The Big Bang

It was raining and occasionally lightening as we left Tel Aviv. About 5minutes into our flight there was a huge BANG and an orange flash! Turns out we were hit by lightening. All was well but it was typical of traveling with Les!

The Final Day

Today was a busy and rainy day. We began in Tiberius going to Canna, Capernum, Haifa, Mt Carmel, Nazareth, Jaffa, Caesarea and finally Tel Aviv. We have all made it through the gantlet of security and now wait to board our plane. We had a amazing meal before we arrived at the airport. We have had a indescribable adventure which is difficult to express. Our group has bonded into a family. I can't wait to post photos and share in more depth.

From the Dead Sea to the Sea of Galilee

What a busy day! I began the day at the Jaffa Gate inside the Wall of Jerusalem looking for a Turkish coffee...hotels all serve instant Necafe..YUCK! While I waited for a shop to open..was only 6:45 am.. I walked through the Jaffa Gate and looked at the Tower of David. The city is so different before it comes to life about 7 am. Once we boarded the bus, we headed south towards the Dead Sea, the lowest elevation on earth. We passed some Bedouin groups along the way. Our first stop of the day was the ruins of Massada, a palace of King Herod. It is an amazing story of a siege between the Jews and the Roman army. In the end,the Jews chose death over slavery to the Romans. It has magnificent views of the Dead Sea. From there we headed to the Jordon River to the site of Jesus' baptism. It is at a space on the river where the country of Jordon is about 30 yards away. On both sides of the river people were going into baptize themselves or someone else. The irony was the juxtaposition of Israeli soldiers on one side and Jordanian soldiers on the other, each making sure no one crossed to the other side. From there we headed north to Tiberius to the Sea of Galilee for lunch of St Peter's fish. The trip starts in land of rocks and dust and ends in the Jezreal Valley which is the bread basket of Israel, it is green and lush. Our day ended at the ruins of the city of Capernaum, the city of Jesus. There is a very modern cantilevered church over the ruins of Peter's mother in law's house. We watched the sunset over the Sea of Galilee form there. Tomorrow is our last day before the long plane ride home. We have lots to see before our 11 pm flight. I am anxious to be able to post photos once I am home to show all these magnificent sights we have experienced.

What a busy day! I began the day at the Jaffa Gate inside the Wall of Jerusalem looking for a Turkish coffee...hotels all serve instant Necafe..YUCK! While I waited for a shop to open..was only 6:45 am.. I walked through the Jaffa Gate and looked at the Tower of David. The city is so different before it comes to life about 7 am. Once we boarded the bus, we headed south towards the Dead Sea, the lowest elevation on earth. We passed some Bedouin groups along the way. Our first stop of the day was the ruins of Massada, a palace of King Herod. It is an amazing story of a siege between the Jews and the Roman army. In the end,the Jews chose death over slavery to the Romans. It has magnificent views of the Dead Sea. From there we headed to the Jordon River to the site of Jesus' baptism. It is at a space on the river where the country of Jordon is about 30 yards away. On both sides of the river people were going into baptize themselves or someone else. The irony was the juxtaposition of Israeli soldiers on one side and Jordanian soldiers on the other, each making sure no one crossed to the other side. From there we headed north to Tiberius to the Sea of Galilee for lunch of St Peter's fish. The trip starts in land of rocks and dust and ends in the Jezreal Valley which is the bread basket of Israel, it is green and lush. Our day ended at the ruins of the city of Capernaum, the city of Jesus. There is a very modern cantilevered church over the ruins of Peter's mother in law's house. We watched the sunset over the Sea of Galilee form there. Tomorrow is our last day before the long plane ride home. We have lots to see before our 11 pm flight. I am anxious to be able to post photos once I am home to show all these magnificent sights we have experienced.

Leaving Palestine

Today we left Bethlehem for Jerusalem. We had to go through the check point to get out. The wall on the "other" side has no graffiti like the Bethlehem side. We started out by visiting The Mount of Olives. The view of jerusalem from there is incredible. Dwn the hill was The Garden of Gethsemane after over viewing the city looking across the Kidron Valley. the olive trees are so very old and gnarly. Seeing them and knowing how old they have to be before they produce olives, gives greater understanding of the frustration of the people of bethelehem for losing their trees because of the wall. There is evere so much more green here and it is only 6 miles away. We entered Jerusalem through the lion's gate..one of 7 gates. We walked along the via Delarosa as it began to rain and get bone chilling cold. Along the way we stopped at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. After winding our way though some of the markets, we came to the western wall also known as the wailing wall. The wall separates into a men and women's side and we all went to the wall to pray. Our hotel is the Gloria----much to Gloria's delight!--- and is at the Jaffa Gate. It is a gate I remember from the last time we were here and one which I really liked both then and now. Tomorrow we leave early to head toward the Dead Sea and then up to the Sea of galilee. It is hard to imagine that we are coming to the end of or trip.

A pick up day

We started our day picking up bags and bags of trash as our service project yesterday. The trash was endless but we felt we made a dent. Much of what we cleaned was at the entrance to the school. Many students thanked us for our efforts. While there, a herd of sheep came down the streets stopping all traffic along their way. After lunch we went to the Herodian at the edge of the Judean desert and also saw more of the wall surrounding Bethlehem. From there we went to the Shepherds Field... but no sheep there! Today we leave for Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. It will be interesting to compare the 2 cities.

