Fantastic Experience on the Jesus Trail

Had to break my story into two sections!!!  Please read the first section 'What a Wonderful Experience' then read this one.

Nazareth Old City is a very small version of Jerusalem Old City, I found.   The free Old City tour starting from Fauzi Azar Inn led us to the White Mosque, the best ‘Middle Eastern’ style pizza shop, open air fresh produce market selling all sorts of veggies, eggs and tiny chicks.  Oh so cute these chicks, reminded me of my childhood when we had chicken and the mother hen with her baby chicks.  When they were not feeding she would gather her chicks under her wings. In Matt 23:37b, Luke 13:34b, ³⁷ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.

Yeshua(Jesus) used this scenario as a metaphor to describe how G_d longed to provide protection for His people.  I believe He does protect Israel, since 1948.

                                                                                          Where's my Mommy?

Nazareth Village is beautiful in spring!  What a different landscape from the autumn season! Travel from Jerusalem to Nazareth was a time to get acquainted with our driver.  Since he spoke Arabic, I tried to practice Arabic from the phrasebook in the Jesus Trail guidebook.  He would correct my pronunciation, which I appreciated. I didn’t get the ‘r’ correct.  He also taught me how to call the sheep to come to me.  ‘rrrrrrrrrrr’ he said, “Really!” so I would practice, and he would correct me on that too. The gals burst out in laughter, he was laughing and so was I, trying to get it right.  We had a very good long hearty laughter, only to be increased much more when I said I will have the opportunity to call the sheep at Nazareth Village. Well, guess what?  I “rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr” while approaching the corral.  You should have seen the big eyes on the guide and the squinting eyes of the shepherd and the laughter from my friends. The sheep just ignored me!!! I explained what I was doing, but the shepherd told the guide that he was in fear!!! When my room mate ‘rrrrrrrrrrrrrr’ed in the morning at TLV, I thought she was snoring, but it was a wake up call to me, in lieu of the alarm clock that didn’t sound!!! It is now a wonderful memory of fun learning Arabic (and am so gullible). Yeshua, the Great Shepherd pointed out, “My sheep know my voice.” That happens when sheep and shepherd have a very close relationship, do I?  I still have a long ways!  Many times I don’t pay attention to the still small voice, later regret it!

John 10

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

 ¹ “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ² The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” ⁶ Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

 ⁷ Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. ⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.    ¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.    ¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

  I am very thankful, grateful, privileged to be one of His sheep.

A sunny and warm first day of walking the Jesus Trail, a 60km 4 day hike from Nazareth to Capernaum by the Sea of Galilee.  Orientation on the trail gave some pointers on trail blazes, what to watch out for, where to detour from deep muddy patch, etc.  Oh, before I talk on that, let’s hear about the local foods.  We so enjoyed the wonderful different varieties we consumed, breakfast and dinner, from Nazareth to Moshav Arbel (our last day on arranged meals). Different kinds of salads, meats and chicken done in different ways, of course, hummus, pita breads, pickled veggies in small bowls, cheeses, etc, etc. We were offered herbal tea, fresh herbs from the garden, that was just so refreshing.  I wonder if I can recreate those teas here in Canada. Their welcoming hospitality is so caring and loving, offers of nice hot herbal tea with pastries is just what we need on arrival at each location.

Look at this photo:-

                        On the Jesus Trail

Looking at the trail in the above photo, imagine, us, 5 certain-aged (I used to refer to us as “old”, I was told “speak for yourself”), picture us, 5 excited, rambunctious, fun loving, full of laughter, loud, Canadian ladies walking this 60 km trail in 4 days, ...... lugging our luggage with us!!!  I wish I knew how to draw caricatures, this would be a treasured piece of drawing. Someone actually wondered that!  But, thanks to Jesus Trail Tours’ “We’ll take care of the details, you focus on the journey”, transported our luggage from accommodation to accommodation leaving us with no “heavies” to carry, but not as Jesus instructed His disciples in Mark 6:8-9 ⁸ These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. ⁹ Wear sandals but not an extra shirt.

Btw, we did have a lot of laughter on this tour.

I love the Spring season.  Along the trail, so obvious is the lushness of the land, so green with healthy plant life, colourful flowers, birds singing, cows mooing, and sheep grazing quietly in the fields. On higher ground looking into the valley, it’s covered in a sea of yellow flowers, a patch of olive groves, to one part is a forest, another, a cultivated field.  The quietness and tranquility of the country is so calming to one’s senses.

