I don’t know how many times I’ve said, “I’m waiting for the New Jerusalem.” That was my response when asked why I’d never been to the Holy Land. But now, unless it comes to earth before the end of August, I’ll have to respond differently.
In case you haven’t heard, the elders gave Marilyn and me a pop-up card of the Holy Land at the celebration of 50 years of ministry at CCC, and told me to start planning a trip. I guess I wanted to go more than I thought, because I booked a trip that included more than I had ever dreamed of seeing, on-line, before the tour company was even open on Monday morning! Lord willing, we’ll be flying to Israel on August 25th.
The first day of touring will begin with a trip along the Mediterranean coast to Caesarea, and then to Mount Carmel, Megiddo, Nazareth, and Cana of Galilee. We’ll begin the next day with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, and then visit Magdala, the Mount of Beatitudes, Caesarea Philippi, Capernaum, and the place where Jesus fed the 5,000. The next day we’ll watch people being baptized in the Jordan and float in the Dead Sea. The following day we’ll visit Masada, Ein Gedi, and Qumran, before heading to the Mount of Olives and Jerusalem. After spending two more days seeing the sights in Jerusalem and going to Bethlehem, we’ll fly to Athens.
In Athens we’ll board a ship that will take us to Ephesus, Patmos, Rhodes, and Crete. Upon returning to Athens we’ll head to Corinth before going back to Athens for a couple of days to see all the sights there. We’ll get home on September 10th, hopefully in time for the kick-off on Sunday night.
The next time someone asks me if I’ve ever been to the Holy Land, they’ll hear about a wonderful church that made possible an amazing trip that I never even dreamed of taking.
However, I must admit that I will still be looking forward to the New Jerusalem!
God Bless, Rick
Chatham Christian Church 