Thanks!

Thank you all for following the blog and praying for our pilgrims safe return. 

Thank you to Jan Fitts for doing most of the writing, and to Chuck Davidson and the CE Committee for the idea!

Let me (Kate, just the tech person) know if you have any other ideas for SBPC on the Internet.

Saturday, Feb. 19

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Since today was the Sabbath, there was no hot food at the breakfast
buffet. We had to be ready for the bus at 8:30 to start our day. The
weather was another beautiful, sunny day with a high of about 66
expected.

We started our day at the top of the Mount of Olives looking over a
valley at the old city of Jerusalem. We went into the gardens and
churchof the Pater Nostre Church. This church is there to mark the
place where Jesus taught his disciples the Lord's Prayer. We read
Matt. 6:5-13 and Luke 11: 1-4. At this church the Lord's Prayer is
displayed on the walls (both inside and outside) in 100 languages. It
is on glazed tiles in about a 3'x4' "frame". There is an underground
grotto where Jesus stayed and taught his disciples.

This is in the area of Bethany, where Jesus stayed at the home of
Lazareth and his daughters Mary and Martha. From this area, we started
walking down the hill toward Jerusalem following the road Jesus took
when he rode the donkey into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

At an overlook, we could see the entire city of Jerusalem. We could
see the gates Jesus entered on Palm Sunday. It is the Golden Gate and
was a gate with double arches. The arches were closed in by Sullyman
the Magnificent (Ottoman Turk) because he did not like the Christians
using it as a place of remembrance of Jesus. After viewing the various
landmarks of the old city, we had a group photo taken (there was a
photographer by the side of the road). We read Matt. 21: 1-11 before
we descended.

We walked down further past Jewish cemeteries. This hill was full of
olive trees and the cemetery (1,000 yrs. old when Jesus was alive). It
is now mostly cemetery. We could see the grave of Absalom (David's
son). It looks like an upside down ice cream cone.

At the Franciscan church, Dominus Flavist (means "the Lord weeps"). We
read Luke 19: 41-44 where Jesus laments the destruction of Jerusalem.
The roof is dome shaped and decorated like a tear. This church was
built in 1955 on the ruins of a Byzantine church (mosaics were
visible). The window of the church looks across the valley at the gold
dome of the Dome of the Rock mosque).

We continued down the hill past the Russian Orthodox church (with gold
onion domes) marking the birthplace of Mary Magdalene.

Our next place to visit was the Franciscan (c. 1920's) Church of the
Agony in the location of the Garden of Gethsemane (which means olive
press). You enter the gated Church yard and garden and see a large
garden with olive trees planted in rows about 10-15' apart. There are
three olive trees that are over 2,000 years old in this garden, so
these trees could have witnessed Jesus bringing James, John and Peter
with him to this area to pray. While Jesus prayed, the others sat
under the trees in the shade and fell asleep. We read Matt. 26:34-35
and then went into the church. One painting in the interior shows
Judas kissing Jesus when he betrays him in the garden. One tree in the
garden had a plaque saying that Pope John planted it in 1964.

We got back on our bus to go to the bottom of the hill and to enter
the old city through St. Stephen's Gate (also called the Lion's Gate).
This is the gate where Stephen was stoned. We walked down an ancient
narrow road (in the Christian Quarter) to a church that marks the
place where Anne, mother of Mary was born (St. Ann's, which was built
in the times of the crusaders). Before entering the church, we went
right next to it to the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed a
paralyzed man on the Sabbath. We read that story (John 5:1-18) and
then entered the church of St. Mary. We began to sing some songs and
were joined by a group from London who sang few songs with us. The
voices echoed in the small stone chapel. We sang Amazing Grace, Kum Ba
Yah, and two other songs. The St. Anne's church is one of the older
churches that was not destroyed by the Moslems because it was used by
them for a boy's school.

We continued down the street. We stopped at one cross street for Jacob
to point out an arch with a tiny door. This is the "eye of the needle"
referred to by Jesus. Passageways used to have a large opening for
camels to pass through, and a small door to be used by people. When
only people were supposed to pass through, the large opening was
closed and the smaller door used.

We then came to the beginning of the Via Dolorosa (Way of Sorrow).
This traces Jesus' steps as he goes from being condemned to die to
being buried. There are fourteen stations along the way that are
places where Jesus walked and were listed in the Bible (except one was
not in the Bible). Most of the stations have a church or chapel to
mark them.

The first station is at the place where the large Antonia fort stood
(it is no longer there and there a Moslem school there now). This is
where Pontus Pilot condemned Jesus to death before a huge crowd.

The second station is where Jesus was taken and beaten, mocked and
made to wear the crown of thorns. This is marked with two chapels –
one of the Condemnation and one of the Flagellation. In one of them
on the floor you can see etched in the floor stones games that the
Roman soldiers played while on duty there. One had a beautiful gold
mosaic domed ceiling.

We continued down the road to the third station – where Jesus fell
under the weight of the cross the first time. This is marked by a
plaque on the wall an a Polish chapel.

Next is where Jesus's mother, Mary met him as he walked with the cross
(Armenian chapel).

The fifth station is where Simon of Cyrene was forced to help him
carry the cross (Franciscan marker). The road begins to ascend
downward at this point toward Golgotha (the Skull).

The sixth station is where Veronica wiped the sweat from his face and
is at the site of her house. This is the one not mentioned in the Bible.

The seventh station is where Jesus falls for the second time. We then
have to detour from the actual path because the streets are not the
same as in the past here (a building is in the way). The 8th station
is where he told a weeping woman not to weep for him and he predicted
the destruction of Jerusalem again (Luke 23). Station nine is where
he fell for the third time (marked by a Coptic church).

We then enter a crowded courtyard (after we pass through 2 chapels) to
the area outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (built by Helena in
the 4th C AD). Inside this church are the last five stations.

We entered the church, which was dark and crowded. It reminded me of
the former church in Istanbul (which was made into a mosque and now is
a museum) in decoration, architectural style and amount of light. We
made our way (with a struggle because of the crowds) upstairs to three
places. Where his clothes were taken off of him (paintings show these
things); he was nailed to the cross; he was put on the cross and dies;
he was taken off the cross and placed on the Stone of Anointment
(which was downstairs). Upstairs in a cave-like area was the tomb.
There was such a long line to go into the tomb, we elected not to wait
to go in there. We went downstairs and saw the stone of anointment and
then outside.

