Visiting the Holy Land has been a dream for as long as I can remember. To walk the sacred ground of the savior, to gather where his followers gathered on the shores of the Sea of Galilee where he called Peter and Andrew to follow him and he preached to the many that hungered and thirsted for His righteousness. To walk the Via Dolorosa (the way of suffering) that our Lord carried the cross to his death. To experience my faith in a way I have not before. My church goes yearly and I have signed up to go but one thing or another would always pop up and I would not be able to go. This year my husband Doug and I signed up and I was bound and determined to go but there was no room on the tour. I told them to let me know if something changed and she told me that this never happens but she would let me know. At the last moment the church contacted me and told me that there were two spots. I was so excited I told her I would take them but my husband couldn’t make it, so I asked my eldest son Eric and he said he would come with me. We dropped everything – it isn’t every day you are visiting the Holy Land! We rushed to get his passport and get everything together, and the next thing we knew it was time! This is my journey, my dream come true and I am inviting you to join me, visiting the Holy Land.
Visiting The Holy Land – The Trip Begins
Israel
We are here!
Praise the Lord!
The journey was long. We met the shuttle at 12:30 pm, Wednesday for our ride to LAX in order to meet our Calvary Chapel group at 2:30 pm. Surprise surprise surprise we made it in one hour! We met Pastor Shad and picked up our passport and itinerary, checked our bags, and were off to San Francisco-almost. We had about a 3 + hour wait. The plane was a little late and San Francisco had too many flights- but no worries.
We made it to San Francisco about 7:15. Then off to the international terminal.
We flew over California, the NE tip of Nevada the SE tip of Oregon, Idaho, Montana, thru the middle of Canada, across what looked like the east arctic frozen tundra on the map. Then back down over Norway, Sweden, the Baltic Sea, Poland, various smaller countries, Turkey, the Mediterranean Sea, and finally Tel Aviv, Israel.
It was interesting to watch the day turn to night, to daytime, and again night as we soared at 600mph, almost 39,000 feet thru various time zones. At one point while Eric and I were up stretching by the galley, I looked out a small window and saw the most beautiful sight, clouds as far as the eye could see with the moon shining on them casting everything in the most glorious shade of blue.
No camera, of course, but spectacular. I love how even at this height the fingerprints of God are visible.
This flight lasted about 14 hours later, yuck! Unfortunately, they didn’t seat Eric and me together. Luckily they were able to upgrade him slightly to “economy plus”. It was still cramped but if you knew Eric and his very long legs you would understand that those long legs wouldn’t have made it in economy class.
We both managed a little sleep while on the flight and we were served two dinners. Chicken or pasta after takeoff and chicken or pasta before landing. It was a funny breakfast but it tasted pretty good. I guess technically it was night in Israel, even though it was breakfast for us.
Visiting The Holy Land – Tel Aviv Airport
The Tel Aviv Airport is very modern. There is more security there at the airport than there was at home so when you go, prepare for that and prepare to be patient. We had long lines to go through for our passport check. They weren’t messing around there but I guess you really can’t.
About an hour later we were gathered
with our group, luggage in hand heading for the tour bus that was going to take us to our hotel in Jerusalem.
At 10:22 pm Thursday, Pastor Shad prayed over us and our trip, Thanking the Lord for this wonderful blessing. My eyes teared up knowing I was finally here in God’s land, one flowing with milk and honey!
This is the tour bus that the church hired for us to take us to the Hotel. We got our luggage safely stowed away and then we were off again – The bus was comfortable and the driver was kind. The trip from Tel Aviv airport to Jerusalem was a 45-minute drive by bus. We were all tired but so excited to see what God was going to do and what we were going to experience. We knew that our lives were going to change, just being here. Everyone was talkative it seemed knowing that our adventure was at hand. We strained our eyes to try to see out the windows so we would not miss a thing but mostly it was too dark to see anything.
Visiting The Holy Land – The David Citadel Hotel
At last, we arrived at the David Citadel Hotel. It is so beautiful here! The staff at the hotel greeted us warmly with our choice of orange juice, grapefruit juice, and sweet goodies. It was so good to be able to walk around and stretch our legs. Eric was so stiff from being cramped up on the plane that he was so happy to be off the plane and able to finally move.
We checked in to the hotel and were finally in our rooms around midnight. The accommodations are excellent here and the bed looks heavenly.
Can’t wait to stretch out this tired but happy body.
Blessings to you friends!
Until next time, Shalom from the Holy Land. ~ Debbie
Debbie lives in Southern California with her husband Doug and her children and grandchildren.
Visiting The Holy Land – To see the rest of this journey here
- Holy Land Tour: Jerusalem
- Holy Land Tour | Qumran
- Holy Land Tour | En- Gedi
- Holy Land Tour | Masada
- Holy Land Tour | Israel The City of David
- Holy Land Tour | Israel & The Mount of Olives
- Holy Land Tour | Herodian Street, New Discovery, Old Sewers, and Temple Stones
- Holy Land Tour | The Valley Of Jehoshaphat & The Kidron Valley
- Holy Land Tour | David and Goliath
- Holy Land Tour | YAD- Hashmona -Memorial To The Eight
- Holy Land Tour | The Sea of Galilee
- Holy Land Tour | Capharnaum – Jesus’s Headquarters
- Holy Land Tour | The Seven Springs, The Great Catch and the Fishing Boat
