Israel ~ Oct/Nov 2006

After being at anchor for two days we arrived in Israel at the Port of Ashdod on the 6th of October.

We spent several of our off days in the town of Ashdod. I loved going to the market and getting fresh fruit or just spending my time on the beach. It was pretty cool to be swimming in the Mediterranean.

(Half the Grace Crew)

Kris, Bill, Mr Rob, Josh, Rebekah, Baby Ruth, Danette, Debi, Carla, Murray, Captain Jake, James, Tim, Daniel, Nate, Sherrey, Duffey, Nichole, Lil Chris, Jeff, Dennis, Betty and Wally.

That was taken in Jerusalem overlooking the city and also the Dome of the Rock. The Dome is pictured above but hardly visible.

(Debi, Jeff and I on a bus)

We had a tour bus and tour guide Moshe, that took us to several of the popular places in Israel. Our first stop was in Capharnaum, the town of Jesus. We were able to see the synagogue and the

Octagonal church which was build on top of the House of Saint Peter.

We drove through Meggedo, which is where the battle of Armageddon is to take place. It was quite smaller than I ever expected.

(Loaves and Fish)

Next was the Church of Heptapegon also known as the Church of Multiplication, this is where the mosaic art of the famous Loaves and Fish are found.

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The Mount of Beatitude was the next stop. This is the mount in northern Israel where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. It was pretty cool just being there and having Nate read several chapters in Matthew where the sermon Jesus gave was found.

The Sea of Galilee. We had the opportunity to sail on a replica of the disciples fishing boats. I had always imagines the sea of Galilee to be massive, I mean you read in the bible how they had all these storms and they were afraid. I just pictured it to be a fierce body of water. It turns out the circumference is only about 33miles. It was so small, just a freshwater lake.

The Jordan River. It looked like a creek. I am still just amazed at how small the bodies of water are. There were a couple of people from our group that were baptized, but I figured once was probably all that I needed.

The Garden of Gethsemane. There were some pretty impressive olive trees there, some of them were so massive I think they had to have been around in Jesus' time. You could also see the Golden Gate from the garden.

I imagine by now that you are thinking you're reading a history book and not really hearing anything about any experiences I had. So much happened it would take years to try and write it all down. So instead of really getting into anything I will just keep it kind of light.

(Qumaran)

Where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.

(Masada)

(Some stones in the Masada fortress)

This was my favorite place! I had never heard of Masada until I actually went to the top of this mountain. Let me tell you a little story if you don't already know it.

Masada became famous for it's significance in the first Jewish-Roman war (Great Jewish Revolt). A siege of the fortress by troops of the Roman Empire led to a mass suicide of the sites Jewish defenders when defeat became imminent.

Herod the Great fortified Masada between 37 and 31BC as a refuge for himself in the event of a revolt.

16 April 73BC the rampart they were building was complete, allowing the Romans to finally breach the wall of the fortress with a battering ram. When they entered the fortress however, the Romans discovered that it's approximately 1000 defenders had set all the buildings but the food storerooms on fire and committed mass suicide rather than face certain capture or defeat by their enemies.

I had never heard a word about this place before seeing it, but for some reason it sticks in my head as a very peaceful place. I don't know how it could be peaceful with the history behind it but I have very good memories of being up there.

(Debi and Danette. Look Mommy Mom! No Hands!)

The Dead Sea. I had also never heard you could float so well in the Dead Sea before getting to Israel either. I educate myself by traveling around :D. It was so cool to swim in but burned like heck. It is about 30% salt! I will probably be wrong with this number but I believe the percentage in the ocean is 3.5% salt. You can just imagine how well you could float. It was so much fun!

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(Debi and Danette again)
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Hezekiah's Tunnel. This was my second favorite place that I saw. Hezekiah's Tunnel is in the City of David just outside Jerusalem.
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Susanna took me with Debi, lil Chris and Nate to Jerusalem. I had three people tell me that God wanted to tell me something and Susanna said she woke-up in the middle of the night and felt like she was supposed to take me to Jerusalem.
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So here I am in Jerusalem waiting for God to strike me with lightening or something and give me this great life changing message. I spend all day praying and not hearing a thing. By the time the day was about over I was getting really frustrated with God. I didn't understand why He wasn't speaking to me.
About the last thing we did that day was walk through Hezekiah's Tunnel. It's pitch black so you obviously couldn't even see your hand in front of your face. I stayed pretty far back from the group and just walked behind them with my light off. I started to singing worship songs and just listen. That day I didn't get any wise words from above but I knew that God was there with me. I knew that He didn't have to say anything but that He would never leave me or would have me go though any trials without Him. That He was there holding my hand and that everything in life would work out even if it didn't feel like it.
....That's my story....
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After we were finally allowed to off load our cargo it "only" took three weeks. It was so cool to get to know and work with the Israeli longshoremen. I had a lot of fun.


(Danette, Debi, lil Chris and a guy from a Turkish ship down the pier.)
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We had a party on the Grace for the wounded soldiers of Israel. My best friend Debi and I were able to give out flowers to all the ladies who came aboard. Everyone was so sweet and I had so much fun. We had Jewish dancing on hold #3 and Debi was so happy to be able to finally dance with all the Israelis. I didn't join in but I had a blast watching.
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This trip was completely different from any other because it is illegal to share Christ unless you are specifically asked about it. Our main focus was to deliver the cargo and let the Jews know that they are loved and we're behind them. We were there for a total of 40 days and I had so many experiences I will never forget.