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Israel Trip 2025
2025-2-4 | Margaret Martin
This January, I was part of a group that traveled to Israel on a tour led by Dr. John DeLancey; the group totaled 34 people, eight of us from The Grove. This was the trip of a lifetime for so many reasons. Our group had the opportunity to explore nearly the entire country. Israel’s tourism industry has been virtually shut down since the war began on October 7, 2023. Sites such as Tel Dan and Caesarea Philippi in the far north of the country have just opened back up for visitors. Because there were few tourists, we experienced more of Israel than most groups. There were no lines in any of the typically busy locations we visited; in fact, we were the only tour bus at most locations. On the occasions when we stopped for a special lunch, the restaurants opened and cooked a meal exclusively for us. We were their only guests. We were humbled to be an encouragement to these people whose livelihood depends on tourism. The warmth and gratitude we experienced from random people for our simply being there made the trip extra special.
Dr. John DeLancy flew with us from O’Hare to Amman, Jordan. It was reassuring to have his presence as we navigated international travel. As we were preparing to cross the border into Israel, he reminded us that our trip was a Biblical Archeology tour. I finally stood before the Israeli border agent, she asked why I was entering the country. I explained that I was on a Biblical archaeology tour. She inquired where I would be traveling first. I replied that I would be in Beersheba (where we were staying the first night). She wanted to know what archeological significance Beersheba had. Honestly, I didn’t yet know how to answer that question.
The reality that this was a Biblical Archeology tour sank in quickly on that first day in Israel. We were still jet-lagged and had lost over a half-day crossing the border from Jordan into Israel. We met our bus on the Israeli side of the Jordan at the Allenby Bridge crossing. Our driver, David, and Shlomo, our Israeli guide, had been waiting for us for hours. We crossed over the mountains, skirted Jerusalem, and made our way to our first stop at Gezer where we disembarked and walked up the gravel path. We viewed a replica of the Gezer calendar, the entrance of a cistern filled with disturbed (and disturbing) squeaking bats, and walked among the ancient ruins.
Pottery fragments from 4,500 BC to 1,000 BC were scattered along the path and piled up from archeological digs. I was amazed at the age of the ruins…so many layers of Biblical history. After visiting four archaeological sites that first day; Gezer, Beit Shemesh, Tel Azekah, and Tel Lakish; the Old Testament accounts that took place in the Judean lowlands (the Shephelah) started to come alive; stories of Sampson and the Philistines, the return of the Ark of the Covenant on the ox cart, and David and Goliath. We were looking at the land they walked and were touching the stone walls and gates they built. Eleven thousand steps and several hours later, we were delighted to have dinner and spend the night in the wonderful Leonardo Hotel Negev in Beersheba.
I can’t possibly give you a site-by-site account of our entire 14 days, but would love to share a couple of meaningful snapshots of my experience. It was our first full day in Israel. We woke up in Beersheba. Tammy and I were travel companions for the trip. I knew it was a special day, so I shared with Dr. DeLancey that it was Tammy’s birthday before getting on the bus that morning. Another member of our group, Abigail, turned 13 that day as well. On the way to our first site, Shlomo taught us the birthday song in Hebrew and we celebrated both birthdays on the bus, yelling out their names as was the custom. Our first stop was Tel Be’er Sheba National Park; then Sde Boker, the site of the tomb of Ben Gurion. We then drove down from the plateau to En Avdat National Park in the Wilderness of Zin to our next stop; a hike into this beautiful canyon watered by a creek from a natural spring.
As we got ready for the hike, Shlomo had a surprise for the birthday girls–a flower crown headpiece–the traditional headpiece worn on one’s birthday in Israel. Wearing her crown, Tammy and I and the group hiked into the canyon to the waterfall. As we were hiking back out, several groups of middle-school-age children were on a field trip and making their way into the canyon. One group of young girls was especially fun to hear. The canyon echoed with their happy voices laughing and conversing in Hebrew. When we met them they became so excited and asked where we were from, proudly displaying their English skills. It only took a moment for them to acknowledge Tammy’s floral headpiece and they were incredulous to see an American wearing the traditional crown. They asked, “Is it your birthday?!!” When she laughed and said, “Yes,” they asked her name. This group of girls then surrounded Tammy, celebrated her, and turned the few minutes we were with them into a canyon birthday party. Full of joy, they sang to her the Hebrew birthday song we had just learned! Unforgettable!
One of our many memorable adventures included our visit to the archeological site at Shiloh. This site in Shiloh is thought to be the location of the first worship center in Israel and where the Ark of the Covenant resided. At Shiloh, we selected an ancient pottery fragment from those discarded by the team excavating the site. On each of our pieces of pottery, Dr. DeLancey wrote the Hebrew word Hineni (הנני) which translates "Here I am" or "Here I am, send me!" This word signifies a total readiness to give oneself. It is an offer of total availability. I have this piece of pottery as a tangible reminder of the life that Christ calls us to.
There were dozens of unforgettable places and encounters like these. Each place brings with it a memory; hiking up the Roman siege ramp to the top of Masada and looking out over the entirety of the Dead Sea; the sound of the lap of the water against the hull of the boat on the Sea of Galilee; the baptisms in the Jordan River; our singing in the acoustically amazing places of worship we visited; communion at the Garden Tomb; hiking up a mountain overlooking the Galilee in the dark to see the sunrise; the reflective time we spent on the top of Mt. Arbel where Jesus likely withdrew to spend time in prayer with his Father; listening to the talented Shlomo share a Jewish song or play a melody or tell a story; watching the sunrise on the Sea of Galilee and sunset the same day on the Mediterranean; wading through the crystal clear water deep beneath Jerusalem in Hezekiah’s tunnel; walking through the Old City of Jerusalem and happening across a Bar Mitzvah celebration full of music and dancing. One is forever changed by a trip like this.
We will all be unpacking the significance of our trip for years to come. I encourage you to ask the other members of our group to share their special moments. Group members included Kurt Kincanon, Scott Bishop, Shirley Pence, Kathy Riley-Beck, Barbara Sheets, Jane Ritter, Tammy Poindexter, and me.
You can see some images from our travels below.
