St. Peter's Fish & The River Jordan

Tonight we are looking forward to seeing how Jews prepare for the Sabbath (sundown on Fri. 'til sundown on Sat.). In late afternoon stores and restaurants close up and families begin to wind down (no work) before sharing in the Shabbat dinner, which we will join also.

Early this morning we arrived at the Mount of the Beatitudes - where Jesus shared his ideas about life (the Sermon on the Mount). We all took time to reflect on our time in Israel so far as well as what God might want to share with us. We are becoming closer as a group and were very excited to visit the Jordan River. Several of us hiked around beneath a canopy of lush trees to see the source of the Jordan as well as Tel Dan. We saw an ancient flower mill of a wealthy man and the city gate where the king and societal leaders sat to carry out court-hearings. Tels are several layers deep containing the remains of thousands of years of cultures, one upon another.

Our group became more excited as we nervously prepared many in our group to be baptized - some people were re-committing their lives to Christ and God while other men and women made first time public professions of faith. Lastly we stopped to see (traditional site) where Jesus appeared for the 3rd time to His disciples, inviting them to cast their nets again on the other side of their boat and join Him for breakfast.

Via Maris & Tiberious

The very first thing most of us did today was step out onto our balconies to take in the Sea of Galilee shimmering below the hot sun. After breakfast we climbed aboard a boat crossing the water, singing hymns together, and watching a demonstration of how Peter might have cast his net. Ending up near Capernaum, we viewed a 2,000-year-old boat excavated out of the muddy sea banks ~20 years ago. In Capernaum we remembered how Jesus fed the 5,000 and looked at the ruins, possibly even Peter's house. In ancient history, the Via Maris was a significant trade route running from Alexandria, Egypt straight through Israel to Damascus, Syria; on our first full day we drove along a portion of this road. Here we learned about Meggido or the location of Armaggedon.

Over in Caesarea we sat high up in the half moon-shaped theater singing. We learned how the wind from the Mediterranean helps to carry the sound of voices from the stage up into the crowd. We hiked down among the ruins Herod the Great was responsible for to see the Med. and an engineering marvel - the remains of a 11 mile aquaduct. Today, we all agree, was awe-filled as we took in the Holy Land which we had only read about before.

PDX to Tel Aviv, Israel

Mid-morning on March 25th, most of our 60 member BCC/ KPDQ tour group began checking in at PDX in Portland, Oregon where we began our 14-hour Delta airlines trip to Tel Aviv, Israel. Along the way a few of us flew through NYC while others stopped over in Cincinati, OH and Atlanta, GA before crossing the Atlantic Ocean. For some this was there very first international flight! Upon arriving on the East Coast of the United States, night was falling and for a short time star constellations were visible to us from our transatlantic 777 plane. Due to time zone changes, before long the sun was rising; obviously not when any of our bodies expected or hoped for. Several hours later, after flying over Ireland, France, Italy (snow covered Alps were easy to see), the Mediterainian Sea, and Greece (maybe even Crete), we all eagerly awaited our final destination. With wheels touching down safely on the tarmack a unanimous round of applause broke out; the date now being March 26th.

Once everyone had gathered luggage and passed through immigration & customs, we stepped up into one of two buses (Pink & Green); my parents and I are on the Pink bus. Our driver Joseph (or Josie, as Israelies like to say) has 25 years of bus driving experience, while our tour guide, Michael (Mikey) has 35 years of guide experience and personal international travel to Europe, the States, and beyond. With an excellent mix of modern, historical, and biblical commentary, Mikey spoke to us as we rode to our hotel in Tiberias beside the Sea of Galilee. Following a beautiful and flavorful buffet, we all headed off to bed so we could wakeup with the sound of our 6:30 a.m. wake-up call.

My name is Leslie Dieterle and hopefully I will be able to share a bit from our experiences here in the Holy Land with all of you back home. Please know your family and friends on our tour are well and enjoying themselves, but we are praying for you. Will you pray for us?