Anticipation!

It’s the anticipation that really gets you. You go into a trip like this with all kinds of expectations. “You’ll never read the Bible the same again”, they said. “You’ll be overwhelmed experiencing what Jesus experienced, walk where he walked, see what he saw”, they said. “Listen to what God has planned for you”, they said. So, the bar has been set...really high. And I’m not one to disappoint. So, if my fellow travelers are anything like me, we made sure we crossed every “t” and dotted every “i” in preparation for this trip so we wouldn’t disappoint. And if this Study trip is as rare and life-changing an opportunity as we’ve all been told, why would we want to?

And so, we anticipate.

Sitting in Chile’s at Chicago’s O’hare, I look beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows stretching from wall to wall at plane after plane taxing to and from the terminals. In a few short hours, we’ll be taxing in one of those planes to Turkey. But for now, it really is a nice day out there. Sunny and 45. I’m reminded that Jesus miraculously turned a nasty day into a nice day just like this one on two occasions. Each time, the disciples boat was about to be overwhelmed by the waves. Then Jesus happened. He walked on the water one time and told it to calm down the other. We’ll see where he did both. Anticipation? Absolutely.

It began as we boarded Turkish Airlines 9:22 pm. Istanbul, Turkey warmly greeted us 10 hours later. But we couldn’t rest yet. It was straight to Gate 218 where we boarded our 2 hour flight to Tel Aviv. We landed late evening while you were just sitting down for lunch. But, we’re finally here. And ready for what we’ve been anticipating for months. By the time you wake up Thursday morning, we’ll have already visited the Temple Mount. We’ll see the Western Wall, Southern Steps and Yad Vashem by day’s end. Don’t worry, though, we’ll bring you along with us. And every day after that. So, keep your eyes open for each day’s update!