Let Me Introduce You

I don't consider myself an extrovert. I can spend days at home without
getting bored. I enjoy quiet time to think.  I like the comfort level of
sameness.  I have a group of people I love to spend time with and I'm
pretty satisfied with that.  But I think it's really good for me to push my
social boundaries and that's why one of my goals for my year of fifty
is to meet twelve new people.  I thought I could handle that,  maybe
one a month.

Well I'm happy to report that I've exceeded my goal.  My trip to Israel
offered me lots of opportunities to meet new people and it was great!
This is the first time I have ever taken a trip with a tour group and I
wasn't sure what to expect. I was a little nervous about it. This was a
LDS tour group, so I knew we had one very important thing in common.
It's like attending church when you're on vacation, or moving to a new
town where you don't know anyone - but as soon as you go to church,
you have instant friends. This is one of the things I love about being a
member of a worldwide church.  I found out that taking a trip with a
bunch of LDS people is no different.

I feel like I need to take a break from my travelogue and introduce you
to some wonderful people.  It's hard to blog about my trip without
mentioning my new friends, because they were a big part of what made
my time in the Middle East so wonderful.

When you spend a lot of time on a bus, you have the chance to meet
your fellow travelers.  With forty seven people, we had a nice mix of
personalities.  It was a rainbow for sure.  (Have you read the Color
Code?  If not, I bet you'd like it.)  We changed up our seating arrangements
from time to time which allowed us opportunities to talk to new people.
Pretty soon, we knew everyone.  

So, let me introduce you to:

Richard and Lois Sager

This wonderful couple was fulfilling a dream of traveling to the Holy
Land with their children.  They are worldwide travelers, have served
four missions and are absolutely delightful.   We got to know Brother
Sager when he kept loaning us his guidebook to read whenever we
went to a new location.  It's an old, out of print BYU publication that
was super informative. He's been to the Holy Land a number of times
previous to this trip and could answer most any question we could
think to ask him.   I took good notes out of his book, and those notes
have helped me remember all the things I learned each day.  Keeping
good notes was important because most of the time I was on information
overload.  My brain could not handle it all.

We grew to love this couple so much and I guess they kinda liked us
too, because they wanted to adopt us!  As if five children of their own
weren't enough, they decided they wanted two more daughters that
spoke with a nice southern accent.   Not only did we gain another set
of parents, but new brothers and sisters too.

 We love this family!!!

Here's a family photo (minus Ken)

and here's Ken.  Ken had a way of sneaking out of pictures.  But ha!
Sherri is fast with the camera.  Ken is a talented musician.  Check out his
music here.                                            Jeannee and Ken

Jeannee and LeRon

Matt and Jeannee

Debi, Sherri and Me

Andy, Kathy, Ken, Jeannee, Matt

*Photo credit: Debi Sager

Shannon

Don't they look fun?  Bet you wish

they would adopt you too.

The "family" dinner table.

Yes, we love the Sagers.

We met lots of other great people too.

Dorothy 

Lars and Celeste

*photo credit: Celeste Olson

Our guides - Brother and Sister Porter

Dee and Shelley

What would we have done without Dee and Shelley?

They brought an ample supply of medicine which

brought comfort to all the sick people on the bus.

And there were a lot of sick people on the bus!

Marilyn and Howard

We spent time with them at the end of

our trip and regretted we didn't get to know

them sooner. They were lots of fun! 

 Check out Howard's beautiful artwork here.

No pictures, but great memories of:

 Ralph and Rose - a very sweet retired couple.  Ralph took such good 

        care of his wife.

Greg and Diane - they were like the energizer bunnies.  They never

        ran out of energy.  Greg and I bargained in the antiquities store

        for our oil lamps.

Beverly and Susan - the other sister duo who were traveling together

Evelyn and Norma - two feisty little elderly ladies who kept us all 

        smiling

Wilma and Michael (Fred) - they kept things interesting

Moose and Sue - such a nice couple from Wyoming.  I especially

         liked it when Moose wore his suspenders.

Tom and Starla - Starla was the recipient of many prayers as she

        was very sick most of the trip.  Sure hope she is doing better.

Lonnie and Mary - we enjoyed their company and their electric

         adapter (we had a little problem blowing up appliances- a

         hair dryer, a flat iron and two fuses in the converter....)

Bill and Rexine - a quiet, yet interesting couple 

Bonnie and Tonna - a mother, daughter team.  Tonna did a good job

           keeping up with her daughter.

