ISRAEL TRIP SUNDAY

ISRAEL TRIP APRIL 25TH –MAY 2ND 2010

With “Worldwide Christian Travel”
A Pilgrimage Tour led by Chris and Lindy Hill

The trip I took to Israel in April with Julie has to be one of the best things ever to have had the privilege to be a part of. The insight and perspective given to the Bible and its land and people was really invaluable. Also the couple that led the tour gave us a very intense educational time taking us to as many sights as they could fit into the six days of sightseeing. Most days we were on the coach before 7:30 a.m. and had seen many sites by the time we stopped for lunch at about 2 p.m. each day.
God created a special “window” in the middle of the “Ash Cloud” crisis. Instead of Ash Clouds we saw “Glory Clouds” in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord

SUNDAY
TRAVEL TO HEATHROW, TEL AVIV, JERUSALEM
We set off from Chesterfield coach Station at 6:20a.m. As Paul & I waited for Julie & Robin some wild geese flew across the Station, honking as they went across. They reminded me of a Godrey Birtill song about the Holy Spirit and wild geese. It was a good start!
We soon met up with the others at Heathrow. The tour group had about 30 people of all ages and backgrounds. One of the first we met was Chrissie who was a friend of John & Maria. She was coincidentally on the same tour with her Mum, Irene. We soon got to know them, sitting near them on all our coach journeys and enjoying fellowship and laughter with them.
We flew with El-Al, the Israeli Airline. The plane was reassuring new looking and very comfortable- a Boeing 777. We were surrounded on the plane by men in long black coats, black hats and corkscrew black sideburns, (yes they kept their hats on!) and their Jewish looking wives, chasing restless babies who crawled up the isles when the trolleys were not coming around.
We arrived in Tel Aviv when it was night after 4 ½ hours flight. Had to pinch ourselves in Tel Aviv – Yes this really was Israel.
Towards midnight we were driving up the hillside to Jerusalem which is 2,500 feet above sea level. The narrow motorway was lined with Jewish flags left over from the anniversary of 62 years of Jewish Independence. Chris mentioned that Joshua fought the Gibeonites right here and the sun stood still, in this very place. We stopped at midnight for Schnitzel, feeling a little disorientated. Never mind, we thought – we will get to sleep in a little tomorrow- no chance! They were kind to us that first day, Monday- it was 8 a.m. on the coach!
We stayed at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Jerusalem which was quite posh and did the most wonderful buffet meals.