Qumran.  When we planned the trip to Israel, Qumran was one of the sites that I was most excited to see. What an amazing testimony to God for the accuracy and preservation of His Word this place holds.

The Judean desert terrain that we were now in was such a drastic change from northern Israel. Two very different worlds in such a short distance. Most people probably think of a desert like the Sahara Desert with nothing but miles of sand dunes. We were in the middle of nothing but mountains and valleys of pure rock and gravel. The only vegetation that we could see was scrub brush scattered around and that was scarce.

As we left Jerusalem and drove toward Qumran, we also saw an interesting sight on the hillsides. The hills around us looked like they had layers that circled up the sides. Our guide told us that these were actually very narrow paths that the Bedouin shepherds used in moving their flocks around the rough terrain. We even saw some shepherds with their herds scaling the sides of these

Heading South.  Today we continued our way south driving down the Jordan Valley. The Jordan River has its starting point at the most southern tip of the Sea of Galilee. Here the Jordan River is widest and most beautiful. Israel has this portion of the Jordan available for anyone wishing to be baptized. The further south we drove the landscape began a drastic change. The hills of Jordan on the eastern side and the hills of Samaria on the western side form a valley for the Jordan River that continued to get deeper as we drove towards the Dead Sea.

The terrain became more and more arid as we drove into the Judean desert. A main point of interest on this drive is the Wadi Qelt. Passing through the Wadi Qelt is the main road that travelers use going from Jericho to "go up to Jerusalem." This is the dangerous road that is the setting of the Good Samaritan parable. The Wadi Qelt is also the most likely area where David hid from Absolom. Our bus driver brought us to an amazing lookout over the entire area. Our guides decided that the usual lookout would not work very well for people in wheelc

Beit Shean.  Today we visited the "house of ease."  This is one of the largest and best preserved Roman ruins.  We got to see the largest theater in Israel, a hippodrome, well preserved streets, Roman baths, and mosaics. Even though in wheelchairs, we were able to access many parts of the main area. When you arrive here you get to see a scale model of what Beit Shean would have looked like in New Testament times. The excavation area itself is amazing to see and realize how much earth had to be removed to uncover the ancient city.

There were gravel paths that led from the main area down a fairly steep incline to the city. We went to a location on the side of the theater where we were able to see the entire layout as well as it being a good location to hear our guide describe the area to us.

We also went into the Roman baths on constructed steel walkways that allowed us access through the bath area to see how the Romans constructed them and heated them. As well as our guide filling us in there were also large diagr

Mount Of Beatitudes.  This was a beautiful serene place to visit that is very close to Capernaum.  It has a magnificent Franciscan Chapel here surrounded by peaceful gardens with a lovely view over the Sea of Galilee. This is the most likely site where Jesus would have preached the Sermon on the Mount found in Mathew 5-7.

The Chapel itself has a large dome with stained glass windows that record the eight Beatitudes. The area here is level with small gardens and paths to stroll/roll through. Pastor Baughman gave a devotional here over the Beatitudes that gave us a perspective of how blessed we are regardless of personal circumstances.

This was a wonderful place to relax, enjoy the location, and meditate on God's grace in our lives.

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