March 18, 2010

A Day in the North of Galilee

Shalom!

We had another great day in the Galilee today. Our morning started with a devotional on the Golan Heights looking down upon the Sea of Galilee - a great way to start our day! We then made our way north and made our first stop at Gamla where we learned what happenend at the site as well as got to sit in a 1st century synagogue that Jesus likely would have been in. On the way to our second stop we had lunch. Since it was Jon Quick's birthday today, we thought it might be fun to do a Birthday Rap in Israel! It was great fun - especially for our guides who thought we were crazy. :) Our second stop of the day was Caesarea Phillipi where Marty introduced the importance of the site to Jesus' question to his disciples, "Who do you say that I am." This site is also one of the sources of the Jordan River, so we hiked down and were able to find the beautiful and famous waterfall. We finished up our day at the ruins of Omrit - a city attributed to Harrod which was possibly a stop on the Damascus road.

All in all - it was, of course, another BIG day! Your comments are so encouraging! I'll pass those along to everyone. As always your prayers are much appreciated. Everyone is healthy, but we have aches and pains and a few minor injuries developing (nothing serious). Please pray for health, rest, and for our hearts to be open to all that God has for us each day! Thanks!

Here are some pictures:
1. Marty teaching at Gamla 2. Marty teaching at synagoge in Gamla, 3. Our group at Caesarea Phillipi 4. Doing the Birthday rap for Jon! 5. Kimberly, Emily & Patoya at the waterfall 6. Grant showing you that we are often-times off the beaten path 7. Ruins at Omrit 8. Standing on the Damascus road?









11 comments:

  1. I wait for this everyday! The Lord has been teaching me things in the mornings and then when I read the blog everyday, I find out he has taught yall the same thing! Awesome God.

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  2. Another wonderful group of photos for us to share. Tell Jason that First Christian members are following along as well as the Shipley's donut shop crew. We cannot wait to here about this trip in person.

    Matt thanks for taking time out of your day to keep all of us informed and making us feel like we are a part of this adventure.

    Jason's Mom

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  3. Looks like you are having great weather like we are here in Dallas/Midlothian! It's beautiful....sunny and a crispness in the air. Spring is here... the birds are everywhere and the trees are showing new life and spring colors! What a great place for ya'll to celebrate a birthday. I will add your sore aching muscles to my prayer list for you guys. We can't wait to hear about your next adventure, but look forward to your safe return. Say Hi to Casey. Love, Pat,Carol & Hunter Harding

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  4. Heidi had another great day today. She got to go to Matt's high school and feed the ducks. "DucKK!" We will go to your house tomorrow for the rest of the time. We are praying for you all. Hi to Jodie! We love you all and miss you! Love Nana and Pops

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  5. It's hard to believe you all are on the other side of the world when we get these awesome daily updates. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. We love hearing about your day. The pictures are great! Cant wait to see more. Hugs to Jessica!
    Love,
    David and Susan Ward

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  6. Matt! It is so good to keep up with you guys. Mallory and I talked yesterday and were reminded that one year ago WE were in Israel as well.
    You guys are in my prayers.

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  7. waiting for your new blog post each day may or may not be the highlight of my spring break! and if there was any day i wish i had been in israel with you guys, it would have been today ;-) thanks, matt, for the pictures and updates. i'm praying for my forge family. love to all (especially to the birthday boy)...allison

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  8. Praying for all of you! Tell Kimbo hi from Kristen!

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  9. Hey Matt! Could you please pass on the word to Jenn & all the Forgies that a change of location has been made for Jman- I am now going to be in Johannesburg, South Africa, doing the exact same job, just in a different location. I'll explain more when y'all get back! :) Praying for y'all!!!

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  10. Thanks for keeping us posted Matt. Please pass on the Melanie that her fam keeps up with the blog everyday and is lifting you all up. Love you Mel! Love, Mom & Dad (who tried to comment earlier but couldn't for some reasong) & Me

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  11. Suz!!! That's great! Is it close to stollenbesch.... Some city in s africa. that's where bri and her husband are. Wonder if y'all are close?

    Excited to hear. Love to the roomies and mom dad. Miss you D.

    Jenn

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