2 pastors find conditions safe for trip to Israel

Conditions in Israel appear safe for Bishop Joel N. Martinez’s January Holy Land Tour.
That was the report from the Revs. Jerry Jay Smith of Canyon Lake and Mickey McCandless, pastor of Bracken UMC, Garden Ridge, earlier this month.
The two returned Oct. 8 from a preview trip to Israel. They went to the same spots Southwest Texas United Methodists are to visit with Martinez to evaluate the safety for future trips.
Those joining the bishop are to depart Jan. 15 from Corpus Christi, El Paso, Harlingen, Houston and San Antonio. During the 10-day trip, travelers are to visit Jerusalem, Nazareth and other sites in Israel.
“We found very safe conditions,” Smith said. “I didn’t have any anxious moments at all. I felt very secure.
“I was in New York the week before this trip, and I was more anxious there than I was in Israel. Even walking in downtown San Antonio, you’d want to avoid some areas. But we walked to the Western Wall with a guide one night, and they don’t even have street lights.”
Smith and McCandless joined eight other church representatives from around the United States for the expenses-paid trip. They visited Nazareth, Bethlehem and Jericho.
The group had to pass through checkpoints entering and exiting Bethlehem and Jericho, Smith said, but “they were minimal.” Officials boarded the buses and asked to see everyone’s passports.
When the pair ventured close to the Lebanese border, Smith said he expected to see bomb and rocket craters, but he didn’t.
“All the bombs and rockets that were sent in were aimed at presidential areas, not the places we went,” he said.
Smith and McCandless are visiting different areas throughout the conference to let people know that the bishop’s tour will be safe.
Registration deadline will probably be six weeks before the departure date—or Dec. 4, Smith said. Depending on departure city, costs for the trip range from $1,998 to $2,098.
Additional seven-day tours are available to Luxor and Cairo in Egypt.
For more information check www.eo.travelwithus.com.