This is the part of the trip where you’re supposed to become deeply philosophical and share great pearls of wisdom. I’m having the worst steak in the world at the restaurant at my hotel. I’m sure the chef is a vegetarian.  I could have gone to a much nicer restaurant, but I was being lazy.…

I’m safe and at my hotel in Wadi Musa, which is the town next to Petra. Today has been a long but eventful day! Thank you so much to all of you who emailed or sent a message in WhatsApp to check on me. Jordan is a Muslim country and is very much in favor…

Dear Friends,  I’m fine.  I’m in Jordan.  Israel is under Hamas attack.  Pray for them.  Message from a friend follows… URGENT PRAYER ALERT FOR ISRAEL today at 4pm: The ICEJ urgently calls on Christians worldwide to pray and intercede for the people of Israel as they face a massive surprise infiltration of Hamas terrorist commandoes…

I know it has been a couple of days since my last email. The end of my time in Israel was very relaxing and interesting. A lot has happened, so I’ll try to keep this short. Here are the highlights…Wednesday, October 4* Visited the Chocolate factory at the Kibbutz. I didn’t actually try any of…

Nestled back away from the Sea of Galilee, along the banks of the Jordan river, is a tranquil spot called Yardenit. This is a place with several areas where you can easily perform baptisms in the same waterways as Jesus and John the Baptist. Tour bus after tour bus bring believers here for their chance…

I have one week left on my trip.  I’ll be back in the US next Wednesday. I have a question for you all – and feel free to poll other friends and family.  I’m very curious.   If you have been to Israel, what did you get out of it.   If you haven’t and want to,…

If you’re keeping up with the news in Israel, don’t panic (and yes, that really is on my backpack) because I’m not in Jerusalem.  If you have no idea what is going on, great.  Skip to the end.  Nothing to see here. As a brief reminder, this week ends the High Holy weeks in the Jewish culture.…

I just moved to my third hotel and have a little time to relax and sort through videos and pictures.  I have a ton of stuff to share and no idea how I’m going to share it in a way that is fun and interesting.  I’ve really done a lot over the last several days.  For this…

https://youtu.be/kujvhbLoNco?si=rj1_Bg8wRx-j8PVy The video is centered on me, so I’m really not a huge fan. I wish they would have let me use my 360 camera. The spectacular part of skydiving is the view and the overall experience, which you really don’t get from the way they put that video together. Don’t get me wrong, they…

Yesterday (Shabbat) was an adrenaline rush of a day! I went skydiving!  This would be my second jump ever.  It was slightly scary at first but really was incredible fun.  If you haven’t jumped out of a plane yet, I totally recommend it. I don’t have any video or pictures to show you – they wouldn’t…

Sundown today, Friday, marks the start of another Shabbat.  This time, I will spend the evening with Alon and learn how to celebrate Shabbat.  It started earlier in the day – we went to a local food store and bought our dinners as well as a loaf of braided Challah bread. That evening, we started…

I’m staying in an amazing guest house in the village of Had Nes which is on the north side of the Sea of Galilee. I’ll send more pictures later, but it is an amazing house and the host, Alon, is quite incredible! He and his neighbor and I went out for an amazing meal of…

I know many of you have not been to Israel and are planning to go on a trip either on a group tour or possibly on your own.  Either way, I wanted to share some important health information.  It’s very important. It’s not a joke.  I promise, it’s real.  Nothing to laugh about.  Seriously… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u06TxGqrxm0…

Today was a big driving day – Spent the morning to go to the Dead Sea and did a short video on what floating in the Dead Sea was like. It’s hard not to float – if you walk in waist deep, it becomes difficult to stand because your body is trying to float The water…

The story behind today’s header is that I was walking down the street and this dude calls out from his truck, “Hey!  Take Our Picture!” I look at them as say, “You guys?”  “Yeah!!”  “OK” So I took their picture.  If I was using a film camera, I probably would have just pretended to take the…

To Fast or… Not so Fast I started the day by going to the Western Wall for a second time. I went the day before, but wasn’t allowed to take any pictures because it was Shabbat. I wanted to go again to capture some of the activity for you all. Hey Kid, shouldn’t you be…

Saturday was a long day! …and yes, I took the picture of the dome. I started with a very good breakfast at my hotel, which included writing the previous email message.  After that I walked down to Old Jerusalem and wandered around. There were several pilgrimage groups walking the Via Delrosa.  I have lots of pictures…