Brings to memory:-

Matt 6:25-34    ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?     ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Even the villages we passed through were quiet!  I’m drawn to this land.

Check this picture:-

Look at the foreground

When I browsed the Jesus Trail website last year, I noticed they have a project, Cleaning the Trash,  http://jesustrail.com/about/cleaning-the-jesus-trail   Sure enough, trash does mar the beauty of the land.  It’s sad that residents would not take their own initiatives for whatever reason, to not litter in their own environment!  Some areas in the town/villages are clean and others just filthy. So I’m fund raising for this project by selling the new in pristine condition, “Hiking the Jesus Trail and other Biblical walks in the Galilee” Guidebook. As a non-hiker, I totally am impressed with this book, it is so inclusive of so many themes and topics that I have to keep referring to it, even now that I’m back.  It has tons of info.  It actually is very cheap at $24.49.  I’m asking $25.00, and will accept your generosity for more than the asking price, it goes to a very good cause.  You can check the sample page in the above website.  If you donate online and show me the receipt, I will hand you the guidebook and throw in the Jesus Trail map as a "Thank You" for your support.

You can read the reviews on Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Hiking-Jesus-Trail-Biblical-Galilee/dp/0984353305/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303780048&sr=1-1

Help the trail look like this:-

Wheat fields along the way. But they were not ready for harvesting this early in the Spring J ¹ At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. Matt 12:1

  

Overall, the trail was actually easy on the 2 days we covered. The terrain is friendly.  Since we did encounter rain from day 2, on day 3 we took a bus to a junction (J20 in the guidebook) and then walked to our B&B at Arbel, which we walked along the highway, not the trail. On day 4, with the downpour, the taxi took us to Tabagha, it was sunny there and we finished our journey walking on the sidewalk to Capernaum. We just didn’t want to walk on mud again and our shoes were not mud friendly or rain proof. I would like to go back and walk it all the way.  If a 85 and a 91 year old can do it, so can you and I J

http://jesustrail.com/blog/meet-merrill-jesus-trails-oldest-hiker-at-91

Want to touch the Sea, come over....

Walking the land brings such an understanding of Yeshua’s teaching.  He used what was common in the area, the sheep, the shepherd, the goats, the open fields, the wheat, the thorns, rocky/sandy/fertile soils, wide trail, single file trail, etc, etc.  There is a meditative nature on this trail.

I just cannot speak enough of the quietness, serenity, peacefulness, beauty, of the land we covered. The scenery is just awesome. I love it.  Even the dark clouds around us looked non-threatening. They seemed to just be in the distance, and we didn’t get rained on until we arrived at our destination, then it down poured.  Looks like G_d held it away so we may be dry, He cared! 

Talk about divine caring!  Day 1, from Nazareth to Cana, the pedometer clocked 22 km, when the distance is 13.5km. Well, we knew from the hill, we had to get to the highway down there, according to the guidebook, so took the trail that would take us there, but later found out it was a wrong trail, so had to back track on the highway to join the Jesus Trail.(lesson – take a good look at the guidebook or retrace back to take another trail) When we arrived at Cana, just outside our B&B, we heard fireworks, in the afternoon!! (Host said some celebration was taking place).  I interpreted the fireworks were for us, as “YOU MADE IT, WELL DONE” J

At Yarok Az Goat Farm, Ilaniya, it was very quiet. Our wet feet were cold after walking in the rain and mud, and the cell phone acting up, there appeared a young fella!!  He offered to dial the owners with his iphone. Then another young fella came by and mentioned about luggage inside the tent!  They were ours, so this is the place we stay the night.  These soft-speaking, kind, gentle, respectful and helpful young men just finished their IDF service and were hiking the Israel National Trail. They fired up the heating stove in our ‘igloo’, they called the domed tent.  They shared their hot food with us.  So the wait for the owners to show up didn’t matter, we were being looked after already!!  I wish I asked for their contact address. I salute the mothers of these young men and others in the IDF. In their civilian clothing, they looked soooo young. I just can’t fathom them being in the army, defending their country, it’s heart breaking, really is. Yet, here they are, so kind, respectful and soft speaking gentlemen.

