Christmas in Israel

One of the benefits of my job is having friends stationed around the world, making it easier to visit some great places while catching up with them.

My friend Rob is posted to Tel Aviv, and he kindly offered to let me stay at his place over Christmas weekend. How I could refuse? Even better, another friend or ours, Curtrice, was able to come as well, and the three of us traveled around Israel for three days.

This photo was taken at the Basilica of the Assumption in Nazareth. We were invited to attend the Christmas parade and service in Nazareth by the mission director, and I just thought he and his family were interested to attend the service on the special occasion. As it turned out, it was an official event, and the US ambassador to Israel was also there. I probably should have packed a nicer shirt.

It was interesting to attend a Catholic mass that was not delivered in English -- lots of Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish, and just a little English. The hard part was figuring out when to kneel and when to stand back up. This was also the first time I've ever seen white wine used in a service.