Our Pilgrimage Begins
After about 30 hours of travels (from leaving our door at home to entering our room once we arrived at our hotel) we have finally arrived in the Holy Land! Sleep deprived, sweaty, yet eager, excited, and grateful to be here. We were greeted by our guide, Johnny, and our driver Hadir.
Today (Friday) we begin our journey along the Mediterranean Sea north from our stay in Netanya the first night. Our first stop will be to Caesarea Maritima, the great fortress city on the west coast that Herod the Great built, where Pontus Pilot mostly lived when not trying to keep the peace in Jerusalem, and where the Apostle Paul was imprisoned for 2 years near the end of his life before being taken to Rome.
From there we travel northward to Haifa and visit the Church established over a cave where Elijah supposed hid and encountered God.
From there north and east to Nazareth where we will visit the Church of the Annunciation where the angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary. After seeing Jesus’ hometown we will travel on to Mount Megiddo, the ruins of the ancient fortress dating back to before the time of King David. This is the site of many ancient battles, and the place prophesied in Revelation for the final battle – Armageddon (Har in Hebrew is for Mountain, so Har Megiddo, or Armageddon).
Finally, we will travel east to the Sea of Galilee where we will stay at a hotel on the Mount of Beatitudes run by nuns. It is very simple accommodations, and one of our favorite places to stay – seeing the sun rise over the Sea of Galilee, and sunset with Tiberias in the background.
What a great group of people. So looking forward to the experiences, growing in faith, and growing in fellowship.
Shalom
