Israel Part Two

Dome of the Rock/Jerusalem

The Mustard Seed Plant

The Dead Sea

Baptism in the Sea of Galilee of 7 of our team members

Shay with team friend, Janet

Over a week has passed since Olivia and Shay arrived back from Israel. The two of us have had a little more time to think about and remember the special moments of the trip. There are too many special moments to count! We've not gotten all our pictures organized and labeled but the pictures we have between the two of us are helping us keep our memories fresh and permanent in our hearts.


We've heard from several of our team members in the last few days and we are amazed at how much we miss them. After all, we just met them and spent only 12 days together. But there was a bond that was formed that was very unique and not like anything we had experienced before. We were connected---through our love for Christ, for the Jewish people, and for Israel. Every day we would get up early and load the bus by 8:00 a.m. The day would be packed with sites to see and things to do. Arriving back to the hotel or kibbutz where we stayed would happen around 5:30 or 6 in the evening. So, as a team of 40, we spent hours together seeing things for the first time together. There's just something special about that. We are thankful that God put us all together for this once in a lifetime trip.

Our advice to you: start saving your pennies NOW and plan to go to Israel! At least plan to go to Jerusalem. Your life will be changed and your understanding of the Bible will be even richer and more in context. I (Shay) for one realizes even more just what I do NOT know about the Bible and the land where Jesus walked. I need to study!!! I want to study!!! There are some incredible books that I need to read about the history of this land and the impact this land/country has made on the world and continues to make.

Don't know if there will be another post on Israel but maybe in a few days/weeks. The trip changed us in a major way and it's hard to put a change like that aside and go on with life as usual. Hope you enjoy a few more pictures of the land of Israel.

Israel Part 1

Ahhh....back from Israel and so glad to be home with Curt and Meredith. But our hearts feel sad, too, because we know that Israel has now made an eternal lasting impact on us and it was hard to leave this precious place. How can one leave that incredible place without something exciting and memorable happening in a person's relationship with God? Walking where the Savior walked and seeing places that have been there for thousands of years is causing us to read the Bible with different eyes. Words leap off the page like Mt. Hermon or Jerusalem or Bethsaida and we are amazed that we have been there! Scripture takes on new in-depth meaning and things seem in context more. There is so much information to process. We have yet to have the time to look through our pictures and our notes and see how God is using and will use this trip in our lives. It will be an ongoing process in the weeks to come. Here is just the first blog we'll do on Israel and will probably do a couple more. But we wanted to post as quickly as we could to thank you all for praying for us. We love you for that!

brannons4christ@yahoo.com

Hello from Israel!!!

Hello everyone!

I've gotten access to a computer for a few minutes so thought I would post. No pictures though since I can't download/upload here.

What a incredible few days! Olivia and I are well and have been forever changed by this wonderful land that our Savior loved and walked on. We have seen the city of Caesarea, the Golan Heights, taken a ride on the Sea of Galilee, and witnessed several of our fellow team-mates be baptized in the Sea of Galilee. How can one see all that and not be changed?? The scriptures, especially the gospels, will seem more clear to us after seeing these places a little closer. What a privilege and a gift we have had from the Lord to be allowed to be here.

Some of our new friends are Janet, Sam, Hannah, Vicki, Nada, Gordy, Michael, Eva, Seth, David, Nicki, Charlotte, and the list goes on and on. We won't post their last names but we'll post pictures soon! All are doing well and we are safe. We leave from our hotel tomorrow to head towards the Dead Sea on to our last stop of Jerusalem.

Thank you for your prayers for us!!! We are feeling them and your love and concern for us!!

Shalom,

Shay and Olivia

Israel Trip Schedule

Here is our schedule for our trip to Israel. Shay and Olivia leave Friday for Chicago. Then they'll fly out on Saturday afternoon to Tel Aviv. We would appreciate your prayers for our safety, health, good travel conditions, good weather, soft hearts to seek God's revelation of Himself to us while we are in that important land, and that we would be a blessing to the 40 other people on the tour. Please pray for our sweet Curt and Meredith at home in the states. We will miss them!!!

Thank you! We will update you when we get back!

March 7 Saturday Fly to Israel
March 8 Sunday Arrive Israel
March 9 Tel Aviv and the Mediterranean Coast
March 10 The Northern Coast--Rabbinic Judaism
March 11 Sea of Galilee
March 12 Upper Galilee
March 13 The Jordan Valley to the Dead Sea
March 14 The Wilderness of Judea
March 15 The Negev and the Shephelah
March 16 Modern Jerusalem and the City of David
March 17 Mount Zion and the Jewish Quarter
March 18 Mount of Olives and the Via Dolorosa
March 19 Fly back to Chicago
March 20 Fly home to Huntsville