Day 5 - New Beginnings

We are leaving the Sea of Galilee area today. Before taking off we had two brave souls decide to be re-baptized in the Jordan River like our Savior Jesus was by John the Baptist. If you know me, you know I love a good baptism. I tear up for young and old. To say I was pumped for this would be an understatement. Today was the warmest day yet at 49 degrees this morning. Water was much cooler than that.

9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Mark 1: 9-11

 Our next stop was at Gideon Springs. You can find the story of Gideon in Judges chapters 6 and 7, the spring specifically in chapter 7.  At this spring Gideons men thirsty for days knelt and began drinking the water. Those that put their face in the water to drink were sent away and the 300 who lapped up the water in their hands to drink went on to be victorious in the battle. God didn’t want to show that Israel could be powerful with many, but rather powerful with the faithful. Smokey talked with us about here is another example of God using someone who is not powerful to prove a point. I don’t know about you, but that is incredibly encouraging to me. I am nobody from nowheresville. We all can still have significant roles to play in delivering His word to many.

Our third stop of the day was was this history teacher’s dream. Bet-she’An. This was a Roman Byzantine city that was destroyed and covered by a volcanic eruption in the year 749. This city was completely discovered by accident in the 1970’s and 80’s. You can see in the first picture the pool that is still covered in dirt. 

Before the Roman Bet-she’an, was the biblical Bet-She’An. This was the city where Saul’s sons were killed and before defeat he fell on his sword. The Philistines hung his head and his sons on the city wall. A few of us made the climb to the top. You could see down on the entire ruins of the Roman city...the amphitheater, the spa, the circus...they believe based on other cities this size that there is still a circus-maximus (race track for horse and chariot) to still be unearthed. 

Another amazing lunch was enjoyed by all. Roni, our guide and now friend at this point, took us to an establishment owned by two brothers. One was burned inside a military tank and the other a victim of terrorism shot in the face and in a coma for two months. They and their sister run a small eatery where we enjoyed Schnitzel and Sausage dog in pita bread. It was delicious!

Our last official sight seeing portion of the day led us to the Dead Sea area, specifically Qumran. This is where in 1947 THE Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Let me repeat, in 1947 the oldest known Hebrew bible to the world was found in a cave in the middle of the desert. So the story goes, two dudes in go walking in the middle of the desert, happen into a cave with these clay jars. Inside, scrolls. They travel to Jerusalem and sell them to a souvenir sop for some cash. The shop owner starts cutting up these souvenir pieces of ancient Hebrew. One of those pieces made it into the right hands and now we have a 2000 plus year old artifact. The picture here does it no justice, but what you are looking at is a small hole in the left side of the bottom cliff. That hole is actually a man sized cave/tunnel where they were found. 

The last shot is of the Dead Sea. We will be there later this week, but it was beautiful with the sun setting and the rain coming in. 

We drove into Jerusalem at it was turning dark. We will see it really for the first time tomorrow. And finally, Tate is coming out of her wheel. She is photobombing every shot. So here is a tribute to her goofiness today...

 Pro tip 1: Its been chilly. Layers are awesome, but I think our timing is amazing. There haven’t been too many other buses around making this experience a Disneyland adve nature. I love our small group. We can move through things relatively easy and still see it all. 

Pro tip 1: Try your tummy out on some food before you come. There have been some new dishes to us. Mostly because I have the pallet of a 7 year old child...Also, bring extra cash for lunch. Breakfast and dinner have been included daily, but it’s $30 daily to feed two people one meal.