Baby Girl Purcell coming September 2018!

We are excited to announce that we will be expecting a baby girl in early September! They boys are very excited to be big brothers and to welcome a little sister in the fall.

I am 14 and half weeks pregnant and thankfully feeling great, aside from the expected tiredness. Please pray for baby girl to keep growing strong and healthy and for me to continue feeling good. I'll try to post weekly updates, so stay tuned more more baby news in the coming months! 

Israel Part 5: Tzfat, Capernaum, Tabgha, and Tiberias

Our last stop was the Galilee region, where we visited the towns of Tzfat, Tabgha, Capernaum, and Tiberias. We stayed in Tiberias for 3 nights, and spent the days driving around. The night we arrived was the night of the super blood moon lunar eclipse. We arrived in town right in time to catch the moon shining bright. You can't tell from here, but its was big and red!

The next day we went to the town of Tzfat, which was one of the most intriguing places we visited. It was a small town in the mountains, that since the 16th century has been one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Hebron, and Tiberias. It was the center of Kabbalah, and now is home to many Orthodox Chasidic Jews. 

It is a very creative town, filled with many art galleries, local artists, and lots of beautiful art work, We went do the Old City and walked through the market, which of course had a lot of art!

In the middle of the market up some stairs, a synagogue was letting out and there was lots of music. I must have accidentally deleted the music video, it was quite festive!

We continued along the market, and admired all the hand made crafts. These are kippas or yarmulke, which Orthodox Jewish men wear to meet the requirement that their head must be covered. Non-Orthodox men often wear them in synagogues as well.

I loved the popping blue colors around every corner.

View of the mountains from the synagogue.

We stopped at the small main square to eat lunch. We had delicious falafel sandwiches and pita pizzas.

View down the streets from the town center.

It was such a beautiful day to be outside and flowers were starting to bloom.

A shop owner gave the boys these cute teddy bear puppets.

The next day we drove around the Sea of Galilee to Tabgha and Capernaum. Tabgha is on the north-western shore of the sea, and it is believed the be the place of the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fishes from Mark 6:30-46, and it is also the fourth resurrection appearance of Jesus after his Crucifixion in John 21:1-24. Walking through the courtyard.

And through the church.

This is the mosaic of the fish and bread on the church floor. So many places we visited on this trip brought the Bible to life. This was just one of the many examples!

Next stop was Capernaum, on the northern shore of the Sea. Unlike Tabgha, it was very busy with a lot of tourists.

We walked through the ancient ruins, saw the house of St. peter, and walked along the Sea. 

Love these two :).

That evening, we went into Tiberias to walk around and eat dinner on the Sea. We walked along the boardwalk and found a good seafood and steak restaurant.

View from our table!

It was such an incredible trip, and we are so thankful for the places we got to see. One of our favorite things about living in the part of the world, is being able to walk in many places that Jesus and others in the Bible walked. It really brings the Bible to life, and we love being able to teach the boys in this way. I leave you with a beautiful view of Israel, from Jordan.

Israel Part 4: Tel Megiddo and Nazareth Village

Next stop was a day trip to Tel Megiddo and Nazareth Village. Megiddo, also known by the Greek name Armageddon, and is the prophesied location of where the final battle of end times will occur in the Book of Revelation. Overlooking the beautiful Jezreel Valley, it has been a strategically important and battle-ridden city throughout history, as excavations have unearthed 26 layers of ruins!

For such a war-torn place, it was a peaceful and beautiful place to be, and the weather that day was amazing!

We walked through the site and read about the many ancient structures from different civilizations. This was the entrance to the city gate.

View of the valley, this reminded us of Illinois!

Getting ready to enter into the water system tunnel, which was one of the most interesting and scientifically fascinating things about this place. In the 9th century BC, King Ahab constructed a water system to get fresh water from the spring that is outside the walls of the city, especially during times of war. It is 30 meters deep and 70 meters long! Entering the shaft...

Going down, down, down

And across...the tunnel was dug from both sides, and when they met in the middle, they were only off by 1 foot!

The tunnel exits outside the walls of the Tel, and there is a nice hike to get back to the entrance.

What an interesting place, beautiful day, and nice to get outside!

Next stop was Nazareth Village, where we stepped back into the Bible to explore what first century life was like during the time of Jesus. 

The village was opened only in the year 2000, and excavations revealed the site contained an over 2000 year old wine press, vineyard, watchtowers, terraces, irrigation system, and stone quarries. The hillside was well preserved by the Nazareth Hospital in 1906, until it was excavated in 1996.

There were so many old olive trees.

First stop on the parable walk learning about Jesus and the lost sheep. Benjamin enjoyed feeding the sheep and he found the hay stash.

Caleb exploring a replica of Jesus's tomb

The almond trees were starting to bloom.

Hi sweet boy :)

We had a very sweet guide, a Palestinian Christian lady named Rima. It was so interesting to hear about life in Nazareth as a Christian, and her perspective on many things. She was so patient with the kids and did a great job engaging them with all the Bible stories.  She and Benjamin hit is off pretty well :)

At the olive press, learning how to turn olives into oil.

Stop at the carpentry shop

Next was the kitchen..

Last was learning how yarn was made from shearing sheep and what things were used to give the yarn their natural color.

Checking out the Temple

Rima and Benjamin :)

After the tour, we walked downtown to and ate the best schwerma we had the entire trip! We really enjoyed our day trip to Megiddo and Nazareth village...final stop around the Galilee area.