Israel Feb 5-6
February 4-5 Haifa & North District
I woke up at 4 am ready to drink coffee and catch a 5 am Uber to the Slo airport. After our delayed one hour flight made it to LAX, I took the time to catch up with a couple friends and waited for the rest of the group to get there; all 26 of us. After everyone arrived I was grilled by a security man who asked me the names of all the cities I was going to. Maybe it was my crazy life of a new career, maybe it was my two active escrows or maybe I just forgot to memorize the names either way the security man was not having it. Luckily for me my friend James was there to give me the names. The man then asked James how long he had known me as if I was someone suspicious and with a straight none joking face told me that it was always the innocent looking ones that had bombs; I couldn’t believe he wasn’t joking.
I caught up with friends Sherry and Bryan; Sherry let me know that with a certain rewards program you can hang out in airport lounges which is way nice! Free coffee, food and cappuccinos. We boarded our flight to Israel around 2 pm. To my pleasant surprise, I was near the front. I had an entire row of seats to myself!! For a 15 hr flight I was incredibly stoked! I watched two movies King Arthur and Beauty and the Beast and slept for the fest; felt easy.
As we began to descend I looked out my window to see towns scattered throughout green patches and dirt roads; not so seemingly different from home.
When we arrived we found out tour guide who told us our pastor Bryan he looked like a movie star lol. We boarded a bus with a guide named Sam and a bus driver named Eli. Sam began to speak about the history of Haifa and stories from the old testament and where they took place relative to our location. It’s crazy to visit the places you hear so many stories about in person. It changes your understanding of the words and broadens your perspective. As we drove through the streets it was amazing to see the buildings and admire the historic architecture. The city seems to combine modern buildings with ancient ones intermixed.
Our first night was relaxing; exploring the city of Haifa. In the pictures below you will see photos of the city, view from the bus, and photos of the Jezreel Valley from two different angles. One during the middle of the day and one at sunset looking southeast. Jezreel Valley is where Armageddon is said to happen. Again so crazy to be looking at a piece of history and a place that has been referenced throughout time. Elijah overlooked the same valley you see in the photos. Israel is also known for it’s olive oil and olive trees. You’ll notice in the photos many of them! Lastly the sunsets we experienced overlooking the valley’s were incredibly epic and hard to put into words. The only word I can really use to describe it, is sadly overused, causing it’s impact to feel somewhat watered down ,however there isn’t much of a better word to describer it. The word is “awesome” as it was originally meant to be used defined by Webster, who says it best, “causing or inducing awe; inspiring an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, or fear:”
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