Today it was hazy all day. We were surrounded by a dust cloud at every location we visited.

We began our day with a surprise from our guides; they took us to visit the Valley of the Shadow of Death. The Valley lies between Jerusalem and Jericho. It is a dry barren place. It was an experience that we will never forget the next time we recite Psalm 23. After we all recited this Psalm, our guides recited it in Hebrew. This was the original language of our Lord and it was beautiful.

We then traveled to Masada, one of Herod’s three fortress cities. It is located in the wilderness of Judea close to the western shore of the Dead Sea.

We ascended Masada on cable cars.

Two of our group members, Kevin Gerlt and his son Matt, climbed to the top. This 1200 ft climb took them 45 minutes.

At lunch, several of our braver members experienced their first camel rides.

En-Gedi is a true oasis in the desert. There is fresh water emerging from an underground spring. This is the site where David took refuge in a cave from King Saul.

On our way to the Dead Sea we stopped at Qumran were the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the spring of 1947.

The last stop of the day was the Dead Sea. At its widest point, this body of water is 52 miles long and 14 miles across. Many in our group had the chance to cover themselves in mud that they say makes your skin silky smooth. Others experienced the added buoyancy of the water due to the 30% concentration of salt.

At the end of the day, I told our people that out of all the sights we had seen to this point, the best was still to come. Our journeys tomorrow will include the Temple Mount and The House of Caiaphas inside old Jerusalem.