I have wanted to go to Israel for many years. It's always at the top of my bucket list if people ask. Something about turning 40 got me to get serious about planning it so I started researching in the fall. Much to my dismay, I realized that all the tours I was interested in were sold out. This was definitely the type of trip you plan a year or YEARS in advance. And I wasn't willing to just go with any tour guide. I wanted a GOOD one. I reached out to several like Kerry Mulestein without luck and finally put our name on the waitlist for John Hilton's tour in the spring. I was told my chances weren't good. Especially since I was requesting 4 spots. Most of these people had been booked for over a year. But I did it anyway and more or less forgot about it. Until I got a call in February from Bountiful Travel that they had 4 openings!!!! I still remember where I was standing in my front yard when I listened to the voicemail! I about jumped out of my skin!!! We had talked to the Shaheens about going together so I immediately text them with the news. At first it seemed like it was going to work, but ultimately they had a niece's wedding and Megan already had another trip planned in May and didn't feel like she could be gone twice for that long. I was so bummed. I started thinking of who else we could invite. I thought of Shelley, but knew she was planning to go to Tahiti that year. I didn't even know if she'd be interested, but I text her and floated the idea. She was interested!!! She just needed to talk to Casey. I crossed all my fingers and toes that it would work out. When she was for sure in, I jumped for joy!!! This was going to be so fun! I couldn't believe our good luck!!!! How was this happening?! And we'd be gone over Travis's 40th birthday. Perfect.
We left early in the morning on Friday, April 28. I had painstakingly planned every, last detail. Day by day, minute by minute schedule of the kids activities. I had bought food and easy meals for every day. Arranged carpools, explained procedures. Cleaned the house, done the laundry, got Olive prepped for her dance competition. Shelley text me a picture of all her typed plans hanging in her kitchen and I laughed out loud! Looked just like my kitchen. We were so lucky and had Addison Hogle babysitting for us.
Shelley and Casey were on a different flight than us because we had to coordinate with a different airline to get us home from Jordan, whereas they would be flying home from Israel.
Had about a 4-5 hour layover in NYC at JFK airport then left for Tel Aviv at 8:17pm. Grateful we had a row with only two seats for our flight to Tel Aviv. I slept for a lot of it. We essentially lost a day because Israel is 10 hours ahead of us.
I was giddy looking out the window to catch our first glimpse of Israel!!! We landed around 5pm on April 29 and waited in the terminal for the rest of the group to gather so we could take the shuttle bus to our hotel. We met the hysterical Lisa Spice who was our point of contact at the airport. She is mentioned as part of the team on the Follow Him podcast every week and is besties with Hank Smith and John Byetheway so it felt like meeting a bit of a celebrity, haha. Her last name is appropriate for her personality!
We stayed at Herod's Hotel, 155 Hayarkon Street, in Tel Aviv, the first night.
It was beautiful! I wasn't expecting such luxurious accommodations! Shelley and Casey had gotten here earlier in the day and enjoyed the beach and were waiting in the dining area when we arrived. HELLO! That buffet was INCREDIBLE! My brain spun with all the options! Such a variety of vegetables, sauces, salads and meats! We learned that everything is kosher though, so they don't serve dairy with meat. You won't find a cheeseburger here!
After dinner, Travis and I walked down to the beach to touch the Mediterranean Sea! We took our shoes off and walked in the surf along the beach. It was so peaceful. I couldn't believe we were actually here!!! It felt so exotic to actually be in the Middle East!
Well if we thought the dinner buffet was incredible, we hadn't seen nothin' yet! Again, my jaw was on the floor with the extensive display of pastries, cheese, salads and extras!! Honey dripping from actual honeycomb! An entire countertop with different cheese...nearly 20 kinds! Bowl after bowl of nuts and seeds and dried fruit. There was also entrees like you would expect at dinner, but not at breakfast. But hardly any labels to be found... so it was an experiment in tasting haha!
