We decided to end our trip with more shopping! hahaha.. seriously, moshe was AMAZED at how much us Singaporeans could shop. don't mention him, even I MYSELF was almost horrified!! quite crazy the scene was really..
our family bought dates and figs to bring back for our friends and family.. yummy, love it! almost too sweet, but i like sweet! :)
think we spent like a good hour there! the queues were horrendously long, and the next morning, Moshe (not sure if he was kidding or not) said the owners of the date shop ran out of goods!! (this i think he was kidding) but the owners wanted to say huge thank you to our group (so sweet) because apparently, we REALLY bought A LOT. (this part, not kidding)
Wednesday, March 18
Mt Arbel
This was the other place they thought the feeding of the 5000 might have taken place. It is also guessed that it is from this mountain that Jesus was praying, when he saw the disciples in the midst of the storm in the Sea of Galilee, before he went over to call Peter to walk on water.
Very high up, very cold.
Uncle Sidney brought up a very good point. The sea was SO huge, and you can't even barely spot a boat, much less observe the detailed expressions of the people on it. So how did Jesus know His disciples were afraid? Supernatural eyesight? or.. i dunno. but it's interesting.. :)
Here, we had worship and sharing.. beautiful time admiring God's nature and creation :)
the view from up there
us against the beautiful scenery
and the crazy winds came
when you look down..
when you look far
when we and the winds were at rest
Very high up, very cold.
Uncle Sidney brought up a very good point. The sea was SO huge, and you can't even barely spot a boat, much less observe the detailed expressions of the people on it. So how did Jesus know His disciples were afraid? Supernatural eyesight? or.. i dunno. but it's interesting.. :)
Here, we had worship and sharing.. beautiful time admiring God's nature and creation :)
the view from up there
us against the beautiful scenery
and the crazy winds came
when you look down..
when you look far
when we and the winds were at rest
Capernaum - the Town of Jesus
read the fine print.
St Peter holding the "keys"
Here, we took a look at Peter's house.
This octagen-shaped rock building thing used to be his house.
apparently, it was constructed and designed like a boat and its compartments, which is in the style of Peter the ex-fisherman. But why an Ocatgon? why 8?
As Moshe has shared with us, Jews heavily believe in the significance of numbers. there is a significance to everything, especially numbers. so the number 8 to the jew means the start of something new.
8 - circumcision of a boy is on the 8th day, it's the beginning of a new week, beginning of pentacost, and because Peter couldn't say "new church" due to political reasons, he used numbers to signify that he's starting something new, thus all Jews would know, but it's not an outright "starting something new" movement. makes sense i guess.
the wine press, where you step on the circle area with your bare feet, so that you can feel the seeds when you step and not crush them. coz they're bitter
the olive press - where you get your olive oil
some ruins
we next went, still at the same place, to see the ruins of an old synagogue. a 4th century synagogue.
managed to steal this shot just before the group entered
piggie, where are you looking?!
Another thing, why did some Jewish women have to sit upstairs in the synagogue? because it was probably that time of the month. okaaay. thank God we don't have to sit in an overflow room or something today hahaha..
Jordan River
The Jordan River wasn't as impressive as i thought it'd be. but i guess in the past, it would used to have been bigger. now that rainfall has been severely low these years..
took some beautiful pictures nonetheless haha..
the river itself. not quite a river anymore huh
piggie, why are you scolding auntie mira?
me and mom
me and piggie
took some beautiful pictures nonetheless haha..
the river itself. not quite a river anymore huh
piggie, why are you scolding auntie mira?
me and mom
me and piggie
Gadarenes
This place was built to commemorate the deliverance of the Possessed Man (mark 5)
cool stone aparatus that creates prints of the bible passage on the sand
close up of the imprinted words. can you see?
took some scenic pictures. so romantic..
but, a bit bare
how big the tree really was!
cool stone aparatus that creates prints of the bible passage on the sand
close up of the imprinted words. can you see?
took some scenic pictures. so romantic..
but, a bit bare
how big the tree really was!
