Purposeful Journeys

05/20/2024

Greetings from the eastern most point of North America. I am honored to be speaking tomorrow at the National Tour Association (NTA) Contact convention in St. John‘s Newfoundland, Canada. Beautiful city. Beautiful hotel. Incredible view from my room. Honored to be here, especially as a speaker.

05/10/2024

As the cliche goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words."

A cliche becomes a cliche when a phrase, no matter how well the words express something true, is repeated often enough and long enough and the words become so familiar that they sound almost trivial. Of course, a picture can convey powerful meaning whether or not that meaning can be expressed in 1,000 words or if 10,000 words might be necessary to exhaust the meaning of a picture.

On Thursday, May 9, my family and I had lunch in Chicago with our partner in Jerusalem and owner of Shatour Israel Experience Ltd., Nathan Shapiro, his wife, Hannah, and daughter, Zivit. Also pictured are my sons, Patrick and Sam. Patrick will be walking in his commencement ceremony at Valparaiso University this weekend. Sam is a Midshipman at the United States Naval Academy. Sam flew to Chicago to join us for the celebration. My wife, Kathy, is pictured in the upper right of this picture. I include this picture to express several ideas. Some of those ideas I will express in this post, but I will spare you reading the balance of most of the words I could use to describe what this picture means to me and those pictured.

Since October 7, I have often expressed that I have been living between perception and reality. We sent a group to Israel in January. They were blessed by an experience of a lifetime. My son Patrick and I traveled to Israel in March. The reality is that traveling to Israel then and now is perfectly safe despite what remains of an ongoing conflict. However, I understand with as much empathy as I can muster, and frankly with as much tolerance of the insufferable, and to be charitable, often (not always) well-meaning, but nevertheless ignorant words expressed on behalf of or in sympathy with Hamas I see, for example, on college campuses that I can muster, that the perceptions of life in Israel and travel to Israel, too often DO NOT comport with reality.

I have come to understand that if a prospective fellow traveler, their family, or extended family perceives that traveling to Israel is dangerous, then more often than not, I will often not be able to shake their perception with facts grounded in reality.

I believe peace will come soon to Israel and that the desire for peace among Arab nations and Israel will prevail over the desire for genocide from the river to the sea as advocated by those who (I can only hope) ignorantly use that phrase without understanding what river, what sea, or what they are actually advocating in using that despicable phrase.

Pray for peace for all people. Pray for a swift end to hostilities. Pray for that civilian casualties will be minimized to the extent possible.

Pray…

Next year, Jerusalem!

05/07/2024

All set up to greet pastors at the Southern Illinois District Pastor’s conference of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Blessed to be here!

04/14/2024

Did you follow the events in Israel overnight? Did you wake up this morning wondering if everything and everyone were alright?

In our home, as the saying has entered the pop culture lexicon, we “cut the cord” some months ago. We no longer have cable or satellite TV services. In the “olden days” of six months ago I have no doubt I would have been switching from channel to channel all night as the skies over Israel were brightly illuminated by incoming missiles and drones being taken out of the sky. Instead, I toggled between news services on my phone and watched events unfold on a small, handheld screen.

Please understand that for me the unprecedented, direct attack on Israel by Iran was not some faroff geopolitical or military event unrelated to my life in a distant, faraway land that I could watch with fascination, but without real connection. I have come to know and care about people in Israel personally. I worried over their safety last night. I dreamed horrible dreams after I fell asleep. I woke up relieved.

The United States, UK, and to my surprise, Egypt and Jordan, joined forces to support an Israeli defense system so impressive I find description difficult. Early assessments seem to indicate that 99% of the over 300 drones and missiles launched by Iran were taken out of the sky. Those projectiles that did get through did minimal damage. No one was killed.

While I have formed very strong opinions that I unabashedly own as biased political opinions, I also recognize that my opinions did not form recently or through isolated experiences as I have come to know people in Israel personally. You see, in my background, for example, I have taken many people through Buchenwald and Dachau. Through those experiences I formed a deep respect for a German society that owns its past and vows to Never Forget.

The experience of a concentration camp (KZ) is always a confrontation with the complexity of our humanity in the face of an unspeakable human capacity for evil. No matter how often I experience the predictable response of people I have taken through a KZ in Germany, there is a part of me that is surprised every time I hear someone say, “If I had lived during that time I would have resisted. I would have spoken up and fought the evil being perpetrated on the Jews, simply because they are Jews.” The words vary somewhat, but the sentiment is always the same.

