The Hebron Herald

Jordan I pick up the tale of our pilgrimage as we cross into Jordan at the Sheik Hussein northern border crossing.  This exercise is not for the faint hearted so it's just as well we were a band of four intrepid explorers.  Well, we probably looked like four disoriented, dazed, sweating over the hill pensioners (well 3 at least!) but don't let that fool you! The tour organiser did her best to prepare us for the crossing but when she said it can be a lengthy, convoluted process she was not exaggerating.  Those Jordanians certainly love their bureaucratic processes.  Bus it over there; walk here; stamp that; haul your suitcases through the heat to this shed for screening; now haul yourself over there for screening; now stamp that and show your passport again; now convince a taxi driver to take you to the gate; now fall in a grateful sweaty heap at the feet of your Eco Desert Tour driver.  Someone (not naming any names) decided to turn the heat up to the 4...

I left our travelling tale on the Sea of Galilee and so we now head off around the shore line to find a spot to go for a paddle and test out our ability to walk on water. We arrived at Capernaum, the place where Yeshua taught and did many miracles.  How horrific to find that the ancient ruins of Capernaum had been taken over and gated in by the Catholic church.  Not only that, but to then have to pay a fee to enter the site.  We were to find that this was not the only site that the Catholic church had taken control of; sites that belong to the nation of Israel, not Rome's Vatican.   Not to be thwarted by fences and no-go zones, Dad clambered down the rocky embankment, took his shoes off and had his first paddle in the waters of Galilee.   I wonder if these fishermen had a haul of 153 fish? Not to be put off by the Romans we set off to explore the Sea of Galilee and find better access to the shoreline. Success!  For a pe...

As this little band of pilgrims has traversed the land of Israel we have collected experiences and memories that will last our life times. I'm not sure how to put succinctly what I have felt and observed during our travels, suffice to say that the last couple of weeks have been full of providential happenings, interesting experiences and challenges.  It has been an absolute privilege to be here and one I will never stop giving thanks for.   This promised land of His chosen people is such a mix of climates, topography, cultures and history that it is difficult to describe it all in a few short sentences so I'll simply list the places we've visited and a couple of comments. Caesarea After picking up a hire car we intended to drive north through Hebron to stop at Haifa.  We ended up in Nazareth....  Jerusalem traffic is crazy, to put it mildly, and after receiving some confusing instructions for getting the road out to Hebron we decided to use Google maps. ...

I'm writing this as I sit in a courtyard cafe run by Christ Church, listening to the Muslim call to prayer in a Jewish city.  I don't think I will ever experience again such a strange and oddly tensioned mix of faith cultures, each vying for control and supremacy. We are leaving Jerusalem tomorrow to venture up north to the Caesaria and Galilee regions and while I'm looking forward to some respite from the noise and bustle of the city I will miss just being in the city that is so beloved by YHVH. We have walked through the Muslim, Christian, Armenian and Jewish quarters of the Old City and I must say I enjoyed the Jewish quarter the most, probably for obvious reasons.   Today Glenys and I visited the Tomb Garden and while I think the supposed sites for the crucifixion and burial are baloney it was interesting to view and the garden itself was quite lovely and restful.   Notice the small machine on top of the wall in the city of the skyline? ...

Yesterday we spent most of the day visiting Vad Yashem, the holocaust memorial in Jerusalem. To say that it was an emotional and memorable experience would be a vast understatement.   The memorial is set out in such a way that it takes you through chronologically the events that led up to the horrific events that we know as the Holocaust.  The culpability of the nations and the Catholic church were visually and graphically exposed and I noted with shame that in the exhibit that outlined how the nations turned their back on accepting Jewish refugees, the comments by the Australian representative was the only one noted. I cannot even begin to describe how affecting the experience was to walk through hour after hour of exhibits, listen to survivors' testaments and view the artifacts that are a reminder of the horrors these precious people endured. It is right for them to remember and continually stand guard against the nations that rail against them to this d...

Finding Yeshua in the temple and the torah... We have spent the last couple of days visiting the Shrine of the Book, museums, the second temple replica and the Temple Institute.  We also visited the Mount of Olives but of course this area is fairly suburbanised now and the catholic church has claimed much of the land.  However, the ancient olive trees are worth seeing.  There were some lovely little  surprises along the way but the memory I will take away from this time is the kindness and redemptive power of YHVH through Yeshua.  Seeing how the scriptures had been preserved at the Dead Sea and the Aleppo Codex brought to Israel was such a reminder that our Father ensures that His Word is a light for all the nations.  Being here in Jerusalem heightens the appreciation for His people who have made many sacrifices to ensure the Word is preserved.   We spent the day today in the Jewish Quarter and what a difference to the Muslim, Armenian a...

After a long and tiring journey for us all John, Carol, Glenys and myself met in Jerusalem at the Jaffa Gate.  What a surreal experience it is to be here in the city that is cherished and loved by our Father YHVH and so many throughout the ages. We arrived in time for the start of Shabbat and after sorting out our rooms we followed the steady stream of faithful Jews to pray at the Western Wall.  How can I adequately convey how special and moving this event was?  Walking down the narrow alleys, paved in beautiful stones smoothed with time and countless feet, was something I will always treasure. Once we entered the Western Wall precinct the feeling and obvious realisation was that although we love and are loved by the same Father, we are not part of this first born nation but so very privileged to share in the blessings and inheritance through Yeshua the Messiah.  Welcome but separate.  Being a shabbat no photos were permitted. We moved down to th...