The countdown begins!

It seemed so far off when we began to think about this exciting advenure to Israel, and now it is only four weeks away!  Where has the time gone, and what is going to happen to all of those "essential" things we were going to get accomplished before leaving?  (Answer:  Many of them just won't get

done, of course.)

We have had serious distractions (tornadoes in our immediate area, illness, family events, etc.) that have kept us from doing trip-preparations, but it is now time to get down to the serious business of getting ready to go.  We will probably never do all of the reading we want to get done before the trip, but we can make a little more progress.  Packing simply must be done.  We have begun on that project.  In the corner of the closet we have set up opened suitcases and have begun tossing in items we run across that we think we might want to take on the trip.  When the time comes to actually pack, I imagine we will toss out most of the things in the suitcase, but at least it is a start, right?  (Yes, I do have a purple suitcase. Don't make fun! I will be able to find my suitcase in the ocean of black suitcases...like Olen's!)

I am trying something new on this trip.  My trusty little travel laptop, which I have used for blogging many wonderful adventures, is not making this trip.  It finally got too old to travel. (I hope that never happens to me!)  Actually, Microsoft no longer supports the operating system and I was forced to enter the current century, technically speaking.  I have chosen to travel with an i-Pad mini for my travel blogging this time, and I think I am really going to enjoy it.  However, dear readers, please be patient with me and my new toy.  Remember that my i-Pad and I are still getting accustomed to each other, and the honeymoon may be over when we encounter internet services (or lack therof) in a foreign country.  Stay tuned for updates.

Our travel group is diverse and very interesting.  The oldest traveler is 80, and the youngest is 14.  They represent seven states (Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida and Virginia). We have married couples, single people, widows, widowers, parents and children, teenagers, college students, grandparents and grandchildren, etc.  What fun!

I will try to introduce the characters to you so you will understand who I am talking about in the blog posts to follow.  I won't use last names, but if you have a friend on this trip, you can probably make the proper connections.  Of course Olen and I will be there.  We live in rural north Alabama on property that adjoins the property of our son and his family, and Olen's mother's house is on the other side.  We are very blessed to have all of our children and ten wonderful grandchildren living within five miles of our house.  All ten of our grands are students at Athens Bible School, a small K-12 private school in our area, so most of them have a cousin in their class at school.  We are very blessed.  To save all of you travelers time on the trip, I will  post a photo of our wonderful grandchildren here.  Believe me, it will save you time.  When we attempt to make you look at grandchildren photos on the trip you can just smile and reply, "Yes, I have seen them".

The most important person on this trip is our tour director, Barry, and his delightful wife, Tabatha.  They are taking their oldest child, Jacob, who will be a high school senior in the fall.  But there are others on the trip!  Shirley is from the beautiful state of Colorado, and this is her first trip out of the US, so she is very excited.  Becky is a delightful lady with a smile that warms you to the core.  Her husband says he is staying home to work so she and her college-age-daughter, Mckenna, can enjoy this experience together.  (Isn't he wonderful?) Mckenna joined Olen and me on a trip to Ecuador two years ago where we combined sightseeing with encouraging churches in that area.   Austin, from Virginia, is the outstanding young man who holds Mckenna's heart.  You will enjoy him. 

Greg preaches for the congregation where we worship, and we love him dearly, but you may learn to love his wife, Pam, even more!  Their oldest son, Ethan, will graduate from Athens Bible School only a few days prior to the trip,  and he is planning to head to Florida College in the fall.  Younger brother, Isaiah, is one of my favorites.  When his eyes start to twinkle, you know he is planning something that will be fun!  Lavaughn and Melissa live not too far from us.  They were the last ones to sign up for the trip, but their excitement is high!  Blake is a young preacher who is currently working with Kenny Moorer at the College View church in Florence, Alabama.  

Jim and Sharon live in the northwest portion of Limestone County.  Jim is retired, but assists their son in the chicken business.  Lucy has been my friend since childhood, and is the closest thing to a sister that I will ever have.  You will learn to love her as I do.  Malcolm is a long-time resident of north Alabama, and loves to travel.  He has stories to tell!  Jean and her adult grandson, Brett, are from Arkansas.  As with some of the others, we have not met Jean and Brett yet, but we are looking forward to it.  Buddy and Petie carry passports that recognize them as Harold and Delores, but I don't know of anyone who calls them by those names.  They prefer Buddy and Petie.  

Bryan preaches in Helena, Alabama near Birmingham.  Steve and Debbie are another couple we have not met, but they come from the Louisville area.  Tim and Wyndy live in the Atlanta area, where Tim preaches.  (If you are good at family trees, you will need to note that Wyndy is Lucy's daughter.).  Like I said, this is a wonderful group...and very soon we will all meet in New York to begin this exciting adventure!  

My blog is not scholarly by any means.  I just write what I do, what I see, and the emotions I feel when I travel.  Occasionally my blog is informative, but more often than not it is just full of my mental musings of the day.  The photos I post from my simple point-and-shoot camera are more human-interest than professional quality.  For more scholarly information, you can read Barry's blog from his website (http://www.exploringbiblelands.com).  He plans to post daily, when possible.  Also, you can keep up with what Barry posts on Facebook by "liking" the Exploring Bible Lands Facebook page.  Perhaps other tour members will be posting photos or blogs.  If we learn about those we will try to give you that information, too.

But, now it is time to get busy getting ready for Israel!  The clock is ticking and the calendar pages are flipping past us in rapid succession.

What is different this time?

Most of you know that this is not our first trip to Israel.  We have been to this area of the world before, but there is so much to learn in Israel.  It is a country so full of Biblical history that it is difficult to absorb everything in a single visit.

We did not think we would ever go back to Israel again, but we would continue our study of the area by pouring over maps and reference books as we study our Bibles.  Then, suddenly something changed.  Our son, Barry, decided that guiding people to a deeper understanding of the Bible through leading tours to Israel was something he wanted to do in life.  Of course we wanted to go on one of his trips.  It is a rare opportunity a parent has to tour religious sites under the guidance of the man we read these Bible stories to as a child.  Even as a very young child Barry loved maps, and loved Bible stories.  After we took Barry and his wife, Tabatha, to Israel with us several years ago, he decided how he wanted to use these skills in a productive way for the Kingdom of God.  And, as they say, the rest is history.  In a few short days we will be headed to Israel again, but this time he will be guiding us!

So, what will be our place on this trip?  We are tour members, just like the other 27 on the tour.  We paid our money just like the others did, and we will be sitting in the back of the bus, relaxing and taking it all in and learning like everyone else.  We are looking forward to this rare opportunity life has presented us.  We are counting down the days until departure.  June 3 is departure day, and we would be honored if you choose to follow the adventure through this travel blog.