It was so surreal to be in Israel. To stand on the very ground that Jesus walked on, to be in the same rooms He performed miracles in, and to swim in the water that He walked on. I didn't have the capacity to take it all in for what it's worth. We started off without sleep from the 10 hour plane ride, and immediately got off the bus to start visiting some of the most significant sites in the world. You will see that we did...A LOT.  Day 1 - After arriving in Tel Aviv, the first place we went to was Megiddo in the Jezreel Valley, the place where scripture says that the final battle (Armageddon) between God and Satan during the end times will take place. It's one thing to appreciate a place for what has happened there in the past, but it's another thing to get your mind around what WILL happen there. It makes your head feel like it's going to blow up, especially when you're talking about God overthrowing the antichrist and Satan once and for all. 

Later that day, we went to the Church of Annunciation in Nazareth. This is the church that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to tell her she was pregnant with Jesus.  When I heard that, I got chills. We stayed the night in Nazareth.  Nazareth is where Jesus spent most of his life growing up.  He left Nazareth when he was 30 to start his ministry in Capernaum, and returned twice to preach but was rejected both times. We visited the Synagogue Church in Nazareth -- one of the places Jesus was rejected -- where He declared himself as the Messiah to the Jewish village people.  After the message, they were so infuriated that they tried to throw him over a cliff. The town itself was a really cool place -- I wish we had more time to spend there. It was very peaceful, quaint and fun to walk through.  It's very hilly and feels compact with all the flats they have next to one another.  It reminded me a bit of Assisi in Italy.  At night, I'd look at the window and see nothing but lights from windows in buildings covering the huge hill that Nazareth sits on. CHURCH OF ANNUNCIATION (Next 3) - Where the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to tell her she was pregnant with Jesus.   NAZARETH (Next 3) - Where Jesus grew up.  SYNAGOGUE CHURCH - Where Jesus declared Himself the Messiah but was rejected by the village people. DAY 2 - The next day we journeyed through the Galilee to a few places. On our way to the Galilee, we stopped in Cana -- right outside of Nazareth -- where Jesus performed the first miracle of turning water into wine at the Cana Catholic Wedding Church.  After that, we drove to  the Mt. of Beatitudes, where Jesus preached the famous Sermon on the Mount message. One of our team leaders, Coach Dennis Dye, preached that sermon from memory while we were there. It was pretty cool to hear the very message in the place it was originally spoken. I remember the breeze feeling extremely fresh and soothing that day.  It's a really gorgeous, well-landscaped place that overlooks the Sea of Galilee from the top of a hill...or a mount. CANA CATHOLIC WEDDING CHURCH (Next 2) - Where Jesus turned water into wine.  MT. OF BEATITUDES (Next 2) - Where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. We then drove to Capernaum, the place where Jesus lived during the three years of his ministry after moving away from Nazareth.  Peter, Andrew, James and John also lived here as fisherman, as well as Matthew the tax collector.  Capernaum is one of the three cities that Jesus cursed because of its lack of faith. It is situated right on the water on flat ground. It was extremely hot -- over 100 degrees the day we visited.  All of the ruins from the buildings and homes from Jesus' time remained there.  In one of the archeological remains, I actually saw the original/earliest depiction of the Star of David carved into a stone that was once part of a synagogue. CAPERNAUM (Next 3) - Where Jesus lived during the years of his ministry. The same day, we went to Tabgha, which is literally feet from the edge of the Sea of Galilee. Right on the water, there is a chapel built over a rock where Jesus met with the disciples for the "last breakfast", which is believed to have took place on the rock in the photo below.  This is where Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him three times.  You can go in the chapel, touch the rock and get a picture. It was pretty amazing.  The shore at Tabgha along the Sea of Galilee is where Jesus called the disciples to come and follow Him.  It's where He called out Simon Peter and Andrew when they were casting their fishing nets, and James and John when they were preparing their nets. Shortly after that, we had lunch overlooking the Sea of Galilee and ate fish from the Galilee, served in the traditional way they would eat it, with the bones and all, served as a whole fish on your plate. Mine looked like a cartoon fish skeleton after the cat puts it in his mouth and cleans it right up in one swoop. I accidentally ate three bones.  