Israel Pastors Trip Blogs

In September of this year my wife and I were privileged to host  a group of 9 of mega-church pastors and their wives on a  complimentary life changing tour of Israel, sponsored by the  Government of Israel. The account of that trip is captured in this blog!

What a powerful experience that was as we studied the  scriptures, sang and prayed throughout Israel! Each of the pastors returned  from Israel spiritually recharged and committed to return with their congregation.

The trip was deemed a success and the  Government of Israel has asked me to host another group of 10 mega-church pastors and their wives an Educational Study Tour of Israel, January 26 –  February 3, 2010. This tour is complimentary and is designed  exclusively for pastors of mega-churches and their spouses who meet the  following criteria.

* Senior Pastor of a congregation with a peak  attendance of 2500+ in 2009

* Senior Pastor who has never been to Israel before or  has not been to Israel for at least 20 years

* Senior Pastor who has satisfactorily completed and  returned the attached profile prior to December 1, 2009 (mailing  instructions below)

If  you have ever traveled to the Holy Land, you know how significant a journey of  this nature can be. I am anxious to return with 10 more Christian leaders and  introduce them to the Israel I love. Please share this opportunity with any  pastors you know who may qualify.

Should you or they have any questions,  please feel free to contact me. My contact details appear below.  

mark@infinityconcepts.net

Thank you for your consideration and assistance.

Shalom  and God bless.

Mark

We stepped out of history and into reality on our 12 hour flight to JFK. From there we headed to Detroit and then home. Interesting that before visiting Israel, the US was the only home I knew. I’ve visited other countries and have enjoyed them immensely, but the Holy Land is different yet again. Having returned to the US, a big part of my heart feels out of place. Marching to Zion, the beautiful City of God– I’ve sung  that song from childhood. Last week I walked through Zion’s Gate, stood on the mountain and gained a fresh and eager anticipation of the day (maybe soon) when Jesus will return to set up a new homeland under His reign. Until then I’ll take the familiar advice of our guide Tsion, “Follow me, please,” and equate it with the invitation of my Savior. In the footsteps of Christ, from the Holy City throughout Derby City, I’ll follow Jesus and let Him make me a fisher of men!

Our Group on Mount of Olives

As we started out today, it was sprinkling rain – something very rare for Jerusalem this time of year and for Lesli and me to see now that we live in SoCal. We went to the Mount of Olives and looked down on Jerusalem. I shared a devotional there about the Mount of Olives. Lesli captured a picture of me trying to keep my sun glasses on (the sun began to break through the clouds) with my reading glasses on at the same time. Goofy look – but it worked!

Reading Glasses are a Pain

We then followed the “Hosanna Road” that Jesus would have traveled into Jerusalem during His “triumphal entry.” We stopped at the spot where he would have wept over Israel. So easy to imagine the scene and his emotions at that spot for His beloved city, it’s agonizing history, it’s people, and His coming to suffer for them and the world. What a spot. One of our new pastor friends, Rick, shared from the Word regarding the tears of Jesus in this place and did a great job linking it to his life and ours.

We then went on to the Garden of Gethsemane. Simple, small, but moving representation of the spot where Jesus agonized the night before his crucifixion with His Father regarding the task ahead the next day. Donn shared from the biblical text and from life about the closeness of God when we are in our darkest moment. He shared the story of how he, Rhonda and family watched their son (a young husband and father in his twenties) step into the presence of the Lord because of circumstances linked to Hodgkins disease.

Garden of Gethsemane

Donn stated this powerful thought: “I felt the closest to God when He took me through what I never wanted at all” (maybe not a direct quote – but close). Moving time for all of us in the beautiful setting of the garden. We sang, shared, and prayed together.

We travelled up part of the old road to Jerusalem. Stopped at the traditional site of the Tomb of David (more than likely not there). Men and women viewed the spot from opposite sides. Many Jewish people pray, cry, and reflect at this spot.

Jesus Wept from here

The next stop was the “Shrine of the Book” and the model of the 1st Century Jerusalem. Boy, I need this in my backyard or at the church. It is a great perspective on Jerusalem and its development through the Old Testament and what it was like in the time of Jesus. Very helpful.

“The Shrine of the Book” is a museum about the Dead Sea Scrolls. It filled in some of what we saw and learned at Qumran a day earlier.

We had lunch in a local market in Jerusalem – enjoyed falafels! As we wandered the market a number of our group were able to try various fruits and nuts. The figs were great!

