Normally, when someone talks about a journey from Lebanon to Tiberias, they would be talking about a relatively short land trip of about a hundred miles between the nation of Lebanon in the Middle East and Tiberius, a city in northern Israel on the Sea of Galilee. But, not in our case. I mean a 6,000 mile trek from Lebanon, Kentucky to Tiberias.
Our trip began on Tuesday afternoon with Dwight and June Sooter driving our Lebanon group to Bluegrass Airport in Lexington. I was a nervous wreck! Ask any of my travel companions. I got the times mixed up and we were leaving a good thirty to forty-five minutes later than we really needed to leave. With international flights, the advice is arrive two hours early. However, because Lexington is such a small airport and not particularly busy, especially in the afternoon, I planned us to arrive at around an hour and forty minutes early, but I was thirty-five minutes off on the flight schedule. Instead of a 6:40 p.m. departure, we were scheduled for 6:05. So, this left no time whatsoever for any delays, traffic or whatever. Just as we were about to turn into the airport Dr. Bob Kaylor called. He is leading a large group from Tri-Lakes United Methodist Church in Monument, Colorado. Bob and I met in the Beeson Pastor Doctor of Ministry Program at Asbury Seminary. His group's flight from had been diverted from Philadelphia, where we were going to meet up, to Baltimore. He didn't know why. I looked up "Philadelphia airport" on my phone and saw there had been an emergency landing and they were diverting flights. If that was still the case, our plane wouldn't take off which might make us lose our connection because we only had a one-hour layover, just enough time to switch terminals and go through security (you go through twice on international flights).
I hurried into the ticket counter when we arrived and saw passengers ahead of me checking luggage and picking up boarding passes. When I asked the agent about the flight, he said it was running on time and he hadn't heard about any trouble in Philly. Thankfully, everything went smoothly and we made it through security in no time. A BIG thanks to Dwight and June Sooter (and Bennie Kessler who rode along), for their help! In Philadelphia, during a short layover, we met up with Bob and his group who had only sat on the tarmac in Baltimore for a short time and then flown to Philly. Then it was on to Israel.
| Lydia and me on the coach leaving Tel Aviv |
We've arrived safely in Israel and all is well and I think I've finally relaxed. We flew into Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, a major, very modern city on the Mediterranean Coast, somewhat removed, culturally and religiously, from all the excitement and turmoil of Jerusalem and the Galilee region. There are no pilgrimage sites there, so we simply made our way to the Gray Bus, the fifty-four passenger coach provided by our hosts, Educational Opportunities, and traveled the two hours north and east to Tiberias, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. We're staying at the Royal Plaza, where we will take our breakfast and supper every day while in the Galilee region. The first thing on the agenda tomorrow morning is a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee for a worship service commemorating Jesus calming the storm. Stay tuned for more excitement, and pictures!
Love reading about your trip. Can't wait to read about your boatride on the sea of Galileo and tour of the surrounding area. Love you. Be safe.
Posted by: Linda Howlett | April 30, 2015 at 12:06 PM