This final entry brings to a close a wonderful journey to and through the Fifth Gospel. We return reinforced in the truth that the very Gospel testified to in the Holy Land is meant to be witnessed to in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the world. So we return excited to continue to be witnesses. God was and is faithful. He is still keeping promises. The tomb is empty and Jesus Christ is risen indeed. And as He promised, He re-established Israel on the exact day He said He would and has been bringing the Jews home from the four corners of the world. Israel is the center of the world and all history because God chose it to be that way.
There are no pictures for today. Sorry. But there are a few stories. Especially one. We woke early and the Prima Kings hotel provided almost a full breakfast spread for us at 5:45 a.m. It was a blessing to stay there. David loaded our bags and we were on our way at 6:15. Nir was not able to be with us because he was flying out to the states just an hour after us. We had hoped to see him at the airport but we ran into a little problem. As we checked in, we were told that somehow, someone changed Dee's ticket and she was supposed to be on the earlier flight that went out at 7:30. I was already checked in and returned to the counter to assist Dee. We were told it was a full flight and that they were leaving people behind. We were directed to a ticketing agent for British Airways away from the counters. She told us we had paid $600 to change the ticket to that flight. We didn't. (Dee at this point was concerned she was extending her trip and she would be all alone. That wasn't going to happen. She would not be left alone and we knew the Lord would provide a way.) The ticket agent said she couldn't make the call about what to do and sent us back to the place we began. Meanwhile the rest of the group went through security and proceeded to the gate. Dee and I were finally told that they were going to confirm her on our flights but that once they did we would have to run. We received her boarding passes, went through the second security check point, through a special assist counter at the exit Border control, through the X-ray of our belongs, and headed for the gate. The gate was closing in ten minutes and we had to go to the very end of the concourse. I grabbed Dee's bag and she did an amazing imitation of O.J. Simpson in the old Avis commercials. We heard the final call in the midst of our sprint and arrived in time to be among the last people boarded. Great job Dee!!
The flights home were smooth and we enjoyed a few hours at Heathrow. We experienced being off loaded and on-loaded using buses at Heathrow. That was a unique feature we did not expect. We arrived in Toronto a half hour early, and were greeted by Herb Schoenfeld and Pastor Shawn Dewey. We had a quiet trip home (some sleeping) and our journey ended with hugs and goodbyes.
We became family on this journey as is apt to happen. Everyone was a blessing to all the others. We packed our days full and saw much. We experienced church as Dan and Co will always be a part of our family and we had shared experiences with believers from several other countries along the way.
Thanks for taking the journey with us through this blog. Next year in Jerusalem!
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