Jacob led us past many shops (reminded me of Istanbul Grand Bazaar) to
an open courtyard to a place for lunch. We were seated and had a
choice of falafel or chicken giro type sandwich. Some of us would have
liked a few minutes to shop in some of the shops in that area, but we
walked back to the bus (Jacob pointed the Cardo Maximus [main street
connecting the Damascus Gate and the Zion Gate] on a North/South axis)
and were driven around the town of Jerusalem and shown some of the
state buildings, etc. (We had extra time since we did not visit the
tomb).

At about 2:45 we went to the other supposed site of the crucifixion or
Golgotha (meaning skull). This one was discovered in the 1800's and is
more accepted by the Protestant churches. There is a Lutheran church
on this site. We were welcomed by a retired Baptist Minister, who
volunteers here for 3 months twice a year. We were led through
beautiful gardens to a place to sit and observe a rock wall with a
formation that looked like a skull. The reasons this is thought to be
more accurate as the actual site of the crucifixion and burial are: 1.
This was a place outside of the Damascus Gate and it is known that
Romans did crucify people in this area 2. This was the site of an old
quarry used to get stone to build Jerusalem and the Jews used a pit
like this to stone people 3. There was a garden here (garden tomb)
evidenced by the large cistern found along with the largest wine press
in Israel. This area is on top of Mt. Mariah.

Other facts we know: The tomb was that of a wealthy man (Joseph of
Arimathea); it was a new tomb (never used before) because it was not
completely finished. The tomb was a two-room chamber, one outer room
and the inner one where the body would have been laid for one year
before the bones would have been taken out and buried some other place.

We entered the tomb, which was two very small rooms cut from the side
of the mountain/quarry. The outer room or weeping room was separated
from the inner room by two half walls with a doorway in the middle. On
each end of the tomb room were spaces for bodies, one was finished and
one was not. In the center wall there was a small ledge.

After entering the tomb one or two at a time, we walked back through
the gardens to an area called "the ledge" where there were chairs and
a table ready four our communion service. A lone pilgrim from Thailand
joined us. Laurey and Bob led the communion service (they passed our
an order of worship for the service) and we read the words together
and sang together afterwards. After sharing the bread and the wine, we
walked back to the bus stop to our bus.

We went back to the hotel to do final packing, shower and then dinner
at the hotel before the bus took us to the airport to catch our plane.
We all waved goodbye to Charlie Craig who was staying on for a private
tour to Jordan. Charlie has two more days in Jerusalem (he plans to
visit some museums, etc. and then will have two days in Jordan. The
security was again tight getting our luggage x-rayed and answering
questions. We again could not take any liquids (such as water we
purchased at the airport) on the airplane. The Israeli law that
passengers may not leave their seats 30 minutes after take – off (or
30 minutes before landing) was again in force.

We had a bumpy flight part of the time and a long flight – 13 ½ hours.
We arrived at Atlanta on time and went through customs, then proceeded
to gates for the second flight. Some of the group were on different
flights, but most of the group were continuing on to Houston. Arrived
in Houston on time and mainly just tired! But we all agree it was a
wonderful experience and pilgrimage.

Communion in Golgatha

Communion in the garden tomb area at the end of our pilgrimage

Pool of Bethesda

Where Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath

Olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane

2,000 year old trees

Garden of Gethsemane

Entering the Garden

Walking down from the Mount of Olives

We walked down the path that Jesus rode on the donkey on Palm Sunday.

Friday in Jerusalem and Bethlehem

Friday, February 18, 2011

The weather was another beautiful day as we started out. The high was
supposed to be about 62 and there were no clouds in the sky. After
breakfast, we started out later than usual, at 8:15.

Our first stop was at the Jerusalem Museum to see two things: a 1/50
scale model of Jerusalem in 66 AD and the Shrine of the Book (Dead Sea
Scrolls).

The scale model was an opportunity to see a bird's eye view of the
city in the time of Jesus and the years up to the Jewish rebellion. It
was outdoors and the plaza with the model provided great views over
the city. There were three walls, the old walls, the second walls
(existing at the time of Jesus) and the third wall that was built in
the early 60's AD by Agrippa I, grandson of Herod. The model was built
during the time that the old city was under Jordanian rule, so there
are a few things that are not completely accurate. There is a theater
and hippodrome that may not be accurate because no ruins have been
found of these. We could see where Herod extended and enlarged the
temple. Herod also added the second walls.

From there, we entered the museum section that housed the Shrine of
the Book. This basically tells about the discovery of the Dead Sea
Scrolls (photos of the Bedouin that found them) and then you see
several of the scrolls. There are other documents that are not the
Dead Sea Scrolls, but they are some very old books and manuscripts.
The museum is very dark, so that the scrolls will not be damaged by
the lights in the rooms. The two clay jars that contained the Isaiah
scroll (and others) in Cave #1 were also on display. The Isaiah scroll
dates back to 100 AD.

Our next stop was to a mountain that is the highest spot in Jerusalem.
We drove past the military cemetery to a place called the Valley of
the Community. This is a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust and
the communities that were either wiped out or affected by the
Holocaust. You enter through a large passage way. The entire park is
open –air and is a map of Europe, but the lines of the countries are
made of massive stones that are about 20 feet tall. The limestone is
rough and massive, so you feel overwhelmed as you pass through. In
each country area or room, the name of the country and the names of
the communities are etched on the walls (in Hebrew and in English).
Jacob told us that almost 90% of the Polish Jews were murdered.

As we walked through, we came to the Ukraine area. A Cantor was there
to sing some songs for us. He sang a Psalm, a song in Aramaic, another
song and closed with a Hebrew song that is sung as people enter into a
funeral.

From this, we rode to the Holocaust Museum, which is also at the top
of a mountain (near the cemetery). This is also on a mountain top with
beautiful views of Jerusalem. We started the tour by seeing some of
the trees planted around the park. They are in honor of people that
helped the Jews during the Holocaust. We saw the one for Schindler (of
Schindler's list). Then we walked up to an area especially to remember
the children that were killed (1,500,000). Inside the tall building,
that was almost completely dark, you walk into an area that has
mirrored walls and 1 ½ million points of light (to be like stars).
Each light is to represent a candle for every child lose. As you walk
through you hear a continual list read (in English) of every child's
name, age and country.

