Sacred Journey

The Sacred Journey is well under way. Thank you to the Worship Council for dedicating the flowers in my honor on Sunday. How very special! And thank you so very much for the cards and well wishes. I will begin to open them and read them this evenig.

The trip to Newark was a rocky flight. My trip was delayed - the plane would not leave until 10 PM. Told them that would not work as I was to leave Newark at 10:50 PM. They put me on another flight and it was cancelled, but thankfully I was finally given a seat on a small commuter express jet. This was the last plane to leave the DC area due to weather conditions in the northeast. Initially the trip was like being on a roller coaster. No drinks served on this flight. The steward's head nearly touched the ceiling of the plane and he probably was no more than 5'10". Had the flight caused him to move upwards he easily could have sustained a concussion.

Long story short,I arrived safely and met up with the rest of my group. Seems like they had similar stories with some people even needing to change the city of the departure. Thankfully, we all made it to Newark.

Security was really tight at Dulles. Newark almost seemed superficially tight. Although, the person I am supposed to share accomodations with was not allowed to leave Newark. She brought the wrong passport and had to return to Dallas, TX. Hopefully, she will join us in Tiberius tomorrow. Talk about a nightmare - I can't even begin to imagine how tired she will be when she finally arrives. Even before this happened her flight stories were ones of delay after delay. Guess the storm on the East coast was bigger than I had realized.

The flight from Newark to Tel Aviv went well. We were on a 777 - the largest plane I've been on and Continental's newest. There were tre roow of three seats for at least 45 rows deep. There were 51 movies to chose from, games to play, music to listen to, and you could watch the flight pattern as the planeflew up to Canada, just south of Greenland, over Paris, Rome Germany, Austria, Budapest, and finally into Tel Aviv. I did manage to sleep some. Flight time was approximately 10.5 hours. The return flight will be a couple of hours longer due to head winds.

An hour after the plane lifted off, we were served dinner. Seemd strange eating dinner at midnight. We had salmon on a caesar salad and I had chicken and rice for my entree. The other choice was pasta and beef. I was surprised the utensils were regular metal ones, including a knife. No plastic here.

Breakfast was interesting. Not sure what it was and I didn't eat much of it. The fruit was good, though.

The airport at Tel Aviv is huge - am told it's nicer than the one in Cairo. Much to my amazement, none of the airports have been crowded.

Some people told me the security would be incredibly tight here in Tel Aviv - if it was, it hasn't been that apparent. Have yet to see any soldiers with automatic weapons. Someone sugested we might not be quite a scrutinized since we are traveling in a group with a well know travel agency. That's fine with me.

You can, however, always tell when the police are in the area - the blue lights on their vehicles constantly flash. They have microphones they use to pull you over, if need be. Did see lots of police cars between Tel Aviv and Jericho, where we are now.

The drive by motor coach from Tel Aviv toJericho took us near Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a little over 3000 feet above sea level and Jericho is about 1200 feet below sea level. The drop in a distance of 12 miles gives new perspective to the story of the Good Samaritan. Also, the walk from Jericho to Jerusalem would have been one steep walk.

Although evening, the change from the lush green in Tel Aviv to the deset going to Jericho is quite a contrast. I imagine it will be even more so in the daylight. It is the rainy season right now so everyone is thankful. Rain is greatly appreciated. Totals for the year are 6 inches in the desert area to around 25 inches in Jerusalem

Tomorrow is to be a busy day. We will hear stories in and around Jericho, including mine about Zacheus. We go to Cana and will hear the story of Jesus' first miracle. remember what it is?

We plan to visit a Russian Orthodox Church and some other places I don't remember. We will also go to the Village of Nazareth and see some archaeological digs and other sites. Finally, we will end a long day at the motel in Tiberius along the Sea of Galillee.

Wake up in the morning is at 6:00, luggage outside our door at 6:30, breakfast at 7 and the bus leaves at 8.

The motel is located in Paestine and is the one where Rice, Hilton, and other "important people" stay when here to discuss Palenstinian issues.
Interestingly enough, out tour guide is from Palestine, but is an approved Israli tour guide. He is incredible and has so many stories to share!

Dennis and Lynn (the other story teller) have everything well organized with the word for each day being flexibility.

My body says it 4:00 but my watch says 11:00.

Guess I do need to go get some sleep.

Take care and God bless. You too are on a journey, a journey of faith. May each day be memorable.

My love to each of you.