FRUITLAND PASTORS INSPIRED BY TRIP TO HOLY LAND

FRUITLAND -- What type of gift to give their pastor(s) is a traditional quandary for church congregations. The membership of Covenant Christian Center found a unique way to honor and show oppression to their pastors recently.

The congregation sent pastors Terry and Janice Culberson on an all expenses-paid 11-day trip to Israel last month. The trip fulfilled a dream Terry Culberson had held since age 19 in Bible college, 36 years earlier."We never thought we'd be able to go," Janice Culberson said. "It was a miracle that it worked out like it did. It took someone canceling a reservation at the last minute to make it possible."Two weeks before they left, the Culbersons were in Michigan. They received a call that their church wanted to send us to the Holy Land."By the time we got back from Michigan, we had six days to get ready," Janice said. " It seemed like the next day we were standing in customs at Tel Aviv, wondering how we got there. We got there late and woke up the next morning in a beautiful hotel on the Mediterranean. Then it was one great adventure after another."They left Nov. 8 and enjoyed a remarkably smooth 11 days. "Everything went so smoothly, I know everyone (back home) was praying for us," Janice said."It was very informative," Terry said. "All those years I've studied the Bible, it's been two-dimensional -- a flat page of print. When you're actually there, you see a third dimension. It made the Bible come live in a whole new way because I've been there. It's almost like a children's pop-up book. It seems so real now -- an entirely new perception.""It's definitely a plus to any Bible teacher," Janice agreed.

The couple got more than the garden variety tour."Most tourists see about one-third of what we saw," Terry said."We had a great tour guide who was a Christian and knew the Bible well," Janice said. "That made the trip that much more interesting."The couple was baptized in the Jordan River and enjoyed a night time tour of Jerusalem. They also went on a desert safari and visited many churches and toured a diamond factory. Their last night they dined with the president of the Israel Ministry of Tourism. Other key sites they saw included the Red Sea; the Dead Sea; the Sea of Galilee; the Golan Heights; the Wailing Wall; the Garden of Gethsemane; two of the three possible tombs where Jesus was laid; the holding cell beneath the high priest's home where scholars believe Christ was held and beaten before being delivered to Governor Pontius Pilate; Golgotha site of the crucifixion; Mt. Carmel, where Elijah battled the Baal priests; the area where Elijah was fed by ravens; the "wilderness" area where David hid from Saul; Mt. Ebal, where God showed Moses the Promised Land from a distance; and the site of the future Battle of Armageddon."To think you were at the sites where some of these things took place was very moving," Terry reflected.

Mt. Ebal was a moving experience for the Culbersons and other visitors."To think that Moses came that close (to the Promised Land), but could never enter, was kind of an emotional moment," Terry said."There was a lot of weeping," Janice added.

The couple recommends visiting the Middle East, where they insist they felt completely safe, despite the continual presence of armed guards."Lots of people are afraid to go, but they treat the tourists so good," Janice said. "The Muslims would do nothing to hurt tourists; that's their number one source of income. They do everything and anything to make tourists feel comfortable.""I never felt intimidated," Terry said. "I never felt any fear at all. The only tension is between Jews and Muslims -- not with tourists."They all know English," Janice noted. "They take it from fourth grade, up. You an communicate with anyone."The nation of Jordan is now open to tourists and the Culbersons found it also inviting."You can tell they're new to tourism," Janice said. "They're still learning the ropes, but everyone was friendly. Hillary and Chelsea Clinton had just been there and were greeted warmly."The couple, naturally, is extremely grateful to the church and intends to share as much of the experience as possible with it."We would never have been able to do this," Janice said. "Our people wanted us to go. Their love and generosity made it possible. We tried to learn everything we could, see everything we could and photograph everything we could, so we could come back and share it."Terry quipped that Janice "yellow-marked Israel" with a giant highlighter.

The Culbersons will be sharing their trip with members of the congregation and interested visitors tonight at 6 p.m. at Covenant Christian Center, including videos, slides, photos and momentous.