Today’s blog is written by another member of the Angels on Earth staff, editor Meg Belviso.
Two flat tires in one week seemed impossible. So impossible that the group of Christian journalists I was touring Israel with decided to joke about it with our bus driver.
“You have to return to America tomorrow,” Eli said over the loudspeaker as we sped toward Jerusalem from the Dead Sea. “Maybe I get another flat tire to keep you from going to the airport!”
“We’d love it!” we all shouted. Six days in Israel wasn’t nearly enough to see everything. I’d done more than I’d ever dreamed in Israel. I couldn’t imagine anything this trip to the Middle East hadn’t provided—except perhaps a ride on a camel.
Bang! There was a blast underneath the bus, followed by the telltale sound that signaled we’d gotten our wish. Flat tire.
Salty and muddy from our dip in the sea and scheduled for a fancy dinner very soon, we rolled unevenly into a gas station to get the tire fixed. “We’ll be here for a while,” one of my fellow journalists said.
Guess I ought to settle in, I thought. Even the best trips have a few disappointments.
Our tour guide took the microphone again. “I know this seems like a mistake,” she said brightly. “But really it’s a special surprise.” She pointed out the window to the parking lot. It seemed gas stations in the West Bank came with amusements not found in the U.S. “Camel rides!”
Within minutes, I was seated on a very patient dromedary with a bright plaid blanket. Disappointed? Not on this trip!
—Meg Belviso
