One minute I’m sitting on a plane at Sydney Airport...19 hours later, I’m in Egypt, the beginning of my pilgrimage of ‘The Exodus Journey’.

This is one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life and to be doing this particular pilgrimage at only 19, retracing the footsteps of our Lord, Jesus Christ through the Holy Lands is absolutely amazing.

I was a bit hesitant at first to go on this pilgrimage as I would be the only person my age going, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised that I wasn’t going to let something as petty as that stop me from taking this once in a life time opportunity.

We stepped out of Cairo airport and it was just so hot. The air was humid and made it hard to breath. We then hopped onto our bus which took us to our Giza hotel, and by the mercy of God, there was a pool! The rest of the afternoon was free for leisure, to settle in, relax and prepare ourselves to see the pyramids and sphinx tomorrow!

Tonight after dinner, we went to see the sound and light spectacular of the pyramids and sphinx, a sort of show with a voice over explaining the history of these landmarks and lights to make the show look good, however it was a bit of a disappointment.

Lisa scales up her assessment of the size of the Pyramids!

It’s one thing to learn about them in Ancient History during my senior years at high school, but it’s like a whole other world seeing them right there in front of you.

Oh, and was I wrong about the pyramids being small last night! They are huge!

Driving up the road to the pyramids the sky was a bit hazy with dust but I could still see how big they were.

Then, we walked right up to the bottom of the base of the biggest pyramid. One stone alone was massive, I tried to imagine these huge stones being moved by slaves and how the hands of man could have built such a structure even without the technology we have now.

Unfortunately, we were unable to go inside the pyramids but going to see the Sphinx and taking photos made up for it.

Our last stop for the day was the Abu Serga Church. This is the place where the Holy Family took refuge whilst in Egypt.

The famous Egyptian Museum.

This morning we visited the world famous Egyptian Museum.

As we were pulling up to the museum, the line of people waiting to get in stretched pretty far and this was before the museum was even open. God was once again looking after us as we got to skip the line and go straight in as we had pre booked tickets.

Stepping into the museum, I could see Egyptian artefacts past the crowd of people and could not wait to get a closer look! Our tour guide took us around giving us a lecture on the artefacts we passed. It was one thing to learn about Ancient Egypt in Ancient History during senior years, to see pictures in my textbook and photos, but it was an entirely different thing to see the full pieces in front of me that existed in a civilisation thousands of years ago! I was beyond excited and just couldn’t get over that I was seeing all of it. We looked at sarcophagi, ancient hieroglyphics, statues of pharaoh’s and queens which were huge when I didn’t even stand at half their leg.

We also looked at the treasures of Tutankhamun and all the items (and my goodness there was enough to fit in a couple of houses) that were found in his tomb. It made me think how thankful I am again that we have eternal life with God after this world and materials such as those found in Tutankhamun’s tomb aren’t necessary.

Coptic Orthodox Church of St Mary

Coptic Orthodox Church of St Mary.

We then proceeded to say daily Mass at St Joseph’s Church which was absolutely beautiful.

Following Mass, we went to the Coptic Orthodox Church of St Mary where more than 250,000 people witnessed apparitions of Our Lady. We watched a bit of a DVD about the apparitions and had an opportunity to pray in the Church.

To finish off the day, we went to the Khan El Khalili Bazaar, the market place.

Our first warning from the guide: “Don’t look the vendor’s in the eye”, and boy was she right, every shop tried to get me to buy something telling me to come to their store, we even got bombarded by coffee shop owners all at once trying to get us to sit at their cafe.

Fit for a pharoah...the Pharoah's Baths along the journey from Egypt to Sinai

This morning we packed our bags to leave the city of Cairo and follow the journey Moses and the Israelites took to Sinai. When we got on the bus, our tour guide told us the trip would take about seven hours including rest stops.

Boy, was that the biggest example of 'Egyptian Time' -  it took us about 11 hours including stops! I learnt then to always add on an hour or two extra to whatever time he gave us.

Driving through such barren, deserted land and seeing how long it took us to drive the path Moses and the Israelites took; I could only imagine what it was like for them to walk that length of their journey.

Along the way, we stopped at Moses’ Spring, where Moses turned the bitter water into sweet water and also the Pharoah’s Baths, where sulphurous waters of the thermal springs come up from underground and go out to the sea.

Breaking bread with the Beduine

Days of unleavened bread...Lisa's visit to the Beduine tribe.

