Update From Israel

Update from Israel:

I am in Israel right now at the tail end of a tour that included 70 people from all over the United States.  We are safe and enjoying the final days of our itinerary.  We are in close communication with our tour guides, bus drivers and security personnel.  All Christian pilgrim sites are open for visitors as well as the airport and seaports for cruise ships.  There are currently thousands of tourists in Israel who are here just as we are and thousands will be arriving in the next few days.   None of our tours go near Gaza or its surrounding areas.  The fact is, our touring schedule has not been effected and we have not felt fear or concern for our safety.  Truthfully, we would not even know what was happening near Gaza if we didn’t turn on the news and watch just as you are.  Even though this is a small country, the situation is so isolated (away from the Christian pilgrim sites and only in Gaza and surrounding Gaza) that we have not felt any concern.

With all that said, I can tell you that our hearts hurt for the country of Israel.  For the innocent people who continue to live in fear in the surrounding areas around Gaza.  We support Israel and her right to defend herself.  We believe that sadly Israel has no choice but to fight for the safety of her citizens.  I’m confident that this conflict will not last long and soon life will resume normally for those in the target regions. 

In a few days I will leave Israel and fly home, I know my departure like always will feel bittersweet.  A part of me will always be here; supporting Israel, my friends and this Holy Land.  I’m already looking forward to the next opportunity to come back and be here…in the very place on earth that God chose for His home. 

Shalom,

Kim

Celebrating His Resurrection!

On our final day and our final stop in Israel, we visited the Garden Tomb and Golgotha. What a beautiful way to end our journey here. We relaxed and took our time learning about the tomb, we sat and prayed; we stepped into the tomb and witnessed with our own eyes its emptiness. We gathered and remembered - and CELEBRATED His resurrection with taking in the elements of communion with the empty tomb within our sites. 

Tonight we returned to our hotel and packed our bags and gathered together for a special farewell dinner.  We CHEERED for our guides who now feel like part of our own family and for those amazing bus drivers who navigated through the maze of the narrow streets.  We swapped emails, snail mail and phone numbers - We ate like kings and queens and then we hugged and said our goodbyes.  Then with a heavy heart we boarded our bus for the final leg of our journey to the airport.  It's a bittersweet departure.  We looked forward to coming home and seeing our families, anxious to share with them all that we experienced here - yet it felt like we were leaving our home too... and we were.  Because Israel IS OUR HOME.

 Shalom Israel! 

Too. Tired. To. Blog.

So here's some pictures instead.... :)

Check out all these smiles on the groups arrival to the hotel on their first day in the Holy Land.  They were so tired...but sooooo happy!!!

 

LeSEA Broadcasting producer, Chuck Huffman talks to Pastor Mark and his son Wesley about the plans for the day.

Great to see this beautiful woman again so soon! Johnnie Mae!

Here's my new friend, Susanne McAlister from Full Circle (which airs on WHMB in Indianapolis) - today we talked about rainbows and it touched my heart...

 

Valerie Lowe...entering the Church of the Nativity...watch your head!

 

Using your Ipad to take pictures in Bethlehem - very high tech in such an ancient place!

Does anyone know what they are looking at???

 

Getting ready to get baptized...

 

If you decide not to get baptized you might end up like Karen, wearing everyone's eye glasses around your neck and taking everyone's picture! And look how happy she is to be doing so....!  Simply watching the baptisms in the Jordan River can be an emotional experience.

 

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit...

Amen and Amen!

"Me" of little faith.

“Me” of little faith.

What?  Rain?  Thunderstorms possible?  It’s NEVER rained in Tiberias on my watch!  The boat ride is first thing in the morning?  All I could think of is how terribly disappointed everyone will be if they can’t ride a boat on the Sea of Galilee.  The same water that Jesus walked on.  The boat ride is one of my favorite all time things to experience here.  The one place that someone can’t build a church over to commemorate the site of Jesus’ miracles on these waters…and it was in jeopardy this morning.  It hasn’t rained here, really rained, in about 6 months and God chose today?  I know Israel needs the rain desperately…but still….God, really? I didn’t sleep well, knowing our morning’s plans could be cancelled.  In the morning I brought my umbrella down to meet the group and had a knot in my stomach.  Outside, the rain came down…

I sat with the guides at breakfast and watched the outside weather from inside the cozy the dining room.  I asked them, “What’s the plan, what are we going to do?”  The answer was, “We are going to get on the boat and pray.”  I resigned to this plan, not knowing what else to do at this point.  We were going for it.  By the time I finished my strawberry lemonade I looked outside again.  How could the rain had stopped?  The forecast was gloom and had shown no hope for a dry day!  But ahhhhh…. God was with us!  We walked to the dock…boarded the boat and sang, prayed and worshipped on the Sea of Galilee without one drop of rain on us!  Another day, another miracle!  I was the last one off the boat and I shook my head in awe and then offered Him my thanks and praises.  Why did I worry?  Why did I fret about something that God has complete control in (like He does everything else!)  Yes, me of little faith.  A lesson learned already and it wasn’t even 9am yet!