Thank you sarah

Sarah you are awesome!! Thank you. I know it was a lot todo on top of your regular schedule. Thanks!

Conglomerate of Photos

This is Sarah...my mom asked me to post "a few" pictures that she sent of the trip via email...they may not be in order and may or may not have the correct caption attached, but she can correct it!

Authentic Mexican?

The Wall

Wall Museum

The Wall

Inside the cave at the church of nativity: covering where it is said Jesus was born

Inside the orthodox part of the church of the Nativity

Looking over the city

The market

Bethlehem's largest green space

Kindergarten class

Wellness Center

Service project

Market

One of the minarets that wakes us each day at 5am

Watching the Cotton Bowl and passing time in the Newark airport

Watching the Cotton Bowl after shutting down the bar

Airport

Finally arriving from Newark in Tel Aviv

Old Bethlehem

Bethlehem Market

Church of the Nativity 

Church of the Nativity Manger Square

Christmas Lutheran Church

Bethlehem version of the Berlin wall

Today we did a short service project at Dar al Kalma . Following lunch we walked to the church of the nativity. The smells of the town are so unique. By this time we have put favorite shop keeper. The Church of the Nativity is a unique combination of orthodox and Catholic. From there we went to see the Bethlehem version of the Berlin wall. The city of Bethlehem is a walled city with check points ..easy to get in and out if you are NOT a Palestinian. Homes have been cut off from their yards and lands. It is an unexplainable situation.. .an entire population cut off from the world. When I can post pictures it will show more. When I was here on 1999 there was a check point but no wall. People who live here may never have been 5 miles away to Jerusalem. In all of the 4 square miles of walls of Bethlehem there is almost no green space for children to play or to grow anything. It is hard to imagine without seeing it. Hopefully I can get some pictures posted.

Minor Glitch

Apparently since my blogosphere US origin my iPad can or cut and pasteso I cannot post photos. I am asking Sarah to post them for me when she has the time. This Morning we are off todo a servant project at Dar al Kalama.time for breakfast Bethlehem style.

Today's Challenge!!

I have much to catch up on with this blog, however, I have had difficulty getting on line ,but importantly, getting this to be in English and not Arabic! I believe the problem is resolved at least for now. The first challenge of today was too many hair dryers going at the same time and on the wrong voltage, the result being no power for most of us. We pooled hair dryers and outlets to get everyone ready. We arrived in Tel Aviv Saturday evening and met our driver, Abraham. All checked luggage arrived and we were soon on our way to Bethlehem. We checked into the international center and had an amazing dinner. It was actually Christmas Day here for the Orthadox church. Manger Square and all of Bethlehem is dressed for the season. After dinner we took a walk to see the sights. This morning the day began with the minarets starting chants at 5 am! The street noise soon began under our window as the street vendors began to set up for the day. at 6 am the church bells began to ring! Oh little town of Bethlehem was not silent! At church at Christmas Lutheran Church we all sang Oh Little Town of Bethlehem...far more meaningful when you are IN Bethlehem! After church we went for coffee hours with the congregation and had great Turkish coffee. Even though the service was in Arabic, we could participate because the formate was the same. This afternoon, a wonderful man, Adele, took us for a tour of the back streets of old Bethlehem. We went off the beaten tourist path most of the day. I have many many pictures already -no great surprise for those who know me! I will do my best to post some significant ones.

The hardest part is the waiting

We are all sitting in a sports bar in Newark watching the Cotton Bowl waiting for our delayed flight..we now leave at 12:38 am!! That is 2 1/2 hours late. So far we have had 2 lost boarding passes an unsigned passport 2 knives that Rexhad in his pocket that did not make it through security and are ally small plane. The plane was so small that Les could not stand upright!
I would post pics but the wifi is jammed.
We are hoping for good tailwinds to make up time.
Today is Epiphany and we are the wise guys going toBethlehem!!

Flat Stanley AKA Flat Bobby

Some of you may remember that last year, Flat Graham came to live with me for a month to learn about Kansas.  Today my friend, Laura, gave me her nephew, Bobby's, Flat Stanley.  Flat Stanley is from Salina, KS and has already been to Hawaii, Arizona and Michigan.  He is now on his way to The Holy Land!  He is packed in his ziploc bag and ready to go!

Getting ready to leave

1. The hardest part of any trip is deciding what to take along!  Even more of a challenge is putting it all into a carry on and a back pack!  And, knowing that the weather will be a combination of warm and cool with hopefully NO rain! Going to try to follow the advice of taking only half of what you think you need to take.
2. We leave KCI tomorrow at 2:15--at least this is the most current departure time. It has changed at least 4 times and the latest change was Monday.  From here we go to Newark and wait till almost 11 PM  EST to depart for Tel Aviv.  Arrival in Tel Aviv is 4:20 PM Saturday.  In all fairness, there is an 8 hour time difference, so it is not quite as bad as it sounds.  From Tel Aviv, we drive to Bethlehem.
3. The numbers are not intentional, I just need to figure out how to delete them!
4. Time to get back to the business of packing. 

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