briefing

It was the longest tour briefing I've ever had -- 3.5 hours!

As imagined, the pastor has presented about Israel, covering history from the time of Abraham to recent years, political situation, religion, etc. Each of us was also given a booklet (like those camp book), a Holyland travel book and a 文千歲 VCD. The booklet has 100+ pages and we are expected to bring it to the trip. There are many songs and detailed information about the places we will visit. It is very informative.

The group would have about 110 members and will sing Christmas carols on the Christmas Eve in Jerusalem. The pastor told us that Israelites do not celebrate Christmas (of course) so we won't feel much Christmas mood there. Hope that our carolling can bring Jesus to those who are willing to open up their hearts.

The weather would be very dry with temperature between 0-29℃. For a 15-day trip, there will be quite a bit to pack. But we were told to keep our baggage as compact as possible due to the limited space for storage on the coaches. huummmm... that's challenging...