We have arrived safely to Atlanta after 13 hour flight. Looking forward to flight home shortly. We should arrive in Huntsville at 8am. Blessings to you all.
We did arrive in Huntsville about 8am. It would have been great to stay awake all day and sleep tonight but I passed out and slept all day. Hopefully will be able to go back to sleep sometime before morning. I seem to be coming down with a respiratory thing but hopefully is short lived. I was exhausted but well worth the wonderful time we had in the land of our LORD.
Blessings my friends!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Thursday - Day 11
We are at the gate at the Tel Aviv airport. It is 8:45pm here and our flight leaves at 11:05. We are happy to be through security. They really check well here at this airport and I do not mind at all since it is for our safety.
We had a leisurely morning at the hotel before leaving at 11:45am. Some of us went back to the prayer center and prayed for a while. Some shopped. Some went back to the garden tomb to pray.
After departing from our hotel we went to the Temple Mount. This is where the Temple was located before it was destroyed. Now the Dome of the Rock, a mosque, is the main building on the temple mount. We enjoyed visiting that area and also the wailing wall (Western Wall). Some of us had visited the Western Wall yesterday and put our prayers in the cracks of the rocks as is tradition there. It was an extremely crowded day there with bar mitzvas and a Jewish girls' school was there praying as well.
This is Thursday and the traffic is terrible, like our Friday.
We traveled on to Joppa and toured that area and then had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant in Joppa before coming to the airport.
We have truly had a wonderful week. We have been blessed with beautiful weather, an awesome guide and driver, and most of the blessed by the presence of the Holy Spirit. We have been privileged to walk in the steps of Jesus.
I know I have left out some things due to being tired when writing this blog each evening but I hope you have enjoyed it. I also hope that if you have the opportunity and the LORD leads that you will visit this land. It is truly an experience that you will never forget. We have had a wonderful group and we have all enjoyed getting to know one another better.
We are continuing to pray for those back home that are in need of prayer.
Blessings from the Holy Land.
We had a leisurely morning at the hotel before leaving at 11:45am. Some of us went back to the prayer center and prayed for a while. Some shopped. Some went back to the garden tomb to pray.
After departing from our hotel we went to the Temple Mount. This is where the Temple was located before it was destroyed. Now the Dome of the Rock, a mosque, is the main building on the temple mount. We enjoyed visiting that area and also the wailing wall (Western Wall). Some of us had visited the Western Wall yesterday and put our prayers in the cracks of the rocks as is tradition there. It was an extremely crowded day there with bar mitzvas and a Jewish girls' school was there praying as well.
This is Thursday and the traffic is terrible, like our Friday.
We traveled on to Joppa and toured that area and then had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant in Joppa before coming to the airport.
We have truly had a wonderful week. We have been blessed with beautiful weather, an awesome guide and driver, and most of the blessed by the presence of the Holy Spirit. We have been privileged to walk in the steps of Jesus.
I know I have left out some things due to being tired when writing this blog each evening but I hope you have enjoyed it. I also hope that if you have the opportunity and the LORD leads that you will visit this land. It is truly an experience that you will never forget. We have had a wonderful group and we have all enjoyed getting to know one another better.
We are continuing to pray for those back home that are in need of prayer.
Blessings from the Holy Land.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Day 10 - Wednesday
Today was our free day in Jerusalem. We began our day by going to the Jerusalem Prayer Center. This is Baptist owned property. Missionaries there shared with us about how this is open to all people to come in and prayer. Scotty and I had visited there last summer and wanted our group to have this experience. We heard the story of H.G.Spafford and the writing of the song,'It is Well with My Soul'. Then we sang it together and enjoyed worshipping the LORD together. We then spent time in the interactive prayer room and visiting with the missionaries in this beautiful place.
We then went back to the Garden Tomb and spent some time with God. We saw our friends again, Richard and Rosalind Merrion. Richard is the director and they are precious Christian friends.
We went down to the Old City through the Damascus Gate and enjoyed walking, shopping and just enjoying the culture and sites in the Old City. We also went to the Pool of Bethsaida. We did a lot of walking needless to say. We left here at 9am and returned at 3.30pm. A another group walked the city wall which we have done before as well.\
Tomorrow we leave at noon so probably no more blogging until I get home. We leave here at noon and tour until dinner in Joppa and then to the airport for our 11pm flight to USA. We are scheduled to arrive back in Huntsville around 8am on Friday. your prayers are appreciated. we are praying for all the requests that we hear about through email.
