Well, ladies and gents. Here we are again! I am officially in Israel once more!

For those have followed the blog for a while, you’ll recall I first came to the country back in 2019 and had a marvelous, enriching time. I had the desire to return again one day, but didn’t know if/when the opportunity would arise. Well, here we are, in the prodduct of opportunity!

The adventure began long before stepping foot in Israel however. It started two hours in to my six and a half hour drive from Fort Bragg to Rio on Saturday, the 29th.

I stopped for coffee and while in the drive thru, my engine started oveheating and smoking. The closest Jeep dealership’s service department was closed, but wouldn’t you know that there was a Cheverolet dealership right across the road from the Starbucks as I was at, their service department was open, and they were more than willing to see me to try to figure out what was going on (can I get a woot woot for the provision of the Lord?)!

They figured out what was probably the problem, but it was not going to be a same-day fix. So, I agreed to have them fix it, grabbed my already-prepped Israel bag, and left my belongings in my vehicle behind as I bought a flight that would land me in Columbus at midnight.

It was a whirlwind, but my parents sweetly picked me up from the airport and I got to spend time with them the following day before heading back to the airport for the first stint of the flight!

I met up with Dave, who should be familiar to long-time readers.

In short, I’ve known Dave since 2013 when I joined a Bible study he and his wife, Sandy, had been running on Rio’s college campus for decades. He and Sandy are very special people to me, as they are such examples of Godly people and have welcomed me into their lives as they follow Jesus and help others do the same. Sandy was also due to come on the trip, but a recent surgery meant that she would recover at home. I looked forward to time with both of them and so miss her dearly.

The first flight from Columbus to JFK was spent catching up with Dave and sharing with him about what life was like in NC. The second flight from JFK to Tel Aviv (the ten hour one) was spent mostly me trying to fight for sleep. It was a lot of on-and-off dozing, but it was better than my first trip to Israel, if memory serves.

We landed at 4:30p and made our way through customs to meet our friends on the other side!

There are so many sweet, familiar faces on this trip. Two of which should be very familiar from last summer, in particular!

We got to our hotel, ate our first Israeli meal, and nestled into where we’ll be calling home for the next few nights!

I spotted a mezuzah on our doorframe and decided to continue the tradition of documenting every one I see!

Even in writing this, within the borders of Israel, it doesn’t feel fully real that I’m here. Blame jet lag or the frog-jumping from one adventure to the next, but I look forward to the days ahead and being able to savor being back in one of my favorite places on Earth.