on March 17, 2011 by
Future Possibilities Our group will gather soon to unpack the trip - we'll share some photos and memories, and talk about what the trip meant to us. We'll remember the camels, the sheep and shepherds, and bedouin we saw on the hillsides ... read post
on March 17, 2011 by
The Phenomena of Focus It is an interesting phenomena that happens when you focus on something. It's like what happens when a director frames a shot. The viewer sees what the director wants the viewer to see, irrelevant or unwanted ... read post
on March 15, 2011 by
How Cool is That! Archaeology has to be about the coolest profession. Imagine discovering the oldest arch constructed by humankind - it's visible at Dan. Or a wall of the ancient City of Jerusalem that was scaled by the Babylonians in ... read post
on March 14, 2011 by
Is This the Spot? When you go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where you go is most important. It's not just random places, but rather places that are connected with people or events important to the faith and mentioned in scripture. ... read post
on March 14, 2011 by
Personal Perspective When I was first in the Galilee, some 4 years ago, it was spring time, flowers were blooming and the air was fresh and clear. I got some beautiful photographs of the sunrise over the Sea of Galilee, boats bobbing on the ... read post
on March 13, 2011 by
Three-Quarter Million When you learn about the the Israeli War for Independence, that battle that occurred in 1947-1948 when the UN granted Israel its independence following the British Mandate and the five Arab nations bordering it attacked to ... read post
on March 12, 2011 by
They're All Not the Same I mentioned how surprised some of us were to realize there were Arab Christians. As the travelers honestly acknowledged this with some embarrassment, we realized how easy it was to think in generalities of people. It ... read post
on March 11, 2011 by
Arab Israelis One of the interesting insights many of our travelers gained during the trip was that there were Israeli Arabs. It makes sense, though many folk had not thought about it. Our guide during the Israeli portion of our trip ... read post
on March 10, 2011 by
Holy Land Trip Observations I haven't mentioned on the blog but it is circulating through the church that I returned back with a slipped disc. It happened as we headed into Jordan, yet I just pushed-on, not wanting to miss anything, making ... read post
on March 08, 2011 by
Back in La Jolla Except for Barbara who headed off to be with her cousin, we are all back now in La Jolla. Strange how the hillsides we so rememniscent of the Holy Land as we looked out our plane windows as the flight was landing ... read post
on March 05, 2011 by
Friday & Saturday – Last Day & Coming Home We loaded our bags on the bus for our departure from Jordan, early Friday morning. Yet ... read post
on March 03, 2011 by
Thursday – Petra If you are going to drive 3 hours one way to get somewhere, it better be worth it. Petra is! What an incredible ... read post
on March 03, 2011 by
Wednesday – Welcome to Jordan Crossing the Allenby Bridge from Israel to Jordan required four checkpoints and two baggage scanning processes. In ... read post
on March 01, 2011 by
Tuesday – March 1 – Last Day in Israel Today was a whirlwind of emotions. It started off even keeled enough with a visit to Ein Kerem, a ... read post
on February 28, 2011 by
Monday – Below Sea Level Today we headed out to Masada near the southern end of the Dead ... read post
on February 27, 2011 by
Sunday – Inside the Holy City We spilled out of the bus at Herod’s Gate, sometimes called the Flower Gate. A couple quick turns and we ... read post
on February 26, 2011 by
Saturday – Outside the City A few folk have shared with me their difficulty in sleeping through the night. Not caused by the time change of 10 ... read post
on February 25, 2011 by
Friday – Journeying South We got an early jump on the day, as we headed south through the Hula Valley along the Jordan River to Jericho and ... read post
on February 24, 2011 by
Thursday – Jesus in Galilee Jesus gathered disciples who were fisherman and is recorded numerous times using boats to cross the Sea of ... read post
on February 23, 2011 by
Tuesday – First Day Out We’ve got a tour bus to ourselves, just the 26 of us. We are color coded “tan.” Nadar is our ... read post
on February 22, 2011 by
Monday – We’ve Arrived! The flights were uneventful though long – the excitement of being on our way carried us through. ... read post
on February 20, 2011 by
Here We Go What a great worship today. We talked about our Judeo-Christian, and how we travelers are soon to be on our way back to our roots, back to where Jesus walked, back to where the Christian faith leaped forward beyond ethnicity into ... read post
on February 10, 2011 by
Travelers / Pilgrims Thought it might be good to share who is going on this trip. Some would categorize themselves as travelers or tourists or people interested in the geography or the history and some would categorize themselves as ... read post
on February 09, 2011 by
Itinerary Yesterday, we finally got our Official Itinerary. A week of so late due to the events of Egypt creating caution and alternatives. Here's what we are doing: February 21 - depart USA on flight to Tel Aviv February 22 - ... read post
on February 08, 2011 by
Two Weeks to Departure Well, everyone has been watching the events occur in Egypt - "power to the people!" we send our prayers and highest hopes that the Egyptians will be able to take a full stride forward toward freedom and civil rights. ... read post