Israel

Plans for 2022

January 2, 2022 by Joel Thornton

I am getting ready to head to Greece. It wasn’t my plan to travel to Greece. We are sitting here at the beginning of 2022 still staring at the Coronavirus pandemic that will not go away. Four times I have cancelled a trip to Israel because the Israelis government has closed the country to outsiders.

I was scheduled to be in Israel this coming week; instead, in the next few months I am traveling to Greece with a small group of pastors to pray for strategy in the fight against sex trafficking. We are doing a Steps of Paul tour and spending time in strategic meetings and prayer.

This has been a frustrating time for all of us. Businesses shut down, travel shut down, new rules every other week. How do we navigate the pandemic and how do we know what is true and what is not? How do we trust the science when we are told not to question the science? I have been trying to get back to Israel for over six months.

I am fully vaccinated and ready to travel. Anyone who knows me knows that I am always ready to go on the road. I would have been a rock star but for my inability to write inspiring music and play at a professional level. Instead, I travel without fanfare. I bring groups of people on the trip of a lifetime. I get to experience the same places through the new eyes of a first-time traveler. That is fun.

I am going back to Israel in June if the country opens up. I will be taking 30 of my new closest friends with me. It will be exciting. In the meantime, I will be in Greece following the Apostle Paul through the first days of Christianity in Europe. Then I hope to do a Christmas Market Tour of France, Germany, and Austria in December this year.

Whatever this year brings I will face it. If I don’t travel internationally, it will not be for the lack of trying.

Safety, Always a Concern, Never an Issue

May 3, 2020 by Joel Thornton

Many people never travel abroad because of the fear of the unknown. I do not let that happen. I believe that, if we do our homework and take some easy precautions, we can avoid troubles while abroad and still enjoy traveling.

My family and I were living in Strasbourg, France on September 11, 2001. We sat in our apartment and watched the World Trade Center Towers come tumbling down. I knew that this one event would change how we travel for years to come if not forever. Tensions rose in Europe, as did anti-Semitism.

Not long after, we began to see refugees streaming into Europe unchecked, mostly from the most troubled areas of the Middle East. This changed the dynamic of Europe fairly drastically. And yet the world still spins on its axis.

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Dispatches from Israel, number one

May 2, 2020 by Matthew Finstein

Hello, my name is Matthew Finstein, I’m a registered tour guide here in the land of Israel. I’m working exclusively with Joel and P33 Adventures right here in Jerusalem and throughout the land of Israel.

I cannot wait to welcome you and your families to this wonderful land, especially in this time of year, the beautiful scenery, the beautiful flowers, the wonderful atmosphere, the air which surrounds this holy land.

Right now Israel is closed because of COVID-19, but we will soon be open for business. Over the next few days I’m filming with Sar-El, right here in Jerusalem, some videos that show the beauty of this land.

The Garden Tomb, a Brief Moment Forever Etched in History

April 18, 2020 by Joel Thornton

Imagine walking into the tomb that is possibly the tomb Jesus walked out of when he was raised from the dead! You cannot imagine the emotion, the vibrant life you feel standing there, contemplating the moment of the resurrection and everything that has followed it. This is one of the pivotal points of all human history. This simple site is one of the most touching sites in all of Israel. We typically end our tours here because it gives you plenty to take home.

While in the Garden Tomb you will see a site that could well be the hill where Jesus was crucified. You will have communion with your travel companions as this is a place of contemplation. Take a few minutes and sit overlooking the tomb. Relive the history that is found here. Imagine what has led us to this point, a gruesome crucifixion that is forever marked in history. The fear and anxiety of his followers in the days leading up to the crucifixion. The agony of seeing Jesus dead. The horror of burying your friend.

What I Carry With Me When I Travel Internationally

April 18, 2020 by Joel Thornton

Often the hardest part of any trip is deciding what to carry. There are a multitude of decisions that have to be made. There are also a multitude of questions that we have to know the answer to before we can make the decisions necessary for the trip to be successful. First, remember that you are not traveling to a third world country—unless of course, you are traveling to a third world country. Even then, there are many things you can buy locally rather than packing.

The most important thing to remember is to pack light. Rick Steves, the budget travel guru, says that he has never heard an experienced traveler say, “I wish I had carried more stuff with me.” Or something like that. I find that the more I travel the less I think I need to take. I have also found it valuable—on the keep things light side—to keep my wife out of the room while I am packing. She wants to add clothes that I know I will not be wearing. I usually humor her and unpack after she moves on to her next task.

I travel heavier than most people. I am an insulin dependent person who has recently had open heart surgery. I do not let those obstacles keep me from traveling, but I do carry more supplies than the average person because of the medicines, needles, etc. that I use on a daily basis.