Their land was beautiful and lifestyle simple. Logs to sit on and making bread over the fire, it was wonderful and a humbling experience, I would have even liked to stay there a bit longer.

Lisa (left) and a fellow pilgrim atop Mt Sinai.

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Top of the morning, top of the world

Lisa alights her 'ride' at Mt Sinai.

About six of us met at the bus to be taken to the base of Mt Sinai. At this time it wasn’t too cold at all. We were taken by our Mountain Guide to the camels where one by one, we got put on a selected camel. Now, I’ve been on horses before where my legs and so on hurt after a little white, but after half a second of sitting on this camel I was already in pain! I held onto the saddle pretty tight as the camel slowly stood up, it was high than I thought.

The camel took us two thirds of the way up. Looking around me as the camel was walking the track, the sight was beautiful, we were just lost in these rocky mountains, tall, steep and stretching further than I could see. I think it was that moment when I actually looked around to take in my surroundings that it really hit me. I’m retracing the footsteps Moses took to the top of Mt Sinai where he received the Ten Commandments from God!

In my mind, I was just in absolute awe. My reflection of this carried me through a fair part of the journey. We hopped off the camel to walk the last third of the way up the steps. We reached the top, set up our blanket and less than an hour later we were watching the beautiful sun rise over the horizon.

Sitting at the top of Mt Sinai watching the sun rise where Moses had once been, it was just unbelievable! We walked all the way back down the mountain which surprisingly wasn’t as tiring as I thought and made it back to the base at about 8am.

Burning Bush at St Catherine Monastery

Burning Bush at St Catherine Monastery.

After breakfast, we went to St Catherine Monastery where the burning bush could be seen. We continued our journey to our resort at Taba on the Red Sea. Here, the rest of the afternoon was at leisure and we spent it well snorkelling in the Red Sea.

Today we packed our bags, took one last look at the Red Sea from our hotel balcony and headed for the city of Petra in Jordan!

Now, before I explain the gruelling double border crossing into Jordan I must advise of one rule which Fr Warren gave at our first daily mass on pilgrimage:

"There is to be No Complaining”.

Boy, was that rule broken today! To get from Egypt into Jordan, we had to cross the border from Egypt into Israel, then from Israel into Jordan. As most people would be aware Egypt and Israel don’t get along, so crossing the border from Egypt to Israel was very strict and for lack of a better word, ridiculous. Passports were checked by people only 20 metres apart, nine out of 10 suitcases were searched; I even had my passport taken off me for a security and drug check! Is it because I was the only one with a New Zealand passport or do I really look like a drug user?

Goodness knows how long it was till we finally passed through ‘no man’s land’ from Israel into Jordan! And my goodness, the land of Israel and Jordan were beautiful!

Lisa live from  the Petra Treasury.

I didn’t really read the itinerary for today properly and I just thought our activity was going to take about half the day then we’d have something on in the afternoon.

Our destination for today was the Ancient Ruins of Petra! It is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World - and doesn't it deserve to be!

The place is mind blowing and amazing. Myself and a few others rode a horse to the entrance of the ruins then walked with the group having a guided tour.

The walls of the ruins were so high above us (creating merciful shade!) and I just felt like I was in a completely different time.

Lisa-ana Jones and the Last Crusade

Bishops Cathedral and Tombs of the Kings at Petra.

The first main monument on the hike was Al Kasne also known as the Treasury where part of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed!

After lunch came a “guided tour” by Fr Warren up to the mountains where we ended up at the Byzatine church which housed remains of beautiful mosaics.

Following this was a breathless walk to the Cathedral of the Bishop and burial chambers of the Kings which were carved out of the cliff face.

Mt Nebo.

I packed my bag this morning (can’t be bothered to pack the night before) and boarded the bus, leaving behind us the beautiful city of Petra. There was a fair bit of travelling to get to the Dead Sea but the trip was broken up by some amazing stops and sites. First stop on the way was the Jordanian Grand Canyon which was a breathtaking view standing on the side of the road.

Following this was the site where St John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded called Mukawir. We sat at a lookout where we could see the site atop the big hill.

Before daily Mass at Mt Nebo we stopped to see a precious 6th Century mosaic map of the Holy Land at St Georges Church, Madaba.

