Israel Trip Overview

Israel Trip information: These are the URLs needed to come along with us on the trip.

Web Album (updated pictures daily)
Youtube Videos (updated as I make them)
IFL Daily Video Blog (Be sure to watch these daily)

IFL's Israel Invitation

Israel Trip Day Twelve

Our free day in Jerusalem was not so free. An early morning bus took us the ancient City of David where we went under the city and walked through Hezekiah's Tunnel. It was a BLAST. Dark, cool, fresh spring water under your feet. It was one of the best parts of the trip. It took about 45 minutes to walk all the way through from gate to gate.

Here is a part of our group. We have really enjoyed getting to know these great people. What a blessing to fellowship with other Christians from around the states.
When then had a large lunch (40 IFL staff) with Chuck and Cynthia. It was at a really nice hotel. 5 stars. We sat with the Hocker's and had lamb and salmon.
We then went to the old city to shop and are now packing for our trip home. Boy we sure do hope to get good seats and good TV. I had a blast here in the Holy Land but I am ready for some Pizza and Mexican Food. I did NOT like the food on the trip. Too many weird meats and healthy vegetables.

Israel Trip Day Eleven

A slower day in Jerusalem. Garden Tomb, Hezekiah's pools, and the Last Supper Room. We are headed to a concert right now. The streets have a lot of energy and it is fun thinking of the marketplace 2000 years ago. I'm sure there were less T-shirts back then.



We will miss the friends we made on our bus. Just two weeks together traveling has create friendships that will last a lifetime. Really great people on Plum Bus #6. I will miss them very much.
We plan on staying in the city tonight and smoking the Cuban cigar I purchased last night. Should be a good time with some of the friends we sit with on the back of the bus. Just returned from a late night 12:30 AM sitting with our new friends in the hotel lobby. What a great time of sharing memories and learning about each other's families.

Israel Trip Day Ten

Masada, En Gedi, and The Dead Sea today. Incredible views and heat.

We saw where David hide from Saul in the Desert. We saw some wildlife (Fox and Deer/Ram/something-or-another with horns). I shot this beautiful plant while on top of an overlook.
We then traveled up the mighty Masada mountain top. Mandy and few other people actually walked down. I took her 20 minutes and about 45 for some others. It was incredible that they build this city so high and incredible that the Romans could overtake it in 7 months.
This cave 4 where some cool Dead Sea Scrolls came from
The Dead Sea was an experience. So easy to float. What got me was the realization that we were at the lowest point on the earth. Wow! We even rubbed the black mud on our skin and floated for a while in the 115 degree sun. Our first REAL hot day. Here is an image I got. I am real proud of the pictures I have been able to take. Very impressive. Its is so easy to get great pictures here.

A small video of top of Masada near Dead Sea

Israel Trip Day Nine

Another great day walking around Israel. We really put some miles on our sandals today. Starting on the Mount of Olives and working our way to the sites of the cross and burial tomb. Was not as emotional as I had planned. The day is packed with so much information and responsibility that I did not have much time to reflect. However my main goal was accomplished and that was to learn about and experience Israel and open my eyes when reading the Bible. I 100% believe that is happening each and every day.

We also did a little shopping too. But tonight we go under the Temple Mount and explore the tunnels. I have been told it is a blast. We will lose some more sleep but it should be worth it.

Wailing Wall at night video

Israel Trip Day Eight

Jerusalem. Holy City, City on a Hill. City of David. WOW!

It was an awesome view of the city when we drove in yesterday and today we were able to walk within the old city walls. We visited the Wailing Wall, The Southern Steps, The Temple Mount. Walking on the same stones that Jesus and His Disciples stepped on when visiting the Temple. It was truly an experience of lifetime.

We are getting really getting close with the member of our bus. With all the gifts IFL gives us, plus our bus guide and the camera man, we are going to have full suitcases on our return. Everyday we get more books and cool stuff.

Please take a look at our Israel Images on the links in the nav. We got some great ones today.

Israel Trip Day Seven

In Jerusalem. Great entry to the city. Whirlwind evening... Look at the pictures tonight. We are at a new hotel. I'll try the video again too.

Kathy Stiles and Mandy (Sea of Galilee)

The Ancient City of Beth Shan (video)

Singing in the Theater Beth Shan (video)

Israel Trip Day Six

The Sea of Galilee Early Morning (video)



We started our day with a beautiful tour of the ancient tribe of Dan. It was breath taking. It was full of greenery and lush colors. There were nature springs and flowers along the hike to the the ancient city. In was a perfect day for a hike up in the northern part of Israel. Breezy and mountain like weather.

I was amazed of how much agriculture is grown here. In my mind, I always pictured dry places with some trees and such. But up in the northern part of the country it is absolutely gorgeous.
Our next stop was at Caesarea Philippi where Jesus took his disciples. Mark 8:27-29

We also went to Hermon Stream to see a waterfall. The water is so fresh smelling and crystal clear.

Israel Trip Day Five

Another exciting day here in the Galilee region. We had a massive storm that came on the Sea of Galilee last night. Made us think of the disciples. The setting is just breathtaking.

Today we went to the following places today: Mount of Beatitudes, Capernaum, Nof Ginnosar, Yardenit Baptism Site.

This is "THE" exact synagogue that Jesus preached at in Capernaum. They rejected him in this town, even though He lived here. We also saw Peter's house right outside of the building. One of the rare places we "KNOW" is an authentic site. It was special to know that the Disciples hung out right near where we stood.
This is the beach were it is said that Jesus first called Peter and where he told Peter to meet Him after the resurrection. It was a special calming place.

I will post images and videos to the best of my ability but words can't really describe this place. Awesome!

A video from the place where Jesus gave his special speach to the Disciples.

