Natanya

With little sleep since Friday morning, I have now arrived in Israel!  It is good to have arrived on this pilgrimage.  Jet travel makes it a fairly easy journey - but I still feel worn out - and looking forward to a good nights sleep.  I will stay awake all day Monday, go to bed this evening and hopefully won't experience too much Jet Lag.

I landed in Tel Aviv, Israel at 5:30 in the morning.  Got off the plane, went through customs (he said so your from Saskatchewan, stamped my passport and let me through.  I picked up my luggage, grabbed my rental car and by 7:00 in the morning was ringing Chad's door bell ready to start the Israel adventure.

The first thing that we did was go and grab some shekels out of the bank machine and went to have breakfast.  Both Chad and a Middle Eastern Man that I sat beside on the Toronto-London flight told me food was fantastic in Israel - I learnt this for myself by breakfast.  We were given a platter of fresh food that included freshly baked bread, yogurt, cheeses, egg plant, chick peas, vegetables, eggs, jam, and more.  It was all good!

After walking around the modern city of Natanya and doing some errands, we met a local Messianic Jew Pastor for lunch.  I had half a sandwich and some orange/carrot juice (still full from Breakfast) and immensely enjoyed the conversation we had.  A couple weeks ago, they had a Palestinian Christian  Pastor come to their congregation and it was a tremendous experience - you can read more about this at Chad's latest blog posting.  There is conflict in this land but their are followers of Jesus that are wanting to unite Palestinians and Israelis IN HIS NAME!  This is where unity can be found.  This is where the Upside Down Kingdom values become the roadmap to transformation!

Next, I toured the Israel College of the Bible - the first hebrew speaking bible college in Israel since the disciples!  It is a beautiful facility where Messianic Jews, Arab Christians, and International Students study together.  The schools desire is to see all of God's people come together because the best thing for Israel has always been Yeshua (Jesus)!  We met with a Mennonite from Lancaster County who has been working in the school and in Israel since the 1990s.  He shared about the explosive growth of the college and how amazing of a story they have.  He is extremely excited about their future and the possibilities God has in store for them.

I also met Chad's room mates.  A collection of guys from United Kingdom and United States who are all studying in the international program at Israel College.  They are great guys and have been both a support and a blessing to Chad - I was glad to meet them.  We talked for awhile about the International House of Prayer - a place that two of them are connected to.  It was great to hear how they all ended up in Israel, studying Hebrew and scripture together.

At 4:00 we ended up serving at a "soup kitchen".  We were serving food to Jewish Immigrants from Russia, Holocaust survivors, and others who needed a help.  However, we did not stop with soup and give them a full three course meal that included delightful chocolate cake that was lovingly made by a lady from Alabama.  She also volunteers for two days a week in a home for special need kids in Haifa (along with her husband).  It was a blessing to be a part of this ministry.

Next we found my hotel in Natanya and it is time for a well needed rest!  Tomorrow we start seeing Ancient Israel and I will have pictures to post!

A Day in London, United Kingdom

It was great to spend the day in London.  It took me awhile to realize that I was actually out of North America.  I took the Tube to Green Park and walked along a park path to Buckingham Palace.  For some reason, it was a lot smaller then I thought - until I got closer.  

I saw a couple guards doing their routine to protect the queen.

There was a very large statue in honour of Queen Victoria right in front of the palace.

From the Palace, it is a short walk through St. James Park to Parliament Square.  That is where Big Ben is.  "Look kids, Big Ben"  There was not really a Traffic Circle there so I don't know what was so confusing for Chevy Chase in European Vacation.

Next on my list was to check out Westminister Abbey.  I cannot believe that I was in a church that has a history of over 1000 years.  I walked around the complex and then realized I could take in a Sunday Service called the Sung Eucharist.  I have always wanted to go to an Anglican service and why not have the first one in Westminister Abbey.  I stood in line for the 11:15 service and was led into the Abbey by a marshal.  I did not realize that people where actually buried in the walls of the Abbey - there were lots of marble tombstones on the walls.

In the middle of the Abbey, there were ornate benches on risers.  We were guided for where to sit - platforms were on both sides of the gigantic hall.  I am sure the roof was over 100 feet tall and there was a pipe organ that was just to the left of where I was setting, starting at around 20 feet off the ground.  A marshal carrying a cross led the Priests and the Choir (Lay Vicars of Westminister Abbey) into the room and I took part in the liturgical service.  I found it interesting that 1/3 of the offering from the service went to the Arrow Riding Centre for the Disabled their motto is to enable children and adults with disabilities to experience enjoyment, a sense of achievement throughout equestrian activities and using horses to provide a form of physiotherapy.

We started by singing a hymn that was familiar to me -  Though Whose Almighty Word.  Then the choir sang Gloria in Excelsis Deo.  Then we had the liturgy of the word.  Isaiah 42:1-9 was read, Psalm 29 was sung by the choir, Acts 10:34-43 was read.  1st Timothy 3:16 was sung by the choir, and we stood for the reading of Matthew 3:13-17 - the baptism of Jesus.