Walking up the gravel covered drive way to the top of Mt Nebo where Moses died, my surroundings were just so serene, so calm and peaceful. It felt like somewhere you could just escape to pray in peace. To be standing at the site where Moses blessed Joshua who was to lead the Israelites under God’s protection made it that much better!

We then travelled to our next hotel to meet up with another 18 pilgrims who would join our group to the Holy Land.

Faith and hope float

Lisa live from the Dead Sea

After a long day, we arrived at our hotel located on the shore of the Dead Sea! I’ve heard before that it’s an amazing experience to float in the Dead Sea, but amazing doesn’t even begin to describe it. It really is something to have to experience for yourself. Now when they say “float”, they mean “FLOAT”! It was harder to stand up than it was to float, it was like I was totally weightless, and there was just so much buoyancy in the water.

Lisa (right) and Rouse Hill Parish piligrm Selina by the Jordan River.

The now-dry site of Jesus' baptism at the Jordan River.

We came first to Bethany Beyond the Jordan where the five springs for a branch of the Jordan River and is believed to be the Baptismal site of Jesus by John the Baptist. Here we renewed our baptismal vows and had the opportunity to actually bottle some water from the Jordan River.

Travelling north, we came to Jerash, a well preserved Roman Town in Jordan. It was so cool! It was like going back in time, seeing all the remains and using my imagination to restore them. We walked up to the Temple of Artemis where we got a good view of the Street of Columns then went inside the theatre. The structure was amazing, one of the other pilgrims who had been to the Colosseum in Rome even said this theatre was better preserved.

Leaving Jerash, we headed to the Jordan River border to cross into Israel, the Holy Land. Here we go again with the passport thing. “Why do you have a New Zealand Passport?”, “How do you know all these other Australians?”, “Where do you live?”. Oh my goodness. I was just thinking in my head, ‘we’re going to the Holy Land; we’re going to the Holy Land’.

Lisa Garland and pilgrimage leader, Rouse Hill's Our Lady of the Angels Parish Priest Fr Warren Edwards, at Three Faiths Lookout to stand on the Mt of Precipice/The Leaping Mountain

I’m not complaining, but the wake up calls seem to be getting earlier.

Actually we used to never get wake up calls: we just set our alarms on our phones.

This morning, RING RING RING RING at 6am! However, lucky we did wake up so early as we needed the whole day for all the things we did today.

Mt Tabor, where Our Lord’s divinity shone forth in the Transfiguration, was our first destination. We rode up in large taxis on a long, winding road to the top of the mountain. Entering the gate, the area was surrounded by beautiful statues, flowers and stone walls. We said a beautiful Mass celebrated by Fr Warren and Fr Ray inside the Franciscan church, decorated by beautiful mosaic.

We made our descent and continued on to Nain where Jesus brought the dead son back to life.

The bus then took us to the Three Faiths Lookout to stand on the Mt of Precipice/The Leaping Mountain where the people of Nazareth tried to throw Jesus off the mountain, here we sat and listened to the reading of this event from the bible.

Near tears in Nazareth

Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth.

We then moved on to Nazareth where we ventured into Nazareth Village, a recreation of the town and village life of Nazareth as in the days of Jesus.

First we were taken through rooms with a tour guide showing pictures and explaining a bit about the history of Nazareth, then we came to the room that showed how a carpenter worked, his tools, his pieces and talked about how Jesus would have taken over the carpentry after Joseph.

The lights in the room were off except for one shining on the carpenter’s table and tools. In two seconds, all I could see was Nazareth at the time of Jesus and wanted nothing more than to be in that time with him: I didn’t want to be in this world, in this time that I’m in now. I wished that I was with Christ watching him use his tools in the real land of Nazareth...so much that I had to stop myself from spilling tears!

After seeing reconstructions of olive and wine presses, synagogues and houses, we all sat together for a meal made of food common in the time of Jesus.

Our final stops for the day included the Basilica of the Annunciation where we could actually see Mary’s house inside the church - absolutely surreal - the Church of St Joseph, Mary’s well, a traditional Jewish Synagogue and Cana where Jesus performed the miracle of turning water to wine at the wedding.

Lisa live from the Sea of Galilee.

Woo hoo, I got a sleep-in today! 7am wake up call.

Our journey today was centred on the beautiful Sea of Galilee. We were taken in the morning to Tabgha, the site of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes.

Here we had the chance to spend some quiet time to pray in the church which was built over the rock where Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes. Again it was amazing to sit there and think that Jesus our Lord was right here.

