Interesting Pictures from Israel

The Ibex (goat with very long horns) was climbing everywhere including on top of the cars.

The priest is a greek orthodox priest from the Church of the Holy Sepulcre

Petra is a beautiful place

Down in the desert of Jordan (other side of the Dead Sea) is the stronghold of what used to be Edom. It is an amazing valley carved out of beautiful red sandstone. Here are a few shots of it.

Intense Listening and learning

We had a great trip and God blessed in so many way. A few people got sick for a day, and then were back on it the next day. Sharon Beamer had to miss our jaunt into Petra because of a sprained ankle, but everyone else was able to go. We got very close and shared our hearts as well as a bus/plane/walk adventure.

God has opened our hearts to himself in a new way and to each other. This was a very successful trip...Praise the Lord. Here are a few pictures of us.

A Wonder

We spent the day at Petra, Jordan. It is an archeological wonder! You will have to wait for the photographs because it is beyond description. Like I said in an earlier post, it has been on my bucket list, and I was not disappointed. It dates back to second century BC and there is nothing in this world like it. Everyone who took the walk, made at least a five mile hike, so I'm too tired to add any more than to tell you that it was a wonderful day! Tomorrow, on to Mt. Nebo and Amman. Then after a short rest in a hotel, home!

And, Tanya, this is Joy Garrelts. I don't know if you realize that or not. Terry and I took good care of your mom today. She had a donkey ride and a horse ride today. What a trooper! She had a good day.

Some Pictures of the empty tomb!

Farewell to Jerusalem

We had an emotional farewell from Harrison our guide in Jerusalem. He was fantastic....full of information and fun too. We met his wife at the farewell dinner the night before. He is not a religious Jew and he is married to a "Christian" from England who is from the Church of England. We have prayed from him and wish our influence would extend to his interest in Christ.

A couple of the guys got to share with a young muslim who has Christian friends in the states and a christian guy who owns a shop in Jerusalem. They were excited about his willingness to listen and they will be emailing him when we get home. God is using this trip in our lives at many levels and perhaps we are able to touch some lives too.

We are in Jordan!

We have arrived in Jordan and are waiting to enter into Petra. We are excited about the day tommorrow, but there is also a tiredness. I think we will be ready to head home and then we will catch up on sleep! There are a couple of ladies that are not sure they can walk all the way in, and so we are trying to come up with a "half-way plan" for them to experience the wonder of the place without being exhausted.
Joy has done a good job giving all of you some of this information about our trip. We have been learning so much and reading the Scripture with new eyes and new questions! God is blessing the trip and the camaraderie is growing as we share all this together. I am going to upload a few pictures to try to catch you up with some of the things we have seen.

Following Moses

Wednesday, 2/10

It’s 11:00 a.m. and you’re all sleeping while we are traveling across the Jordanian Desert in Jordan now seeing the kind of terrain where Moses wandered with the Israelites. We have been blessed with sunny weather today and a good tour guide. Here and there we see sheep, donkey, and camel herds being tended by the Bedouin. The Bedouin settlements are small shacks made of scrap tin, boards, and cardboard on the side of the road. One wonders how they stay warm. I’ll share with you some info our guide has given us. Children go to basic school from the age of 6 to 16. Then the students take an exam to specialize for secondary school to prepare them for the university. Those who don’t want to follow that course can go to community college for skilled labor training. There are 20 universities in Jordan. They are not free but 99% of the students get scholarships. The girls and boys go to school together until the age of 12 and then not again until university. The military service for three months for boys became compulsory recently because the government believed the boys were becoming too “girly” and wanted to toughen them up. There are 6.5 million Jordanians with over 50% of them being under the age of 25. Ninety percent is Sunni Muslim although according to our guide there is freedom to practice any religion. He said 6% is Christian but that would be Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic. It is illegal to be a missionary. He says the women are liberated but I don’t believe him... The average age for marriage for a male is 28 and for female is 24. Jordan has no oil and it is predominantly a poor country. This country side reminds me of Mexico. Our guide is adamant that Islam is not about attacking other countries and spoke for awhile about the Sunni’s belief system. It is complicated but gave me a better understanding of the Muslim believes. I am really looking forward to going to Petra tomorrow. It has been on my bucket list for a long time. I saw a beautiful photo of it on the internet once and said I have to see that place. So, now here I am. I am so sorry that some of the older women won’t be going with us as it is a 5 mile walk. Seems a shame to come this far and not be able to go along with us. BTW, there is an armed guard on the bus with us. I’m not sure if he is here to protect us or make us behave. J

