The North!

We all played dress-up today in Katzrin as we did the cultural experience of pressing oil, baking bread and seeing what life would be like in homes during biblical times. Everyone had fun taking part in all these activities and it helped us understand the every day parts of life more tangibly.

We then drove along parts of the country that were near the Syrian border on our way to stop at a place called the Valley of Tears. This was a war memorial of a tank battle in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 where an outgunned and outmanned Israeli army defeated the Syrians and help them back from the Golan Heights. A member of our team, Rodney Walker, shared at this site how he volunteers for the Israeli Army through an organization called Sar-El. www.sar-el.org

He said that many people ask why an American Christian would volunteer for the Israeli army and with tears in his eyes he said that it's because he's so grateful to the Jewish people for being responsible for the Bible. Without the Jews, there would be no Bible. His heartfelt gratitude has caused him to want to give back to the nation of Israel and to serve. He has come several times and stayed for several weeks doing a wide variety of tasks that the military wouldn't want to do themselves.

We also visited Caesarea Philippi and Tel Dan. Today was another full day and we are starting to feel a little tired but we are having an amazing time in this beautiful land.

The conclusion of our day included two baptisms in the Sea of Galilee. It was an honor and privilege to witness a couple members of our team decide to take this step.