Lunch at St Peter's Fish aka Tilapia
Ever heard of the Tilapia fish? well, it's actually believed to be the fish that Peter found the gold coin in (its mouth) for paying taxes.
was cute, because when we were served the fish, some of them actually HAD a gold coin inside, of course, purposely placed there.
the fish was surprisingly yummy!! looks plain, but sometimes, plain is best
yummy fish
parents were scaredy cats. didn't dare to eat the fish. (haha, who's ever heard of cats being afraid of fish!)
Dad ordered pasta, mom ordered pizza. and check these photos out.
dad's pizza
mom's pasta
Doesn't dad look like he's thoroughly enjoying his sumptious pizza?
Mom more honestly stole my fish. caught red-handed.
Sis thoroughly enjoying hers
As you can see by the amount of fish left..
took a few more shots of the scenic place...
was cute, because when we were served the fish, some of them actually HAD a gold coin inside, of course, purposely placed there.
the fish was surprisingly yummy!! looks plain, but sometimes, plain is best
yummy fish
parents were scaredy cats. didn't dare to eat the fish. (haha, who's ever heard of cats being afraid of fish!)
Dad ordered pasta, mom ordered pizza. and check these photos out.
dad's pizza
mom's pasta
Doesn't dad look like he's thoroughly enjoying his sumptious pizza?
Mom more honestly stole my fish. caught red-handed.
Sis thoroughly enjoying hers
As you can see by the amount of fish left..
took a few more shots of the scenic place...
Kursi / Gerasenes
This is believed to be the cliff where the pigs commited suicide after being possessed by the evil spirits. Mark 5:1-11
Poor pigs.
the cliff where the pigs ran off
close up of the cliff
in memory of the pigs
Poor pigs.
the cliff where the pigs ran off
close up of the cliff
in memory of the pigs
Tabgha
Next, we went to this church that was presumably the place where Jesus told Peter and Andrew to follow Him, and that He will make them "Fishers of Men".
just a simple church
nice tea lights
just a simple church
nice tea lights
Mount of Beatitudes
This is where the famous Sermon on the Mount was carried out. Unfortunately didn't have a lot of photos coz mom and camera weren't best of friends.
but it was amazing. the accoustics were REALLY excellent. i mean, you've watched it on videos before, recordings, but to BE THERE and HEAR it for YOURSELF, truly it is amazing.
uncle sidney very cheeky, told the husbands to climb up to the top of the mount and SAY (not shout) "i love you, _____" to their wives. and hahaha.. very sweet lah, some of the guys.. :)
the slope was really rather steep. and filled with gravel. so it was even easier to slip, more dangerous. the ground below was huge, but they were growing some kind of plantation on it. so even if you go right into the plantation, you can still hear the person standing on the top of the slope. how beautifully God has arranged for this place for His beloved son. and for us. :)
Moshe shared with us some interesting points about the Feeding of 5000 and 4000.
Why 5000 - 12 baskets full, 4000 - 7 baskets full.
12 baskets were for Jews (12 tribes)
7 baskets for church (7 churches of the Gentiles)
more than enough for everyone! =D
us helping mom walk down the slippery slope. slippery because of the gravel.
piggie and i climbed up halfway, and this is the shot from there.
piggie looking down
me, with those who climbed up behind :)
more zi-lian-ing
dad coming down after saying I LOVE YOU to mom, feeling like a superhero haha
piggie and me, only close up, because mom didn't know how to operate the camera from below. =(
but it was amazing. the accoustics were REALLY excellent. i mean, you've watched it on videos before, recordings, but to BE THERE and HEAR it for YOURSELF, truly it is amazing.
uncle sidney very cheeky, told the husbands to climb up to the top of the mount and SAY (not shout) "i love you, _____" to their wives. and hahaha.. very sweet lah, some of the guys.. :)
the slope was really rather steep. and filled with gravel. so it was even easier to slip, more dangerous. the ground below was huge, but they were growing some kind of plantation on it. so even if you go right into the plantation, you can still hear the person standing on the top of the slope. how beautifully God has arranged for this place for His beloved son. and for us. :)
Moshe shared with us some interesting points about the Feeding of 5000 and 4000.