Walking, Walking, Walking

Tuesday, 2/10

Yesterday, we went to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. It was emotionally draining. And, the children’s memorial was so moving. It’s difficult to describe and do it justice. It was dark inside and there were millions of tiny lights over head, like star light. As you walked through, you had to hold on to the railing to find your way so you tended to walk very slowly. Meanwhile, there is a woman’s voice reciting the names and ages of children that were murdered during the Holocaust. We also visited the Western Wall. There were many people praying at the wall just like all the pictures I’ve seen. I went up to it and put my hand on it just because I could and because it is a special place. The men and women are separated. There were several Bar Mitzvahs happening on the men’s side so the women were standing on chairs looking over the barrier throwing candy over to the table where the Bar Mitzvah was taking place. It was really interesting and again the security was tight. Later, we went to the Garden Tomb which is the garden where the tomb that my Savior’s body was put in after His crucifixion. It was so cool and refreshing especially after being at the Holocaust Memorial in the morning. Pastor Paul gave a lesson while we were there and we had communion. He has been giving mini lesson at significant spots and it has helped make the locations come alive. We can see where and why the site is important in a Biblical sense. Today, we had a free day so some of us took a bus ride to the Valley of Elah where David fought Goliath. We had a good time looking for stones. It was fun being there in this peaceful valley and picturing the two armies facing each other on the hillsides. It has been interesting experiencing the different nationalities. Our driver is Arab Muslim. Our guide, Harrison, is Jewish and he seems to be an expert on the Bible including the New Testament, at least about the life of Jesus. When we wandered around the old city of Jerusalem today, we experienced the Muslim quarter, the Armenian quarter, the Jewish quarter, and the Christian quarter. There was a definite difference in the people between each quarter. We shopped and bought some cool things. I just hope we make it home with them (pottery). While shopping, Terry and I were lost many times in the Muslim quarter and it seemed we walked for miles through the narrow streets of vendors and shops. We walked down one back, narrow street that had just meat and meat by products – pig’s feet in a pan, intestines, tentacles, and many body parts we did not recognize except the chickens. We did know the chickens. There was blood running in between the uneven cobble stones which are common to the inner city. We tried to follow Via Delarosa which was the path Jesus took to Calvary because we had been there before but we continually lost our way on side streets. These are all walkways, for the most part, too narrow for a car. We also walked around the top of the Jerusalem wall for a long while looking out over the city. You could see bullet holes in the wall from the Six Day War in 1967. You also can see which part of the wall is from the Roman times, Crusader times and the Byzantine times. It is awesome to actually walk the wall of this magnificent city and feel the significance of its history beneath your feet and to know that Jesus was here. Before I forget, I want to tell you, I met an Israeli man on an elevator whose brother lives in Coquille and he loves Oregon as he’s been there several times to visit. Also, I spoke to a wine seller in the Jewish quarter today, who, when finding out I was from Oregon, replied, “Pinot Noir!”. Small world after all. Tomorrow, we leave bright and early to Petra, Jordan. Once again, our Jewish guide cannot go with us – only as far as the border. We will miss him. He has been great! Tonight, we had a special farewell dinner together. I had to wear my dress. Ugh! We received certificates for being Pilgrims to the Holy Land signed by the mayor. Isn’t that special?! Terry and I hightailed it back to the room to get to bed. We’ve been going to bed by 9 pm most night. The days are exhausting and we have to have the sleep to keep up. Thank you for your nice email messages and prayers and good wishes. Seems like we have been gone forever – we’ve seen and done so much in these two weeks. It’s nice to know you like keeping up with us and that you think of us. We think of home and wonder if it’s raining. We’re hoping for warm weather tomorrow in Jordan – around 75 degrees. So, good night everyone – even though it will soon be time for lunch for you!

