Day 1: Arbel to Migdal.
Hello everybody!
At the end of August, Zealous 6 went on a 5 day trip around Israel. This excursion was so much fun, I’ve been to places I had never thought I’d get to see in person.
Our first day, we drove to the Galilee. We stopped and explored Mount Arbel that afternoon. I honestly don’t remember too much about this day. It was extremely hot and humid, and I was told that I started to turn purple. Maddie doesn’t do well in extreme heat. So while everyone ran around and explored, I was focusing on just staying standing (and not passing out…).
Arbel
Mountain covered in caves.
The mountains are covered in caves dug by Jewish people who were fighting Greeks and Romans. If you look back to my post about Hanukkah, I mentioned that this was an area where the Maccabees hid and fought. In the time of Herod, these caves were occupied by the Zealots. They didn’t have as happy an ending as the Maccabees did. Later in the 17th century, the caves were a Druze community.
The landscape of this area was super fascinating to look out at. There was also a really neat moment for me, looking out over the little city of Magdala, where my name is derived of. This was a fun conversation I had with my teammates while we very, very sweatily walked to the top of the cliff. You can see the haze of the humidity in the photos.
I do hope to go back so that I can take the memories back from the day. Looking back through the photos, I remember being so excited and also loving the view in front of me. To finally see the Galilee? The town my name comes from? To hear about the history and see the remnants with my own eyes? It was incredible.
Alica, Hosana and Gideon looking over Migdal and the Galilee.
We walked down and sat in a very small patch of shade while we sang some songs and took a moment to think about how Jesus could have potentially say up here, with this view.
Beit Bracha and Migdal
We got to stay in this beautiful guest house in Migdal, Beit Bracha (House of Blessings), right on the waterfront. It has a wonderful view of Tiberias and the Galilee and was so comfortable. As soon as we got there, I took a nap. I was exhausted after overheating and felt worlds better after a deep hour nap. We all got back together to go into Migdal and ate the best meal. We were all hungry, and after such a long, hot day, eating these incredibly flavor-packed salads and savory meats made it one of the best meals I’ve had here so far. There’s nothing quite as beautiful as an Israeli salad spread.
Something that takes some getting used to around here is the separation of meat and dairy. This was a meat restaurant. So you have your skewers, fish, fries, hummus, pita, eggplant, beets. This is a meal I wish that I could eat again, if I’m being completely honest.
We went back to Beit Bracha after this meal and did a study together on what it means to be a disciple, and talking about how heavy and serious a calling it really is.
Discipleship is servitude. That’s what God calls us to be. He asks us to be His servants. Back in the day, when a servant loved his master and wished to stay with him for the rest of his days, the master would pierce the servant’s ear with an awl. Painful, yes, but the servant was willing. One of the activities that we did as a team, as we sat outside in a little gazebo in the setting sun, was punch a hole through a piece of leather in lieu of getting holes punched through our earlobes. This, for me, made it so much more real to me.
It also brought back a core memory for me, when I first started to realize the gravity of actions. One of the last times I went to an easter church service, the youth leaders had a cross in the room. They talked about how painful it must have been for Jesus, to be pierced with those nails after having carried His cross. I believe they talked about how we were all guilty in killing Christ, and His death is what resurrected us. We all were asked to pray and repent for our sins. We were also asked to take a turn hammering one of those giant nails into the cross. I cried after I did it. It still, to this day, strikes a chord with me. It’s not guilt, but it makes my heart twinge that Jesus died for me. That because of my sin, He had to die.
So… Sitting in my group, listening to the crickets start to come out, and being able to look out to the Galilee, I punched a hole in the leather. It holds the same amount of emotional gravity for me as taking a hammer to that nail. And it also felt like I had come full circle. I had truly entered into the next phase of my life. I had commited to be a disciple for the rest of my life.
Thank you so much for reading! Come back next time to read about the second day of our trip.
- Mads
Prayer Requests:
For health and healing within Bridges for Peace and all of its supporters, from the Omicron wave and any other hurts or heartaches.
For me to fully let go of any stress surrounding finances and future plans.
For this new season with my Zealous Team, that we all spend a healthy amount of time thinking about what we need to do at the end of our year, and that we truly embrace the moments we have together now.
