SEA OF GALILEE

This has been my favorite day, so far. We left the hotel around 8am & walked down to a dock on the Sea of Galilee and took a wooden boat on to the water. It was a beautiful day to see all around the shoreline. It was very emotional to be on the water and think about all the miracles and teaching that Jesus performed in this area.  Most of the 3 years of Jesus ministry that are recorded in the Bible happened near this area.  After we left the boat, we went into a small museum that held an ancient fisherman's boat.  It was fascinating to see a boat from Jesus' time. 

Next we drove on around the coast to where they believe the Mount of the Beautitudes and Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. It's remarkable how many of these holy sites have Catholic churches at them...so we've seen a lot of beautiful old Catholic churches on the trip.

Next we went to the site that Jesus performed the miracle of Feeding the 5000. Pastor Phil lets the men take turns reading scripture at each site, that pertains to that site.  Jake was asked to read here.  We went down to the water's edge (Sea of Galilee) and waded around a bit..pretty cool!!!

Next stop was Capernium.  They believe this may have been where Peter lived. There were a lot of ruins in the area. Enough of a synogue was found, that they re-built it's floors and walls and some of the interior.

Our last stop of the day was at the Jordan River. Anyone that wanted to get baptized there had the opportunity. I believe all of our group did. You could also pick whom you wanted to baptize you.  We saw a picture in the lobby where 2 people were baptising each other at the same time. Jake and Tyler decided to do the same...so Mike and I decided to do the same. So if you see our pics on Facebook..you'll know what's going on! ;-)  It was a wonderful afternoon and lots of smiles.

When we got back to the hotel, Pete and Nancy had made it to join our group.  A huge praise item that it all went smoothly for them to catch up with us.  I've been able to put our pictures on Photo Bucket, so I'm putting most of them on my Facebook page.

ISRAEL DAY 2

After we left Tel Aviv, we went north up the Mediterranian Sea coast line to Casesarea (pictured above.) There are some pretty significant ruins there from when the Romans were in power. It was gorgeous scenry with the white stone ruins and the turquoise Mediterranian! Our guide gives us the history of each place and it's Jewish significance, then Pastor Phil will follow with the Christian perspective.
Then we drove to Mt. Carmel and had a wonderful view of the valley below and the Kishon River.This is where Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal. There are monks that run the grounds there (which were very pretty.) 

Nazareth was our next stop. We went to a hill over looking the city for a great view of Nazareth. Then down into the city to see the site of Jesus child hood home. A gorgeous Catholic church was erected over the home of Mary...specifically for a visit from the pope.  Most of the sites that we've gone to, our guide will tell us that they "believe" this is where history played out, but they just don't know for sure.
We end the day in Tiberias. We'll be here for 3 nights.
Our guide, Jacob, is doing a fantastic job telling us the history of Israel and giving us lots of old testament details.

I wish I had time to write more, but our days are full and I'm already a day behind in writing about our trip.  Pete and Nancy did arrive this evening (Wednesday.) So we are very thankful that they made it okay.
Sorry to hear about the tornadoes in OKC this week!

A FEW PICTURES OF OUR ADVENTURES

Here we are in the Houston airport...we still had a little life in us.

This is when we first arrived in Tel Aviv! Still smiling even though we'd been on the go from 4am Sunday morning to 10:30am on Monday morning.

Waiting in the Tulsa airport to start our journey!

Tyler was pretty happy to convert her dollars into shekels.

One last conversation with Jordan before we leave Houston.

Pastor Phil & Carol...ready to get the party started!

Mary Musser and his mother Judy!

Covenant Tours bus! We've spent a lot of time in this bus!

And the best tour guide in the world Jacob!

WE'VE ARRIVED IN TEL AVIV!!