Muddy Waters

Today, we visited the historical site of Masada where the last bastion of Jewish freedom fighters against the Romans committed mass suicide rather than be taken captive. Then on to En Gedi where David secretly tore a piece of King Saul's cloak. We hiked on the actual trail that David traveled on his way to his cave. There were spring fed water falls and it was a beautiful area. Both of these places are located on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert near the shore of the Dead Sea. We had a stop at the Dead Sea and some of those in our group went for a swim floating around on the water like balloons because of the salt water. A few people settled for a little mud bath rubbing here and there on their bodies or wading. The water and mud is suppose to have rejuvenating and healing powers for your skin. I was satisfied just to watch. Terry waded in the water and seeing his slimy, muddy legs when he got out, was all I needed to experience. Oh, this place, BTW, is the lowest place on earth, about 1300 ft. My ears were popping as we drove down, which seemed strange. Everyone in the group is doing fairly well. A couple of women stayed in the hotel today to rest, but for the most part everyone is holding up with all the walking we are doing. Some days are easier than others. It has stopped raining and that has really been a blessing! It was warm today, around 65 degrees, I'm guessing. I have a message for Jodi's family. She said to tell you she is doing well but will be glad to be home. She's a little homesick, I think. She's adventurous though. I watched her eat some kind of tongue for dinner last night. Eeewww! The food is interesting. Salad is served at every meal including breakfast. There is always something good to eat and many new things to try. Yesterday was Sabbitt (Sabbith) for practicing Jews, and, among other things, they could not push the buttons on the elevators so they have a special elevator that stops at each floor. Now, I was speaking of food and it's almost time to eat, so I'm signing off. Time to try something new again.

The Jordan River

We went today to a strategic lookout over the Jordan river. It was near the place where the children of Israel had gathered to cross the Jordan into the promise land. We reviewed in our minds how the priests, carrying the Ark of the Covenant, which symbolized the very presence of God stepped into the water at just the time God stopped the river. They took 12 stones from the middle to make a permanent memorial on the bank to remind them of God’s work and power, and to teach the next generation when they asked about the stones. There are some amazing parallels between Joshua parting the Jordan as a new leader, Elisha parting the water as he took over from Elijah, and Jesus coming to almost the same place to be baptized. God parted the water for them, but he parted the heavens when Jesus was baptized. How great to be at places where these things are so clearly laid out before us!

In the far North of Israel

We had a very meaningful time at Caesarea Philippi which is in the extreme North of the country. It was a large cave out of which a spring came that flows down to the Sea of Galilee. The Greeks and Hellenistic Jews had made it a place of worship to the god Pan. It was here that Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say that I am”. Peter responded, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God!” Jesus was impressed with his answer and said, “You are Peter (little rock) and on this stone (Huge, bedrock stone) I will build my church. This didn’t refer to Peter, it referred to the acknowledgement that Jesus really is God. Then he said, “The gates of Hell” would not prevail against the church he would build. This major cave, full of idols and pagan worship, was a symbol of the gates of Hell. This was Jesus taking his message to the very heart of darkness. It was moving.

Sea of Galilee

What a wonderful day we had on the Sea of Galilee! It stormed the night before so we weren't eve sure we would be able to go out on the boat. In the morning, however, it was clear and we had a meaningful trip from Tiberias to Genneseret. We were led to a boat named, "Faith" which is a good name given the reputation of this lake. As we came aboard we were marveling at the view and the awareness that Jesus had been at this very spot. The boat captain put on some music and it was great worship music we recognized. Bill and Margo recognized the music as the same as a CD they had listened to before flying here. I thought it was another "Christian tourist" thing, until he shared that he had been fired from another boat because he is a Jewish believer...messianic Jew. He obviously loves the Lord and actually had been on tour in the U.S. for three weeks just before this time. He had two albums of his music which have contemporary worship music with some verses in English and some in Hebrew. Maybe we should have him come to Oregon.
As we prayed and reviewed Jesus walk on this water we felt God's presence in an amazing way. Through the wind and the light rain we thought about Peter's brave attempt to walk on this water based on his belief in who Jesus really is. What a day!!

Update on our progress

The trip is going well. Everyone is working hard to be helpful and cheerful as we learn together. It has been rainy and cold several days, but we are Oregonians after all. Anita was sick and missed touring with us on the Sea of Galilee, but she is better today. She was able to tour with us, but is still not well...you can pray for her. Our guide is Harrison Cohen, a non-religious Jew who is married to a Christian from England who is Anglican. He is full of information and jokes. He is also able to give us some great Biblical and historical background which sets up some quality spiritual reflection times.

