L-O-N-G flight to NYC this morning. Flew out of Tel Aviv at 1:00 a.m. (7:00 p.m. IN time). Arrived in NYC at 7:00 a.m. The flight was a 12-hour marathon! Very glad to be home in spite of the outstanding Israel tour. I've already been asked which tour I like the best. They were both different even thought similar. I think I liked this tour a bit better. We did some new things, but also had two new tour guides that were outstanding.

We had a great farewell banquet last night right on the Mediterranean Sea. We ate Sebring fish. I'd never had it, but WOW was it tasty! Nancy chickened out & had...uh, chicken! It was great also.

I sat for a couple of hours yesterday with our tour host. He has become a very good friend to us. I'm wanting him to come to the church in the early fall & do some teaching related to Israel in the plan of God. He's an outstanding teacher & a very warm & loving individual. He's someone everyone loves.

Hey, thanks for all your support in reading the blog & staying up with what has been happening in Israel. Can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to seeing all of you. Blessings to you all!
Shalom!

The eve of the end! Hmmm. Sounds a bit macabre. I have mixed emotions tonight as I realize once again the tour is over. I'm exhausted from being on the go from 6:00 a.m. wake-up calls(like I need them--) :-) to 8:00 p.m. (sometimes later). On the other hand I feel fully exhilirated from all that we saw as the Bible came to life before our eyes. I told Nancy yesterday that I am really excited to get home to preach again. There's also the side of me that sees this incredible nation where our Messiah was born & lived & died; a nation that is in such turmoil. Even while we have been here there has been shelling going on. The very first night we were here our bus was hit in the window with two huge rocks that cracked the windows (don't tell our oldest daughter or we won't be able to come back!) Beyond the outward turmoil is the inward turmoil in the hearts of the Jewish people; a people zealous for God, but only in the outward forms & traditions & they have no grip on knowing God through Messiah--personally; intimately; genuinely!

Tomorrow morning for us is free. At 3:00 we will go to the Valley of Elah (we missed that today) where David & Goliath did battle. Then we will go to Joppa on our way to the airport. At Joppa we will have our farewell banquet. Our flight out of Tel Aviv is at 11:50 p.m. tomorrow night. We will arrive in NYC at about 10:50 a.m. (which will be 5:00 a.m). Then we will fly the rest of the way home on Monday.

Thanks for your prayers, concerns & interests in this trip. It has been once again eye-opening. Hopefully you will be able to see some of the Land of the Bible through us on our return! I am looking forward to that return & that reunion together!
Shalom!!

Two blogs in one day, unusual! We finished early with our touring today & got back to the hotel early (5:45). Very nice! We spent the morning at the Holocaust museum. It is so incredibly interesting, but you walk out of there in stunned silence. Nancy & I had been before, but we were only able to get through about half of it, so we picked up close to where we left off. She couldn't handle all of it, so I went through much of the last half by myself.

Then we left the museum & headed for the Temple. On the way we drove right past the hospital where I was treated for the heart attack & also the hotel we stayed in while we were there. The tour host made a big deal over it by way of the microphone on the bus. It was de-ja-vous! (sp) The Temple is intriguing with all of it's history & symbolism. It's truly one of my more enjoyable sites on the tour. We were there from around 11:30 until 5:30ish. There are continually making repairs and upgrades.

There is a Marathon here in Jerusalem tomorrow. It happens to be in the neighborhood where our hotel is, so the streets will be shut down around our hotel & we won't be able to get out in the bus until 2:00. Some of the people are going to walk to the "Old City" and do some shopping. Guess who is not part of "some of the people?" :-)))))))) Nancy is sitting behind me smiling & slugging me! :-)) Multiple times! :-((

Saturday is a free day & then that evening we have our farewell dinner before heading to the airport.
Shalom!

We entered Jerusalem last night for the final 3 days of the tour! How quickly the time has gone! We go to the Mount of Olives, Gethsemane, Kidron Valley & The Temple today. We will be back at the Temple tomorrow also.

Today is cloudy & it rained through the night. It's not raining now, but it is also cooler & windy in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is always cooler than the rest of the country due to it's elevation. This actually looks more like a day in London than Jerusalem! :-))

We ran into some Kokomo people last night! One of the people in our group was wearing a Taylor Titan windshirt & someone from Kokomo recognized it. Nancy's cousin actually graduated with the guy we were talking with.

We have had two incredibly long days the last two days; leaving the hotel at 8:00 & returning after 8:00 at night. It's getting near the time for loading the bus!
Shalom!

One long day! Wow! Left the hotel at 8:00 this morning & boarded a boat on the Sea of Galilee. We travelled for over an hour to Kinneserat. Beautifully calm; no wind; pleasant temperature. I don't know how long it would take me to get over the Sea of Galilee! :-)) It is an incredible spot in the world, & one where the Lord invested much time in ministry.

We finally docked & looked around for a bit at a site where the Lord fed 5,000. Then we took the bus to the Mount of Beatitudes. I was asked to speak twice today & this was the first spot. I quoted the early part of the 5th chapter of Matthew & the entire 6th chapter. It was an awe-inspiring moment for me since I have been living with the Sermon on the Mount since January 9th.

