It’s simple. Just GO!
But fear not, I’ll explain a little more in detail on how we had the opportunity to go.
I’ve been living in Draganesti-Olt, Romania this month and our ministry host Raul gave us a list of different ideas for possible adventure days and on the list was Israel. His information was vague on how to get there, but he mentioned an airline and as soon as I read Israel, my eyes lit up. ISRAEL?! If there was an inexpensive way to get there, I was going to find a way to go because for as long as I could remember I’ve dreamed of going. Now what sold us was finding a $130 round-trip ticket from Craiova to Tel-Aviv!!! And not to mention, from the very start of planning we knew this trip was God orchestrated and we intended to make this trip about Him.
So there were four of us who committed on going on this grand adventure. We left after ministry on a Thursday night to Craiova on the late train, getting there about 10PM. We then took a taxi directly to the airport and slept in the airport overnight. We took a 6 am flight and got to Tel-Aviv in the morning, took a bus to Jerusalem and arrived around 11am. And thus began our adventure for 4 days.
Jerusalem was breathtaking. We spent 3 days exploring the city and covered a lot of ground, but it simply wasn’t enough time. However, from the start I knew it would never be enough time and I knew it would only create a huge stirring within me to return. Now my favorite day in Jerusalem was spent following Christ’s footsteps on the night before he died leading up to his resurrection and what a remarkable day that was. Alli came up with this idea and we felt it would be a powerful way of visiting the sites where scholars believe the events occurred. We started out by visiting the Room of the Last Supper where he broke bread and drank wine with the disciples, the Garden of Gethsemane where he cried out for God to take the cup, the Holy Church of Sepulchre where he was crucified, and the Garden Tomb where he was resurrected. Every holy site our feet tread on, I felt the magnitude and significance each place held. I also found myself feeling the emotions the disciples carried and the sorrow and peace Jesus felt right up until he was arrested. For example, when I was standing in the Garden of Gethsemane, I imagined Matthew 26 when Jesus was praying in the garden and carried the massive burden of knowing what was instore for him. It must’ve not been easy, but He had full confidence in God and His plan. It blew my mind, and being amongst this garden amplified these emotions I was experencing.
All in all, I’m still trying to process my time spent in the Holy Land and what the Lord revealed to me, but I can tell you how incredibly blessed I feel for having this opportunity to go. This weekend will by far be one of my favorite weekends of the entire race. Alas, here’s a short collection of photos I shot on my camera. I felt as though these pictures could help convey the unique beauty and timelessness of Jerusalem. Please enjoy.
