Footsteps

June 26, Saturday Going Home

2010-06-28T13:49:00.001-05:00

June 26, Saturday Going Home

We flew from Thessalonica to Munich to Chicago to Sioux Falls. The flights went very well and we had no problems going through customs or making each connecting flight. We were happy to be arriving in Sioux Fall a few minutes early. However, just as we had problems getting out of Sioux Falls on May 12, we also had problems getting back into the Sioux Falls airport. A thunderstorm hit minutes after we landed and before we could get into the gate. What was supposed to be a short 10 minute wait sitting in the plane on the tarmac, turned into a 1 hour and 40 minute wait as the thunderstorm became more intense with winds of up to 50 miles per hour. We were happy to finally get off the plane, and were welcomed home by Paul, Joni, Emily, Matthew, Sarah, Rosa and Gary. We were ready for a good night of sleep in our own bed after being up for 26 hours, gone for 46 days, sleeping in 20 different beds, traveling through 8 countries (Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey) and 3 continents (Africa, Asia, Europe) via 10 planes, 17 trains, 10 buses,1 taxi, 1 tradesman’s van and 1 lumberjack’s truck!

From the plane on the ground in Sioux Falls

June 25, Friday Philippi and Kavala (Neapolis)

2010-06-28T13:46:00.000-05:00

June 25, Friday Philippi and Kavala (Neapolis)

Leaving Thessalonica we traveled eastward to the biblical city of Neapolis (now called Kavala) where Paul landed with Luke, Timothy and Silas (Act 16:11-12) before he went to Philippi.

We saw remnants of Via Egnatia, the original Roman road that spanned Greece during Paul’s time, as we drove out of Kavala.

As we came to Philippi we enjoyed seeing the place where Paul met Lydia by the river and baptized her. Standing by the river our group sang and prayed together. In the 5th or 6th century there were severe earthquakes in this region, leveling Philippi. Nothing has been built over this area so it is a great place to see the ruins of the Acropolis, Market Place, Basilica and the Theatre.

Our guide James tells us about the grave site at Philippi

The River Zygakites where Paul met Lydia

The theatre in Philippi

The prison of Philippi may be behind these ruins

The mosaics indicate that a church was built here by 320 AD

which makes it one of the earliest in Europe

June 24, Thursday - Vergina, Berea, Thessalonica

2010-06-28T13:30:00.001-05:00

June 24, Thursday - Vergina, Berea, Thessalonica

As we left Meteora and traveled northward into Macedonia we enjoyed the beautiful countryside.

Berea (called Veria today) has a monument built to honor Paul in 1950. We walked down into the Jewish quarter or ghetto area where there is an ancient synagogue where Paul may have addressed the Bereans, called the "more noble" church. (Acts 17:11) Very few Jews remain here today, as most have moved to Israel.

Monument to honor Paul built in Berea

Ancient Synagogue

We visited King Phillip's (the father of Alexander the Great) tomb in Vergina. This is one of the most outstanding finds in all of Greece since it was found intact.

Crossing the Macedonian Plain to the city of Thessalonica were fields of corn, wheat and sunflowers.

By the harbor in Thessalonica are the old city walls and towers, much of it from Roman times (168 BC – 379 AD) and some from the time of the Turks (1430 - 1923). Thessalonica once had the most Jews of any city in Europe but because so many were killed in WWII concentration camps and others later immigrated to Israel very few remain.

Gate through which Paul may have walked

June 23, Wednesday - Thermopylae and Meteora

2010-06-24T14:48:00.002-05:00

June 23, Wednesday

Greece is a beautiful country of mountains, hills, plains, trees and water. We spent five hours traveling in the bus, going northward from Athens through the Theban plain to Thermopylae. This is the site of the famous Spartan battle in 480 BC where 300 Spartans died (actually about 1000 with the support troops) trying to hold off a huge Persian army.

Aegean Sea coastline

Wheat fields of Greece

The battle of Thermopylae took place onthe wooded hill

The Aegean Sea would have covered the road

We continued through the mountains of Greece to Meteora to see the famous Byzantine Eastern Orthodox monasteries that are perched precariously on summits of gray rock pinnacles of varied and beautiful shapes. The history of the monasteries goes back to the 14th century when the monks first sought refuge in the cliffside caves. Later they built monasteries on the peeks of the rocks. We climbed over 300 steps to tour one of these monasteries and enjoyed a great ice cream treat when we got back to our bus.

The rocky formations of Meteora

We walked down and up into this monastary

It was a great ice cream bar!

The city of Meteora seen from the top

June 22, Tuesday - Corinth - Greece

2010-06-24T13:35:00.002-05:00

June 22, Tuesday
Our first stop after leaving Athens was the Corinth Canal. The Romans in 60 AD, under Nero’s influence, began to dig this canal but no one completed it until the Greeks finished it in 1893. The canal is 600 meters long and the water is 8 meters deep. It connects the Aegean and Ionia Seas. An interesting thing at this site is that there is a bridge that drops down into the canal (in contrast to a draw bridge that opens upward) to allow large vessels to pass through the canal. As we walked over the bridge, looking down at the canal, we were surprised to connect with two couples from Sioux Falls who were travelling through Greece with the Augustana Alumni choir.

We then traveled to city of Corinth and walked through the ancient ruins where Paul stayed for a couple of years. We saw the Market Place, the Bema (where speakers stand to address their audience), the Temples and the stone path that the Apostle Paul walked in 52-53 AD. He wrote the book of Ephesians here. Later Paul would write the letters, 1 and 2 Corinthians, to the believers at Corinth to encourage them to grow in their faith and to warn them about pagan influences. Near the city is the big acropolis, Acrocorinth, on which was built the temple of Aphrodite with all of its pagan rituals. The Archaeological Museum contained many wonderful artifacts from that period of time. We saw the stone carved inscription that mentions Erastus.(Romans 16:23)

An earthquake had leveled everything

This is a part of a reconstructed temple

Corinthian marketplace where Paul walked and taught

The spring of water in Corinth

The temple to Aphrodite was located on

the Acrocorinth (the large hill)

Next we traveled to Mycenae where the remains of the ancient city date back to the Bronze Age. We saw the famous Lionesse Gate, climbed to the top of the citadel and went into the Tomb of Agamennon, which is in the shape of a Beehive.

Tomb of Agamennon

From there we traveled 2 hours back to Athens.

The hills and valleys and mountains of Greece

June 21, Monday - Athens

2010-06-23T14:45:00.000-05:00

June 21, Monday

From the island of Santorini we sailed through the night to Athens. The bus took us to the base of the Acropolis where we climbed lots of marble steps (which were a bit slippery) to see the Parthenon and Erectheum.

The Parthenon on the Acropolis

The Parthenon

We then climbed Mars Hill, overlooking the city of Athens. This is where Paul spoke with the leaders of Athens (Acts 17),

Mars Hill

Standing on Mars Hill where Paul spoke

View of Acropolis from Mars Hill

Other places we saw include the Agora (ancient market place and center of Athenian public life), the House of Parliament, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Olympic Stadium, and Presidential Palace. We went to the open café on the top floor of our hotel to see the Parthenon in all the splendor of the night lights and bright moon.

Changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The Olympic Stadium

The Parthenon light up at night

June 18 – 20, Friday – Sunday - Ephesus - Patmos - Crete - Santorini

2010-06-23T14:14:00.000-05:00

June 18 – 20, Friday – Sunday

The bus took us through the city of Athens to the port where we got on our cruise ship, the Aegean Pearl. We settled into our room and then enjoyed the sun and good conversation with others as we ate our lunch on the deck. We landed in Mykonos, also called Little Venice. A bus took us from the ship to the edge of Mykonos and then we walked into the city. It was a relaxing evening, enjoying the waterfront town, old windmills, beautiful water and shopping in the stores of local artists.

