1. Our story begins...
A very old olive tree at Gethsemane, Israel Luke 1:5 When Herod was king of Judea… Imagine with me that you are sitting in an olive tree . The day is a little chilly, and the wind is blowing. Your friends hang off branches and jump from rock to rock. You are in your famil y 's olive grove and the year is about 4 BC , although no one quite knows that for sure. When you look around you see a small village. It’s not famous or important, but its home. Most of the peop le who live in this vi llage are your family. This village is called Nazareth. It’s up in the north of Israel, near the mountains dusted with snow. This is your village, the place you call home. Life is pretty good for you. Sure, you have to go to school, carry water f rom the town's well to your house, and you also have to work pretty hard in the family olive grove, but you get plenty of time to play with your friends climbing trees and keeping out of trouble. But, things are not good for