We are counting down the days now! In just a few weeks Olen and I will be leaving for Israel, flying directly from Atlanta to Tel Aviv. I suppose this is a milestone trip of sorts for Ferrell Jenkins. The literature says this is his “75th Foreign Tour”. Can you imagine a life that has included that much exciting travel? We are thrilled to be participating in his Bible Lands Tour for 2010.
Yes, we have been to this area of the world before, but if you have ever traveled to the countries of Israel and Jordan, you know that it is difficult to take it all in. There is so much wonderful Biblical history at every turn! We plan to make a return trip for several reasons. First of all, we want to learn more about this area of our world where so many of the Biblical events took place so we can come home and share the things we have learned with students in our Bible classes (and anyone else who will listen!) We feel that a trip to the lands where Jesus walked and taught is a faith-builder. It makes reading the Scriptures where events took place take on a completely new light. Special to this trip (and very personal to us) is that we are sharing this memory with our son, Barry, and his wife, Tabatha. How exciting it will be to watch those eyes see the actual places we read and studied about when he was a small child living in our house instead of a 40-something grown man with a family of his own. So, we plan to go to learn, to strengthen our faith, and to make memories. To us, these seem to be enough good reasons to go again.
I write my blog mostly for myself and for my family at home, but I consider it a personal honor if you choose to read along. My dear husband, Olen, is a scholar, a photographer, and a retired aerospace engineer. He is much more computer-savy than I am and often helps me out of blogging difficulties. But, I am the designated family scribe, and most of the time Olen is extremely patient with my travel blogging. (I did say, “MOST of the time”!) I find that doing a daily blog helps me keep facts and thoughts straight in my mind, and I am able to do it faster than a hand-written journal like many on the trip attempt to keep. I describe sights and record thoughts that are personal to me, and tidbits of information I will want to remember in the future. My writing is on about a fourth-grade level, mostly because I have ten grandchildren between the ages of three and thirteen. I want my words to be understandable to all of them.
So, if you are looking for a more scholarly blog, please check out Ferrell’s travel blog at http://ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com/ . I always refer to the information in his excellent blog to help me label and organize my photos when I get home. But, while I am gone, I just enjoy blogging whatever thoughts I happen to have at the time. I plan to include photos and record facts and incidents involving the various people on the tour with us. I will use only the first names of the people I mention, but those of you who know the people on the tour will be able to keep up. Feel free to share the link to my blog with anyone who might be interested. This is one way to teach about the places we are visiting. If you read the blog, let us know by sending us a comment. And, if you have messages to your special people on the tour, we will try to pass those on also.
I attempt to update my blog each night, but if you have had any dealings with computers, you know that from time to time computers and internet connections seem to have a mind of their own. So, if I miss a day, then check again in a few hours,(or the next day), when my computer vs. internet relationship may be more compatible.
Our travel group consists of 46. We know several of our fellow tour-mates already, and are anxiously anticipating getting to know the others. It is such great fun to get to know other Christians while we enjoy travelling together.
It is getting close to the time to take care of the packing and “last minute details”. We are getting very excited and look forward to this journey ahead of us. The adventure begins on Wednesday (April 28). We are counting the days…
Yes, we have been to this area of the world before, but if you have ever traveled to the countries of Israel and Jordan, you know that it is difficult to take it all in. There is so much wonderful Biblical history at every turn! We plan to make a return trip for several reasons. First of all, we want to learn more about this area of our world where so many of the Biblical events took place so we can come home and share the things we have learned with students in our Bible classes (and anyone else who will listen!) We feel that a trip to the lands where Jesus walked and taught is a faith-builder. It makes reading the Scriptures where events took place take on a completely new light. Special to this trip (and very personal to us) is that we are sharing this memory with our son, Barry, and his wife, Tabatha. How exciting it will be to watch those eyes see the actual places we read and studied about when he was a small child living in our house instead of a 40-something grown man with a family of his own. So, we plan to go to learn, to strengthen our faith, and to make memories. To us, these seem to be enough good reasons to go again.
I write my blog mostly for myself and for my family at home, but I consider it a personal honor if you choose to read along. My dear husband, Olen, is a scholar, a photographer, and a retired aerospace engineer. He is much more computer-savy than I am and often helps me out of blogging difficulties. But, I am the designated family scribe, and most of the time Olen is extremely patient with my travel blogging. (I did say, “MOST of the time”!) I find that doing a daily blog helps me keep facts and thoughts straight in my mind, and I am able to do it faster than a hand-written journal like many on the trip attempt to keep. I describe sights and record thoughts that are personal to me, and tidbits of information I will want to remember in the future. My writing is on about a fourth-grade level, mostly because I have ten grandchildren between the ages of three and thirteen. I want my words to be understandable to all of them.
So, if you are looking for a more scholarly blog, please check out Ferrell’s travel blog at http://ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com/ . I always refer to the information in his excellent blog to help me label and organize my photos when I get home. But, while I am gone, I just enjoy blogging whatever thoughts I happen to have at the time. I plan to include photos and record facts and incidents involving the various people on the tour with us. I will use only the first names of the people I mention, but those of you who know the people on the tour will be able to keep up. Feel free to share the link to my blog with anyone who might be interested. This is one way to teach about the places we are visiting. If you read the blog, let us know by sending us a comment. And, if you have messages to your special people on the tour, we will try to pass those on also.
I attempt to update my blog each night, but if you have had any dealings with computers, you know that from time to time computers and internet connections seem to have a mind of their own. So, if I miss a day, then check again in a few hours,(or the next day), when my computer vs. internet relationship may be more compatible.
Our travel group consists of 46. We know several of our fellow tour-mates already, and are anxiously anticipating getting to know the others. It is such great fun to get to know other Christians while we enjoy travelling together.
It is getting close to the time to take care of the packing and “last minute details”. We are getting very excited and look forward to this journey ahead of us. The adventure begins on Wednesday (April 28). We are counting the days…
(I am trying a new experiment for the blog of this trip. Below is a clock that will allow the reader to know what the current time is in Israel or Jordan as you read the blog. I hope it helps...and I hope I am able to keep it current. Like I said...an experiment.)
This is the current time in Israel and Jordan:
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