Ilene and Craig - a brother and sister who enjoyed traveling together

Dan - also a dispenser of meds for the sickly.  Thank you Dan for the

            ginger tablets.

Earl and Sharon Law - Sharon watched out for Earl when he climbed 

           the steps, as he was a little wobbly, but on flat ground that man

           could make good time and he was always at the front of the 

           crowd.

So you see, I have made some great new friends.  I don't know if our paths 

will cross again, but they will forever be a part of my wonderful memories

of the Holy Land.  As for our new "adopted" family... I sure hope we will 

see each other again.  It's not too far from NC to Utah.  You just jump on 

a plane, settle in for a few hours and then your "home", with people you 

love.

*MYOF Goals # 7- Meet twelve new people

                         # 25-Travel to Israel

From the Mountain to the Sea

"How long halt ye between two opinions?  if the Lord be

God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him"

1 Kings 18:21

Monday October 31-  Our day started on the top of Mt. Carmel, this

mountain sanctuary for the worship of Baal.   Enter Elijah and Elisha,

two of the most amazing Old Testament prophets.  As I stood in front of this

statue, I was thinking back to a gospel doctrine class I attended last year.  

Our instructor was visibly excited about teaching this lesson.  He said when 

he was called to teach the class in the middle of the Old Testament year

(which could cause a bit of fear in most of us), he was thinking ahead to the

lessons about Elijah and Elisha.  They are his heroes.  He proceeded to 

teach a passionate lesson that left us all asking the question, "How long

halt ye between two opinions?"  This biblical account makes us think about

our level of commitment to the gospel.  Have we completely given our life

to Christ?  Or do we still dabble in the things of the world?  We can't serve
God and man.  We have to decide.

So, I'm standing at the base of the statue, looking at Elijah as he slays

the prophets of Baal, and thinking to myself, man I wish Jared Shelton

could see this.  Wouldn't he love it?

The view from the top of the mountain is 360 degree awesome!  What a 

beautiful morning to be in Israel.

The Carmelite Monastery stands near the site where Elijah defeated the Baalists.

Sherri and I found a quiet garden spot and read the account of Elijah

and the prophets of Baal for ourselves.

(Photo credit: Debi Sager)

At the base of the mountain is the Cave of Elijah where it is believed the

prophet took refuge from the anger of King Ahab.

"And he came hither unto a cave, and lodged there;

and behold the word of the Lord came to him, and he said

unto him, 'What doest thou here, Elijah?'

And he said I have been very jealous for the Lord God of

hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken thy 

covenant, thown down thy altars and slain thy

prophets with the sword: and I, even I only, am

left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

And he said, 'Go forth, and stand upon the mount

before the Lord.'  And, behold, the Lord passed by,

and a great and strong wind rent the mountains,

and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but

the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind

an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake;

And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not 

in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped

his face in his mantle, and went out, and

stood in the entering of the cave."

1 Kings 19:9-12

Another favorite account.  Yes, you gotta love Elijah!

We left the mountain and headed for the sea. This Carmel mountain range is 

thirteen miles long and projects into the Mediterranean Sea at Haifa.

Let me off the bus!!!  The sea is calling my name.  

Ahhhh...

Words aren't necessary.  Just soak in the beauty of the pictures.  And 

no, I didn't photoshop these, the water is really that blue!

Caesarea by the Sea, named in honor of Caesar Augustus and one of the

most beautiful places I have ever been. No wonder King Herod made this

place his summer playground, building his palace here in 22 BC, complete

with a theatre, hippodrome (think chariot races) and other luxuries.  Caesarea

became the home of the Roman procurators, including Pontius Pilate, 

during the time of Christ.

Herod's palace must have been something else.  Can you imagine sitting

in this theatre with the Mediterranean as your backdrop?

The book of Acts is full of references about Caesarea.

"There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius.."

Acts 10:1

This is the story of the first Gentile convert to the gospel.  Peter sees a vision

that leads him to Cornelius, who is taught and accepts the gospel.  I had just

read this account about a week before I left on my trip.  Now I was in the 

city where it happened.  I will forever read this missionary story through a

new lense.  In my mind, I will see the blue of the sea and smell the salt in

the air.

"And when he had landed at Caesarea...."

Acts 18:22

"But Festus answered, that Paul should be kept at Caesarea..."

Acts 25:4

Paul was imprisoned in Caesarea for two years and testified in the very

arena in which I walked.  I had to catch my breathe when I had this realization.