Thank you Lord for clearing the skies for our boat ride…for our St. Pete’s fish lunch and for the entire afternoon of glorious sunshine and blue skies!  We are all having a great time here and today was only day 2 of our journey.  A journey that has us meeting with God in so many ways. 

I heard someone say today that when they read their Bible just a few days ago that they read it in “black and white”.  Now…they are reading it in color!  Our Bibles are alive now!

Tomorrow is another day with a chance of rain and I will still bring my umbrella, but I will not fret.  God’s got this! 

Shabbat Shalom everyone!

Kim

More soon / and pictures too!

Miracles aleady!

Everyone has arrived safe and sound in Israel!  Today was a long day - coming straight off the plane to the awaiting bus to take everyone to the very first stop the way to Tiberias.  We stopped in Caesarea, Megiddo and Mt. Carmel.  When everyone walked off that bus this afternoon at the hotel they were tired!  I don't blame them, but hey, we never said this was a leisure vacation!  We want you to see as much as you can in the time you have here!  When everyone arrived Pete Sumrall told the group about the miracle that has already happened to our group... The El Al Airlines flight that they were on from Newark was the last flight to depart before the airport started canceling almost 800 flights due to the weather!  They almost didn't make it here due to the weather - but God made it possible!  I KNOW that amazing things are going to happen this week, I can just feel it!  Stay tuned to more updates and pictures coming soon!  Right now...I think we all just need to sleep and get ready for another wonderful day in the Holy Land!
Goodnight!

The breathtaking Galilee...

It's been a whirlwind of emotions and fun these last few days!  The days are long and hot but so glorious to be here.  I'm afraid I've been slack in keeping up with my posts, but after a long day I've found myself falling asleep anxiously awaiting the next day!  Here are some pictures of what the last few days have entailed.  I hope you will enjoy them!

A boat ride on the Sea of Galilee is so breathtaking!  No body of water on the face of this earth has seen more spiritual excitement or made such history.  Out in the middle of the lake we cut the motors and worshiped, prayed and imagined Jesus walking out to us...

Next we traveled a short distance to the calm waters of the Jordan River.  Many in the group chose to follow the exampe of Christ and was baptized in the same waters.  It was an emotional moment for us all.  Those who watched as well as those in the water had tears of joy.

Jim says "hello" by the way to his lovely wife. He know he wishes you were here...

 

Last but not least, Pastor Mark being baptized.

More to come... today we have communion at the Garden Tomb!  Wish you ALL were here with us!

There are no words...but I'll try!

It’s a beautiful morning in Tiberias. Beautiful is not even close to describing it really. I sat here for a long time trying to come up with the right word to describe what I’m seeing for you but found that there are no words for this. As I write this, I am sitting outside on my balcony. My view is the Sea of Galilee and of the sun slowly rising above it. It’s early. About 5:45am but I hear others like me out on their balconies. Some sitting quietly, some talking softly; I know that all of us are in awe of the beauty and peace of the view. I have no doubt that like me; they are pinching themselves in wonder and amazement.

“I’m actually looking out over the Sea of Galilee, watching the sunrise – the same view that Jesus would have seen! The same water He walked on! I can’t believe I am here!”

The last few days have been a whirlwind of emotions. The moment we got off the plane our senses have been at full attention with curiosity and wonder. We stretched our legs at the first stop which was Caesarea by the Sea, walking around what used to be a busy port city and where Paul was taken to Rome. The waves of the Mediterranean Sea slamming into the shore…the ruins of ancient times before us – Wow!

On our way to the hotel we also stopped at Megiddo and to Mt. Carmel. At Mt. Carmel we were taken to the top of a church and when we reached the top of the stairs and looked up…there standing before us was the Valley of Armageddon! The very place where the worlds army’s will gather! I heard gasps and verbal grunts of utter amazement. No picture or words would come close to describing this to you. Just know this: It is real! The Valley of Armageddon is not just a story. It’s here just as the Bible tells us! To consider for a moment at what will take place here is simply mind-boggling.

We ended the long day at the hotel, checked in and had dinner together. Most of us had no problem going right to sleep as you can imagine! Several people were so jazzed to be here they set out after dinner to explore Tiberias!