Yeah!  We're here! We left Tulsa at 6:10am on Sunday, Mother's Day, and approx. 20 hrs. later arrived in Tel Aviv on Monday around 11:00am Israel time. Due to the volcano in Iceland starting up again, instead of going straight east over the Atlantic, we went north over Canada and north of Iceland, to circle around where the wind was blowing the ash. That added a couple of hours to the flight!

It is unusually hot here today, around 96 when we arrived. Our tour company tooks us around Tel Aviv, then on to the old city of Jaffa. They took us to a local bakery for some tasty treats, then to pretty part of the city with a great view of the Mediterranean Sea. We talked about Jaffa being the area that Jonah set out on his voyage and where Peter had a particularly noteworthy vision where God told him to preach to ALL people, not just the Jews. It was a gorgeous setting to hear from Jacob, our tour guide, and Pastor Phil.

I've taken some great pictures, but technology is not cooperating! I've spent a couple of hours trying to get them in photo bucket or just a few on here, but our web connection is not allowing picture downloads. I've not totally given up, but thought I'd write a few lines before we went to dinner.

Continue praying for Mike's parents as they travel on their own to catch up with us on Tuesday & Wednesday.

We can't wait to hear from God on this trip and see what experiences await us around the corner!

IT'S FINALLY HERE!

In less than 24 hours we'll be on an airplane...destination Tel Aviv, Israel! We've planned, shopped, packed, made lists, checked it off, and made more lists. If we don't get there with everything we "think" we need, then I'm thinking we don't need it!  I have my photo bucket account all set up where we can share some pictures of our trip. Due to the death of Mike's Grandma Doshie, his parents are going to delay their departure until Tuesday morning (if it goes as planned.)  Say a prayer that it all works out that they can join the group just a few days into the trip. "A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." Prov 16:9

A couple of congrats to our children: Jake is granduating today from OSU!!  Tyler finished her Sophomore year at UCO with straight A's!!

Let the fun begin!

NO MORE VOLCANOS, ICELAND!

It's hard to believe that we're only 10 days out from our trip to Israel!  Last week we had a little scare that even the best layed plans can be foil by a pesky volcano in Iceland. We've been busy shopping, packing, making list (of which I'm an expert), and preparing ourselves for the trip of a lifetime.  Jake and Tyler have finals this coming week. They finish on Friday, Jake graduates on Saturday, we leave on Sunday morning! Could we have packed any more into a week?  Oh, yes we could. Try adding this week being the deadline for buyers to get in a contract to purchase a home to take advantage of the tax incentives.  We've had 3 listings sell in 3 days! All praise items and we'll get it all done, but the fireman may need to put my hair out.

People we've talked to that have been to Israel tell us that they can't describe the feeling of walking where our Lord walked.  We can't wait to know that feeling. We'd appreciate your prayers for safety and for Mike's grandmother on his dad's side. She's currently in the hospital and not expected to live much longer. Pray for comfort and peace, if God chooses to take her home.

COUNTDOWN TO ISRAEL TRIP 2010

Welcome to the beginning of the Butlers Blog on our trip to Israel. This May Mike, Tina, Jake, Tyler, & Mike's parents, Pete & Nancy will be taking a 10 day trip to Israel. Along with about 10 other members of our church, including our pastor & his wife. We are all so excited to make this life-changing trip. We'll fly into Tel-Aviv and tour Galilee, Caesarea, Mt. Carmel, Armageddon, Nazareth, Tiberias, Mt. Beatitudes, Capernaum, Sea of Galilee, Golan Heights, Dead Sea, Jordan Valley, Masada, Ein Gedi, Jerusalem (Christian & Jewish sites), Vias Dolorosa, Holy Seppluchre, Mt. Olives, Gethsemane, Western Wall, Temple Mount, Jewish Quarter, Cardo, David Citadel Tower, and the Temple Institute.

I want to use this site to keep our friends and family informed as we travel the area to share pictures and stories about the trip. Please pray as we prepare for the trip and our hearts are prepared for what God has in store for each of us.