Then we entered the actual museum. It is in a long building and you
sort of zig-zag yourself across two main aisles. There are photos,
videos, artifacts and all types of explanation of the horror beginning
with Hitler's rise to power and through the war. We had about 1-1 ½
hours to go through this on our own. It was very crowded, so some
things were hard to see and experience, but you were able to get the
main idea about how horrible the whole thing was. But it is still hard
to grasp how this happened in a supposedly civilized world. It is
almost like a sure sign that there are evil people in this world, even
today. It also made me appreciate the religious freedom we have in the
USA.

We had time to have lunch in the café there at the museum and then we
boarded the bus to meet our guide into Bethlehem. Jacob was not
allowed to go into Bethlehem because Israeli Jews are not allowed in
there since 2,000. Our driver could go (Aaron our regular driver was
not with us today because his bus was in the repair shop). We picked
up a Palestinian Christian guide before we passed through the security
gate and wall into Bethlehem.

As we rode through the streets of Bethlehem, we learned a few thing:
Bethlehem means bread (wheat was grown there); there are two
Bethlehem's in Israel, but this one is Bethlehem of Judea so we know
Christ was born there; Bethlehem is 25% Christian (down from 50% in
2,000 – immigration of non Christians has caused this); the population
is 50,000 and it is really like a suburb of Jerusalem. We also learned
that until the 4th century AD, followers of Christ were called
Nazarenes.

As we drove down the main street, a herd of sheep and goats crossed
the street in front of us, followed by a shepherd on a donkey. The bus
was parked in a parking area and we walked up a hill to see two
churches: The Church of the Nativity (Greek Orthodox, Armenian
Orthodox) and St. Catherine's church (Roman Catholic). The churches
are literally right next door to each other (walls touching).

The Church of the Nativity is the oldest continually operating
Christian church in the world. When the early Nazarenes started
worshiping on the site (where Jesus was born), the Roman Emperor,
Hadrian built a temple to Adonis at the site to stop the worship. In
333 AD when Constantine's mother, Helena came to the Holy Land to
build churches for Christianity, she had the temple torn down and the
first church built on this site. This church was destroyed in 529, but
rebuilt by Justinian in 540. The entrance was not very impressive. It
was explained that the original entrance had two large doors. Because
of a structural problem, one door was closed off and a room was added
to the front to give support. The crusaders lowered the opening of the
foor to about 48" to keep people from riding in on horses and camels.

We entered, through the very low door into the Nave. The original
floor mosaics from this church are still seen through a hole in the
nave floor (about 42" below the current floor). On the side upper
walls there are still gold mosaics from the Byzantine period. They are
some what damaged from the gold being valuable (and stolen) and the
wood ceiling (original) leaking over the years, but still very pretty.

At the altar area of the church, we went to a small Greek Orthodox
chapel (with icons) and went down several steps below the high altar
in to a small space to see two things: The original rock where Jesus
was born (covered with marble and a 18 point star – silver with a hole
in it so you could touch the rock below); the manger he was born in
(this was protected by a screen and covered with an ornate cloth).
Both of these had candles lit all around them. Some of the other
pilgrims were bringing taper candles to light candles at these two
objects/things.

After our group saw the rock and manger, we gathered at the end of the
very small room and Katherine read the Christmas Story. We then sang
"O Little Town of Bethlehem".

Back upstairs, we had some time to look at the Nave and take photos.
Then we went out a side door into a cloister that was connected to
this church originally and now adjoins the front cloister of St.
Catherine's (Catholic) church. The original Corinthian capitols from
the Crusader period were still there on some of the columns of the
cloister. The Catholic church dates from the 18th C. In the courtyard
is a statue of St. Jerome. He is the first person to translate the
Bible (I assume to Latin). He did it in Bethlehem so he could better
understand the places he was "writing" about.

We walked back down hill to the bus, passing a Star & Bucks Coffee
shop. (Wonder if Starbucks knows about this one!) Back on the bus, we
were taken to a shop that sells olive wood carvings, mother of pearl
items and jewelry (things like the Jerusalem Cross pendants, etc.). We
had about 45 minutes to shop. Gerald and Charlie went outside and were
"befriended" by a young boy selling flutes made of reeds. He gave them
each one when they would not buy from him. Several others on the bus
ended up buying from him. He told Gerald he had two sisters, two
brothers and his mother. His father was killed by the Israelis.

We rode the bus back to the gate. We had three Israeli Army men board
our bus to look around before we crossed back across the border. The
bus took us back to the hotel where we either rested or walked around
in the hotel area before we met at 6:30 for our evening reflections,
Bible verses and prayer.

At dinner, since it is the Sabbath, the tables were set with a sesame
roll at each place and a small bottle of sweet wine at each table. We
saw other Jewish groups open the wine, pour it in the one wine glass
on the table and pass it around.

After dinner, we went back to start packing for our return trip home.

Holocaust museum

Entry to the museum

Valley of the Communities

A Cantor singing various songs to our group in the Valley of the Communities. This area is large stones in the plan of the map of Europe. In each country the names of the Jewish villages that were affected by the Holocaust.

Lunch in the Jewish Quarter

Zion gate

The Zion Gate into the Old City. Note the bullet marks from wars in the stone.

Upper room

Room believed to be the Upper Room. This room was built on the site by the crusaders, thus the Gothic arches.

Our first day in Jerusalem

Thursday, February 17, 2011

After breakfast at the hotel, we boarded the bus at 8 am sharp. We had
a busy day ahead and had several "appointments" to keep at museums and
sights. We drove first to the City of King David, which is outside of
the city walls of Jerusalem (the old city). On the way, Jacob
introduced us to David, a Jew from Dallas, TX, who is also a tour
guide but has lived here for 20 years. He was along to assist and give
us a perspective from an Jewish side. Jacob is Jewish and was born in
Jerusalem, but David is a more "practicing" Jew. And, his English is
better!

Jacob told us that the city of Jerusalem celebrated its 3,000 yr.
anniversary in 1997. Today the weather is cold and windy, but sunny.

Our first stop is the City of David on Zion Mountain, which is outside
the old city walls. The current city walls were from the time of
Sulliman the Magnificent (Ottoman Turks). In the time of Jesus, the
city walls encompassed 440 acres; in the present, the walls enclose
230 acres. There are four quarters: Moslem is 45%, Armenian is the
smallest (Armenian was the first culture to embrace Christianity),
Jewish and Christian.