It is currently 7am here in Jerusalem and I am having breakfast at my hotel.  I must look like I need a cup of coffee… the breakfast attendant walked up and asked if I needed some.  I wanted to give you all a quick update after a night of sleep. The sun was already up…

https://youtu.be/dggTEjKneQE It was a long and uneventful flight from DFW to Tel Aviv, but it was also a wonderful time of reading, writing, and reflecting. So today’s email is long, despite my claims to the contrary. I’ve forgotten how much I enjoy travelling and visiting other countries. I’ve always enjoy going to the airport because its…

Bording Passes Printed! Good News!  I’m out of prewritten emails.  From this point forward, I’ll be writing each day about the day.  My plan – which could totally change, is to try to make a short video about each location that I visit,  so, each email should have several video links.  But who knows, that could all…

Another performance by One for Israel, now with more Hurdy Gurdy! Amazing Grace performed by One for Israel

The crazy looking stringed instrument with a hand crank is called a Hurdy-gurdy. Hurdy-gurdy – Wikipedia How Great Thou Art

I haven’t seen most of these, so I’ll take their word for it… 15 Best Jewish Movies of All Time – Cinemaholic (thecinemaholic.com) Seven Holocaust Films You Should See | My Jewish Learning 10 Movies Showcasing the Best of American Jewish Life | Reform Judaism

Some More from Joshua Aaron! You might recognize this song… “Joshua Aaron is an award-winning American-Israeli independent singer and songwriter recently listed as one of the Jewish Global 100 influencers. He resides near the Sea of Galilee with his wife Jeannie, and their 5 children, their eldest child now serving in the IDF (Israel Defense…

This is research I should have done much earlier since I’ve kinda missed some of the preparations for the High Holidays. No problem, we shall catch up! Most of what follows all comes from Chabad.org. I arrive in Israel right in the middle of the High Holidays and will be celebrating Yom Kippur in Jerusalem…

(“Good and Sweet Year”)If you are the praying type: For those of you I have wronged or hurt this past year, I sincerely and earnestly ask for your forgiveness.  I hope you too would celebrate Rosh Hashanah with me by taking this epic journey for the soul and asking other for forgiveness and being willing to…

We’ve met Ms. Lieberman before, here is her bio which I previously stole… “Sarah Liberman is an Israeli worship leader, songwriter, and speaker who has devoted her life to the blessing of God’s heart and lifting Him up. Sarah’s passionate worship, birthed in the unseen place, inspires believers of all ages to pursue the heart…

Really good video made by an Israeli Tour guide. The Israeli Supermarket: A Cultural Voyage

Yes, it’s still dinner time as I write many of these emails… Enjoying a Biblical Meal in Nazareth Village

Stolen from their website: Our Main Purpose Serving the believers in Messiah Yeshua and the Messianic congregations in Israel. Vision & Mission To express our identity as Jewish and Israeli believers in Yeshua the Messiah. To strengthen the unity and the bond between believers in Yeshua the Messiah in Israel. To be a living testimony…

Here is a short video tour by “Psalms 133” from several years ago about life in a Nazareth Village: Biblical Images Come to Life in Nazareth Village

Production secret: I’ve written all these pre-trip emails back over a weekend back in August. Its dinner time, and I’m getting hungry, so you may see food videos more often… Israeli Food Is The Best Production secret #2: I’ve also been going in and changing the emails as I find new and interesting things, like…

I’ve mentioned One for Israel before, but just in case you need a reminder, it is ministry that includes a bible college that brings Jews and Arabs together to share the Gospel with Israel.  I have several songs that will be posted in future emails just because their worship songs are amazing, combining several languages…

Current Events All Israel News is an excellent news site. It’s in English and provides up to date news and cultural information about Israel. I’m going to include some interesting summaries and links to articles over the next several days. All Israel News Good list of tips from YouTuber Cal McKinley! https://youtu.be/M-ZnT4wDMV4?si=kdTRT_NzRCj4GHke

Lets steal some more about information – this time for Josha Aaron: “Joshua Aaron is an award-winning American-Israeli independent singer and songwriter recently listed as one of the Jewish Global 100 influencers. He resides near the Sea of Galilee with his wife Jeannie, and their 5 children, their eldest child now serving in the IDF…

