My Journey To The Holy Land

CEBU, Philippines - While I don’t normally make it a habit to write about my trips, I decided to share my four-day journey that has been a lifetime in the making – my visit to the Holy Land, Israel.  The trip brought tears to my eyes because finally, I was going to set foot in the land that I have only heard and read about in the Holy Bible.

I was privileged to be part of the delegation of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry Trade Mission to Tel-Aviv. Our party included Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, Provincial Board members Wilfredo Caminero and Peter John Calderon, provincial protocol officer Ronald Conopio, Philippine Honorary Consul to Israel Emily Benedicto-Chioson and her husband Consul Samuel, philanthropist Mariquitta Salimbangon-Yeung, Enrison Benedicto, other CCCI members and officers, Capitol consultant for television affairs Minerva Gerodias and Sunstar reporter Jujemay Awit.

We left Cebu via Korean Airlines and stayed at a transit hotel in Incheon, South Korea before switching planes to Tel-Aviv, the capital city of Israel.

I don’t quite know how to describe it but I felt God’s presence the moment we arrived in Tel-Aviv. It was almost 2:00 in the morning when we arrived at the Carlton Hotel. Although tired from the long journey, we had to prepare for our trip to Massada, through the desert along a road that runs parallel to the Dead Sea. Along the way I saw nomads and, for the first time, a camel.

It was almost lunchtime when we arrived in Massada. The sun was high in the desert sky and it was getting fairly warm. To save us from a 45-minute hike, we purchased cable car tickets for 50 shekels. The Massada is on top of a mesa in the range of mountains that surround the Dead Sea and the breathtaking view of the Negev desert. Massada is famous for the mountain of Moab and the ruins of the Palace of King Herod. It is also the place where Jewish people, during the first century, chose to die rather than let their wives be raped and their children forced into slavery by the Romans.

Our next stop was the Dead Sea, one of the world’s saltiest bodies of water with 33.7 percent salinity. It was 46 degrees Celsius when we got there but the heat did not dampen my excitement.  I rushed to touch the waters of the Dead Sea and saw many people swimming, well actually floating, there. According to the Bible, the Dead Sea was a place of refuge for King David.

The following day, we toured the City of Jerusalem. Our tour guide talked about the Biblical and the historical story of Israel for more than two hours. The talk was really interesting because it was about the origins of the Palestinian problems, covering such topics as the West Bank and the original partitioning of Palestine by the UN, among others. It was a fascinating lesson on the origins and current political situation in Israel. 

Along the way, our tour guide reminded us to prepare our passports because security is very tight in Palestine. The tour guide, who was Jewish, told us she could not enter Palestine with us and we were met by another tour guide, a Palestinian, before entering Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is a beautiful city surrounded by glorious walls. It is the actual place where the Judaism, Christianity and Islam converge. The Palestinians were able to preserve the old Jerusalem and it was very inspiring to visit the many places that are important to us Christians.

We visited the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, which is a major Christian holy site because this is one of the oldest surviving Christian churches. There we found the tomb where children were killed during the time of King Herod. We also managed to enter the oldest standing church in the Holy Land, originally built by Constantine’s mother in the 4th century. Emperor Justinian rebuilt the current structure in the 530s. It was apparently spared destruction from the Persians in 614 A.D. because the invaders saw the depictions of the Magi on the walls.  Local Muslim-Christian friendship is believed to be the reason why the church was not destroyed during al-Hakim’s rule in 1009. Then we arrived at the place where Jesus was born. I could not help but touch the ground, while the others kneeled and prayed.

Not far from the Church of the Nativity was another holy Christian site, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the location of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection. We took a short walk to Golgotha, or what is known as Calvary to the people there. I was really amazed that I was in the area where Jesus was crucified. The rock where the Cross stood was encased in bullet-proof glass and had a fence. Many people were queuing to kiss the glass. Teary-eyed, I whispered a sincere “thank you Lord for saving me.”

A few meters away stood the tomb where Jesus was buried. There was also a limestone table nearby where His body was laid. I so wanted to go inside the tomb but there were hundreds of people lined up there that we decided to forego seeing the area. Remembering the passage from the Bible, “He is not here, he is risen,” I touched the side of the doorway and kept thinking that this is the opening through which they placed the body of my Lord. 

Our next stop for the day was the Western Wall, or what is more popularly known as the “Wailing Wall.” It is the last remains of the Second Temple and is the most sacred Jewish site in the world that stands today. It was Sabbath when we went there, so we are not allowed to take a photo of the Wall. We were required to cover our heads with paper provided by the authorities there. I touched the wall and prayed. Then, Enrison Benedicto and I went into the Rabbi’s tunnel.  The Rabbi’s tunnel was excavated alongside the Western Wall. This is a favored site for prayer because the Rabbis believe that it is actually closer to the original Holy of Holies of the temple.  Inside is a library of prayer books and other religious books that appear to be available for people who want to use them. There were also many arks that contained scrolls. 

Just below the Western Wall was the Dome of the Rock, which is widely believed to be the actual location of the Holy of Holies.

Visiting Jerusalem will not be complete without passing by the Garden of Gethsemane, a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives, the place where Jesus and his disciples prayed the night before Jesus’ crucifixion. Some of the trees there are so old that it is possible that they were actually there during the time that the Messiah was there. I even saw the actual rock where Jesus prayed.

Before leaving Jerusalem, we stopped by the city market and checked the items on sale there – religious souvenirs, ceramics, jewelry and clothes. I could not help but choose a few items to remind me of my visit.

We left Jerusalem at around 5:00 in the afternoon. I would like to thank Philippine Ambassador to Israel Petronila P. Garcia for accommodating us and for the CCCI for such an opportunity. I felt a certain kind of fulfillment for being able to visit the Holy Land. I am grateful that I was able to fulfill a long held dream.