Day Five: Full Day in Bethlehem & Hebron

by Steve Ray on February 22, 2011




EVERYONE IS ENJOYING YOUR COMMENTS. I READ THEM ON THE BUS AND EVERYONE IS GRATEFUL. THE HUMOR IS MUCH APPRECIATED AS ARE YOUR PRAYERS AND COMMENTS. KEEP THEM COMING!

Perfect weather, great group, exciting and spiritual sites — and great food and dancing!

Today we spent the day in Bethlehem and a short time in Hebron where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived and where David was first made king.

Great day! Everyone is having a great time with deeply spiritual experiences and a lot of fun as well.

PART ONE: BETHLEHEM

PART TWO: HEBRON AND DINNER IN BETHLEHEM



12 Comments

  • Elizabeth Ramos says:

    Hi Mom and Dad,

    Thank you for calling. I was so happy to hear the excitement in your voice about your journey. Steve, my parents are so impressed with your tour, your organization, and your knowledge. Thank you for leading these pilgrims. My prayers are with you, Janet, and your family. My husband and I plan to travel with you in the future. Mom, I saw you shopping, spend Dad’s money. I love and appreciate you both. I pray Alex and I can be such good parents like you to our little girl. Enjoy your day.

    Elizabeth and Flora Ramos

    P.S. My dad said wine is on him this evening. Everyone drink up.

  • Mike and Kathy K says:

    Steve-O

    Thanks for taking the time to include everybody in your videos for us back home. Just wondering why Tom and Clara are constantly ducking the camera. Would like to see them before I deploy to Afghanistan on Saturday 🙂

    One day my wife and I will be taking this trip..

    Thanks again!

    Mike

  • Natalie Keys says:

    HI Nicholas! I saw that you went shopping today, which is really convenient since I just ran out of my Valentines chocolates. I hope they have chocolates there in Israel!

    I miss you soo much and can’t wait to pick you up at the airport! Hope you’re having a great time!

  • Kristen Geving says:

    Hello! Again…thank you so much for the daily videos. They are so neat! I am glad everyone is safe and having a wonderful trip. Please say hi to my mama, papa and Aunt Debbie (Jerry and Donna Lawrason and Debbie Deidrick) We miss and love them lots! So glad they are experiencing a trip like this. Can’t wait to see them soon!

    Love,
    Kristen and Tom Geving

  • Mary Elisabeth Denmon says:

    We are loving seeing all these videos. Pat and Tim Von Dohlen are our family ie. parents. Mimi, Logan Elisabeth watched each video with me tonight and loved it. She loved seeing you and Tim, and commented that where you are is a gift from Jesus for sure. I finished the marathon on Sunday. It was the hardest run I have ever accomplished. The weather was not anyone’s friend that day. We miss you tons and are so excited to hear all about it, but I can only imagine that words only tip the iceburg of what you are truly experiencing. You two are a blessing to so many and I am beyond blessed to be able to call you family. We love you so much, Mary Elisabeth, Brandon, Colton and Logan Elisabeth

  • Hi Jerry & Marilynn, Last day of our mid winter break and the snow totaled 10-12 inches. Snow blowed your drive, ugh, I didn’t know it was that big until today. Thank the Bomaritas because they were concerned about you getting in the drive but let the young chick handle the labor. I loved doing for you, its nice to finally be able to pay Dad back for all his snow help over the years. We went to pump it up today for free time and boy were we all hot, followed by slurpees at 7-11 ahh how refreshing. Going skiing on Thur thru Sat so you might not here from us after tomorrow. We miss you and are glad were are going away to make the time you are gone go by faster. RJ and Eric are working on their derby cars and can’t wait to show you their progress Dad. RJ says he misses you and really wanted to talk to you on the phone. Chad says hope you are having a fun time. Spencer says thank you and MIckey Mouse, not sure why but I’m just the translator. Maggie says I hope you are having a fun time on your trip it looks really cool. Becky says she misses her buddies and doesn’t like them being gone but am happy they are having fun. Eric says go Red Wings since he isn’t here to say anything because he is at the game tonight.. We love you miss you and life doesn’t seem the same when we can’t share our day to day thoughts with you. Kathy says she is glad you made it just fine there, and would say more if she had access to the internet. Woody says miss you too bark, bark. We love you, have fun, be safe, and we are praying for you ,so right back at you. Love the Beckeman Bunch.

  • Terrie Nordness says:

    Hi Vickie (Begeny)

    It looks like you’re having an “amazing” adventure In Israel! I saw you in 2 of today’s videos, but didn’t see “Bob.” You’ve been together for 6 days now, so I’m guessing you left him in Jerusulem yesterday…….

    Love, Terrie & Bill

  • Sherry says:

    Hi Rick & Val
    So fun to see you guys when you’re half a world away! Do you know Donna & Jerry Lawrason who are on the trip with you? We were with Barb & Bruce Castle tonight and they are good friends of theirs! Small world in some ways, eh? Hi to Lisa too as we have seen her in the videos! Was that “John” I saw doing the wedding vows by proxy?? Have a wonderful time and we’ll see you very soon. Love you! Sis

  • Sue Aceto says:

    For: Carole Carpenter
    Hi Carole. Everyone at Ave Maria University is asking about you and how you are enjoying your trip to the Holy Land. Most folks are still concerned about your safety, but after seeing the video from each day, you can tell that you are safe and having a good time. Have fun and remember everyone at Ave Maria is praying for you. Can’t wait to hear all about it when you get home. Have fun.
    This comes with love, Sue Aceto
    PS Reid, How much would you take to drop her Blackberry into the Sea of Gallilee???? 🙂

  • Amy carver says:

    Shirley, what an experience! A once in a lifetime trip. To see where christ was born, lived, and died must be a powerful and moving experience! May God bless your journey and keep you safe. I can’t wait to hear your amazing stories! Love amy

  • Matt & Mindy says:

    Mom (Mary), Dad(Tony), Valerie, Rick and Lisa (sorry I forgot you in the last post, but I saw you in the videos and remembered my Mom saying you were going to for your big birthday…don’t worry I won’t tell which one…)

    So Mom, did you have to buy another piece of luggage to bring back your purchases? After seeing the store in Bethlehem, I could imagine you wanting to buy one of everything and i could see Dad cringing… 🙂

    We hope you continue to enjoy your pilgrimage and use this time to seek strength and clarity in dealing with recent conflicts. You are in the perfect place in this whole world to seek guidance from your faith.

    We miss you and will talk to you soon. Love you all! Love Matt & Mindy

  • Cliff Olivero says:

    Love the videos Ray and we have been following along watching our friends John and Chris Klemmer enjoy the sights and the food. Brings back great memories of when we were there in 2008.
    Only one request is that you stop the music on the video when someone is speaking, it’s distracting and had to hear what they are saying. otherwise GREAT JOB on filming.

    STEVE RAY HERE: I AGREE ABOUT THE MUSIC BUT TURNING IT OFF IS NOT YET AN OPTION IN THE IMOVIE APPLICATION. IT IS EITHER MUSIC ON OR MUSIC OFF FOR THE WHOLE VIDEO. I THINK THIS WILL BE AN OPTION ADDED IN THE NEXT UPGRADE. GLAD YOU ARE ENJOYING THE VIDEOS.

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