Mykonos

Windmills on Mykonos

The ship sailed through the night as we tried to sleep in our tiny cabin. The next morning we were at the port city of Kusadasi, Turkey where we got on a bus to go to Ephesus. We walked through the ruins of ancient Ephesus, including the theatre from which Paul spoke to the Ephesians. We also saw the prison where they most likely took him when he was arrested.

The Holy Street of Ephesus where Paul walked

The Library of Ephesus in front of which Paul proclaimed the gospel

Behind us is the 24,000 seat Ephesian theatre

The ship sailed again in the afternoon, taking us to the island of Patmos. Here we walked up a steep cobblestone street to the place where John may have received the vision from Jesus, recorded in the book of Revelation. We toured the Greek Orthodox Church which is believed to be built over the cave where John lived.

View of Patmos and the harbor from the area of John's cave

The fortress monastary built over the site of the cave of John

Saturday night was Greek night on the ship with a Greek meal and show. We sailed through the night, docking the next morning at Heraklion, on the island of Crete. After a tour of the Palace of Knossos we again sailed, this time to the beautiful island of Santorini. The ship came into harbor, surrounded by cliffs created by a volcano. Smaller boats tendered us to the island, where we got on a lift to get to the top of the island for an incredible view, lots of walking and a bit of shopping.

Palace of Knossos - King Minos' room

Palace of Knossos

The first paved road according to archeologist is this Minoan road

Thira on the Island of Santorini

View from the city of the ocean crator

Temperatures have been in the mid-nineties. We continue to climb lots of steps, walk lots of hills, hear a lot about the Greeks and Romans and get a clearer understanding of the impact history has had on Christianity.

June 14 - 17, Monday – Thursday - Switzerland

2010-06-21T10:07:00.003-05:00

June 14 - 17, Monday – Thursday - Switzerland

After heavy rainfalls during the night, we woke up to less clouds and a beautiful view of the Alps. We spent the morning on the deck reading in the sunshine, encircled by the mountain peaks. After lunch we went for a walk to the Tourist Center and spent several hours there working on our pictures albums, since internet connection is better there than in our chalet.

The view from our deck when the clouds broke

We hopped on the city bus for a tour of Leysin, picked up some groceries for a good pot of chili and fresh baked bread. Another heavy rain shower came through shortly after we got back.

Our Swiss coffee pot

Our last two days in Leysin were cloudy and cool. Internet connection did not work well even at the tourist center so we spent much of our last day reading, playing a few games of Quibbler and packing for our last tour.

View from our deck -- a flag that says "Relax"

Our departure from Leysin proved to be another adventure! Jim had reserved a taxi to pick us up at 7:30 am. Who would have thought that we would resort to hitch-hiking in a foreign country? Well, when our taxi had not arrived by 7:35 we walked to the main road with our luggage, hoping the taxi was “just around the corner.” Our train was leaving in 20 minutes (yes – the “Little Engine That Could” cog train that we arrived on a few days earlier) and we knew we could not pull our 80+ pounds of luggage up the hill to the station. A man in a vehicle stopped and spoke enough English to understand that we needed to get to the train station. So the lumberjack cleared enough space in his vehicle for us to sit, threw our luggage in the back and got us to the station on time.

Train station in Leysin

The train ride to Geneva was alongside Lake Geneva, but the cloudy conditions blocked our view of the lake and the mountains. When we got to Geneva we took a city tour via bus and mini train -- in the rain. We saw some of the historical sites in Geneva, like the Red Cross and United Nations headquarters. However, the one thing we most wanted to see, the Reformation memorial, was half covered by tents which were set up for another event. The rain and distance prohibited us from going back on foot to spend more time at the place where John Calvin is remembered. We ended our time in Geneva with a great fondu meal at a local restaurant.

Reformation Memorial Wall

On Thursday morning our flights went well and we were happy to arrive safely in Athens (via Vienna) and see our Pilgrim tour guide waiting for us with a vehicle to bring us to our hotel. And so our R&R in Switzerland ended – with memories of cog trains, hilly streets, clouds, rain and lots of time for rest.

View of the Alps from the airplane

June 11 -13, Friday – Sunday - Switzerland

2010-06-13T13:48:00.001-05:00

Leysin Switzerland

“I think I can. I think I can.” This line from the children’s storybook, “The Little Engine That Could” echoed through my (Lois’) mind as we chugged up the Switzerland mountain side from Aigle to Leysin, after traveling for 6 hours on the train from Munich, Germany. The first two trains were relaxing means of transportation, but when we boarded our third connecting train a few “yellow flags” were raised in my mind. It was a small (and a bit antiquated in my opinion) cog train, filled with junior high and high school kids on their way home from school. As we slowly ascended the mountain, the view was spectacular, as long as I didn’t think about how far down the valley was and how steep the cliffs we were climbing. We slowly ascended, and I was very happy to see the Leysin train station, relieved to have arrived safely and get off this questionable (in my mind) mode of transportation.

View from the cog train as we climbed the mountain to Leysin

Little did I know the panic that would overtake me within minutes. As the train slowly went onward, we walked to the train station only to find no one there, no one in sight and no public mode of transportation. Jim opened up the map on our laptop and found we were a couple miles from our Swiss Chalet. Since we had no way to call anyone, he said we would have to start walking. I was scared, tired, and not a happy traveler at that moment.

Just as we started walking (pulling our suitcases and wearing our backpacks) a van pulled up and young man got out. “Are you Jim?” he greeted us. Here was the manager of the chalet we had rented. He told us there were more than one train stations in Leysin and that he was waiting at the station where we should have gotten off. When we were not on the train he figured we had gotten off too early and came looking for us. I must say I thought Blaise was an angel God sent to deliver us in response to my SOS prayer!

I know I have to take the same train down the mountain in a few days, but hopefully going down will be less stressful and knowing there are better trains ahead will be good incentive!

We were happy to get to our comfy chalet, with a deck overlooking a meadow of wild flowers and a panoramic view of the Swiss Alps. We took a walk into the village, to the tourist center, the grocery store and a local restaurant. Leysin is a quiet village right now, being the off-season from their ski tourists. I thought it was hilly in Austria. The incline of these hills made Seefeld streets look like gentle slopes. The one advantage is that we walk uphill to get to the village and downhill back to our chalet.

We are staying in the upper level of the brown 'chalet' on the right

This is a good place to rest and relax. We decided to buy groceries and cook most of our meals while we are here. Today is the first day since we left home that we never left our dwelling place. Mornings have been so cloudy (we are so high we are actually in the clouds) but throughout the day it clears up. We hope we get one day of good sunshine and blue skies while we are in Switzerland.

View from our deck and living room

Horses are in a pasture next to us

We continue to review all our notes of Egypt, Jordan, Israel and Germany to help us retain more of what we have seen and experienced. It was good to talk to each of kids this weekend as well as our parents.

Our internet connection is slow and I can only get a signal sitting outside. :-)

June 6 – June 10, Sunday – Thursday - Germany

2010-06-12T13:08:00.001-05:00

June 6 – June 10, Sunday – Thursday
The Footsteps of the Reformers

We left a sunny, warm Seefeld behind as we boarded the train for Munich, Germany. There were many miles of mountains and grassy valleys as we left Austria and entered Germany. Our hotel was close enough to walk to from the train station. Others from our tour had just arrived from the airport so we met a number of people right away – including a couple who live in Tea, SD – just a few miles outside of Sioux Falls. We later found out she works with someone from Heartland!

Monday morning we toured Munich, Germany. We especially enjoyed the glockenspiel in the city square and walking through the market. We toured two castles – Nymphenberg Castle and Neuschwanstein Castle. This is the castle Walt Disney used as a model for the castle he built in the Magic Kingdom. It took 17 years to build this castle and was only lived in for 187 days.

Nymphenberg Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle

Tuesday we went to Oberammergau, the site of the Passion Play. Although rain had initially been predicted, we were thrilled to have blue skies and sunshine. The 5-hour production was done entirely in German and neither of us understand German. We had the script in English to follow along. We didn’t need to understand the language because we know the story. It was so much more than the events of the last week of Jesus’ life – it included many Old Testament stories which paralleled circumstances in Jesus’ life. The theatre holds 5,000 people. Approximately one-half million people come to see the production in a summer. What an impact they are making.

