September 6th, 2016 Day 14- Israel trip

September 6^th, 2016- Day 14, last full day in Israel  
We visited another historical place that day, oh, and I tasted the best tea I’ve ever had in my life that morning. We drove to Masada, and took a gondala up to the mountain . You can hike up there but they had to close the path because it was dangerously hot outside that day. Masada is called “a fortress on a hill” and boy it was a fortress. It was so hot up there to the point we had sweat dripping down our backs! It was crazy. Up on the mount there was a 360 view of the Dead Sea, mountains, valleys and canyons. It was amazing up there. If you want to learn more about the fortress of Masada and what happened up there I highly suggest you to look it up. Masada is where the Romans came in, attacked a small community of Jewish freedom fighters. The Jewish rebels couldn’t get out so they committed suicide instead. It’s a very sad story but there are many thought provoking and  inspirational aspects to think about there.

Then we drove to Tel Aviv and stayed in a Messianc guest house. Tel Aviv kind of reminded me of Nashville, it’s a very busy modern city. Our family walked down to the Mediterranean sea and my little sister and I jumped in the waves, splashed each other, laughed, goofed off and even played a little bit with a dog there. It reminded me of when my sister and I were younger and we would go to South Carolina. We had a blast with each other and I think my parents enjoyed watching us ;) Jaffa, a town by the sea, is where Jonah  was swallowed up by the fish and where a lady named Tabitha, who my younger sister is named after, was from. For our last night, we ate our last pita and hummus in Isarel from a very nice man and it was soooo good!! The next day we got up early, headed to the airport and flew back home. By Mom, sister, and I cried on the plane as we were taking off. Part of our heart was left in Israel, and we believe it’s the first of hopefully many times that we will go back there.

I had such a blessed time in Israel. My heart was touched in many different ways. The Bible came alive for me, God spoke to me, and He has brought to my attention things that were in my life that weren’t honoring to Him and I need to take them out of my life. I was transformed in so many different ways there and I look forward to 1. when I can go back to Israel and 2. When the return of our Messiah occurs. If there’s any way possible, I’d recommend every Believer try to go to Israel at least once in your life. It was one of the best things I have ever done in my life. I was changed, it is beautiful there, the people are so nice, it’s not what the media portrays and the Bible will truly come alive for you. Someday I will be back, but until then, I will continue to pray for the peace/shalom of Israel and say “Am Yisrael Chai!”- “The people of Israel live.”