We made it back home late last night. For us it meant waking up in Jerusalem at 2 AM and arriving home in Tupelo 28 hours later. We were worn out but very grateful for the wonderful trip we had to the Holy Land. On our last day we had this group picture taken on the Mount of Olives.Here are the intrepid pilgrims who joined …
It’s not that much fun waking up at 2 AM, especially at the end of a ten-day tour where you have have been going all day long, visiting one site after another. But getting up early is essential if you want to make it back to the US. When you fly from the US to Europe, you generally leave in the afternoon, flying into …
On this final day of our tour, we started early and never really stopped. Abed wanted to make sure we saw absolutely everything possible before returning home. First we stopped to see some genuine cedars of Lebanon, planted over a hundred years ago at a mission hospital. The cedars are notable because their branches grow st …
Grand Court Hotel, JerusalemWe spent the entire day in the walled city of Old Jerusalem. Abed had us on the bus at 7:30 AM so we could be at the Rabbi’s Tunnel by 8 AM. You have to make reservations six months in advance to make sure of having a place so he didn’t want to be late. We all noticed the high securit …
Grand Court Hotel, JerusalemYesterday I noted that tours have a rhythm. They start with a burst of energy, settle down into a daily routine, and then pick up again as we enter the final few days. That certainly happened today as we paid our first visit to Old Jerusalem. In order, these are the sites we visited:David’s …
Grand Court Hotel, Jerusalem A tour always takes on a rhythm of its own. In the beginning and for several days, adrenaline keeps everyone running in overdrive. Eventually a combination of jet lag and sheer fatigue from the long days leads to a bit of a slowdown. This is entirely natural, and in large part is due to the fac …
Grand Court Hotel, JerusalemThis morning we started in Tiberius on the Sea of Galilee and ended after sundown in Jerusalem, the holy city of God. After two days of very good weather, things changed as thunderstorms moved across northern Israel, bringing wind and a few periods of driving rain. Undaunted, our band of pilgrims …
Caesar Resort Hotel, Tiberius, IsraelOn the shores of the Sea of GalileeToday we hopscotched across northern Galilee, visiting the valley beneath Mt. Arbel where Jesus would have walked on his journey from Nazareth to Capernaum. Then we saw the amazing “Jesus Boat,” an actual fishing boat dating from the time of Christ that …
Caesar Resort Hotel, Tiberius, IsraelOn the shores of the Sea of GalileePerhaps this day is best summed up by a moment that passed quickly, almost unnoticed, but somehow it sticks in the mind. It was the middle of the afternoon, and we were hot and tired and our brains were exploding from all the information Abed, our omnic …
Dan Panorama Hotel, Tel Aviv, IsraelAt this moment we have been up for thirty hours straight. That’s approximately how long it took to get from Tupelo, Mississippi to Tel Aviv, Israel. We made the trip with only two glitches. When we boarded the Turkish Airline flight in Chicago, Rose Sullivan lost her passport. After …