Bet She'an, Jerusalem, and Bombs

Today's blog is dedicated to Elise. We miss you and will be praying for you as you make your way home!

We worked our boots off!
(Use your photo shop to lighten this)

After a pleasant stay in Tiberius we left this morning to return to Jerusalem. We stopped at a site called Bet She'an(think Saul's death) in the OT which became the Decapolis city of Scythopolisby NT days. The Roman ruins are quite impressive and give a clear picture of what was important to the people living there (worshipping the one, true God was not among them).

We enjoyed seeing the city and climbing the adjacent tell to the top of the OT tel. Climbing that tel, climbing The Cliffs of Arbel, and swimming in the Sea of Galilee were things I didn't get to do on my first trip to Israel that were high on my wish list for this trip. I got them all accomplished if going down Arbel counts.


A view down the Cardo(the main street of the city)


The threatre which seated 7,000!

From Bet She'an we journied down the West Bank toward Jericho and Jerusalem. Once we arrived in Jerusalem we were escorted through the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I saw some interesting and inspirational sights that I will certainly use in future teaching and preaching.

Perhaps my favorite part of the day was climbing to the top of the bell tower of The Church of the Redeemer. It offered a panoramic view of the old city and the Temple Mount. It was well worth the 176 step climb and having to wrap a skirt around my waist to hide my knees!

Tonight we had dinner on the terrace of our hotel with a pleasant breeze and a beautiful sunset. After dinner we shared about our experiences on the trip. As we each talked about meaningful things we have experienced the last several weeks the sky occasionally glowed to our north. We noticed jets flying overhead and once again heard the sound of explosions. We soon concluded that Israel is probably bombing the Palestinian city of Ramallah. Haven't heard that confirmed on the news yet--but it was rather strange to be in the city of peace, to be praying and sharing, and to have our inspirational time interrupted by the sights and sounds of war. We do know that after leaving Tiberius this morning 5+ rockets hit the city. I'm ready to come home!

So much more I'd like to share, but no time. We'll have a service with our dwindling group in the am and then get in a few more hours of touring before catching our flight in Tel Aviv tomorrow night.

Thanks for reading & God bless!

Jon