Dec 30^th – Petra, Jordan                                                           Chilly, but Sunny

Because of the snow storm in the south Jordan in the last few days, we had to change our plan and stay in Amman (Jordan's capital) overnight, instead of Petra. As a result, we had to take the 4 hours drive down to Petra this morning. By the time we got there, it was about noon time.

Petra - an ancient city that was lost and rediscovered in the 1800's. This is also the shooting site for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Dec 29^th, 2006 –First Miracle Church, 拿撒勒村, and Basilica of Annunciation天使報喜堂, Crossing Jordan River to Jordan                                                                                                      Cold, but Sunny

First Miracle Church – This is where Jesus performed the first miracle of turning the water into wine at a wedding reception. Pastor Chang said that most Jewish weddings take place on Tuesday. This is because in Genesis 1, God said two times the word ‘Good’ on the third day of creation, therefore Jews think that that the third day (Tuesday) must be a good day, with twice the ‘Good’ness.

拿撒勒村 – This is a working farm land as well as a re-creation of a typical Nazareth village setup in Jesus time. At that time, a carpenter, the profession of Christ, is a person working with both wood as well as stone. In fact Nazareth has a lot of stone, while wood is harder to come by. Therefore, a typical carpenter would work with stone more frequently. They made wine using wine press. They stepped in the wine press bear footed such that the seed wouldn’t be crashed and cause a bitter taste. They also made olive oil. They first crash the olive, including crashing the seed. Then, they put the stuff in a basket and put it in an olive oil press. The first press is the purest and is sent to the temple as offering. The second and third presses are not as purer and is good for cooking, making lamp oil, soap, etc.

Basilica of Annunciation天使報喜堂 – What is Jesus eye color? Ans: Brown like us Asian. What is Jesus hair color? Again Black like us Asian. In fact, Israel is part of Asia, the middle part of Asia. However, throughout the years of western culture domination, Jesus has been portrayed as a white guy with brown hair.

Crossing Jordan River to Jordan – Finally finished our 7 days in Israel and crossing the border between Israel and Jordan.

Today is the 14^th day of my trip. I am having a lot of fun, learning a lot, thinking a lot of what I have been reading, hearing all along in the Bible. Although it has been only two weeks, but I feel like that it has been months since I left home. In these two weeks, I have done so much, been to so many places, hearing so many stories, learning so much, that I feel like I have done a year worth of work and learning! It’s great and all. Nonetheless, this high alert, fast pace schedule can really take a toll on one’s energy level. I can’t deny that I’m looking forward to the end, such that I can quiet down, digest what I have seen and heard, rethink of all the teachings given by the pastors, and at the end, just unwind.

Shepherd boy @ 拿撒勒村

Dec 28^th, 2006 – Mount Herman (黑門山), 磐尼亞斯瀑布, Caesarea Philippi (Banias) 該撒利亞腓立比, 品嘗彼得魚, Sea of Galilee (加利利海), Mt. Beatitudes (八福山), 五餅二魚堂 (Tabgha), 彼得授職堂, Capernaum (迦百農)                                                                                  Cold, but Sunny

1.      Mount Herman (黑門山) –This is where the snow is melted in the spring and flow down to Sea of Galilee and then the Dead Sea.

2.      磐尼亞斯瀑 – One of the 12 tribes, Dan, established their land here. They built an altar to worship pagan gods. They also built city wall.

3.      Caesarea Philippi (Banias) 該撒利亞腓立比 – It was here that Jesus asked the disciple who He is. Peter answered that Jesus is Christ, the Messiah. Then, Jesus said that because of this response, the key to the heaven will be given to ‘you’. There are debates as to what does that mean. Is Peter the only one whom the key of heaven is given to? Pastor Chang (our guide) pointed out that from other bible verses, we know that the key of heaven is given to every follower of Christ. 

4.      品嘗彼得魚/St. Peter’s Fish – Fried fish from Sea of Galilee. They put a coin in the mouth of the fish.

5.      Sea of Galilee (加利利海) – Sea of Galilee is rather big, much bigger than I imagine. It was here that Jesus calmed the sea.

6.      Mt. Beatitudes (八福山) – It was here that Jesus told us the eight blessings from heaven. With the backdrop of the Sea of Galilee, this basilica is high on the hill. People come here to pray, to have quiet time, and to contemplate on the blessings of the heaven. In the future, if I ever have another opportunity to come to Israel, I would like to spend a good amount of time here, really enjoy the surrounding and take in God’s words.  

7.      五餅二魚堂 (Tabgha) – The miracle of five bread and two fishes is recorded in all four gospel books. Only counting men, they fed five thousand people. Pastor Chaung asked us why the Bible only counts men, no women or children. Is the Bible discriminating against women? Not so at all! In the Bible, there was even a female prophet, Debra. The reason of recording men only was because in the old times, only men going to war were counted. It is estimated, there were at least 20,000 people being fed. 

8.      彼得授職堂 – This church is right by the Sea of Galilee, about 100 feet from the water. Inside the build, there is a rock that half of it is inside the church and half is outside of the church. After Jesus death, the disciples were all discouraged and despaired, and they went back to their old profession of fishing. When they came back from the sea with empty hands, the resurrected Jesus were waiting for them on the shore with breakfast prepared. They said that this is the rock where Jesus put the breakfast. It was here that Jesus asked Peter three times ‘Do you love me more than these?’ Why three times? Because Jesus wants Peter to be very sure before answering, and knowing Peter has the quick minded, irrational temperament, that’s why Jesus asked him three times to give him the opportunities to really think and seek within his heart before answering.

9.      Capernaum (迦百農) – This is the home base of Jesus during his three years of ministry. From what we saw in the archeological site, the stone they used to build houses is black. That’s why the Bible said that Jesus calls the people out of darkness. It means their spiritual darkness, as well as the literal darkness of the living surrounding.

Dec 27^th, 2006 – West Coast – Caesarea (該撒利亞), Mount Carmel (迦密山),
and Megiddo (米吉多)                                                              Cold, rainy, and very windy

Today we left Jerusalem and headed for the west coast towards the Mediterranean Sea. The weather is not cooperating. For the whole day, we have rain and high wind. Stupid me thinking that I’m coming from Ohio and I’m stronger than this weather, so I didn’t wear much clothes, just one light long sleeves. Well . . .  I was cold, freezing cold. Our guide (Pastor Cheung) said that Israel really don’t rain often. It’s our ‘luck’ to see rain during our visit.