The great missionary Paul, stood here and defended his testimony of Christ.  

Being here gave me a desire to be a more faithful disciple.  Could I have

just a little of his courage?  Would my conduct "persuade others to be a

christian?"  Could I testify as he did, that it is in Christ that" we live, and

move and have our being"?  Questions that had me thinking. Oh, how inspired
I am by the apostle Paul.

*MYOF Goal #25 - Visit Israel.

Layers of Civilization

October 30 - Today we were riding through the Jezreel Valley, also
known as the Valley of Armaggedon, which stretches from the Samarian
foothills in the south to the slopes of Galilee in the north.  More battles
have been fought in this valley than any where else on earth. The
greatest battle of all will yet be fought here.  It's the one we read about
in the book of Revelation which will be the final battle between good and
evil. I found it hard to believe that I was riding through the area where
scriptures say the battle of Armaggedon will be fought.  Really?

When we arrived at the summit of Mt. Tabor, we had the
opportunity to hear from our guide, Brother Porter.  I always
got excited when I saw him pull out his scriptures, because I
knew we were getting ready to hear some great insights.

(Photo credit: Debi Sager)

This is the beautiful church that sits on the top of Mt. Tabor.  

Many important things took place on this mountain.  In the Old 

Testament, most mountains and high places were scenes of heathen 

worship. Tabor is mentioned as the site of these rituals in Hosea 5:1. 

The traditional cave of Melchizedek, where Abraham visited 

Melchizedek is near the entrance to the Greek church that now

stands on this site. It was here that the prophetess Deborah led an 

army of 10,000 Israelites to defeat their idol worshipping enemies.

In the New Testament, we read in Matthew 17 that Jesus ascended

Mt. Tabor with Peter, James and John and was transfigured before

them: and his face shone as the sun, and his garments were white

as the light.

From the top of Mt. Tabor we had an overview of the entire

Jezreel Valley.  It was impressive..

Next we would be walking on layers of civilization, when we

visited Megiddo.  This 4000 year old city (yeah, 4000 years old!)

sits in the middle of this great valley. Whoever controlled the city,

controlled the valley.

Archeologists have uncovered twenty cities here.  This model shows what

Megiddo looked like thousands of years ago.

These models are so helpful, because without them you would just think

you were looking at piles of rocks.  But with the aid of the models you 

could easily imagine what the city once looked like.  If you look at the 

model you can see the city gate that was built by King Solomon.  

" And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon 

raised: for to build the house of the Lord, and for his

own house, and.....Megiddo..."

1 Kings 9:15

King Josiah was defeated at the hands of the Egyptians here.

"And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo,

and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own sepulchre."

2 Kings 23:30

        

Among other interesting things were the stables built by King Solomon to 

hold 500 horses and an underground water system which was built by King

Ahab to protect the city's water in times of war.  We walked down over a

hundred steps to check out the water cistern.

We were ready for lunch after all those steps and can I just say

right here, that I absolutely love the food in Israel!!  I had the best

pumpkin soup for lunch with a wonderful salad of fresh vegetables

and feta cheese. Everywhere I ate in Israel, I just couldn't get enough

of the hummus and pita bread, grain salads, olives and roasted eggplant. 

Oh and the falafel.....more on that later.

And they had Magnum ice cream!  Oh, yeah....?!

 The rest of our day was spent in Nazareth in two very beautiful churches.

The Greek Orthodox Church of St. Gabriel is a small dark church with an

old well inside.

The following shots are from the ceiling, which were amazing.

The well was behind this ornate metal work.  This is the same underground

spring that provided Nazareth with water over 2000 years ago. Mary would

have used this well, some believe the angel Gabriel appeared to her here, and

there is no doubt that Jesus would have drunk water that was drawn from this

well.  All of these things makes this a special place. 

In the Church of St. Joseph which is built over the traditional site

of the Holy family's home, we watched part of a mass.

More beautiful mosaic floors to admire.

Under the church are the ruins from what are believed to be Joseph's 

carpentry shop and the home where Jesus spent his childhood.

Back at the hotel, we watched the sunset on our time in Nazareth.

As I reflected on my day, I found myself thinking about those 

Old Testament battles that I always rush through when I'm reading

the scriptures.  I'm not such a big fan of the war chapters.  But today,

I stood where mighty men fought for their Lord.   It humbled me and

made me realize those were real people, not just names in a book.  I

will approach those Old Testament readings differently in the future.

What a blessing to be here.

*MYOF Goal #25 - Travel to Israel