Our first visit was to the City of David and the visitor's center
there. This area had recently been excavated and is where David
founded his city (Zion Mtn.) The City of David was the dividing line
between Judah in the South and Benjamin in the North. This overlooks
the Kidron Valley. In the Kidron Valley there is a low spot of the
"water source" (II Samuel, Chapter 5). The ruins of Zion, the City of
David were discovered recently. For a long time archiologists looked
within the city walls for this. But in the last 100 years, it was
discovered that the City of David was outside of the walls. Old graves
and other sites have been uncovered. In addition, the spring and
underground tunnels to get to the spring have been uncovered:
Hezekiah's tunnel and the Canaanite Tunnel. We walked through the
Canaanite tunnel (because the other one has about 24" of water in it.
This involved going down many steps and then through some very narrow
passages (you had to almost turn sideways to get through!). The tunnel
is from 1,800 BC. After coming out of the tunnel, we saw the Pool of
Shiloh, where people who came to Jerusalem washed before coming to the
temple to take their sacrifices. This pool was 120 meters x 50 meters.
After the destruction of the temple in AD 70, bodies of people were
found under paving street stones near the pool, complete with
provisions.

Our next stop was the Church of St. Peters of Gallicantu (a
Benedictine/French) This church is on the site of the house of Ciaphas
(the Jewish High Priest where Jesus was held over night after being
arrested). Jesus was lowered in a "dugeon" which was actually the
bottom of the water cistern. We saw the hole he was lowered in and
then walked down in the cistern where he spent the dark, wet, lonely
night. In the courtyard of this house, Peter denied Jesus three times
before the cock crowed. We had a time for reflection (Matt. 6: 59-65)
and confession while we were in the dark place that Jesus was held
overnight. We could see the Byzantine crosses that were etched into
the sides of the narrow hole when we were in the bottom of the cistern.

Afterward, we had a little time to shop in the gift shop and then we
were on the bus to go to Mt. Zion to see King David's tomb. This is
now something of a contested sight, since the City of David has been
discovered. It is believed that the true tomb may be found with more
excavation. In the meantime, this is what is considered the tomb. We
had to enter separately (men and women). All we could see was part of
a casket or drape. Most of it was covered with a thick plastic sheet.

From there, it was a short walk to the location of the Upper Room.
This location was supposed to be where the Last Supper and Pentecost
took place. The room actually dated form the Crusaders period so it
was built in the Gothic Period. Evidence of Moslem occupation was
there because of a niche added in the wall in that style.

From there we walked to the Zion Gate to enter the Old City. This
gate shows evidence of the wars for this area (you can see the bullet
holes in the stone). This gate takes you into the Armenian quarter.
Until 1948, Jews only lived within the Old City walls in the Jewish
Quarter. After the war in 1948, the whole old city was under Jordanian
rule. The Jordanians tore down the buildings in the Jewish Quarter. In
1967, when the Jews got control back of this area, they found the
remains of ancient civilizations. They decided to re-build, but
preserve the old ruins. This was done by an underground museum showing
the houses and quarters of the Jews from the time of Christ (until 70
AD). We went in a museum after lunch (which was on our own in the
Jewish Quarter) that was underground and showed all of the very large
houses that were there. These houses were believed to be those of
priests and wealthy citizens (some were 6,000 sq. ft.). The houses
were decorated and designed in the Greco-Roman style of the day. The
museum is the Wohl Museum of Archeology. We saw film presentation
about the destruction of the temple. This depicted a family of a
priest and how they reacted during the rebellion and the threat of the
Romans coming to destroy the city.

From there, we walked to the large plaza (Hakotel Square) in front of
the Wailing Wall area. We had an opportunity to go to the wall and
say or leave prayers. The women were to go on the right side and the
men could go on the left side. It was a very moving experience. The
people there were very devoted and spiritual. The combination of
seeing all the pilgrims and knowing this wall was there when Jesus was
alive was really a moving experience.

After this, we walked further to the South and went into another
museum to see a presentation of a "typical" pilgrim coming to
Jerusalem, entering the Temple, buying a sacrifice and taking it to
the priests to be sacrificed.

Our next stop was to see the "Robinson's Arch" on one side of the city
wall. This is named by the man that discovered the arch embedded in
the old wall. This was one of the entrances that would have been used
by priests and dignitaries to enter the Temple complex. The arch can
still be seen on the wall, but it was covered up during the Ottoman
rule.

Around the corner from this we saw two area that had been covered up
that were for the common people. This is were people would pay the
money to enter and carry in their sacrifices. The steps on this side
are original from the time of Jesus. It was very moving to see and
walk up the same steps that Jesus must have taken to enter into the
Temple.

After that, our tour day was over. We were all very tired, but had
seen so many wonderful things! Back at the hotel, we had some time (45
minutes) to rest and then our group met to reflect on the day at 5:30.
At 6, we went on the roof top terrace to see the city at night under a
full moon.

After that, we had dinner in the hotel and then to bed! Tired feet,
but a wonderful day.

Jerusalem hotel

Ready to get on the bus for our first day in Jerusalem

Re: Floating in the Dead Sea

I'll upload the pictures tonight!

Blog tech support

Floating in the Dead Sea

Floating and Water Ballet in the Dead Sea

Gideon Spring (or Harod Spring)

Arriving at Gideon Or Harod Spring for a short devotional on Tuesday.

Qumran Caves

View of one of the caves that the dead sea scrolls were found in.

Tuesday and Wednesday

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

We got up and had to have our luggage out by 7:00 and out to the bus
by 8:00 to be on our way to the Dead Sea. On the way we had three
stops. The first stop was at the ruins of Bet Shean. Bet Shean was a
Roman city in the time of Jesus. It is mentioned in the Bible as where
Saul's body was displayed after he was killed by the Philistines in a
battle at Mt. Gilboa. The area has been settled since the 5th
millenniums BC. There is a Tel there, next to the ruins of the Roman,
Byzantine and Muslim site. In 750 AD, an earthquake destroyed the city
and it was abandoned.

Much of Bet Shean had been restored so you can see the amphitheater,
theater, Odeon, hippodrome, main streets, public restrooms, public
baths, gymnasium, shops. The typical Roman main street is on a North/
South axis. The main street here was built with a high point in the
center for drainage. The main buildings and shop were along the main
streets and those perpendicular to the main street (called Cardi
Maximus). We walked around for almost an seeing the old columns,
paving, etc. Originally there was a Byzantine church on top of the
Tel, but when the Muslims took over, they tore down the church.

