Worship at 10:30 a.m.

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Travel to the Holy Land

Faith Family,

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I continue to give thanks to our gracious God for allowing me the privilege of serving as your Senior Pastor. Your faithfulness and your enthusiasm fill my heart with joy and help complete my hope in Christ. Every day I look forward to serving our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ alongside each of you and growing in our discipleship journey together. I pray as God has continued blessings us, may we continue to be a blessing to others.

We are going to take a break from the catechism discussion since the previous article covered a few different questions regarding Jesus the Christ. So, today I want to share our journey to Israel. It began early with alarms going off at 1:30 a.m. Although I didn’t get much sleep, I did sleep well since the Cowboys won their game against the Eagles. A victory always makes my sleeping better.  My In-Laws came over around 2:00 a.m. and we loaded up the vehicle and headed over to pick up Gail. We finally arrived at the Airport around 3:15 a.m. about 15 minutes before the check-in stations opened. 

Getting up to the check-in desk, Carrie and I realized per discussion with Grace, the helpful lady at the desk, that we didn’t apply for our visa, therefore they wouldn’t let us get a ticket because we were not on the fly list to Israel/Egypt. Fortunately, Israel is 7 hours ahead of us, so I immediatelygot on my computer and applied and paid for the visas. The email said it would take up to 72 hours, but we only had 2 hours before our plain departed. Within minutes we received our approval and were able to get our boarding pass and catch our flight with at least an hour.

The flight was uneventful, and we arrived in Newark, NJ around 11:00 EST. Our gate was only three gates from where we arrived, so we didn’thave to travel very far. However, now we have a 5-hour layover in Newark and unable to take a quick trip to New York. So far, we only have met up with another couple. I am sure the remainder of our group will eventually show up as we head to Tel Avi.

On the flight, I went over the itinerary and started thinking about the experience all of us will have these next 10-14 days. In Israel, we will sail the Sea of Galilee and celebrate Holy Communion on the boat. We experience the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus is said to have preached his opening sermon (The Sermon on the Mount). We will travel to Tel Magiddo where it is said to be the location of the final battle described in the Book of Revelation. 

Some will get to renew their marriage vows in Cana where Jesus performed His first miracle. Some will be able to reaffirm their baptismal vows in the Jordan River. We will pray in the Garden of Gethsemane; see the birthplace of Jesus; walk the Triumphant Entry route and the Via Del La Rosa (way of suffering) where Jesus was mocked, beaten, convicted and crucified. We will also celebrate in the Garden tomb, the site of Jesus’ resurrection.

I could go on and on about other sites, but I will leave that for next week. I look forward to sharing with your some of our adventures, experiences and all that the Holy Spirit will reveal to us on this pilgrimage. Yes, it is a pilgrimage, not a vacation. The purpose is for this trip to transform our hearts, minds and souls, and to place ourselves in the moments of Jesus’ life, allowing the Scriptures to jump from the written page and become more real to us. I pray while we are away, you to will feel the Holy Spirit speaking to you in your situation and allowing Scripture to be real for you.

Praise God from Who All Blessings Flow!

Have a blessed Week!

Pastor Frank