Wednesday we first went to Augsburg. We went to St. Anne's Church, where Luther met the papal legate who demanded that Luther submit to the pope. The Fuggers, a Catholic family, were weavers who initially were very poor, but over a 200-year time span became very wealthy through the transportation of goods. Fuggerei was a social community established by the Fugger family for poor people. To live in the Fuggeri housing community one had to be Roman Catholic, poor, be willing to say prayers 3 times a day for the Fugger family members. The yearly rental fee was one Dutch guilder equal to 88 cents today. This Fuggerei community is still occupied today. We toured a Fuggerei home as it was originally and saw pictures of how they have been modernized.

Rothenberg was our next stop. Here we enjoyed walking the streets of this beautiful town, visited the Kriminal-museum, which houses Medieval instruments of torture and some ways to correct wrong behavior especially for women. We also walked on a stretch of the city wall.

We spent about 6 hours in the bus today as we travelled down the Romantic Road. We saw quaint little villages, churches and fields of grain and corn as well as many grape orchards. Everything is very green and clean.

Thursday morning we saw the coliseum built by Hitler in Nurnberg. It is still used today for a variety of events. Hitler also constructed a huge open stadium that holds up to 200,000. Here from the Zepplin Tribune he hosted rallies and promoted his vision for a new Germany.

Our next stop was in Heidelberg, a stronghold of German Reformed Protestants beginning in 1560. One of the great confessional statements of the Reformation, the Heidelberg Catechism was produced here in 1563. The Heidelberg Castle, a most impressive historic landmark of Germany, stands majestically overlooking the Neckar River. Heidelberg was not destroyed in WWII as the allies wanted it as a base of operations.

The church in Heidelberg where the catechism was most likely written.

The castle of Heidelberg

We visited three things relating to Martin Luther at Worms (pronounced Warms)– the bishop’s hall, the Luther Memorial and the Protestant Church. It was at the bishop’s hall, during the Imperial Diet in 1521, that Martin Luther challenged the entire Roman Catholic establishment by his refusal to recant the great doctrines of Protestantism. Friends of Luther ‘kidnapped’ him to Wartburg where he stayed for a year. While waiting here, Luther was bored and so he translated the Bible into German.

St. Peters Church - The Bishop's Hall where Luther was judged

was joined to the back corner but it was destroyed

The Luther Memorial was built in 1868 to honor him and other Protestant leaders (Calvin, Wycliffe, Zwingli, Tyndale to name a few). At his trial he declared, “Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me.” This may have had reference to the fact that the church and castle had stood strong against destruction. The song, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” might also have had reference to the castle of Heidelberg.

The Protestant Church built 1689-1725 on the site of the former town hall. At the time that this church was built, it was thought that they were building on the site where Luther made his declaration. However, later it was determined that this was the wrong location for that but the structure remains, with beautiful carillons in the bell tour, the Apostles Creed written on the interior walls, and 15 stained glass windows visually depicting the 3 sections of the creed.

We spent our last night in Frankfurt before taking the train to Leysin, Switzerland for a few days of rest and relaxation.

June 9 - Wednesday - Germany

2010-06-09T16:13:00.001-05:00

We are on our Tour of Germany and hope to update our blog in the next couple of days.

June 3 – June 5, Thursday – Saturday - Austria

2010-06-05T09:12:00.000-05:00

The rains continued on Thursday and it was very cold. We stayed in our apartment most of the day, working on the photo album for Egypt and Jordan. The pictures continue to be an excellent way to relive and remember what we saw, learned and experienced. Jim is becoming a good scrapbooker!

Friday the rain stopped, the sun peaked out of the clouds and we could hear the birds singing. It was nice to walk to the village square without our umbrellas and be able to eat lunch outside.

Saturday morning we woke up to an absolutely beautiful, sunny, cloudless day. We took the city bus to the base of the ski lift, walked the rest of the way up to get our lift tickets. What a great surprise to find that everything was free today! We took the funicular up the mountain and then two lift rides to different areas of the mountain. We walked around the top of the Austrian Alps, soaking in the sun and the astounding view of the mountains all around us. It was warm enough to wear shorts, even though we were walking in the snow. We are thankful for the perfect weather for our last day in Seefeld. The R&R time has gone so fast. Tomorrow we will be on the train to Munich and begin our “Footsteps of the Reformers” tour on Monday.

The view from the top at Seefeld in Tirol.

Once again at the bottom looking up at the Austrian Alps.

May 31 – June 2, Monday – Wednesday - Austria

2010-06-02T13:43:00.000-05:00

Monday morning we took a bus ride around the city of Seefeld, enjoying mountain ranges we had not yet seen. The mountains were beautiful with the fresh snow that fell during the night. The flowers are beautiful – lots of tulips, hyacenthias, daffodils, begonias, and petunias in the village square. People walk all over the stone streets and the few cars that drive through watch out carefully for the people (the exact opposite of Cairo Egypt!). Sometimes we feel like Seefeld is ready for the festivities of a Tulip Festival! We walked through the Olympic Center and around the village.

Tuesday we left the apartment at 6:45 am, walked to the train station and took the train from Seefeld to Innsbrook and then from Innsbrook to Salzburg – the city where Mozart lived and where much of Sound of Music was filmed.

House in background is where part of "Sound of Music" was filmed.

Mirabel Gardens where part of "Sound of Music" was filmed.

We took a guided tour of the city. Our guide talked about the history of the city. He told us about the early trade routes through this area because of the salt that was mined in this region. However, today the water is more precious than the salt. During WWII the city was bombed a number of times because of the railway connection and Hitler came to Salzburg from his nearby Eagle’s Nest (his sanctuary/fortress during the war) to meet with commanders.
We ended up at the base of the hill on which was the fortress called Festung Hohensalzburg. We enjoyed sharing a great German Brat and a pastry at the base of the hill. We took the funicular (which is like a rail car that goes up a very steep incline) to the top where we had an audio guided tour of the fortress. This fortress was built by archbishops as well as for workers and prisoners. It was first built in the 1300s and was added to over the centuries. They were able to withstand all attacks. The fortress was peacefully surrendered to Napoleon, but returned to the Archbishops after he was defeated.

After taking the funicular down we set out on foot in the light rain to explore more of the city. We found Mozart’s residence and had an audio tour. It was interesting to learn more about his life, family and music. We took the train back to Seefeld – a 2.5 hour trip. We walked up the hill to our apartment in the rain and the dark – getting back here at 8:45 pm, ready for a good night of sleep.

Today we walked to the village square for groceries, and then spent the rest of the day in our apartment, reading, working on pictures, emailing, blogging and staying dry!

Every day we spend time going over pictures we took on our Holy Land Tour and review our notes and memories of what we saw, felt and learned each place. We are thankful to have the time to do this. We learned so much about the Israelites as well as Jesus and His disciples. As we listen to the news we are thankful we are not in Israel right now. (We did not go into the Gaza Strip when we were there because no tourists go there.)

We are having fun experiencing different cuisine: Hungarian Goulash Soup (no noodles), Curry Ginger Soup, Chicken in fruited sauce, Duck Entrees, Zwetschken Streusel (Plum Streudal), Nunberger Bratwurst, Spaghetti Bolognaise and lots of good varieties of breads. One day Lois ordered pancakes for brunch and was surprised when they came filled with chocolate and nuts and topped with whipped cream and ice cream! Who said lunch had to be healthy? Jim has cut down on coffee consumption since there are no free refills! Restaurants even charge if you want a glass of tap water with your meal.

Since our apartment is on a hill and the village square is in the valley we are doing lots of walking – and it seems like there is more uphill than downhill! It has rained every day in Austria and been cold so we wear lots of layers (Lois even started wearing sox on her hands since she does not have any gloves along) and burn a lot of calories every day. Jim commented that it is almost time for him to tighten his belt a notch.