Israel Trip Day Four

A crazy long day but what a blast. I don't even have time to go into all the cool things we saw and did today... We hit 5 major spots in one day.

This is the water aqua-duct that Herod the Great built in Caesarea by the sea. The outdoor, ancient theater Chuck spoke at was awesome. This is were Peter was on trail, found in the book of Acts.
I uploaded images so click on that link and I uploaded a video of our hotel lookout over the sea of Galilee. Awesome.

Gabriel spoke with Mary in the background (Nazareth)

We went to the following places today: Caesarea, Mount Carmel, Megiddo, Nazareth, Cana, and Tiberias. We ended the day on the Sea of Galilee.

Israel Trip Day Three

Well, I should be asleep right now. It is around 2 in the morning. When your body says "you should be awake" there is not much you can do about it.

It is very quiet in the hotel. All I can hear outside is the sound of gunfire and explosions in the distance (Just kidding Alan). Actually, the streets are quiet too. Mandy's breathing and the noise from our battery-operated sound machine fill the room. (When we laid down... it sort of sounded like "rain" but now it sounds like digital rain falling on a working electric train track. There are some weird noise patterns in this thing) I'm hoping the batteries wear out soon.

Most everyone in Israel speaks English as their second language. Most signs are in Hebrew and English (most but not all). The funny thing so far is something that I have always wanted but now I have it, is sort of weird. The elevators (There are 5 in this hotel) will show you which door will open "way" before the door opens. So if you push "up" an arrow above a certain door will light up. It may not open for 4 more minutes, but at least you know which one to wait in front of. Not a bad feature.

Once again, I am in another country that loves sports we know little of in the US. Mandy and I watched a handball game on TV briefly. Looks fun. Sort of like Water Polo...without the water.

The currency rate is 3.5 to 1. But we have been told, don't argue over some rough calculations when purchasing things. 3-to-1 is easier to do in your head and most people wing the price of things anyway. Their dollar is called a shekel still, but the shekel in the Bible was made with silver (I believe) and means "weight." This currency is obviously not based on a gold/silver standard anymore, I would guess.

Its going to be a whirlwind tour, I can already tell. Between packing, eating, loading, touring, bathing, and following instructions, it will be real difficult to log on and upload to the blog, but we enjoy it and will do our best.

A great day here in Tel Aviv. After sleeping in till 10:30am (boy we needed that), we got ready for our 11:30 meeting with the entire IFL and DTS staff. We learned of our responsibilities and some facts about the tour we needed to know. We then had a good lunch at the hotel. A few of us (6) decided to go to the port city of Joppa (or Joffa) about a mile and a half walk down the shoreline.

The ocean was very blue, almost Caribbean blue but the pictures really do not do it justice. Sort of cold but swimmable... just not for us.
The city itself was on a hill, which I can only guess, was done on purpose since ships could see high ground first when looking for land. Most of the town looks "old" and is not littered with modern buildings or shops. I think it would be a fun 3-4 day weekend destination. Beautiful views, a cool wind, and clean streets. We could better understand why in Acts Peter went to the rooftop to take a nap. We saw many roofs with small gardens and could tell the cool breeze felt better on the high places in town. (our first.. "now I get it moment")
We came back to the hotel to greet some buses and travelers arriving from the airport. We actually met a small group from Van Alstyne this evening.

Before dinner we (and a part of the Stiles family) took time to stroll down a local market. It was crowded, noisy, and frankly dirty. But very authentic and part of the everyday life here. Fresh fruit, bread, olives, spices, peppers, cheese, and even a few t-shirts. We walked through a city park and took pictures in front of a small olive grove and at the beach.
The evening ended with a large dinner and meeting of 700ish people in a room. We were introduced as Bus 6 (The Plum Bus) host and hostess. Tomorrow I may have to speak in front of 700 people and explain the video blog we are working on each day. Not looking forward to that.

We are headed to bed and getting ready for a big day in the morning. Miss the kids and hope they get to take this trip of a lifetime sometime in the future.

Israel Trip Day Two

Not sure if it really counts as day 2 or not. It is 9:43 at night. Dark outside right now but it is Monday day in Dallas. This counts as our day two since our last post was Sunday.

Israeli customs was not near as bad as we have been told. It was no problem at all. The airport was big and looked very nice. No guard dogs and guns (that I saw).

Traffic was bad.

Our bus was VERY impressive. Very lush and new! If we tour the Holy land in these bad boys all week, then I will consider us very lucky.

Our room is clean and overlooks the Mediterranean Sea.

Just took a shower and went down to eat with some other IFL and DTS staff. Food was great. Buffet style. not food I normally eat.. but that is good. We need to expand our horizons.

We are now hooked up with Internet and uploading more images. $17.50 Shekels a day (we think).

Tomorrow we will walk up to Joppa (Jonah's port and Peter's vision) about 1 mile up the beach. We have a few meetings to attend. Our big Welcome meeting is Tuesday evening. Most of the tour guest arrive in the afternoon.

Our view from the balcony
A video we made in the room.

Israel Trip Day One

Does not really count as Israel but it is day one away from Gunter, Texas. Everything went smooth this morning. Got to DFW and through security with no issues. The flight to New York was very short. great tail winds cut our flight time by almost 1 hour. The view out of the right side of the plane stunk. We saw the Empire State Building but not much else. Water, houses, and the back of a ladies head.

From our seats on the long flight

We are at JFK now and had some Chinese food. We have plenty of people watching to do. (I just lost my seat to a guy in the lobby. I guess he thinks my suitcase in front of a chair does not count as "taken.") I'll just sit here on the floor I guess for the next two hours.

We are going to try and get better seats but I have to wait till 7pm before they release the extra spaces.
I am uploading some images as we speak. Next stop Tel Aviv.