A nearly perfect day

It would have been perfect except I had to get up this morning. Why do even the best days have to begin with getting out of bed?
But it was a great day!

We started with a visit to a workshop where retired people go to make things, to keep their hands and minds busy. And the things they make are wonderful!

After that we got into an armored bus for our next visit...To Shilo!
I take groups to Shilo from time to time but it has bee a while and I really was looking forward to this visit. We went to visit with a man named David Reuvin but I had an ulterior motive. I have been hearing about a mosaic floor that was uncovered last year. I wanted to see it for myself. And see it, I did. When the group was busy eating lunch, I decided nobody would notice if I went for a little walk.

I may try to show one of my pictures from the mosaic later. You'll have to trust me that I saw it at this point.
By the way, that's David at the front of the bus. I gave him my seat at the front of the bus.

Most the you probably have never been to Shilo, right? So, I could show you just about any hillside and tell you it was where the Tabernacle rested for 369 years and you would never be sure, right?
But, I won't do that! I'll show you the real thing!

This green area is where the Tabernacle stood. The place of the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies occupied the center of this photo. I took the picture standing where the Gethsemane of Shilo was operated. (Gethsemane means a place where there is both a wine and an oil press.)

We finished the day with two more wonderful activities. We went to an Orthodox Jewish orphanage in the Ultra Religious section of Jerusalem. I think we were the first Christians to ever be invited inside. And to make the day as close to perfect as possible, we all visited the Pavilion for the evening service. Chuck King was the worship leader this evening. I was supposed to be on the worship team but I got there late for practice because of the day's activity so I enjoyed the service from the 5th row of the congregation instead.

One of the most deeply moving places Christian groups visit is the church called Galicantu. This site was the location of the palace of the Hight Priest during the Hasmonean period. At the time of the crucifixion of Jesus, it was the official dwelling of Caiaphas. When the soldiers of the priest brought Jesus to trial they brought him up these steps. When Peter stood in the courtyard and denied that he was a Galilean, it was in the courtyard here.

Sunday in Jerusalem

Tours are expensive! People often save for years to go on a pilgrimage to Israel and they spend their money for the best tour they can get. I feel the weight of responsibility every time I climb onto a tour bus and begin to show the people God has sent to me, the land of the Bible. So, with that in mind, we don't take a day off from the tour on Sunday for most tours. This week, however, we did things a little different. The tour leader was the speaker at one of the local congregations, Christ Church, inside the old city walls.


After the service, however, we did not just set the rest of the day aside. We toured the ancient streets of Jerusalem. One of our stops was a little shop in the Jewish Quarter. The name of the shop is Shoreshim which means Roots. The shopkeepers are two brothers, Moshe and Dov. Moshe talked to the group about the need for dialogue between Jewish people and Christians. He was eloquent, as usual. A fairly heated discussion followed and I think our tourists went away with a new dimension of understanding as well as a hunger for further dialogue.

Dan and Banias

I took the group to the Golan Heights today. We visited Banias first and the tourists enjoyed the springs, the story and the food afterwards. The first two pictures are from the cave at Banias. The third is take from the walk through the forest at Tel Dan.

Morning on the Sea of Galilee

I am touring with a group from the UK and we are sleeping beside the Sea of Galilee for the next couple of days. When I got up this morning I decided to walk down to the shoreline. I love the palm trees! The shore was nearly empty at the early hour and the water was cool with a strong breeze. I thought the white capped waves were wonderful.

I had an oportunity to visit one of my favorite sites in Israel last week. Israel is a water poor country which may explain why the site of hundreds of thousands of gallons of water flowing under a walking bridge seems so wonderful to me. This is Tel Dan, near the Lebanon border.

You know that there are fish in the Jordan river, right?
Do you know enough of the Bible to know that it says you can eat any fish that has both scales and fins?
The picture is a group of catfish that are gathered near the place for water baptism, in the Jordan river. Catfish are bottom feeders which do not have visible scales. That is, they are not kosher. Most Jewish people don't eat catfish and if you remember, the Jordan river flows through Israel. That is probably the most logical reason that the catfish here can grow to over a meter in length.
They don't bother the tourists who come here for a baptismal service. They prefer to go out to the middle of the river and sit on the bottom. However, some of the tourists throw pieces of bread to them and they come up to get the treats. That is what we see here.

The Sisters...

The sisters...

My wife on the left.

I don't know what the trigger was but suddenly, they both decided they needed new sunglasses that looked alike.

Thank God it wasn't the Diamond Center.

I think I'll get a scooter

I've been thinking about it for a while. We have this nice home in Northern Jerusalem and we have a small car but parking is difficult around here. I could park a scooter just about anywhere.
I read somewhere that using one's brain is a form of exercise that helps prevent some of the diseases associated with aging. Well, I suppose that probably includes me. I went and signed up for a course to learn how to drive a scooter and I went to the license department to request permission to take the course. Now all I have to do is get their reply and get started.
Of course, since I sent them the last set of forms they requested nearly a month ago and it took them four months to respond to my original request, it could still be a while. I'll keep you posted. I won't be holding my breath though.

A beautiful day and we start by taking a few minutes on the shore of the Galilee. That is Tiberius in the background. The camera crew wanted to watch one of the wooden boats that are designed to carry tourists but they must have been taking a day off. Instead, several fishing boats put on a show and some Russian guys demonstrated their rock skipping skills.

Tractoronim - Quad bikes

We put Sandy at the front of the pack and went 4 wheeling across the Naftali ridge on the Lebanon border. Those things are fun! They are 400 CC Arctic Cats with 4 wheel drive and they can go 120 KPH. I think the fastest we went off road was only about 55 but that is plenty fast in the forest.