As for me, I am committed to bringing as many people to Israel as I have time and health to bring them. I am committed to Israel in word and deed. I understand the very real, very rational concerns people express about traveling to Israel, even before October 7. My focus is much longer term. I have developed an unwavering commitment to Israel in word and deed by bringing people, and therefore hope, to Israel in the time I have remaining on this temporal orb. That is my long term focus and where I expect to spend much of my life.

In the present, this morning, in this moment, I am deeply grateful that I could exhale. My friends in Israel are all fine.

Please pray for peace for all people affected.

04/13/2024

Please pray for peace…

Please pray for political and military leaders in positions of power to proceed in a way that deescalates and brings an end to this war. As you can see from multiple headlines, and are no doubt seeing and hearing if you have any access to media at all, Iran has launched a retaliatory strike directly against Israel. Whether this is enough for Iranian leaders to save face and preserve honor as a response to the Israeli strike in Syria such that this is a one time action, or whether this is the beginning of a wider regional conflict that could escalate to global war cannot be known in this moment. Drones will arrive in Israel several hours from now. Let us also pray the end of this conflict will see the safe return of all remaining hostages taken on October 7. Let us pray this is the ugly last chapter in this conflict for all people affected.

04/13/2024

I am sharing a screenshot of a post by Pastor Jim Haack of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church-La Vista (Omaha), NE. He captures the spirit of the evening quite well. Thank you Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, Pastor Jim Haack, Kelly Haack, Pastor Bryan and Cheryl Drebes and all who attended. This was an incredible, beautiful, wonderful evening!!!

If you would like to consider a faith travel experience for your congregation, please get in touch with us. We would love to share details about our journeys to Israel with extensions to Egypt and Jordan. We have also worked very hard to develop travel experiences focused on the early church and New Testament in Greece, Italy, and other relevant destinations as well as other appropriate destinations.

We also have a couple of spaces remaining on our Italian river cruise in September. Next week, we will be announcing a journey to experience Oktoberfest. We also have space available on our Christmas market experience in Germany that includes a Rhein river Christmas market cruise.

Get in touch to learn more or visit us at purposefuljourneys.org

03/29/2024

“Τετέλεσται”

Tonight, millions of Christians around the world will hear the English translation of this Greek term used in John 19:30 as “It is finished.” Yes, one word in Greek, in this particular case, requires three English words in translation. The meaning packed into this one Greek word is even more full than the three words required in translation.

A couple of questions worth pondering on this Good Friday…

What is “it” that is “finished”?
What is conceptually signified in your mind when you hear the word “finished” in this context?

In this case, both terms “it” and “finished” are loaded with meaning. The term “finished” means something far more than something like the completion of a project; something more than checking the oven and reaching the conclusion that, “Oh yes, the cake is finished baking.” More than merely a statement of fact that Jesus has died on the cross, the term conveys that something, a “telos,” has been fulfilled, that an objective has been brought to completion.

To state, as a matter of fact, that the agony of enduring the worst death humanbeings could devise at the time is now finished falls far short of the intended meaning in John 19:30. What is loaded into the indefinite pronoun “it” taken with that which has now been fulfilled is worthy of giving us pause, worthy of our contemplation and our meditation on this Good Friday.

What has been fulfilled, brought to completion, on Good Friday, is the story of our salvation that has unfolded from the beginning of all things and as promised immediately after the Fall as asserted in Genesis 3:15. The fact that Jesus died on a Roman cross on Good Friday says not nearly enough as a mere assertion of historical fact. The fact that Jesus died on a Roman cross as a fulfillment of the promise revealed in God’s First Testament FOR US, which entails all of the sin, all that was necessary for Jesus to go to the cross, FOR US, that is the Good of Good Friday.

Pictured in this post is the altarpiece from the City Church in Wittenberg, Germany. From a myriad of possibilities, a couple of things to note about this painting. First, this painting lives in one of two churches famously associated with Martin Luther. This work of art is located in the City Church where Luther preached most of his sermons. The other church, the Schlosskirche or Castle Church is the church famously associated with the 95 Theses. The Castle Church is also the church where the body of Luther is interred.