Local Jerusalem Market

In the afternoon, we toured the Yad Vashem–Israel’s holocaust museum.  As a group, we were guided through the museum.  Our guide did a great job of taking us through the stages of the holocaust & giving us a glimpse into stories of individuals–some who survived the holocaust, many who didn’t.  Also at the Yad Vashem is a memorial to the children (ages 4 months-18 years) who were killed during this historical time.  The memorial is a short walk with a huge impact–the names, ages, and countries of the victims are read in a prism-mirrored room which looks like 1.5 million candles are burning (the number of child victims).  The cycle of name reading takes 340 days–so many children were killed.  This part of our tour was sobering, but everyone was glad that we were a part of it.

Sculpture of man who went to gas chambers with the orphan boys he cared for though he was not Jewish

We were privileged to meet the Mayor of Jerusalem in the evening. We were impressed that, although he is fairly new & is a young mayor, he has a very optimistic view of what Jerusalem can be.  He & his staff were very kind & took time to listen to ideas about tourism–then showed us the view from the 6th floor of their building…beautiful!

Our Meeting with the Mayor – He is in Dark Suit

View from Mayor's Conference Room back at Mount of Olives

Caesarea Theater

Caesarea Hippodome/Ampitheater

Today we went to Caesarea (Maritime) where Peter went to Cornelius, Paul defended himself before Festus in the theater, and Paul set sail for his Roman trial. The Hippodrome and Palace established at this incredible port city by Herod the great were amazing works of art and architecture. We could have spent a whole day in this beautiful setting and grand archaeological treasure.

We then travelled to Mt. Carmel.

Mosaic Floor Being Uncovered in Palace at Caesarea

Stopping on the way at a nice restaurant  which is run by Druiz (people group within in Israel who are very loyal to Israel). For me Mt. Carmel was an incredible spot to think about all that took place there and in the land visible from there. On this mountain in 1 Kings 18 Elijah took on the prophets of baal. After three years of total drought brought on the Northern Kingdom of Israel by God in judgment, the surrounding area would have been a brown dustbowl like wasteland. Nothing like the view we saw today.

After the prophets of Baal begged their idol god all day to bring down fire and burn their sacrifice, nothing happened.

View from Mt. Carmel toward Jezreel Valley

They even cut themselves to get his attention with their gushing blood. Nothing. Elijah steps up and after a prayer lasting a few seconds, God shows his power to all the people of Israel gathered and consumes all the sacrifice, the wet altar, the ground and even the dust with fire. The people now could see the choice to follow Jehovah God was clear.

We then travelled to Megiddo. It is a “tel” – a mound of several civilizations built on top of each other over the centuries – of 26 layers of separated civilizations. It lies just above the valley of Armageddon where we are told in Revelation 16 Jesus will bring judgment on the nations that challenge his righteous sovereignty in the end times.

View of Armageddon Valley from Tel Megiddo

The Megiddo tel is a visible demonstration of one people group destroying another only to be defeated by yet another people group generations later. The valley sits as a reminder of the coming of the King of Kings to claim his victory won on the cross as He establishes His eternal reign on earth.

We saw a

Accurate Manger in Megiddo

deep grain pit on the top of Megiddo as well as walked hundreds of steps into the cut out narrow tunnel under rock to see the water spring source the various civilizations would have protected until the final battle for their city.

Water Source Tunnel Megiddo

From here we climbed up to Nazareth. A modern day city bustling with people and cars. It is here Mary was told she would give birth to God’s Son and it is here that Jesus was raised. A young evangelical seminary student (from Nazareth Evangelical Seminary) led us on a tour of a recreated village of Nazareth as it would have been in Jesus day.

Replica 1st Century Synagogue in Nazareth

Fabulous young man who deeply loves Jesus who did an unbelievable job making sayings, parables, and stories of Christ come to life with simple objects and life size building replicas. Great visit.

We then drove through Cana (where Jesus turned the water into wine) on our way to our hotel in Tiberius along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. What a view it was as we ascended into the Jordan Valley and saw the beautiful Sea. We had dinner at a restaurant by the hotel called “Decks.” We ate outside on a pier jutting out into the sea. Gorgeous! Relaxing! Inspiring!

What a day! Now to sleep!

Port in Caesarea where Paul sailed for his trial in Rome

Sept 9, 2009 – 11:50 PM

We arrived at the Tel Aviv Airport around 5:30 PM local time. Our group of pastors was greeted by two representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism. The were holding a sign that simply said “Mega Church USA.”

Tsion & Mark

Our U.S. Host, Mark Dreistadt (red shirt) introduced us to our Israeli Guide, Tsion Ben David (blue shirt). We headed to our hotel in Tel Aviv. While driving to the hotel, Tsion described the distance from Israel’s Northern Border to its Southern Border as the same as the distance from Santa Barbara to Santa Anna in SoCal. He used to work at the Israeli Consulate in LA. Wow. Small country. Our longest drive ever will be one hour (and that is if traffic is bad).