People are very friendly in Austria. We have enjoyed meeting people who also speak English. Everyone exchanges notes about the sites they have seen, restaurants they have eaten in and foods they recommend. And everyone talks about the cold and the rain. We hear that all of Europe is unseasonable cold and wet right now. The trees and wildflowers are beautiful, even in the rain.

May 28 - 30, Friday – Sunday in Austria

2010-05-30T11:48:00.000-05:00

Seefeld in Tirol, Austria

We are enjoying no early morning wake-up calls and leisurely breakfasts of coffee and breads. We have a very nice apartment here. There have been both rain showers and sunshine every day. When the clouds clear away we have a great mountain view as we sat on our patio. We spend time reviewing the life of Jesus and the life of the Israelites every day, trying to “lock into our memories” more of what we saw and heard on our Holy Land Tour. The Bible stories have a new dimension after having been at the actual places. And for Lois, history also has become more important and understandable. I guess you are never too old to learn!

Connecting with family and friends is challenging because we cannot get WiFi connection in our apartment. We were happy to find a nearby hotel which lets us sit in the lobby and use their service. We will not be able to add to the blog or respond to emails every day as we did earlier, but we will try to do so every few days.

Our walking shoes have become our most valuable belonging with our rain jackets taking second place! We walk everywhere – lots of up and down hills. (Seems like more uphill!) We never leave our apartment without our rain jackets, because we usually get caught in a misting or light rain shower somewhere along the way. We walk to the town square every day. It is has a cozy village atmosphere, relaxing and beautiful. There are lots of flowers, trees and water fountains with a panoramic view of mountains. Everyone just strolls around, and greets one another warmly. A perfect spot for our R&R!

Ordering food has become interesting. On the first day we ordered Sicilian pizza for lunch. When it came it was topped with pepperoni, salami and small fish (I think they were sardines). Not good! After a visit to a super mart we now pack sandwiches for lunch every day, and find scenic places on our walking excursions to eat. There are so many restaurants here that we decided to try a different one every night. So far we’ve had great dinners - wiener schnitzel, spatzel, spaghetti bolognaise, brochette pizza, apple strudel with hot vanilla sauce. We especially like the restaurants that include pictures on their menus or English interpretation so we have an idea what we are ordering. Jim has certainly cut back on his coffee consumption and after drinking Turkish coffee in Israel Lois has discovered she likes sweetened coffee!

Yesterday we walked around Wildsee Lake and then climbed to the top of a hill where we had a grand view of the city. On this hill we also found stone monuments of the stations of the cross and of the 12 disciples. Jim had his picture taken by the Disciple James’ monument. Today we walked uphill about 1.5 miles to get a ski lift ride over the mountains. Although the clouds and rain had cleared at our apartment, by the time we had made the climb it was raining up there. So we decided to wait until another day when we would have a clearer view of the mountain range. At least most of the way home was downhill.

We are definitely in R&R mode – sleeping well, eating well, enjoying new scenery, reading lots, reflecting and pondering everything we experienced on our Holy Land tour -- and getting lots of physical exercise. God is taking good care of us!

May 27, Thursday - Austria

2010-05-29T11:21:00.001-05:00

We slept about one hour in our hotel in Jerusalem, got up at midnight, for our 1:00 am bus departure to the Tel Aviv airport. At 3:00 am we could check in. It took one hour and 40 minutes to go through 3 different security points and customs. When we finally got to our gate we both slept for a bit, got on the plane, and were both able to rest during the flight. During the flight we saw islands in the Mediterranean Sea. As we flew into Vienna, Austria we saw a stark contrast to the barrenness of the Holy Lands. There are lots of trees and everything is green and lush. We also saw lots of wind turbines like the ones we have in South Dakota.

Our multiple transfers continued at the Vienna airport. When we got off the plane we got on a bus to take us to the terminal. From the terminal we got on another bus to take us to the train station. We had a 2 hour wait to get on the train to take us to Innsbrook. At Innsbrook we had to find the train that would take us to Seefeld in Tirol. In Seefeld we found a taxi to take us to our apartment. We are thankful for picture signs and bilingual employees to guide us from one station to the next.

We had only been in bed for 1 hour in the past 38 hours (although we had both rested on the plane and the train) so we were both exhausted when we arrived at our apartment. But not too tired to appreciate the majestic, snow-capped mountains around us. It was raining lightly when we got here. Before we went to bed we saw the most brilliant double rainbow we have ever seen, right over the mountain outside our patio. It was so close we felt like we could walk right up to it and touch it! What a reminder of God’s promises as we begin our time of rest and relaxation in Austria.

May 26, Wednesday – last day in Israel

2010-05-29T11:14:00.001-05:00

Temple Mount, Holocaust Museum, Garden Tomb

One of the first things we spotted this morning as we drove was a Dutch windmill. Our guide told us there are actually 2 of them in Jerusalem. They have never been functioning windmills.

We took the Dung Gate into the Temple Mount this morning seeing the remains of King Solomon’s temple. We later left by the Lion’s Gate. This piece of land belongs to Israel, but the Palestinian Muslims have built a Mosque over the place that is believed to be the site of the first temple. The Mosque is a beautiful structure with a gold dome and colored mosaic designs all around the outside. However, on the corners near the door are symbols of Satan. Muslims do not believe in Satan and they do believe this will keep Jews and Christians away. Every Friday 60,000 Muslims come to this area to pray and to denounce the Jews. This area is heavily guarded by military since it is a “hot spot” for fighting between Muslims and Jews. Muslims occasionally throw stones over the Western wall to hit the Jews who are praying.

Our next stop was the Holocaust Museum. We were reminded of the horrors of Jews from many countries faced as they came under the control of the Nazis. We listened to many testimonies of people (mostly women) who survived the horror of the Holocaust. We walked through the Children’s Memorial, built in memory of the 1.5 million children (up to 16 years old) who were killed. It was a beautiful presentation of pictures of children and burning candles with an ongoing auditory listing of the names of the children and the countries they were from. Outside this memorial, we gathered to pray for healing for the Jews who yet today suffer the impact of this horrible event. Our guide shared that he has no living relatives because of the Holocaust. The sting of what happens lingers.

The Dead Sea Scroll Museum was our next stop. Outside the museum is a large model of Jerusalem as it was in Jesus’ time. This was a great visual to help us get a better perspective of what it was like. Shim’on explained the location of Golgotha, Antonio fortress (Pilate’s palace), Herod’s palace, Caiaphas’ house, David’s City, the temple with the Holy of Holies, the Kidron Valley, and Mt. of Olives.

Our tour ended with a grand finale at Garden of the Tomb. A Christian guide told the story of the crucifixion as we looked at Golgotha, the place where Jesus hung on the cross. When he shouted out “it is finished” it would have echoed throughout the mountains. Interesting, the cliffs have weathered away, leaving a picture of a face in the rocks. Contrary to pictures we see and songs we sing, Jesus was not crucified on a hill. And His feet were not far from the ground. From there we walked to the garden where it is believed Jesus was buried. We were each able to enter the tomb. On the door of the tomb is a sign “He is not here.” What an opportunity to sit at the empty tomb.

We then gathered with people from two other tour buses (about 100 people in all) and Jim was privileged to lead believers in participating in the Lord’s Supper and Lois led them in singing. Although we initially planned on being freed of all responsibilities as we travelled, the last minute request from Pilgrim Tours for Jim to be the spiritual director on our bus turned into a blessing. He had the extreme honor of baptizing people in the Jordan River and offering the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper at both Mt. Sinai and the site of the crucifixion and resurrection! And Lois had the opportunity to lead people in worship through song. These are priceless experiences we will always cherish.

