GONE FISHIN'

It's a good thing that we will not have any time to go fishing. We will spend some time on the Sea of Galilee, but there isn't much of a chance that Ol' Moses will come along.

On a more serious side, I want to suggest that it would be a good idea for us to read a part of the Old Testament that is rich in the stories of the Kings like Saul and David and the early prophets like Elijah, Elia and Nathan. I am talking about the books of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel, 1 Kings (Chronicles) and 2 Kings (Chronicles). In these books you will also be introduced to some interesting places that we will be visiting and you will read some exciting stories about the relationship between the ancient prophets and God Himself. These books are fairly long, so it would be a good idea to start in on them early, because you may not be able to digest them all on the plane ride. That makes me think, do not bring a huge bible along with you. A small purse sized one would be better. No one will laugh if you need a loupe to follow along.

Let me also suggest that you check out the maps that are usually tucked into bibles somewhere. As you go through your bible, don't ignore the place names. You will be traveling in and through these places and they will mean more to you if you can identify them with something that you have read. A wise monk once called the Holy Land, the Fifth Gospel. For those whose Bible has no New Testament, I guarantee that being in the places where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob thrived, Where Elijah, Amos and Hosea and Jeremiah fought the Baals, and where David and Saul chased one another, your trip will perhaps turn out to be the new edition of the Talmud.

Finally, please put aside Saturday, July 12th as the day of our first group meeting. The place and the agenda will be announced by next Friday.
By next Friday, I will also have a suggested schedule when you can submit payments to cover the entire trip.

BIBLE PLACE NAMES -- TRY IT --

THIS IS BET SHEAN

Short Tour of Place Names
South to North Old Testament (TaNaKh) to New Testament

You're going there, so you had better know where you are when you get there!

The time is quickly arriving when we will be almost able to smell the air of Israel in our imaginations. Here we are picturing the ElAl jet sitting there waiting to engorge us for the great ride to the Holy Land. We are going to be like Jonah in reverse. He was in the belly of a whale for three days before being spewed out onto the shores of his destination. He was running away when the whale caught him. We are convinced that we are running in the right direction, toward the land of God and His people. I some ways we are also like the Israelites leaving Egypt and going to the land of milk and honey. We are going to reach it in the opposite direction than the way that Joshua brought them in...we will coming in from the west and Joshua took them in through Jericho, southeast of Jerusalem. No matter, our whale will disgorge us in Tel Aviv and we will have two glorious weeks of intellectual, emotional and spiritual discovery. I'd like to have some fun with you now, just to let you have some fun to. I'll throw some place names out and you will either recognize them as familiar to you, or not. Ready?

Jerusalem Familiar
Bethlehem Familiar
Ein Gedi HHmmm?
Bethany Familiar
Gethsemane Familiar
Hinnom Valley HHmmm?
Abu Gosch HHmmm?
Qumran Familiar ??
Jericho Familiar
Bet Shean HHmmm?
Tiberias HHmmm?
Capharnaum Familiar
Caesarea Philippi Familiar
Cana Familiar
Nazareth Familiar
Caesarea Maritima HHmmm?

Since you have the Internet and you are familiar with Google, you might want to have a little preparatory fun and see what you can turn up about the places that did not ring a very clear bell with you. You can add a little spice to the game by asking yourself what biblical character(s) are associated with it and how, before you go to Google, of course.
We are preparing two orientation meetings before departure. The first one to get to know one another more than we do now...that should be easy. The second one will be a solid, down to earth orientation to the region itself. The date of the first meeting will be in early July (time, date and place TBD) and the second will be two weeks before departure.

If you have forgotten what the exchange rate between the dollar and the New Israeli Shekel is, you may click here for a quick report. I'll be getting back to you soon.

PS Your friends and neighbors only have three more weeks to register and get on board.