Bittersweet Times

This last week has gone by too quickly. Nov.24, we went to Banias(Ceasarea-Phillippi) and had a great time with the SERVE Nazareth team. The next night we had our 'last supper' together, as a team. Wednesday we were at Husam's. Thursday I had to say bye to my OT friends, and we were taken to a great restaurant with friends. Saturday we took

chocolates to share with our co-workers at Nazareth Village. It has been a time of expressing appreciation, sharing laughs and having to say 'good-bye'. This has been hard, because we have become fast friends with so many. I felt close to tears a number of times. Several have asked if I will come back some time. I want to say yes, but I have to be real, knowing it has taken me so long to get here this time, and there are many other places in the world I would like to see. Have I had a great time, met wonderful people, enjoyed great food, seen Biblical sites? Enjoyed Israel? Definitely yes! Have I felt like I was instrumental in doing God's work while in Nazareth? Unequivocally, YES!

Would I like to come back, yes! So it has been a week of endings and good-byes. We were glad Christine found an old suitcase for us as we have bought souveniers, and were given many gifts making it impossble to stay under weight requirements for our luggage. We are also looking forward to home. To be able to sleep in our own bed, back to the familiar home, close to family, with our friends at Calvary Church, will be great!

Seven more sleeps!

We have explained to our grandchildren that is just seven more sleeps before we are back in Canada.

Kristy, Margaret, Dorothy, Jane,
Christine, Lloyd, Amanda

This gives us mixed feelings!  We have immensely enjoyed our time here, and are reluctant to say goodbye to the wonderful people we have met here.  There are many local people, but we especially will miss those who were part of our cohort with 'Serve Nazareth'.  Christine Farah & Jane Shurrush, our leaders, Kristy Oltman, & Amanda Salyers(affectionately called 'the American Girls') of Georgia USA, Dorothy Pearson of the UK, and Damaris Zlatandamars of Romania.  We have shared many a good laugh, and times together.  At the same time that we are reticient to say goodbye, or 'see you later', we relish the return to Canada and the familiar.   Family, friends, food, church, etc., that we have missed.  

Katy & Margaret at Tel Aviv Beach.

It was great having visits from Canadians while we were here. Tours from Canada showed up at Nazareth Village, and I was able to connect with some of them.  Sheila Smith, and our daughter Katy were here and together we visited historical sites.  We especially enjoyed the Garden Tomb.  It is a special place, even though there are those who question its validity. While there, I found a quiet place, and went through my contact list and prayed for each name and family listed.  I used a 'selfie' as my FB profile pic.  There were many international groups there, singing, praying, rejoicing, as all went in to the tomb and verified that there was no 'body' there, even the bones were gone!  

At Nimrod's Fortress

Our last official tour with Serve Nazareth took us north to the place called 'Banias'.   In the Bible, it was known as 'Ceasaria Phillippi', where Christ asked the question 'Who do you say that I am?'  There were ruins there of pagan worship, Herod Antipas, and King Agrippa.  The fresh water spring flowing from Mount Hermon, lead to a picturesque waterfall.  We also visited 'Nimrod's Fortress'.  Though there is no biblical association, tradition says Nimrod lived here.  The prominent ruins are actually from the 1200, with Mamluke signitures.  The area had been under Syrian control until the '48 war, and when it came under Israel's control the Israelis gave it a Jewish link at that time, by naming it 'Nimrod's Fortress'.

There are some things that have been unique in our visit.  There are the five 'calls to prayer', the first about 5am every day, where loud speakers make the call for Muslims to pray.  This call echoes around the hills of Nazareth.  Also, there are sounds of aircraft overhead.  The airport is 100 kms away, yet we can hear frequent sounds of jets.  Sometimes we are able to see the source of the sound, and they are definitely fighters.   The other thing, which I have not seen in Canada, was while at Capernaum the quiet sound of the waves of the Sea of Galilee was interrupted by the whop, whop, whop, sound of helicopters.  Looking up, two attack helicopters, heading south, possibly 300 feet in the air, were coming toward us.  Clearly visible, to my untrained eye, appeared to be four tomahawk missiles hanging in place, ready to be fired!. The irony of the pastoral scene, with this military might seemed fearsome and incongruous. However, such is modern Israel, where guns of soldiers, police, and security are in clear view. There is a determination to quickly deal with the 'disturbed', the 'radicalized', or 'terrorists'.  It is sad, that such measures, as we see on Canada's Parliament Hill, are seen as necessary.

Margaret and I were glad that our daughter Katy was able to join us as we completed the last leg of the 'Jesus Trail'.  We had saved this last bit of some 12kms, so she could accompany us. We walked from a cliff called Arbel, to Capernaum, the center of Jesus' ministry in Galilee, where He performed many miracles.  As you know, He cursed it, because of its refusal to believe, and all we see today are the ruins of a village, dated in the first century, a community of an estimated 1500 people.  

Musings!!

Trio at the Sea of Galilee

It has been some time since I sat down and blogged.   While I am to blame for my lack of correspondence, there has been no lack of activity.  Sheila Smith joined us here for a few weeks, and then our daughter Katy came to stay for about 10 days, so we have had a house full!  It has been grand!  We have shared many new experiences, and a lot of laughs!

Camel Riding in the Negev

This past Saturday we all went for an hour camel ride in the Negev.  We were told that we rode on dromedaries, the one hump camel.  They stand about six feet tall, and can drink 200 litres of water in three minutes.  The saddles cost about $2000.  They took us out with the guide in the lead, with the four of us roped along behind.  The guide gave commentary about the incense route, and the British and Bedouin influences in the Negev.  It was all very fascinating!

