Fast Facts about Ceci Triska
Who do you plan for?
Journeys of Faith with Ceci
What is your favorite Bible verse?
John 1:14-18 NKJV
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, ‘This was He of whom I said, “He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.”’ And of His fullness, we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”
Where are you from?
Triska has been a Texas girl all her life. Originally from the Houston area, she has lived in the small town of El Campo and has run the local funeral home with her family for over 20 years.
What is your favorite Destination?
The Holy Land is Triska’s favorite destination. Her highlights include Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the Sea of Galilee.
What are your Hobbies?
Triska prefers to spend her free time with her grandchildren but also enjoys shopping and entertaining, and makes and sells jewelry in her free time.
Meet Ceci Triska
In 2006, Triska went on her first pilgrimage to Prague, Austria and Italy, following in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II. At the time, she thought it would be a once-in-a-lifetime trip, not knowing that sharing her faith and joy in the Holy Land would become her second job. After returning from that first trip, her priest asked if she would like to travel to Rome. Triska said it was this trip “when it started settling in my heart, and I started to realize that this is what I wanted to do.” She realized she could share her experiences with others and let them grow a love for the Holy Land as she had.
She began working with another group leader and learned the ropes until 2013; at that time, Select International Tours reached out to her after the owner, who shared a mutual friend with Triska, saw some of her travel pictures on Facebook. It was the start of a fruitful relationship, and she’s maintained a close working relationship with them ever since.
On Triska’s latest trip to the Holy Land, she partnered with a Christian singer from Wisconsin to form a choir and tour Israel. The group sang at the Christmas tree lighting celebration in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Though planning this different type of trip brought its share of challenges, including a longer-than-normal stay, trying something new and different turned out to be a big hit with her travelers. They’re planning on two more trips, one for Epiphany and another for the start of the Christmas season in 2019.
Prayer is at the center of each trip Triska takes, and she attributes her success to this part of her preparation. When she’s putting together a trip, Triska prays about each detail going into the planning and puts faith at the forefront.
“If I start just taking tours instead of faith trips, then I’m not respecting the gift that God gave me to do this,” she said.
Triska also encourages her travelers to incorporate prayer into their experience while traveling in the Holy Land. She gives them the chance to order a rosary before the trip so they can pray the rosary at different religious sites and have a meaningful reminder of their trip when they return home. To help with this, Triska also prepares folders for her travelers before the trip that include information about the destinations, as well as prayers related to the various places they’ll be visiting.
Her hope for her travelers is that they’ll love the Holy Land as she does.
“I want them to love it, to have that change of heart that I had,” she said.
Travel Tips
- Pray about it.
- Communicate early. Your travelers will get to know you and learn about how they can plan and prepare for this trip, such as walking two miles a day.
- Be enthusiastic! Be passionate about what you’re doing. Passion and enthusiasm are contagious.
