Isaac & Abigail

As we keep processing our recent trip to Israel we have been a little overwhelmed. For each of us, this trip was one of the most significant adventures of our adult lives. Obviously, we have had some pretty big adventures: getting married, having babies, moving across the country and back, and buying and selling our first home to name a few. In your mind taking a trip to Israel might not compare to even one of those things. To us though, this trip shifted the most important part of our lives, how we read the Bible.

To us, the Bible is the most important thing. How we view the Bible changes everything. The Bible is how we meet God and learn about him. The Bible teaches us what God wants for us and our children. The Bible shows us who Jesus is and what He loves. It changes what our weekends look like. It changes how we raise our kids and how our marriage functions. It changes the purpose of our home and the environment we create in it. This trip to Israel shifted our perspective on the Bible and therefore it shifted our perspective on everything in our lives.

What was your favorite part?
Isaac:
This is somewhat hard for me to nail down. In fact, going back for a second time and going with Abigail, by day 5 or 6 I would say, “This place we’re going to next is incredible” and she would reply, “You have said that about everywhere we go.” I did say it a lot and I do think that so many places in Israel are breathtaking and awe-inspiring. However, I think I do have a couple of favorites. The first is Mount Arbel. This trip we got the experience of being able to hike up this mountain. It gave a whole new thought and feeling to the idea of Jesus “going up on a mountain to pray.” I love this location though because when you get to the top you are overlooking the Sea of Galilee and the whole region where Jesus did much of His ministry. It is also just totally peaceful and calm and we took some time to just be alone and quiet and it is a great place of solace. The other place I love is the Mount of Olives. To be up on that side of the mountain and look across the Kidron Valley to where the old city is with the Temple Mount and just a complete picture of the area where Jesus would have entered in the final week of His life, is something that really just sticks out in my mind.

Abigail:
Narrowing down the trip to one favorite part would be impossible. I’m pretty sure that each day was my new favorite day and each part was my new favorite part. I loved all the outdoor adventures. We hiked almost every single day. We climbed to the top of 2 mountains. Literally climbing up rock faces and standing on the edge of cliffs. I always thought that I was afraid of heights, but Israel taught me I’m actually not. I was standing on cliff edges without an ounce of fear. We actually jogged down one of the mountains and it was so much fun! Similarly to Isaac though, Mount Arbel was one of my favorites. It is such a breath-taking and beautiful place! You can see for miles, including the Sea of Galilei. It’s so peaceful and calm. I just didn’t want to leave. I would have camped up there if we could have. On a purely child-like fun side of things the Dead Sea was amazing! I couldn’t stop laughing. It was such a unique and weird experience I just can’t help but smile every single time I think back on it. We brought a handful of salt from the bottom of the lake and I hope it always makes me smile, thinking about floating in one of the most unique lakes on earth.

What was your favorite type of thing you did?
Isaac:
I have a couple of these as well. Being able to walk and touch the things that Jesus would have literally touched is something that is significantly unique. But I also love embracing the life that is there now as well. To try and continually have foods like falafel and shawarma were really good. As well as things like a lamb burger that we wouldn’t normally eat in the US. I wouldn’t call myself a complete “foodie” but I do love having whatever is local wherever I go.

Abigail:
I loved all the history. Our two guides that taught us so much information and history about each place that we visited. I felt like a sponge. I didn’t realize how deep the conflict was in Israel on so many different levels. We learned biblical history about places we visited. Hearing biblical teaching that explained and applied those stories to today. We learned social and political history and how it has shaped so many different parts of Jewish history and the conflict in the Middle East. We went to the Holocaust Museum. An interest in studying the history was sparked. I want to learn more and better understand the world that the Bible was written in and to.

What is one major take away for you?
Isaac:
My major take away is to ever be reminded that we live in a day where the value of the Bible must not be underestimated. We hold in our hands the absolute truth and must know and share it. Being where so many of the events in the Bible took place brings it to life in a way that is hard to even explain in words. I love telling stories about all of the places and the things that you learn and see. I also think an idea that was reiterated to me that we are trying to focus on is “running to the mess.” To embrace the people and situations that are not easy because this is how Jesus lived.

Abigail:
My big take away, at this point, is to put myself in the culture of what I’m reading in the Bible. I have a literal picture in my head of physical places, and also a historical background of so many places. I can use that to help me understand what the Bible is saying. The more I try to understand and see what I’m reading as a literal place and situation that happened, the more I realize that I have not even gotten past the first layer. There is so much to learn and see and study. I want it all! This trip to Israel has started a fire in my soul and a thirst for deep learning and studying of the Bible. I have never felt like this before and I pray that I feel this for the rest of my life. As a barely 30 year old, I am privileged to have visited Israel already. Lord willing, I have so many more years ahead of me to learn. I guess though if my time on earth is shorter than I thought, heaven is a much better place to study God anyways.

Since we’ve been back, our conversations have been saturated with Israel. Beautiful sights, funny moments, or facts come up all the time. We talk about it with each other, with our friends, with God. We started circling things that we read in the Bible and can identify with a memory. We have been to those places, we have touched that wall, we have spent time in that synagogue. It’s just crazy. We are always up for an adventure, but this one probably won’t be beat for a long long time.