news article

My visit to the Holy Land Trip Article 1 of 3

July 26, 2017 / By Theresa Eggleston

My husband and I were driving in the car one day and we decided to name our bucket list items. “You know one place I really want to go, but I don’t think it would ever happen?” “Where?” My husband replied. I paused mentally preparing myself to not gain any hope, “I really want to go to the Holy Land.” I paused again hearing my parents in my head, “It’s dangerous over there.” I recalled being 13, watching the news hearing about the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict; bombs went off, protests ran through the streets, and people died.  I continue to speak to my husband, “I want to go just to…just to experience it. I know there may never be peace in the Middle East while I’m alive and it may never be ‘really safe’ but I want to go, just to experience it and walk where Jesus walked.” My husband looked at me and shrugged, understanding where I was coming from, “Yeah that would be pretty cool.” “It would cost a lot, and we may never be able to afford a trip like that for one person,” I said.  I sighed, looked out the window of the car and thought, “Who am I kidding, I don’t think I’ll visit the Holy Land, I’ve never even left the country. Even if I could afford it, it wouldn’t be till I’m retired.” I let out an audible sigh, my husband rubbed my knee.

Little did I know that a God was making plans for me to travel to the Holy Land. A few weeks after our car conversation, I received a message from the United Methodist Young People’s Ministry base out of Nashville, Tennessee. They were offering me a fully paid trip to visit The Holy Land. All I had to do was provide my own Air Fare. “Was this real?” I thought.

Within days I confirmed my spot on the trip, renewed my passport, asked churches for financial support and booked a flight to the Holy Land. I was elated, scared, and ready to trust God’s plan.

The goal of the trip was to bring young leaders together from around the globe to connect and gain a better understanding of the Israeli, Palestinian conflict.

All of us were ages 20-35; we gathered from around the world: United States, Philippines, Germany, South Africa, Ireland, Serbia, and Norway. Tour guides across the Holy Land raised their eyebrows to see our age and hear that we were from all over the globe. ‘You mean you’re a group of young Christians from around the world?’ “Yes,” we all would politely smile and nod.

We followed the life of Jesus from his birthplace in Bethlehem, to his ministry in Tiberius, and finally set forth to Jerusalem. We walked on the ground Jesus walked and sailed upon the Sea of Galilee where his disciples fished.  We heard the stories of ancient ruins and trials of the souls who dwell in the land today. We sat inside the walls of a refugee camp and listened to heart break of the Palestinian people. We sat around a circle in Jerusalem and listened to the story of a Rabbi sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. We became friends with one another; we became family with one another.

This trip changed my life. It changed the way I see The Holy Land, the way I read the Bible, the way I view conflict, and the way I listen to the story of refugees. It has changed the way I hear God’s story and it will forever change the way I tell God’s story.