Our first day of touring! Sunday, April 30. We learned really quick that John gets stuff done! He is productive and maximizes every minute! Which I was thrilled about. The itinerary they gave us outlined some places we'd go each day then listed a few more as optional if there was time. I had been stressed we wouldn't get to everything, but not to fear with John! We got to everything and then some! He said if we weren't back on the bus at the allotted time, the bus would leave us and it would be up to us to find an uber to the next location. Luckily, that never happened to anyone. Everyone took him very seriously and were extremely punctual. There weren't assigned seats on the bus so we hopped around and tried different spots the whole week. There was no bathroom on the bus and praise the heavens, I never needed one.
I'm copying this right out of the travel brochure!
Tel Aviv•Jaffa•Caesarea•Mt.Carmel
We will begin our vacation with a city tour of Tel Aviv and then a visit of Old Jaffa (Joppa). Jaffa is where Peter received his vision leading to the expansion of missionary work to the Gentiles and is also the place that Jonah attempted to flee from the Lord’s presence aboard a ship bound for Tarshish. From Jaffa, we will travel along the Mediterranean coast to the Roman, New Testament capital, Caesarea. Once in Caesarea, we will see an ancient Roman theatre and study the Biblical events that happened here. From Caesarea, we will go to Tiberias stopping at Mt. Carmel on the way, where we will discuss the epic battle between Elijah and the wicked priests of Baal.
Jaffa
(Joppa, Yafo,Heb. “beauty”) Crusader Richard the Lion-Hearted built a citadel here, but Saladin’s brother captured it and slaughtered 20,000 Christians. Razed by Napoleon in 1799 and rebuilt by Turks.
Janne Sjodahl, Mormon missionary in the 1880s, baptized two male Arabs in Jaffa.
• Solomon’s port city, but not best because things had to be unloaded offshore. Cedars brought to Joppa enroute to Jerusalem for Temple of Solomon (2 Chr. 2:16)
• Jonah embarked from here for Tarshish (Jonah 1:3)
• Peterraised Tabitha, orDorcas,to life (Acts 10:5-6, 32)
• Peterrelated his experiencesto Church in Jerusalem(Acts 11:5- 21)
Our bus was driven by the highly sought after and legendary Machmoud. He only drives LDS tour groups. He owns five buses. If any of the General Authorities come to Israel he is their driver. John said he will no longer lead a tour unless Machmoud is the driver because he is a logistics genius. He always had the closest parking spot. He kept the bus immaculate. It seemed like he could work magic. He was raised in a bedouin tent until he was 24 and married. He is now the tribe shaq, meaning that he is the leader of his tribe of about 10,000. He teaches them values; he has mostly eliminated smoking in his tribe. He is Muslim although he always answered questions with “I believe like you believe” although at risk of his life he cannot change his religion, which is why we are forbidden to do missionary work or talk about the church with non-members in Israel.
Our first stop was a quick and beautiful one with the Mediterranean as a background. We stopped at the Old Jaffa (Joppa) and the Artist’s Quarters. In Jaffa Peter received his vision leading to the expansion of missionary work to the Gentiles. It is also the place that Jonah attempted to flee from the Lord’s presence aboard a ship bound for Tarshish. We went to the statue of faith lookout and took a moment to compare Jonah 1-4 compared to Mark 4. John pointed out that Jonah points us to Jesus. His intention on this tour is that everything will point us to Jesus.
The week before we arrived Elder Uchdorf was in the Holy Land. He said it’s not about it being the actual place it is about the scriptures. Throughout the trip John emphasized that it doesn’t matter if the event took place where it is commemorated. The important thing is that we take a moment to remember the events, to contemplate, and to study the scriptures. John also loved bonus stops that were not on the itinerary. (Machmoud said that John does twice as many stops as most tours.) One bonus stop was a door where we remembered Acts 10, The House of Simon the Tanner where he had a vision about eating unclean animals. John guaranteed it wasn’t the actual spot but reminded us that isn’t the point. The point is to grow to love the scripture stories even more. Mission accomplished!!
John teaching us about The House of Simon the Tanner in Acts 10.
Simon hosted Peter during his travel to Israel.
