It seems like only yesterday we were praying for everyone’s flights to arrive.  Now, we close out our final day together in Israel. We began Tuesday at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum. (See previous post.) We finished our tour with two additional stops: Tel Azekah and our farewell dinner.

In Hebrew, “tel” means hill or mound created by levels of civilization built on top of one another.  Often tells are excavated to discover what was there during a certain time period. However, the significance of Tel Azekah lies not so much what is underneath but what is in sight from its peak.

Stretched out beneath Tel Azekah is the battlefield upon which the Philistines taunted the Israelites until a small shepherd boy named David swung his sling, planting a rock between the eyes of Goliath. The account of 1 Samuel 17 came alive right before our very eyes as we viewed where the encampments of the Israelites and Philistines were and how that battle ensued.

Following the harsh realities we witnessed at Yad Vashem that morning, it was good to see the place of one of Israel’s great victories. The video pans the Israelite encampment (in the distance) to the battleground (in the valley), to the Philistine encampment (in the distance at the end). Neither encampment actually remains today, but you get the lay of the land! (It was a very windy day at Tel Azekah. Turn sound down…there is no audio other than the wind!)

Once back on the bus, reality truly set in as we turned in our whispers (listening devices used to hear our guide) and headed to a restaurant for our farewell dinner at an Arab restaurant. The meal was delicious and our time there was sweet. We expressed deep appreciation to our guide (Yoyakim) and our bus driver (Hamsa). Both were excellent and we rejoiced with Hamsa whose wife is expecting a 4th child in 6 months!  Our group shared thank you gifts with them and with me.

The group truly became a family. Each person had an opportunity to share and everyone spoke of the friendships made. The trip was impactful in deep and meaningful ways and so many want to come back again. That’s what Israel does to you!

From there, it was off to the airport where we all went separate ways. We had 24 tour guests from 4 different countries and 16 US states. Yet, bonds reach beyond borders and friendships made will last a lifetime.

It was my great pleasure and delight to lead this tour and my prayer is that all we learned and experienced will not only live on in our hearts and minds but will spur us to live our lives in a pleasing way to the Lord, and that we will share what we have gained with others.

Shalom from somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean!

PS: Stick with me in the coming days as I share other miscellaneous tidbits from our tour.