the hands of galilee

galilee.... this was Jesus country...where he spent most of his mortal life! 


"clearly now i see him with his hands
calling to me
and though i'm not yet as i would be
he has shown me how i could be
i will make my hands like those from galilee"

("his hands" by kenneth cope) 

we started in his hometown: 

nazareth 

welcome to galilee brooke

as you can imagine, we visited the sites of his ministry and miracles

the cana, mt. of beatitudes, capernaum, nain, chorazin, mt. tabor...these were places Jesus visited. and i think you could still feel him here :)

i didn't include ALL of these places, just my few favorites!

boat ride on the sea of galilee

...sounds magical right? especially when we sing "master, the tempest is raging!"

"And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm."
(Matt 8:25-26)

the mt. of beatitudes


"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matt 5:48)

the church at nain (where jesus healed the widow's only son) with mt. tabor in the background (possible site for the transfiguration)

"And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother." (Luke 7:15)

"Jesus taketh Peter, James and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light." (Matt 17:1-2)

oh....and there are still active mine fields...so watch your step!

yardenit

another possible site for the baptism of Jesus (although much less likely)

and i just REALLY like the hawaii pidgin language. i think it should be the new vernacular in idaho...

hike in the Golan...

AMAZING waterfalls. so great in the humid heat that wishes to kill me at times...

now understand my re-enactment photos have gotten more and more prevalent, as standing and smiling has gotten more and more boring. i quite hate it actually.

so let the fun begin :)

we like exploring.

we like israel.

we like this ibex.

megiddo:

armageddon

"For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the whole earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty...And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." (Rev. 16:14,16)

hazor

"Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died." (Judges 4:21)

the assyrians are coming!! the assyrians are coming!!


poor hazor. (2 Kings 15:29)

archers at nimrod's castle

muslim fortress during the crusades

we decided to be like robin hood for a day.

...robin hood and little john running through the forest...

har bental

should not have been this entertaining...

turned into a jurassic park re-enactment. complete with theme music!

i always wanted to be in an action movie!

(ruins from the 1948 and  1967 wars)

which way??

gotta love those ludlows :) 

"now when you pick a pawpaw,
or a prickly pear
and you pick a raw paw,
well next time...beware!
don't pick the prickly pear
with the paw
when you pick a pear,
try to use the claw!
but you don't need to use the claw
when you pick a pear
with the big pawpaw!"

we love akko!!!

A-K-K-O!

called ptolemais in new testament times. visited by the apostle pau (acts 21:7)l 

mt. carmel

"So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel..." (1 Kings 18:20)

the site of the showdown between the priests of Baal and Elijah. when the sacrifice of Elijah is licked up in flames, the priests try to escape, "and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there." (v 41)

i got to be Elijah today!

caesarea

where paul was brought before king agrippa. 

introducing geoff as paul, alicia as king agrippa, brooke as festus, and dana as...bystander?

Alicia: "Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." (Acts 26:28)

if i've learned anything over these past few weeks, it's that i will NEVER be able to do everything i want to. i'll never have enough time. 

the best i can do is to 

live in the moment.
and that is exactly what i have decided to do. i am living the moment. i am simply going to enjoy my last 10 days in the holy land. oh how time flies... 

i'll be home before you know it!!!