Peace, history, faith

Sometimes you have to travel 6,000 miles to an ancient world to have a uniquely religious and patriotic American experience.

The great lake was a serene mirror of glass on a warm, windless day as 19 American pilgrims/tourists boarded a boat for a ride of remembrance in a faraway land. The craft strikingly resembled ancient fishing vessels that have dotted this scenic body of water for centuries. Today, boat owners make a living ferrying visitors on this Sea of Galilee, about which so much has been written and spoken since biblical times.

As we left the dock, the tranquility was shattered by the sounds of a brass band playing the Star Spangled Banner. Instinctively, we got to our feet, took off our caps, and saw the Israeli boat captain raising a small American flag on a small mast.

“I have the anthems of many countries on my CD player, and I start all my trips with a salute to whatever kind of group I have,” our nautical host said.

For the rest of the short cruise, he regaled us with gospel songs. “This was a highlight of our trip for me,” said Sun Citian Chris Wojtas. “It was so peaceful there, and there were no crowds.”

This was one of more than a dozen stops that a group of Huntley-area residents made in Jordan and Israel during a two-week, church-sponsored trip to the Holy Land, as Christians refer to Israel and Jordan.

Fourteen of us were from Sun City. They included this writer and wife Karen, trip coordinators Chuck and Sharon Little, Donna Sorensen, Larry and Donna Newbanks, Larry and Chris Wojtas, Bob and Betty Zimmerman, Jules Pelka, and John and Janet Thunholm. Our spiritual leader was Mark Boster, pastor of the Shepherd of the Prairie Lutheran Church in Huntley. Our group also included Dick and Susan Van Allen of Toronto, Ontario, Canada (friends of the Littles), Greg Dowell, youth pastor of the Lutheran Church, and Matt Green, a member of the church.

The trip was arranged by Educational Opportunities (EO), a Florida-based travel agency specializing in sponsoring tours of Middle East areas.

About the size of New Jersey, Israel is a tiny, mountainous, rugged country that is playing host to huge numbers of tourists and is truly global. Despite the ever-present security and the constant possibility of unrest and demonstrations like those recently in Libya, Syria, and Egypt, Israel in recent years is an oasis of relative peace. The result has been a renaissance of tourism in 2011 in the often beleaguered nation that is driving its economy to record prosperity.

This trip was part biblical pilgrimage, part history, part historical research, and frequently a test of patience as we encountered huge crowds at many holy sites. In a couple of cases, we were unable to visit planned sites because of the large numbers of tourists.

We had the awe-inspiring experience of seeing the Mt. of Olives, the old city of Jerusalem (which has been impressively restored), the Western Wall (known traditionally as the Wailing Wall), the Via Dolorossa, where Jesus carried the cross, the Garden of Gethsamane, the Garden Tomb where Jesus was buried, and the Shepherd’s Fields on a hillside near Bethlehem. We stood in line for almost three hours at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem for a few-seconds’ glimpse of the manger site. The crowds at this site were breathtaking and sometimes frustrating. We were told the Church is the number one tourist attraction in the country.

We took a cable car ride to the top of Masada, the mountain where Jewish zealots fought the Romans in 70 AD. We visited Jesus’ boyhood home in Nazareth, went to the Mt. of the Beatitudes near the Sea of Galilee, where He preached the Sermon on the Mount, and saw where he preached and performed miracles in Capernaum and Bethsaida and Casearea Phillippi.

We experienced a bit of time warp, culture shock by arriving at the Golan Heights near Syria and saw an unplanned (for our tour) but fascinating re-enactment of a battle that took place between Israel and Syria in 1967. This site is now a memorial site for fallen Israeli soldiers. We were fascinated by Roman technology at the ruins at Jerash in Jordan, and we marveled at the Rock City of Petra, where an ancient city was carved out of mountains and where Harrison Ford rode a horse in a scene from “Indiana Jones.” We stood on Mt. Nebo in Jordan, where Moses is believed to have stood to view the Promised Land almost 3,000 years ago, just before he died. We went to the Jordan River and renewed our baptisms not far from the place where Jesus himself was baptized. We rode in jeeps across sand dunes in the Jordanian desert and sat down in a Bedouin tent and learned about the nomads who roam these lands to this day.

“Pastor Mark said this trip would open up the Bible to us and give us a new perspective on our faith, and he was right,” said Donna Sorensen.

And no visit to Israel is complete without a stop at the Dead Sea. This scenic salt sea is the actual bottom of the earth, 1,300 feet below sea level. It is far saltier than the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and it’s so thick even non-swimmers like me can float in it. We marveled and went “yuk” at the visitors who smeared mud-like substances all over themselves before going in the water. We heard they do it for medicinal reasons. There must have been a thousand people there when we stopped.

The modern world crept into our consciousnesses repeatedly. At our hotel in the Jordanian desert, we turned on the TV and watched the Bears football against Tampa Bay in London, two hours behind us. In Israel, we turned on the TV and got Fox Sports telling us about yesterday’s (not today’s) World Series baseball game.

At many tourist and biblical sites, we had to pass through metal detectors and endure the polite but intense stares of security personnel. Our bus was frequently boarded by local police or military personnel armed with rifles and pistols. But we were never threatened or afraid and were treated with respect by Jordanian and Israeli citizens. Our hotel accommodations and buses were first-rate, and our Jordanian and Jewish guides knew more about our faith’s history and practices than most Christians themselves.

It took us almost six hours to cross the border from Israel into Jordan on the first day. There were checkpoints everywhere, some 50 yards apart. It wasn’t scary, just inconvenient.

Our guide said once, “We apologize for this; we believe these places should operate more efficiently.”

One of my extended family members said on our return, “We’re glad you had a good time and your trip went well, but we were worried about you all the time. We couldn’t help it, with all the turmoil we constantly read about there.”

Maybe, deep in our hearts, that was one reason we went. To gain inspiration and add dimension and understanding to our faith, yes. But also to show our friends, and the world, that sometimes we can still mingle together and enjoy and learn from each other, despite the turmoil all around us.

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