We left for Israel on January 24th, 2011 and returned on February 2, 2011. We were there for such a short time, but we made some eternal friends. Our tour guide, Tsippi (pronounced Sippy) is a Jewish woman that knows so many details about the land she calls home. She can spill her knowledge in such a way that one of our fellow bus riders said it was like drinking from a firehose. We all agreed. Tsippi brought everything to life - she prepared our minds and hearts for what we were about to see and she brought the pages of the Bible to life for us in the process.
Asod is a Palestinian Christian and was key in getting our tour group into Palistinian territory like Bethlehem and Jerricho. The streets of Jerusalem are narrow and steep and the traffic is thick. Asod was an amazing driver - always giving us curb service. We called him the king of the hairpin curves. In addition to being a great driver, Asod was a gentle spirited man. He took extra time to make sure Tyler got just the right oil lamp when we were shopping.
Mr. Nissan is a Palestinian Christian that we met while visiting Bethlehem. He is the owner of both the Olive Tree Factory and the largest restaurant in the city. Mr. Nissan shared his faith with our group and also shared the Lords Prayer in Aramaic which could have been the language Jesus spoke the prayer in just after the Sermon on the Mount.
The sites of Israel bring the Bible to life, but the life in Israel is the people. Israel has become a melting pot of people, and not all are as wonderful as those we met, but we were blessed by Tsippi, Asod and Mr. Nissan and I will forever count them as friends.
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| This is our bus group - the Yellowmites. |
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