While we have been in Israel, travelling around, we have not come into contact with any unrest, though it seems it is happening near to us.  We had visited Cana, where Jesus turned the water into wine, and everything seems quiet.  We left town to see about 8 police vehicles, and some horses at a major intersection.  Returning about six hours later, they were still there, but an officer forbade us to go through Cana to return to Nazareth as it to 'dangerous'.  We wondered what had happened, and the story was told that a youth threatened a police officer with a knife, very menacingly, and a few moments later the youth was dead having been shot from behind.  We took a different route home that night, probably only twenty minutes longer.  The locals feel that justice is not served in their area, and so demonstrations were held for about three days, both in Cana and in Nazareth, protesting discrimination, and lack of justice for Arabs.  Margaret and I did not see anything of it.

We spent a couple of nights in Jerusalem, before taking Sheila to the Ben Gurion Airport at about 5am Tuesday morning.  I had picked up the car at a parking lot on Mount Hertzl the night before, and the light rail train had taken me through Har Nof, a community of Jerusalem.  It was about 10 hours later, that Tuesday night, that we learned of the killing of 4 Jewish rabbis in their place of worship in Har Nof about 7am that morning.   We had been so close, but we were very naive to the difficulties.

Katy & Margaret near Arbel, Galilee

So if anyone is wondering if the news out of Israel is affecting us, you could say, 'not physically'.  In traveling Israel, we have seen lots more soldiers in uniform, and carrying guns, than in Canada.  These soldiers and security personnel are quite affable, and easy to approach.  They always seem in good humor.  Going through bus terminals, train stations, malls, one can encounter security personnel who demand to inspect parcels, packages and bags.  On the light rail, there was a man in dress blues, maybe a security guy, whose pistol seemed easy to slip out of its holster.  I had thought easy access weaponry was only in the USA.  It is rather plentiful in Israel too!  The social milieu, and anti-terrorist policies has adjusted the psyche to the seemingly ever present danger.  They respond to threats quickly.

Today, the CEO of Nazareth Hospital, Joseph Main, summarized our special study day arranged by the chaplaincy department.  He talked of how Ananias was told to go pray for Saul who was blinded in his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus.  Ananias asked if the man he was to go lay hands on was the one commissioned to kill Christians.  Even though the answer was yes, Ananias was obedient, even at risk of his life, went to meet the man that would, in turn, as Paul, influence so much of the world for Christ, and write so much of the New Testament.  Joseph's imperative was for us, God's people, to risk loving, to make new relationships, and affect our world for Christ.

Israeli Observations

Selfie!

On Monday, we rented a car(Mazda 2) I say 'we' because Sheila, our friend from Montreal took us up on our suggestion to join us while we are in Israel.  This is her first time to to visit Israel.  So we took off to
show her Meggido, and then it was on to Ceasarea.  

Ceasarea is a harbour town, created by Herod the Great, about Jesus time, who chose the site, built a harbour, palace, replete with swimming pool, and fortifications, a 4000 seat outdoor theatre, a 10,000 seat sports arena for chariot races, etc.  It eventually became a town of about 50,000 people.  It is mentioned in the Bible as the place where Peter met Cornelius, the centurion of the Italian band, according to the KJV, and also the place where Paul was imprisoned, and where he appealed for his right to be tried as a Roman citizen.  The extensive ruins give testimony to a rather sophisicated society.

Sea of Galilee

Jordan River

The next day, we drove around the sea of Galilee.  We arrived in Tiberias about 9am, and stopped for a WIFI connection and americano at MacDonald's.  From there we traveled south, admiring the sea of Galilee, its shoreline, and clear blue colours.  About 10:30, we stopped in Yardenit, the place where the Jordan river drains the Galilee and begins its journey to the Dead Sea.  The river is not deep, and there were many fish of various sizes, visible in the shallow water.  It was very picturesque.  Sheila was ready to be re-baptized, and though there were gowns to be rented or bought, she didn't feel she had appropiate clothing, so she declined.  This is not the traditional place where John the Baptist baptized Jesus, but many pilgrims use this place because of its depth, cleanliness, and accessability.  We continued our drive, stopping for shells, sights, and sites.  The sites included where the demoniac was delivered, and pigs ran into the sea, the Jordan where it runs into the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Magdela, and then back to have supper in Tiberias as the sun set, darkness descended, and the moon shone.  Quite an unforgetable day.

Sunset by Tiberius

It seems incredible to think that our time is Israel will be over in about three weeks!  So far it has been fabulous!  We have made many new friends.  This evening we are going to the home of a new friend who has invited us to join his family for some Arabic food.

One down side to our time here is the fact that we have missed quite a few family celebrations.  Three of our grandchildren, our daughters, (Rachel and Laura), Simon, and Margaret had birthdays.  Simon & Laura had an anniversary.  My mother turned 94.  We were able to send greetings via BBM, Skype, etc., and that was ok, but not quite the same.   These times give me fresh appreciation to those missionaries who go out at the Lord's call and miss being physically present at the time of similiar family celebrations.

Firstfruits!

I had a wonderful thing happen in the psychiatry department last week. When I arrived around ten thirty, things were quiet on the ward. Eventually there were a few residents who emerged from their rooms. One of the young men called me aside and made the astounding statement, in English,'I want to be like you'. I asked what he meant by that, and he mumbled about 'doing charity work'. Because of the language barrier, I figured I was totally out of my league, so I suggested he talk with the guy who was to interpret my story that day, Simone. Simone is a resident of Nazareth, who is associated with Campus life, an evangelical association working mostly with students. He sat the man down, and started asking questions. It was not long before I noticed the two with bowed heads, praying. Simone explaied later the young man had become a Christian. I was so glad. Before I left, I also asked the man some questions and offered to get him a Bible. He thanked me, assuring me he already had one. I told him that according to the Bible, all heaven was rejoicing with him, and us, that he was now on a life journey with Jesus!