From there, we drove about 30 minutes to the foot of Mt. Gilboa to
the location of the Harod (great) Spring. In Judges 4 Gideon is camped
with thousands of soldiers at the spring and God tells him to trim
this down to 300. God helps him by telling him to have the remaining
men to drink from the spring. Those that drank like a dog (lapping)
were chosen, leaving 300 men to fight. Gideon then defeated the
Midianites in a surprise night attack. The area is now a national park
with a large swimming pool near where the spring flows.

We then had an hour's ride to Qumran (where the Dead Sea Scrolls were
found).

When we arrived, we had lunch at a large cafeteria at the entry to the
site. We had plenty of time to eat, shop in the large shop there and
have ice cream before our 2:15 time to enter the site.

From several areas we were able to see the caves that the scrolls
were found in. (Except Cave 1, where the first scrolls were found was
not visible from our viewpoint). The scrolls were found by Bedouin
shepherds in 1947. They sold them to an antiquity dealer. This spared
much excavation and exploration and now there are several caves that
had scrolls in them. The village where the Essenes lived. This sect of
Judaism was a group looking for the Messiah and some speculate that
John the Baptist may have lived and studied with them for about a
year. It is believed that they hid scrolls in the caves when threats
of the Romans taking over and enslaving them. (This sect joined the
group at Masada that were the last of the rebels of the Jews.) We saw
the bath houses, their aqueduct system, writing bench, etc. One of the
caves (cave #4) contained 14,000 pieces of scrolls torn to bits. It is
believed that a Roman soldier may have found them and torn up the
scrolls. Historians were able to piece them back together.

From Qumran, we drove along the Dead Sea, past the place where it
narrows and then gets larger near Masada. We passed David Oasis (where
David was captured), several Oasis, saw some ibis (small antelope
typical of the area), a possum looking creature, date palm trees,
mango trees in the Oasis. The day was cloudy and hazy partly because
of a wind storm South of us.

We arrived at our hotel, Isrotel on the Dead Sea around 4 pm. There
were 5-6 large hotels in this area. These hotels are usually fully
booked year round because they all have spas. We noticed there was
much more Hebrew being spoken in this hotel (and less English labels
on things). We went to our rooms and dressed to go float in the Dead
Sea. The beach was across the street from the hotel and was "closed"
but we managed to get over there and do a little floating before it
got dark! This experience was pretty strange because after you
floated, it was hard to get your feet back down to stand up. Your skin
became slightly oily and it was not as cold as you would think it
would be. Gerald and Matt did not get in the water (claiming it was
too cold), but they did take photos of us doing some "water ballet"!
After 20-30 miutes in the water, we walked across the street back to
the hotel. Everyone but me went downstairs to the hotel's hot tub,
which had the Dead Sea water in it to float in a heated pool. The Dead
sea is around 1,200 feet below sea level. You do not get sunburned
here because the UV rays are diluted as they go lower. Another reason
why this area is so popular.

After a shower, we went downstairs to another hotel buffet dinner. The
different thing about this was that beer and wine was free! Some in
the group had spa appointments and they either did them tonight or
were doing it tomorrow morning before we leave.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

We got up late and went down to breakfast at about 9:15. Some of the
group went swimming in the Dead Sea, walking around the small area
(shops, McDonalds, etc.), some exercised, ran along the beach. At
10:30 we had to have our bags out and the bus left at 11:30.

We arrived at Masada around noon. After a short orientation film we
loaded on a large

gondola (it held 80 persons) and rode up the mountain top fortress
that was built by King Herod. One theory is that a fortress was built
in the Hasmonean Period (103-76 BC). Herod built this fortress and
palace during his reign (37-4 BC); it was taken over by the Romans in
6 BC. (Herod was a Jewish King, the Romans conquered Judea in 6 BC).

In 66 AD, the Jewish revolt started and the Jews took over Masada by
the Sciarii headed by Menahem, son of Judah the Galilean). After he
was murdered, Eleazar Ben Yair became leader of the rebels in Masada.
In 70 BC the after the destruction of Jerusalem, the last of the
rebels fled to Masada. They were joined there by the Essenes and
Samaritans. The Romans aid siege to the fortress in 74 AD. The siege
lasted 2 years. The Romans finally succeeded in taking over by
building a large ramp on one side of the mountain. At the top of the
ramp, they built a tower. From the tower, the Romans had battering
rams to the gates. When the Jews realized they were beaten, they
decided to kill themselves rather than be taken a slaves by the
Romans. In the ruins, the pottery "lots" were found in the ruins of
the ten men who would be the ones to kill everyone and then the last
one of those 10 would kill himself. Two women and three children hid
in a cistern. They told the story to the Roman soldiers. The ten lots
were found and we saw the room they were found in. The remains of the
three story palace are there. The palace hangs off one side of the
cliff. To get to the top of the mountain, you can either take a
gondola (that holds 80 people) or walk up a "snake path". We rode up
and down on the cable car. There is a TV mini-series on this that was
produced by ABC in 1981, starring Peter O'Toole and the Roman Captain
and Peter Strauss as the Jewish leader.

After Masada, we took the bus to Jerusalem. The ride was about 1 ½
hours. We passed several Bedouin camps or villages. Very primitive,
although they have cars and electricity. Jacob said they are different
now in one way, they stay in one place and are not nomadic any more.
We saw several camels, sheep, goats along the way also. We passed
through Samaria and saw the road to Jericho that the Good Samaritin
story comes from.

As we came into Jerusalem, we could see the Temple Mount with the gold
dome, even though it was cloudy and hazy. We were now at 2,700 ft. and
it was cold (around 50 degrees) and windy. We stopped at a observation
point at a university to look at a great view of the city. We got off
the bus and read two books of Psalms about coming up to Jerusalem. We
traveled on to our hotel, the Hotel Dan Panorama and checked in.

Exploring was not much of an option before our 6 pm meeting because
the weather was cold and it was raining. Some of us looked at the
shops on the lower level of the hotel. At 6 we met for prayers,
reflection and to discuss the busy agenda for Thursday.

We ate at the hotel buffet and then most went up to our rooms to get
settled and to bed to be rested for the busy day ahead.

