Let the countdown begin!

I looked at the calendar today and my mouth fell open. It's January 14th already! We will be in Israel in 31 days! In just a month we will be walking and exploring the land of the Bible. I can't wait to smell the air and hear the enchanting sounds of the city. I look forward to the short walk to Ben Yehuda Street in the evenings to listen to the street musicians and people watch. The hotel is perfectly located to explore Jerusalem and get a feel for the city. A walk in the other direction will take us to the Jaffa Gate and the Mamilla Shopping area. A perfect union of Old and New City shopping - anything you need can be found in this area! I like to sit down with a cappuccino and yes... people watch!

Two year ago my son Travis traveled with me to Israel and we had such fun time together. He made me laugh and explore Israel in a way I had never done before! This year my 16 year old daughter Kate will be joining me! I am so excited to show her this wonderful place! She and I and about 80 others are soon to begin an adventure of a lifetime. Check back and watch the adventue onfold! And just think...YOU can be on the next adventure of YOUR life!

If you want some information on our tours to Israel, let me know and I'll be happy to send you the details!

Naidean, Mary, Amelia and Wanda...I can't wait to see what God has planned for all of us once again!

...written on their faces...

It was an emotional day for me - and for others as well. Each one of us had moments today that took our breath away. Sometimes I heard the moments in verbal gasps and other times I could just look at someone's face and see it. Kim E's moment I believe was in Saint Anne's church. Pastor Blakes and the Wagners, the Wall. Everyone has had their moments today of awe. We started the day early to get in line to clear security to enter the Temple Mount. We were pleasantly surprised how quickly the line moved and we soon found ourselves standing right next to the Dome of the Rock, Al Aqsa Mosque and the back side of the Eastern Gate! If you ever read my previous blogs you might know that the Eastern Gate is a favorite of mine - and - to be able to stand so close to it is always such a thrill for me that I feel 16years old all over again. (giggly!) Yes, as you can see the gate is sealed!



The reason it's sealed is facinating and you simply must come here to find out why! Let's just put it this way...No amount of cement and rock will keep Jesus from returning through this gate when He returns! Nice Try!

From there we went to the Pools of Bethesda and a stop in Saint Anne's Church for some beautiful singing inside an ancient church made for fabulous acoustics. While we were there we noticed that John Hagee was up front singing and praying for people! It was quite a moment for some people.




Look at Anne's face...She's pretty thrilled don't you think?





Walking the stations of the cross was touching and and also an exciting adventure! The Old City market was crazy busy! It's normally crazy but add the "busy" to it and wow!








Hair cut anyone?


At the end of the day Pastor Blakes blessed us with words God provided to him and I could see it on some faces that when he described the day and God's hand on it, that they agreed and felt it too. Off to bed with wonder on how the next day could top this one...
Shalom,
Kim

More pictures!

Here's more pictures from the day. After dinner we were taken to David's Citadel and watched a very moving sound and light show, then walked to the Western Wall! It was awesome to see the Western Wall at night!


Dinner is over but great conversations with new friends keep going...









Love this picture of Johnnie Mae taken after she was baptised in the Jordan River! Praise the Lord!


And of course... METV is here in the hotel and Dr. Sumrall's teachings as well...


Yawn... early morning tomorrow...must sleep! More tomorrow!

Kim

Jerusalem!

Wow- Israel is jam packed with tourists! I read that over 1 million tourists traveled to Israel in just the first 4 monts alone but now I see with my own eyes the number of tour buses and people from all over the world. They are here! Here with the same purpose. It's so awesome to pass another group...from another part of the world. I love to say Hello and it seems the only way we can communicate is "God Bless You" and I get choked up thinking about how all these people from all over the world are here for the same reason I am - we are truely brothers and sisters in Christ! Whoo Hoo!

Our day started off at Mount Scopus where we took bus photo's and a group photo. It's also a good spot to start and try to get a grasp of where we are, logistically. Then we moved up to the Mount of Olives and walked the Palm Sunday route to the Garden of Gethsemane. JESUS WAS HERE! He prayed here so often! WOW!!!

Here are some pictures... more to come!

Bus #1 - Ami's bus -(below) They were too busy laughing at Ami than my picture! Good thing we had a professional photographer there. Look at those smiles! I love it!




Bus #2 - Eli's bus (above)- You guys did the best job with "visit Israel, you'll never be the same" - I bet you make it on TV when we put the next program together! Fun!!