TABGHA - Where Jesus met with the disciples for the last breakfast.  We then took an unexpectedly long and intense hike through the Arbel Cliffs. This had an incredible view of the Sea of Galilee. We had a faith lesson here by Jill Perry, one of our team leaders. It took us probably an hour an a half or more to get down the mountain to the bus. We saw a cave full of bulls and cows along the way, and wild horses. It was beautiful. ARBEL CLIFFS (Next 4)  To top the day off, we took a breathtaking boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.  When I wasn't taking pictures, I sat at the front of the boat, and felt the water spray in the breeze as we'd hit waves. This was where Jesus. Walked. On. Water. The Sea of Galilee is really a lake, as it's landlocked. You can see shore and mountains everywhere you look.  When we were in the middle of the water, I looked in every direction just thinking to myself, "It's probably within my sight right now where Jesus walked on water." Then I tried to picture it, and tried to imagine the storms that were so terrible that caused the disciples to be terrified for their lives. Then picturing Jesus calming the storm. Ahhh - that was all right here. Oh and later that day, we swam in it. How do you take that in!? SEA OF GALILEE DAY 3 - After staying overnight in Tiberius in Galilee, we woke up early to go on an adventure hike through the Black Canyon in the Golan Heights. We hiked through very thick jungle-type forest, through rivers, and we had to repel down a 100 foot waterfall (literally in the waterfall), and jump off a few cliffs into water.  I have to say it was a lot more intense than I was imagining -- so basically it was pretty freakin sweet.  I LOVE doing this kind of thing. Unfortunately I don't have photos from this because they were on my phone, which was stolen a few days later. DAY 4 - We left the Galilee area to drive along the Jordan border to head to the lowest place on earth, the Dead Sea.  Before we got there, we took a pit stop at the Jordan River and did baptisms, and the best part was that John the baptist did it (a pastor in our group named John, lol).  Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. The river was probably eight feet wide, and the other side was Jordan. If anyone tried to cross either way, you'd be killed. JORDAN RIVER (Next 3) - Where Jesus was baptized.  The Dead Sea water level goes noticeably down every year, and it's estimated that it will be completely gone in 40 years. There's SO much salt that you float in the water. It's impossible to sink. There's nothing that can survive in the water -- hence it's name, the Dead Sea. The floor is made up of a slippery, smooth, gooey mud that has a blue-ish gray color. You're supposed to rub the mud all over your body as it's supposed to be really good for your skin with all of the minerals. The water is unbelievably salty -- I was not prepared for it to be so intense. I just touched my tongue to my finger that was wet from the water and it was like I had put a whole Warhead in my mouth, those freaky bitter sour candies from growing up. My whole body was stinging from all the cuts I got from falling through brier patches down a hill the day before. That was cool. DEAD SEA That night we went to Jericho, the oldest city in the world, to do a little sight seeing and have an Arab style barbecue. Jericho is known for their food, and from having experienced it, I can see why. It was without a doubt, the best chicken I'd ever had. They serve the food family style, and don't stop bringing it until you literally can't move. I felt sick for an hour after that, but it was so worth it. We saw archaeological remains from 10,000 years ago in Jericho. JERICHO - The oldest city in the world.  Just down the road, was the Oasis of En Gedi, the place where David hid from King Saul in a cave.  They're not kidding when they say Oasis.  This area was incredibly dry; there is nothing but white rocks and cliffs.  Engedi had a few waterfalls and pools, that were a great refreshment in the extreme heat. Right after that, we drove to the Qumran, where site of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  They had original scrolls hanging in an exhibit, which was really cool.  You can see the cave where they were found, too. We drove that night to Bethlehem, where we stayed for the next week for the sports camps. EN GEDI (Next 2) - Where David hid from King Saul in the caves.  QUMRAN (Next 2) - Where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.   DAY 5 - I spent most of this day in the Palestinian courthouse in Bethlehem --ha-- long story for another time. Once that ordeal was over, we made up for lost time in the courthouse and went to the Mount of Olives that overlooked the Old City of Jerusalem. This is where Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem. We continued down to Gethsemane, a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives, next to the Church of All Nations. This is where Jesus prayed with the disciples the night before His crucifixion. GETHSEMANE - Where Jesus prayed the night before the crucifixion.  