Jaffa

We have now been in Israel for a few days, we are staying in the Jaffa area which overlooks Tel Aviv on the Mediteranean coast. Jaffa is mentioned a handful of times in the Bible. In Acts 9 & 10, where Peter raised a woman from the dead named Tabitha and he also stayed with a tanner named Simon. This is where he had the vision of the sheet being lowered, which ultimately opened the door of the Gospel to the gentiles. In fact, as we were wandering around the old town of Jaffa, we came across a little house that is thought to be Simon the tanners house, which is the picture you see. As we looked over the ocean, we also realized this is the place that Jonah fled from God and was swallowed by the whale. Amazing! As you see the ocean, you can also imagine the log rafts that came into this area for the building of Solomon's temple. We find it exciting to imagine all of the things that took place in history in a place like this.

Our accomodations are at Beit Immanuel Hostel for a few days, which is a great place to rest and relax before we join up with a tour group in a few days. The hostel serves as a place of prayer and worship. It was so refreshing to go down to breakfast the first day and hear worship music coming out of the kitchen. We were invited to attend their Messianic Jewish service since we were here on the sabbath. The worship was so beautiful, all in Hebrew, but made us miss our BCF family all the more!

We have been wandering the streets during the day, stumbling upon little shops, flea markets and Biblical sites all around. It is very warm and muggy here so we are always drinking lot's of water and spend short shots of time outside for now.

Until next time, be blessed in every way!

Pastor Dave & Kimi