Day 1-2 We have arrrived!

Yes, we are here! This post represents two days, because with the jet-lag we are experiencing, we are not sure when one day ended and the next one began! We left home at 4:30 Monday morning, flew to Washington D.C., and then on to New York City where we boarded a huge Boeing 747 to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. Basically, our group met without incident in New York. (No one got sick or had a delayed flight.) The only minor complication was that Tim managed to get on the wrong Sky Train and circled the terminal a time or two before getting off and asking for directions. We met the "new" members of our tour group...the ones we had not met before, and the group is going to be a great one.

It was drizzling rain when we took off from Kennedy Airport at 4:45 Monday afternoon. We set our watches ahead seven hours, to match the time it would be when we landed in Frankfurt, Germany. They served us dinner on the plane, and the on-board movie was "National Treasure, Book of Secrets", which helped to pass the time. Most of us attempted to sleep, but already our body-clocks were so confused that it was difficult to sleep.

At 4 AM the flight attendants announced that they would be serving breakfast soon. (Did I say 4 AM?)

After breakfast we landed in Frankfurt. The weather was a bit cool, but bright and sunny...a contrast with Washington and New York the previous day. We had a lay-over there, and managed to find a (German) McDonalds at the airport, so we ate another breakfast while we waited.

Israel has the most detailed security system in the world, so we lined up to go through their security check before boarding the plane for Tel-Aviv. As we left Frankfurt we set our watches ahead another hour, to match the time it would be when we landed in Tel Aviv. From Frankfurt we flew over Greece and the coast of Turkey before landing in Israel. I couldn't help but think how much the actual view from the air resembled the map on the wall in the fifth grade classroom at the church building!

Our arrival in Tel Aviv was busy. We had to go through several check-points and finally retrieve our luggage before boarding the bus. Unfortunately, some of the suitcases did not complete the route we took, so six of our number had to fill out papers to locate the lost suitcases. The four North Alabama ladies (now affectionately referred to as "the girls" by the other members of the group) were a part of the lost-luggage group, along with sweet little Mary, and somehow Tim's suitcase got lost, also. (I was beginning to wonder if a little dark cloud was hovering over Tim!) The photo shows the "Lost Luggage Group"...Vivian, Tim, Ida Nell, Mary, Margaret and Fran.

Minus the missing suitcases, we boarded the tour bus and went to Joppa for a few minutes. Several Biblical events took place in Joppa, including Jonah's departure for his ill-fated rebellious trip. By this time it was late in the afternoon and we had consumed all of the information our tired brains could hold, so the bus driver drove us to our hotel, where we ate dinner and plan to head straight to bed. Tonight we are very tired, but we are happy to be here, to be seeing the things we are seeing, and to be enjoying the time spent with other Christians. Tomorrow will be another big day!