Jeff (our friend, Justin's youth pastor in HS, and our lead pastor at MyChurch) is married to awesome Christy, who's father, Dr. Hindson, is a phenomenal teacher, professor and bible scholar at Liberty University, as well as the host of his own show called "The King is Coming!" on TBN.
Dr. Hindson has been taking trips to Israel for years; teaching there, hosting tours, etc. Mainly, people know of these trips through his telecast, but we were of the select few that heard through his wonderful family that he was headed there again, and wanted to take Jeff along this time. Seeing as how he is a pastor, now leading a growing church, he felt this trip would be great for him to learn, see, experience, and soak up all that the place where Christianity started has to offer. And because my husband is his partner in all of the above, he was offered to tag along. Phew.... carrying on.....
I remember sitting at Carrabas round about the Fall of 2010 with Jeff, Christy and of course Justin, when we were talking about this. The boys were going to go to Israel, and the girls and kids were going to take off to Ft. Lauderdale and stay w/ Jeff's family. Disney days were obviously on the itinerary. :) So that was that... and then I began to pout. I started to think about my husband being thousands of miles away, without me, for 10 days, without me, seeing all of the wonderful things that we have read about all our lives....without me. So when a surprise escrow refund check came in the mail, I decided that I would have to beg Christy's forgiveness and go with him! Thankfully, Christy was wrestling w/ the same problem, only she was worried about who would keep their 3 kids. When one of Jeff's sisters stepped up and insisted that she go and to leave her the kids, the plans were set! The 4 of us were headed to Israel for the new year! (And what fun for Christy... Her mom, dad, sister, nephew, brother, and sis in law were all in tow!)
I can not tell you how happy I am that the Lord made me clingy when it comes to missing my husband, and how happy I am that because of that, I was able to see wonder after wonder that was the land where He walked, talked, and ministered here on Earth. Wow..... my faith was shaken.... but in a WONDERFUL way. The bible came alive, and I saw first hand the places where my savior lived, died, and ROSE AGAIN, only to show the world how much He loves us. Enjoy the very few pics below. These are the highlights that we hold dear from this trip. TONS more pics are on my Facebook page. Check them out there. :) There are 4 albums!
The Wailing Wall
The original floor where Jesus was beaten
The Via Dolorosa
Us and the LaHayes- Dr. Tim LaHaye is the author of the Left Behind series :)
The Bethesda Pools- Where Jesus told the man to "Take up your mat and walk, your faith has healed you!"
The Eastern Gate- where Jesus will enter Jerusalem when he returns
"Garden Gethsemane"- where Jesus went to pray the night before he was to be crucified
Tree on the left= about 200 years old. Tree on the right= about 2,000 years old. Would have been in the garden at the time Jesus was alive.
Our tree where we prayed in the garden
On the road to Masada we passed by the Dead Sea
Desert along the roadside- breathtaking :)
View of Masada fortress from the road- where Jews fled to escape the Romans- originally built by King Herod but never used
Caves where David hid from Saul
Bush believed to be what was used to make the crown of thorns
Another breathtaking view of the Dead Sea
And yes we got in... it did NOT feel good, but we floated!
Our hotel in Jerusalem
On the road to Tiberius (locale of the Sea of Galilee) - first stop.. Caesarea (on the Mediterranean Coast)
The boys decided to have a little race of their own in a 2,000 year old arena
Aqueduct
Megiddo- Also known as the Valley of Armageddon- where the last battle will be fought)
Finally in Tiberius- the restaurant we ate at :)
Fishermen on The Sea of Galilee
Our cruise on the sea
The Mount of Beatitudes- where Jesus preached his Sermon on the Mount- and fed the 5,000
On the Sea of Galilee- site where Jesus appeared to Peter after the resurrection
In Capernaum- where we found a statue with the verse where the name of our church came from :) So naturally, we needed the 2 pastors to pose in front!
Peter's House!!! In Capernaum...
Our hotel room in Tiberius- overlooking the Sea of Galilee
Now on the way back to Jerusalem- stopped at Bet Sha'an- site of a roman town that was destroyed by an earthquake- was unearthed just like this... just like it was thousands of years ago!
Gideon's Spring
Jordan River
I didn't come all this way not to put my hand in!
Dome of the Rock- Now a Muslim holy place, but built over where it is believed Abraham took Isaac to be sacrificed.
Gate down to Oscar Schindler's grave- he was a factory owner who helped hide Jews during WWII- movie made about his story "Schindler's List"
My coke :)
And our lunch while on the Sea of Galilee
Yes! My favorite place!
Galgotha "Skull Hill"- on top is where the crosses would have been
Going in....
and PRAISE GOD He isn't there! :)
One last shot w/ our tour guide, Ido.
So there you have it. A trip of a lifetime. Changed my life. GO if you EVER have the chance. GO even if you don't. You will never be the same again.
And now it's bedtime... it's late. This post was a long one... but special. Thanks for reading.
