Israel

Our first day in Israel started at 3am and did not end until 2 am the next day. To say the least it was a fun filled but jam packed day. It began with Miles picking us at the Tel Aviv airport at 3 AM and driving for about an hour to Ramallah, where he lives in the West Bank. Later on in the morning, we went to Jerusalem (the old city part) , where we saw the Western Wall (wailing wall), walked along the Via Delarosa, where Jesus walked with the crucifix; and the Church of the Sephlecure, where we had the unique opportunity to touch the stone where Jesus’ body was washed and the rock where the cross was placed on. We also visited a few old churches and an underground well place, where they used to draw water in the past. This underground well place was amazing because of its acoustics. We (Miles, Joyce and 2 fortunate tourists) were given a special performance by Joh, where she sang Amazing Grace for us. The walls of the cavern bounced her beautiful voice all around us creating a peaceful and serene atmosphere. Our ears were filled with her awesome voice and we did not want it to end. For me (Joh),it was an amazing feeling to sing there and hear my voice bouncing off the rock walls. At night, we went out to Tel Aviv for an incredible seafood dinner by the water and then later on met up with Miles’ friends and hit a local bar. And so our first day of Israel came to an end at 2 AM the following day. It was an awesome day.

The next day we proceeded towards the north of Israel, where we ventured towards Nazareth, the city that Jesus grew up. We went to the Basilica of the Annunciation, where the cave (where Mary received the message from the angel, Gabriel) is located and visited Joseph’s chapel as well. Then, we moved onto Tiberius, which is near the Sea of Galilee. We had a nice dinner by the Sea of Galilee. The following day, we drove off to Haiffi where we went to see the famous Bahai Gardens, which were amazing. Bahai is a religion that came after Islam. It is a combination of christianity, judiasm, druism, and islam. The garden has 18 tiers and the gardens are magnificently kept. From Haiffi, we went to Akko, an incredible city that is built within the ruins of the old city. We had a couple of drinks at a local Arab place, where there was traditional music playing and people dancing. The music was really great! We had the most amazing dinner EVER at Uri Buri. It was just INCREDIBLE!!! After dinner, we walked around Akko and stumbled upon an Arab Israeli wedding, where we were allowed to crash and had lots of fun.

The next day we went to see more of the Sea of Galilee, the church of the Beatitude and Capernaum. The church of the beatitude grounds were beautiful and had a great view of the Sea of Galilee. After enjoying the gorgeous view, we were off to Capernaum, the place that Jesus performed many miracles. It was unreal to see the ruins of the church and the area where he preached. It was also incredible to sit along the shore lines of the Sea of Galilee, where we could touch the water, the same water in which Jesus walked upon 2000 years ago. It was surreal to see the Bible come to life. AMAZING!

We got to walk around Ramallah where Miles lives, which was interesting. It’s a beautiful city but it is still in the midst of development. Since we had to go back and forth between the West Bank and Israel, we could see the difference between these two areas. At first, it was a bit daunting to go through the check points in order to pass between the West Bank and Israel; but we became accustomed to it – it is just a part of everyday life there. It is sad to see so much strife and racism in an area, where it’s the mecca for many religious beliefs.

We went to Jericho, which is the oldest city - it’s 10,000 years old. We got to check out the tree where Jesus prayed at and the montesary, which is up on a hill. Then, Joh drove us to Masada and the Dead Sea. Masada is an incredible place, where King Herod built a fortress on the side of a cliff. For many Jews, this place symbolizes the determination of Jews to be free in their own land. Then, we went to Eui, where we got to chill and swim in the Dead Sea. It was a really cool feeling to be floating no matter what in the Dead Sea.

We also got to visit three wineries in Israel which was lots of fun. We got to taste some pretty good wines and bought a couple of bottles as well. Then we ended the evening with traditional Arab food that was delicious.

On our final full day in Israel, we went to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, and saw the star of David and the place that he was born. Afterwards, we walked some more in Jerusalem and also drove through the Mount of Olives. Miles ended our trip by with a fun BBQ. We were warned about how tough it is to get through all of the security at the Tel Aviv airport but thank God that we were able to breeze through it.  Thanks Miles for such a wonderful visit to Israel!