The Carmi Rotary club meeting on Thursday featured a Rotarian as the day’s speaker. Melissa Questell had pictures to go along with a talk about her recent trip to the holy land. She went with a group on January 12th and stayed in the middle East until January 27th. The trip included stops all around the nation of Israel, and much to her surprise, a two-day bus trip through the dessert to Egypt.
Melissa pointed out during the photo display, that every major site that had significance to Jesus’ time on earth now houses a church. This was evident at such spots as: the shepherd’s field, the temple mount, Jesus’ first temple, Golgotha, and Jesus’ tomb.
One day of the trip found the group at the Dead Sea, which is the lowest spot on the Earth at 1,300 feet below sea level. From that location, the group made the climb to Jerusalem which sits at 2,500 feet above sea level. Melissa stated that she had been told that a person needs to be in shape for this trip, and she had to agree after two weeks of walking on rocky, uneven ground.
One amazing picture showed the entryway to the Church of the Nativity. As Melissa noted, she is usually the shortest person in any group, and for the first time in her life, she hit her head on a doorway. She explained, that the door is purposely made small so anyone entering must humble themselves before they step inside.
Melissa’s impression of Egypt, and especially Cairo, was that it was a very run-down area, very poor, and very dirty. She also noted that even though some roadways had three and four lanes on each side, there were no road markings so cars basically veered in and out of lines whenever they felt like it.
She stated that one of, if not the favorite part of the tour was an hour boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. She had photos that she said could not come close to the beauty of the area. She stated that hour was such a peaceful time that she could have stayed on the water all day.
In club business, plans are being made for the Spring Trivia contest. This year’s spring event will be held on Saturday, March 7th at the American Legion in Carmi. As in year’s past, teams need to be made up of four players each, entry fee is just forty dollars per team. There will be four rounds of ten questions, with questions from categories such as: Pop culture, history, sports, the Bible, food, geography, and more. There will be cash prizes awarded to the top three teams, and there will be plenty of food and drink available for players and spectators. The first question will be asked at six pm, and the night should wrap up around eight.
A motion was made, seconded, and approved to purchase a table at the upcoming Washington Attendance Center Cosmic Bingo event.
JR Hubele drew his own name in the day’s 50/50 drawing, but his luck ran out as he did not claim the day’s cash prize. Melissa, besides being the day’s speaker, also was named as the day’s phantom.
The Carmi Rotary club meets every Thursday at noon at the First United Methodist Church on Main Street in Carmi. Anyone wishing to learn more about this civic organization is welcome to attend a meeting or speak with any Carmi Rotarian.
Story provided by Randy Adams
