Slow Re-entry

I made it home.
Thanks to some good strong medication on the 9 hour flight to drown out back pain and the crying baby across the aisle.
Left me in a bit of a stupor so I don't know if I was really asleep or awake, but gently buzzed.
I finally really fell asleep on the final short flight home to Kelowna, but when they served us pretzels I was awake again.  Haha.
Sleep, elusive sleep...

What a treat to see Patrice at the airport and to be escorted home and tucked into bed by her.
It was better than Christmas!  What a very precious girl she is.
What a wonderful home I have.
Oh my bed and bathroom!!

It took longer than I thought it would to get back into the swing of things.
Between jet lag, hardly sleeping and getting over my cold I was feeling sluggish and completely unmotivated.

Plus my hands have been so sore since getting home and I'm trying to figure out what that's all about.
Perhaps the weather change, lack of sleep and deep cold snowy winter we've been plunged into here is affecting my joints.
I'm finding I want to cry, often, and I realize that I have been in a season of grieving another level of loss.
It took so much energy to get through life without my legs working and then when my back became so unstable it added another whole level of difficulty but my hands?
This one is a doozer.

So I must dig deeper.
Rest more.
Seek His face.
Refuse self pity.
Submit and worship.
Trust.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.

I'm grateful for the sweet Israel memories and pictures.
My heart is full of those experiences and at "book club" this week I was so happy to be able to share some of the overflow.

Finishing the Marathon

The last few days in Israel were a bit of a blur for me as my health was not good and I was sleeping very little.  Kind of a sad way to end the race, but I was grateful to still see a bit more of Israel despite my lagging body.

(These are LOADED date palms on the drive through the carmel mountains.) 

After seeing Nazareth we drove about an hour to a Kibbutz near Hannah's relatives where we spent two nights.  This was very close to Mount Carmel and I was thinking and reading about Elijah as we were there.

Anita in front of our tiny cabin and below is the breakfast spread. 

It is an area with more trees so I could imagine that it was pretty easy to obtain wood for those big fires that Elijah and the prophets of Baal built!  The huge sky was blue and I was also imagining Elijah sitting there and praying after he had told the King that it would rain.  Such faith.  He told the King it would rain and THEN he went and sat on the mountain praying for the rain, telling that servant to go and check for clouds over and over again.  Interesting order of events.  "Faith is the
evidence of things hoped for, the substance of things not yet seen..."

We drove to Haifa with Hannah's sweet auntie and enjoyed an afternoon in the sunshine on the beautiful beach.  This is where we drank our last cup of fresh squeezed pomegranate juice.  Oh so yummy!  We stayed to watch the sun set.

Sadly, I was feeling so poorly that I missed out on the family times with Hannah's relatives and spent the time resting instead.  I just can't keep up physically with everyone else and I have to be ok with that, but it's hard letting people down and feeling like you are the "problem child" that needs all this extra help.  If it was only myself that was getting "put out" it wouldn't be nearly so bad, but being the one that everyone else has to cater to is truly very difficult on the nerves.  Oh well.  Hannah was ever so gracious and she prayed for me in this regard.

We drove through Ceasarea on our way to Tel Aviv and I was mesmerized by the ruins there.  Wanted to badly to get out of the car to go and see the ampitheatre on the water's edge but it wasn't really in the agenda. The area was beautiful and I was so happy that we at least drove through it though so I could have another picture in my mind as I read through the Word to put events into an actual location.  Later at the hotel,Hannah read to me out of the book of Acts about Paul being imprisoned there for 2 years.

I just snapped these pics as we were driving through Caesarea, so they don't portray the beauty of the ancient oceanside port at all.  

The weather was getting progressively stormier as we drove on and by the time we got into Tel Aviv the wind was raging and the rain was pouring down.  Anita was an amazing driver and navigator on those busy narrow streets with honking cars.  I would never have wanted to deal with that kind of traffic but she was a trooper.

Tel Aviv was fun - right on the ocean and the wind and waves were wonderful.  We took a walk on our last night in Israel and enjoyed the beach, listening to a group drumming and watching the beautiful sunset.  We missed the actual Shabbat Celebration at the hotel which was my last chance to have one during my time there but we did get to enjoy the meal and a Messianic worship service following.  Beautiful to hear the songs sung in Hebrew with Hannah interpreting for me.