Another noteworthy feature of this painting is that Lucas Cranach the Elder painted Martin Luther into this piece. For this reason, and with the fullness Luther’s 1518 Heidelberg Disputation in mind, I chose this painting for this Good Friday post. In particular, I had in mind Thesis 21:

“A theologian of glory calls evil good and good evil. A theologian of the cross calls the thing what it actually is.”

Peace be with you as you reflect on the Good of Good Friday. It is finished FOR YOU.

Peace

03/28/2024

The night on which he was betrayed…

One of my seminary professors, Professor Gibbs, used to love to remind us (as I remember his reminder), “Everything you say from the pulpit for the rest of your lives will be a footnote.” His implication, of course, was that everything we say from the pulpit ought to be a footnote. Whether you are attending worship or preaching on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter morning, what can possibly be added to the story of our salvation communicated in these three services?

No matter how eloquent the preacher, no matter how powerful the illustrations or illuminations offered from the pulpit, the primacy of the text must always be paramount. Yet, there are so many details in the story of our salvation that has unfolded from the beginning of all things. Although one immediately recognizes on a journey to Israel that evidence for the precise location where specific biblical events unfolded does vary, the power of experiencing these places is palpable. This is the case for the place that marks the location where the Last Supper took place—the Upper Room pictured in this post.

When you are ready, join us on a purposeful journey to the Holy Land. We had a group travel in January. I just returned from Israel a couple of weeks ago. Travel to Israel is safe now. When you are ready, join us. Come experience the power of place where God fulfilled His promise to “bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.” Ephesians 1:10

Blessings on your worship on these occasions of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday.

03/24/2024

Pictured is the Palm Sunday procession in Jerusalem.

Blessings as you remember the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem to begin his Passion. May the fullness of the story of our salvation touch you in a way that brightens your celebration of the tomb that is empty for us all.

03/21/2024

Goodbye beautiful Israel. Your impression on us is indelible. Until next time, we will pray for peace. We will continue to pray fervently for the safe return of all remaining hostages. From the river to the sea let there be peace.

03/20/2024

03/20/2024

Visiting the market in Old City Jerusalem was one of the most joyful and fun travel experiences I have ever enjoyed.

One essential feature of any journey we plan is balance. The purpose of nearly all journeys we plan intentionally engages the power of place. These experiences, while enjoyable, even exhilarating, are often intellectually, spiritually, and emotionally intense. When we plan a journey, we seek to create balance of the intellectually, spiritually, and/or emotionally intense experiences with the space to process those experiences with fellow travelers. Also included are activities which are just plain fun, or at least appear and feel that way.

Given that food is a window to a culture, combined with the reality that perceptions of Jerusalem and Israel might continue to make people feel just a tad uneasy, together with several other factors, make this food tasting experience especially joyful and fun.

Fellow travelers are given a card with several tabs (pictured below). They then find their way to different venues within the market where they present their tab in exchange for a taste of local cuisine. The atmosphere is fun and very, very cool. We do this experience at the end of a journey when people have become comfortable enough to fully enjoy this experience. People sometimes enjoy this food tasting experience alone, or sometimes with friends they have made on the journey. Whether alone or with old or new friends the tasting tour in the market of Old City Jerusalem is a genuine highlight of a journey to the Holy Land. And, even though less obvious than a visit to an important sight related to the purpose of the journey, you can be absolutely sure the experience is impactful.

03/14/2024

In Israel, we experienced a day of contrasts, irony, paradox, poignancy, and beauty I will never forget.

When we visited Memorial Square in Tel Aviv, the weight of the experience brought us to tears. For just a moment, shut out the politics, the media generated perceptions, and the ignorance of slogans regurgitated by protesters who cannot possibly understand, much less believe, much of what they mindlessly chant lest Never Forget has become, Forget What?

Yes, I am aware of the complexities that are inextricably connected with the fog of war to the point words like “genocide” seem to have lost accurate referent. Yes, I know there are at least two sides to every human conflict. Yes, I am aware that we have long left the Enlightenment behind in favor of the mirrage of moral relativism. For any thinking, feeling human being, a visit to Memorial Square in Tel Aviv will surely force even the most post of the post modernist to confront their moral equivalency to the point of recognizing a genuine confrontation with good and evil.

