Since being home the last couple of weeks, my thoughts keep returning to my time in the Holy Land. I learned and saw so much and feel quite convicted about sharing it. As I’m sure I’ve said previously, we, in the Christian church, have been firmly pro-Israeli with little, if any attempt at trying to…

Saturday – April 25 The last day in Israel – the land God gave his people, the land where Jesus lived and died and lived again, the land that today is so torn and conflicted. I have yet to see what God has for me from this trip. Anyway, we did not have to make…

Friday – April 24 Today the sun came up over the Old City and we were thankful as we would be outside most of the day. Yesterday we dodged a few showers and cooler temperatures. We start our mornings, at this hotel, with a very good breakfast selection and cappuccinos. Nice! Amit actually came back…

Thursday – April 23 Our first small group day. The hotel we are at is lovely – right in the heart of a pedestrian mall with shops and all. But this is still Jerusalem so think old stones and new signs. It was also a great place for revelry last night. We literally had to…

It always seems impossible until it’s done. -Nelson Mandela Wednesday – April 22 Our last day as a group. We had to get all our luggage together – quite a pile! We hopped on our bus and headed up to the Sea of Galilee! It was a little over 2 hours so we drove through…

Tuesday April 21 This morning was amazing. We dressed for work today and drove outside of Bethlehem a fairly short distance. We drove through this beautiful hilly area with a Jewish settlement on each hilltop. In the middle of the five settlement hills, is another green terraced hill with just a couple of small buildings….

Monday, April 20 Happy Birthday Lukas! This will post a couple of days late but the thought is there! Monday dawned with another beautiful day. Our weather has been perfect! Sunny but cool. Such a gift. We were seeing projects which our organization supports to support the Christian church and programs here. This was a…

What a lovely morning – in Bethlehem for Sunday! Pinch me! We also had the great blessing of sleeping in some this morning so no set alarm! Eleanor, my roomie, and I woke up about 7:30. It was lovely. I showered, got ready, ate, and then headed to the mezzanine. It is this quiet area…

The place that God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet. – Frederick Buechner Our first morning in Bethlehem – we are staying at a very lovely large hotel. But I miss our guest house. It was much cozier and quieter. We were almost the only game…

We woke to a beautiful sunny day with a slight breeze – perfect! Actually I was awakened by my alarm, which was fantastic as it meant that I slept until then. A great gift. Warning: a lot of history to follow – mainly for my benefit so I don’t forget. So skip on down if…

  Thursday – April 16. Holocaust Remembrance Day We had a little time to reflect this morning and it was much needed. Due to a great thunder and lightning storm, our morning hike was canceled. We extended our meeting with a lovely young woman from the US consulate. For almost two hours, she shared her…

  Wednesday – April 15 Simply put, today was overwhelming! Our first full day in Israel began with a lovely breakfast at the Guest House and not a super early start – thank you Lord! It was a beautiful sunny day and we walked through the stone walls and buildings to a UN office for…