Jerusalem on the Blogging A – Z Challenge

Herb’s Blog, Herbdate 23076 – 11101

Here’s the haps:

Sorry, but some of these posts are going to have to be short because of necessity. I either have run out of time and need to get to bed at some point or I don’t have a lot of info to share or both. Like tonight’s post.

This is a destination that a lot of Christians have and it does interest me as well. At least it interested me more than Jupiter City, Florida. Okay, here’s the deal. Our pastor and his family went on a trip to the “Holy Land” with a church group and enjoyed it greatly. One of the things he said was that you need to be aware that these are just places. There is no spiritual feeling other than your own thoughts and introspections about a place. In other words, if you are visiting the Upper Room you are not any more likely to feel the moving of the Holy Ghost than you would if you were at your own church.

With that being said I think it would be incredible to see some of the historical places from the Bible and history. I think I could learn a lot and I think that I would have strong feelings at different places because that is the kind of person I am. As a Sunday School teacher, I imagine things that happened and think about what it might have been like which I think that a trip like this would inform.

A couple of bits of good advice about being here that I found seem like common sense but there are a couple that wouldn’t have sprung to my mind. You need to remember that this is a holy city to three major religions so even if you aren’t a religious person yourself you still need to show respect. You will need a tour guide and want to make sure and book them in advance and make sure they are licensed. Apparently, there are several scams related to this. A thing that amazed me when I was talking to our pastor’s son was that most of their guides were not Israelis and a lot of them were not even from the country at all. Tour guides have to go to school for 2 years to become fully licensed.

Another suggestion is don’t freak out by seeing armed military all over the place. And, even if you think you are highly informed, don’t talk about politics. At all. If you just can’t help yourself, then you should just probably listen and learn.

Also, it seems that tipping wait staff in Jerusalem is very similar to the tipping culture in the United States with the employees being underpaid and having to rely on tips to survive.

This is not a one-day trip at all. This is another trip, though, that, if it happens, I would seek advice before I went there.

Likelihood of this happening within the next year: 0+%
Likelihood of this happening in my lifetime (Lord willing, of course): 32%
Likelihood of running into someone I know or met on the Internet: ?%