The Reverend Gavin Williams gave a sermon comparing Robert Kennedy to Jesus and how both stood for justice of the people, and how both were killed "on the job".  He neglected to inform how only one was resurrected and how much different Christ's death was for all of humanity than Robert Kennedy.  However, the words in the liturgy claimed this both before and after.  After the sermon, we rose to say the Nicene Creed.  Next was the service of Eucharist which meant singing by the President (or worship leader) and the taking of the bread and the cup.  It was a moving experience.  After communion we sang one more hymn and were led out of the Abbey.

I was not able to take any pictures of the inside, but here are some from the Internet.

I was sitting on the right side, second row, right where the first person you see (in the white suit coat) is sitting.

I then took a Double Decker bus for around 10 blocks just so I could say that I did.  The view from the top deck is great.  It cost me 8 pounds to have an all day pass for the Tube and included all buses as well.

I jumped on the Tube, went to Westfield Shopping Centre grabbed a bite to eat and then found a small Inn called Abbey Hotel.  I always wanted to go through one of those doors of row housing.  For the whole block the facade on the front looked the same and there was only a small sign over the door saying Abbey Hotel.  I buzzed in and was shown a tiny little room that had wifi, a shower, toilet and single bed.  Reminded me of a Mr. Bean episode.

They also had a great invention that used the hot water line to heat the towels. Funny to see a hint of luxury in this tiny room!

After dreaming about Sherlock Holmes (must have been because I walked by Scotland Yards), I reorganized my backpack - which security went through after I forgot to take out the iPad.  There are 11 zippered compartments and she went through each one.  Then swabbed it all and set the detector machine off.  Good thing they decided to use a different machine and found out that the original had problems.

I was going to go out for Fish and Chips, but my stomach was giving me problems - guess I am related to my Uncle Dale!  I took the Tube to Heathrow to catch my 10:30 GMT Flight to Tel Aviv.

Travelling to Israel

On Saturday, January 11, I woke up at 3:00AM and started a journey to Israel.  The plan is to meet up with Chad, who is a staff member of Youth Farm Bible Camp that is studying in Israel, doing some mission work and will be my tour guide once I get there - Monday morning.

The first day of travel was very interesting, to say the least!  Left Saskatoon no problem, but the trouble came once the plane arrived close to Toronto.  WE COULD NOT LAND.  There was too much fog, so we circled over Waterloo for 40 minutes waiting for weather to clear up.  We were then diverted to Syracuse, NY to refuel but could not enter the airport.  We were now in the USA and needed to clear customs from a flight where many people were not prepared to clear customs.  And the Syracuse authorities did not want us to try!  I could have gotten off at Syracuse, caught a quick flight to JFK and then make my flight from New York to London for 8:30pm.  I asked the flight attendant and she checked with customs at the airport and they said ABSOLUTELY NOT.

We sat at Syracuse, NY in the plane for 4 hours.  They were thinking to send us to Ottawa or Montreal.  Then they were going to get us off the plane into a secure room.  Then we found out that Toronto had now cleared and we were ready to go!  We made the 35 minute flight and arrived in Toronto to a chorus of cheers.  During this time I chatted with many great people.  The lady beside me was going to Toronto to spend time with a sister that was not well. The five hour flight extension was not good for anyone.  I met another guy that worked in the oil field and was coming home after 90 days to spend 10 days with his wife.  He was not too impressed.  Another lady was in Toronto for a couple days and then heading home to visit her family in India for a month.  I was also able to tell a few people about the ministry of the Youth Farm Bible Camp and what many of our programs were about.

So I arrived at Toronto to find out that JFK was not taking flights, and my next flight was cancelled.  I received a voicemail saying that I now have a direct flight from Toronto to London with British Airways.  Great news.  I went to check in and found out that all the computers in Pearson Airport were down.  It took 2 hours to get through and received a handwritten boarding pass.  Went straight to the plane and was one of the first who boarded by accident.  After in the air for an hour, they fed us a pasta supper with Caesar Salad, a roll and a Naniamo Bar.  I also slept for a few hours and arrived in London at 7:00am local time.

I am now on the "Tube" going to downtown London since my next flight.  Talking to a couple people about the weather in London.  They have frost today, and I guess that is something hard for them to deal with.

Well I am glad to be in the United Kingdom for the first time in my life, going to check out Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, River Thames, and more.

As I go on a pilgrimage to Israel, I hope to continue to share my life with some interesting people, spend a time praying and reading the Bible as I ready myself to be immersed in the land my Saviour walked, talked, died and rose again.  Special moments.

I am currently reading through the Gospels during time in Israel.  I was reading Mark 4 where Jesus calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee.  Although not life threatening, yesterday had a few storms in my life trying to get into and out of Toronto.  It helps to invite Jesus into our situations and allow him to calm the storms that surround us in our everyday life.