The next day dawned bright and beautiful.  We had a delicious breakfast at our rooftop cafe and then we headed to the ocean side for some time in the sun before we packed up one last time.  The beach area in Tel Aviv is truly amazing.  Such a progressive city with bikes to rent, lots of space to walk and wheel, grassy areas, beach tables and chairs and since there was lots of wind we enjoyed watching the wind surfers that were out in full force.

There was a cool "playground" exercise area for adults so Hannah and Anita had their morning workout.  

And so our time came to a close.  Anita and Hannah dropped me off at the Airport and my long journey home began.  The flights were made bearable with medication and I spent my 27 hour layover in London with Lorna and her family.  That was absolutely amazing as we hand't seen each other in 17 years.  We had so much to talk about and pray about and I had some time with her kids and husband as well.  We went to a cool little ancient British Pub for lunch and then it was time to rush off to the airport.

Truly a whirlwind visit (once again I was unable to sleep through the night - only getting about 1-2 hours - I think I was on overdrive and not able to settle) and before I knew it I was boarding the long flight to Vancouver.

And now I'm HOME!  Which is really, really awesome.

Slowing down in Nazareth

We have been having to get up early for our breakfasts at the guesthouses we've been staying at and I've not been sleeping so well, so this coupled with long days of sightseeing and little or no rest is not the best scenario for me.  My body is worn out and I'm sick.  And I have none of my remedies from home to heal this body, but God is here strengthening me!

We are back down to just three of us traveling together and we are all worn out from all the pace so we are taking things much more slowly.

We drove up into Nazareth and wound our way through an incredibly big, busy city built on the sides of hills. We drove right past the big church where Mary received her message from the angel,  or perhaps it was Joseph's experience?  I'm not so interested in those fancy places.  I just want to see what the area looked like and do lots of my own imagining.  But we did visit this sweet little place called The Village of Nazareth which is set up on a hillside to look just like things looked back when Nazareth was a village of a few hundred people and Jesus was a boy.

We ate a lovely period meal of lentils, flatbread, hummus and dips out of stone pottery and then we had a tour through the village.  The attention to detail, creating tools that were used back in that time was just amazing.

We entered a barn where there was a donkey hooked up to a big stone press where olives were rendered into the mush to prepare them for the preparation of the olive oil.  There were tools that would have been used by the carpenters, and a woman dressed in the simple old fashioned clothing demonstrated the making of yarn from wool that was shorn from the sheep grazing on the hillside.  So authentic and informative.  The guide taking us through was a messianic Jew and he was sharing many wonderful scriptures and stories as he took us through the village.  

This guy thought I wanted him in my picture so he came over to pose with me.  Somehow I look a little out of place, in so many ways...

And it turned out that Hannah knew this fellow from a conference they had both attended in Amsterdam some 6 years earlier!  Time travel...

The olives were in season so they were being picked and there were real olives in the press where the donkey was getting his work out.  

This location was only about a 5 minute walk from where Jesus grew up so most likely it is a place he visited as well.  There was an actual wine press cut into the rock from that time period as well as the terraces where grapes would have grown.

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And now we are located in an old Kibbutz not far from Mount Carmel and close to Hannah's auntie who lives on another Kibbutz.  We drove across the Mt. Carmel Mountain range yesterday over to Haifa where we spent the afternoon on the beach and watching the sun set.  We fortified ourselves with more pomegranate juice as well, as I have been feeling very poorly.  There are some crazy hyenas or something that scream outside at night.  I hear them as I have spent lots of time here laying down and resting as I don't want to be sick on the trip home.   I've had to become creative in using this washroom as the only bar they had beside the toilet was a towel bar.  And to get out of the low bed/couch I use a chair with Anita sitting on it to help me lift myself up and over.

Mount of Olives

The days are blending into one another and my mind is stirring with so many stories and pictures and places that I can barely contain it.

Yesterday I had my heart's desire to complete the drive around the entire Old City of Jerusalem and go up to the Mount of Olives and to look out over the temple mount.  To be in the place where Jesus spent so much time and to be looking down over the Garden of Gethsemene where He prayed that last agonized prayer before he was taken captive and killed.  And best of all to be on the mountain where he promises to return.  Pretty crazy wonderful stuff.  Now it is a real, actual place in my mind.  I love that I have been able to be here - to see and to feel and to hear and to taste Jerusalem.

