On Wednesday morning, the wake-up call came at 6:00am, left for breakfast and put bags in the hallway by 7:00am, and the group was scheduled to depart at 7:45am. Breakfast was interesting. It was the first of many Israeli buffets consisting of many familiar and unfamiliar items. For the traditionalists, there were eggs, cereal, yogurt, fruit, etc. For the adventurers, there were barely recognizable eggs, other unknown dishes, and plenty of bagels and lox. It appeared that most stayed with the "safe" dishes for the first day. While everyone was claiming their luggage, I spotted computers in the hotel lobby with free Internet. I quickly went over to check my Fantasy Football scores from Sunday, and to set my teams for this coming week.
The bus pulled out of Tel Aviv (the "City of Springs" with a population of 500,000) by 8:00am and we started the day by learning a few Hebrew terms: boker tov means "good morning;" toda means "thank you;" and shalom means "peace, but can also be used for "hello" and "goodbye." After the language lesson, we learned about the Israeli military. Every Israeli man is required to enlist from ages 18-21, women 18-20, and all remain in the reserves until age 46. The only exemptions are for Hasidic Jews, and no Arabs are permitted to serve in Israel's military!
We soon arrived at Joppa (written and pronounced Jaffa in Israel). Jaffa means "beautiful" and is best known as the place Jonah tried to flee from God, and boarded a ship heading to Tarshish. We also read about Tabitha (Dorcas), Peter, and Simon the Tanner in Joppa. We visited St. Peter's Church, built on the location of Simon the Tanner's house and had a very interesting experience. With people sitting in the pews waiting for mass to start, our group leader paid the priest to delay the service and allow us to meet in there for a brief service. The priest took the money and delayed the Catholic service so the Baptists could meet. That gained a few chuckles from those who realized what had occurred.
Read more & see pictures of Tel Aviv, Joppa , and St. Peter's church at http://www.bibleplaces.com/joppa.htm
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