Dead sea

View of the dead sea from our hotel window. A hazy day because of a sand storm south of us. Yesterday we floated in the sea.

Feb. 15 opening prayer

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for another day to explore, renew,
Meditate and interact together in this Holy Land.
As we move South to the lowest place on earth, be with us & continue to bless us with the experiences we are so fortunate to have on this trip. You created this world for us & are in control of everything we see, touch, feel and do.
May we all continue to be amazed by your goodness, power & glory; and may we be open to what you want us to experience on this trip.
In the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit Amen.

Sent from my iPhone

Boat

Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee

Sunday and Monday in Israel

Sunday, February 13, 2011

We got up, dressed and went down for breakfast. The bus left at 8 to
take us to our first stop for the day – Mt. Tabor. Driving through the
town of Tabor, we were told that it is a Bedowin town. These people
work like Westerners, or have wealth if they do not work. The town
looked pretty prosperous and we saw many very nice (new) homes. Jacob,
our guide explained that the Arab culture is not very trusting of
banks, so they may start building a house, and if they run out of
money, they stop construction until they have saved more money to
continue.

We got off the bus at a parking area and waited about 20 minutes for
the vans to take us up the switch back road to the summit of Mt.
Tabor. The road is one lane, so the vans have to be timed so they do
not meet ones coming down when vans are going up. At the top, we
walked into the gardens of the Church of the Transfiguration
(Catholic). This is one of the places that the Transfiguration of
Christ is said to occur. Jesus went up on the mountain with Peter and
John and he was transformed before their eyes. They also saw Moses and
Elijah. The nave of the church is dedicated to Jesus, with a beautiful
altar. The windows behind the altar had peacocks in the stained glass.
The architect also designed two small chapels (one on each side of the
church), one for Moses and one for Elijah, just as Peter said he would
to in Matthew 17:1-13.

After seeing the church and looking at the views of the Jezreel
Valley, we sat in an area of the garden and had a short service. We
read Matthew 17 verses, sang some hymns and had prayers. We took the
vans back down to the bus and then had about an hour's ride to our
next stop, which was Banias or Caesarea Philippi. This Roman town
(built by Herod and taken over by one of his sons after Herod died)
was located near the mouth of the Jordan River with a mountain stream
(from Mt. Hermon) running through it. There are ruins of several pagan
temples. One is the temple of Paneas (Greek god of nature). The ruins
of the temples were visible (one backed up to a large cave). Niches
carved into the rock (face of the mountain) were visible. Jesus went
here with his disciples to get away from the crowds in Galilee and
asked them "who do you think I am?" (Matthew 16:15-16). Driving to
this place we went through fields of crops and livestock. It is
located very near the Lebanon and Syria Borders at the very northern
tip of Israel. We saw mine field warnings along the side of the roads.
We also saw the fences along the borders.

From there, we went to lunch at a former Kibbutz. This was the lunch
that was supposed to be our St. Peter's Fish lunch, but it may have
not been exactly that. We ate at the Kibbutz restaurant (there is also
a hotel there) and they served a buffet lunch which included the fish
dish. After lunch we got our rain gear and towels from the bus (it had
started raining and walked about 200 yds. Through the grounds to a
small creek where those of us who were brave, took off shoes, socks
and rolled up our pants and waded across a small area of the Jordan
River. This was to remember our Baptism. The whole thing was a little
crazy with the rain and confusion of the moment. But most participated
and the rain stopped. We then got in a circle, read bible verses and
sang "Amazing Grace". (I missed most of the service because I had to
retrace steps to find Gerald and Charlie C. – who had decided to get
out of the rain back at the restaurant.)

Back on the bus, we dried off and were taken to see the historic 2,000
yr. old boat from the time of Jesus in Kibbutz Ginosar (on the Sea of
Galilee). The boat was found in 1986 and is now housed in a museum for
it. The boat has been preserved in a solution of heated polyethylene
glycol to keep it from "melting". It is 7 ½ feet by 26 ¾ feet long.
There are several types of wood used in the boats construction, but it
was mostly made of cedar. It is believed this boat is the type used by
Jesus and his disciples.

We then went back to the hotel to rest up before dinner. Several of us
attended the 6 pm Sunday evening church service at the Church of
Scotland (around the corner from the hotel). We made up about 80% of
the congregation that night! The service included communion and was
very nice. Back at the hotel, the group met and reflected over our
experiences of the day. Then we al went to dinner at the hotel. Gerald
and I met Sarah and Marsha at the Tiberias water, sound and light show
for the 9 pm show. It is a free show each night at 7, 8 and 9 pm.
Quite interesting and hard to describe, is all I can say.

Back to the room and to bed.

Monday, February 14, 2011 – Valentine's Day

We all met for breakfast at the hotel, then walked across the street
to put large items on the bus before we walked to the dock to board a
replica fishing boat for a ride on the Sea of Galilee. The morning was
cool and cloudy, but the ride was really unique and wonderful to be on
the same body of water we had read about so many times in the Bible.
As we left the dock, the crew raised the American Flag and played a
tape of the Star Spangled Banner (we all stood and saluted and sang!).
Then some Christian music played as we went out into the Sea. The Sea
of Galilee is about the size of Lake Tahoe. When we got out into the
middle of the lake, the boat was stopped, and we listened while Hunter
read the verses about Jesus stopping the storm on the Sea of Galilee.
Then we had moments for quite reflection.

After that, the crew showed us some things they had for sale
(including a CD they had made) and we listened to their CD for the
rest of our trip across the lake. We landed where the boat museum was
and got on our bus to go to the Mount of the Beatitudes. This is on
top of a hill looking down on the Sea of Galilee. There is a church up
there to mark the place with beautiful gardens all around it. The
Church is octagon shaped with a beautiful dome. These nine things
symbolize the nine Beatitudes. We sat in a small garden and took turns
reading verses from Matthew 5. Then we had time to look at the
interior of the church and the gardens and down on the sloped area
where Jesus preached.

Our next stop was the church marking the place where the miracle of
the loaves and fishes took place. Inside the church is an ancient
mosaic showing the loaves and fishes from an earlier church at that
site (5th century). There was a mass going on while we were visiting
this church. In the courtyard was an old olive press and an olive
tree. This church is built on a rock that Jesus blessed the loaves and
fishes before they were shared with the 5,000 people. It is now a
Benedictine Monastery.

