Spring 2022 Israel Tour
I had the privilege and the honor to take 21 people with me to Israel this year. There was quite a bit of “firsts” for me on this tour. I have been to Israel more than a dozen times and it never gets old. This was my first tour group in 7 years, and many things have changed since I last took a group.
Looking back on it, I have had to laugh at myself a few times and often wondered what people thought what people thought of me, as I was giving out information that was no longer valid. For example, I told people to arrive at the airport at 4PM because our flight would leave at 12:45PM, the gates for check-in were going to open 4 hours prior to us leaving and I wanted meet with everyone before heading over to the check-in counter. In the past, I would use this time to go over last-minute details, be sure everyone had their name tags, lanyards and luggage tags, give time for everyone to ask questions and then pray with the group prior to us checking in. In the past, when it came time for the check-in process, I would tell everyone that the process would be lengthy because the agents of EL AL ask many questions, go through luggage, put it through a scanning machine and all of this happened before going through TSA. It was nothing like that this time. The agents asked me a few questions with regards to my tour group, then started checking everyone with no issues. They were all able to go through TSA to their gate where many of them then sat and waited for several hours prior to boarding the flight.
The arrival process in Tel Aviv was different as well, as we had a person waiting for us after landing to take us through the Passport Control/Customs. This would have all been a breeze, however, I unfortunately had one person who we pre-ordered a PSR Test for who’s test kept showing up as unpaid and her passport number was incorrect, which in turn caused a 45-minute delay.
From this moment on, things moved forward with much more ease. Yes, there were a few snags here and there and the unfortunate issue with colder weather that Israel had not experienced in about 72 years, but hey, it was still awesome! The food is always amazing in Israel, and one can gain quite a bit of weight if not careful with the amount of the tasty cuisine. I must say, it is difficult when there is so much food on display for breakfast and dinner and the restaurants and cafes, we visit for lunch do not skimp either. The hotel in Netanya, West Lagoon Hotel, was amazing and seriously set the bar for the rest of the hotels on our tour. The rooms were top-notch, and the food was scrumptious! The unfortunate part was that it was only an overnight stay.
Monday, March 14th began our trek up to the Galilee. I must interject that our guide, Ilan Barkai was a fantastic tour guide! His knowledge and sense of humor had engaged the entire trip. David Minay, the bus driver, I have known since 2009 and I always use him for the tours. Both David and Ilan are fantastic at what they do, and I was so grateful for their expertise and having them on our team. Our day started out with Caesarea Maritime and seeing the location on the Mediterranean where Herod the Great built a palace on the shoreline and where Paul was brought for trial. It was a Herodian City with a magnificent 40-acre harbor that would accommodate 300 ships, a theatre and horse stables. We then drove up to see the ancient aqueducts that delivered water to the city of Caesarea Maritime. From there we visited the location on Mount Carmel where the prophet Elijah called down the fire of the Almighty and slew the false prophets of Baal. While there we saw the Jezreel valley and went to Tel Meggido/Armageddon, where the final battle will take place on earth. Our next stop was Mt. Precipice, where we could see the modern-day town of Nazareth in the distance where Yeshua (Jesus) was raised and rejected by his own people. We drove through Cana on our way to our hotel on the Sea of Galilee, the Ron Beach Hotel.
We all checked into our rooms, settled in and refreshed before heading down to the dining hall for dinner, which was followed by a special concert.
For me, the highlight of the day was having Joshua Aaron come to our hotel for a concert where he led us in worship! I am so glad that I had the opportunity to meet him and to experience worship time with Joshua and the rest of our tour group! He shared a bit of his story and history, which everyone seemed to appreciate.
All in all, our first day of touring was amazing and very much a blessing! Having the opportunity to experience these moments and sites with people who have never been before was an absolute joy! I can’t wait to go back again!
Below are Bible References for today’s sites. Be blessed and join us next year, in Jerusalem! I will be sharing more of our trip in upcoming blogs.
Acts 10:23-48
Rev. 16:12-26; 19:19-21; John 19:38-42
Judges 5:1-5; 5:19-22, 31; Zech. 12:11; Rev. 16:16
1 Kings 18:19-40
Matt. 13:53-58; Luke 1:26-38; 2:39; 4:15-30