After dinner the people from our bus gathered together at the hotel to share 1-2 highlights of Walking in the Footsteps of the Israelites and then of Jesus. This proved to be a great review of what we had done in the past 12 days – because the collective memory brought up things that may have blurred for some. We prayed together and sang together. It is amazing how much you come to love and care for people in such a short time.

Old Jerusalem

2010-05-25T22:59:00.000-05:00

May 25, Tuesday
We walked today where Jesus walked, where he taught and where he healed. We went down the Via Dolorsoa, the road of suffering. We spent the day in the Old City of Jerusalem. On the way we again drove by the Kidron Valley and Mount of Olives. We joined crowds of people that have come from around the world to see the holy places in Jerusalem. When we walked through the gate into the city we were awed by the high stone walls that surround the city. There is an odd mixture of the old ruins, many old churches and mosques, narrow streets with vendors and shops of all sorts, vehicles driving down 12 feet wide streets of stone along with many pedestrians, and somehow to understand that Jesus walked through this city 2000 years ago.

Seeing the Western Wailing Wall was an astounding sight. The orthodox Jews come by hundreds to this very special spot to pray and read scripture. Men and women are separated as they come to pray. The significance of the Western Wall is that this is the part of the wall that is closest to the Holy of Holies. We were given time to pray individually at the Wall.

We were privileged to be able to go into the underground excavations along the Western Wall. Part of the walkway is the original Jerusalem street, so we walked today where Jesus walked, on the very street that He walked. We saw the biggest stone discovered in the foundation. It is 45 by 12 by 5 and weighs 600 tons. It is not known how King Herod had his engineers mine it and then move it into place. A part of the underground walk took us through an aqueduct constructed by people about 200 BC. Another reminder to us of the importance of water to this area.

Water, rocks, stones, fortresses, trees and plants will certainly take on new significance for us as we read the Bible after seeing the impact these elements have on the people who live in the Holy Land.

Above ground we again walked the narrow streets and came to what had been the Pool of Bethesda, there is no water in it anymore. Jim read the story from John 5 when Jesus healed a man. The man and Jesus got into trouble because Jesus told him to carry his mat on the Sabbath. Special Sabbath rules remain very strong for the Jews of Israel. Near the Pool was the St. Anna Church built by Crusaders about 1100 AD.

Lois had her once in a lifetime experience at the St. Anna Church. She was asked to lead our group in singing “Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty”, “Lord I Lift Your Name on High,” and “Be Still and Know That I Am God.” The acoustics are so incredible in this church that as we sang the songs slowly we heard each note echoing back. There are no words to describe the impact. A taste of singing with the angels in heaven!

We continued our walk down the Via Dolorosa through the crowded streets. It was a stone street, up and down hill, and not easy to walk and stay together as a group. As we walked between tall buildings, school children yelled at us from the 2nd and 3rd floor windows, even spitting on some of our group. Vendors on each side of the street aggressively market their wares. Jim enjoyed his first pizza since we left home at a small street restaurant.

After going through an Ethiopian section and church that had very little decoration we came to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher which was originally built by Helena the mother of King Constantine about 324 AD. This was very ostentatious and the scent of the incense was very strong. The Roman Catholics claim it is the sight of Jesus’ death and burial. Tomorrow we will see the site that Protestants usually consider to be the actual site. Our guide told us about many of the traditions connected with the 14 stations of the cross.

We were given a little time for shopping. Yes, all of it is mingled together.

Our next stop was the southern wall. Excavations continue to reveal new things about the ancients who lived around Jerusalem. We saw the wall that had foundations from the time of King Herod. The Romans destroyed the city in 70 AD because of a Jewish revolt. The area remained desolate until the Moslems came about 700 and began building their village and mosques in the area. The Crusaders came about 1000 and destroyed some of the Moslem buildings and built their own. This area remains a hot spot for Jews and Moslems.

We were hot and tired from walking up and down hill on the stony road and from climbing lots of steps (often 150 at a time) when our guide led us to yet another place with more steps. To be honest, the air conditioned bus sounded pretty good at this point for most of the people in our group. But we followed onward, and had another powerful experience. It was more steps, but an experience that will always be etched in our memory. We sat on the steps that lead up to the gate (now closed off) on which Peter most likely proclaimed his Pentecost message. As we overlooked Jerusalem, Jim read the Pentecost story from Acts 2 and Lois lead our group in singing “Spirit of the Living God.” We did experience the spirit of the living God today as we walked where Jesus walked.

Jerusalem - Bethlehem

2010-05-24T14:06:00.001-05:00

May 24, Monday
Our first destination this morning was the Mount of Olives where we had a panoramic view of the Kidron Valley, the city of Jerusalem, the Temple, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Mercy Gate into the City through which it is believed Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. We saw Jewish, Christian and Muslim graveyards filled with people who felt it significant to be buried near Jerusalem. Since Jews are not allowed to cross cemeteries and they believe the gate is where they will enter Jerusalem in the end times, the Muslims built their cemetery right outside the city gate, believing they can thus stop the Jews from entering Jerusalem at the end times.

The Golden Dome is a mosque on top of the temple mount. Also called Mt Moriah. This is a picture from the Mount of Olives looking over the Kidron Brook.
On the Mount of Olives we read the story of the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem from Luke 19:28 – 48. We walked down the steep streets of Jerusalem (along with thousands of other visitors to Jerusalem) to visit what traditions says is the Upper Room and is now a part of a Moslem mosque. This building has a dome with a rooster at the top, as a reminder that this is where Jesus told Peter that before the rooster crowed he would deny Him three times. We entered the House of Caiaphas where Jesus was beaten and spit upon. We walked down into a deep crypt, where Jesus was most likely held on the last night of His life.

Olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed.

We went to Bethlehem this afternoon. Since Bethlehem is in Palestine, our Israeli bus, driver and guide could not go with us. We were driven to the security check point and then got on a different bus with a Palestinian driver and guide. After eating lunch in Bethlehem we toured the place where it is believed that Jesus was born. The Church of the Nativity is built over the spot where it is believed that Jesus was born. We went down into the crypt to see what tradition says is his manger. We sat in the cave where it is believed that the angel appeared to Joseph and told him to flee to Egypt with Mary and his newborn son. Our group sang “Away in a Manger” and “O Come All Ye Faithful” inside the “cave” and “Joy to the World” as we stood in the outside courtyard.
Other events to remember with Bethlehem include: Rachel the wife of Jacob being buried here; Ruth and Naomi came here and Ruth married Boaz and gave birth to Obed, the father of Jesse the father of David.

Modern Bethlehem

We sat in the cave that St. Jerome inhabited as he translated the Bible (Vulgate) from Hebrew and Greek to Latin. We saw a beautiful artistic portrayal of Samuel coming to Jesse’s home to anoint David as king which was made in 2009.

Although structures have been built over what is believed to be the actual sites that are so key to Christianity, and although the ancient city is now a modern city filled with tourists who come to see what we came to see, and although it is no longer exactly like it was when Jesus walked these streets it is amazing, incredible and remarkable to walk where Jesus walked, up and down the hills, across all kinds of terrain. As we were surrounded by crowds of people today, it struck us that Jesus too was surrounded by the crowds and as we strained to hear every word of our tour guide they too were following we focused on what the Teacher was saying. Just as some people in the crowd today were less patient and gracious than others, so too, Jesus had people in his midst who were not happy about the crowds He attracted.

Dead Sea, Masada, EnGeddi

2010-05-23T15:19:00.001-05:00

May 23, Sunday

We began our morning floating in the Dead Sea (which Jim enjoyed more than Lois) and then experiencing the salt water and fresh water pools, Jacuzzis and spa at the hotel, which we both totally enjoyed. So relaxing! It was nice to have a later departure, giving us time to enjoy these nice amenities at our beautiful Dead Sea Hotel. As the bus drove headed out we sang “Praise the Name of Jesus” and “Blessed Be the Name of the Lord.”

