Finally we have come to the promised Holy Land. This is a journey that is nothing or anything that we had or will ever experience. We had walked vicariously in the footsteps of so many of history's greats. As we visited the places, we have always imagined that we were there as those great pages of history were unfolding. We have marched with Napoleon along Champs élysées. We have breached the great walls of China. We explored the Baltic Sea with the Vikings. We have seen the opulence of the Russian Czars. We stood with the pharaohs amidst the pyramids and along the endless ocean of sands . We have seen the gladiators fight to death in the roman arenas. We sailed through the frozen waters of Alaska and endured the biting cold through the glaciers in the North.
We were with Hannibal as he passed through the Swiss alps and watched Alexander the Great stretching his vast empire from Greece to Egypt. We communed with the greek gods at Parthenon. We could still see the mayans among the ruins figuring the end of times through the alignment of stars. We marvelled at Michaelangelo while he was painting the Sistine chapel. We saw the great Masters of Arts congregating at the Louvre. We saw the sun dancing in the sky as we witnessed the apparition in Fatima. We were awed by the magnificence of the Benedictine monastery as we visited with the black Madonna of Montserrat. We bathed in the water flowing from the spring coming from the grotto of Massabielle in Lourdes. We went also looking for most likely a long lost relative (as mahilig din kami sa dinuguan) Count Dracula in Transylvania but no where to be found. We heard of Tarzan so we braved the jungles of Africa but saw only the big 5 animals in a Safari although Becky managed to mark her territory there. We watched the Nazis tried to seize power in a beer hall putsch in Munich. We were horrified to hear the cries from the gas chambers in Auschwitz. We were fascinated by the Samurai as we walked through the grounds of the Edo Castle.
We have seen or actually imagined meeting many of the creators of history and greatest minds in the nooks and corners of the world. But nothing compares to what is before us. We just arrived in Tel Aviv and currently staying at the Herod's hotel right along the Mediterranean Sea. This journey tops them all! This is the mother of all journeys as we will be walking where our Lord Jesus walked. We will be breathing the same air He breathed. We could be seeing and touching the very things He did. We feel blessed already just stepping into the very land of His birth. We shall be retracing every footstep he had including those of Abraham, Moses, Jacob, king David. We shall surely come back much better sharing the good news. This was the only one our hearts desired. Nothing else compares. We are home with the Lord
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