Next leg, we took the modern transportation to a junction to walk to our next destination.  Using the J20 page of the guide book (this section is a different trail section), we decided to walk along the highway, thinking we would see the Jesus Trail sign!!! No JT signs, consulting the guidebook, who shows up?  Taylor, with our luggage!!  Told us to keep on this highway and turn right at the next junction to Arbel. Great, don’t have to retrace. He pointed the Horns of Hattin to us. Appreciated that info.
  

                       Horn of Hattin

                                

How about animals?  We had dogs who guided us!!  At Yarok Az Goat Farm, the gentle dog just knew where we needed to go.  For dinner, it(I don’t know much about dogs, except blessing their owners who don’t scoop after their dogs, ‘Revenge is mine, saith the Lord’, I figure my part is to bless), it turned to the left to lead us to the restaurant. Next day, heading out on our 3rd leg, it turned to the right, walked on the sidewalk, crossed the road to the bus shelter (just knew we were going to take modern transportation instead of walking). 

Lead us, buddy

At Arbel, before the taxi came to pick us to Tabagha (it rained the whole night and drizzling in the morn), we had just enough time to walk to Mt. Arbel. We walk out and there is this “spotted” dog,  walking with us. We were trying to find the trail which our host said was better, and tracing back, the neighbourhood dogs came out, walking in front us, I should have taken a picture of them.  This spotted one stuck with us, finally we find a trail, he would lead us.  At one point, the plants were so tall and it was a single file trail, he jumped onto a mount to see if we were following him!!  We didn’t get to Mt. Arbel as we came across plowed land, not wanting to walk on mud, we turned back.  This dog led us at our door!!  His company was truly appreciated.

 Dog wants to lead, catching up after we checked the Ancient Synagogue and moving on..

Meeting people always has a flair about it.  At Leket, so wonderful to meet Natalie face to face after all the emails between us.  At the field, those school children were a delight, and a Leket staff conversed with us. He is a Messianic believer who lived in the kibbutz nearby.

At Fauzi Azar Inn, Nazareth, Anna Landis welcomed us, finally meeting her face to face, and her husband, David, took time to wish us well on the trail.  We enjoyed chatting with JT volunteers and staff, who were local people, from the States or Europe.

On the trail, kids sensing us being at a lost as to which turn to take would let us know where the blaze was. The hosts of our accommodation gave us some insights on the area. The 6 Mexican ladies walking the Jesus Trail on their own was a delight to meet with and exchange notes. It was so wonderful to see them again at the end, us walking out of Capernaum and them coming in. Meeting the young IDF’ers who seemed to be enjoying themselves walking near our next destination.  We asked for direction, and only one could speak English.  Told him we walked from Cana and wonder which route to take since we came followed a different blaze sign, he told his comrades so, and exclaimed, “From Cana? Mama Mia”!!!  J

Getting to know our bus/taxi drivers.  Our JT shuttle driver nicknamed ‘Chiki’ was a delight to know. He informed us that the rain they had will extend farming for the next 2 months.  Well, we looked positively at the situation by telling ourselves that we ‘brought the showers of blessings’! J  Chiki was very open about what he believed and how he leads his life. We met his wonderful wife, and how proud he was now that he was going to be a grandfather, good excuse for him to get a bigger cell phone to show off his grandson’s pictures to his friends, now that he won’t be the only one with no grandchildren!! He was funny.  He mentioned he shuttled an 85 yr JT hiker who told Chiki that he would come back and walk the JT again. We do too, to walk ALL the way.

  

Our bus driver from Tiberias to Tel Aviv invited us to his home at the base of Mt. Tabor (Site of Transfiguration of Jesus) for herbal tea, Arab coffee and sweets. Driving into his village, I blurted out how clean it was!!  We really enjoyed the visit, meeting his wife and 2 kids (boy & girl, expecting a 3^rd one) and, being such a teaser, mentioned about Bedouins having 4 wives, that is, after examining one of his rooms that was set up with floor cushions in Bedouin style. You should have heard us! He was kind enough to adjust his schedule in order to take us to the airport the next day, I didn’t have to arrange for taxis. Mt. Tabor, said to be site of Jesus' transfiguration.

Tel Aviv, a wonderful seaside city.  Check out the beach.  Can’t swim, or don’t want to, can still get your exercise at the seaside gym!

Now that we are home, we can’t wait to get back to Israel (3 of us, singles)!!  It has become a vacation spot for me.  Next year in Israel, Amen.

Toda and Shalom,

han