A cable car took us to the top of Masada where a fortress had been built by King Herod from 37-31 BC. We were thankful to not walk to the top today, since it was very hot. In AD 66 Jewish zealots fled there and overcame a Roman garrison. In AD 70 the Romans killed a million plus Jews who were revolting in the Jerusalem area and destroyed the temple. Romans then sent 10,000 troops to overcome the 1000 Jews who had fled to Masada. When the Romans broke through the defenses the Jews decided to kill themselves rather than surrender.

EnGedi was our next stop. We walked along a trail and saw a few caves. David hid in these caves and it was one of these caves that David cut off a piece of King Saul’s robe. (1 Samuel 24) We saw a beautiful waterfall, the only place in Judah desert with water. Today the people in the kibbutzes take this water, bottle it and sell it as mineral water. We were again being reminded of how key water is to life in Israel. People followed water sources, and so most of Jesus’ ministry took place near some body of water. We saw an ibex (small deer) and hyrax (they call it their type of rabbit).

Late lunch was served at Abraham’s tent. “Eliezer of Damascus” (Genesis 15) told the story of Abraham, and then our group caravanned down the hill on camel or foot to Abraham’s tent where we sat on cushions at low tables to share a meal of breads, vegetables, rice, meat balls, chicken, dates and apricots. Turkish coffee was the final offering for the meal.

Leaving Abraham’s tent we headed toward Jerusalem. As we entered the city, we listened to the song “The Holy City” being played on the bus. What a moment to overlook the city of Jerusalem as we hear the words “Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Lift up your gates and sing, Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna to your King!”

Jordan River, Baeth Shean, Qumran and the Dead Sea

2010-05-22T15:22:00.001-05:00

May 22, Saturday
We begin this day with memory-making experiences which we will treasure for a lifetime. Our first stop this morning was the Jordan River, near the spot where it is believed that John baptized Jesus. Jim had the privilege of talking about baptism and then baptize 15 people from our bus in the Jordan River. These are people we have come to know and care about in the past week. At the end of the baptism we sang “Amazing Grace” together.

Yes this is the Jordan River today.

The ruins of Beth Shean were amazing. This is where King Saul and his sons’ bodies were hung after they were killed in battle on Mt Gilboa (1 Samuel 31). King Solomon (or David) built a fortress here. The river below is where Gideon had gone to select 300 warriors (Judges 7). It is believed that it was in Beth Shean (one of the 10 cities in the Decapolis) where Jesus preached. We walked the Roman streets. We saw the public bathhouse, common in Roman cities as a place for men to bathe, make decisions and negotiate deals. Because this area is on the great rift there are earth tremors 24 hours a day in this area, causing movement of the mountains. Major earthquakes destroyed the city several times in the past.

Qumran is where the Dead Sea Scrolls were first discovered in 1947 by a young boy and two older cousins who were tending sheep. The Essenes or Qumran sect numbering up to 400 were in this area about 100 BC to 80 AD. The writers of the scrolls would spend 18 hours a day writing. It was grueling and the standards for writers were high. Some could not take the pressure. The Isaiah scroll is the longest scroll that has been discovered.

As we rode through this area, our guide told us that this area is the hottest place known in the world. There is only 1-3 inches of rain per year in the West Bank region, compared to Jerusalem which gets about 30” per year. It even snows in Jerusalem about 2 times a year.

Riding down the West Bank highway that divides Palestine and Israel shows the contrast between the two territories. The Palestinian side does little to care for its land and crops leaving everything barren and dirty. On the other side of the road, the Israelis have irrigated their crops resulting in orchards (pomegranate, orange, grapefruit, avocado) and crops (corn and wheat).

We drove by Jericho. We will not be allowed to see this city as it is in Palestinian territory and so is blocked to Israelis. We saw the Mt. of Temptation right behind Jericho.

We woke up to the coolness of the air at Tiberius and the Sea of Galilee this morning. This afternoon we were very happy to climb into the air conditioned motor coach as the temperature was above a 100 degrees at Qumran. Our hotel accommodations, other than at Mount Sinai, have been very nice. We are enjoying lots of wonderful food even though much of it is “manna” to us – that means “What is it?” The most popular sandwich is called a Falafel. It is pita bread filled with fried chick-pea balls and any variety of veggies we choose to add.

We end our day in a hotel overlooking the Dead Sea. Although time and kingdoms and nature have altered the terrain since Jesus and the disciples lived and worked and ministered in this area, the mountains and the seas are the same ones that they climbed and crossed. These experiences are making the Bible stories come alive in new ways as we see the places and hear the stories of how the Jewish people lived so long ago.

from the 8th floor of hotel looking at the Dead Sea

see more pictures on my facebook page

Galilee - Caesarea Philippi - Capernaum

2010-05-21T14:51:00.000-05:00

May 21, Friday
We woke up to the sun rising over the Sea of Galilee. After breakfast we went to the mountainside next to the Sea of Galilee where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5). A church has been built there to reflect the Beatitudes. As we sat outside the church we read the Beatitudes with our group. We walked through the church and then stood on the hillside, looked down on the Sea of Galilee and imagined Jesus teaching the crowds of people.

Israeli Warfare
As we traveled down the road we saw Golan Heights and the area missiles were launched from Lebanon. Israel planted eucalyptus trees alongside both sides of the road so Syria could not see them as they were driving. We saw many yellow warning signs posted on the fences: Beware of mines. From 1948 – 1967 schools were underground because Syrians were shooting every day. The Arabs main desire is for land. Our guide said something quite profound: “Only someone who participated in war can appreciate peace.” Reflection: we can substitute other words in the place of war and peace – sickness and health; death and life; unemployment and employment.

Jordan River, Caesarea Philippi, Capernaum
We crossed the Jordan River where it was about 12 foot wide. Jordan means “descend from Dan.” We walked along the spring from which the Jordan River begins. We saw remains of altars built by Jeroboam.

Jesus is the living water, and he usually spoke to people next to a water source. At Caesarea Philippi Jim read from Matthew 16:19 about the keys of the kingdom of heaven being given to Peter and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. We walked up to a spot where Jesus stood to preach, and the gates of Hades was explained as the entrance of the stream that had come out of a temple to Pan. We enjoyed a great Israeli lunch in a restaurant in Caesarea Philippi

We went to Capernaum, the place where Jesus came to pray. This is where Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law. We saw remains of structures that were built over what tradition calls Peter’s home. We saw the remains of a synagogue, which would have been built after the temple was destroyed. The stairs into the synagogue were always narrow and wide, causing people to slow down and look down as they entered this holy place.

We saw the place where Jesus multiplied the 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread in John 6 so that there were 12 baskets of leftovers after everyone had eaten. A church has been built in this site with a mosaic floor, picturing the 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread by the altar. We had a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, sang a few praise songs, and Jim read from John 6 – the story of Jesus feeding the crowd with 5 loaves and 2 fish.

Caesarea, Magiddo, Mt. Caramel, Nazareth.

2010-05-20T16:25:00.001-05:00

We had another full day today (May 20, Thursday), with beautiful weather, blue skies, a nice breeze and pleasant temps. We are thankful to be healthy and rested. Today we visited the ruins of Caesarea, Magiddo, Mt. Caramel and the Village of Nazareth.

Caesarea
King Herod built Caesarea on the banks of the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the fanciest places ever built in the world. It was a planned city, with a temple, theatre (where they still hold events), hippodrome for chariot races, markets and residential quarters. It took 12 years to build, became a great commercial center and the headquarters of the Roman government in Palestine. We saw the remains of Herod’s palace. Pagans, Samaritans, Jews and Christians lived here during later periods. The heads were removed from all the statues in the city. One theory is that when Jews and/or Christians lived there they removed them because of the second commandment, thou shalt not make any graven images. During the time of the crusades a wall was built around the city, making Caesarea the largest fortified city in the country. The aqueduct served as a source of water for the city, bringing water from Mt. Carmel, which was 13 miles away. We saw a portion of the aqueduct that is still standing today.