From there we went to Capernaum, where Jesus spent much time ministering & moving between Tiberius & Capernaum. I also spoke at this site from John 6.

We had a beautiful lunch at "St. Peter's Restaurant. Outstanding fish & chicken & all the trimmings. After lunch we spent the afternoon travelling the northern end of Israel. We were at Caesarea Phillipi for a small period of time, then we went to a Kibbutz & spent over two hours there. We also travelled to the Lebanon/Israeli border & met with Israeli military men. It was quite eye-opening to see the danger Israel lives under around the clock!

We arrived back at our hotel at 8:30, so as you can tell it has been a rather intense day. Tomorrow will be an equally long day, so for now... Shalom!!

Grateful for the internet in places like Jordan & Israel, but wow, is it slow! It seems slower than the old dial-up days.

What a great couple of days we have had since the last post. Once again I have to say that the country of Jordan did not disappoint! I am so captivated by that place. Most people do not realize that Jordan is actually part of what is called The Holy Land. It is fascinating how much Biblical history (Old & New Testament) actually took place in Jordan.

We spent Sunday morning leaving Israel & passing into Jordan. It was a long, intense process passing through the Jordanian border (2 hours+). We went to Wadi Rum--a gorgeous place in the desert & mountains of Jordan. We took jeeps about 1/2 hour into the desert & some of us "raced" up a sand mountain. It was a very difficult climb, especially at the pace a couple of us were going. I tried "skiing" down, but it just doesn't work with sand that deep. I had 2 walking shoes & 2 socks full of red sand by the time I got back to the room that night. On the way back, we stopped at a camp in the desert & had lunch. The food was pleasantly tasty! They have lots of fresh fruits & vegetables in this part of the world, so I am never at a loss for something to eat!

Back on the bus we went to Wadi Mousa--15 minutes from Petra. Petra means "rock." The city of Petra was carved from rock. If you have seen the Indiana Jones movies you have seen Petra (The Last Crusade). It's a mile walk to Petra from the bus through a gorge created by an earthquake. It is a spectacular sight! There are lots of historical carvings on the walls of the gorge--unfortunately our guide didn't point them out to us as meticulously as the guide on our previous tour--although our guide this trip was superior in almost every other way.

From Petra we headed to Mt. Nebo, where Moses viewed the Promised Land--but as you remember he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land because of his disobedience. It is an awesome sight to stand on the top of that place & view many Biblical sites--The Sea of Galilee; Dead Sea; Jericho; Bethlehem; et al... Following Mt. Nebo we stopped by a local shop of Mosaics & people were afforded the opportunity to shop (& barter!) :-) On to our hotel from there--a fabulous hotel on the Dead Sea. We spent the night & then had this morning free. We didn't have to board the bus until noon, so people took advantage of the time & swam in the Dead Sea (floated). Many people were covered with the black mud from the Dead Sea which is full of great minerals. It makes your skin feel like the proverbial "baby's butt!!"

After leaving the hotel we arrived in Bethany beyond the Jordan. There we baptized 8people in the Jordan River (2 who had never been baptized). The Jordan was out of its banks with snows from Mt. Hermon & an abundance of spring rain. It was a special service with singing; Scripture reading; & the baptisms. From Bethany we headed for the Israeli border. It was a bit of a sad farewell to our guide named John. He was a really neat guy who is a true believer in Jesus! We got through the border with a couple of minor glitches. It will be good not having to deal with border patrol for another 6 days! :-)))

Tonight we are in our hotel on the Sea of Galilee. Beautiful spot. They had a great light show over the Sea of Galilee at 7:00, 8:00 & 9:00 this evening. We will be staying at this hotel in this region for the next two nights. We will view many of the New Testament sights where Jesus & the Apostles ministered. We take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee first thing in the morning. These next three days will be quite long & tiring, as we are on the move from early morning until late in the evening.
Shalom!

Red Sea Delight!

Once again I was amazed at the beauty of the Red (Reed) Sea. It's a blue that is impossible to describe. We boarded the boat at 11:00 a.m. today after spending a couple of hours at the Underwater Observatory. Beautiful place, with lots of amazing water-life.

On the Red Sea we toured for a bit just taking in the sights. It was incredibly windy today so it squelched some of the original plans. We still anchored the boat; jump off the top of the boat into the water; (75 degrees--a bit cool!); we swam for about an hour & then had a very nice lunch on the boat. They grilled hamburgers, chicken, hot dogs and some kind of sausage. Then we celebrated one of the tourists birthday with a nice cake.

We have been back at the room for a couple of hours so I took advantage & got a good, long workout in. They have a wonderful facility here at the hotel. Tonight we will be going to a church service. We will not eat dinner until we are back from the service (9:15).

Tomorrow we head to Jordan. That is a leg of the trip I enjoyed immensely two years ago. Hope it is as invigorating & enlightening as before.

Hope to have internet access tomorrow evening.
Shalom!
Kim