Greetings Holy Land Tripsters Readers,

Much to my great dismay my iPad seems not to be able to publish my posts on this blog. Fortunately, Denise Wylde is having better luck so I defer to her great writing and photography for the time being. Access her blog at gotothelandiwillshowyou.blogspot.com

If I can get up and running we will let you know. Thanks to my son Steve who is posting this note from Denver - texting works but nothing else. I am sorry but Denise will keep you informed.

We are well though warm. It was a hot day to ride camels but we did after seeing Masada and descending by way of the Roman siege ramp. That is not as bad as it sounds. It is the path down on the west side of Masada :)

We then bobbed in the Dead Sea - a great day.

Shalom,
Mary

"I'm sleeping and I'm awake"

Greetings from Tel Aviv,

That statement actually makes sense to many in our Tripsters group.  Many hours of travel later we have safely arrived.  We have strolled the boardwalk by the Mediterranean Sea, been well fed and are headed to bed in preparation for our trip to the desert and the Judean wilderness tomorrow.

This afternoon I asked Ginger Waymire if Randy, her son, who was not around at the moment, was sleeping?  Her response was, "I don't know, I'm sleeping and I am awake".  It is time to end a very long day.

Because Denise Wylde has already posted her blog and there are pictures too, I refer you to her good writing and photography while I prepare for worship tomorrow.  Access to her blog is:
gotothelandiwillshowyou.blogspot.com

Blessings and Shalom
Mary Hulst

Holy Land Tripsters - October 2015

The pictured calm and beauty of the Sea of Galilee seems long off at the moment.  I have much to do before Friday's departure.  The calm will come though within me as I make my way through my lists and get my bags packed.  Yogi Berra in one of his great one liners said, "Why buy good luggage you only use it when you travel."  My good suitcase has logged thousands of miles and so many of them from travel in one of the most fascinating and engaging destinations in the world-The Holy Land.  It will serve me well again and when I unpack in two weeks it's contents will have been witness to adventure, stories, laughter and fun, transforming moments, stunning scenery, new relationships, deepened faith, breathtaking vistas, unbelievable insights, widened world vision, heart opening understandings,  all of that and more.  It is why I keep going back and why this is my 15th trip there .

There is another kind of calm for which I pray.  Rarely does any group take off for Israel with the sense of complete calm over there.  This week is no different. It is helpful to understand though that October can be a month of tension. High Holy days are just past in Judaism.  Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur toward the end of September and the Feast of Tabernacles that just ended last week mean that the city of Jerusalem has been filled to overflowing and it has presented opportunity for extremists in both the Jewish faith and Islamic faith to make bold statements and sometimes provocative actions.  They are localized in areas where we will not travel.  They are in no way directed toward tourists, Americans or Christians.  Also our itinerary is changeable by the day if necessary.  Jim Fleming our lecturer and guide is a master at knowing what is going on in the country and knowing how to pro actively avoid difficult spots.  A long conversation with him yesterday was reassuring.

I always covet prayer when I travel with a group, so do remember us, but also know that WE WILL TRAVEL SMART AND SAFE.  Sadly there are tensions in the world, even here.

Anticipating a grand adventure punctuated with a stay at a kibbutz next to the above pictured Sea of Galilee,
I close with Blessings and Shalom to you,
Mary Hulst

When you come to a fork in the road

It was Yogi Berra who said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."  We have seen so much in this trip that I know there have been times when we have taken both forks.  We concluded our touring today with Caesarea by he sea.    The beautiful Mediterranean sparkled!

Because we head to the airport in the middle of the night and there is packing to be done I will do a wrap up post when I get home.  Here though is one more picture that seems the perfect one for our last day.

I wore a pedometer for the whole trip.  We are now 167,880 steps later.  According to my fitbit that is 70.06 miles of walking since we began.  Impressive, don't you think.

We pray for travel mercies and we will see loved ones soon.

Blessings, Mary

Travel is more than the seeing of sights

I may have posted this quote early in the trip, but it is appropriate as we begin our last day: Miriam Beard wrote, "Travel is more than the seeing of sights, it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living."

Travel to this land must be that or so much opportunity and deep understanding will have been lost.  To travel here is to go home with so many images that create both tension in thought and discovery of meaning.  In truth, I believe that people with great diversity in culture and religion, live together here in Jerusalem better than our US media would have us believe.  A number of us went to the Western Wall last night to observe the beginning of the Sabbath, which starts with sundown.  It is a celebration that includes dancing and singing and a sense of joy.  To remember the sabbath and keep it holy is deeply ingrained into Jewish life.  There is wisdom in setting aside a day a week for rest.
From the wall we walked through the Muslim quarter to return to our hotel.  The narrow passageways were crowded with Jews, Muslims, soldiers, tourists from many lands, all passing one another in peace.  It is more the norm than what we read.

Earlier in the day we had spent time with Nihad and his wife Silwa.  It was good for us to hear a Palestinian perspective and understand a bit better the issues for Palestinians.  It is all of these images that shout for attention as one travels and it is those impressions that help form new thought in the ideas of living.  Meet Nihad and Silwa, faithful Christians seeking to respond to God's call.
        
            We head to Caesarea by the sea today to complete our trip by thinking about how The Apostle Paul  carried the gospel into the gentile world.

 Blessings Mary

Blessed are the curious

It has been said, "Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventure."  Thursday was a free day for the Tripsters and adventures were had.  A large group went to the Garden Tomb, the more garden like setting that feels like the right place for Jesus' burial, even if archaeologists know it is not.  The group was thrilled to be a part of a worship service.   For the curious-all of us-Jerusalem was explored during the day.  Everything from every conceivable type of shop in the markets to the EXPO Marathon being run today, was discovered.  Around every corner a new surprise. Here are a few...

A bar mitzva compete with music and parade, which will end at the Western Wall

                           All Israeli's, men and women, at the age of 18 , serve in the military.

 The spice shop in the shuk displays amazing mountains of spice.  Blessings, Mary

Humans have infinite possibilities

Humans do have infinite possibilities.  We were reminded today that those possibilities can lead to both good and evil.  Our visit to Yad VaShem, the Holocaust memorial was profound and emotional, Six million Jews, killed in the Holocaust, are remembered there .  Hardest for me to experience has always been the children's memorial.  A single candle with multiple mirrors in a small round building remembers the million and a half children killed.  The names of the children and their ages are read continually.  Such evil is hard to comprehend. This. child drew us into the memorial.

With a battery almost gone I post a picture of our group.

We are sitting on the southern teaching steps of the temple in Jerusalem where Jesus would have taught and we are just below one of the spots where archaeologists agree, Jesus would have walked in and out of the temple gate. More tomorrow.

Blessings, Mary