Day 4-5: Israel!

We’re in Israel!!!!

Wow. This is unbelievable. We got to Tel Aviv at 3pm on Tuesday, safely and with all our luggage! Jet lag sure is fun. We were taken by bus past Joppa to Tel Aviv where we spent the first night. It was beautiful there. The hotel was right on the Mediterranean and the weather was like Hawaii. We sure slept well.

This morning we boarded the bus at 8am and headed for Caesarea. Here we saw the ruins of a roman theatre, the 1,000 foot long Hippodome for chariot races and an inscription bearing Pontius Pilate's name. This was the major center of activity (rather than Jerusalem) because of its location as a strategic port. Caesarea is the site of many Old and New Testament events.

• Philip's miraculous transport to, and evangelization of, the Ethiopian eunuch took place near here
• Paul's plea to Felix, the Roman Procurate (Acts 24)
• Home of Pontius Pilate
• Paul was imprisoned here (Acts 23:22-26, 26:32)

Then we headed to Meggido - unbelievable. Not only are there 25 layers of civilizations that were established, destroyed and built on top of, this is the sight where the battle of Armeggedon will be fought (Revelation 16:16).

We had lunch and drove through Nazareth (we didn't stop as it is not as safe right now). We saw the hill on which many think existed the temple in Luke 4:16-30 where crowds attempted to throw Jesus off of for claiming to be the Messiah. The weather started to get cold and rainy and we headed to our new hotel in Tiberias right on the Sea of Galilee. Tomorrow we are scheduled to go on a boat out on the Sea and be baptized in the Jordan (weather permitting - please pray!)

There are 4 buses of us in total, each with a guide. Our guide, Ronnie, is a Jewish archeologist, and therefore he brings a great knowledge of the history of all we are seeing. We have met some awesome people so far, and are truly enjoying ourselves. Chuck Missler and his wife rode on our bus today, and taught at each location (in addition to the guides) which has made for a very rich learning experience. Thank you Heritage, for sending us on this amazing journey!

Here are some pictures from the last couple of days:

Uh, well we just discovered that we don't have enough bandwidth on this free wifi to upload pictures right now. We'll get that figured out tomorrow for you. Right now we are going to bed.
Until next time!

Just Kidding! Thanks Chad for helping us shrink them! Here they are!

Come on. Nogger? That's just fun. Especially in Frankfurt.

This is the theatre in Caesarea with Chuck teaching.

Bodie and I riding the fine animals in the Hippodrome. We will beat that Masala!

Alright. This picture is especially for the Martins, Jahrs and Frickles. You know why. I feel right at home!!!

Bodie and I on the top of Meggido overlooking the Valley of Jezreel. It was beautiful.

This is the hill in Nazareth the they believe they tried to throw Jesus off of for claiming to be the Messiah.