ISRAEL TRIP: Question & Answers
VH - What did you think about Israel before you went on this trip?
Pastor Jimmie - I thought of it as the Christians’ far away Holy Land that I could possibly see one day.
Lucretia - I really didn’t think about the State of Israel before I went. My concentration was only on the biblical stories of Israel. I never really brought the biblical Israel and the modern State of Israel together as the same people.
Donna - I knew from reading the Bible that Israel was the Holy Land, but did not understand why there was so much fighting. The people of Israel love their country just like we love America.
Marjane - Israel was a country where my faith and salvation was based in, but it was not real because it was on the other side of the world. The world is now a lot smaller.
Jeff - I felt that traveling to Israel would not be safe from listening to all the media reports regarding that region.
VH - Why did you decide to go?
Linda - The opportunity arose so I jumped on it. I wanted to go for a long time.
Donna - I was so blessed to have the opportunity to go the Holy Land and to learn as much as I could in the time we were there. If you ever get the opportunity to go to Israel, GO! It is awesome. Thank you, Miss Victoria.
Marjane - The opportunity to go to Israel was something I never ever dreamed about because of the impossibility of it even happening to me. I am grateful and blessed that it did happen to me.
VH - What Biblical site made the greatest impression on you?
Lucretia - Yad Vashem (Holocaust Museum) was the place that touched my heart the most. To see what happened to the Russian Jews and yet they do not hate the Germans. Oh, what forgiveness!
Linda - Golgotha/Garden Tomb.
Donna - The biblical site that impressed me the most was the Garden Tomb and Resurrection Garden. This is the most beautiful and peaceful garden, and it’s hard to describe just how pretty and quiet, like you could stay forever until the rapture. To walk in this garden and to see the sign on the cave door “HE IS NOT HERE - FOR HE IS RISEN” was so emotional for me, and it still is today when I talk about the Garden. As I walked through the cave door, a feeling came over me and I knew that Jesus Christ died for my sins. God so loved the world He gave His only Son, and if we believe in Him, we shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). We had communion there and it will always be special to me.
Dana - Shiloh and the Temple. It was there that I felt the word maranatha come to life as if I could see God’s new Kingdom descending over the old ruins and the Victorious Savior descending down on a cloud of Glory with His arms outstretched toward His long awaited Bride. There I could feel the pulse of my Savior and drawing that time was near and His return will be sure to come very soon.
Marjane - The Garden Tomb where Jesus was buried and rose from the dead. That was the center of all our beliefs, and the joy and assurance that our Lord is alive was felt there in the garden even 2000 years later.
Jeff - I thought the Garden and the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem was fascinating. A truly humbling experience.
VH - How did this trip change you and your understanding of the Bible?
Pastor Jimmie - It made the bible become more real and personal to me than ever before. I could actually see what I’ve been reading about for years.
Lucretia - I always had a respect for God’s chosen people (the Jews), but now I believe I respect and admire them more, not because God says to in His word but because of their love and dedication to their God and their land.
Linda - It made the Bible come to life for me. When we stood on places that were there when Jesus was there, it was as though I was there at the same time.
Marjane - This trip brought home the truth that biblical history is still happening: God’s chosen people (the Jews) are still without all their promised land, evil is still trying to rub out the promise of peace, and the end of our earthly existence will end right there in that small country - the center of the world.
VH - Why did you want to be baptized in the Jordan River and how did
it affect you?
Linda - I felt that I would like to walk where Jesus walked and do what He did. I was deeply moved and felt even closer to the Lord.
Donna - It was very special to be baptized in the Jordan River; the same river where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. I declared Jesus as my Savior and would follow Him the rest of my life. I could feel His presence in my body. I am so thankful to Pastor Jimmie and Pastor Hosea for baptizing me, and Pastor Byron for his beautiful singing during the baptizing. Also, to the others that where there. This seemed to bring us closer together.
Dana - I decided to be baptized in the Jordan River because I felt it was a once in a lifetime experience for me and I wanted to experience the same place Jesus was baptized at.
Marjane - I wanted to re-dedicate my life to the cause of my salvation, Jesus. In a way it was a new beginning; a fresh start to the rest of my life. I can’t say that there was a dramatic change, but my walk with God has a more direct path now. Also, the immediate effect of that cold water took my breath away.
Jeff - I chose to be baptized in the Jordan River in Israel because again this was a chance of a lifetime to do so. I was baptized as a small child and do not remember that experience. To think that Jesus was baptizedby John in the same river. WOW!
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