Biblical Sightings

Today, we took a boat across the Sea of Gallilee. It was amazing to think this is the same water that Jesus performed his miracle with his disciples. It was a moving experience. We also went up near the border of Lebanon and Syria. I don't have my notes with me right now so I can't tell you logistically where different sites that we saw were located. However, we saw many significant Biblical places today. Just take my word for it, okay? I have been significantly impacted spiritually by what we saw today.

Screaming Babies and a Tree Grows in Tel Aviv

We arrived in Tel Aviv save and somewhat sound. Mostly exhausted. Screaming babies should not be allowed on airplanes. They should be sent to first class where they can have nice cushy seats and they can feel nice and homey. Or, better, yet, build some kind of a contraption to tow behind the jet that's made just for families with children. Just one screaming baby can ruin an otherwise perfectly good flight. Nonetheless, we are in this city of two parts, Jaffe and Tel Aviv. We saw the original port where the ships entered so many years ago and the home of Simon the Tanner, the friend of Peter (Acts 9). It's an early morning for us tomorrow so we're going to bed. BTW, Terry had an eventful walk tonight. He was enjoying the ocean view as he would, of course, and walked face first into a tree. So now he has a big owie on his nose. Let's hope that's the worst of his accidents.

Screaming Babes and a Tree Grows in Tel Aviv

We arrived in Tel Aviv safe and somewhat sound. Mostly exhausted. Screaming babies shouldn't be allowed on airplanes. They should be sent to first class where they can have nice cushy chairs to make them very nice and homey. Or, better yet, build some kind of a unit to tow behind the plane for families with young children. Just one screaming baby can ruin an otherwise perfectly good flight. Nonetheless, we are here in this city of two parts Jaffe and Tel Aviv. We saw the original port where the ships used to enter all those years ago and the home of Simon the Tanner (Acts 9). It's an early morning for us so we're going to bed. BTW, Terry had an eventful walk tonight. He was enjoying the ocean view as he would, of course, and walked face first into a tree. So, he has an owie on his nose now. Let's hope that's the worst of his accidents.

We have arrived!!!

Well thanks for praying and caring. We all arrived safely after a long day flying and waiting. Our flight was delayed by a few minutes because of a late arriving plane from Dallas, TX.
We stopped to see the ancient port of Yafo which was the bibical port of Joppa. This is where Jonah sailed the wrong way when trying to avoid God's Call to send him to Ninevah.

We also rad from Acts 9 when we stood overlooking the harbor with a sign that says, "House of simon the Tanner" This was the historic place where Peter was dragged protestingly into a church for the gentiles as well as the jews. It was a great moment to see Tel Aviv, and we are happy, but bone tired. God Bless.

Praise the Lord!

They have arrived and all are well. We patiently wait to read and see what they will share with us. All long day and night of travel is now behind them and their renewed energy is focused to what they really are there for. May God continue to protect them and that they continue to be healthy for the rest of the trip. I talked to my family and they sound good. Todd was gracious enough to share his internet so they could call me. Bless him! I asked Savannah if she'd eaten anything there and she has managed to find some items that are suitable to her limited taste buds. Thankfully, she won't waste away while she's there. They went to Joppa today and they will rest up for a busy day tomorrow. They have a great guide but hopefully the weather will be good during this trip.

It's official-half of my little family is boarding a plane to go international! I spoke with them - my last verbal communication until they return - and they haven't lost any of their enthusiasm yet. I can't imagine what it will be like to wake up that first morning in Israel...will it be amazement...awe...wonderment? To see the things that Jesus would have seen, to walk the places He would have walked, to smell and hear the echoes of what the people left behind in the walls and to touch the things similar of His time. I have such envy that Gage and I couldn't go but I also am so wonderfully thankful that Savannah had this opportunity to experience as well as share it with Dan. Thank you to everyone for praying for this group, as it is our only way of staying close to them. Pray that each one of them will soak up every moment and not miss any opportunity to touch lives while they are there.

Well here we are getting ready to start the adventure. We all came to Portland last night and stayed in a motel so we could get long term parking and a free shuttle ride to the airport. We got up at 2:45 so we could catch the shuttle at 3:45. The check in was fast and the excitement was tangible as we checked in. Now we are sitting in the waiting area and talking about all we want to see and do. Most of the people have faced challenges in the last week as they were preparing for the journey, but each of us have "won through". Thank you to all of you who prayed.