Take away the stone building surrounding it and you’re back there with Jesus. Travelling about five minutes down the road, we came to Capernaum, the centre of Jesus’ teaching and healing and home to Peter the apostle. We could see the ruins of the house well preserved with a very modern church built above the house.

Silence on the sea...

Fr Warren Edwards says Mass, floating on the Sea of Galilee.

Next on the agenda was my favourite part of the day, this was one of the highlights I’d been waiting for since I read the brochure for the pilgrimage – a Private Mass floating in the centre of Lake Galilee! Absolutely surreal. Leaving the dock, we all tried to sit on the sides at the front half of the boat that had shade, by the time we got to the centre of the lake; the sun had shifted from the side I was on to the other.

Then the engines quit. Silence.

A few of us just looked around at each other and we were all smiling, the silence and view of the lake and flourishing land surrounding it were beyond beautiful.

I think for me, the sudden silence allowed it to sink in, that I was sitting on the Sea of Galilee that I have heard so much about at Church and in the Bible, where the miracle of Jesus walking on water and calming the storm occurred. I am where Jesus was! I could have sat on that sea for hours just praying.

After departing the boat, we went to see the preserved remains of a first century fishing boat as in the days of Christ.

Following this was a delicious ‘St Peter’s fish’ Lunch. Yummy - freshwater fish from the Sea of Galilee itself!

Just before dinner, most of us went for a swim in the Sea of Galilee as our hotel was right on the shore. However, with the beautiful privilege of this swim and the fresh water came lots and lots of little fish! They kept biting and tickling our feet

Lisa in front of theatre in town of Caesarea built by Herod the Great.

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“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”

Lisa with fellow pilgrim Margaret Edwards at Mt of Beatitudes.

I’ve heard the Beatitudes loads of times and have always loved the meaning and humility of the words. When we celebrated daily Mass today out in the open under the trees atop the Mount of Beatitudes, it made it that much more wonderful and I felt very humbled to have that opportunity.

Leaving Lake Galilee, we travelled to Mount Carmel at Muhraqa overlooking the Jezreel Valley where Elijah challenged the priests of Baal in a contest of faith. I am aware of orders such as the Franciscans, Augustinians and Carmelites but to be at the site where the Carmelites were actually established was quite something.

We were also blessed enough to be let into the Carmelite chapel which is usually private and reserved for Carmelites and their families. Here we had an enrolment ceremony.

Continuing our journey to Jerusalem, we stopped by to take a look at an ancient aqueduct on the Mediterranean Sea and chucked our thongs off to put our feet in the water, it was the perfect temperature; I wanted nothing more than to just take a swim!

Our last stop before arriving at our hotel was the crusader port city of Caesarea to see the city built by Herod the Great. At this sight, Cornelius was baptised by Peter, becoming the first gentile convert to Christianity.

'And became man'...the Church of the Nativity.

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“If I should get tired and inclined to become short tempered Lord, May I remember – I am a pilgrim not a tourist!”

Lisa Garland and Margaret Orton from St Patrick's Parish Blacktown at the site of the birth of John the Baptist.

My roomy and I have learnt to sleep past the wake up call to 7am, and then have breakfast at 7:30am instead. Often I need to remind myself (or be reminded by others when I complain aloud) that I am a pilgrim, not a tourist indeed!

The air is so much cooler and fresher today in Jerusalem, so refreshing and beautiful.

Our day was meant to begin at the Israel museum where we were going to view the Second Temple scale model of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea Scrolls, but, when we got there early morning, of course it was closed.

Turning around, we headed to Ein Karem where Elizabeth and Zacariah lived and the birthplace of St John the Baptist. Inside the church, we could actually go down and view the spot where St John the Baptist was born, on the site is written "Hic Precursor Domini Natus Est" - "Here was born the precursor of the Lord".

Moving on, we arrived at a site with a large arch reading "Gloria In Excelsius Deo": we were at the Shepherd’s Field to commemorate the appearance of the angels to the shepherds on that first Christmas night. We were also blessed enough to celebrate Mass in the cave where it is thought the shepherds kept their animals.

After saying a desperate prayer in my head, and finding a back way to Bethlehem that required no checkpoint whatsoever, we came to the Church of the Nativity built over the stable where Jesus was born; the Grotto of the Holy Manger. I was so excited at first, to be visiting the spot where our Lord Jesus Christ was born.

