Safe Arrival

It was a dark and stormy night. The airport was quiet, we were the only ones left (besides the hundred other people waiting to board the 777 out of Atlanta to Tel Aviv). We grew tired and weary, wanting only to stretch out in the roomy airplane seats and eat a deliciously catered meal and watch a movie on our big screen personal television sets - but the lighting on the runway prevented us from doing so until it was "safe." So we waited. We left after midnight and arrived in Tel Aviv a little after 7 pm Israel time Friday...safe and sound. And that's really all that needs to be said about the getting here... Today was Sea Tour Day - meaning Dr. Schuler walked us up the mountain to Hippos and showed us the whole site, including our first glimpses at the Northeast Church - our lovely project for the next four weeks - then we went to Kursi (the site commemorating Jesus casting the demons into the swine whereafter they ran down the hills and into the lake), Capharnaum (the "home base" of Jesus' ministry and where Peter's house was), Tabgha (a site with a fully reconstructed Byzantine church commemorating the feeding of the 5,000), and the Mount of the Beatitudes (no religious significance, just a church set up in a pretty place) before it was decided that our "tails were dragging" (Dr. Schuler's words) and it was time to return to the kibbutz. We did just that. And now, to spare you from the play-by-play of the rest of the day, just know that we are here safe and have made it through the first 24 hours. Check back tomorrow, to see if we made it through the first actual dig day.