Part 1, the Holy Land

May 22- May 23, 2022

 Israel Passport Control

Hello Friends,

Wow! What a journey! I will tell you that this letter and the ones following this trip are written after the pilgrimage since I only post one letter per week. There is so much to tell you that these letters will go on for some time. I mention this because looking back, each of these experiences is seen through the eyes of who I am now and not who I was then. I have learned so much and this pilgrimage has changed my whole perspective. So, you will often notice me writing from the present looking back. Now back to the trip.

I was wrapped pretty tight with anxiety the day before I left for Israel. As I mentioned last week, Ryan helped me with the entry paperwork, that had to be filled out the day prior to arriving, and that was a huge help. He is very calm and that was helpful as well. The funny thing is the day after I traveled to Israel most of the paperwork was no longer needed because they lifted a lot of the COVID restrictions, including the PCR COVID Test. However, because I would be arriving almost at the same moment these changes would come into effect, at midnight, I was armed with my file of printed papers in case they asked for them. One of the gentlemen at 206 Tours suggested this because he said if I had a nice file with the entry papers in them, they may not grill me because I would look like I knew what I was doing.

The next morning, however, after asking the Father for help, as well as the help of Archangel Michael, instead of feeling anxious, I felt very calm and the anxiety was gone. It was a sad day though because Ryan flew back home. I wished he were traveling on with me. It was such a wonderful week we spent together! I don’t think either of us wanted the week to end. So, there I was waving goodbye to him before heading off to my own gate to catch my own flight. I only had one layover and that was at Heathrow Airport, near London. From there it was a 5-hour flight to Tel Aviv, Israel. I actually didn’t even think much about passport control the whole day. This steadiness that came over me I recognized from past experiences when I had asked the Father for help.

When we landed, I took my time getting off the plane, not rushing like I tend to do if I am nervous, and made my way down the long passages to the Passport area. I left everything very deliberately in my mind in the Father’s hands. I walked up to the end of the Passport line and a Customs Officer walked up to me. He said in good English. “May I see your passport?” I was at the end of the passport line and so I thought that very odd, but of course I didn’t question the officer, handing him my passport. I had all my papers in my hand as well- the ones Ryan had helped me print off. He waved them away, looking only at my passport.

“Why have you come to Israel?” He asked looking at me.

“I am on a tour, a pilgrimage.”

“Okay, you are free to go. Here,” he handed me a slip of paper. “It is an Exist Pass. You can skip the Passport Control line. Just go through that door over there and give them this paper. Welcome to Israel.”

I was dazed, but took the paper, said thank you, and made for the exit door, wondering what had just happened. As I walked through the exit, I saw my suitcase coming right around the baggage carousel right in front of me. With a sigh of relief, I picked it up and walked out to the “Arrivals” lounge, hoping, praying my transfer would be there waiting for me as 206 Tours had promised they would be. It was 12:30 AM Yes, a half-hour after midnight. I did not know what I would do if the transfer wasn’t there this late at night. But there he was- my name on a board. I was so relieved!

“Hello!” I said to him.

“Jody?” The transfer driver asked.

“Yes, so glad to meet you!” I said and he smiled and took me to the hotel.

I cannot express how relieved I felt! Especially after I made it to the hotel in Tel Aviv, and very thankful to the Father and the Archangel Michael! That was the easiest Passport Control I have ever been through! The easiest! Besides maybe on the QM2 where it is a cinch also.

All that worry and paperwork! They didn’t even ask for my Negative PCR COVID test. Nothing! Obviously, the restriction changes had come into effect, but still, that had nothing to do with the questions I had heard that they ply you with. None of that had happened to me!

The hotel in Tel Aviv was where I was meeting the rest of the pilgrims the following day. I slept in and then had a beautiful Seafood Nicoise Salad and Mezze with a local Israeli wine for lunch in the hotel restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Then after lunch, I walked down to the beach, located right in front of the hotel, and walked in the waves. By evening everyone had arrived and there would only be thirteen of us, including our pilgrimage priest, Father John. Our tour guide was named Youssef and our tour bus driver was, Mateo. The following morning, we left Tel Aviv and journeyed first to Mt. Carmel, then Nazareth, followed by Cana, before ending up at Magdala, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

It is here I would like to end this week’s letter even though I said I would be writing about the first few days in Israel. This is because while writing about these days in Israel I have had some insights that I need to spend more time writing about. For me writing is like decompressing and during the process I learn a great deal and I want to be able to share these thoughts with you. So, until next week… God Bless- Jody