Trip of a Lifetime

This weekend HGUMC is hosting a Bible Conference with Dr. Jim Fleming.  Going to the session last night and the ones today reminded me of my trip with my Dad and a group from Killen UMC to Israel in the spring of 2007.  It is hard to believe it has been almost 4 years ago!  That was definitely an experience that I will never forget.  I am a visual learner so it really made the Bible stories that I have heard all my life come alive for me.  Being able to walk where Jesus and his disciples walked gave me a brand new perspective to these stories. It was amazing and I hope to go back one day.  Experiencing this with my dad made it even more special.  He has always wanted to go so I am glad that was something we could share.  If you ever get the chance to go just do it! You will not regret it! 

Here are only a few of the hundreds of pictures that I took!  

This was just a few hours after we landed on our first day! We drove up the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.  It was beautiful! 

We finally made it to Tiberias where we spent the first half of the week.  This is the view out our hotel room window of the Sea of Galilee.

Our first full day we toured the small towns along the Sea of Galilee.  This is at one of our stops.

This was our lunch! St. Peter's fish! Yes, I did eat it while it continued to stare at me! OK, so it was dead but still kind of creepy.

We stopped at a place on the Jordan River and had a baptism renewal service.  This is the Jordan River.  It wasn't nearly as wide as I thought it would be!

My dad one evening on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  We ended our time there with a communion service on the banks of the water.  

The second half of the trip we spent in Jerusalem.  This was literally our first view of the city! Breathtaking!

The Mount of Olives looking back on the Garden of Gethsemane (I think!) My dad is surely to correct me if I am wrong.      

Trees in the Garden of Gethsemane

Pool of Bethesda

The Western Wall

Shepherds fields in Bethlehem

Qumran - where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found

In the middle of the desert is this awesome oasis.  En Gedi. We hiked up to the cave in the middle of this picture.

This is the view from the point we hiked to. That is the Dead Sea in the background.

Taking a break to enjoy the small waterfall behind me.

Another stop to play in the water!

Playing in the Dead Sea. It was very slimy!

The group that we went with shared an awesome journey to the Holy Land!  I am thankful for this opportunity and pray that one day I can do it again!

Peace and Love,

Selena