Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Year 2.27

Year 2.27 is spent in Israel. Lunch was with buddies before I board the plane at 430pm. Praise God, my stiff neck did not bother me anymore. I met up with the Taiwan team at the airport.The airlines staff noticed my glasses and a L.A. visitor said, Your glasses is cool! Israel airlines service was terrible. There were few movies on the screen and the movies do not begin from the start. The only two movies I saw were the new spiderman and A family man. The twelve hour flight was murder. We arrived past midnight.

Day 2 was the occasion of Doris' loss for one and a half years. I sent a short quote of hers to friends to remember her. The second day in Israel was in full swing. We were in Caesarea and visited Nazareth. The first impression of this ancient city was very nice. I really liked the hotel that was by the Sea of Galilee. Four of us took a stroll by the neighborhood at night.

By Wednesday I noticed my face was already rounder with all the buffet. Capernaum was a good visit though by now all pictures are the same. Taking a short boat ride in the Sea of Galilee was meaningful. I regret not buying a polo shirt on board.

Day 4 Megiddo was breathtaking. The land was spacious for the final battle on the last day, within reach of Israel's various neighbors. Visiting the ungodly high places of Samaria, especially Dan, was like stepping into history. The idolatry and idols were not limited to the northern kingdom, but also the pagan practices of Israel's enemies.

On Friday as we passed Israel's immigration, a lady inside the office booth said to me, You have cool glasses! We crossed over to Sinai to be greeted by the news of the slaughter of 300 Sufis in their mosque earlier in the day. Our immigration stop in the late afternoon was delayed subsequently by an hour and a half because of the presence of 17 Americans in our team, so we were accompanied by a local police in our bus for our safety.

Day 6 The trip to Mount Sinai was arduous. I rode a camel up at 2am but slipped on my side after I dismounted the mountain halfway to the top. The next half up the steps was hardship but we reached there to watch the beautiful sunrise. The way down the hill bottom was ugly as I stubbed my big left toe endless times in rock, causing it to turn blue. We headed back to Israel after breakfast. The food and economy of Egypt is much inferior to Israel.  Night massage helped. A young man Jeff sent me the first version of Grammar Bible app that will debut next year!, I couldn't wait!

On Sunday we had a short worship followed by lunch in a busy downtown hotel and a stroll in the streets of Jerusalem. Later we went to the Dead Sea where I floated in the buoyant waters  with Paul and Jon. After that I covered myself in the black mud, the only person in our team to do so. Praise God, the trip so far was most meaningful, memorable and pleasurable.

November 28, 2017

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