Tada! Israel. Mhm, here I is (recovering from jet-sickness) but nevertheless sane and in my right mind. Thank the Lord for a smooth entrance into the country. I was stopped before getting to passport control and questioned, but provided satisfactory answers to the security guard who had stopped me. It was still a little nerve wracking, but I had a sense of peace throughout the whole process. After all, if God wanted me here, He'd clear the way.
I must say it sure was nice to see a smiling face in the form of Ms. L.A. once I had procured my duffel bag from the proverbial circling baggage claim (I wonder if such a thing as a different patterned baggage claim even exists...? Oh well). She had graciously come down to help me navigate my way via the Israeli bus system (I might have been able to figure out what was going on, but it was much nicer to have somebody else bearing that responsibility for me after my flight). It did turn out to be a bit of a challenge. First of all, we walked out of the airport on the wrong floor and found out that buses don't even depart from the third level of the pick-up area (note to anyone else coming over. The bus departs from the 2nd level of the parking pick-up area). Next, after waiting for the city bus that would take us out to the main route headed for Jerusalem, we wended our way around the airport for what seemed like ten minutes! It might have actually been that amount of time. L checked with that bus driver and he dropped us off at what he TOLD us was the correct pick-up point for bus 947 to Jerusalem. But for some strange reason, the bus sign did not have that numbered bus as one of its frequenters. So L became a little suspicious and finally asked an IDF soldier. He informed her that we were at the wrong place and pointed her to the right one. We were at the correct junction, but pointed the wrong direction.
Bus 947 took an eternity to come (it was most definitely late!) according to the schedule which it was supposed to be running on. Finally, to top it all off, on our way up the steep hills heading into Jerusalem, the bus broke down! It had pulled off at a stop before cresting the hill and heading down and it couldn't go any further. It started, but when the bus tried to engage in drive, it stalled and died. Wonder of wonders though it had miraculously stalled at the very stop we would have gotten off at if we were going to have walked to Moza Illit! God definitely knew what He was doing with that one. So L and I began trudging our way up and then down to the house with her parents coming along behind in their vehicle. We could have stopped and waited, but I figured we might as well walk as far as we could get before they picked us up. They did for the last half-a-mile or so and voila, we were there! I'm sorry this has been abysmal in it's descriptive quality, but I'm feeling more in descriptive mode than story mode. I'm sure you'll manage.
The evening held meeting of new friends, connecting via the internet with home, showering, eating, and finally making my way to bed about 8 p.m. All told it was a God blessed day and I'm safely in God's land!
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