Annnnnnd We Made It
Annnnnd We Made It!
Well folks, we made it! It is currently 11pm on Tuesday 10/9 here in Israel (which is 3pm San Antonio time) and we are in our rooms unpacking and getting ready for some much-needed sleep. For most of us, our journey began at the airport at 7am Monday, 10/8, which makes this day 31 hours long so far....WOW, just typing that makes me more tired.
We had 37 people in our group traveling on our flights and 8 that chose to book their own on other airlines. As of this very moment, we have 41 of our 45 here; still waiting on 2 couples that had delayed flights. They should be landing in Tel Aviv soon.
Some fun facts/stories about today include…
- We flew on an Airbus 350 and man, is that thing HUGE. Take a look at the pics of the engine and find the man standing close by for a frame of reference. We were all very excited when our “chariot” pulled up to the gate. The inside was just as impressive as the outside. Pastor Ben had the “honor” of ending up in a seat next to me…for 9 hours!! You know he was so excited he couldn’t contain himself. He did wear his noise canceling headphones the ENTIRE time, so maybe “there’s my sign”. Another sign I have is a sing of sleep deprivation...I'm losing it. There was a point when several of us were laughing, and weren't quite sure why.
- I lost my sweater at the airport in Denver. I lost my passport at the security checkpoint in Munich. Luckily my new best friend, Mary McKay, was able to catch them both and bring them to me. I lost my mind due to the fact that I have not had any sleep, which is what I credit for me leaving my things everywhere.
- If you know me at all you know that I love nicknames for my friends. And today we got some new nicknames going. Queen Mary, Princess Diana, Sarah Duchess of York, Cecelia (she’s breaking our heart). We are our own little royal family. We may be our own type of royalty, but we are a very sleepy bunch.
- The German accent is hilarious. They sound so tense, but the words/sounds are funny. I’m not quite sure they think it’s funny, but I sure did. Add sleep deprivation to already funny German accents and this was a trip!
- A young guy walked straight up to Mary McKay and asked her if she was Dutch. She said no and he walked away. Ha! HILARIOUS!! Is that actually funny? Or, are we just too tired to tell?
- The customs agent in Tel Aviv asked me why I was here. I told her we are here doing a study tour with Jerusalem University College. She asked if I was the group leader and I said “no, my pastor is”. She then asked me the funniest question EVER…”are you a nun?” LOLOLOLOL I know you aren’t supposed to laugh in customs, but I just couldn’t help it. Again, I don’t think she thought it was as funny as I did. Are nuns usually tired? I don't know, maybe thats what it was.
- It took us 3 attempts to get the charter bus out of the airport. This consisted of driving to the ticket gate, then backing up out of the exit to do the turnaround then driving through the parking terminal. Then repeat….x 3. Third time is a charm, and we got it all situated and off we were! My eyes are burning and have been as if we were back in college pulling an all nighter....accept Margaret Matthews who informed us she has NEVER pulled an all nighter. #ChallangeAccepted
- Dinner at the hotel was great! We are staying at 2 different hotels, very close to each other, but they are owned and managed by the same people so we can eat together at either place. This food was very much welcomed after the “interesting airplane food” we have been eating (or for some of us, NOT eating) all day. Can one actually sleep eat? Hmmm, have to research that tomorrow.
We are so thankful to be here and excited to get started tomorrow and see the city in the daylight. We ask for continued prayers for all of us on this trip as well as our hosts and instructors. I will be posting as often as I am able, and hope you enjoy hearing about our journey as we take this faith walk here in Israel.
Sarah Morris
PS – I apologize if nothing I just wrote makes any sense….did I mention I haven’t slept?