This video is an hour but it is something to have on in the background – not really to watch. Music and slideshow of Israel. Jewish Music with Beautiful Views of Israel

Ok – I think i get it.  I suppose it really isn’t all that complicated… What is Messianic Judaism with Rabbi Jason Sobel https://youtu.be/6H74Noq8Uqg Ask Dr Brown on the differences between Judaism and Christianity https://youtu.be/9iZDa54LmQ8

Hummis and BBQ – I think I will be just fine with the food culture in Israel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0LBfk9nK0w To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of Rick Steves, but I do feel an obligation to include a little bit of his research: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2n2PA2mNtY

Ok, I’m just going to lift the description of Sarah Liberman directly from her about page… “Sarah Liberman is an Israeli worship leader, songwriter, and speaker who has devoted her life to the blessing of God’s heart and lifting Him up. Sarah’s passionate worship, birthed in the unseen place, inspires believers of all ages to…

I don’t have a plan to spend any time in Tel Aviv, but after seeing this video, maybe I need to do a little rescheduling… https://youtu.be/zPvveYRetNg

Apparently the idea of Israeli food is a bit complicated.  It exists as a fusion of the cuisines of all the countries that Jews have lived in but then immigrated to Israel.  Some key regional influences include Mediterranean and Eastern European – foods like falafel, and borscht.  Then layer in Jewish dietary laws.  Here are…

SOLU is… okay I’m just going to steal the description from their website. Solu is… The biblical Hebrew command used by Isaiah, to “build up” the highway, in preparation for Yeshua’s return. The foundations of SOLU were laid in the fires of a 24/7 house of prayer, with a group of hungry teenagers gathering weekly…

This is a fun YouTube channel that tells fairy tales in Hebrew.  Listen and tell yourself the story just for fun! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKZXSTNiRa8

https://youtu.be/ygSHPKbridg

The Dead Sea is at the lowest point on Earth, at 1,388 ft It is called a sea because it contains salt water, but its really a lake The Dead Sea is not totally dead – nothing lives in it but it is considered a source of vitality for the human body (okay, that’s just…

The official languages of Israel are Hebrew and Arabic The Uzi submachine gun was invented by Major Uzi Gal in 1948 About 1000 letters to God are sent to Jerusalem every year The glue on Israeli stamps is kosher Israel recycles 90% of its waste water compared to 1% in the United States. A native-born…

Video Gear One of the challenges for this trip is a combination of deciding what to create, how to create it, and what to pack to make it all possible. Since I’ll have a rental car and minimal hotel rooms, I could just pack a large suitcase and not worry about it, but I do…

I must be getting used to talking to myself. This is the longest video yet. I’ll tell you about some of the gear I’ll be taking with me to Israel, and maybe even disclose a couple of production secrets. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjbY6qIaj8s

Here is the second video of the series. Hopefully it sucks just a little less than the previous video. The experiment in this video is recording a 360 video while talking and driving! You should be able to click and drag to look around for the entire video.  Let’s talk about learning Hebrew and watching an…

I’m working on another video, so you will get a notification of that very soon. This upcoming video experiment has proven to be a little bit more of a challenge than I was expecting, so it’s a good thing that I’m doing all my experimenting right now. I was hoping to have it ready with…

You don’t need a book to travel to Israel, but there are some pretty amazing ones, so lets talk about them. https://youtu.be/642a1igb3OA

I love to travel! Prior to the pandemic, I was going on two big trips per year, one of which was a mission trip. This year, my church started sending people out on international trips again, and I was just waiting and watching to see if anyone got trapped. Good news! Everyone came back and there…

I leave for Israel on September 21, but the trip begins for us today! Here’s the plan: Sept 22 – Sept 28 Jerusalem Sept 28 – Oct 6 Haifa Oct 6 – Oct 8 Petra (Wadi Musa) Oct 8 – Oct 10 Madaba This is the first of four emails you’ll get for the month…

This is my very first and almost entirely awkward video where I talk about this media project and why I’m creating it. Shalom! https://youtu.be/IgtByCctdq4

I’m glad you’ve decided to join me on this epic adventure to the holy land. This trip was an impulsive decision for me to finally take some vacation time and spend 20 days traveling across Israel and Jordan. It would have been *so* much easier to take one of the many package tours offered, but…