Everyone was up by 3 a.m. to get their luggage ready to be loaded onto the bus and be on our way to the Tel Aviv Airport by 4 a.m. We arrived there at 5 a.m. thinking 3 hours for security should be plenty. Well, it worked but several in our group arrived at the gate 5-10 minutes before the flight was scheduled to depart. John & Reg were questioned separately about our trip and we assume security personnel compared their answers. There were many, many security checks and many from our team members were required to go through extra security. We were all a bit tired of luggage since we had packed around 300 school kits for the students in Zarqa besides all of the food we had packed for the ladies to cook while we were there. We loaded that luggage onto and off from the tour bus more times than any of us care to count. Many of us also carried it up several flights of stairs since elevators were small and often slow. I guess it seemed fitting that we haul this luggage around a bit more on the last day. Sheila McCauley's dream (nightmare) on Saturday night after returning home spoke volumes: she was waiting at the luggage carousel only to find her clothing arriving one article at a time with no suitcase in which to put it! The flight home was fine and we were all happy to see the U.S.A! We arrived in Richland Center around midnight. It took John & I (and it sounds like many others) several days to recover from the jet-lag and long, hot days of work and touring while in Israel/Jordan.
A few days after the trip we were discussing how it was difficult to find the right adjective to describe this work & witness trip to Israel/Jordan. I think we decided one adjective wouldn't be sufficient and settled on the description that it was a wonderfully fulfilling trip in every way, socially, physically, mentally & spiritually. We met many new Nazarene friends and got to know others at a much deeper level. Unfortunately, for safety reasons, I can't share names and pictures of the people we met in Israel/Jordan. We were certainly challenged physically with all of the work at the school & the walking tours. And our brains are definitely on overload from all of the information we took in during the trip. I wish I could remember it all! Our spiritual lives will never be the same after walking the many places where Jesus walked and seeing how the Nazarene Christians are ministering to the people in the Middle East. What a wonderful privilege to be part of this group!
John and Kim
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Day Twelve: Border Crossing from Jordan to Israel & Garden Tomb
We left early this morning to head back to Israel for a last day of touring. We enjoyed the final escort by our Jordanian tour guide as he shared more historical information about the countryside and we sang songs, accompanied by Pam Peterson-Kintz on the guitar, at his request. Although Muslim, he seemed to really enjoy the Christian hymns and choruses we sang. The border crossing went fairly well although Shirley came through minus one suitcase. After much searching and a final request to authorities, it was recovered and we were on our way back to Jerusalem. We made one stop on the return trip. That stop was at Jericho, the oldest city in the world. Interesting to see the site where, as the old song states, the "walls came tumbling down".
Our final bit of touring was the alternative site of the crucifixion and burial, where evangelicals believe these events may have occurred . I am reminded it is not important where Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected but that he was crucified, buried & resurrected! We saw where Jesus may have been lowered into the dungeon in Caiaphas' house the night before his crucifixion and were able to walk down stairs (that would not have originally existed) and gather in that small dungeon where Rachel Greenawalt read a very moving passage from the Psalms. From here, we went to the steps where, all experts agree, Jesus would have climbed to Caiaphas' house. Our final stop was the Garden Tomb where we were able to walk inside. At a quiet place near the tomb, one of our Nazarene missionaries to Israel led us in a communion service. It was a wonderful time in God's presence and a perfect ending to our tour.
Our final night (if you call waking at 1:30 a.m. a night!) was spent at the Holyland Hotel in Jerusalem. We enjoyed local dishes at a buffet in the hotel. Dessert was medicine to eliminate any parasites we may have ingested since one of our team members found a live worm in her water bottle. The doctors on our team advised we take a little preventative medicine. The pill form had run out by the time the doctor reached our table, so we had a "toast" to conclude our evening with a tablespoon of liquid medicine!
Pictures include: A street vendor selling the daily newspaper within the lanes of traffic, a herd of Bedouin goats in Jordan, Bedouin homes/huts, border crossing sign, a date palm tree loaded with dates, John & I at the Elisha Spring Fountain in Jericho, the steps leading to Caiaphas' house, the hole through which Jesus may have been lowered into the dungeon, the dungeon where Jesus may have been held the night before His crucifixion, the Garden Tomb entrance, inside the Garden Tomb and our group prior to receiving holy communion.
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