Whatever one may think they know of the history of this region leading up to the events of October 7, and whatever position one may construct of the war that has followed, there are inescapable facts with which one should contend. It is undisputed fact that on October 7, 2023, a pre-meditated plan developed over a period of several years was executed by Hamas to intentionally target the civilian population of Israel with a plan to kill as many civilian Israeli Jews as possible. The result of this plan was a death toll something on the order of 20 times worse than 9-11. 240 hostages were taken on that day.

At the center of the square in Tel Aviv are essentially two tables or one dining table with two ends. One end of the table is set for the day the hostages come home. The other end of the table symbolizes the current conditions in which the hostages live. Surrounding the square are tents constructed as places where families of the hostages can meet empathetic visitors willing to experience the weight of this overwhelming square.

We visited. We were overwhelmed.

After our experience in the heart of Tel Aviv, we traveled to the biblically significant town of nearby Jaffa, Israel with an Arab population of around 37%. For lunch, we chose an Arab restaurant. What a beautiful experience dining among Arabs and Jews. Although, I did wonder what many of the patrons thought and felt as the conflict continues some 50 miles or so south where the war erupted, I suppressed my questions in favor of continuing to process the experience of central Tel Aviv even as we enjoyed a beautiful lunch.

After lunch, we took a scenic drive up the beautiful coast of the Mediterranean Sea before returning to our hotel in Jerusalem. That evening, we dined with a Major in the IDF who spent a career in active military before assuming his role today in the reserves. The next morning, he was traveling to an area near Gaza to lead an American group to survey the area. He shared pictures with us that would shock even the most committed moral relativist. His current unenviable role, in addition to leading tours of delegations in the war zone, is to notify the families of fallen soldiers. The other gentleman we dined with that evening lost two nephews on October 7.

The point of our dinner had nothing whatsoever to do
with the conflict in Israel. We were meeting to discuss developing New Testament and early church tours to Greece. At least some discussion, some processing, of what we had experienced earlier in the day, was of course, inevitable.

Somewhere in the darkness of that night, utterly alone to process my experiences of that day, I remembered the words of Jaroslav Pelikan. I wiped the moistness from my eyes well enough to focus on looking up the precise quote:

“The philosophical theology of the Jewish Haskalah, no less than that of the Christian Aufklaerung, demonstrated where ‘liberation from history’ in that sense could end: the historicism of a night where all cats were gray, where all doctrines could be equally true because they were in fact equally false. Such relativism has often been associated with the development of toleration and religious liberty. Nevertheless, as among others Etienne Gilson pointed out, the twentieth-century outcome of the Christian Aufklaerung (Enlightenment) also provides frightening evidence that a tolerance based on the absence of belief can be extremely fragile; for when belief, of whatever kind, is revived, tolerance can give way once more to persecution. What we need rather, Gilson insisted, is a definition of tolerance that is rooted in what we believe rather than in our loss of belief.” Judiasm and the Humanities: Liberation from History, Jaroslav Pelikan

Travel changes those willing to embark upon journeys that sometimes lead to authentic encounters and experiences with the power of place which can be unsettling. I will never forget this day of contrasts, irony, paradox, poignancy, and yes, beauty. I will allow this day to haunt my sense of being. The experience of today is now irrevocably a part of who I am. In the widest sense of the term I can muster, I will Never Forget.

03/09/2024

Please read on for the real reason I am posting this picture. For now, I have a simple question: What is this that I am holding in my hand?

I love many aspects of travel. By travel I mean something more than going from this place to that place or sleeping in a different bed in a different place. After all, and this is not necessarily true for all cultures, but we Americans can leave our homes and travel to a different destination that really does not put us in authentic contact with a different culture or people.

At least for now, we Americans can turn just about anywhere into an Epcot experience. We can go to Epcot at Disney World and experience cultures from around the world. Not very authentic, but we have “traveled,” right?

I have traveled with people who become mildly upset or slightly irritated when products they find at home are not readily available in a different place. I once traveled with a very nice person who simply could not understand why they could not find the Jack and Coke they tried to order every night at every restaurant where we dined. The most amazing “complaint” I heard when we traveled to see the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany was that after 400 years, there were those who simply could not understand why the play was presented in German, not English.

I love travel that puts us in contact with peoples, cultures, and cuisines in a way that leads to authentic engagement with those other cultures, cuisines, and especially people that are similar, much like, but undeniably different than ourselves. We can travel to many destinations overseas and stay in Americanized hotels and enjoy cuisine that may be of a culture, but prepared for American tourists in a way that is something less than truly authentic.