I bet when everyone’s head hit the pillow that night, they had a small smile on their face and thought… “I’m REALLY in the Holy Land!” I know I did – and then I giggled. :)

Psalm 121:1 - Can you guess where we are?

Psalm 121:1 - A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth.

Jerusalem! Jerusalem!

The last few days I've been listening to people talking with each other on the tour. It's so interesting to hear the first impressions of those who come to Jerusalem for the first time.

I feel the Holy Spirit everywhere!

There is a special feeling here and it touches my soul.

I feel like I am home...

At the end of each day I say to myself, this was the best day. Each day is so wonderful.

There is so much to see and learn here. I can't wait to come back!

I'm sorry I waited this long to come here.

There is no place on earth like Jerusalem!

Jerusalem is indeed a special place, that touches your soul and feels like home. Where you never want to leave because there is no place on earth like it. If you've never been here you can't really "get it". You read these words with curiosity but you don't truly get it until you've walked the streets in the Old City, prayed at the Western Wall, followed the same path that Jesus carried His cross to His crucificion and gazed upon the Eastern Gate that Christ will return through. Until you've experienced it for yourself it's hard to understand the impact that visiting Israel makes on your life.

If you're reading this blog and have never been to Israel, I urge you to stop right now and pray. "Lord, make a way!" He WILL make a way. And you know that longing you feel when you read or hear someone talk about the Holy Land? Listen to it. God has a special blessing for you here. Don't live with regrets - life is too short. The Lord WILL make a way and when He opens the door, you need to walk through it.

When you travel to Israel with LeSEA Tours, you will not travel alone. We will be right here with you every step of the way. There is no stress or worries while you are with us, because we will take care of everything. All the details of your trip will be taken care of by us - you will simply relax and allow yourself to feel God's presence in a whole new way. How awesome is THAT? ("Pretty awesome, Kim!")

Today was an emotional day. The highlight for me was when we visited Golgotha and when we actually stepped into His EMPTY tomb and saw where He laid! We celebrated His resurrection by taking Communion right in front of the tomb! Singing and praying and remembering the sacrifice He made for us...

Tomorrow is another thrilling day of exploring the Old City... it's hard to get to sleep some nights realizing where I am. The exact place on Earth that God chose for His home. I'm here! I'm here in Jerusalem!

Kim

Feb 8, 2012 - "Down by the River..."

Ahhh yes! This is the day that we explore the Galilee region which includes a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee AND water baptism in the Jordan River. It was a goose-bump kind if day. A kind of day that makes you want to giggle a little every once in a while just because you feel so much joy in where you are. Today, I will let the pictures do the talking... You might even get a goose-bump or two just looking at them!

Boarding the wooden boats on the Sea of Galilee! Jesus walked on these waters!

Happy Boaters!

Pastor David Sumrall teaching us on the boat.

The BEAUTIFUL reactions from being baptized in the Jordan River!

Look how happy Pastor Abraham was to have the opportunity to baptize his two daughters and his wife in the Jordan River! Precious moments.

Never give up your dreams! She's a beautiful 80 "something" year old and she braved the cold waters of the Jordan to show her commitment to Christ. Just look at the joy and love in the faces of her friends and family supporting her. (second pic) This truly was a day to remember...

Goosebumps anyone?

Have you been to Israel yet? Have you been before, but want to come back and experience it through the eyes of a second timer? Each visit is surprisingly different. Give us a call and let us explain how easy and affordable it is to travel to Israel with us.

Feb 7, 2012 - We are in Israel!

What a thrilling few day's it has been! You know how it is... We’ve all felt the excitement and anticipation that comes before a big event. Sometimes there is little anxiety and sometimes we even daydream of what is to come and what we might expect. Well, traveling to Israel, whether it’s your first time or your 15th time will bring to you a plethora of emotions and anticipation. Will my plane get delayed? Did I pack the right clothes? You try to picture yourself in the Holy Land; like one of the people you’ve undoubtedly seen on the television program. Will I like the food? And more often than any of those questions; what does God have in store for me? Will I hear from Him? Will my life be changed?

123 people came to Israel with many of these questions in their head as did I. In each step of our journey the questions and anxiety began to fade. As they arrived at the airport they immediately met people in our group! LeSEA Tours met them shortly after deplaning and our guides were right there waiting for them. And it wasn’t long before they were driving along the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea headed the first stop of many in the days ahead. We were standing in the Holy Land! Breathing the air, touching what has been left behind from much different days. And though we were tired - it was a long flight and a long day... I could see by the smiling faces at dinner tonight and by hearing the laughter, that each person in our group was thrilled to be here and looking forward to tomorrow.