Israel Praise Orchestra Trip

God worked it out so that we both could be on this trip together. It was an incredible experience to have the opportunity to minister in the land where Jesus walked and talked. There will be very little narrative but plenty of pictures in this blog.

We arrived at Tel Aviv on 29 October and met the group, had dinner and then had our one and only rehearsal. Walt played bass and Nancy was the sound tech, a position sorely needed. Our first few days we stayed at Baptist Village, which was founded in 1952, just four years after the war of 1948. Many of the damaged Israeli Army vehicles still remain as monuments to that war along the road to Jerusalem. The first day, in addition to two concerts, we visited Caesaria Harbor, one of the many sites that King Herod was responsible for building. We know him as the king whose paranoia led him to kill all the firstborn babies in an attempt to kill Jesus. However, we saw a side of him we never knew, an incredible visionary genius who constructed many sites in and around Jerusalem. Here are pictures of arriving and our first day in Israel.

On Sunday we headed up to Jerusalem. It was much hillier than we had anticipated. Two concerts were held at the Baptist House in Jerusalem and the only tour this day was at the Prayer Center. The Prayer Center was a place to pray for the lost of this world. While in Jerusalem we stayed at Christ Church which is Old Jerusalem next to the Jaffa Gate. Here are pictures of our second day.

Monday was a strictly tour day and we got to see Masada, the Dead Sea and Qumran, where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. Of course we got to see all of the territory between all of them. A trip to the Ahava factory, where they make products out of the Dead Sea water and mud, was included as well. Our tour guide was excellent at pointing out the various features as we past them. Here are the photos for Day Three of our trip. That evening we also got to see a fantastic light show on the walls of the King David Citadel. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photographs but it is something we would want to see again.

On the fourth day we drove to Bethlehem to see the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherd's Field. Our tour guide, being a Christian, was quick to point out that this may not have been the actual location of the manger and so forth but it is representative of what it would have looked like. It is interesting to see how man would rather worship an icon or some site rather than the person of Jesus. An interesting fact about Bethlehem is it is in Palestine. At the security gate anyone is allowed into Bethlehem. However, on the way out they carefully check to see if there are any Palestinians on board your vehicle or if you are taking something out that someone may have given to you. This question is again asked by customs at the airport at departure from Israel. Apparently the Palestinians feel that since there grandparents lived on this land, it was rightfully theirs whereas the Jews believe that God promised them this land so it is rightfully theirs. So worshiping icons or sites or fighting over a piece of dirt does manifest the sinful nature of man. After Bethlehem we drove to the top of the Mount of Olives and walked down to the Garden of Gethsemane. Some of the olive trees there date back to that time. Late at night we took a walking tour of the Western Wall under the Old City. One of the stones in the Western Wall has been estimated to weigh approximately 600 tons. Question is, how did they get such a thing into place thousands of years ago? Here are the photos for this days tours.

The fifth day found us on a walking tour of Old Jerusalem. This was totally fascinating. It seems like every site that had some traditional meaning assigned to it has a church built on it. Not only one church but several churches, for example, Armenian, Roman Catholic, Ethiopian, you name it. Again it points out how man would rather worship an icon or "holy" site rather than the person of God Himself. The ultimate in our minds was the church on the site where Judas Iscariot was assumed to have hanged himself! However, as our guide pointed out, each site may not be the actual place but it is indicative of what it might have looked like. So it does give some added insight about the area as described in the Bible. So from that point of view it was very interesting. After our walking tour of Old Jerusalem we went to the Garden Tomb. Now understand that in Old Jerusalem there is a Church of the Holy Sepulchre and now we were on our way to the Garden Tomb - two potential sites for the place where Jesus was buried. But, we really got to appreciate the narrator at the Garden Tomb. He laid out how this tomb is more likely to be like the actual since it was outside of Jerusalem and the features were as those described in the Bible. The high point of his narrative was when he exclaimed, "Whether its this place or within the city what does it matter? The tomb is empty, He is risen, He is no longer here". And that is what really counts. Apparently the British have been responsible for the Garden Tomb since the late 1800's and have had the freedom to make this statement for all these years. What a testimony the British have at that location! A high point for us as an orchestra was to have communion there. Later that evening we gave an impromptu concert at Christ Church, which turned out to be very special. Here are photos of our fifth day in Israel.

Our sixth day had us working our way to the Sea of Galilee. So we drove back along the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. The significance of this road is that it is the same valley that Jesus used in His illustration of the Good Samaritan. So we got to see what that area is like. Then we got to see the Sea of Galilee. Just like the Dead Sea, it is below sea level. The Sea of Galilee is fresh water because water enters and exits whereas the Dead Sea water only enters. One of the highlights was eating at a restaurant that served fish from the Sea of Galilee, probably very similar to the kind of fish the disciples caught in their time. We gave a concert outside the museum that contains the relic of a boat dated to the time that Jesus was in this area. The concert was special and then seeing the boat was fascinating. Later that evening we took a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. They had a band that played Jewish tunes and we danced to them. Then, as we docked, they put on Christian music and we all sang our hearts out. It was a very memorable moment to be singing with messianic Jews, Jews that have found the Messiah as we have, and praising God with one voice. That night we stayed at a very beautiful hotel in Tiberius. Here are the photos of this day. Someone also recorded several of the songs that we played in front of the museum of the "Jesus Boat".

Our final day of tour took us up to the Northern end of Israel to the Golan Heights where Israel borders on Syria and Lebanon. Here there were many signs of the struggles between these various countries. But we also got to see more excavations of interesting sites and some of the places that Jesus was, according to the New Testament. For example, the tour for this day included Capernaum where Jesus chose His first four disciples, James, John, Peter and Andrew. There are many references to Jesus' activities in Capernaum in the New Testament. So it was interesting to see the area that Jesus Himself saw. Of course, the Golan Heights is a tense area because of the neighboring countries and we saw the military presence, although things are peaceful right now. We also took a tour of ruins of the Temple of Pan, niches carved in the rocky cliffs, and of Agrippa's palace. The day ended with an exceptional meal in an Arabian restaurant. Some of us felt it was the best food yet. Here are photos of our last day of tour.

After this we left to go to the airport. Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv has got to be the most secure in the world. It took two hours to get through customs and security before even getting to the terminal. Everything was carefully checked and questions asked. We commented that Israel, that contains God's city Jerusalem, is the seemingly most dangerous we have been to. It's like the spiritual warfare is happening here. But satan has already lost that battle.

As usual this trip has been a real blessing to us and we have committed to take at least one trip a year of this nature. It is fun to use our old skills for His service.