This morning I went to have a shower but the boiler was off and the water was freezing.
Last night, after supper I went for a walk with Julie Whitehead. She found out about the trip one day while buying shoes at Doug’s sports and came home with a trip to Israel. She also told me about her missionary boyfriend whom she is actually waiting for. He is coming home soon and she is very excited for his return. She is 22 and her missionary is the same age.
We are heading toward the place where Jesus was transfigured—Mt. Tavor. On top of the mountain I can already see the church of transfiguration. Mt. Tavor is a very round mountain with trees and a small village on its side. Buses cannot travel up the mountain, so we must take a taxi to the top.
The top of Mt. Tavor was beautiful. The church there was very nice and I enjoyed the short time we had to spend there. Today I decided to wear shorts, so did Jamie Clark. But when we reached the top we discovered that you were not allowed to wear shorts on the church grounds. Luckily I brought jeans to change into if I got cold. (I just put them over my shorts). Jamie had to wrap a coat around her legs.
We are now on our way to Nazareth. We are going to Mary’s Well, (the place where the angel Gabriel announced the birth of the savior to Mary). Nazareth is a good example of a town where Jews and Arabs live together. About 25 000 Jews live along with 40 000 Arabs in Nazareth.
Nazareth was Jesus’s childhood home, where he studied and worked. While we were there, we saw a rock quarry, the place believed to be where Jesus was threatened to be stoned. We read Luke 4:16-30. After that we sang the first verse to the song, “I Wonder When He Comes Again”.
Nazareth has been inhabited since biblical times, although no mention is made of it in the Old Testament. Its history was marked by successive cycles of destruction and renewal, and Christian residence in the town was prohibited following its devastation at the hands of Sultan Beibars in 1263 until the 17th century.
We just visited Mary’s Well. It probably was the true place, but I didn’t really find it that exciting. There is a giant church (300 years old) built over a Crusader church (1200 years old) built over a Bezenien church (1600 years old).
At the bottom of a small walkway is a tiny well with running water. There were many people chanting/singing and they poured water from the spring on their faces and heads.
We are just leaving Nazareth. There are lots of very expensive houses that Arabs live in. Some of the homes are not finished yet. People here will start a building (for example; if a young couple has enough for a foundation, that’s all they’ll build) and finish it later when they have the money. In the mean time, they will live at a relatives house.
We just drove by the place where Jesus was invited to a wedding and they ran out of wine, so He turned water into wine.
We visited St. Peters home and read St. Mark 5:23-43 and saw an old synagogue built on top of a church from Jesus’s time. The scriptures mention this church.
We are now on our way to Tiberius. On the way we passed some “rock rabbits” and mango trees that live in this very green area. The Galilee area is very beautiful. Ami told us that almost (if not all) plants will grow here. (I think he was referring to fruit bearing plants). Tiberius is a winter and summer resort. We are going to stop in the center of Tiberius where we are going to be able to see most of the town. We are going to an outlet to shop “till we drop” (We are going for an hour and a half, and I’m already ready to drop).
I am now very worn out from shopping. I bought a panoramic photo of the view of the Old City of Jerusalem and a postcard with Albert Einstein on it.
We are now on our way back to the hotel. Supper will be at 6:45pm as usual. Tonight there will be a disco dance (although I doubt it will really be a “disco” dance).1
- I think that the English term for dance used to be disco and it probably just stuck. I found the same thing in Japan.[↩]