There are thousands upon thousands of Jewish graves on the hillside of the Mount of Olives, making the mountainside white with stone.  It is no longer a hill with trees and grass.  Across the valley right under the temple wall there are thousands up thousands of Arab graves.  Everybody is waiting in line to get the first peek of the return of Christ I guess!

The place is just buzzing and the atmosphere is charged.

Oh the stories that have been acted out on that small piece of land.  Abraham sacrificing his son in an outrageous act of obedience, the building of the Temple, Jeremiah being thrust into a cistern, Nehemiah weeping over the broken down walls, Saul reigning until David took over the throne and on and on...  Such rich and history changing stories.

I wept as Anita drove me around the city walls one last time, so grateful to God for this experience and so grateful for the kindness of  Anita and Hannah to make this physically possible for me.  I didn't really realize how constantly reliant I would be on these gals and maybe they didn't either, otherwise I don't know if they would have taken on the challenge but here we are.

Below is a picture of the huge wall that has been built up in areas of the city to divide the Jewish and Arab areas.

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We began our trek up toward the Galilee and drove through the Jordan Valley.  The tiny Jordan river snaked it's way through it's middle and there were banana groves, date palm orchards and many other sorts of vegetation growing in the area.  We passed the area where the City of Jericho once stood and all sorts of stories and pictures were weaving their way through my mind as I gazed over the huge flat valley and the mountains on either side.

The Sea of Galilee was beautiful to behold and we stopped in Tiberius.  Its a pretty little city built on the waters edge and up a hillside.  We had some fresh squeezed pomegranate juice and ate a snack on the seaside. Seriously, I am here in the Galilee on the water's edge,  how amazing is that?  And the weather is perfect.

We got settled in our guesthouse up on the hillside of Migdal and spent the evening in the home of a woman here from South Africa who has a strong calling to minister deliverance, freedom and healing to women, just as Mary Magdalene received here freedom here in this very place 2000 years ago.  We got to see the actual archaeological dig of the town she lived in - even the stone in the synagogue where the scrolls were laid upon to read.   Perhaps this is the very one that Jesus used as he was preaching in the synagogues of the region. Hannah shared some of the book of Luke in a fancy church they have built in this area and I had a brief visit with some camels and donkeys.

Below is the Catholic Church built in the town of Magdala, next to the ruins of the very city where Mary Magdalene lived.  

And here is Hannah sharing some of the book of Luke.

I have had to learn to be content to go in the areas where it is easier for the wheelchair to go, while others get to examine so much more.  And sometimes I am longing to stop and take a picture from a certain place or go here or there, but I must just often submit to the situation and forego shopping or picture taking or whatever it is that I want to see.  When you are reliant on others it is simply a privilege to be along for the ride and contentment is the key!

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This morning dawned bright and sunny - this is such a lovely tropical area with bougenvelia flowers, plumeria, palms, olive trees, and all sorts of fruit.  There is a tree loaded with huge grapefruit right on the deck.

We set out to explore and we saw Tagbah(?) where Peter was reinstated by Christ.  Hannah told that very story right there on the rocky shore where Peter asked that age old question that we all have to ultimately answer..."do you love me, more than these...?"  It was such a peaceful place, the waves were lapping gently and a pair of storks flying by and the hazy hills gave such a vivid imagery to the story that actually took place right there.

We drove on to see Capernaum, Bethsaida and the Mount of Beatitudes.  The sun hung like a huge orange ball over the hills towards Nazareth as we drove back to our guesthouse. This place is spectacularly beautiful and it's so hot and humid for November.  It's been up around 24 degrees.  I never imagined that it would have been such a scenic place that Jesus spoke the sermon on the mount.  Grassy slopes and a blue sea with birds singing and a voice ringing out truth that would speak on through the ages and change all of history.  So many lovely surprises.

And now I'm laying down in the guesthouse.  Anita and Hannah and I are all sharing a tiny room with a tiny bathroom that is somehow managing to work!  The guesthouse has the loveliest view over the Sea of Galilee and the deck is the only place where the internet works, but I must lay in my room as my body is very tired and my ankles are swollen. The gang went into Tiberius to have some of St. Peter's Fish for supper since we actually are right here where all that fishing was done!

These pictures are from Capernaum.  Above is the spot where the original temple stood but the remains are from the 4th century.  Below is a statue of St. Peter who spent much time in the area.  First as a fisherman and then as a fisher of men.

And this picture was taken where the former town of Bethsaida stood.  Beautiful area overlooking the Sea of Galilee.