Peter performed a miracle by the resurrection of a woman, Tabitha.
This miracle greatly increased the number of newly founded Christianity.
Peter also had the dream about clean and unclean animals.
He agreed to spread Christianity not only to the Jews,
but among the Pagan Romans (we learned more about them later on in the week).
Which was a big turning point transforming it into a universal religion.
We stopped inside St. Peter's Church on our way back to the bus.
It sits on a hill near the shore.
The building dominated the view of Jaffa from the sea, thus serving as a beacon signaling the Holy Land is near!
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Caesarea
Named for Augustus Caesar. Located on the Mediterranean 30 miles north of Joppa and 70 miles northwest of Jerusalem. Built by Herod the Great circa 22 BC. Capital of the Roman government for five centuries. Contained lavish palaces, public buildings, a theater, a hippodrome, and an amphitheater. Archaeological evidence has been unearthed concerning Pontius Pilate. Origin established the School of Caesarea. Eusebius was a bishop here in the fourth century.
• Philip resided and preached here (Acts 8:40;21:8-9)
• Peter preached to the Gentile Cornelius, who was baptized (Acts 10)
• Paul visited the city three times(Acts 9:30;18:22;21:8-16;25:3-6)
• Peter came here after being delivered from prison (Acts 12:19)
• Paul was imprisoned for two years, met with Felix, Festus, and Agrippa (Acts 26:28)
The Old city Jaffa is about a full-day walk from Caesarea. For us it was a short drive along the beautiful Mediterranean coastline. Caesarea is so beautiful on the shore where Herod the great lived and Paul was imprisoned and sent to Rome. We sat in an ancient first century Roman theater (Acts 12), and on the spot where Paul very likely defended himself before being sent to Rome. (Acts 26) We were reminded that things were not going well and the word of God still grew and multiplied. (Acts 23-26) Caesarea was was so unexpectedly beautiful. No wonder Herod built his palace here! We were there for less than an hour because we were racing the clock to get to Mount Carmel before it closed, but it was a must see stop!
Shelley was loving this place. I think she wanted to jump in!
To the right is called the Hippodrome.
Thrilling horse and chariot races went down here 2,000 years ago!
Mount Carmel (Kerem El) (Hebrew “vineyard of God”) 13 mile long mountain range. 1,810 feet.
• Lord’s altar stood here (1 Kings 18:30)
• Elijah’s contest with prophets of Baal(1 Kings 18:19-40)
• 31⁄2year drought ended by Elijah’s prayer(1 Kings 18:41-45)
• Elisha visited Mt. Carmel (2 Kings 2:25)
• Symbol of beauty and abundance (Isa. 35:2; Jer. 46:18; 50:19; D&C 128:19)
Here is Mount Carmel and the view of the Jezreel Valley. We discussed the battle between Elijah and the wicked priests of Baal found starting in 1 Kings 16:30 to 1 Kings 19 where Elijah was so discouraged.
Something that stood out is that when we hear the word battle (especially in the scriptures) we typically think of wars and physical fighting.
This was a battle of prayer.
Of course we know that Elijah would be the one to win this battle.
However, Elijah still found himself feeling tired and discouraged.
John pointed out that just because something goes incredibly well, doesn't mean your life will continue to feel comfortable or perfect.
Life has its up and downs.
How many times do we get tired with our own personal things?
Prayer battles ensue, and we live on the faith that God will pour down the rain of fire on our behalf.
Now, here is my FAVORITE part.
Elijah sat under a Juniper tree and wasn't just sad. Or discouraged. He wanted to die. He asked God to take his life. And then he fell asleep. And while he slept an angel brought him cake.
CAKE!
And woke him up and told him to eat. Then he let him sleep again.
I don't know why this story isn't talked about more.
Sometimes we are looking for really big miracles from God.
We expect Him to rain down fire from heaven on our enemies.
And maybe sometimes He does.
But I think most times, His miracles are simpler.
Maybe sometimes, they are cake.
Shelley and Elijah will cut off your head if you mess with them!
