Conclusion to our Israel Trip

On Wednesday morning we left for our long trip to Masada, a trip that my husband has dreamed of since he was 19 years old. Masada is an Herodian palace built as a fortress on the Dead Sea that saw the last stand of approximately 1000 Jewish zealots against the Roman legions in the year AD 73. They held out for a little over two years, until they killed their wives and children, and then themselves, rather than surrender. We took large cable cars up to the top, where the wind was incredible. Not a good day to wear a flowing skirt:) I had to tie it in three knots! It was wonderful to see this place I have read about for many years. We almost had to walk down because they shut down the cable cars when the winds get to 40 mph. After eating lunch, we headed to the Dead Sea. It was overcast, but still ur group enjoyed covering themselves with mud and floating in the water. We collected large rock crystals along the shorelines to take home with us. Right as we were leaving a beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky. Our second this trip. As if we needed any reminders of how God fulfills His promises to us, His children!

2:30am came earlier than we liked. We had to leave to drive from Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv, allowing several hours to get through security. As we entered the airport grounds a man with a machine gun boarded and walked through our bus. He stopped when he got to Jordan and Christian and asked them where their passports were. Jordan, in his sweet Alabama accent replied they were up front with his Mom and Dad:) no more questions, thankfully. We were questioned extensively in the airport, but eventually we all were on board for our short flight to Athens. What a blessing it all was- from being able to share the moments with my friend, Linda, to seeing the Dead Sea Scrolls, to gaining a new sister in Christ at the Sea of Galilee. I know I have mixed up some days with others:) I mostly wanted to have a record I could go back and look at years from now, and say, "Look children, look how good our God is, and how He has blessed us for a lifetime."