And Bus #3 - Mark's bus - You guys are WILD! You made me laugh! Look at the smiles!




Eli, Bus #2 tells his group about the Old City walls, explains where the Garden of Gethsemene is from here and how it relates to where the Garden Tomb is...etc. It's a good starting point!


Alfreda Noble -I love your hat! She just bought it from a vender on Mount Scopus! Beautiful!



More pictures and details to come. I just had a few moments so I wanted to share these!
Blessings!
Kim

Arrival into Jerusalem

Today was a big day! We packed and loaded and drove and walked and ate and walked and took pictures and laughed and walked and prayed and drove and walked and took pictures and listened and arrived into Jerusalem with a dramatic welcome singing..."JER - U - SALEM! JER - U - SALEM!" Wow what a fantastic goose pimply way to arrive to the most significate city on earth! The son of God came to Jerusalem and died here...for us. And WE ARE HERE!

We are HERE!

We unloaded, learned about Shabbat...waited for elevators and unpacked and ate and settled into our new hotel here in Jerusalem. Tomorrow morning our day starts with a group picture and the Mount of Olives...and our first time to really gaze on the Eastern Gate and imagine Christ's return.

I was so busy tonight getting everyone checked in and settled in that I forgot my camera...forgive me! I promise to have LOTS of pictures tomorrow!

Here's a few from the past dinners...



Pastor R. C. Blakes spoke briefly on our day while in Tiberias -


Stay tuned to hear about our exciting adventure tomorrow!

Shabbat Shalom!
Kim

We are here!

I can barely keep my eyes open…but I MUST BLOG!!! I promised I would and so I must! I honestly didn’t know that anyone actually read the blog! But I’m hearing from some of you that you are waiting patiently for a group update. This is exciting and I’m glad you are here!


And YES! We are all here! Yes, even Johnnie Mae! (She’s had trouble with the phone and could not call home and asked me to post this note to her family! She’s doing great and says hello!)
This is Johnnie Mae planting her very own tree in Israel!

We had a couple of ladies who missed the flight from Newark due to an airline mechanical issue but they were blessed to get Lumi to help them secure a flight only a day later and miss only 1 place on the itinerary! It was miraculous what Lumi did! Those flights were oversold and yet these 4 ladies got a seat on the plane! Thank you Lumi!

Oh my, we have done so much in the short time we have been here. Here, is in Tiberias. Our hotel is on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Here is a few from my room – which is similar to everyone. The sunrise is extraordinary, breath taking, magnificent, glorious!!! (I really like the sunrise – can you tell?)
I mean really… WE ARE LOOKING AT THE SAME WATER THAT JESUS WALKED ON! Somebody pinch me!

Some of us got baptized in the Jordan River on the very first day. (Talk about digging right in and experiencing the land of the Bible!) No matter how many times I’ve been here to see this…it still makes me get a lump in my throat. It’s powerful and 81 people on this trip felt the power. Amen!





Here are some pictures to check out… see anyone you know? Want to leave them a message? Just make a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

((above)This is Art - he is one cool traveler!)






We are on our way to Jerusalem tomorrow! WOW!

Kim

Surrender, for God's best for our lives

September is a hectic month here at LeSEA Tours. Lumi and I are busy preparing for the upcoming November Israel tour! We are receiving final payments, processing airline tickets, name tags, luggage tags and many other documents that need to be completed as we get closer to our exciting departure. It’s easy to get caught up and frazzled in the busyness of the office these days with 40 messages waiting for a call back and a plethora of paperwork to do… I’m sure you can relate in your own way, through your own crazy Monday’s, cluttered desks and living rooms, kids schedules, bills, appointments and deadlines. Stress happens. Recently when I thought I’ve had just about all I can handle, God gently reminded me that He was waiting to take back control of my life if I was willing to surrender it. What a relief! Somewhere I had lost my focus. I am reminded that in surrendering, we admit that God is ultimately in control of everything, including our present circumstances. Surrendering helps us to let go of whatever has been holding us back from God’s best for our lives. Each person in their own way has surrendered to be on this trip. Finances were not easy for some, but they surrendered to Him. Family and friends questioned their judgment, some struggled with taking time off of work; others were uneasy about the unfamiliar foods and culture they would experience. Surrendering is all part of a life changing step. Can you feel that gentle reminder too? 1 Peter 5:7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.