Below this site is another church and gardens marking where Jesus
served the disciples a fish dinner and told Peter he would build the
church upon a rock (Peter). This one is right on the water and the
oldest church we saw so far today. It is called the Church of St.
Peter's Primacy at Tabgha.

We then traveled to a city that Jesus used as his headquarters in the
Galilee area, Capernaum. Here, we saw (under a church) the ruins of
the house of Peter. Near that is the ruins of a Synagogue. The ruins
are from a 4-5th Century Synagogue. You could see under the walls of
this Synagogue, the foundations of the Synagogue from Jesus's day.
Jesus taught here (Mark 1:21). We also saw another ancient olive press
here.

We stopped by the side of the road for a quick giro sandwich (called
something else in this part of the world). The guy in the shop ran to
the restaurant next door for help when he saw our long line. We found
out that in the part of the world, an "oriental restaurant" is not a
Chinese restaurant – it is a "near East" restaurant. In other words,
it is typical food of this area.

From lunch we drove to Nazareth, which is inland and at a higher
elevation. We passed through Cana on the way (site of the wedding and
wine miracle). Nazareth is now a large city of about 600,000 people
(vs. about 3-400 in the time of Jesus). It has the largest population
of Israeli Arabs. It is the home of the Bartholomew. We passed stores
all decked out with Valentine's Day merchandise.

Our first stop in Nazareth was the Church of the Annunciation (where
the angel Gabrial appeared to Mary). This is a modern church and it is
decorated with mosaics from all over the world (by countries). Under
the church you can see the area where the grotto was the Mary lived
in. The church is beautiful and on two levels with an unusual dome.

Our next stop was a short distance away to the Church of St. Joseph
(built over the carpentry shop of Joseph, Jesus's father). You could
go down below here also and see the ruins of the house that was once
there. Joseph was probably a wood carpenter or a marble mason, or both.

We boarded the bus again and rode to a very interesting "exhibit"
called Nazareth Village. This is a mock up of sorts of what Nazareth
looked like in the days of Jesus. We started with a tour through
several room (with a guide) explaining things about how people lived
and what the religious and political atmosphere was like in those
times. We saw a replica of a cross an had the execution by being
crucified explained (this was a political form of punishment).
(Religious execution was stoning.) Also the terrible things done by
the Roman soldiers to the people.

Then we stepped outside into a field of terraced farming, sheep and
goats, and donkeys. All with shepherds and other workers in authentic
costume. There was a wine press and areas for the animals. We then
went into a carpenter shop to watch a carpenter use the tools of the
day. An very interesting exhibition of how cloth was woven from the
wool to the finished product, a typical kitchen, house, etc. was
shown. This really brought to life what we had been trying to imagine.
Many of the sights are in the middle of urban areas now and it is
hard to separate the new from the old in those sights.

After this, we went back to the hotel to pack because we are leaving
the Scots hotel tomorrow and will be traveling to the Dead Sea.

Map

I found this map helpful as I was reading the most recent blog entries:

http://www.isram.us/bibleland/images/map/Bibleland_Experience_Map.pdf

Scott's Hotel in Tiberias

We are staying in a really nice hotel owned by the Church of Scotland and it is quite different from the other local hotels - the Scots are definitely present in their tartans and food - bacon!

We have sampled the local wine as well as more food than should be allowed.  But as long as they can still get us on the plane, onward we shall go!

Laurey and Bob have  had great messages and we are all participating in the prayers and scriptures.  In fact, the service today started this morning and continues this evening! 

Keep praying for us and for peace in the Middle East and on earth.

Lu Taylor

Sunday - Down by the River side

Today is my birthday and this was a wonderful day to celebrate.
Breakfasts are full of wonderful foods to sample and enjoy. I didn't try
it, but have you ever had chocolate cake for breakfast. Looked great,
Maybe tomorrow.

One of the adventures we had was seeing the headwaters of the Jordan River
at a place that used to be Caesera Philipi. We could actually see the
water coming from the rocks from the spring.

A little further down stream, we stopped for lunch and I had St. Peter's
fish - head and all. Can't believe how many bones are in a whole fish.

After lunch we went to a spot that looked like many of the pictures of
John the Baptist doing his thing. The trick to the day was that it was
drizzling rain. Most of us at least got our feet wet as we carried
umbrellas or wore our parkas. The slippery rocks, the water that came to
Hunter's knees, the variety of things that got baptized, and the
fellowship made an experience that we won't soon forget. For myself and
Lu, we decided that a toe in the water was sufficient. We decided this
after seeing Hunter in water up to his knees and I knew that I would be in
the water up to my waist! It was good and certainly memorable. Be sure
to ask your friends about some of the interesting and humorous
experiences.

Even though we haven't had to contend with too many other tourists, it has
been interesting to hear the variety of languages. The influence of
Christianity throughout the world is felt.

We think of all of those we left at home and trust that all is well.

Doris

the well at Megiddo

descending into the well at Megiddo, almost 300 steps down and 77 steps up from the hidden well

Sea of Gallilee

First view of the Sea of Gallilee

Roman Aqueducts

Aqueducts built to carry water from the Mt. Carmel range to Ceasarea (built by Herod the Great around 20 BC

Saturday, Feb. 12

Saturday, Feb. 12

We went down to breakfast and had a great breakfast. The buffet had
everything from fish to nuts! While waiting to board the bus, we got
another view of the Mediterranean Sea, under a beautiful partly cloudy
sky. As we traveled North toward Caesarea (ruins), the weather became
more cloudy, but rain was not expected. We were given headsets for
when we were being guided at sights on the bus and we tested them to
be sure they worked.

We learned that Tel Aviv is a Unesco World Heritage site because of
the "Bauhaus" style of most of the buildings. Bauhaus is the style
marking the beginning of 20th Century Modern style. Since Tel Aviv
was founded at the beginning of the 20th century, most of its building
are this style. What this means is that the buildings look much like
the newer parts of most European cities. The original name is Jappa,
after one of Noah's sons. He is believed to be the founder. Jappa is
considered the oldest port city in the world.

