We started off the day visiting Nazareth, which is the town where Jesus grew up and began his ministry. We visited an Eastern Orthodox church and saw Mary's well, which was the ancient water source for Nazareth. This was the place where Mary and Jesus would have gone to get their daily water. Then we visited a church which was built over the ancient synagogue where Jesus taught scripture. We sang some songs, which sounded awesome because of the acoustics. It was a very moving experience. Then we walked through the town, where we experienced a lot of the culture of Israel. After the walk, we went to the Church of the Annunciation, which was the site where it is believed Mary's home was. This is where an angel appeared to Mary and told her she would bear the Son of God. There we saw depictions of this event from many different countries, including Australia, Poland, and the United States. From there we went to the Church of St. Joseph, which was built over the site where Joseph's house is believed to have been. Then we went to Meggido, which is the site where the final battle between good and evil is supposed to take place in the end of days. The view was amazing, because it was razed and then rebuilt on top of one another 25 times. We had the opportunity to walk through the ancient cistern, which was used to get water during seige. We had a lunch there also, which was falafel sandwiches. Then we traveled to Caeseria by the Sea, which was built by Pontius Pilate to honor Caeser. We visited the theater and where the floating palace would have been. After Caeseria we drove almost two hours to Jerusalem, where we will be staying for the remainder of the trip. The city is very big and beautiful and we hope to see more of it in the days to come! Another thing we learned today was that today is Mother's Day here in Israel, so Happy Mother's Day to all you worrying mothers out there, and remember the greatest mother in the Bible, Mary, Mother of Jesus.
Abby Clark and Kourtney Berg
youth conveners
Abby, so good to read your blog. Sounds like you are having a wonderful experience seeing so many things I would love to see. Thank you for keeping us posted. You are in my prayers as you travel. This is an experience you will never forget. What a great opportunity. Blessings, Pastor Peggy
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