Caesarea is where Cornelius was converted. Paul and Peter probably preached from the theatre, a place with incredible acoustics. Paul spent 10 years in Caesarea during 3 different visits. Two of those years were spent in a prison there. A stone was found with an inscription that Pontius Pilate had also been in Caesarea.

Mt Carmel
We gathered on the top of Mount Carmel. Our guide asked Jim to share the story of the contest between Ahab and Elijah as to who was the true God, we sang and prayed together. We then looked down over the Jezreel Valley, where the Israelites killed the 450 prophets of Ahab. This is also the place where Deborah and Barak were victorious and Jael put the tent peg through the head of Sisera. We also viewed the Mount of Transfiguration and the city of Nazareth across the valley. Our guide pointed out where Saul and his sons were killed in battle, where Gideon put out the fleece to test God and the city of Nain where Jesus raised the widow’s son.

We saw olive trees, and learned how oil is pressed and how nothing is wasted from the olive. Green and black olives grow on the same tree – black olives just stay on the tree longer. We learned that every pomegranate has 613 seeds – the same number as the number of laws in the Old Testament. We saw wheat and mustard, looking at how tiny a mustard seed is.

Megiddo - Har Megiddo = Armageddon
We walked around the archaeological digs at Megiddo. Initially it was thought that Solomon was the builder, but it is now thought that it might be King Ahab. The Tel reveals layers of history. A shaft and tunnel were built 100 feet down for carrying water. We walked down 180 steps into the tunnel, saw the spring of water and then came out the other side.

We talked about the story of the disciples not catching any fish, Jesus telling them to throw the net on the other side and then catching 153 fish. The Hebrew significance of this is that the letters stand for “I am God.” Jesus wanted people to know He was God, but he never told them He was God – He showed them.
Nazareth
The city of Nazareth is busy and crowded. We visited “old Nazareth” where we could walk through a village setting as it must have been during Jesus day. We saw a carpenter at work, a weaver, a shepherd, the olive press and a church. We wanted to “feel” what it was like to have been there with Jesus, but it was difficult because it felt “staged” (and the guy weed-whacking around the different sites didn’t help!)

We drove by Mt. Precipice, where the people accused Jesus of blasphemy and wanted to push Him off the cliff but he disappeared from their midst and never came back to Nazareth again.
Lodging
Tonight and tomorrow night we are staying in a lovely waterfront hotel room in Tiberius, overlooking the Sea of Galilee. We have a balcony so are able to relax and enjoy the water.

From Madaba, Jordan to Natanya, Israel

2010-05-19T14:30:00.001-05:00

The sky was blue and temperatures cool this morning as we walked down the streets of Madaba, Jordan to the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George to see the mosaic map of the Holy Land. We enjoyed the demonstration of how to make mosaics. The mosaics are made by physically disabled people who receive government support for their work.
Our next stop was Mount Nebo where we could see the Dead Sea, Jericho and Jerusalem. We read Deuteronomy 34, the story of Moses climbing Mt. Nebo to see the Promised Land. And then he died. It was an emotional experience to think of Moses looking at the promised land, knowing that he could not go in because he struck a rock when God told him to speak to it (Numbers 20). But then we thought about where he did go – to Heaven! His work was finished. He had taken the Israelites to the Promised Land. He had trained Joshua to take them into the land. We continue to be overwhelmed by the distance the Israelites traveled and the conditions in which they lived. The people from our bus sang “I Love You Lord” together as we stood on top of Mt. Nebo.

As we traveled back down the mountain we saw many Bedouin tents and communities. Although the tents are meager shelters, we occasionally saw a tractor outside their tent, a bicycle and even some satellite dishes!
Entering Israel
Going through customs to get into Israel went very smoothly. We no longer have an armed guard on our bus as we did in Jordan, but we did have an armed guard walk through our bus at the Jerusalem checkpoint. Our Israeli guide, Shem’on, is once again excellent. As we travelled down the highway, he pointed out different areas and talked about Israel.

Today was a Holy Day in Israel – Shavuot (Pentecost). Traffic was much lighter because many Jews spend the day worshiping or at home.

West Bank is divided into three sections: one where just Palestinians can be, the second is controlled by Israel but Palestinians can come in and the third is for Israelites and Palestinian civilians who enter will be searched. A wall with barbed wire looping has been built to separate Palestine and Israel because of the terrorist shooters. Palestinians may not drive into Israel, but many of them walk in each day to work there.

Israel is known for it’s irrigation systems, and in fact, sell them across the world. Everything green has been planted.

Our hotel is in Natanya tonight, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea (also known as the Great Sea). We stepped in the Mediterranean, enjoyed gazing at the water and palm trees for an hour and watched the sunset. In Israel we can eat fruits and vegetables and drink tap water.

Petra (Selah)

2010-05-18T14:12:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday, May 18, we left Aquaba, known as King Solomon’s port, for a 2-hour bus ride on the Jordanian highway, also called the King’s Highway. We saw many Bedouins in the fields with their sheep and goats. Just before the entrance of Petra, we saw the site of Aaron’s burial on top of Mount Hor.

Petra is a mountain fortress, that was inhabited by the Edomites (descendants of Esau) and then the Nabateans (descendants of a son of Ishmael) until the Romans drove them out. Later the Bedouins lived there, but it is no longer inhabited. Hidden between the mountains, Petra is only accessible by walking. We walked down a hill with our guide, to a narrow gorge, the entrance between two huge rock cliffs (reminded us of Needles Highway in the Black Hills), only about 12 feet wide in some place and 150-250 feet high. After walking downhill for about a 1 ½ mile we were asked to form two lines, side by side, put our hands on the shoulders of the person in front of us and close our eyes. We then were told to walk forward, trusting our leader. (Our line had a great leader – Jim!) When the guide told us to open our eyes we were amazed to see the beautiful 60 foot sandstone carvings of the Treasury. Going down farther into Petra we saw many of the burial caves that the Nabateans had carved into the sides of the cliffs. We also saw the 6000 seat stadium they had built. The rock was basically red, striated with lots of different colors. After walking DOWNHILL into the city (about 2 miles) with our guide, we walked the same route back to our bus – totally UPHILL of course.

One more thing about Petra: for the Indiana Jones fans – Petra is where some of the scenes from “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” were shot.

Our next stop was in the Valley of Moses, where we saw the place where Moses struck the rock instead of speak to it as God commanded (Numbers 20). The Israelites got water, but because of his disobedience Moses was denied entrance to the promised land.

We continued our travels on the King’s Highway to Ammon. As we arrived in Ammon for the night, we entered a busy, commercialized city. Population is 2 million. Much of the signage is in English. Many women drive Jeeps, the Jordanian “family van.” We saw Pizza Hut, Burger King, Toyota as well as many other restaurants and commercial signs that reminded us of home. After commenting to each other about how the traffic in Jordan is much different than Cairo (an organized road system with signage and even police cars) our bus driver turned the corner to our hotel, and instead of being an inch from the vehicles on either side, there was probably only ¼ inch to spare on each side! But no scratches.

We saw a variety of terrain in Jordan today – barren desert, mountains, areas with sparse vegetation, and then some fields with planted crops. One more thing: We learned today that the camel is known as the hybrid (high-bred) limousine of the desert!

Traveling from Egypt to Jordan

2010-05-17T15:47:00.000-05:00

As we left Egypt we had to get our luggage off the bus and walk through customs. It was extremely hot and windy. We first went through Israeli customs and got on buses there. We were taken to the Jordan customs, where we once again got our luggage and stood in line. It was hot and windy – a genuine sand storm. The security machines were down and so they opened every piece of everyone’s luggage. This took a long, long time, and we were out in the heat and wind and sand the whole time. We then put our luggage on another bus and were taken to our hotel. A shower never felt so good!

Security and Education in Egypt

2010-05-17T15:46:00.000-05:00

We went through multiple security checks(about every 20-30 miles) throughout our time in Egypt. Each one had multiple armed security guards. Being on a tour bus with a native driver, guide and our own armed security made passing through these checkpoints effortless. Traffic usually gives buses right of way, but it was not uncommon to look out the window and see our bus within an inch or two of vehicles on either side.

