After 10 hrs of flight we finally arrived! Your prayers were answered bc the flight (at least for me) was't bad at all. I was able to sleep and watch movies without getting antsy. Unfortunately, my poor mother was up the whole time. We arrived with no problems, well, except for one of us. Mr.Jim's suitcase is still in Tampa so he's been sporting soiled clothes for a while (the flight attendant spilled two different drinks on him).
Later we freshened up and had dinner in the Hotel's restaurant. Now I fully understand why Israel is called the land of milk and honey. The food is a m a z i n g!! Everything is freshly homemade and delicious! I had multiple helpings of stuff I can't pronounce :) And of course, I had a lot of hummus. Hummus in America is nothing compared to Israel's hummus. It was so good we ate it plain!
Even though we were a bit zombie like from the flight, a few of us went to the mall to walk off our dinner. Jerusalem at night is like a smaller scale, Jewish NYC. Street vendors and people were everywhere. But, the security is a little different. We passed at least 60 soldiers in the mall, most were around my age with a gun half their size strapped to their waists. Just to get inside the mall we had to go through two security scanners. Lots of protection in Israel!
Today was our last slow day before all the work. We had more amazing food for breakfast around 8 am and then headed out to CFI at 9 30 am. The city is so beautiful! All the buildings are done with the same brick so they all carry an ancient feel. The flowers are blooming and there is no humidity!! After some iced coffee (better than starbucks) we went to CFI. Starting tonight we will be hosts and hostesses of small international groups. Yes, that means firsts time visitors to Israel will be guiding other first time visitors to Israel! Thankfully, I will be with Ms.Diane (a veteran Israel traveler), my mother is not so lucky. I'm sure she will be fine, but please keep her group in your prayers because she is directionally challenged. We head out later tonight to meet our groups.
I'm loving the city and can't wait for more!
-Mads
Praise- we're all well rested and are having a great time
Prayer- as we lead our tour groups bc some of us are rookies
