and finally a little restaurant where we had a bite to eat.

The local kitties got our leftovers.

Timna Park in the morning, and then driving about 4 hours to Jerusalem to check into our last place to stay.  (This time in Modern Jerusalem, an 8-minute walk to the Jaffa Gate.)

Hard to believe we’ve only 4 nights left…

G’night y’all.

 

September 30

[notes from Chris will be in brackets]

My day (Kati) began watching the sun rise over the Dead Sea drinking sweet black coffee.  [The coffee here is usually ground really fine the grounds are in what is served, and it is very strong, smaller portions.  Hard to find cream for coffee.]

Breakfast was included in our hostel & very different than any breakfast we have ever experienced.  There was tuna, cheese, salad with all kinds of fixings, toast, yogurt, what seemed to be brownies, hummus, tahini & boiled eggs, among other things.  [the best part of traveling is the cheese!]

Massada was definitely worth seeing… a set of palaces and watchtowers on the edge of what was once the Roman Empire built by King Herod on a mountain in the middle of the desert. It was scorchingly hot in the sun, and we found shade whenever possible and drank a ton of water.

[At most of the archaeological sites, they have a black line painted across the wall, the original stuff is below the line.]

The views were spectacular and the remains of the architecture nothing short of amazing.  This place is better known for the 900+ rebel Jews that resisted the Romans and holed themselves up on Massada surviving on stores of food after the Roman conquest of the rest of Israel.  They eventually chose death over slavery on the eve of the Romans taking their little village- each man killing his own wife and children before taking lots to see who would be the last man to fall on his own sword.

After a quick lunch we took another dip in the Dead Sea, rinsed off & drove through Arat to an oasis where we spent the night.

---

 

Stay at Kfar Hanok-Dim (an oasis!)

[We drove over an hour to go what would have been 10 minutes if we could have cut through the mountains.  The landscape views were spectacular!]

After checking in and resting for a bit, we had a camel ride,

and then a tent meeting where we were greeted with the hospitality of the Bedouins — a coffee roasting ritual, and talked with a man whose family have been there for 700+ years.  He has 3 wives, many camels, donkeys and goats.

We learned that Bedouins greet their guests openly and take the protection of them very seriously.  The 3 coffees served to a guest are: 1. We welcome you in, 2. Our sword (we will protect you while you are here), 3. We are glad you’re here, we enjoy your company, enjoy your time.  None of these cups will be filled to full, and they will be served in very small (smaller than a demitasse) cup – ours were beautiful white china with small pink flowers and gold stripes.  If you are served a full cup, it means ‘we are ready for you to leave.’

They also served a very yummy, very sweet Bedouin tea which was minty.  The girls drank a lot of this.

[oops, Kati has more to say about the camels…] The camel ride was great!  I think my teeth were dusty from my constant smiling.  We all loved it.  I now have quite an affinity for these crazy looking creatures.  They can carry 300+ pounds, run all day & go 1 week with no food or water – and they are just… funny… each with it’s own personality, much like horses.  Their eyelashes and feet are bizarrely beautiful, and they really are graceful.  Who’d have guessed?

Our dinner, which was served buffet style, was a beautiful spread of delicious choices, most of which we could identify.  We ate with a lovely Jewish family from Australia at a low-seated table… what fun.  And, yes, there were cats here too… mostly hovering around the tables hoping for a scrap of something to hit the ground.

 

Our ‘tent’ was luxurious, though warm (we were very grateful for the large fan).  The entire facility was peaceful, welcoming, and beautifully decorated.   This was a very high-class camping experience!

[I hope to find pictures of our breakfast, and finish this post after we have our family-time-on-the-town!]

We arrived in Ein Gedi at about 1PM & checked into our hostel (which is AMAZING)… here’s the view from our balcony:

And to Emma’s delight, there is a local kitty who likes having her belly rubbed.

Our drive here was good, the scenery stark & beautiful.  We are in the desert…

and we’re right by the Dead Sea!

We went straight to Ein Gedi Reserve (National Park?)  which is in walking distance of our room – and  WOW… it was really beautiful.  Full of beautiful waterfalls, shallow pools, rocks, vegetation and Israeli critters.

