Category: Israel Study Trip

From James Nolt:

We will remember the scene of confused tour members shuffling through papers at the Newark airport to find the right covid test results, green cards, and entry permits. Our flight was delayed about 1 and 1/2 hours. We left Newark about 12:30 Eastern Time Friday morning and arrived in Israel about 4:36 Friday afternoon (10:36 Eastern Time), after about a 10-hour flight. Then we had to get another covid test in spite of the fact that we all had been tested on Tuesday. We are in “quarantine” in a nice hotel. I’m praying for good test results so we can continue our tour tomorrow.

We are bonding with our tour guide Sufian and our bus driver John. We tour members soon learned that Sufian is very knowledgeable and eager to share. I believe he is observing that tour members are eager listeners. After a delicious Israeli buffet dinner in Arad, we are ready for a good night’s rest, this time on a bed rather than an airplane seat.

“Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

All thirteen of us arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare, and all our sheaves of paperwork intact. It got a little confusing to figure out who needed to see which papers when.

Our flight was delayed more than an hour, but otherwise went very smoothly. Praise the Lord, we got through all the paperwork of customs and the PCR test. Now we’re on our bus heading South to Arad to our first hotel. Our bus driver is named John, and our guide is Sufian, both Palestinian Christians.