The 2011
Journey Home to Israel

Day 3 - The Jordan River

Wednesday’s Highlight

Emotional baptism and baptism renewals in the Jordan River, replicating the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist in the same body of water, was the highlight of a busy Wednesday for participants in the 2011 IFCJ-sponsored Journey Home Tour.

Alice Harvin of the Bronx, N.Y., was baptized for the first time and 38 other tour members renewed their commitment as they braved chilly Jordan waters in a baptismal ceremony.

Tour members sang “Amazing Grace” and “The Lord’s Prayer” prior to a message urging the white-gowned participants to leave their burdens in the water and begin their dedication and service to the Lord anew.

More Late Arrivals

Angeline Perreault and her daughter, Debra Bowcott, both of Delta, British Columbia, Canada, and Wanda Adamov of Oceanside, Calif., arrived after a longer-than-usual journey to Israel via Amsterdam, Holland, forced because of the unseasonal blizzard that hit the northeastern United States over the weekend. All three were excited they arrived in Israel in time to participate in the baptismal ceremony.

Additional Stops

The ancient synagogue at Capernaum, built on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee in the Third Century and renovated in the Fifth Century, plus the adjacent excavation of Peter’s House were the first tour stops. A message was delivered on trusting in Jesus, especially when you feel a calling on your life.

At the Mount of Beatitudes — where the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is celebrated in the octagonal-shaped Church of the Beatitudes, built by Italian architect Antonio Barluzzi on a lush hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee — Fellowship supporters were reminded of the many lessons Jesus taught in the eight beatitudes, including the one to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Sites Along the Way

Moving from 200 meters below sea level in Tiberius to 835 meters above sea level in Safed, a city which boasts old synagogues and a unique artists’ colony, the sightseers enjoyed excellent views of Mount Hermon, the highest point in Israel, and the Golan Heights.

Along the way, they observed groves of banana trees, heavily netted to reduce the loss of humidity by 50 percent, and Christ Thorn trees, which are considered to be the leading contender for the thorns in the Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus. The trees bear two varieties of thorns — thorns like a rose and thorns like hooks.

Coming Thursday

As the Journey Home Tour leaves the region surrounding the Sea of Galilee, buses will head to a stop at Beth Shean, where six Egyptian temples, a Roman theater, public buildings, columns, and streets from the Roman and Byzantine periods have been discovered, before moving up to Jerusalem for prayers at the Western Wall, the most sacred site to Jews.

At the Wall, tour participants will initiate the first phase of the Fellowship’s annual Prayer at the Wall campaign by personally praying over many of the more than 15,000 prayer requests sent in by Fellowship supporters. In addition, per Jewish tradition, they will tightly roll and stuff the paper holding the prayer requests into the historic Wall’s crevices. Diligent prayer over those individual requests submitted to the Fellowship will continue for the next few months until all are prayed for.

Today's Photos
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