Tour Leader’s Blog

Our time in Galilee went by very quickly. There was so much to see. At the Mount of the Beatitudes, we remembered Jesus’ teaching the crowds; at the Church of Loaves and Fishes, we recalled Jesus feeding the 5,000; and at the Church of Primacy of St. Peter, we heard Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah.

We were told in Capernaum that in Peter’s house was the first house church in this important city at the crossroads of the world at that time.

Samer, our guide, said that Jesus chose fishermen for his disciples since they were humble and had excellent relations with every sector of society. Everyone came to them regularly to buy fresh fish.

Driving along the Jordan River, we were reminded that most of the river flows in the country of Jordan.

At Jericho we remembered Jesus’ temptations, the story of Joshua, and Zaccheaus who climbed the Sycamore tree.

It was a beautiful day to swim (float) in the Dead Sea. John Ruth said he would not have wanted to miss it, but should have done it 20 years ago. Heinz was so relaxed that Henry said, “Dad, don’t fall asleep.”

Driving up to Jerusalem, we climbed more than 3,000 feet. The music on the bus played “Jerusalem” as we looked down over the city from the Hebrew University. Ruth Hepler said, “What a view! Am I really here?”

~ Wilmer Martin

Yesterday began with a visit to Mt. Precipice where Luke records they wanted to throw Jesus over the cliff but Jesus “passed through the midst of them.” Recently, a papal mass was held in this area when Pope Benedict was in Nazareth. We saw the new open air theater that held the 45,000 worshippers for the mass.

At Caesarea by the Mediterranean Sea, we were impressed with the size and wealth of this region at the time of the Gospels. We remembered the story of Peter meeting and baptizing Cornelius.

It is very interesting listening to Arden Thiessen’s reflections after visiting these sites. They are meaningful in light of his pastoral and teaching experience as he discusses his thoughts with other tour members.

We began today touring remnants of first-century Nazareth as a sister from the Sisters of Nazareth Convent took us to the ancient street and ruins under the convent. It was very meaningful to hear Palmer read the scriptures. John Ruth shared with the sister, “Where we live we have the story; you have stones. It is important for us to see the stones. The story
transcends the stones and goes with us throughout the world.”

At Caesarea Philippi we remembered Peter’s confession that Jesus was the Messiah and his constant struggle to follow Jesus faithfully as a disciple in light of his confession.

Traveling through the Golan Heights, we recalled the political struggles between Lebanon, Israel/Palestine and Syria. We looked into Lebanon and Syria.

We enjoyed fresh cherries that we bought from a local farmer. Henry Braun said they are as tasty as BC cherries! Tomorrow the story continues in Galilee.

~ Wilmer Martin

Our Israel and Palestine tour gives our tour members the opportunity to walk where Jesus walked. Our hotel in Nazareth is called Mary’s Well Hotel and is located across the street from Mary’s Well, the source of water in Jesus’ boyhood town.

After arriving in Tel Aviv yesterday, Ruth Hepler said, “We are in the Holy Land.” As pilgrims we are encountering the warmth and friendliness of the people. We regularly hear ‘”you are welcome here.” We first heard this from Palmer and Ardys Becker who met us at the airport. We heard it many times this morning in Ibillin at Father Chacour’s school where they are teaching peace on desks. The smiles on the faces of the children as they said “you are welcome here” underscored what teacher Elias said, “Here we are not negotiating peace, we are building peace on top of desks.”

At Nazareth Village we enjoyed a delicious first-century meal. When we arrived at the village, four coaches were parked in the parking lot, so we went to enjoy our meal while the other groups finished their tours. John Ruth was concerned that all the delicious food not go to waste. We ate all we could and there was so much delicious food left over. We were assured staff would not let it go to waste.

As our guide led us on a tour through the village, we heard the teachings of Jesus through his Parables. We visited a threshing floor; a watch tower; the well where Jesus talked to the woman. Heinz Braun was impressed with this unique way of interpreting the teachings of Jesus.

At Cana, Samer our local guide, did an excellent interpretation of the Wedding and Jesus turning water into wine.

The group members are enjoying Palmer Becker’s Bible Studies and entering into the discussions.

~ Wilmer Martin

Our travels have taken us to interesting places including Delphi, a centre for healing in the extended Hellenistic world. At Thebes we saw the traditional site of Luke’s tomb and are now pleased to know so much more about iconography as it applies to various times from the past.

At Corinth, we saw the remains of the city where the shops, Agora, Temple of Apollo, the harbour, the stadium, and so on were all known by Paul. The day was highlighted and underscored at Corinth when our bonded group, led by Charles, Bonnie and Tom, shared in the Last Supper celebration in the shade of big tree, with birds singing, and the sun truly glorious.

We continue to be very appreciative of the teaching delivered to us by Professor Thomas as often as it is possible.

Today we explore Athens and then we will return home with stories, experiences, and new perspectives!

~ Virginia Dawson

We left Philippi and Thessalonika behind as we travelled past high Mount Olympus, home of the Greek gods of mythology. In Vergina, complete tombery finds were on careful display on the true burial site for Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great.

It was a long ride to Meteora but “immensely unbelievable,” says Ann Wohlemut, to see the monasteries set atop extremely high and narrow pinnacle cliffs. These were built long ago by Greek Orthodox monks and remain actively inhabited today by nuns or monks. Nets and pulleys were the only access for some of these places in an area originally sheltering spiritual hermits in precipice caves. Try to “google” the monasteries of Meteora!

Now we are in Kalambaka and will travel to historic Delphi and see various sites at Mount Parnassus.

~ Virginia Dawson