David Trimner

This is the lowest I have ever been. Consider, when you are swimming in the ocean, you are, at most, a few feet below sea level. Well the surface of the Dead Sea is 1,378 feet below sea level. It is more than 8 times more salty than ocean water. and it tastes terrible. I mean, really really bad. You bob in it like a cork, which is fun for about 15 minutes. Then the salt begins to burn your eyes, burn your nose, and mildly sting your skin. You get out thinking 'That was fun, and I feel great, but I don't ever feel the need to do it again." In caves nearby, ancient scrolls were discovered which included fragments of every book of the Bible except Esther (and Nehemiah, depending on who you believe). ... read more

Imagine the widow's grief when her only son dies. To be left with no husband and no son, this was devastating. The townsfolk carry her son's body outside the city to be buried at the graveyard pictured here. But the funeral procession did not complete its journey that day. While we may imagine the widow's grief, we cannot imagine her joy at what happens next. A Teacher is approaching the city with some of his followers. He approaches the widow, and kindly tells her to stop weeping. Then, addressing the dead boy, he commands in a firm voice "Get Up!" At that, the boy sits up! The Teacher gives the boy to his mother, and proceeds on his way. Word is spread far and wide, "A Great Prophet walks among us." In the video above, you ... read more

This is the furthest I have ever been from my home, and the longest I have been away from family and friends. I greatly enjoy the comments from those who visit this page, it helps ease the loneliness I feel. Please, if you are reading this, leave a comment!... read more

The city of Megiddo controls several vital land routes for travelers between Europe, Asia, and Africa. By one estimate, a city has been built here, destroyed, and rebuilt 25 times! Although no city exists here now, the plain is still a strategic battlefield. Genghis Khan's army marched all the way here from Mongolia in an attempt to reach North Africa, but here they were defeated by the Mamelukes. As recently as 1948, the final defeat of the Arabs by the Jews took place here. Indeed a fitting symbol for God's final war on his enemies. On our drive through the valley, we stopped at the Gas Station of Megiddo, where some of us used the Bathrooms of Megiddo. I purchased some Pringles of Megiddo, and a Nestea of Megiddo. Apocalyptic! (Sorry, that was bad. But it ... read more

(The following is slightly tongue-in-cheek, so spare me the aggrieved comments.) Why do so many American travelers feel the need to denigrate their own country? "I'm sorry, I'm just a dumb American, I don't speak your language or understand your culture." Translation: "I'm sorry, American's are just a bunch of beer drinking rednecks who watch NASCAR all day. Not ME, of course, I speak 3 languages (not yours) and am highly civilized. But for the rest of them, I deeply apologize." Now, I am not exactly a world traveler (Canada, Mexico, Italy, Jordan, Israel, and the Caribbean), but I do live in a city that allows me to observe visitors and immigrants from every corner of the earth, and here is what I see: LANGUAGE: Foreigners learn English, plain and simple. No one need apologize for ... read more

Today we were up with the dawn, passing through security, and before we knew it, we were standing on the Temple Mount. In the sky above our heads, 3,000 years ago, a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night indicated the presence of Jehovah. Under the Golden Dome lies the peak of Mount Moriah, the rock where the Ark of the Covenant lay within the Most Holy, where Abraham likely bound Isaac for the sacrifice, and where tradition says Adam was created at the very center of the Universe. Ok, I don't know about all that, but this is was, for many many generations, the very center of true worship, and symbolic of heaven itself. That is enough to make anyone tremble. Jesus himself visited here, throwing out the money changers ... read more