Israel – I’m here! Which is more of an accomplishment than originally anticipated! I left Sunday night at 10 and got into Newark early Monday morning. A few pieces of public transportation and I was at Penn Station in NYC! I met my wonderful niece, Kajsa, for a great lunch and then headed back to the airport to catch a 4:30 flight to Tel Aviv. The plane left the gate right on time and then stopped. Initially we were told that the plane was stuck and needed an enhanced push but after about 45 minutes, it turned out o be brakes. After two and a half hours on the plane we slowly deplaned down the stairs, into buses, and were sent to another gate. Outwardly, I was attempting to look calm, my Inner Child was having a tantrum. Fortunately, another plane was found and we went though the extra security again and boarded the second plane. By then, my seat mates seemed like old friends! We finally took off a little after nine. Yeah! The flight was then uneventful, thankfully. I slept off and on and watched “Into the Woods.”
We landed in Tel Aviv about 3:30 in the afternoon and that was when most of our team was coming in anyway, so the delay was not a problem, of course!  God always covers it, so there Inner Child! And my suitcase arrived!  Thank you!

We boarded a large van and headed to Jerusalem. Did I just say that?  It was about an hour drive – very dry and bright. Getting to Jerusalem, we drove through parts of the West Bank and saw the Wall that divides the West Bank from Israel proper.  The highway we were on is limited to Israeli use only.

We arrived in Jerusalem and our guest house here, St George. It’s a beautiful yellow stone building – a little monastery like. After a quick check in, we met for orientation and introduced ourselves. Therearr20 of us from all over the country.  An amazing group of women and excellent leadership.  Being seriously sleep deprived after two nights of flying, I am not really comprehending it all yet but feel so privileged to be here.  The woman next to me on the plane was Israeli and we chatted some and I asked what I really needed to know and see while here.  She said Jerusalem because, “even the air is holy.”  I loved that!  After our time together, we walked a short couple of blocks to a hotel restaurant and had our first meal – excellent Middle Eastern food and conversation.  Then we got to go to bed!  Much needed.  Tomorrow will be a number of meetings with folks from various points of view.

Until then.  (I take very little responsibility for all this as my brain is cooked!)