We arrived at the site of Ceasarea. This seaport town was constructed
at the site of the ancient seaport town of Strato (Phoenician) by
Herod the Great in the year 20 BC. Herod named it after Caesar. This
was one of seven palaces Herod built. When we arrived, we saw a film
showing the palace from the time of Herod through the Muslum times. It
was occupied by the Romans, then Byzantines, Ottomans, Crusaders, etc.
Each group built its own different structures. Originally, Herod build
a large port and breakwater. Some of Herod's structures were toppled
by earthquakes. We saw the Roman Theater, Amphitheater, Herod's
palace, room where Paul was convicted before he was sent to Rome (to
be imprisoned and then executed). We boarded the bus and passed by the
moats built by the crusaders (King Louis IX of France) on our way to
see the Roman Aquaducts constructed by Herod to bring water from the
Carmel mountain range to Caesarea.

From there, we drove to see the Tel of Meggido (also known as
Armageddon). This Tel has more than 20 layers. It is the factual site
that James Mischner used when writing THE SOURCE. We could see the
Kibbutz where James M. stayed while he was researching the book.

We climbed up Megiddo, passing one Cananite gate, and then entering
another later one. Soloman built a palace here and we saw the ruins of
the horse stables and his palace. We saw an old altar (round, made of
stones), a grain storage "silo" with two sets of circular steps on the
inner walls of it. At the stables, we saw mangers for the horses
similar to the one baby Jesus was laid in when he was born. The views
from the top were great, we could see Nazarety, Mt. Tabor, Mt. Carmel.
The most interesting thing we did was walk down into the "hidden" well
that was constructed sometime in 400-500 BC. This was constructed to
protect Migiddo when it was attacked. The well was located outside of
the city walls, making the city vulnerable when attacked. The shaft
was dug through the bedrock below the center of the city through to
the well. The original well entrance was filled in and hidden so that
an enemy could not see where the well was. Megiddo was built and torn
down about 24 times in the 4-5,000 years that it existed. It is
located at an important crossroad for commerce and was fought over
many times.

From Megiddo, we drove toward Mr. Carmel. On one road, we passed some
old tombs on the side of the road. They looked like little caves. We
saw one with a large circular stone by the opening. The round stone
was about 60" in diameter and about 3" thick.

We stopped for lunch at a Falafel restaurant. You had a choice of a
falafel pita sandwich or a chicken pita sandwich. Then you walked into
a room with two tables full of all kinds of things to add to your
falafel – marinated peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots,
cabbage, cauliflower, and on and on.

After lunch, we headed on up the mountain the Mt. Carmel. This is the
spot where Elijah defeated the Bael prophets (400 of them) [I Kings,
18]. He performed the miracle where the flames came from Heaven to
consume the sacrifice on the altar made of 12 stones. From the top, we
could see the Brook of Kishon where Elijah actually slayed the
prophets. We also had views of two Tels, Mt. Tabor, the valley and
Nazareth. Seeing all of this, it makes you understand how people could
walk from town to town and easily find their way. The distances are
not that great and the few mountains are easily spotted from several
miles away. We learned the Nuns of Mt. Carmel are the "barefoot" order.

We then traveled to Tiberius to our hotel there, Scots Hotel (a former
Scottish Hospital). We walked down to the Sea of Gallilee (one block)
and put out hands in the water, then on down the promenade along the
sea and through town and then back to the hotel. Several gathered to
have a glass of wine before the group met at 6:30 to discuss our "wow"
or "aha" moments of the day. Then we went to a buffet dinner at the
hotel.

Sunrise

Sunrise on our first day of seeing Israel. We start our pilgrimage today.

Friday's journey

Arrive in Tel Aviv 2:40PM and spend the night in Joppa overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Job1: He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish  so he paid his fare and went    
On  board, to go with them to Tarshish away  from the presence of the LORD.

When we go on a pilgrimage…even if we are like Jonah trying to flee from God, we are reminded by the statue of a whale in the middle of Joppa that we are never away from the presence of the Lord!  That can be of great comfort when laying down and closing your eyes in a place far from home! Acts 9:36ff  is the story of Dorcas and a glimpse of one of the first meetings of Women of the Church happening in Joppa!

Arriving in Israel

The pilgrims will be seven hours ahead of Houston time once they
arrive in Israel.

What have the pilgrims been up to today?

The SBPC pilgrims left Left Houston (11:45AM CST) to JFK Airport to Tel Aviv, Israel (leaving at 9:05 PM EST).  Thirty-one strangers are coming together (as none of us knows everybody before this journey is taken) in the name of Jesus Christ to travel on a journey of faith thousands of miles from home…seeking the Holy.  The first believers in Christ were described as those who belonged to the Way  (Acts 9:2).  Just believing in Christ puts each of us on a journey like no other as we follow Him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

John 14:5,6  Thomas said to Him,  "Lord, we do not know where You

are going.  How can we know the way?  Jesus said to him,

 "I am the Way the Truth and the Life…."

correction

oops! Katherine and Hunter did not sell their tickets (they found out
a later flight would get them in NYC too late to catch the Tel Aviv
flight

Day one

The group from Spring Branch Presbyterian and Sugar Creek Presbyterian
churches left Houston for our Pilgrimage to Israel. Our flight left on
time and arrived in New York JFK airport on time. It was 27 degrees in
New York. (It was about the same in Houston when we left!) Before we
left Sarah led us in prayer before we started our journey.

We found our gate and Katherine and Hunter, who had "sold" their
tickets and flown standby from N. Carolina. Some stayed at the gate
watching belongings while others found a late lunch. We had a long
layover at JFK, so we had time to recharge phones and computers while
we waited.

Waiting at the airport in new york

Just one of many sites they'll see

SBPC photo for the blog

SBPC sends off Pilgrims to Israel

IMG_0392.JPG

 

Israel Trip

To all Pilgrims:  prepare well for your trip east; share the flavors you enjoy; and return with new energy, pending God's will be done!  Chuck

pilgrims

In response to Chuck, I do not think we should put the names of the
pilgrims on the blog (for security reasons). The names can be in the
church bulletin.

Jan

Israel Trip

Spring Branch Pilgrims:  could we have a listing of those intending to travel east?  Chuck

To help prepare for the trip, the Explorer Sunday School Class will be studying the Biblical significance and scriptures related to places we are scheduled to visit.  Join the class starting this Sunday, Jan, 9, 9:30 am in the Conference Room.

 

Doris

 

Gospel of Luke

The Pilgrims to Israel will be reading the Gospel of Luke in January to prepare for their trip.  Check out this months PresPress to see which scriptures they will be reading each day!