What a trip to Israel can mean to you

You will never be the same after you have taken a trip to Israel. The Bible will come alive for you like never before. A seeds will be planted that is like a gift that keeps on giving.

Over the years I have made many trips to Israel while leading tours and that often included my wife Patty and our three children Matt, Sarah and Rachel. As a matter of fact we had the privilege of living in Israel for three years. The first language my youngest daughter read and wrote was Hebrew in an Israeli public school.

Of all the memorable experiences we had, there is one that particularly stands out - and that was because it involved my whole family.

We were on a family outing just north of Tiberius beside the Sea of Galilee. I had climbed up on some rocks to set our camera on a tripod to get a picture of the whole family with the Sea of Galilee in the background. My plan was to set off the self-timer on the camera, jump down from the rocks and run in time be in place with the rest of the family when the camera clicked for a wonderful family picture.

Great idea, but it had some bad results - initially. As I jumped down from the rocks my foot got caught in a crevice between some rocks and my full weight came down on my severely twisted ankle. I thought I had broken my ankle. It certainly hurt like it was broken. And it began to swell immediately like it was broken. My wife and kid