Day 9

Today was an emotional and meaningful day. Everything started with getting up at 5:00 AM, having our suitcases packed by 6:00 AM and being at the bus by 6:45 with breakfast finished. With swollen eyes and lots of yawns we headed out. Last night I was up until midnight because the Internet connection was so bad. I went down to the lobby to see if there was any better reception, but there wasn’t. So me and a stray cat, which snuck into the hotel, completed the blog.

Breakfast was back to the norm today other than the singing of Happy Birthday to Adam. He turned 22 today and wore a basketball Yamika to celebrate.

The first stop of the day was at Caesarea, a port city on the northern coast of Israel. It was the place that Paul took his missionary journeys and the place he had to claim his Roman citizenship when he was accused of starting a riot. Here’s a picture of me touching the Mediterranean Sea.

Next on the itinerary was a location I have been looking forward to since June when I found out I was going on this trip of a lifetime…Megiddo. Megiddo is a 7000-year-old city that has 25 different layers of destroyed cities one on top of the other. There has most likely been more blood spilled in Megiddo and the surrounding Jesereal Valley than rain. It will be the place of the final battle of Armageddon at the end of the ages…a battle that will be waged by Jesus Christ himself and will be the final battle between good and evil. The scene mesmerized me. Here’s a picture of the valley where Armageddon will be fought.

Just a few miles away from Megiddo is Jesus’ home of Nazareth. As Jesus grew up, Megiddo was already in ruins for 700 years and he would have known all the stories and battles that took place in his back yard. In Jesus’ day there were only 200 or so people that lived in Nazareth but today it holds over 100,000. There is a church built over that little settlement and commemorates the angel telling Mary of the Messiah she would give birth to. In this photo, the spot is the church with the dark dome roof.

Just a few miles east of Nazareth is Cana, the place Jesus performed his first miracle and started his public ministry at a local Jewish wedding. It was at this spot that Jenny and I renewed our vows with Pastor Richie officiating. It was really neat! It was very meaningful to look into Jenny’s eyes and tell her again how much I love her and how committed I am to her. I bought Jenny a special ring for this ceremony that has an inscription in Hebrew. The ring says, “I am my beloveds and he is mine.” Here’s a photo of the ceremony and a close-up of the ring

We wrapped up our day by driving to the Sea of Galilee and staying night in Tiberias. When we checked into the rooms, Richie was given the honeymoon suite! A hot tub, robes, slippers, fruit basket and big screen TV! He offered it to other couples, but we all wanted Richie to have a night of luxury. Right now he is in the hot tub eating a pear and watching ESPN in Hebrew.

Tomorrow is our last day of touring in the Holy Land…what a great trip!