Nov. 17, 2009 — A group of 33 Susanville locals got the chance to go to Israel for an intense 10-day journey through the Holy Land.   

“It wasn’t a trip that changed my faith at all,” said Bret Bengard, pastor of the Church of Susanville. “It was very confirming though to go to places and find things and see things that I’ve read about in a context.   

“That was probably the best thing about it because it gave a context that’d be hard to get unless you’ve been there and seen it. A lot of times you read things from the Scriptures and you understand the point but not having the surrounding context of the places and things of that nature, it’s hard to really understand what it was like,” said Bengard.   

Pastor Bruce Ingle of Gospel Tabernacle agrees.    

“We’ve read about these places and studied them all of our life and have even taught others about it, and to actually be there and being in the places where the Bible took place (was an incredible experience),” said Ingle. “When you’re at the Sea of Galilee, you’re right there on the shore and (Jesus) was right there on the shore. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.”   

The group was able to see old ruins that gave them a visual on what they have been reading for the better part of their lives.   

“There was a lot of old, old ancient ruins where the Bible took place and you’re actually walking right in that area,” said Ingle. “To be a pastor and to go there and see it, I think the difference it made for me was you read about those places, but you don’t know what they look like, where they’re at, what topography it has and after being there, when I read the city name, like Nazareth, I can picture it on the hill where it sits.   

“It just brings it out, how far places were from one another when you read about Jesus going from this place to that place or David going from this place to that place, you can picture how far they had to walk. It’s instant whenever I read the name of the city I’ve been to, I picture it and it just brings it right out so it’s easier to describe to people what it looked like, how far it was, how long it took them to travel, it just makes a difference. I think that’s the thing I drew away from most, the picturing it and knowing,” said Ingle.   

Some members were sponsored by the organization Ancient Pathway Tours which gives an opportunity for a hands-on religious education experience.   

“We went to a lot of archeological sites and that’s what Ancient Pathways does,” said Ingle. “It was basically for us pastors to go get an introduction to the land and as many people from the church who wanted to go.”   

The group traveled throughout Israel, seeing several significant sites in reference to the Bible.   

“We went to several traditional sites and started in Tel Aviv and went up to Elah Valley, which was a major pathway in the Bible days from coast to the mountains and whoever controlled that valley controlled the trade route and that’s the major road that goes to the Gaza Strip in Jerusalem,” said Ingle.    

“We got to see the site where David fought Goliath, they uncovered part of the old roadway that goes up there so we got to stop on that and see the rock roadway they had so it was kind of neat,” said Ingle.   

“We went into Bethlehem and to Jerusalem and we were able to spend four nights there and to go around that area. We went to the Jordan Valley where the Jordan River is and we toured the city and the sites there. Then we went three days and two nights in Galilee. And that was just amazing,” said Ingle.   

“Being baptized altogether was a neat experience because we’re all from different denominations all from different backgrounds so we all just joined hands and went down together in the Jordan River. That was one of my favorite experiences,” said Ingle.    

“In Jerusalem, we saw the old city of David and saw the Politzsolum. The Temple Mount, the Kidrin Valley between the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives where the Garden of Descendia is. There we got to sift through the debris and find old ruins,” said Ingle.   

“We went and saw where Peter lived, we saw some old synagogues,” said Ingle.   

“We went to Gilgal which was just uncovered not too long ago. Gilgal is where Israel entered the Promised Land with Joshua. They crossed the Jordan River and they camped at this place for three years before they went to Jericho and while they were there they brought 12 stones out of the river and set up a monument as a remembrance for future generations and at Gilgal they uncovered those stones. We got to actually pray right there and worship around those stones,” said Ingle.   

“I remember saying to Rick Hamm, okay this is convincing because it’s all obviously significant but how do we know that this is the spot and Hamm said down below is where the people would’ve camped and so when we were excavating we said if this is the spot we’d find evidence of their presence here in the flats not on the hillside where they worshipped,” said Bengard.   

“We asked the farmers if we could excavate some of their property and instead of finding pottery we found hundreds and hundreds of flint knives. And in the book of Joshua, it tells a story during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, circumcision didn’t become a sign of the convent but a sign of reproach and they didn’t circumcise any of the children born in the wilderness in those 40 years,” said Bengard.   

“One of the first instructions they had was take flint knives and circumcise all of your children born in the wilderness. The flint knives were nowhere else, they were just below the site and I said okay, I’m convinced,” said Bengard.   

“It’s definitely not a tour for the faint of heart. Not a touristy kind of tour, it was pretty intense,” said Bengard.   

The other people who attended the trip from Susanville are: Debbie Ingle, pastor Anthony and Cindy Loubet, Pastor Rick Conrad, Pastor Gregory and Karen Willett, Pastor Troy Stein, Pastor Allen Barger, Frederick and Patricia Arnold, Gregory and Denise Bera, Mary Dillon, William Dwinell, Darla Freeman, Carmen and Gayle Stra, Mollie Lambert and Lynn Spafford.