Because I'm an American Journey Experience alumni, I was invited by Wallbuilders to go on a tour of Israel with their partner The Bible Comes to Life. I was one of 30 alumni accepted to go on the tour!

My mom flew up with me to JFK airport a day before departure, where we met with my assigned roommate and stayed the night in a nearby hotel. Then, it was a long flight over the Atlantic, and it was a bright midmorning day when we disembarked in Tel Aviv and met up with our tour guide.

We bussed to the first location, where we received our headsets to better hear our guide. Mine was broken or I just couldn't figure out how to make it work, so I never used it and instead took audio recordings.

On Day 1, we visited Caesarea Maritima, where there was the ruins of a freshwater bath house on the Mediterranean Sea and an almost completely excavated racetrack. Then we went to Megiddo, also known as Armageddon, where there was an abundance of ruins and we walked through the remains of a massive gate which still had holes in the stones where the doors were anchored. We also saw an unexcavated synagogue named Anu Dim where Jesus preached. It was getting dark at that point, so we headed to our hotel, which was an absolutely lovely place on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

On Day 2, we went to Zippori and saw a Bible-era marketplace and the mostly-intact floor mosaics, then to Mount of Precipice, Nazareth and the Church of Annunciation which is apparently larger than the original town of Nazareth, then to Gideon Springs where most of the area had been converted into a wading park. The water was amazingly refreshing as we listened to our guide combine local landmarks with Scriptures. Our final stop that day was at Beit She'an, the metropolis that was devastated by a major earthquake in 749 AD. There, we got to participate in re-mortaring a section of ancient stone wall!

On Day 3, we went to Capernaum, where Jesus worked several miracles, then to Mount Arbel which looks over one of the Valleys of the Shadow of Deaths, had a peaceful cruise of the Galilee, and to Magdela where Mary of Magdela originated.

On Day 4, we left our hotel bright and early and went to Beitsaida where we waded waist-deep in a tributary of the Jordan, which was quite refreshing since it was over 100 degrees already! After that, we travelled to Caesarea Philippi, where Jesus gave a sermon, and where the local people worshiped a god Pan by throwing livestock into a cave pit that had a freshwater spring at the bottom. The pit was filled in by an earthquake, but the spring still runs and is a major source of the Jordan river. After that, we stopped at our guide's house to visit his family, then to a hotel where you stay in yurts. The hotel also overlooks the cliff where Jesus cast demons out of a man and they fled into pigs.

On Day 5, we went to Masada, the stronghold on a mountain. It was an astounding view of the surrounding desert, the Dead Sea, and the eroded remains of the military camps and seige ramp. After Masada, we got to float in the Dead Sea for a few hours, then made our way to Jerusalem where we dropped off our luggage at the hotel and walked to the Sound and Light Show at the Towers of David.

On Day 6, we walked to the Garden Tomb, where we were able to enter the Tomb and also had communion in small olive-wood cups. From there, we walked to the Western Wall, which was very packed and crowded, then to the Southern Steps, followed by a long walk to the entrance of Hezakiah's Tunnels, which had a wet and a dry route. I chose the dry one. The Tunnels terminated near the Pool of Saloam, where the paralyzed man was healed, then walked through a local market to catch our bus to the Mount of Olives, whic overlooks the cemetary and Jerusalem. As the sun was setting, we went back to our hotel, where we had Shabbot dinner and a tour summary.

On the seventh day, we woke up early to bus back to Tel Aviv and catch our flights back home.

I am thrilled and grateful that I was chosen from the American Journey Experience Summer Institute alumni to travel with Wallbuilders. It was a once-in-alifetime-experience that I think everyone should do!

And for 18-25 year olds who are interested in American history and heritage, I cannot reccomend enough that you attend the American Journey Experience!
https://americanjourneyexperience.com/summer-institute/