Dear Friends and Family,

We started the day out traveling to Ibillin, a small village outside of Nazareth.  This is the home of Elias Chacour, a Catholic Priest, who is now Archbishop.  He is a Palestinian whose village was demolished in the 60's.  Twenty-five years ago he had a vision for a school and University. The schools are built and the University  is near completion. You can read his autobiography in a book called, "We Belong To The Land".  They are committed to non-violence.  His book, "Blood Brothers", speaks that Israel and Palestine are brothers and can work together for peace.  We were unable to tour the school because it is Easter break.  Father Chacour was in Jordan, so we were unable to meet with him.  This was disappointing for me, since I had read his book. It is a very interesting read.

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The recently built church on the grounds.  The stairs have the beatitudes in English, Arabic, and Hebrew.

The door to the church with children from around the world.

This lady, from South Africa was our guide.  She was volunteering for 3 months.                                                         Modern meat market on the streets of Nazareth.

From there we went to the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth.  This is where the angel appeared to Mary.  They had artwork from different Catholic parishes around the world, depicting this event.  The third picture is the one from the United States.  Some of the others were much prettier.I have a picture of a lot of them if you are interested when we return.  This day I took 272 pictures.  So you can imagine the work it is to sort through these to figure out which ones to send.

In the middle of Nazareth is "Nazareth Village".  Nazareth has been recreated to look just as it was in Jesus' time.  They have reconstructed it from various archeological

digs in the area.  The townspeople dress in the style of 2,000 years ago.  It was so interesting.  The parables in the Bible really came alive as they related to what people of that time would underestand.  I'll share a few more pictures and would love the opportunity to share all the pictures and tell the stories we heard.  We saw farming in terraces, an olive press, homes with an upper room, and much more. This was a more meaningful experience, as most of the other places were covered over with so many icons, it was hard to imagine what it was really like.

From here we went to Cana, where Jesus performed His first miracle, changing water into wine at a wedding.  I'm not going to show any pictures now.  It is another church over the sight. Then we arrived at Cosa Nova Guest House in Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee.  It is beautiful here and a needed R&R. 

I guess it was over 372 pictures I took this day.  There are many more pictures for tomorrow and a ride on a boat on the Sea of Galilee.

We still can't believe we're here!!!!  Looking over the Sea of Galilee is a dream come true.  Thank you all for your generosity to make this possible for us.  We are truly blessed.

Much love,

Mom and Dad, Jim and Jeanne, Mim and Papa