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 kids ran to my side to give what ever help they could, but I couldn't even stand on my foot because of the pain.  This is just great, now what am I going to do?

It was my thirteen year old son Matt that came to the rescue. "Dad," he said, "you know Jesus walked on this water and did all kinds of miracles around here. Why don't we just go put your foot in the Sea of Galilee and see if Jesus won't heal you?" "Why not," I said, "let's do it."

What happened? You guessed it. After leaving my foot immersed in the water for about fifteen minutes, the swelling had gone down and I could stand with the full weight of my body on my "bad" foot. No, I didn't walk on water but I'm here to tell that there was a faster than normal recovery from what, if not a break, was certainly a serious sprain.

Today, whenever I read Matthew 14:22-32, where Jesus walked on the waters of the Galilee, I remember his gracious intervention in my life and what a testimony it was to my children.

Things like that happen when you go to Israel. Don't wait. Let Travelujah help make it happen for you and your family.

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Dr. James M. Hutchens is the founder and senior pastor of Christ Church of Arlington in Arlington, Virginia, a congregation of The Presbyterian Church in America. He is an ordained minister in the Potomac Presbytery where he formerly served as Moderator. Dr. Hutchens has been involved in academia throughout much of his ministry. He served as Chaplain to the Institute of Holy Land Studies in Jerusalem, Israel, and on its faculty in Biblical Studies. He served as Chaplain to his alma mater, Wheaton College, as well as on the faculty as assistant professor of New Testament Studies. He has served on the faculty of Chesapeake Theological Seminary in Columbia, Maryland and on the National Lewis University (Northern Virginia) Advisory Board. He has been a member of various civic and religious organizations, including Rotary International. In addition he serves as President and Chairman of the Board of Christians for Israel (USA) and Editor of its newspaper, The Jerusalem Connection. He also authors a daily (Monday to Friday) email entitled Dateline: Heaven (see http://www.datelineheaven.com)