Vacation in Israel

What a privilege it was to be able to take a tour of Israel! 

Last August we heard that three of Nancy's sisters were making plans to take a tour of Israel with a group led by Drs. Marc and Marceil Royer and The Christian Research Group.  So, we looked into it and decided to use some vacation time to take the tour.  How could we resist?  For one thing, our airline tickets to Israel from Hungary were a fraction of the cost of flying from the US and we would have no jetlag either.
February 6 through 14 we toured Israel, seeing such places as Joppa, Caesarea, Mt. Carmel, Megiddo, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, Cana, Gideon Springs, the Dead Sea, Masada, Jerusalem and Bethlehem.  It was exciting to see so many places we had read about in the Bible, to notice how rocky the soil is, how barren the wilderness is and how mountainous the country is.
It was a joy to share it not only with each other, but with family, too. On the second day, however, Leota, Nancy's sister, became sick and had to be taken to the hospital.  The entire tour group (64 in all) prayed for her.  The tour moved on to another city and Nick and Leona (another of Nancy's sisters) stayed back with Leota.  Praise the Lord, the following day, all three of them rejoined the tour and praised God for Leota's miraculous healing.
It is not required for followers of Jesus to visit Israel.  The same Jesus who walked on the Sea of Galilee and healed so many people including Leota is right where each of us is today by his Holy Spirit.  That is more important than joining other tourists in the Holy Land, but it was heartwarming to be able to see and touch places Jesus walked on this earth.  We pray that this experience will enable us to understand the Word better and to better share with others about our Savior and Lord.