Winding things down

Right now we're at Beit Bracha - a Christian prayer and retreat center located just outside of Tiberias on Galilee Lake. The weather has been really hot but we're hanging in there. Both yesterday and today have consisted of a bit of touring and down time. The team is tired and in some ways they have tremendously mixed feelings about the end of the trip. They are sad to leave Israel but are excited to get home.

The last few nights we have been debriefing the trip. I think this is one of the most crucial parts of the trip. We bookend it with good training on the front end and good debrief on the back end. We have probably spent close to three hours working through the trip and sharing what the Lord has done in our lives. I think what's hard is trying to describe the Lord's internal work in our hearts. We wish that we could put words to it to describe it more clearly.

Yesterday we had some deeply spiritual moments on the lake and in some of the churches. It's almost surreal to think that this on the northern end of this lake Jesus spent much of his time ministering! Probably to the person we would say that our time on the lake yesterday was a highlight. We also visited a few churches that mark significant places of Jesus' ministry. Then we ended the afternoon with a baptism service in the Jordan River!

Then today we traveled to a few more churches and then to Nazareth. We visited the church in Cana of Galilee (John 2) to see where Jesus changed water to wine at a wedding ceremony. And after lunch and a swim in the lake, we're back at Beit Bracha for some down time before dinner. No debrief tonight but we'll walk around the town of Tiberius.

Then tomorrow we begin the descent into Tel Aviv and eventually back to the US. We'll be going through Megiddo (the future site of Armageddon) and then into Caesarea to see the ruins of Herod's summer palace on the Mediterranean. We'll walk around Tel Aviv for a bit before we have dinner and then board the plane to start the trip back. Just so you know we will touch down at LAX at 10:30 am. We have drivers ready to pick up the team and bring us back to the church. We will see you there around 12-12:30 pm.

We all agree that it's been a full trip. In some ways it's felt like it's been two trips - one to Jerusalem and then a week of camp. With the caliber of students on the trip it's no surprise though that the trip has gone incredibly well. We did what the Lord had for us at camp and we have remained open to Him while in Jerusalem and in Galilee. And there has been no drama or sickness on the trip! I hope that when we return we will be able to put into words just what we have experienced. Thank you for your prayers and we'll see you in a few days!