Dinner in Old Jaffa

We ate dinner at “Dr. Shakshuka Restaurant” in Old Jaffa around 8:30 PM. Within a walk of our hotel, but we didn’t do it since everyone is tired.

Our Group at Dinner in Old Jaffa

Great outdoor experience with some local foods. Great meal and the manager showed us how he makes one of the specialties on hot skillets.

Manager Showing His Skills

Lot’s of fun.

A few of our group walked back to the hotel from Old Jaffa. This is the ancient Port City where Jonah ran from God by boarding a boat for Tarsus when God told him to go to Ninevah. Beautiful area. Incredible views of St. Peters church (lighthouse like structure). This is also the place Peter raised Tabitha from the dead and where he had the vision to go to Cornelius up in Caesarea.

Church in Port of Jaffa

Wonderful nighttime view of Tel Aviv. Mark gave an encouraging devotional about the significance of this spot for us as believers. Everyone was very tired. Came back to hotel around 11:00 PM. Now to bed and we leave at 8:00 tomorrow morning for Caesarea, Megiddo, Nazareth,Cana, Mt. Carmel, and  Tiberius.

Happy 14th Birthday to our Middlest Child – Katie! We love you Kate – Mom & Dad.

Great flight from LAX to JFK. 6 hours went by quickly. Enjoyed that flight. While this is not me, it sure looks like me on the last flight.

We leave around midnight Eastern Time and head to Tel Aviv Israel on EL AL Airlines. This flight will be about 11 hours.

Met the other pastors and their spouses. Great group. Should be a good educational, inspirational time of fellowship together. The couples come from Oregon, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Alabama.

Several have asked about the time difference in Israel. We will be 10 hours ahead of our friends in California and 7 hours ahead of all our friends back east.

With our flight and arrival, not sure when I will post next. I will try my best to add photos (Lesli is the official photographer), videos, and our daily thoughts about where we have been, what we have seen, and how Go is growing us.

While Mark, the leader and organizer of our tour, has been very helpful in letting us know what we should bring to Israel, I still struggle with the packing part of this endeavor. My stack of stuff has way too many various articles of “what if” clothes – you know in case of blizzard, etc. The pile of electronic chords to connect cameras, phones, and my computer make it look like I robbed a Radio Shack. So tomorrow I tackle the stack before it goes into the suitcase. Probably have to leave the beach ball behind!

As I joked with several people at church about what I was planning to take on the trip, I found myself actually thinking about what I would be doing this week – going to the land where Jesus walked. Then, I started thinking about how He didn’t worry about stuff like packing. He didn’t have a lot of earthly junk. He simply told his disciples “foxes have holes, birds have nests, but the the Son of Man has no where to lay His head” (Matthew 8:20) Wow! That’ll shape your packing philosophy!

Still can’t believe the incredible journey Lesli & I are about to take!  We leave LAX tomorrow (Tuesday) morning at 11:00 a.m.

This Tuesday Lesli and I leave for Israel. We are privileged to be going on an 8-day trip of the Holy Land as guests of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism with 9 other pastors and their spouses. We have never been there before, so, as you can imagine, we are very excited. Those of you who have been there know first hand the kind of impact a trip like this can have on the lives of God’s children!

Arriving late in the afternoon of the 9th, we will spend our first night in Tel Aviv and have dinner in Old Jaffa – where Jonah boarded a boat to flee from God and where the Apostle Peter restored Tabitha to life.

The next two nights will be spent in Tiberias in a hotel along the shores of the Sea of Galilee . While staying there, our days will be spent visiting Jesus’ boyhood home of Nazareth, the Dead Sea, the ancient Jewish fortress of Masada, and taking a first century wooden boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.

The remainder of our time in Israel will be spent in Jerusalem itself. While there, we will be visiting Jericho, the Western Wall, the tomb of David, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Garden Tomb, Gordon’s Calvary, and so much more.

Of course we will miss our kids while away, but they are going to be well cared for by friends. We hope to share our journey with them and with you right here on my blog. We plan to share both the information and the inspiration we glean from each day with you through words, pictures, and maybe even video clips. So check in regularly from this Tuesday to next Thursday. Then, Sunday, September 20th my message to the Calvary family will be on how God worked in our hearts on this incredible journey.

Pray for us (I hate to fly – and Lesli isn’t so keen on flying with me because I hate to fly) and travel the journey with us through our daily blog posts.

We are getting ready!