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Trip to Israel, Part 1

It’s been some time since I’ve posted on our personal blog! It’s so nice to be back, we have some exciting things coming to the blog – so stay tuned. 

My husband and I both have such a heart for mission work and when our son graduated this past year, we were praying for the Lord to open a door for him to go to the mission field. We had different options as my husband has been to different countries for mission work and we closely partner with various organizations abroad but it was Israel that the Holy Spirit heavily placed on our hearts.

So in September (2022), my husband flew Benjamin down to Israel for a three-month mission trip. (Tim came back after a week and Benjamin stayed.) 

What an honor to serve and work with God’s chosen!

When our son called us and said he had the desire to take baptism in the Jordan where Jesus was baptized, we decided to surprise him and join him for the joyous occasion.

This year (on Nov 30th), it was our 20th anniversary so we decided to take a trip to Israel to celebrate our anniversary and be there for our son’s baptism.

We have a large bucket list of places to visit and things to do and Israel has been one of those places my entire life. For me personally, it’s number one on the list.

I’ve made a video of our travels and sharing the first part today! It’s not professional at all but I hope you are blessed by it. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and we’ll be posting frequently there. 🙂 

It was so surreal to visit the places where so many Bible events took place! Now that I am home and reading the Bible, it is coming alive in a completely different way. 

In the second part of this trip recap, I will share the different things we learned and what to do and not to do if you are thinking of traveling to Israel. 

Here are some still images for those that don’t like videos!

Where Prophet Jeremiah lived-

How fascinating to see where the prophet Jeremiah lived. Our guide shared how he talks about different plants in his writings and this is the only place that has them.

This is also where the tribe of Benjamin settled. How do you live in this kind of desert?

Dead Sea- 

We didn’t get a chance to actually swim in it as we just passed through it but I did get to put my feet into it. Of course, I tasted the water, I’m telling you, it was SALTY!

Baptism-

Benjamin got baptized on 11/18/22 in the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized. What a joyous occasion it was. There truly is no greater joy than seeing your children love the Lord and live a life that pleases Him. We are so proud of the godly young man he is. 

He has kept himself so pure and holy and it’s such an honor to be his parents. 

(DRESS- because I know so many of you will ask, here’s the LINK for the dress – it is so beautiful.)

Capernaum-

It was so neat to walk the streets of Capernaum (though many of the sights are new and updated). This was a major town in the New Testament.

Here are some fascinating things that happened in Capernaum where Jesus went to live after Nazareth (Matt 4:13):

  • Peter and Andrew were from there as was Matthew the tax collector.
  • Jesus healed the centurion’s son, Matt 8:5-13.
  • Healed nobleman’s son, John 4:46-53.
  • Healing of Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, Mark 1:30-31.
  • Jesus casts out the unclean spirit in the man while speaking in the synagogue, Mark 1:30-31.
  • The paralytic man, Matt 9:1-2.
  • Jesus raises Jairus’ daughter and woman with blood, Mark 5:21-42.
In the Synagogue in Capernaum – the town of Jesus.!

How fascinating that there were so many miracles that happened, but they still did not turn to Jesus. Jesus goes to curse the city and to this day, no one lives there (Matt 11:20-25). It is one of the places he taught most often in the synagogue. One of those was the teaching of being the Bread of Life (John 6:35). 

Capernaum was a wealthy city as many who traveled, caravans and traders would pass through it. It was the main trade route connecting Damascus in the North and Egypt in the South. 

Jesus’ performing so many miracles and teaching allowed the news to spread quickly about him.

(This is in the town of Capernaum. Jesus laying on a bench as a homeless man – you can see his pierced feet.)

This ends part 1, we will see you in part 2.

P.S. If you have any questions about traveling to Israel, ask away and I will get to them in the next post.

Thank you for being a part of our online family.

Fondly, 

Tim & Valentina <3

Benjamin, Joseph, Elizabeth, Nathaniel, Abigail, Elijah and Seraphima

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4 Comments

  1. Hi Valentina! Did you use a specific tour guide for your trip? Will be going to Israel and trying to find one.

    1. Anna, hi there. I can share our guide, he was absolutely phenomenal. Please email me at lifeinourcorner at gmail doc com. 🙂