Update from Jackie on Wilson’s 96th

Hello everyone,

Before I forget details just wanted to send out an update on our very busy and successful weekend of July 15 and 16.

We held the first ‘Jesus Atlas’ Workshop on Sat the 15 of July. We started at 10:00 am and went till around 5:00. There were a total of 15 in attendance although, all were not able to attend all day, which brought us to around 11 at any given time.

Dad started with an intro to the project, which had it’s beginning during the time he was recovering from Lymphoma. He wanted to memorize the events in the life of Christ from beginning to end.

As you can imagine memorizing 212 events cold turkey was difficult. He tried various different ways of organizing the material including his own version of a Gospel Harmony, but it was still an uphill climb. Finally recalling his map reading skills as a Missionary Jungle Pilot, he came unto the idea of dividing the life of Christ into the various journeys Jesus had taken during his life and using those journeys as a way to memorize the events that occurred along the way. This seemed to do the trick and the Jesus Atlas was born! It consists of 32 maps with 212 events. Each event is represented by a 2 1/8 inch circle picture created by an artist my Dad met while on a research trip to Israel. With the help of the maps, journeys, locations, pictures and scriptures, it becomes possible to remember the order of the events in Jesus’s life and consequently get to know and understand him, Jesus, on a more personal and deeper level.

All together there are 32 maps with 212 events. One quarter or 8 of the maps are completely finished. The others are at various stages of completion.

Our workshop concentrated on going through the first 8 to demonstrate the ability to hold in our memory the unfolding of Christ’s ministry for the goal of knowing HIM.

We’re aiming for total completion of all the maps and pictures by the end of next year (2024). We covet your prayers towards this goal.

My sister – came out early to help me and my daughter set things up; -, My brother and his wife – and my son – arrived the evening before; – my other sister and her husband – were hoping to be here but unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. They were stuck on the tarmac at the airport for most of the day and finally the flight was cancelled.

Despite odds and ends of glitches, we had a great day! We all agreed it went better then any of us had expected.

On Sunday afternoon, a few more friends dropped in and we celebrated his 96th Birthday !

We are praying for God to keep him with us through the end of next year so he can see this project through the finish line.

Hoping this gives you a little more insight on what’s happening in the Blackwelder household.

– Jackie for all the extended family (There are 40 of us now with 2 graduated to Heaven and 2 on the way to earth)

Mt. Arbel & Capernaum

Going up to the Horns of Hattin
Going up to the Horns of Hattin

 

The other day we went out hiking on part of the “Jesus Trail” and the “Israel Trail” near the base of Mt. Arbel and the town of Wadi Hamam. As we were walking, we met some hikers coming our way and discovered that they had been left off by their tour busses at the top and were meeting them down at the bottom. They wished us luck (and were impressed that Vovô was apparently going to hike up! To which we said “no, we’re not going the whole way…”). We went far enough in to the narrow canyon to see the stream (apparently drinkable, according to the “Jesus Trail” guidebook, but we didn’t try it), and to spot the caves where from which highway robbers came down upon travelers back in the days before Herod Antipas rather dramatically drove them out.

Yesterday we went to Caphaernaum (Capernaum) and saw the ruins of a marble synagogue that was built over the 1st century synagogue that Jesus would have preached in. It was quite hot, so we stopped for an ice cream and a popsicle on the way out of town…

We visited a gravel cove near Caphaernaum which is the most likely place for the disciples to have brought their ships up on the beach to dry and wash their nets. (After his first tour, during which the disciples stayed behind fishing, Jesus probably brought a crowd of followers here and preached to them from Peter’s boat – and this is probably the place where Jesus enlisted the disciples for the second time).

We crossed over the Jordan river and drove to the most likely location of the feeding of the five thousand- it is now covered with mango tree orchards, but still boasts a full view of the Sea of Galilee.

When we got home, we were soooooo tired…

After a good long night’s sleep, we got up this morning to cooler weather and a chance of rain. After some grocery shopping we headed out to catch the top of the “Jesus Trail” trail from Mt. Arbel (that we saw the bottom of the other day.) Upon encountering a barbed wire fence blocking the road we were in some confusion as to whether or not we’d found the right track but did end up finding a trail blaze to confirm the way. The pass from here down into the canyon was a main through way for travelers in Jesus’ day.