 

It was a happy place, full of laughter & delighted squeals.  People with many different languages all enjoying this place and communicating, “will you take this picture of us?”  well enough for it to happen and return the favor.  We enjoyed cooling off in the water …

& were equally impressed with the views of the Dead Sea.

We then headed to a Dead Sea beach.  Unfortunately, the beach that is the hostel’s isn’t open, but we drove south & found a public one with showers… no mud – (maybe tomorrow) BUT I have to say that swimming in the Dead Sea was one of the craziest experiences I’ve had.  You absolutely can’t sink.  We “stood” in water that was really deep & our chests were above the surface.  I sat on Chris to see if I could sink him… NOPE.  I pushed on his shoulders with all I had… No, again.  We ‘water jogged’ & lost our balance with our feet popping up from under us & we felt like corks on the surface.  The water was harsh on all the little cuts we didn’t know we had and stung our lips.  But, oh, it was worth it.

We had dinner at a place in a little mall & then drove back to the room & are about to pass out from enthusiastic exhaustion.  Happy Day.

Massada in the morning, maybe explore David’s caves in the afternoon (where he hid from King Saul) & then on to our Bedouin tent for the night.

Shalom, Y’all.

 

 

So, after a pretty rough night’s sleep, we set off into Jerusalem for a day of touring.  We decided to start at the Via Delarosa… the commemorated walk that Jesus made from Judgement through 14 stages to the cross.

Today is the Feast of Tabernacles, which is a big deal to the Jewish people & makes things a lot hectic in the city.  We decided not to even try to go near the Western Wall… it was JAMMED.

We set out to find that there are many streets that are guarded by police and they won’t let anyone through.  There are gates only Arabs can go through and the city streets are more like tunnels than actual streets.  It is very easy to get turned around, especially when your way is blocked.

A boy asked us where we wanted to go, led us for a way, then told us to go up and right and we would be there.  He demanded money, Saying this was his ‘business’.  Chris gave him the equivalent of $1.25 or so & he fussed at him that it wasn’t enough.  We walked away.  Then we realized we were horribly lost inside the maze of the Muslim Quarter.  Thankfully, a nice man helped us and walked with us all the way to the beginning of the walk (for no charge).

He and Chris were talking most of the way about how the Jews were trying to take his home, and how they (Muslims/Arabs) like the Christians & Americans.  Along the way we encountered police escorting some Jewish boys through a crowd of screaming Muslims and a group of teenage boys yelling & running crazy recklessly.  The man had us quickly smoosh into the wall on the side to avoid being trampled.  The tension in this place is palpable.

The crazy thing is that as a tourist, we are exempt from the tyranny.  Both Jews and Arabs are fine with us… but they are NOT fine with each other.

We discovered that the Via Delarosa is really just a bunch of idols set along a random road in Jerusalem – nothing documented, nothing original.  And my heart hurts for this place.

I had no idea before what praying for the Peace of Jerusalem meant.  Now I know, and it brings tears to my eyes.

I think Jesus would be (or is) grieved by what people have turned this into… it’s a ‘shrine’ in set places in the name of religion.  “Holy Sites” made up by man… many arguing over who has the right location of biblical events.  Muslims sell Nativity scenes and crosses on the streets for money, but it means nothing else to them.  And Jews look at everyone not ‘like them’ and sneer.

We all wanted nothing more than to get out of the walls of this city.

We exited the Damascus gate, got some lunch (very yummy lamb kabob in a pita with salad, pickles & some green sauce that was terrific stuffed inside)

The cats here are like seagulls…

We then headed to the garden tomb, which was closed (but we know there’s nothing in there anyway :))

We were met at the door by some volunteers that gave us communion glasses & the elements because they thought we were there to attend a Portuguese service being held in the garden.  We walked through the garden and found a bench, prayed & had communion together on this day of the FEAST OF TABERNACLES.

We then walked on and saw Golgotha – it really does look like there’s a skull carved in the rock.

On to David’s Citadel (which wasn’t David’s, but set up by the Crusaders)

we found a lovely jewelry shop and the girls each got a keepsake souvenir.

We decided to come back to the hostel & rest before setting out again later in the afternoon.

On our evening excursion we shopped for a bit in the streets, stopped and enjoyed the view of the Mt of Olives,

pet a couple of local cats,

then exited the city gate

& walked and walked and… saw the beautiful moon,

and walked, and THEN we stopped for a bite to eat… I love food.