MOUNT OF OLIVES - Where Jesus wept over Jerusalem.  DAY 6 - This was the first day of the sports camps in Bethlehem, so we would do our sight seeing in the Bethlehem/Jerusalem area in the mornings before camps started in the afternoon. We visited the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, the church that was built over the birthplace of Jesus. There is a place inside that you walk down a few stairs to get to, that has a star in the floor, marking the birth spot. CHURCH OF NATIVITY (Next 5) - Where Jesus was born  AROUND BETHLEHEM (Next 5) DAY 7 - This day, we went to the Herodium, just a few miles outside of Bethlehem. King Herod was an extremely paranoid man, and would kill anyone who he felt was a threat to him, including workers that had inside information on secret the construction of his palace. He built this fortress to quickly flee to from Jerusalem, as well as a luxurious place for him to enjoy, although he was only recorded to have ever been there three times. He built a lot of it underneath the hill, so that it couldn't be seen. Archaeologists are still uncovering new parts of the hidden fortress to this day. HERODIUM - King Herod's Fortress  DAY 8 - We went to Jerusalem at the old City of David to visit the Temple Mount and the Western Wall, or Wailing Wall.  The City of David is one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in the world, historically speaking. It has been constantly inhabited since around 3000 BC. The Temple Mount is where the famous gold Dome of the Rock is located, a very sacred place for Muslims, where they believe that the prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven from. CITY OF DAVID - Jesus would enter the city at this entrance.      The Western Wall is the holiest site to the Jewish faith. It was really interesting to me that these places were so close to one another; I had no idea their proximities until I was there.  The wall was actually built as a retaining wall to the Temple Mount when it was originally constructed. Jews offer prayer to the wall because it was the only standing piece of the original construction of the Temple, even when Jerusalem has been destroyed and rebuilt 9 times. They believe the divine presence never leaves the wall. Men and women are separated by a gate that runs perpendicular to the wall in the middle. Women are on the right, men on the left. WESTERN WALL - The holiest site recognized by the Jewish faith.  The Temple Mount was really strict -- I took a picture with a girlfriend and she put her arm around me like any normal friend pose, and she got smacked on the hand by someone monitoring the area for touching me. I also got immediately reprimanded the second that my arm became exposed from my rental wrap. TEMPLE MOUNT / DOME OF THE ROCK  DAY 9 - We went back to Jerusalem to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Holy Spirit). This was built to commemorate the crucifixion and burial of Christ.  It's one of the places believed to be where Jesus was actually crucified.  Inside the church, if you go upstairs, there's a white rock that's encased in glass with a hole in it. You can stick your hand in the hole and touch the rock -- this is the rock many believe was where the crucifixion actually took place. The other crucifixion site up for debate is Golgotha, or Skull Hill, which was just a drive away.  There's actually a Muslim cemetery on the top of this hill now.  The Garden Tomb, located at the foot of Golgotha, was pretty recently (19th century) discovered as the place believed to be where Jesus's tomb was. CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHER (Next 2) Where some believe Jesus was crucified.  GOLGOTHA - Another place believed to be the crucifixion site of Christ.  THE GARDEN TOMB - The door behind us is the entrance to Jesus's tomb.  DAY.. WHATEVER...THE LAST SITE - We took a few days break in between Jerusalem and this. By now we had made it to the coast, north of Tel Aviv for a 2 day beach getaway in Netanya, Israel. We visited Caesarea, a harbor on the Mediterranean Sea that Herod the Great began developing to befit his kingdom. Jesus came to this area during his ministry. "When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, 'Who do people say the Son of Man is?' " - Matthew 16:13. This is where the Gentiles first heard the Gospel from Peter and they were baptized. NETANYA - We stayed at the beach the night before we left back to the USA. Here's the sunset over the Mediterranean.  CAESAREA - Jesus came to preach close to this area. This is where Herod the Great developed a grand harbor for his kingdom. ...aaaand I almost fell off this column from taking the last picture but thankfully the guys saved me. Badabing badaboom. A really useful source for more detailed info on all of the places mentioned above is Bibleplaces.com.