Saying Yes to the Call, by Chris Bierlein

The morning started with us waking up from a night spent on Mount Tabor, where the Transfiguration happened.  What a beautiful sight it was to overlook the valley as the sun was rising, the farmland that would feed the area in due season.  After a breakfast of various kinds of cookies and breads, we headed down to the town of Nazareth, where "supposedly" nothing good came from that town, as mentioned in John 1:43-51, except for Jesus of course.  We saw three churches dedicated to the Annunciation.  A Greek Orthodox Church with many beautiful icons, then to the Synagogue Church similar to the one in Luke 4:16-22 where Jesus preached about him being the Savior, the one sent.  And finally, to the Catholic parish of the Annunciation, where we saw the place where the angel appeared to Mary, and she said yes to her mission as Jesus' mother (theotokos, meaning God-bearer), the mother of God.

The Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption

After lunch, we headed to St. Joseph's Church for Mass.  The Church is built on top of the site where Joseph did his carpentry work while in Nazareth with Mary and Jesus.  From there we headed to Cana and went into the Church that celebrates Jesus' first miracle, the Wedding Feast at Cana, as told in John 2:1-12.  Afterward, we actually got to taste some Cana wine, which was very sweet.  With this, our day was mostly done, but our final destination was to a hotel overlooking the Sea of Galilee.  The view overlooking the Sea of Galilee is totally breathtaking.

The View from My Window #DontBeHatin

The one thing that really struck me today was the Catholic Church of the Annunciation.  Mary's yes meant salvation and redemption for all of us.  This event paved the way for the birth of our Lord nine months later.  With the Annunciation, and later birth of our Lord, my appreciation for Mary accepting her call from God, and willingness to give birth and raise our Lord helps me to accept what God has in store for me.  Because saying yes to the call can be hard at times, and not easy.  But this is where trusting in God will make things easier, and much more fruitful, in the end.  Thanks again for your prayers and support for this trip, and God bless.


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Mount Tabor
Mount Tabor by SirGuy1001 on Photosynth

Jezebel Valley
Jezebel Valley by SirGuy1001 on Photosynth

Beit She'an Walk Two
Beit She'an Walk Two by SirGuy1001 on Photosynth

Beit She'an Walk One
Beit She'an Walk One by SirGuy1001 on Photosynth

Jericho Ruins (Tel) Two
Jericho Ruins (Tel) Two by SirGuy1001 on Photosynth

Jericho Ruins (Tel) One
Jericho Ruins (Tel) by SirGuy1001 on Photosynth

Mount Something
Mount Something by SirGuy1001 on Photosynth