Thursday, March 19, 2009

Holy Land Trip (Galilee Photos)











Holy Land Trip (Galilee)

We are rapidly nearing the end of our Holy Land trip.
We’ve spent the last two days in and around the Galilee, the region where Jesus spent the majority of His ministry in.
I’ve enjoyed this part of the tour the most.
It is a very beautiful place and does not have the hectic pace of the city (Jerusalem).
The Sea of Galilee provides a very beautiful and tranquil setting.
You can easily picture our Lord walking the hillsides with his disciples or teaching in a boat near the shore.

Highlights from Wednesday, March 18:
Leaving Jerusalem, our group headed to the Jordan River Valley and Jericho.
Before looking at the remains of the ancient city, we stopped to see a sycamore tree believed to be the one Zacchaeus climbed to see Jesus.
We also visited the ancient city of Beit Shean before heading on to Mt Tabor.
Saul and Jonathan were slain at the foot of Mt Gilboa, near Beit Shean.
Beit Shean has some of the best excavations in all of Israel.
At Mt Tabor, overlooking the Valley of Jezreel, we saw the traditional site of Jesus’ transfiguration.
Our last stop was the Jordan River.
At the Jordan, Brother Joe baptized two of our team members: Rosie Caywood and Jimmy Boling.
The team spent the night in Tiberias, located on the Sea of Galilee.

Highlights from Thursday, March 19:
The day started with a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee.
On the north side of the Galilee we went up on Mt of Beatitudes, where Jesus delivered this famous sermon.
From there, we traveled north to the base of Mt Hermon to see Caesarea Philippi where the headwaters of the Jordan River begin.
This was where Peter made the “good confession.”
Also, on the Sea of Galilee we saw the site where Jesus fed 5,000 with 2 fish and 5 barley loaves.
We ended the day in Capernaum.
Capernaum was the site of most of Jesus’ miracles.
It was also the home of Peter.
While there, we saw excavations believed to be Peter’s house and the synagogue where Jesus taught.

Tomorrow (Friday, March 20), will be our last day of touring. We will leave Tiberias and go to Nazareth, Cana, Meggido, Haifa and Netanya.
We will leave Tel Aviv airport very early on Saturday, March 21.

In Him,
Greg Herriford

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Holy Land Trip (Jerusalem Photos)











Holy Land Trip (Jerusalem)

Things continue to be going great for our team and our Holy Land trip.
We’ve spent the last two days in and around the city of Jerusalem.

Highlights from Monday, March 16:
We began the day in Jerusalem at the Mount of Olives and walked down to visit the Garden of Gethsemane.
After visiting Mt Zion and the house of Caiaphas (where Peter denied Christ on the night of his arrest), we left for the town of Bethlehem.
In the afternoon, we toured Bethlehem, the town where Christ was born.
The Church of the Nativity is the place where our Savior Jesus Christ was born.
The entrance into the church is a small opening that makes nearly everyone have to stoop to enter. This is the very appropriate for a church remembering the ultimate act of humility by Christ (coming to live among us on the earth).

Highlights from Tuesday, March 17:
The entire day was spent in the Old City of Jerusalem.
We began the day at the Western Wall (the last remaining part of the Temple).
We were also able to see the Dome of the Rock (now controlled by the Muslims).
For a good bit of the day, we traveled along the Via Dolorosa (the path Jesus is believed to have traveled on the day of His crucifixion).
The Via Dolorosa ended with two possible locations of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. One is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
We ended our day at the site many protestants believe is the site of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
It is called the Garden Tomb. This site was not discovered until the late 1800s.
Our group took the Lord’s Supper together in the Garden Tomb. It was a great end to a great day!
Tomorrow, we will leave Jerusalem and travel north to Mt Tabor and Tiberias.

In Him,
Greg Herriford

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Holy Land Trip (Judean Wilderness Photos)












Holy Land Trip (Sinai Photos)












Holy Land Trip (Sinai & Israel)

Much has happened since my last update.
We’ve been in the Sinai wilderness without internet access and now we’ve arrived in Israel.
We left Cairo, Egypt, on Friday, March 13, and headed for the Sinai peninsula.
The group spent the night at the base of Mt Sinai, the mountain Moses ascended to receive the Ten Commandments from God.
Our hotel was less than spectacular (small bedrooms, dirty bathrooms and cats roaming the dinning area), but we were not there long.

Saturday, March 14
Several of the team awoke early on Saturday morning (1 am to be specific) to begin a hike up to the top of Mt Sinai.
The hike up to the top (over 8,000 ft above sea level) took nearly 6 hours round trip.
The hike was much tougher than advertised, however, and several of our people had to stop short of the top.
Those who did reach the top were treated to a great sunrise.
I have to say that it was one of the most physically demanded things I’ve ever done, but well worth it.
At the mountain top, there were people from every tribe, tongue and nation (sound familiar).
A group of Nigerian Christians on their own pilgrimage sang and danced.
In the afternoon, we toured St Catherine’s Monastery located at the base of Mt Sinai.
St Catherine’s is one of the most important monasteries in the world containing oldest and richest libraries in the world.
Located there we saw the tradition site of where Moses drew water from Jethro’s well as well as where God spoke to Moses through the burning bush.
After leaving Sinai, it was onto Israel!
The day’s only difficulty was getting through customs and security on the Egyptian/Israeli border.
A larger-than-normal amount of traffic caused a wait of several hours.
Our patience was tested while waiting in line. A group of fellow pilgrims from the Ukraine repeatedly kept trying to cut in line in front of many of our team members.
Cooler heads prevailed and the Cold War was not reignited.
After making it across the border and meeting our new tour guides, we drove to Jerusalem, arriving around midnight.

