Written by Minister Deloris Yvonne McBride, South Carolina District
God in His awesomeness provided me an opportunity to journey to His Holy Land November 19, 2015 –November 27, 2015. Our flight took 10-hours and was quite pleasant with occasional turbulence. My pilgrimage of eight days was enjoyed with two other family members, Dorothy and Isaiah. There were 16 members in our group which comprised four denominations: Pentecostal, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Baptist, three consecrated women, our host – Dr. Rev. Eliza Black, Rev. Theordora Black, and me, Minister D.Y. McBride.
We arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel on November 20 and were met by our tour guide, Ellius, boarded the bus and traveled to Natanya to one of the four hotels we were scheduled to lounge. Solomon’s Hotel was a very nice hotel located near the Mediterranean Sea. We ate a sumptuous meal with the Mediterranean Sea in our view and ended our day with a good night’s rest.
After breakfast, we drove through the farms and citrus groves of the rich land of Sharon, northward to Caesarea, the Roman city of Herod where we saw the ruins of Herod’s Palace, Roman aqueducts and the amphitheater. We enjoyed the singing of other groups and our group recited Psalm: 23 in the amphitheater. We then drove through the Jezreel Valley to the fields of Armageddon (Revelation 16:16) and Megiddo. We climbed up the ruins of Megiddo for a panoramic view of the Valley of Armageddon. “Then the spirits brought the kings together in the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon” (Revelation 16:16). I thought about that last battle of war that will take place one day. Oh yes, it’s coming. We visited the Megiddo ruins, walked down 186 steps and walked up 85 steps. God’s grace was truly with me as I have yet to overcome my fear of height.
We continued northward along the Mediterranean Sea to Haifa and Mt.Carmel--‐the biblical site of Elijah's contest with the prophets of Baal (IKings:18). Upon Mt. Carmel, we were able to have a panoramic view of the area. A brief discussion about Elijah and his contest with the prophets of Baal and Jessabelle was inviting. We ate at Lyle Carmel Restaurant and left Mt. Carmel at 3:00 p.m.
Traveling westward with the Sea of Galilee in our view, we saw Mt. Tabor (Psalm 89:12) and Deboriya - the hometown of the prophetess Deborah which is at the foothill of Mt. Tabor (Judges 4 and 5). We visited Nazareth, the Church of Enunciation. The cave where Mary lived is located in this church. This is the place where the angel ann
ounced to Mary that she would bring forth Jesus. We also visited Cana… the place of the first Miracle; Jesus turned water into wine (John 2: 2-11). We continued to our hotel (Caesar’s Premiere) on the shores of the beautiful Sea of Galilee for dinner.
Sunday November 22, 2015, I had a vision… I haven’t had a vision in a while. I saw people dressed as in Biblical days surrounding Jesus. Children were also in the vision. We began the day with an exciting breakfast. We visited the Mountain of the Beatitudes, the possible place where Jesus gave the Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount and Tabgha – the place of the multiplication – where Jesus multiplied the two fish and five loaves. We saw Mt. Hermon where the Transfiguration took place (Matthew 17:1-8). We went to Capernaum and visited the ruins of St. Peter’s house and the place where Jesus stayed on many occasions. Next door to the Peter’s house is a synagogue where Jesus read from the scriptures.
We left Capernaum and went to the Sea of Galilee for a sail down this historical Sea. We prayed and sang and marveled in the beauty of the area and imagined what it was like during Jesus’ time. What an awesome experience… basking in the love and spirit of God! Following the Galilee Sea experience, we arrived at Pilgrims Park at the Jordan River.
To climax our day, several of us were baptized in the Jordan, Dorothy, Edna, Debbie, Ruthell, Gigi, Margie, and me. Would you believe when I left the Jordan River, there was a rock between my toes…. What are the odds in that? After Dinner, the group met for a Sunday worship experience. After singing, praying, and giving testimonies, I was given the opportunity to bring the message. My topic “God has a Plan” focused on Jeremiah 29:11 with the concentration on three points: committing, submitting, and remitting.
Monday, November 23, 2015. Our first stop was in Beth She’an… the area where King Saul and his sons were killed. the second stop was in Jericho where we saw the Mount of Temptation. After Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, (Matthew 4:1-11) He was tempted three times by the Devil. In Jericho, some of us could not resist the temptation of riding on a camel…. so we did. Scary for me, the others really enjoyed it. We enjoyed lunch near the valley where Elijah was fed and left for the Dead Sea. We arrived at our Hotel, Leonardo , checked in and headed for the Dead Sea experience….. wonderful experience where we floated, danced and praised God for His wonders. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner, rested one night there and departed the next morning after breakfast.
