“Airplane travel is nature’s way of making you look like your passport photo.”
What do you need for today’s adventure?
Come back to this page every day for fresh tips for the day’s adventure in Israel. Here are the big three tips for every day.
Activate. Get out of the bus. Hike like a disciple.
Shake sand from your sneakers that disciples shook from their sandals. Touch water where Jesus walked.
Meditate. Step into the story.
Pause in a holy place with an open Bible. Let Jesus surprise you.
Relate. Meet Jewish believers in Jesus.
Don’t just visit the rocks of archaeology but visit the living stones of revival in Israel's Messianic congregations. See Jesus through Israeli eyes.
DAY 1, 11/18/24
“There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes”
— Norwegian Proverb
Today’s travel tip is to study the people on the plane with you. Most likely, nearly all of them will be Israelis.
Watch how they talk, interact with their children, and interrupt each other. What does it tell you about the people of the Bible?
Tip: Israelis never line up. So be direct and push your way to where you need to go. Say the magic word: “Seek-a”. It means “excuse me.”
Watch the crowd part like the Red Sea for Moses.
DAY 2, 11/19/24
“Be fanatically positive and militantly optimistic. If something is not to your liking, change your liking.”
— Rick Steves, travel guru, Edmunds, WA
Welcome to Jerusalem, elevation 3,800 feet above sea level.
That explains why you will sometimes need a jacket. Usually at night. The rainy season begins in January, so most likely you will not need an umbrella or rain jacket.
But just in case…
DAY 3, 11/20/24
“Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.”
—Elbert Hubbard, American writer
Today you may need clothes that can get wet as well as something spiffy to wear at the Knesset.
In the morning we will visit the City of David, the palace ruins of King David. At the end of the tour, you will have the opportunity to slosh through the wet tunnel built by King Hezekiah’s men or take the dry tunnel built by the Canaanites.
If you go for the wet tunnel (highly encouraged) you will need shoes to get wet to walk through the water, a little flash light, and clothes that can get wet.
At the other end of the tunnel the bus will be waiting to take us back to the hotel to change.
In the late afternoon, we visit Israel’s Knesset or parliament building. You will need a sports jacket, tie for men and a dress or business pants outfit for women.
DAY 4, 11/21/24
“Not all those who wander are lost.”
– J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings
Today you will follow the footsteps of Jesus on the Way of the Cross or the Via Delarosa.
Wear comfortable shoes for a lot of walking on Jerusalem’s limestone streets.
Make sure you have your water bottle filled up. Yes you can buy more water on the way.
We will be entering churches and religious sites, so keep these rules in mind. Women, cover your shoulders, elbows, and knees. Men, no shorts, long pants only.
Be sensitive that your audacious evangelical hat or t-shirt or political slogans are definitely not smart to wear in a city of Jews, Muslims, Orthodox, and Catholic people.
Dinner tonight will be on a rooftop overlook of Jerusalem. A jacket will be needed.
DAY 5, 11/22/24
“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.”
– Sir Edmund Hilary, first European to climb Mount Everest
Today we drive north to Shiloh, where Samuel grew up and heard the voice of God.
It may be cooler than Jerusalem, because the elevation is higher, so have a jacket.
One tip: if we meet a lady named Moriyah, at Shiloh, you may notice that she will not shake your hand. That’s because she is an religious Jew. She will not touch the hand of any man other than her husband.
Tonight we visit a messianic congregation of mostly Russian and Ukrainian Jewish believers in Jesus. It’s a lively, contemporary church. There is no need to be formal. Be yourself.
DAY 6, 11/23/24
“Take only memories, leave only footprints.”
-Chief Seattle
Today we head to the desert. We descend 5,000 feet to the Dead Sea. You will feet the heat.
Have your water bottle full and your hat on hand. Sunscreen is advised.
If you want to be baptized, please bring swimming clothes for your baptism and a towel. There are change facilities at the river.
We will also swim and float in the Dead Sea. It’s impossible to sink. Be sure to not get the water into your eyes or drink it. If you have a cut or wound, do not go into the water.
DAY 7, 11/24/24
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
-Saint Augustine of Hippo
We are back in Jerusalem. Yes the rules we followed earlier still apply.
We will be going up to Temple Mount. This is under the jurisdiction of Muslim authorities. No Bibles are allowed. You cannot display any jewelry or clothing with religious symbols on it. You will not be allowed to obviously pray.
DAY 8, 11/25/24
“Read the fifth gospel and the world of the four will open to you.”
-Saint Jerome, 4th Century, Bethlehem, Israel
Today we visit a different desert. The Negev. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses, were all here.
So too was Hamas. We will honor the site where 364 young lives were brutally murdered in the greatest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust.
Shorts are okay to wear today. Take water, sunscreen, and a tender heart.
DAY 9, 11/26/24
“The sky is not the limit, it’s just the beginning.”
-Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier
Today you head back home.
You know what to do.
But will people know what to do with you after your experience in Israel?