Northward Bound

Special Israel Edition

The second day that we had with Eli took us to the northern part of the country. We met him this morning at the ancient ruins of Ceasaria, which was built by Herrod The Great a few years ago. At one point the city was a huge port that funneled spices and silk from the Far East to Europe, and it became even larger than Alexandria in Egypt. It was a beautiful site on the seashore that gave us hope of a day of cooler temperatures and nice breezes.

The next stops were in the area of Israel known as the Lower Galilee, and our first of these took us to Nazareth and the Church of the Annunciation. Following that, we went to the supposed site of Jesus’ baptism, then to Capernaum (the ‘Town of Jesus’), and finally to the Church of the Beatitudes – where Jesus delivered the Sermon On The Mount. Ah, back to the hope that we experienced in Ceasaria….it lasted until our first stop, then faded quickly. You see, the Sea of the Galilee is 700+ feet below sea level…which results in really hot temperatures, especially compared to the gentle morning air of the seashore. Just like yesterday, pants were the required attire…if it’s 90 tomorrow, shorts will make it feel flat out chilly. Or not.

Today was the last day that we will see Eli on this trip as he returns to work with some new clients this week. As mentioned yesterday, there is no way that we could ever thank him enough for the sacrifice that he made to spend some time with us…it really was a remarkable, educational, and energizing experience. Thanks Eli!