(Chris needs to download this picture…)

Back through the Damascus Gate & to our hostel for one more night… pray for quiet or no street life tonight.

On to Ein Gedi tomorrow.

The day can be summarized as making the best of many missteps & wrong turns… or at least trying to.

REALLY.

I took this picture thinking “this is how feel today”:

First on the list for the day was to get stamps for the postcards we wrote to all our friends & family.  After missing the post office twice, we decided to try to find a different one… we finally did after many dips & turns on uphill, crazy curvy roads.  Emma is now feeling nauseous.   Chris went to get postage, and comes back with postcards in hand… no stamps.  Turns out, to get 20 stamps, $100 US.  Uh, yeah.  We’ll be hand-delivering those, thanks.  Well, that was a 45-minute diversion.

We missed Elijah’s caves in Haifa because we set the GPS for Mt Carmel… and well, you know how following a GPS works out some of the time?  Well, that was all the time for us this day.  After about 15 more minutes in the car we pulled over so Emma could recover & try not to throw up after all the curves & hills (we had even moved her to the front with the AC blasting in her face).  We gave her some Dramamine and Pepto & waited.  There was a nice lookout there…

After re-grouping we found Nesser Park which proved to be a challenging hike & a pretty cool suspension bridge.

After our hike, we enjoyed some ice cream before starting our drive to Caesarea.

Caesarea proved to be really neat – we saw the theatre, where the girls danced on stage

Herod’s palace, the colosseum and other ruins:

We ate an amazing dinner at a place called Port Cafe with outstanding views of the Mediterranean.

Then it was on to the beach, or so we thought.  Finding a beach proved to be an exercise in frustration as we watched the sun get lower & lower in the sky.  When we finally found a beach open to the public, we found there was a really loud party on one side, campers on the other.  Trash everywhere.. the water looked beautiful, and we were going to try to make the most of it until we almost got run over by a crazy man in a truck, driving right next to the water…. We grabbed our stuff & left.

It was a little over an hour’s drive to Jerusalem… so we took a few deep breaths & decided to enjoy the ride, watching the bananas pass by.  I had no idea there were so many banana trees in Israel! They’re all under these nets & just right by the highways.

We watched the sun set as we drove and the moon was big and low in the sky.

As we turned off the main highway in Jerusalem, it’s like we hit a ghost-town.  No cars anywhere.  Then a couple of minutes later we see a few people walking in the street.  Then more people.  RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET!  Still no cars.  They are all dressed in their black & white, men with these really long curly side-hairs (I’m sure there’s a name for that) and crazy hats.  So these are obviously the very religious Jews… something’s going on…

Now there are tons of them & they are cursing us…   Chris said it reminded him of the movie Children of the Corn.  I didn’t see that one, but it really was bizarre & pretty awful.

We  turn up a street (following GPS still) & discover we are up a very narrow, steep dead end.  Finally, some ladies who speak English tell us that all the streets are closed (mind you, none of them were marked closed or blocked off) because it is a very holy day & we are in the most religious part of town.  We need to get out of that section NOW & don’t go the way the GPS tells us to go.

So we drive out the way we came with Chris’ window open as he says, “I know, I’m sorry, We’re lost.  We’re not Jewish”… etc.

After asking directions several times & making some more wrong turns, we find a place to park just outside the walls of the Old City.  It is dark.  We are tired.  We have no idea where we are.  I just need a good cry.

We put on our backpacks & head to the gate.  (We discovered later, after consulting a map, that this was the DUNG gate.  Of course.)  There was a very nice English-speaking soldier there who gives us directions to the gate near our hostel.

After a few more wrong turns and U-turns, we find the right street, push our way through a screaming crowd, then the police let us through a gate to a passageway that leads to our hostel.

Funny word, hostel.

Let’s just say, it’s not a place we’d stay again or recommend.

So, I dropped my things in a chair, picked up my Bible, went to Psalm 121 and started reading with tears running down my face.

First impression of Jerusalem: “I want to go anywhere else but here.”…

Here you go, Nelsons & anyone else wondering.

The shawarma is the meaty pieces & the falafel are the balls right next to the humus.  This was my lunch yesterday. 🙂

To quote Magen,  “Falafal is little balls of goodness and shwarma is little slices of goodness.”