With this top-down spectacular view of Mt. Arbel taken in, we headed up to the Horns of Hattin for a picnic lunch under the only trees in sight, some practice driving on dirt roads, and a short hike to the summit of one of the Horns (where there are wide views of the surrounding highlands and a long sweeping view down to the Sea of Galilee.) Due to cooler weather and winds (a small rainstorm is probably brewing) the view was quite clear and full of large clouds in the heavens … it is here up between the Horns in a sort of natural amphitheater that Vovô Wilson believes Jesus delivered the sermon on the mount – a rather dramatic location for one of the most important teachings delivered by Jesus, echoing and interpreting Moses’ delivery of the Law from Sinai.

On the way back to our Inn I took a wrong turn and ended up getting some more practice driving the local dirt roads. However this took us right into the Birya forest which Vovô had been wanting to see if we had time, and we were treated with more “wow” views as we made our way back to the highway.

More to come!

Israel Trip 2016

Looking down on Mary's Well in Nazareth
Looking down on Mary’s Well in Nazareth

JENNY: The big news here at the Jesus Atlas project is that we in Israel, midway through the fourth “location scouting” trip! The goal is to research, confirm & photograph the most probable locations of events in Jesus’ life.

While this is Wilson’s fourth trip to the area, it is my first. (Perhaps we’ll post flashbacks to previous trips a little later). I’m no stranger to international travel, but there have been some firsts for me on this trip so far. First time being extensively interviewed before being able to check bags (hello El Al security), first time driving in a foreign country… (Roundabouts are fun… Turning around on steep narrow windy roads with cars parked on both sides and pedestrians in the street, not so much.)

But I digress. On to the itinerary. We stayed three days at the Jerusalem Hills Inn at Abu Ghosh (Modern day Abu Ghosh is a possible location of Emmaus, where Jesus surprised two of his followers after the resurrection.) Great little B&B, by the way. Lovely view and friendly hosts. Plus, driving up their “street” is like a mini-course in mountain driving skills, which seem to be necessary here. I did not realize how many hills there are here… There I go talking about driving again.

After a day exploring Abu Ghosh and the second day zipping around (and sitting in traffic) in Jerusalem, we attended the Narkis street Baptist Church on Sunday and went out to lunch with friends afterward. One cannot stay too long with friends not seen in years, especially when discussing the Jesus Atlas project (and other things). That lunch lasted 4 hours…

Then it was on to Netanya, Nain, & Safed; and (today) Nazareth. I asked Vo to summarize the Jesus Atlas location work on this trip so far.

WILSON:

  1. We photographed the location of Bethphage.
  2. We retraced the route of the Roman highway to Jericho as it descended from the Mount of Olives (it was very steep) to the conjunction with Highway 1 which parallels the Roman road.
  3.  We also drove down the very steep Tyropean Valley Road – this would be where Jesus entered first-century Jerusalem in his triumphal procession.
  4. We photographed the only spring in Nazareth – where Mary would have drawn water while living there. A church now surrounds the spring, and the water is piped to a fountain nearby (photo).
  5.  From the Mount of Precipice just outside Nazareth,  we got a full picture of the location and relationship of Nazareth to the Jezreel Valley, Mount Tabor, and the city of Nein (Nain) at the foot of the hill of Moreh.
  6. We photographed some steps leading up to the Western Wall in Jerusalem along with the paved area nearby, which is the most likely place for Jesus to have been judged by Pilate.

JENNY: That’s all for now… We’ll try to post again tomorrow. 😀

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome Vovô to Jesusatlas.net!

This website is a place to share your work and thoughts on the life of Jesus. Undoubtably you may not exactly know what to do with it just yet. Don’t worry, I will be here to help you out. I will be your collaborator and guide in showing you the possibilities in realizing your vision of sharing the Jesus atlas project with the whole world!

Here we can explore and experiment with how to best present your work. We can add your outlines, maps and commentary and organize it in a way that is easy for anyone to access over the internet. We can even use it as a way to start conversations with other people that are also interested in the work you are doing.

In this way I can contribute to your project and be part of your journey.

I look forward to seeing what we can do together!

Merry Christmas,
Josh & Parish