Preparing for the Journey

It's almost time to go! 4 days and counting! I feel like our house is so discombobulated right now. We finally got the Christmas decorations set out so that we can have a "Christmasy" home to come home to. I think that this has been one of the busiest weeks of my life getting ready for this trip- coming home from Thanksgiving, only to set out another suitcase (which our dog is not liking at all!), I have been working on getting everything in order for the next few weeks of church stuff, going to meetings, and getting ready to sing in the Farrington Grove Christmas choral concert this Friday night, the World AIDS Day event at Maple Ave, and I'm also singing for a read through of a new Robin Hood play tonight, which has been an adventure, having only gotten the music on Monday. We also spent a lot of time yesterday running last minute errands to get ready to leave the country. I don't think I could squeeze anymore into my schedule (or into my suitcase!)

And I'm sure that my fellow travelers are feeling the business of the holiday season while getting ready for this trip. Corey and I wondered if this would be a good time to travel there or not, but we chose the December trip for several reasons. One was that this trip was the cheapest price, which let's be honest, we all appreciate. Second was that the weather is supposed to be perfect right now- sunny, 60s, not too hot and not too cold. Perfect! Let's all cross our fingers and say a little prayer that this will hold true. Third, we thought it would be really neat to experience the Holy Land during the Advent season. Yes, we will probably be thinking about all of the preparations for when we come back to the USA, but I hope that we will take the time to realize that when we see the Shepherds' Field or we visit the Church of the Nativity, that this is THE time to be in the Holy Land when we are most aware of the miracle of the Christmas story. I hope it will make us all realize that we really do need to take it all in and slow down. Maybe this year our Christmas won't be remembered for all of the hard work we did prepping the house for guests or for getting that special recipe ready- it will be about the time we spend in the Holy Land, in the heart of where it all actually happened.

So, stay tuned, my friends!

-Jill

Making Plans...

Welcome to Memorial UMC's Holy Land blog, where you can keep up with our group as we travel to Jordan and Israel and experience the land of the Bible firsthand!

We are so excited about our pilgrimage to Jordan and Israel, and hope that you are excited for us! You may view our itinerary and what we will be doing each day HERE

*Pray for Our Holy Land Travelers!

Our Holy Land travelers will be making their pilgrimage December 4-13. Please be in prayer for them. Below are listed the travelers and their prayer partners:

Rev. Jill Howard- prayer partner Rev. Renee Perkins (Bicknell UMC)

Rev. Corey Howard- prayer partner Cindy Howard

Pat Friday- prayer partner Janet Raines

Steve Friday- prayer partner Aaron Schrader

Carol Waltersdorf- prayer partner Betty Phillips

Donna Shewmaker- prayer partner Mary Ann Boyer

David Pettyjohn- prayer partner Lynn McCool

Deanna Pettyjohn- prayer partner Marsha McCool

Stan Henderson- prayer partner Kris Henderson

As I am writing this, I am greatly anticipating our trip to Jordan and Israel in about 2 weeks! Corey and I have been busy making travel plans, purchasing those last minute travel needs, making phone calls, arranging transportation, and talking about what kinds of things we will see, what we are most excited about, nervous about, etc. Mostly, we are just excited! We will be traveling with 7 other people who will also be experiencing the Holy Land for the first time. I don’t know what they are most looking forward to, but here is my list of top ten things that I am anticipating:

1) Walking the Via Dolorosa

2) Presiding over and celebrating Holy Communion at the Garden Tomb

3) Sailing on the Sea of Galilee

4) Seeing the Temple Mount

5) Hearing the sounds of a busy Jerusalem

6) Seeing the trees in the Garden of Gethsemane that date back to the time of Christ

7) Feeling, hearing, and seeing Scripture come to life

8) Expanding relationships with Memorial people and making new friends from around the world

9) Seeing where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered

10 Walking in the footsteps of Christ and all those who have ventured before

....Oh, and…riding a camel (?)

I hope you will be in prayer for all of us as we are in the Holy Land. We promise to take lots of pictures and tell you all about it. I know that each person will have their own favorite part of the trip and their own story to tell about how the trip has impacted their faith and the way they read the Bible. Bon Voyage!

-Jill