Village Schools of the Bible

ISRAEL SCRAPBOOK 2000

Participants from the Village Schools' Year 2000 Israel tour group share their thoughts and reflections:

REFELCTIONS by Pete Nelson

For me, although the places we saw were fantastic, looking across the Valley of Jezreel and seeing all the places where so many events of the Bible occurred, watching the sunrise from the shores of the Sea of Galilee, looking across the Jordan Valley from Jericho and imagining two million Israelites camped out upon the plains, seeing the Eastern Gate of the Temple Mount and imagining Christ entering the city of Jerusalem through that gate someday yet to come, and walking down the Roman ramp at Masada, all made imprints on me that I will carry the rest of my life.

The greatest thing I took home was not the memories of the places, but the change in my perspective of God, Christ, and the nation of Israel. I spent many hours in the early mornings and on the tour bus just thinking about what it was like for Christ, what he experienced, what he dealt with. Trying to understand these things helped me to experience a little of what he did. One memory in particular occurred during out time in Jerusalem while we visited the Temple Institute. This is an organization of Jews who are in the process of recreating items which will be used for worship in the new Temple that the Jews firmly believe will be built someday soon on the Temple Mount. In her lecture, the tour guide sent into some detail on the faith and rituals of Judaism. But, when questioned about Christ, she stated that Judaism does not acknowledge Christ as anyone other than just another ordinary Jew. It dawned on me that this was the same attitude that Christ encountered when he was here. I went away from that place saddened and with a heavy heart. This woman and the Jews are God's chosen people and they have such a strong love for God, but yet they do not acknowledge Christ as the Messiah. In fact, they are still waiting for their Messiah. I know, through this experience, what Jesus must have felt when, as he was entering Jerusalem, he cried out, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace, but now is hidden from your eyes." Not only did Christ suffer physical pain on the cross, even more he suffered from a broken heart. The sadness I felt that day was miniscule compared to what God must feel everyday for his people and all the other lost people of this world.

This memory and many others made Christ more real to me by helping me understand some of what he experienced. To understand him is to know him; to know him is to love him; to love him is our purpose in life. This fresh perspective of a foundational truth is the greatest thing I brought home from my trip to Israel.

THOUGHTS ABOUT ISRAEL by Cole Nelson

Israel was a very awesome place! I really enjoyed all the sites. One of the coolest places, I think, was Masada. Just the story and everything behind it.

Another thing that was neat was seeing the Sea of Galilee. Knowing that this is where Jesus walked on the water and calmed the storm.

A priceless memory for me will be going into the Jordan River and being baptized there at the age of 12. Giving my testimony and Max doing the baptizing.

I will always remember the sites and the people I met in Israel.

Gisela Gourley commented:

I was always uncomfortable with my flip-flop journey (Christian, Baptist, Jew, Methodist, and now Covenant Christian) until our trip to Israel. I know now that God has blessed me with a very special and meaningful spiritual journey. Although there were many times on our trip when I was deeply moved (most often in the quiet, peaceful places where I could sense Jesus' presence) the moment that stands out in my mind is the afternoon I was walking with Pete and Cole (I can't remember where we were), Cole asked, "Are you glad you're a Christian now?" The way I felt when I responded with a firm "Yes" was one of the most special and blessed feelings I've ever had.

Reflections on Israel by Rochelle Nelson

Israel is a land that smells of history and heritage to me. While its terrain was much more mountainous than I had anticipated, the variety of people there was even more extraordinary. What a mixture of religions! Each believing theirs is the only one.

There were three sites we visited that really struck me and spoke to my heart. The first was the Sea of Galilee. It was the place I wanted to visit the most before leaving on the trip. How awesome it was to be in the area where Jesus spent the majority of His time here on earth! We went out on a wooden boat early in the morning of our third day in the Holy Land. A few places you could see from the water were the Mount of Beatitudes and where the feeding of the 5,000 had probably occurred, part of the Golan Heights and the other side of the sea where Jesus went a number of times for quiet time and prayer.

The second place had to be the city of Jerusalem. There are far too many things that were impressed upon me to share in this remarkable city, so I will just hit the two most impressive. The first was the Garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives. We walked through a small grove of olive trees in the garden and went to the Church of All Nations ( also known as the Church of Agony). It is representative of the place where Jesus prayed and asked three times if the cup could be taken from Him. I couldn't help but weep as I pictured Jesus in my mind there praying - knowing full well what was to transpire in the coming hours. I felt as though God was speaking to me and reminding me again that I have to die to myself, then and only then can He use me the way He wants and needs to. It helped me to remember the servant heart He is continually developing in me, and all of us... "Not my will but Yours be done."

The other site of impact in Jerusalem was the Old City itself. Entering through the Dung gate and then the Zion gate another day. How obvious it is when you are leaving one area and entering another. There is the Jewish Quarter, Muslim Quarter, Armenian Quarter and Christian Quarter. It contains the Western Wall, the Dome of the Rock, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site of the Temple that will be rebuilt, etc. Can't you feel the tension in the air? It is a mini world all unto it's own.

There were so many other things that I learned that I will forever treasure in my heart . And the sites of ancient cities are imprinted on my brain. For example, I will never look at the word 'gate' again the same in God's Word after seeing what one actually looked like and the process one had to go through to enter. Also, in learning that new cities were built on top of the old cities. What a great word picture to help us remember that the foundation we are now laying is for the future generations to build upon. If we don't do it well, the foundation will be weak and will crumble. I am very grateful that I was able to visit the Holy Land. It made God's wonderful Word come alive to me even more!!!

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