We started our day packing up our place in Tzfat, which is a story in itself, which I’ll let Chris tell; then drove to Ginnosar (which has the claim of ‘The World’s Best Fruit” according to our boat captain today.)  We got on a boat like “The Jesus Boat” built to be the same size and roughly shape of the boats in Jesus’ day.  Our captain, David and his brother Joey built the boat out of… get this… North Carolina Pine! (and some ceder and something else i don’t remember)

What a cool experience… It was just the four of us and our captain and his one crew member.

We motored out in this electric boat (very low noise) and anchored.  We all jumped in and had a lovely swim.

David threw an authentic cast net from the same time period (made of wool) and then showed Chris how… we caught no fish… maybe we should have cast the net on the other side. 🙂

Chris tipped our captain with a silver coin he brought from home & it turns out David is not only a musician, but a coin collector as well – (God knew that!)…he was really blessed.  We got to see from the Sea: the Golan heights, Capernaum, & the other places we visited in that area yesterday along with Mt. Arbel, and the Valley of Doves that Jesus would have traveled from Nazareth to Galilee.

We then drove to the most North West corner of Israel  to see Rosh HaNikra.  Our first glimpse of the Mediterranean was on the road up there and – WOW!  Beautiful & blue… Emma wanted to pull the car over right then to go take a swim.  (We didn’t.)

Here’s the view from the top:

I thought we were going to have more time to explore at Rosh HaNikra, but it turns out it’s not really designed that way – we stood in line for a long time to get on a cable car to the bottom to see the grottos (pictured below).

The cable car is the steepest in the world – another cool little fact.

After seeing what there was to see in the caves, we got back in the car for a 45 minute drive to Haifa.  Sundown marked the beginning of Shabbot, which closes down many businesses, but we found a grocery store & gas station that were open.  We checked into our next apartment where we’ll be for 2 nights.

Grocery store olive selection… and you should have seen the cheese!:)

We were so excited to find we have a washing machine here which at this point is much needed.

Chris & I took a walk from the apartment to the beach which is about 2 blocks away and got some gelato (passion fruit, lemon, & mango), sat on a rock watching the waves crash and had a brief “date” while the girls were safely tucked into the apartment on their devices.

 

Beach in the morning & depending on Sabbath closings, we may venture out & tour around inland some more.

Thanks for reading along with us… it’s good to know you all are there praying for us!

This post is for my brother… 🙂

Shawarma is roasted meat on a revolving spit (much like gyro is done) it can be lamb, turkey, chicken, beef, veal or a mix of meats.

They cut it off the spit, smear some hummus & if you like it ‘spicy’ some pepper paste into a pita, stuff the meat in & put in a cucumber & tomato salad.  Then there’s a bar with so many yummy options, both spicy & not.  I chose roasted eggplant, pickled eggplant (which were about the size of a large grape tomato and PURPLE), a cabbage & carrot salad (which had a little kick to it and some really amazing Mediterranean spices), and pickles – adding them one at a time from my cute little bowl – they were all amazing.

Chris accidentally picked a tomato & what looked like jalapeno topping with cilantro, which was good, but really spicy.  I took one bite with that one.

They had a bottle of tahini you could squirt over the whole thing, but i opted out of that.

The meat was juicy and tender with a flavor I can’t describe except to say it tastes like shawarma (I know, that’s not helpful)… like little slices of pork, really (though i know it’s not pork) roasty and just mmmmm.

I have to say that the cucumbers here are amazing… they just taste fresher somehow!!  The tomatoes aren’t much different than home.  Oh, and the pita… let me just say it was the best pita I have ever had.

There it is… and for all of you who have been here  had it – are you celebrating with me? 🙂

We started our day in Capernaum (pronounced CAP-er-nom… I’ve been saying it wrong all these years!)  Here we saw the remains of an old synagogue & what is assumed to have been Simon Peter’s home.  Pretty cool.

 

St Francis of Asissi 

and Peter 

 

We loved the flora here – lots of flowers & trees that are very different from North Carolina.  We took some time under a tree to pray while looking over the Sea of Galilee, which I think was my favorite part.  It was REALLY HOT and we found shade whenever possible.

