Trip Log: Israel
My dad has been leading trips to Israel since I was in college, and my mom started doing the same a couple years back. Both have loved their time there so much, I knew at some point I’d want to go see it for myself — and much earlier this year, I got the opportunity to sign on with a trip they were co-leading at the start of November.
Much like my trip to Utah, I was a little stressed about leaving — uh, not quite as bad, considering I had an all-out meltdown over that one, but it’s cool, we don’t need to revisit that — in the middle of a busy season. But this trip felt like a possible once-in-a-lifetime chance. And the fact that it worked out for both my parents and I to be able to go made it even more special. (I always figured I’d have to choose a parent to go with. “I’m a pastor,” was my dad’s argument. “I’m more fun,” was my mom’s.)
The trips are bonafide tours — like, we wear sweet name tags and ride around in a bus as a group — which is, generally speaking, my worst nightmare as far as travel goes. However! Israel is a little different given the reason why most people are there. You’re there for the history, for the info, for the meaning behind things. Plus, the country is used to it. Tourism is one of the primary industries in Israel. A few people mentioned to me that at any given time, a third of the people in Israel are tourists, which seems like something I should fact check but I don’t feel like it right now so just know that number was thrown around a few times. Everywhere you looked, there were groups just like ours from just about every other country on the planet. I decided to just put on my name tag and enjoy the ride.
I also quickly discovered that while I’d usually avoid traveling like a classic tourist, there are some major perks that inform why people choose to do so. Like, I enjoyed being rolled up to sites in a bus and then getting off the bus and seeing the site and then getting right back on the bus, instead of having to figure out how to navigate traffic in a foreign place. Instead of waiting in a lot of lines, most things were set up by appointment for groups, so you could mostly just walk in with your crew. My parents work with local guides who, besides being incredibly nice people, know how to speak the language(s) and where the best coffee is and where the bathrooms are and whether or not you’re paying a fair price for something and how to not get lost. And hotels and delicious food are, like, an included thing! Which for someone whose last vacation included sleeping in her rental car rather than paying for accommodation felt very luxurious! Tourists! I get you!
All kidding aside, the trip really was amazing. I was totally captivated by the country itself — a sort of blend of Middle Eastern and European influences that’s totally unique to anywhere else I’ve personally traveled.
The colors are so distinct and the textures so intricate — mosaic and intricate stonework and layers upon layers everywhere you look. The smells were rich. The food is unbelievable — savory and tangy and spicy and delicious. I ate an embarrassing amount of very good bread and never got over the cardamom in their coffee.
I love the sound of the language, and am always surprised at just how wild it feels to have conversation swirling around you with no basis for what’s being said. I’ve done so much travel in Spanish-speaking contexts, where I can pick up on the words. Israel reminded me of India in my total lost-ness. If you let yourself give in to the wonder of it, it’s a pretty amazing thing that reminds you how small you are.
And the physical feeling of it all — from gnarled oak trees to first-century stone to desert dust to the sensation of being in the Dead Sea — was a wonder I’m not even sure I can get across. People come for the spiritual side of things, but to me, that was so tied into the physical.
In the contemporary American church, there’s long been such a movement to make sure it’s clear that God and our relationship with him isn’t tied to physical things or rituals. And I believe that. That’s true. But I think, sometimes, we have gone so far with that as to miss out on some really beautiful ways to connect with him. There was something really satisfying about how tangible this trip made everything I believe, in more ways than I know how to express.
On a similar note, I think I was surprised overall by what an impact the trip had on me, spiritually. At the risk of sounding ungrateful, I really wasn’t expecting any massive takeaways from it beforehand — I knew it would be cool from a historical and educational perspective, but unlike the Muslim and Jewish people for whom Israel is so sacred, my beliefs don’t hinge on a place. Israel is significant to the storyline of what I believe in, but the whole point of the Gospel (Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection) is that everywhere can be sacred. God isn’t confined to a location or behind barriers, and we aren’t cut off from him. My climbing gym is as holy a place as Jerusalem. I didn’t have grand expectations for what I’d find there.
But to have those physical experiences, and remember that what I believe isn’t a set of theological ideas but a real person who existed in a real place and did real things? There was a lot more power in that than I imagined. It sounds ridiculous, maybe — especially to those of you who don’t believe what I believe to begin with — but all those tangible experiences I just mentioned were grounding in that I knew so many were shared by Jesus himself. I found myself thinking, “Jesus stood on this rock.” “Jesus looked at this view.” “Jesus felt this water.” “Jesus touched this tree.” (Seriously, there are olive trees that are more than 2,000 years old there. No one else seemed to get nearly amped enough about this fact, in my opinion. 2,000-YEAR-OLD TREES. NATURE IS AMAZING.)
It sounds childish, and in some ways it was, but I loved getting to think about Jesus not just in terms of ideas but just as a real person. It was comforting. And it led to some really beautiful moments for me — ones I’m opting to keep for myself at this point, but that I may share somewhere, someday. When I have the time and space to articulate it all better. Suffice to say, though, it was a sweeter time than I ever would have expected, and I get why people place so much importance on going now.
As an extra bonus to the whole shindig, not only did I get to go with my parents; but one of my roommates, Maggie, and our friend Christy were also along for the ride. It would have been a good trip no matter what, I’m sure, but having two buddies in my life stage and close to my perspective was really special. I felt like we shared some similar “aha” moments — things that were impactful to us as 20-somethings that others on the trip were already beyond — and it was a gift to have two women I love so much to share those with.
And also, it was just more fun. So there.
I’m being sparse with the words here, I know, because honestly there’s just too much to say that I don’t have the time to get down; but I do want to just pause and say that on a completely non-spiritual note, the Dead Sea is one of the coolest experiences I have ever had in my life and why did no one tell me how amazing it is I feel like it was drastically underrated. And also, you have not seen joy until you’ve seen Maggie Bertram in the Dead Sea. I thought she was going to cancel her flight back and stay there. In the water. Forever.
I know I wrote almost nothing for so many photos and such a big trip, but I think I’m still processing it all — and will be for quite some time.
All I know is if you get the chance to go to Israel, go to Israel. For my fellow Jesus-followers, for the spiritual impact. And for anyone and everyone, to eat as much za’atar and bread as humanly possible (and still be able to float in the Dead Sea). I genuinely hope I get to go back one day.