Blessings from the beautiful Holy City!
Shalom
We then went back to the Garden Tomb and spent some time with God. We saw our friends again, Richard and Rosalind Merrion. Richard is the director and they are precious Christian friends.
We went down to the Old City through the Damascus Gate and enjoyed walking, shopping and just enjoying the culture and sites in the Old City. We also went to the Pool of Bethsaida. We did a lot of walking needless to say. We left here at 9am and returned at 3.30pm. A another group walked the city wall which we have done before as well.\
Tomorrow we leave at noon so probably no more blogging until I get home. We leave here at noon and tour until dinner in Joppa and then to the airport for our 11pm flight to USA. We are scheduled to arrive back in Huntsville around 8am on Friday. your prayers are appreciated. we are praying for all the requests that we hear about through email.
Blessings from the beautiful Holy City!
Shalom
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Day 9 - Tuesday
You know the drill by now. Breakfast at the hotel, on the bus at 8am. Today we went to Masada. Masada was a summer palace and fortress built by Herod the Great. I’m sure you have heard the story of the Jewish zealots who went to Masada to escape from the Romans. We had a beautiful day to spent time on Masada and hear the story of the Jews who chose to die rather than be slaves to the Romans. We had a beautiful and warm day to enjoy this special place which has also a wonderful view of surrounding Judean wilderness, Dead Sea and Mt. Nebo in Jordan on the other side of the Dead Sea.
We then went to Qumran where the dead sea scrolls were found. We saw excavations from where the Essenes lived who spent time copying scrolls and hiding them in caves in the area. It is believed that John the Baptist may have been an Essene. We had a lovely lunch there and also some shopping, especially for Dead Sea products.
Next we went for our swim (float) in the Dead Sea. Most of the group participated and those who did had a wonderful time. We were in a very muddy area so some of us had mud baths as well. You will probably not even recognize us when we get home since we now look so much younger.
We traveled back toward Jerusalem and made a stop in Bethany. We visited a church built over the house where Mary, Martha and Lazarus lived. Jim Vaughn read the scripture for us about the death and resurrection of Lazarus. Scotty brought a message to us bringing out some interesting thoughts about this passage. Nabil, our guide, also read the scripture about Mary anointing the feet of Jesus at this location. This town was very special to our guide because he was born in Bethany but has lived in Jerusalem since he was seven years old. We had a wonderful time in the Word and in worship in this beautiful place that meant so much to our LORD.
Just a bit of shopping before getting back on the bus to go to our hotel, then a little rest before dinner.
Tomorrow is our free day in Jerusalem so we will have breakfast and meet at 9am to walk, walk, walk in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Another wonderful and beautiful day!
Shalom.
We then went to Qumran where the dead sea scrolls were found. We saw excavations from where the Essenes lived who spent time copying scrolls and hiding them in caves in the area. It is believed that John the Baptist may have been an Essene. We had a lovely lunch there and also some shopping, especially for Dead Sea products.
Next we went for our swim (float) in the Dead Sea. Most of the group participated and those who did had a wonderful time. We were in a very muddy area so some of us had mud baths as well. You will probably not even recognize us when we get home since we now look so much younger.
We traveled back toward Jerusalem and made a stop in Bethany. We visited a church built over the house where Mary, Martha and Lazarus lived. Jim Vaughn read the scripture for us about the death and resurrection of Lazarus. Scotty brought a message to us bringing out some interesting thoughts about this passage. Nabil, our guide, also read the scripture about Mary anointing the feet of Jesus at this location. This town was very special to our guide because he was born in Bethany but has lived in Jerusalem since he was seven years old. We had a wonderful time in the Word and in worship in this beautiful place that meant so much to our LORD.
Just a bit of shopping before getting back on the bus to go to our hotel, then a little rest before dinner.
Tomorrow is our free day in Jerusalem so we will have breakfast and meet at 9am to walk, walk, walk in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Another wonderful and beautiful day!
Shalom.
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