Todd and Letsy are waiting in San Diego for their flight since they will be meeting us in Chicago. They made it to San Diego by driving through rough roads bulldozed through the river bottoms with a culvert over the actual water flow. There were some washouts and single lane sections, but no real problems. Praise the Lord.

Sunday, 1/31

Well, the plan was to leave right after the morning church service, head up to Portland by noon. Relax and be ready for bed by 7:30 pm. Not to be! We drove about 30 miles and realized we forgot something - I won't say what - and went back home. The cats were happy to see us since they all thought we were going on a trip. Fooled them. We got back on the road and made three stops in Eugene - all necessary, of course. It's five o'clock, we're still on the road, and that 7:30 bed time isn't going to happen. Did I really think we could go to sleep at 7:30 anyway? BTW, We figured out the actual flying time is 18 hours. The layovers are lengthy so this is going to be a long journey - around 26 hours, I think. (Nothing compares to the Africa trip which was 36 flying hours.) But, we have our books, cards, games, instruction books for the new voice recorder and the I Pod to help pass the time.

Abounding excitement!

I don't think that I've been this excited in a long time, well, maybe I've just been perpetually excited since this trip was announced! (some of you are laughing at me right now...) I've been gathering for packing for months, I've been watching videos and taking notes, going back to my college notes, reading Bible reference books and checking out maps when I read my Bible and I don't think that I've scratched the surface as to preparation for this trip. This has been a far off dream since college and I feel so blessed that it is really happening. I'm looking forward to traveling with this team that God has put in place and getting to know them all in a special way. I have no idea how often I'll get to blog, but this is a cool way to keep our loved ones in the loop. I would ask that you just keep us all in your prayers for things like travel, health, relationships and that we would be able to take in all that the Lord has for us as we are there. I'll try to get back on here soon!

Note to our readers

I (Paul) sent an email to all of those going to Israel and let them "post" on this blog. This means that you need to look at the bottom of each post to see who the person is. When I make a post it will say in light letters "posted by Paul Glazner". Some people may only use their first name like: "posted by Joy". It will give you some good insight to many perspectives on the trip and that way several people can go to an internet cafe and post to the same blog all at once.

We are appreciative of the prayers and comments. It makes this trip all the more special!!

One of the requests will be the lOOOOOng flight to Israel. We leave at 6:18 in the morning on Monday, February 1 and arrive the next day at 6:00 in the evening. There are three legs of the journey....to Chicago, to Frankfort, Germany and then to Tel Aviv, Israel. Each switch has a couple of hours of wait time between flights. Israel is 10 hours ahead of Pacific Coast time, so we will arrive at 10:00 AM Oregon time meaning our total flight time is about 28 hours. We will be tired!

We're packing for this dream trip to Israel and Jordan. Or, rather, I'm packing and have been all week. Terry isn't. He will do it on the last day and it will take 30 minutes. I'm carefully considering everything. I'm not sure about the weather so I have to cover all the bases. I am excited about this trip. Not in the same way as I have been for other trips. This one is different because Terry will be with me. This will be really new. I've traveled a lot on my own and I'm used to doing things without considering another person so I don't know how this is going to work out. It will be something I have to work at. Another issue is the security of the country. I wasn't anxious about it at all until small group the other night when they wanted to pray for our safety. I guess I just didn't think about it that much. But, I know we're in God's hands and we will be guided by Him. Just the same, I'm going to pray for safe trip!

Thanks for all the support

I posted the notice on Facebook about the blog and had 25 response in one day. Many people will be keeping up with our blog...so0 that means I will make a priority of getting stuff on here. I think we should be able to put up pictures as well as get other people to log in and blog for their family and friends.

Thanks to those who marked "follow" so that we know you are checking!

Three more days!!....(so much to get done before we leave!)

Getting Ready

We are excited about going to Israel. There are 21 of us going to Israel, leaving Monday February 1st. We are going to publish updates here as often as we can so you can follow our adventures and pray for us.

We are going to fly from Portland to Chicago, where we will meet up with Todd and Letsy Fink who will hopefully be joining us from San Diego. Then we will fly to Germany which is a long flight and then five more hours to Tel Aviv. We will arrive at 6:06PM on February 2 which is ten hours ahead of Oregon (so that will be 10:00 Am here). We will be very tired but glad to be there.

Feel free to comment on any post you want and if we can find the time and an internet cafe, several of us may make a post.