All but a few of us are home. Two of our group, Barb and Edie, went on to Jordan and should be home tomorrow night. they fly out of Tel Aviv just like we did. About 10 others went to Egypt and they also should be home tomorrow sometime. They fly our of Kiro so prayers for safe travels for them all.
We got home on Wednesday and back to Manson about 4:00 p.m. Wednesday night I slept 12 1/2 hours. Since then my body had been struggling to acclimate to US time. I get very tired about 8 p.m. and struggle to stay up till 10. I didn't have trouble in Israel but have struggled some since I got home. I know that it will soon be better. And it is all worth it.
I have to say that my mind is swimming with so much information and my heart is swimming with so much emotion.
I will never read the Bible in the same light that I read it before. I will never study with the same feelings. I will never look at anything like I did before. The Bible is so much more alive for me than it has ever been. The stories, the parables, the people, are all so much more real, so much more meaningful, so much more alive now than they have ever been for me. I cried tears of joy at many of the places we went, and I have cried tears of joy as I start to retell the stories back here.
So I hope that you will sit back, relax and enjoy the stories that we have learned while in Israel as you continue to read this blog about our trip. I hope that the pictures and what we have learned will also make the stories and the people more alive for you also. Here we go.
Let me start with the trip over. I think I told you before that when we left Des Moines it was 0 degrees outside and when we landed in Tel Aviv it was 75. Our first flight was delayed leaving Des Moines - but as there were 27 of us on that flight that needed to catch the next flight in Chicago they held the plane for us. How sweet. here are some pictures of us in the airport.
After a 10 1/2 hour flight from Newark N.J to Tel Aviv we landed in Israel. I thought that getting out of the country and into Israel was hard - BUT - getting back into the US of A was much tougher and I'll tell you about that later.
Our guide Pilar and our driver Hasem picked us up at the airport and we headed to Jerusalem.
On our way there we drove through the Rephaim Valley where Joshua fought the Canaanites, as well as the Elah Valley where David defeated Goliath. We drove through the Judean Hill and desert to reach Jerusalem. and as we entered Pilar played "The Holy City" as well as "Holy Ground" and we tried so sing through our tears.
Our first hotel was the Olive Tree which is where most of the Educational Opportunity tours stay. It is a beautiful hotel. Here are some pictures of it.
The food was plentiful - but different - and for someone like me who is a "little picky" about my food it was very different. Breakfast consisted of NO meat - but dairy. We had pancakes, waffles, lots of cheese, cereal, fruits, potatoes (I ate lots of potatoes), lots and lots of different breads, and some hot dishes. Supper consisted of NO dairy - they never mix dairy and meat. There were lots of fruits, veggies, meats, breads, salads, and deserts galore. Almost every meal was a buffet meal and as I said there was lots and lots of food. Here are some pictures of the place we ate breakfast and supper at the Olive Tree. Lunch was out as we toured.
Ok. So you get the picture of how we started. I have so much more to share but am ending today with a couple of misc. photos. Some of our tip over, some from the plane, and just some odds and ends. Please keep reading as we travel - this time with pictures - through Israel and walk the path the Jesus walked.
Tonight I leave you with some words from a very powerful song:"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, lift up your gates and sing. Hosanna, in the highest. Hosanna to the King."
May God's grace and peace be with each and everyone of you until you read again.
All for now, so much more to follow,
Pastor Deb
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