Education in Egypt is free. Children go to elementary school for 6 years. Middle school is for 3 years, and boys and girls are divided into different schools at this time. They must take 1 foreign language – English, French or German in Middle School. If they receive a high mark on their provincial test at the end of middle school they go on to high school, where boys and girls are once again together. In high school they must take a second foreign language and Italian and Spanish are added to their options. In their 2nd year of high school, they must choose between a math and science or literature track. In their 3rd year they take an exam every day for one month. These exams are collected and scored. Those who do well can continue on to the university for free. Those with lower marks may be accepted in the university but can only become lawyers, which means they often become taxi drivers because lawyers are not needed in Egypt due to their tribal mentality.
Sixty percent university students are girls since the men are expected to work to support the family dynasty. Most doctors, pharmacists and ambassadors are women.

All men have to do army service. Those who only complete high school serve for 3 years; those who complete their university degree only serve 1 year. Doctors do not do army service, but must do 1-3 years of civil service after they are trained. This keeps the cost of medical services (which are provided for free) down. Egypt pays 100% of medical care, but sometimes need to wait 9-12 months for it. So some opt to pay for private care.

St. Catherine’s Monastery, Red Sea, Jordan

2010-05-17T15:44:00.003-05:00

Moses spent his life in Egypt – 40 years in Pharaoh’s palace near Luxor, 40 years in the Sinai desert where God spoke to him from the burning bush, and then 40 years wondering with the Israelites in that same area in Sinai. The very place where Moses lived after fleeing Egypt at age 40 was the same place the cloud and pillar of fire brought him back to when he led the Exodus. He knew the land well after living there for 40 years. The burning bush is at the foot of Mt. Sinai where Moses received the 10 Commandments and the Israelites built a golden calf when they didn’t think he would return. There were 48 Exodus stations in the 40 years that the Israelites lived in the desert. We toured St Catherine’s Monastery, and saw Moses’ burning bush.

We were amazed at the ruggedness of the mountains as we continued to drive through the Sinai Desert, before coming to the Red Sea. We walked along the shore of the Red Sea, and cupped it’s water into our hands.

Climbing Mt Sinai

2010-05-17T15:43:00.004-05:00

When we arrived at Mt. Sinai, we first gathered in the chapel at the base of the mountain and celebrated the Lord’s Supper together. As people gathered for worship at Heartland Community Church as well as many other churches in the US and Canada, we embarked on our journey up Mt. Sinai to watch the sunset (Egypt is 8 hours later than CST). We rode camels for about an hour as we ascended the mountain and then had to finish the climb with 750 steps to the summit. After the sun set we walked the same path down the mountain in the dark.

The path was steep and rocky. We’ve climbed Harney Peak in the Black Hills (the highest point in the US east of the Rockies) and in comparison this was steeper and more rugged. Unfortunately it was hazy so the sunset was not spectacular. The walk down with 30 some people using flashlights to find the path was also challenging. The people ahead of us “lost” the guide, and got off the path. After moving forward (in the right direction but not on the path) Jim was able to find the path for the group. We were thankful! It took about 2.5 hours to walk down the mountain, so we didn’t get supper until 10:30 pm. We were tired and food was cold, so it was not our best meal!

Marah, Suez Canal, Elim, Rephidim:

2010-05-17T15:42:00.002-05:00

We left Cairo very early in the morning to travel some of the route the Israelites took in their Exodus from Egypt. We drove many miles through barren desert, reflecting on what it must have been like for thousands of people of people taking this journey on foot. (At times it reminded us of Eastern Colorado; other times of the South Dakota Badlands.) We stopped at Marah, where the Israelites were thirsty but could not drink the water because it was bitter. The people from our group gathered under a tree, overlooking the Red Sea, singing and reflecting on the story of Marah. (Exodus 15)

The plagues had a profound affect on the Egyptians. Not being able to eat their food, drink their water, rest from the affect of the plagues tested the endurance of the Egyptians. Pharaoh continually hardened his heart until their dynasty was affected by the death of the firstborn of each family.

The Israelites croseds the Reed Sea (not the Red Sea. Reeds still grow so much today that they need to continually be cleared to keep the Suez Canal open.) Asman gave a passionate presentation of the construction of the Suez Canal which connected the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. We then drove through the tunnel that goes under the Canal, separating Africa from Asia. The American government gives Egypt $2.8 million a year for the Suez Canal.

We stopped at Elim, the place of 70 palms and no water. This is the place the people complained and God sent manna and quail. We again gathered in a circle at Rephidim, holding our arms up high (remembering Aaron and Hur holding up Moses’ arms to ensure victory) as we looked at the remnants of the alter Moses built to worship God for the victory over the Amelekites. (Exodus 17) It was hot and windy and we thought a lot about what it must have been like to be an Israelite traveling on foot, rather than in air conditioned bus that we sometimes couldn’t wait to get back into.

Egypt Museum & Pyramids

2010-05-15T14:53:00.000-05:00

We started today at the Egyptian Museum, the location of King Tut’s treasures and ancient remains. We have a wonderful native tour guide who made the ancient history come alive and continued to provide the Biblical context. We then saw three different pyramids, each with their three little pyramids for the king’s wives. (All these pyramids were built before Abraham came to Egypt.) We crossed the Nile River several times. We had a fascinating demonstration on how papyrus paper is made. Since one person on the tour had a birthday, we were treated to Egyptian birthday cake (very sweet pastry). Traffic in Egypt is very interesting – no stoplights, speed limits, seatbelts, yield signs or traffic control. Everyone just goes down the road honking their horn to warn people to get out of their way. (Lois is glad Jim didn’t rent a car here – he might have had too much fun!)

Getting to Cairo: Wednesday - Friday

2010-05-14T02:45:00.000-05:00

Our amazing journey began on Wednesday as an amazing race. Chicago’s weather and air traffic issues delayed our departure by 2 1/2 hours from Sioux Falls. When we arrived in Chicago O'Hare at 11:00 pm we RAN from Gate F2 to B16, but our plane had left. There was a flight leaving for Munich that had been delayed and there were 2 open seats for us. So on Thursday morning, at 12:30 am, we boarded the flight to Munich. We had a good flight through the night, both being able to rest. When we got to Munich we learned that our connecting flight had already departed for Cairo and there were no more out until Friday. So they booked us on a flight to Frankfurt which we could make if we RAN. We got through security and to the gate in time to walk onto the plane. We later flew from Frankfurt to Cairo.

We collapsed into a wonderful bed at 5:00 am – 38 hours after getting out of our own bed on Wednesday morning! But we still got up at 8:30 and and enjoyed a delicious breakfast buffet. We are relaxed and took all the delays in stride. Lois’ ears stayed open – the best they’ve been in 20 years of flying!

Sabbatical from May 12 to August 25

2010-05-06T09:15:00.000-05:00

Pastor Jim and Lois Hoogeveen and Heartland Community Church are grateful recipients of a Pastoral and Congregational Renewal Grant from the Lilly Endowment Foundation. The basic purpose of the Endowment’s program is to provide a chance for congregations and ministers to engage in mutual renewal that will have an impact on their churches, their individual members and their communities. Jim and Lois will be on sabbatical from May 12 to August 25. The sabbatical begins with three overseas tours, following the Footsteps of Jesus, the Footsteps of the Reformers and the Footsteps of Paul. The remainder of the summer their footsteps will be with family and friends and celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary.

Pilgrim Tours

2010-05-05T23:27:00.001-05:00

Our tours have been arranged through Pilgrim Tours. You can check them out at http://pilgrimtours.com/

About Lilly Endowment

2010-05-05T23:16:00.001-05:00

Lilly Endowment Inc. is a foundation that supports religious, educational and community leaders. Learn more about them at http://www.lillyendowment.org/religion_ncr.html