We did all of this before lunch!! We stopped at a lunch spot where the people whose flight got delayed, joined us. It was a buffet place that was made to accommodate the masses. Not particularly good.
The fast pace gave us time for some bonus stops, first being Mount Arbel!
I got the giggles when I noticed Casey off by himself, checking out the construction going on.
Machmoud pointing out Mount Hermon and the Golan Heights.
We talked about Matthew 28: 16-20
"Then the 11 disciples went into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus appointed them.
Go forth and therefore teach all nations."
On one of these mountains, Jesus commissioned his disciples to go and preach to the world and
promised "I am with you always" on this mount.
This was our first time singing.
There is power in singing. It instantly brought the Spirit.
Go Forth with Faith was a very fitting song.
We were so lucky to stay at a hotel called the Magdala for 3 nights!
This hotel was a stroke of awesome luck.
We originally were not reserved to stay here.
John begged for Bountiful Travel to use this hotel but said they didn't think people would want to pay the extra $200/night.
With his persistence, right after covid he had them check just to see if it would be a possibility.
Wouldn't you know it, only the week of our tour room rates had dropped to a low rate.
In fact Johns group the week before us didn't get to stay here,
the other tour bus was in a hotel in Nazareth.
See, all tours are not created equal.
John is the GOAT.
A view from the lobby, looking out over the courtyard.
I forgot to take pictures of our room, so I stole one of Shelley's.
This hotel is in the recently discovered first century town of Magdala.
Mary Magdalene's home town.
When they broke ground for the hotel they found one of seven known first century synagogues and the best preserved!
John told us we could be almost certain Christ would have taught here!
From coins found, they date back to Herodian period.
They also believe it was likely that the Torah scrolls were stored here.
The unique Magdala Stone that was uncovered.
On top is the Magdala symbol and newly adopted logo.
(It was everywhere in the city of Magdala and in the hotel).
A six petalled rosette, with six more petal encircling it.
Many theories have evolved over what it signifies.
One popular theory is the number 12 has religious significance.
It corresponds to plenitude and completeness in Judaic cultures.
Also 12 loaves of offering were placed on a table in the Temple each day.
There are the 12 tribes of Israel.
In Christian tradition there are 12 apostles.
The rosette was the most popular motif in Jewish art
of the Late Second Temple period.
It is also a symbol of the veil before the Holy of the Holies in the temple.
Experts say this is the most significant
archaeological discovery in the past 50 years.
The windows behind the synagogue are part of our hotel lobby!
The chapel at Magdala was very special. I especially loved the encounter room. The stones used in the room are taken from excavation sites. I loved the painting of the woman with the issue of blood touching the hem of Jesus, Mark 5:25-34. It didn’t happen here, but there is a beautiful painting of it here as the theme honors women. The chapel was built to remember the importance of women in the life of Jesus. The pillars in the atrium represent different women who supported his ministry like those found in Luke 8:2-3, Matthew 27:56, Luke 23:49 & 55, and Luke 24:10. One pillar was left blank to represent all of the women who enter the Church and support Christ in His ministry. There was also a nice first century boat replica in the chapel used as the stand with an incredible view of the sea behind it.
We were encouraged to see Mary Magdalene's city and especially Mary with fresh eyes. She was not a prostitute, and the church has no position on if Christ was married. In Luke 8: 1-3 we read that Christ cast out evil spirits from her and held her from her infirmities. He took her from a dark place to a much better place and he can do that for us too.
The food at Magdala was INCREDIBLE. The buffets had a huge variety of yummy foods and always oodles of desserts to choose from. I ate my heart out.
On the shore of the Sea of Galilee. You read about these places your whole life. To actually BE here defies description. It felt like entering a magic closet and being in Narnia. I'm not exaggerating when I say every second was sublime.
There were groups of people baptizing and I loved watching them. They were so happy. I smiled and felt the spirit. I know that without proper priesthood ordination, these baptisms weren't "authorized" but it didn't mean their hearts weren't in the right place. They were symbolically turning themselves over to Jesus and that was a beautiful thing to me.
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