January 6 – 18, 2014

Jim and Marlisa Bannister

Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

and Biblical Jordan

We spent much of our day today touring

Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus, and the

Church of the Annunciation, which is built over the

place where Mary received the good news from the

Angel Gabriel. After lunch we visited Cana, the

place where Jesus performed the first Miracle by

turning water into wine at a wedding celebration.

Marlisa and I renewed our wedding vows in the

church there. See attached photo.

Lots of other wonderful experiences, too numerous to

elaborate.

Image of the Mary's house grotto beneath the Church of the

Annunciation in Nazareth.

This is the place where the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and

told her the good news about the birth of a son to be called Jesus.

We also visited the church in Cana where Jesus performed the First

Miracle by changing water into wine at a wedding, renewed our

wedding vows there and walked in a beautiful wilderness where

Joseph and Jesus traveled about 45 minutes each way on foot to a

nearby large city when Jesus was a young man.

Our hotel in Tiberius is right on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

More great, life changing experiences coming in the days ahead.

Very full day of sightseeing yesterday (January 9) including

many places where Jesus performed miracles in Galilee.

At one point, we were less than 10 yards from the border

of Lebanon, which is heavily patrolled and mined 😌

Off to Jordan this morning (January 10).

We visited the location on the bank of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus made his

resurrection appearance, multiplied the catch and then ate fish with his disciples (see

John 21). he arose from the dead.

In the distance is the temple atop Mount Tabor, which is the place where many

Biblical scholars believe Jesus ascended into Heaven in the presence of three of his

disciples.

Lots of touring in Jordan today after a somewhat unnerving border crossing from Israel. Lots of Uzi sub-machine guns and passport control at the Jordanian checkpoint!We are now at the beautiful Marriott Jordan Valley on the Dead Sea . . . at 1200 ftbelow sea level (the lowest spot on the earth's surface).

We were at the River Jordan today and renewed our

Baptismal vows. Christian pilgrims being Baptized in the River

Jordan on the Israeli side of the river only 40 yards from us on

the Jordanian side. You can see the Israeli flag flying. We

had several Jordanian soldiers with semi-automatic weapons

on our side (just in case some Jewish SEALS tried to swim

across😌 )

Photo of us at the Dead Sea near sundown today. Jerusalem is directly across the

Sea behind us. A beautiful sight. Jim floated on his back earlier. You cannot swim or sink. The water is 37% saline.

Marlisa in her new

Jordanian headdress!

We bought this at

Petra, Jordan during our

visit yesterday to the

amazing Nabatean city

dating to about 300 BC.

The Treasury building there

was the location of a

major scene in the Indiana

Jones/Lost Ark movie.

We are back in Israel (West Bank) today.Great outdoor lunch in the Palestinian Zone of Jericho, the oldest, continuously occupied city in the world (over 10,000 years old) and, at 1,300 feet below sea level,

the lowest city on earth.We saw the sycamore tree where Jesus told Zaccheas to come down and are currently en route to the Mount of Temptation, where Jesus was tempted by the Devil.We highly recommend a Holy Land trip for everyone😌

Holy City of Jerusalem as viewed from the Mount of Olives at dusk this evening

Elisha Spring in Jericho.

I hope you can enlarge enough to read the writing on the wall.

We are en route to Bethlehem this morning. It is only 7 miles

from our hotel in Jerusalem. Highlights of what we saw today in

Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Film at 11:00😌 :

1. Church of St John the Baptist, birthplace of John. Great

painting over the tomb showing Mary holding the newborn

baby John.

2. Mary's Spring. Used by Mary to fetch water when staying with

Elizabeth and Zecharia for 3 months prior to John's birth.

3. Church of Visitation at the site where Mary came to stay with

and help Elizabeth prior to childbirth.

4. Shepherd's Field in Bethlehem where the Angels appeared to

the shepherds and told them of the birth of Christ. From this site

we could look across in the distance and see the Church of the

Nativity which is the site of Jesus' birth. We go there next. Wow!

5. Church of the Nativity. Incredible! Too much and too spiritual

to describe. I will just say that we kneeled at and touched the

star marking the spot where Jesus was born😌 Enough said!

Jerusalem Jim and Manger Square Marlisa

Simply put, this star in the floor of a grotto beneath the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem marks the spot where Jesus was born over 2,000 years ago.Touching this place was the most spiritual experience of our lives.We hope you can feel this with us.Please share.Love,Jim & Marlisa

Yours truly in front

of giant Christmas

tree at Manger

Square in

Bethlehem at

sunset today.

Love,

Jim