Part of our warm welcome to Jerusalem included a very nice, and much appreciated presentation of fruits, chocolates and wine. On that table in our hotel room is that which I am holding in my hand. This is a small thing to recognize that I do not remember ever seeing one of these; not some grand revelation or insight into travel. Nevertheless, it is sometimes the small things like receiving a piece of fruit I do not recognize that reminds me of what I love so much about travel.

So, what is this thing I am holding in my hand?

03/08/2024

Shabbat Shalom from the beautiful warm, welcoming country of Israel. In living between perception and reality, I can tell you with absolute unequivocal certainty that in this case reality is so, so much better than media filtered perceptions.

We will be joining Nathan Shapiro of Shatour Israel Experience, Ltd and his family for dinner at his home this evening. We are very much looking forward to this wonderful experience with these exceptionally fine people.

03/06/2024

We are here at the ITB Berlin. Meeting, listening, and learning. The ITB Berlin is the largest tourism and travel show in the world (not hyperbole). Between meetings right now as I sit at the entrance to the hall where Israel and Africa are exhibiting. As a result of what we are learning here, I am very much looking forward to announcing new journeys to Italy, Greece, and Turkey focused on the early church and New Testament.

This morning, we had a very productive meeting on resources to develop travel experiences focused on legacies created by family ancestry for the purpose of considering the family legacy of travelers. Whether focused on genealogical research or family heritage, we can hardly wait to begin offering these Legacy Journey experiences. The energy here is just awesome as we are interacting with tourism and travel professionals from around the world. Here is a link to a short video to give you a sense of what we are experiencing here in Berlin:

https://bit.ly/3wEaduV

03/04/2024

If you want to be inspired, watch this wonderful video:

https://youtu.be/aW6cnSV-UJI?si=RnygLUaDY7bmZBGU

We are sitting in an airport waiting to board our flight to Berlin where we will attend one of the largest travel shows in the world. On Friday, we will travel to Jerusalem where we will celebrate A Miraculous Journey with Nathan, Yariv, Lital and the rest of the staff of Shatour Israel Experience. Please let us know when you are ready to travel to Israel with us. We will create a powerful experience to enliven, empower, and embolden your faith as you enjoy spectacular accommodations, wonderful cuisine, fascinating culture, and activities created to be just plain fun.

01/31/2024

Pastor Jim Haack shared this picture on Facebook yesterday. Although it has been said a picture paints a thousand words, this picture paints quite a story that could easily exceed that number of words in a meaningful way.

Over the course of the last year or so I have developed what I now consider friendships with members of the Israel Board of Tourism https://www.facebook.com/goisrael that, until now, have been mere acquaintances I would occasionally see at professional conferences for years.

A couple of weeks prior to the departure of A Miraculous Journey, I was contacted by the Chicago office of the Israel Ministry of Tourism to ask if I would be willing to facilitate having a videographer spend a day with this group. I understand this request actually came out of their national office in Jerusalem. I responded immediately to the request with a resounding, Yes!

The plan was for the Israel National Ministry of Tourism to film and interview fellow travelers on a day towards the end of their time in Israel. The picture is of Pastor Haack during his interview.

I love, love, love the message of hope and feelings of security throughout their time in Israel each one of these fellow travelers conveyed during their interview. Contrary to all of the quite understandable anxiety, skepticism, and even fear expressed to me at the very idea this group would brave a journey to Israel in January 2024, this group stayed the course and has savored a once in a lifetime, unparalleled travel experience in a country that has embraced them in what I can only describe as a meaningful, loving, and appreciative way.

I find the warm welcome and deep gratitude expressed to fellow travelers on A Miraculous Journey exceedingly difficult to overstate. Places this group has visited are often crowded to overflowing. There are almost no Christian tourists in Israel at present. As I have mentioned in other Facebook posts, many places visited by tourists in Israel are either closed or operating on an abbreviated schedule, but not to these pilgrims. This group of fellow travelers have uniquely experienced sights and restaurants that have been opened just to them that are either constantly crowded in “normal” times, remain closed, or operating on short hours since October 7.

I am well aware I have the advantage of a kind of inside information on the ongoing circumstances in Israel given my contacts there now. I also have a base of hard earned, rapidly growing knowledge of how tours are administered in that country. Of course, like everyone else, I have access to media reports and I have spent an almost embarrassing number of hours filtering and digesting news out of Israel since October 7. I would never, under any circumstances consciously send a group on an unsafe journey.

