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Hi, friends

We didn’t spend a lot of time today at sites. Our first stop was in the Golan Heights in the north of Israel, and it took about an hour and 45 minutes to drive from Nazareth to there. This is the former Caesarea Phillippi, where Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ.” And Jesus gives Peter the keys to the kingdom.

There is also an old Temple here, dedicated to the Greek god Pan – the god of nature. So we saw the excavations of the temple area.

The long part of this stop was a hike which lasted an hour to an hour and a half, through the heavily wooded area along a headwaters of the Jordan River. There is a waterfall there which is a little over 30 feet high. Everyone enjoyed the hike very much, in large measure because it was a change in pace.

After a long drive south, we stopped for lunch at a McDonalds – everyone had chicken sandwiches, fries, and a soda.

Since the McDonalds was in the ancient city of Nain, we took an unscheduled stop at the Roman Catholic Church there. It marks the site where Jesus raised the widow’s only son to life. At the request of George our guide, we took time in the church to pray that this congregation would grow and survive. The village of Nain is almost all Muslim, and the survival of the church is in jeopardy. There is no longer a priest, and virtually no congregation.

Our final stop of the day was at Mount Tabor, and the Church of the Transfiguration. Here, Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James and John, as he spoke with Moses and Elijah. The church was pretty empty, so we were able to visit the site with ease.

Tomorrow is our final day. We get to sleep in tomorrow, which is great news. Our final visits will be to places along the Mediterranean Sea.

Thanks for your prayers. We hope to see most of you on Sunday morning.

Chris and Ian

The church in the background is the Church of the Transfiguration on top of Mount Tabor.