Sunday, March 15, was our first day in Jerusalem.
We’ve got a really nice hotel. After a good night’s sleep and breakfast, we were off on our tours.
Here’s the highlights from the Judean Wilderness:

Masada - King Herod’s palace/fortress; also the site where 960 Jewish Zealots attempted to hold off the Romans in 73 AD.
Ein Gedi - site where David cut off a corner of King Saul’s robe while hiding in a cave there (1Samuel 24).
Qumran - location where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947; these manuscripts dating back to the 1st century were the greatest archeological find in the 20th century.
Dead Sea - lots of salt; 27% of the water is mineral (I don’t know what else to say).

We have pretty consistent internet access here in Jerusalem.
I will try my best to post an update every day now.

In Him,
Greg Herriford

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Holy Land Trip (Day Two in Cairo)

Thursday, March 12, was our second and final full day in Cairo, Egypt.
We spent most of the day looking at several pyramids and ancient sites in and around the city.
Among them included: Saqqara (the first pyramids in Egypt), the ancient city of Memphis and finally the Giza Pyramids & the Sphinx.
It was awesome to see and experience these great wonders that date back to 5,000 years ago!
Our group was privileged to go down into a few of the tombs, while others had the chance to ride camels across the desert (see my photos posted earlier).
The souvenir vendors were pretty aggressive at each location we visited. Therefore, there were a lot of gifts purchased for friends and family back home.
At the Great Pyramids at Giza, a few of our team traveled inside the largest one of the three pyramids.
We ended the day with a dinner cruise on the beautiful Nile River.
Today, we’re leaving Cairo and heading across the desert for Mt Sinai. We’ll stay there overnight before heading onto Israel.
I will keep you posted.

In Him,
Greg Herriford

Holy Land Trip (More Cairo Photos)







Holy Land Trip (Cairo Photos)












Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Holy Land Trip (Day One in Cairo)

Wednesday, March 11, was our first full day in Cairo, Egypt, and it was a hectic one!
First off, Cairo is a major city and one of the largest in the world. The streets are always crowded and driving is very Darwinistic (survival of the fittest).
Its history goes back thousands of years. We were able to see some of that history today.
In the morning, we went to Old Cairo and saw some significant religious sites.
We saw some of the early Coptic (early Egyptian Christians) churches in Egypt including the “Hanging Church,” built over the bastians of a Roman gate.
We also visited the Ben Ezra Synagogue where tradition holds that the baby Moses was pulled from the Nile and raised in the Pharaoh’s palace.
Among the other significant places we saw today was a church built over a place where it is believed Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus lived for a time when the family fled Herod in Israel.
After we left Old Cairo, we went for a lunch a beautiful city park called El Azhar Park.
Things got interesting as our group tried crossing a major highway to get to the park entrance. Remember Egyptian drivers do not stop for anything.
A few squealing tires and dirty looks later, we made it across. I’m happy to report no one was injured.
Following our lunch, we made an all-too-quick visit of the Egyptian Museum. The museum has the largest and finest collection of ancient Egyptian history. There is also one wing dedicated to King Tutankhamon alone. The detail and artwork that was done 4,000-5,000 years ago by the Egyptians blew me away!
Following the museum, we hustled over to the Great Pyramids & Sphnix for a light and sound show. The show used lasers and lights on the pyramids to tell more about the history of several Pharaohs and Kingdoms.
We will be going back to the Pyramids tomorrow for a longer visit followed by a dinner cruise on the Nile River. It should be great.
I’m sorry, but there are no pictures today; however, I’ll try my best to post some tomorrow.
The internet access at the hotel (the Amarante Pyramids Hotel) is not free here so I’m trying to manage my time the best I can.


God bless,
Greg Herriford

Holy Land Trip (More Amsterdam Photos)












Holy Land Trip (Arrival in Egypt)

After 30 hours of travel, we're finally here in Cairo, Egypt.
We arrived early this morning (Wednesday, March 11th). After we reached our hotel and unpacked, it was nearly 5 am local time before we went to bed. Most of us were back up and ready for breakfast today by 9 am.
I'm writing to you this morning, but am still a little weary from all the travel.

Today's sightseeing includes a tour of old Cairo and a trip to an Egyptian Museum.

Our team of 40+ left from Lexington, KY, on Monday, March 9th. Our flight left Louisville for Detriot on Monday evening and we then traveled through the night to Amsterdam.

We took a tour of the city of Amsterdam yesterday (Tuesday, March 10th).
The tour included visiting a farm where cheese and wooden shoes are made, a boat ride on some the city's many canals as well as a tour of the house where Anne Frank's family hid from the Nazis during WWII.

It was a good time and some pictures from the day can be found below.
God bless and I'll keep you posted.

In Him,
Greg Herriford