Day 03 - Negev: Ein Gedi, Qumran, Lower Jordan

Our first stop of the day was En Gedi, the place where David hid in a cave from Saul. As a reminder, Saul had grown more and more jealous of David and sent his army to hunt and kill David. Pastor Jesse continued the rest of the story and shared a short devotional to the group. David had the opportunity to kill Saul and “speed up” God’s plan of him being anointed as king, but David chose to not kill Saul. Waiting can be painful, but we must trust God's timing and allow Him to prepare us for His plan and His Glory. En Gedi was a beautiful spot with surprise sections of greenery and waterfalls along the path.

After hiking around En Gedi, we visited Quram. Around 1947, wanderers stumbled upon what would be the oldest copy of the Bible! Thousands of jars of scrolls were found in the area. Unfortunately, we were not able to find any scrolls to take back to River City…

Our last stop of the day was very special and we were so fortunate to share this experience together. We had the unique opportunity to get baptized in the Jordan River, the same river Jesus was baptized! Some were baptized for the very first time, some made the decision to rededicate their life to the Lord, and some chose to get baptized again in this special place! Brian almost accidentally baptized Pastor Jesse after falling into the water together!

We ended the day at a new location, off the shore of the Sea of Galilee! We cannot wait to share more about our trip tomorrow!