This was moving day. Sunday morning we left our suitcases at our doors before heading to breakfast. Before I went in for my requisite glass of juice I went for a walk to see the shore of the Sea of Galilee from Nof Ginosar. I took pictures – of course!
Our first stop of the day was at Yardenit – which is a designated baptismal site on the Jordan River just south of the Sea of Galilee. The water that we saw in our travels in the Golan Heights area, between the source of the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee, was muddy, rushing water. But – the water flowing out of the Sea of Galilee was calm and green – but still very cold.
The Senior pastor of Faith Assembly – Pastor Dan – was drafted to be the one who went into the chilling water to baptize the four people in our group who wanted to be baptized in the Jordan River. For one young man, it was the first time he had ever been baptized – and it was definitely memorable – a special memory for all of us. A God Moment!
As Pastor Dan explained what Christian baptism is about, we were joined by an ever-growing group of Nigerians. There were several of their group dressed in the white gowns the site rents for the purpose of being baptized – and they joined ‘our group who was to be baptized’ along the water’s edge. They obviously wanted Pastor Dan to baptize them too!
He was gently alerted to that reality – and the blended group walked into the cold, cold water to await their turn. His huge surprise was the gift that awaited him! As the first Nigerian woman steeped forward to be baptized, he asked her name, and to his surprise she said, “I want a new name!” So – on the spot, with no warning – he had to choose a name for her. Each woman in turn wanted a new name. And so he named them: Elizabeth…. Rachel…. Good strong Biblical names. There was only one man in their group who came forward for Pastor Dan to baptize him, and so Pastor asked him, “Do you want a new name, too?” “No,” he replied, “My name is Samuel and I like my name.” We were told after the baptism that these ladies’ new names were the names they would go by for the rest of their lives. It was a wonderful experience to witness.
Our next stop for the day was Bet She’an. It is a national park layered in history they say goes back to 5,000 years before Christ. After the battle at Gilboa where Saul fell on his own sword and died, his body and the bodies of his sons were displayed on the city walls then-present on the Tel at Bet She’an. Later David conquered the city – and it became one of the important chariot cities during Solomon’s rule – but at the time of Christ it was under Roman rule. It is an amazing archaelogical site. Layers of history have been uncovered, and it has a mind-boggling history of who-ruled-when.
What you see at Bet She’an are ruins of once-great-and-thriving civilizations. Since we live in a country that is so very, very young, and have limited opportunity to see anything so old, it is a spectacular site to visit. Our guide, Mark, talked about how clearly those who performed on the stage of the amphitheater could be heard – and one of the ladies in our group said, “I want to hear that.” So – I spontaneously went ‘on stage’ and sang. Even though this was not a specific site Jesus would likely have come, our journey through the land was a perpetual reminder of where He walked, so I decided to sing, “I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked.” It was only after getting into the song that I second-guessed my choice. It is a long song – but once I started it, I decided to finish it – even though I was poignantly aware of our limited time.
Limited time was an issue at many sites – and at this one, the time constraints determined what we would or would not see, based on the choice of whether to hike up to the top of the Tel or not. I hadn’t gone to the top 5 years earlier – so this time, knowing I had already seen the amazing baths and other areas I would miss, I trekked up the Tel to get pictures from the top. I didn't get new pictures of the baths - but I did of the Cardo - the main street down the center - and I learned something new from Pastor Dan - that the street through the heart of the city was called the Cardo because it was the heart of the city. It was an 'of course!' tidbit on information I had not gleaned before. I loved making the connection.
We ended our time at Bet She’an with a delicious falafel lunch.
In our bus travel today we passed Jericho. It is a place I want to go – but can’t. It is under Palestinian Arab control. But - one of the unexpected joys of the trip was that because Noor was not Jewish, he could drive us through the West Bank. We entered and exited through check points - but it was area I had not seen before. Even though we couldn't stop, it was amazing to drive that route, with Jordan (The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, to be precise) in view across the valley.
As we approached Jerusalem Mark reminded the group that no matter where you are in Israel, you always go ‘up’ to Jerusalem. We sang choruses - and then he put a CD on of the song, The Holy City. We saw Jerusalem briefly for the first time on this tour from the bus – but went straight past and on to Bethlehem. Bethlehem is another city that is under the control of the Palestinian Authority, so Mark could not go in with us, so we dropped him off along the route and he went home for awhile.
Gabriela was our Palestinian guide. Because Noor is not Jewish, he was allowed to drive us straight in so we didn’t have to get off and walk through Customs. That was very nice. We shopped at the shop Gabriela took us to. I bought a small hand-carved olive wood camel for $25.00, and 12 little olive wood cups to give my grandkids. Many people in the group bought something – just so they could say they purchased it in Bethlehem. A special memory indeed!
Outside the shop street vendors were hawking their wares: inexpensive necklaces and bracelets, scarves 4 for $10.00. I suspect Made in China….
Then Gabriela took us to the Church of the Nativity. She was able to arrange for Noor to drive the bus up fairly close. That was a great help since the city is on hills, and would have been difficult for several people to navigate.
The ‘church’ is actually shared by several churches. I was most pleased with getting to go under to the caves that still looked like they would have years ago. This is the area that would have housed the animals – their stable area. The grotto where they honor the birth of Christ is too gilded, and it detracts from the reality of what it would have been like – a stable.
The Church of the Nativity was constructed +-560 A D, and is the oldest church still in use; but a church foundation and floor there predates that time, as there is another floor beneath the one we walked on that dates back even further. They have removed a part of the floor so visitors can see the mosaics of the earlier structure below.
Underneath in one of the cave areas there is a Memorial to the Innocents – the babies who were murdered by Herod when he had all baby boys under the age of 2 killed in his attempt to kill Yeshua/ Jesus. It is a tenderly touching memorial.
After we left Bethlehem, we stopped on an opposite hill and talked about the Shepherd’s field where the annunciation to them occurred. We were told this area was where Ruth would have come with Naomi. We prayed and sang there, truly aware that in Israel – and in this area including Bethlehem and Jerusalem, we were standing on holy ground!
Since I didn’t write a journal during the trip – and since my pictures are what inform me of what we did when, I am not absolutely certain which night we went to the ministry house of the End Time Handmaidens – but I think it was this night….
I do know that we ended the night at our ‘new’ hotel – the Ramada in Jerusalem. The location was designated as: Ruppin Bridge at Herzl Boulevard, Jerusalem 91033.
I got permission – then called Hanan and arranged for him to come meet us in the morning at 7:15 a m to join us on our first day touring in Jerusalem.
It was another full, wonderful day!
The pictures above are:
1. Our hallway at Nof Ginosar showing it was moving day
2. The Sea of Galilee from the path out to the shoreline at Nof Ginosar
3. A glimpse of the Jordan River at Yardenit
4. The baptism candidates with Pastor Dan
5. The amphitheater at Bet She'an
6. The Cardo at Bet She'an
7. A view from the bus of our view of Jordan across the valley
8. Sign at the Church of the Nativity welcoming us to Bethlehem
9. Inside the Church of the Nativity
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