I had a question from someone about vaccines required for the trip, so I thought I’d check to make sure the requirements had not changed in the past year. I contacted the University of Louisville Travel Clinic and the Centers for Disease Control and they have not changed - there are NO requirements for any vaccines and you need NO documentation for your childhood vaccinations. However, there are reccomendations for health precautions. Here is the link to the CDC notices:

Israel Travel Requirements 

Egypt Travel Requirements

The only reason you may need any kind of vaccine documentation during our trip is if you have, or will be, traveling in a country where Yellow Fever is present. You would need proof of a Yellow Fever vaccine in that case only. The countries where this is an issue are sub-Saharan Africa and some parts of South America. 

Although yellow fever is not a disease risk in Egypt, the government requires travelers arriving from countries where yellow fever is present to present proof of yellow fever vaccination. If you will be traveling to one of these countries where yellow fever is present before arriving in Egypt, this requirement must be taken into consideration. See Yellow Fever Vaccine Requirements and Information on Malaria Risk and Prophylaxis, by Country for more information.

• Days to departure:

  19!

Over on the right hand column is a large link to emergency contact information - let your family know how to find it if they need to.

Everything else is on this website too - itinerary, hotels and hotel phone numbers, etc.

• Days to departure:

  20!

Here’s an article from the Jerusalem Post that may interest you:

 

Overseas visitors to Israel are set to reach a record 2.8 million in 2008, but Shamir attributes the growth in tourism to east Jerusalem to improved security and service and, of course, the historical interest of the sites, but more than anything to the progress in cleaning of the entire area within the walls.

• Days to departure:

  25!

Here’s a page of photos of some of the places we’ll visit. I’ve been looking at pictures like this since I came to know the Lord nearly 20 years ago - imagining what life was like, why it happened there and wondering if there is really something special about the place itself.

The view of Jerusalem is the history of the world; it is more, it is the history of earth and of heaven.
Benjamin Disraeli

• Days to departure:

  26!

We will arrive in Egypt at about 1:PM Monday afternoon and travel some 40 minutes to our hotel. Here’s a link to our hotel - the Pyamids Park Intercontinental resort. The rest of the day is at our leisure. Once we are settled in, we can visit some nearby shops or cafes if you wish.

I want to get an idea of how many of you want to take the dinner cruise on the Nile and see the light show at the pyramids. We’ll plan on one Monday evening and the other Tuesday evening.

These events are not included in our tour and must be purchased seperately. The cruise, which includes a buffet is about $70 to $80 depending on how many people are going and the light show appears to be about $45.

Drop me an email so I can get an idea of how many to expect. I’ll collect money at the commissioning service or at airport and make arrangements with the concierge once we check in.

• Days to departure: 33

Here’s a page of our pictures so we can start to put some faces on our travel companions.

The places we are going are significant in and of themselves, but spending 2 weeks together will be impactful too. Everyone I’ve talked to has a story of how they came to be on this trip. I’m guessing God has a story and a reason you’ve ended up here too and I’m sure He has something in mind for each of us to contribute.

Can’t wait to see what it is.

There are a few pictures missing - I’ll post them as soon as I get them and let you know they are up.

Click for a larger photo

     Victor Himbaugh                         Cheryl Himbaugh

    Mary Brumback                          Linda Johnston

   Terry Steiden                               Ronnie Caswell

       Don Bledsoe                               Derema Bledsoe

    Carey & Bonnie McDaniel

  Debbie Thomas                                  Judy Sapp

  Tammy Kotaska                               Donna Brandenburg

   Teresa Lundine                       Donna Cole

• Days to departure: 38

Here are some handouts from the meeting: Trip Information, Travel Checklists , Debbie’s Checklist

Commissioning  Service:  Saturday evening at 7:00 PM we’ll have a commissioning service at Forest Park for our group. Be sure to be packed in advance so you can enjoy a time of fellowship and prayer.

Daily Devotional: We’ll start out our day with a short devotion. Anyone that would be willing to give a devotion, please email me and I’ll give you a date for yours unless you have a specific day in mind. To end the day, we’ll have a share time as well – just a short reflection on the day from each person.

Special Services: We’ll have opportunities for some special service at different sites also; communion, baptism, worship, etc.

Travel Insurance: Check the previous post for more info. Travel insurance can cover a wide variety of things. You are not obligated to use this company, but we recommend you purchase some kind of insurance.

Health: Drink bottled water – our hotel foods will be prepared with purified water, so this should not be a problem, but we will encounter different foods that could cause some discomfort. Debbie and Dr. Bonnie Lazor recommend broad spectrum antibiotics if needed, but to avoid Imodium.

Also, to avoid gastric problems, it’s helpful to begin eating yogurt each day for the week before we leave – it has probiotics which help protect the stomach – if you don’t like yogurt, acidophilus tabs will do the same job.

I’m going to send you an email asking for a list of the medications you are taking, the name and phone # of your physician as well as a brief medical history. This information will not be shared with anyone of course, unless there is a medical emergency during the trip.

Money: Debbie suggests carrying cash in your passport wallet or money belt. Credit cards and debit cards are widely accepted. Getting cash from a machine will dispense local currecy, but your transaction will show in US dollars, so it’s good to know the exchange rate.

Call your credit card company to let them know you are traveling – they have been known to cut off cards being used in several different cities on successive days.

Clothing: Debbie says that for the most part, shorts are not acceptable for public touring and women should have their arms covered to below the elbow.  At the hotels, there is no “dress code”. Some sites will not even allow access to people not dressed appropriately.

Anyone not at the meeting, please feel free to contact some of the women that were there for clarification on any of these points – there was a lot of discussion about clothing options and I lost track after “no shorts”.

There are not many laundry options beyond washing something in the sink unless you want to pay the hotel an exorbitant fee. There will be hotel pools, possibly swimming in the Dead Sea and an opportunity for baptism in the Jordan, so bring a swimsuit or appropriate clothing for those occasions.

Beyond this, Debbie advises packing light, plan on washing out some things to re-wear, and to bring NOTHING but comfortable shoes or sandals.

Communication: Sim cards from your cell company are often unreliable, but you can contact them if you want to try it. What seems to be more effective is to rent or buy a “world phone” which can be used anywhere and charges you only for minutes used rather than buying a sim with minutes that you may not need and may not work. Here is one option: www.mobal.com.

Most of our hotels will have wifi so you can use your laptop and/or a computer center you can use for email.

Judy Sapp and I will both have a world phones for emergency contact – BE SURE to leave these numbers with your family in case they need to reach you. (I will send you these numbers at a later date). I will have a laptop with email access as well with a contact address for your family.

Checklist: Debbie provided this checklist in addition to the others here – there are a few extra items you may want to consider:

• washcloths - Debbie found some hotels in Israel did not provide them, 
• Bible – Duh!,
• Strong tape or cord - for broken suitcases, etc.,
• plastic bags,
• flashlight,
• sink stopper – to wash out clothes in the sink,
• pre-printed address labels for postcards – print them at home and just stick them on,
• laundry soap,
• flashlight – unlikely electrical outage,
• addresses,
• email addresses,
• journal & pen.

If you think of anything else, let us all know by replying to “reply all” from one of your emails.