11/24/2015. As we traveled to Masada, we saw the Mountains of Edomites and the area where Lot was situated. We visited Masada – this is the last stand for Jewish rebels confronting the Romans (the Judean Revolt). We ascended the mountain by way of cable car to the top of Masada and visited the ruins. What a view of the Dead Sea and surrounding mountains. Later, we saw the area where King David stayed when he fled from King Saul in EnGedi and visited Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. The Community of the Essenes and the caves where the Scrolls were excavated were quite interesting. We were told by our tour guide that the Hebrews probably crossed over the Promise Land at this point.
We then traveled through the Judean Desert on the way to Jerusalem. We saw the primitive life-style of some of people who currently live in Bedwind houses. Traveling down the Hebron Road to Jerusalem, we were told this is the road the patriots took, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We arrived in Bethlehem and visited the Church of the Nativity, and saw the area where Mary gave birth to Jesus and the place of the manager. We visited the Shepherds fields (where they saw the star) which was also the grounds of Boaz and Ruth and entered caves where the shepherds lived.
11/25/2015. We went into Jerusalem with uplifted hands glorifying God. We had a panoramic view of the Old City of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives (Matt. 24.3), visited the Chapel of Ascension and walked down the Hosana Road to visit Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations which stands on the Rock of Agony where Jesus was betrayed by Judas (Matt. 26:36-57). We saw the Pillar of Absalom, and the Eastern (Golden Gate and Pinnacle of the Temple). We then traveled to Mt. Zion; had a panoramic view and saw the Potter’s Field (where Judas hung himself), visited the Church of St. Peter now on the site of Caiphas’ House, visited the Room of the Last Supper (Luke 22:14-20) and the Tomb of King David. We visited Pilots’ Judgement Hall, the jail where Jesus was kept (also the jail where John the Baptist and Peter were kept). We saw the steps that Jesus took going to Golgotha Hill. We ate lunch at the Pontifical Institute Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center (this is where the Pope lives when he is Israel). After lunch we visited the Hebrew University Museum where the Shrine of the Book that houses the Dead Sea Scrolls is exhibited and the Model of the Old Jerusalem is displayed.
11/26/2015. Today we visited Bethesda’s Pool; we had an opportunity to sing in the church nearby… the acoustics are so great in the church…. The Priest asked us to sing another selection. We sang two Christmas songs, “O Come All Ye Faithful’ and Joy to the World”. We continued our day with the most important part of our trip… the Via Dolorosa. The Via Doloroso ("Way of Grief" in Latin) is a road in the old city of Jerusalem, a path where Jesus was lead in agony, carrying the crucifixion cross, falling three times and assisted by Simon. There are a total of 14 stations along this path as we walked we concentrated on the value and importance as there are many shops along side.
The stations are: 1 – the Flagellation, 2 – Jesus Receives the Cross, 3 – Jesus falls the first time, 4- Jesus meets His mother, Mary, 5 – Simon helps Jesus to carry His cross, 6 – Veronica wipes the face of Jesus, 7 – Jesus falls the second time, 8 – Jesus speaks to the women of Jerusalem, 9 – Jesus falls the third time, 10 – Jesus is stripped of His garments, 11 – Jesus is nailed to the cross, 12 – Jesus Dies, 13 – Jesus is taken down from the cross, and 14- Jesus is placed in the tomb.
We walked to the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) and prayed for our families, churches, everyone, our safety, and the peace of Israel. We tucked notes in the cracks of the Wall and were careful to back away from the Wall as we departed in respect for the Place of God. The Western Wall is a remnant of the ancient wall that surrounded the Jewish Temple’s courtyard and is one of the most sacred sites in Jerusalem.
We traveled to Jude
a and visited the area that John the Baptist was born. As with most of the sites, a church is built upon the site… However, you can see the cave-like structure inside the church to the right.
After lunch, my sister Dorothy and I did a little mission work…. we were assisted by Yvonne who took us to an orphanage to make a contribution. The students at Morris College participated in a service learning project and collected 342 items for needy children in Israel. These items were contributed along with a check of $150.00 from Faith Outreach Center where I minister. It was really wonderful sharing with the children and the Sisters at th
11/27/2015. We visited the Holocaust Museum where information about the 6 million Jews who died during the Holocaust is kept. We walked on bricks that served as the road for transporting countless numbers of Jews to their death; saw the vehicle of transportation, and the Bio Room which stores 4.5 million records already.
Our last stop in Jerusalem was a visit to the Garden Tomb. The Protestants claim this is the place of the Tomb while the Catholics claim the Church of Holy Sepulcher is the location. In the Garden Tomb is an area that looks like a skull. We heard a wonderful rendition of the account of Jesus and were served communion by Rev. Black with her daughter Rev. Theordora Black and me assisting.
Traveling to Tel Aviv, making ready for departure, we had one final stop. We visited Joppa and witnessed the beautiful church, St. Peter’s Church. This is the place where Peter saw the vision of sheets. Oh, it was so peaceful there I wanted to stay longer. We ate our final meal in Joppa…. Peter’s fish (tilapia), boarded the bus, arrived at the airport, went through security check, boarded the plan, the end of a beautiful Holy Land trip. But, the experience lives on.