Since October 7, 2023, I have been living in the hard, often uncertain place between perception and reality. I listened with compassion and empathy to those offering me advice I recognized to be dated or media-filtered. I listened to comments borne of historical ignorance. I understood that no amount of reassurance, no matter the quality of information available to me, could persuade those who had decided they would postpone their journey to Israel, or in some cases, not be traveling to Israel anytime soon, if ever.

Watching this group experience a journey of a lifetime in Israel is humbling and gratifying beyond any words any picture may paint.

A miraculous journey, indeed!!!

01/29/2024

Living between perception and reality…

With special thanks to the Rev. Dr. Kirk Clayton, the pictures that appear with this post are among the most meaningful I have thus far received from fellow travelers on A Miraculous Journey.

Many tourist sites in Israel are currently either closed or are operating on an abbreviated schedule. In nearly all cases, whatever perceptions may be, the reality is that this is not a result of danger produced by the war with Hamas, but due to the fact American Christians are simply not visiting Israel right now. It is with deepest gratitude and heartfelt acknowledgement of the wisdom and excellence of Nathan Shapiro and his team at Shatour Israel Experience, Ltd fellow travelers on A Miraculous Journey, have experienced the truly extraordinary.

Pictured at left is the Rev. Dr. Kirk Clayton with guide to A Miraculous Journey in Bethlehem, Jonny. That’s right, these brave pilgrims ventured to the Palestinian West Bank to experience reality as a direct contradiction of prevailing perceptions filtered for all of us more than 6,000 miles away.

When Patrick Malone and I met Jonny last summer, Jonny spoke of the hope that every group of Christians brings when they visit Israel. That was before Israel’s 9-11. I received this picture as a greeting from Jonny. I can see on his face how much guiding this group means to him. I celebrate the smile, the joy, and the hope on Jonny’s face in this picture.

A second picture in this post is of a cultural food experience in Old Jerusalem. Each fellow traveler was given a card with perforated “tickets” that they exchanged for authentic Mediterranean food items. The group wandered on their own to find each station where they could learn about local culture through their engagement with vendors and cultural food experiences. This experience occurred toward the end of their time in Israel after feeling justifiably safe and secure everywhere they have traveled in Israel.

The third picture that appears with this post was taken at The Garden Tomb in The Garden of Gethsemene. Although the actual burial place of Jesus is accessible by visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, The Garden Tomb is the image most people have in mind on Easter morning.

The Garden Tomb is currently closed. However, with deep gratitude for the efforts of the Israel Ministry of Tourism and Shatour Israel Experience, Ltd the management of The Garden Tomb opened the site just for fellow travelers on A Miraculous Journey. In their private access to The Garden Tomb, these fellow travelers had as much time as they desired for their experience of Holy Communion. This was truly a once in a lifetime experience.

I am nearly overcome with emotion as I ponder the warm welcome that Israel has offered fellow travelers on A Miraculous Journey; especially as I think about a number of once in a lifetime experiences these fellow travelers have enjoyed. I am well aware my emotions are a result of living between perception and reality since October 7.

Since October 7, 2023, I have been engaged with fellow travelers who have been living where I have been living: between perception and reality.

I have engaged in what feels like countless hours of conversation with fellow travelers discerning their decision to travel to the Holy Land. For some, the events that have unfolded since October 7, 2023 are too much for them to think about going to Israel anytime soon, if ever. For others, postponing their journey to a future date and the peace of mind that comes with a Cancel-For-Any-Reason travel insurance policy were enough for them to breathe while looking forward to a future journey to the Holy Land.

I understood, but was no less amazed when three fellow travelers canceled their reservation just five days prior to departure. I understood every one of these decisions, including the last minute decision of three fellow travelers to cancel. I received each one of these decisions to postpone or cancel respectfully with compassion and empathy. Life between perception and reality can be an anxiety inducing roller coaster of emotions.

I will be forever grateful to the brave pilgrims who stayed the course to embark on A Miraculous Journey. I believe fervently that the partnership of Shatour Israel Experience, Ltd and Purposeful Journeys now rests on a foundation that will be a blessing to many here and in the Holy Land as I remember Jonny’s face in the picture that accompanies this post.

A miraculous journey, indeed!