This was my view this morning from my room’s balcony at Yad HaShmona. Not too bad, am I right?

The weather was perfect, so I enjoyed reading my Bible on the balcony as I watched and heard the world wake up.

Breakfast was one of my favorite meals of the day today! Fresh yogurt, a granola-like topping, and apricot preserves! Talk about YUM!

Our first stop was the Mount of Olives! We went to an overlook and spent our time talking about the different areas we could see from our view (Jerusalem, Valley of Jehoshaphat, Kidron Valley, etc) and how they were significant in relation to the Bible and, in particular, Jesus.

Our tour guide is Arie Bar-David, who has a list of life experience as full as the day is long. If you put in a Google search of his name, you may find a few notable things: skilled musician, veteran of multiple wars, and a Messianic Jew.

Here is a link to one of the many interviews he has made over the years: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3YoAFwG4JY

I have enjoyed hearing his knowledge of Israel’s history, Biblical history, and the stories of his life he weaves within. Many notes were taken!

One significant takeaway today was that “being oriented” actually stems from the question of “Do you know where the East is?”. As Americans, we concern ourselves with finding North, but in Eastern thinking, the East was far more significant to be aware of! They would even turn their maps with the east up top!

Here’s a shot of our group, minus our photographer, Rusty, and Jenny, who was feeling unwell and stayed behind for the day. She’s doing much better as I write this, praise God!

There were several places that were pointed out to us that we’ll get a more up close view of in the coming days. One of these is the Eastern Gate, which is part of the wall surrounding the area where the first and second Temples were built.

Why it’s significant is because prophecy indicates that the Messiah will walk through this gate (so, when gained control of by the Palestinians, it was boarded up and blocked).

We also walked around where it is believed the Garden of Gethsemane was, in which Jesus prayed before being betrayed by Judas (Matthew 26:36).

It really is a beautiful area. It wasn’t necessarily as peaceful as I remember it being last time we came (we must have come in during the rush hour), but it was still a worthy visit.

We stopped for lunch at another kibbutz (Yad HaShmona is also a kibbutz; a community of people living together).

We then went to the Herodium (1 Sam. 16:1-16; 17:15-20; Amos 7:10), which was named after and built for Herod the Great. It was a man made mountain and had structures for bathhouses and columns to be seen even today!

There were tunnels built by rebels, which we dually explored while also using them to descend back down the mountain.

Anyone who knows Dave Perry knows that he has a special love for ice cream. When he noted the shop had a chest full of Magnum ice cream, he bee-lined for it. I also enjoyed an uber chocolatey bar!

There was a lot of info that Arie shared as we drove to the different sites today. I had my Bible, notebook, and pen at the ready (though admittedly, I might have dozed off once or twice; the fight against car-colepsy is just as strong in Israel (and just as susceptible to be a losing battle).

I’ve enjoyed checking in with the people that I know on this trip and getting to know those who were once strangers to me!

It’s been a great time so far and I’m so grateful to a whole week yet ahead!