Why 5000 - 12 baskets full, 4000 - 7 baskets full.
12 baskets were for Jews (12 tribes)
7 baskets for church (7 churches of the Gentiles)
more than enough for everyone! =D
us helping mom walk down the slippery slope. slippery because of the gravel.
piggie and i climbed up halfway, and this is the shot from there.
piggie looking down
me, with those who climbed up behind :)
more zi-lian-ing
dad coming down after saying I LOVE YOU to mom, feeling like a superhero haha
piggie and me, only close up, because mom didn't know how to operate the camera from below. =(
Sea of Galilee
We walked for about 10 minutes till we reached the dock, and saw quite a number of boats there. We were lead to this huge one. very beautiful. and very touristy. but thou shall not complain.
us on boat
parents
view from boat on the way out
view from boat even further out
We received a huge surprise right at the beginning. Singapore's national flag was brought out and suddenly, the national anthem was playing from the speakers. hahaha!! truly a sweet surprise. all of us stood up and sang Singapore's national anthem loudly and proudly! =D kudos to our sporting group! =D
witness the pride!
and yep, we were off sailing on the seas of Galilee.. it was truly beautiful.
next activity was feeding the seagulls! and WOW there were SO many.
near the water
in the sky
us feeding seagulls
look at the seagulls behind us!!
a video to show just how many birds there were!
think krti and keva enjoyed themselves the most. lover of animals they are. i was just content to throw a couple of pieces out (and the birds would just swoop across and catch it. perfect catch. of course, thanks to perfect throw =P), and to take photos and videos.. hahaha.. quite an experience to be surrounded by beautiful white seagulls in the middle of the Sea of Galilee..
after the seagull saga, we were taught by this beautiful lady a jewish dance. and once again, in demonstration of our spunk or "sportiness", ALL of us took part in the learning of this dance. and it was so SO fun. music was fantastic (with the freakking cool orlando-bloom-look-alike drummer), and people were just FUNNY!! hahaha.. lots of laughter, lots of smiles, the atmosphere was just so fun to be in. yes, even though our dancing was horrendous wahaha...
then came the more "serious part".. we went into a time of worship, which for me personally, was the best session of worship for that trip. or at least one of. i mean, it's just so cool to be where Jesus and the disciples were. and you're surrounded by NOTHING but water and sky, God's creation, and it's just Awesome to think that the same God who created all these, actually loves me and died for me. just to have a relationship with me. how amazingly blessed we are.
and we sang "King of Heaven", and wow... the lyrics just hit me..
"Who is there like You Lord
Clothed in strength and beauty
Marvellous so wonderful in deeds
You who calmed the tempest
You who made the blind see
Mighty is Your hand to deliver me
King of Heaven
Exalted above all
My victory my song
Great in majesty and glory
King of Heaven
You're worthy to be praised
All honour to Your name
Jesus reign forever more"
how beautiful isn't it? remembering how Jesus called out to Peter amidst the storm. How Jesus in another incident calmed the tempest. and how truly, He is the King of Heaven.
then it was photo taking time!! =D
mom, sis and me :)
piggie and me
almost got scolded for standing too far at the edge hehe..
the cool drummer also taught me a bit of drumming. though he did say "it cannot be taught", but i think i did learn A BIT lah.. haha.. and, he looked like orlando bloom!!!
don't you think?
nice try mimicing, uncle anil, but sorry, can't quite compare to orlando-bloom look alike hee hee
me unashamedly experimenting..
just had to take a photo with him! hahaha..
soon, too soon almost, we reached the other side of the shore, and alighted to do what our group loved doing best, SHOPPING!!