Stepping through the doors, the line was beyond long and barely moving, beyond the first door there was another room we had to go through, and beyond that room, one more before we reached the spot where our Lord was born.

There were so many people there and because of this, no one had time to really pray here as we were all getting pushed to move along. This kind of put a dampner on the whole feeling of what I was there to see and wasn’t as excited.

Lisa with two fellow pilgrims at the site where Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem.

Rock on which Jesus prayed during his Agony.

We then headed to the site where Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem. It was an amazing panoramic view of the city, just standing at the edge of the wall, looking out and in a way reliving the hurt Jesus felt being rejected by the people of Jerusalem when he came to save them all.

Our guide also showed us the trees which bore the same thorns used for the crown placed upon Jesus’ head. They were hard and sharp! Even just grabbing the branch to take a photo earned me numerous stabs and a splinter.

At the base of Mt of Olives, we visited the Grotto of Gethsemane where Jesus was betrayed by Judas, arrested and the disciples of Jesus slept while he prayed nearby. It was breathtaking with numerous olive trees thousands of years old, I could just picture His disciples kneeling and sleeping at the base of one of the thick olive tree stumps.

For some reason, I also felt annoyed that they could fall asleep when Jesus was going through such a trial. We went “a stone throw away” to the bare rock upon which Jesus prayed after leaving his disciples in the garden before his arrest. The rock was inside the Church of Agony right in front of the altar; here we were blessed by God to have a mass which was just for our pilgrimage group.

It was the best Mass of the entire pilgrimage for me, and for a lot of us it was one of the main highlights. Before heading back to the hotel we visited the Cenacle (room of the Last Supper) at Mt Zion and the Church of Dormition where our Lady was assumed into heaven.

Scale model of Jerusalem.

We also picked up the bus driver’s uncle from the side of the road to give us a bit of a guided tour at Jacob’s well. I fall asleep on the bus, wake up, and all of a sudden there’s new guy on the bus!

We arrived at the Church in which Jacob’s well resides. The well is mentioned in the Gospel of St John. Fr Warren read the bible passage in which Jesus met the Samaritan by Jacob’s well:

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks this water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Our tour guide Joseph lowered the bucket into the well which was over 100 feet deep then got Fr Warren to wind it back up, Joseph had made it look easy. Voila - water! Much to our delight, we were allowed to drink the water; each person took turns in drinking from a cup filled with the water.

Church of Calvary - the rock in which the Cross was placed.

When they told us that the afternoon before, we all thought it was a joke...but our tour guide wasn’t quite laughing.

However, I would have woken up at any time for the morning we had. Early morning, we made our way to the Holy Sepulchre.

This daily Mass was probably the most significant Mass we celebrated on this pilgrimage. We were blessed and honoured to say Mass right next to the place where our Lord was crucified to save us from our sins.

The Mass was beautiful and because it was so early in the morning, it was quiet and not so crowded. After Mass, we lined up to touch the rock in which the cross our Lord carried was positioned. It was covered in a glass casing with an altar above it.

Underneath the altar, there was a hole where you could put your hand through and feel the actual rectangular space in the rock where the cross was placed.

Walking away, I was just in absolute awe that this is where Christ died. Closing my eyes I tried to remove the people, the walls, and the noise. Here our Lord Jesus Christ died, so we might live!

Following this, we all went back downstairs and lined up to visit the tomb which Jesus was placed in after he was taken down from the cross. A structure was built around the tomb so people went in a few at a time only for about 10 seconds. Also in there behind an icon of our lady is part of the wall of the original tomb. Nearby was the slab of rock on which Jesus’ body was placed to be covered in oils before being put in the tomb.

We then headed back to the hotel for breakfast. After breakfast we visited the Church of St Anne, built over the birthplace of the Virgin Mary and the Pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed the paralysed man. The other special part of the day was ‘The Way of the Cross’.

It’s one thing to do the way of the Cross at church, moving from picture to picture, but none of that compares to walking the actual path Jesus staggered along carrying the cross on which he was going to be crucified! It was so special; the surroundings (besides people in the markets trying to sell you things) really set me in the path Jesus was walking. I was tripping over my own feet and the uneven rocks; I can’t even imagine how Jesus found the strength to carry his cross to Calvary.

Harvest Pilgrimages provided a special group farewell dinner by taking us out to an Armenian Restaurant. Upon arriving back to the hotel, we said goodbye to those who were leaving on different flights to different locations.