It’s amazing as we walked around thinking that this was the center of Jesus’ ministry for almost 2 years! There are more of Jesus’ miracles recorded in Capernaum than anywhere else in the Bible yet the people of Capernaum were unbelieving… look it up – Jesus was talking to these people when he said had the miracles been performed in Sodom, they’d have believed… BUT this is where He chose to be after being rejected in Nazereth – this is where Simon Peter, James, John and Matthew were called to follow – and follow they did.

We moved on to Tabgha, saw the church that claims the site of the multiplication of the loaves & fishes, though they now believe it happened on the eastern side of the Sea – but they had amazing iron doors & mosaic floors there.

We had fresh squeezed pomegranate juice which was a nice treat…  did I mention the HEAT?

We had lunch at a monastery/resort which is not open to the public, but Chris being Chris talked us in (on the recommendation of a friend.)  There was a crazy amazing cheese on this salad, which professed to be feta but was unlike anything I’ve ever tasted & I have to confess, at the end of the meal I had 22 olive pits on my plate.

There was a trail down to the water, which was beautiful, but our favorite thing to see there was the rock hyrax.  I wonder if they’d notice if I snuck this cutie on the plane?

jumping rocks at the Sea of Galilee…

On to the Mt of the Beatitudes, where a beautiful Catholic church stands.  Our timing was such that we came in on a visiting group singing acapella the beatitudes – i recorded a little of the end, and oh, man… it was really amazing.

The grounds around the church are pristine and my primary thought was that Jesus sure did pick a beautiful place to hang out and do ministry.  🙂

Oh… and the passion fruit slushie – yummy-freezie.  (Man, oh, man was it ever hot.)

Tiberias was sort of disappointing as it is a very large city with not a lot of significance for us.  We did, however, find a great information center and set up a boat ride on the Sea for tomorrow morning.  Chris got a Sim card for his phone which gives him a local Israel phone number, which makes communication here so much easier… AND we swam in the Sea of Galilee on one of the southern public beaches & finally cooled off at the end of the day.  I have to say I am surprised at how much trash there was just… everywhere.  and cats…everywhere.

We didn’t get to dip in the hot springs, but decided it was too warm for that anyway.  The highlight of the evening was schwarma & falafel – street food in Tiberias.  Yummo.

Back to the apartment for one last night in Tzfat & then a ‘Jesus’ Boat ride tomorrow before a drive to the West coast on the Mediterranean Sea.

We are pretty sure that Tzfat in Hebrew must mean “city of many steps and cats.”  Seriously.  These are just a few of both:

The city is built on a mountain, so there are lots of ups & downs….

 

This lengthy staircase is of particular interest as it was used by the British to separate the Jewish & Arab quarters of the city before 1948.  The Jews, in the battle for Tsfat, outnumbered 10 to 1, defeated the Arabs – who evacuated – in April of 1948.  Notice the bunker at the top of these steps with gun holes & light at the top… there are also still numerous bullet holes in the buildings in town from this same battle.

     

 

We all awoke at about 11PM unable to sleep, our bodies really confused about the time!  Thankfully, we were able to sleep in – and since there is NOTHING going on in Israel today, we are embracing the day of rest.

It is strangely quiet – there are no people on the streets, as it is Yom Kippur – the highest holy day of the Jewish faith.  It is the Day of Atonement, and most people are in the Synagogues fasting and praying until sunset.

The ‘verse of the day’:

“…for unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.”

–John 8:24, NLT

I am so grateful, and feel so blessed to be here and know I am His.

Selah.  (The Passion translation for this is “Pause in His Presence”)

---

 

Yom Kippur: It Is Finished

 

Monday, 9/21 4:20 PM

We are cruising over the Atlantic Ocean and, so far, our journey has been relatively uneventful.  We had a very close connection in Charlotte & and even closer one in Philadelphia, but our speed-walking skills paid off & we made it…

I have seen little of Chris this trip thus far other than his backside moving quickly down a people mover… but I figure we’ll have time to catch up in the next day or so. 🙂

The only complaint is that we’re in a row of seats against a wall, so they don’t recline much (even for airline seats) & right next to the lavatory… ah, em…  yeah, no sleep gonna happen tonight.

The girls are relishing the cute pillow & fuzzy blanket they found in their seat & the free movies… they quickly selected & plugged in to “Inside Out”…. So much for getting some school work done on the flight.

So, time to sit back & enjoy this 10 hour flight.