this was where we bought our shofar. which we realised was rather crazily priced, but oh well, bless Israel right?
we also saw the ruins of the boat that they had found. pretty cool find actually! watched a nice video about how they retrieved the boat, and how cautiously they had to do so coz the extremely soft wood would collapse at a single touch. scarey.
boat salvaged
me with the boat
went outside, played a fool, and hung on a sycamore tree
roast pig
roast lamb (btw, lamb because Rachel means little lamb) (and pig,.. because she calls herself PORK CHOP!!)
another cool funny picture of me playing an air-guit
us on boat
parents
view from boat on the way out
view from boat even further out
We received a huge surprise right at the beginning. Singapore's national flag was brought out and suddenly, the national anthem was playing from the speakers. hahaha!! truly a sweet surprise. all of us stood up and sang Singapore's national anthem loudly and proudly! =D kudos to our sporting group! =D
witness the pride!
and yep, we were off sailing on the seas of Galilee.. it was truly beautiful.
next activity was feeding the seagulls! and WOW there were SO many.
near the water
in the sky
us feeding seagulls
look at the seagulls behind us!!
a video to show just how many birds there were!
think krti and keva enjoyed themselves the most. lover of animals they are. i was just content to throw a couple of pieces out (and the birds would just swoop across and catch it. perfect catch. of course, thanks to perfect throw =P), and to take photos and videos.. hahaha.. quite an experience to be surrounded by beautiful white seagulls in the middle of the Sea of Galilee..
after the seagull saga, we were taught by this beautiful lady a jewish dance. and once again, in demonstration of our spunk or "sportiness", ALL of us took part in the learning of this dance. and it was so SO fun. music was fantastic (with the freakking cool orlando-bloom-look-alike drummer), and people were just FUNNY!! hahaha.. lots of laughter, lots of smiles, the atmosphere was just so fun to be in. yes, even though our dancing was horrendous wahaha...
then came the more "serious part".. we went into a time of worship, which for me personally, was the best session of worship for that trip. or at least one of. i mean, it's just so cool to be where Jesus and the disciples were. and you're surrounded by NOTHING but water and sky, God's creation, and it's just Awesome to think that the same God who created all these, actually loves me and died for me. just to have a relationship with me. how amazingly blessed we are.
and we sang "King of Heaven", and wow... the lyrics just hit me..
"Who is there like You Lord
Clothed in strength and beauty
Marvellous so wonderful in deeds
You who calmed the tempest
You who made the blind see
Mighty is Your hand to deliver me
King of Heaven
Exalted above all
My victory my song
Great in majesty and glory
King of Heaven
You're worthy to be praised
All honour to Your name
Jesus reign forever more"
how beautiful isn't it? remembering how Jesus called out to Peter amidst the storm. How Jesus in another incident calmed the tempest. and how truly, He is the King of Heaven.
then it was photo taking time!! =D
mom, sis and me :)
piggie and me
almost got scolded for standing too far at the edge hehe..
the cool drummer also taught me a bit of drumming. though he did say "it cannot be taught", but i think i did learn A BIT lah.. haha.. and, he looked like orlando bloom!!!
don't you think?
nice try mimicing, uncle anil, but sorry, can't quite compare to orlando-bloom look alike hee hee
me unashamedly experimenting..
just had to take a photo with him! hahaha..
soon, too soon almost, we reached the other side of the shore, and alighted to do what our group loved doing best, SHOPPING!!
this was where we bought our shofar. which we realised was rather crazily priced, but oh well, bless Israel right?
we also saw the ruins of the boat that they had found. pretty cool find actually! watched a nice video about how they retrieved the boat, and how cautiously they had to do so coz the extremely soft wood would collapse at a single touch. scarey.
boat salvaged
me with the boat
went outside, played a fool, and hung on a sycamore tree
roast pig
roast lamb (btw, lamb because Rachel means little lamb) (and pig,.. because she calls herself PORK CHOP!!)
another cool funny picture of me playing an air-guit
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