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It is official. It is hot in Jerusalem. Whew! I knew the nice weather had to end sometime.

Last night as I was waiting for the bus on Emek to go my hotel, I saw a big tour bus coming down the road. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be our head bus driver, David, driving his bus. The traffic was bumper to bumper and so he slowed down and we waived and he pulled his big bus over and opened the door. He had serviced his bus and was on his way to the hotel close to mine where his group was staying.

So, I got on the bus and was whisked to my hotel. His group was already at the hotel, so I was the only one on the bus. Quite a ride. David has been with TEI for about 18 years. He is like family. He was even on tour when his youngest son was born. He became a believer by listening to Zola and Zvi on the tour. He and Zvi are just the best!

Headline in the Jerusalem Post: “Abbas: Hamas tried to kill me.” I know it is not funny, but really, did anyone think that Hamas did not want to kill anyone and everyone? Abu Mazen (Abbas), a Holocaust denier, still wants dead Jews and all of Israel in Arab hands. Let me remind anyone, there is no such thing as a Palestinian. They are Arab-Muslims.

Gary Bauer has a wonder piece in his online newsletter:

Wednesday, June 20, 2007
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary Bauer

Jimmy Carter’s Delusions

I would give anything to see Jimmy Carter go back to building houses for Habitat for Humanity. Instead, the former president increasingly lends whatever prestige he has left to supporting terror groups, and to undermining Israel and the United States. Speaking in Ireland yesterday, Carter, surveying the carnage in Gaza, finally found a criminal he was willing to name – the United States! According to Carter, the murder and mayhem is the fault of the United States and Israel because we did not embrace the Hamas killers after they got 42% of the vote in the Palestinian elections. Never mind that Hamas refused to disavow terrorism or recognize the right of Israel to exist. Carter says, “That action was criminal,” referring to our unwillingness to accept Hamas and give it foreign aid.

Strangely, Carter never calls Hamas criminal – not when they throw rivals off rooftops, not when they indoctrinate seven year-old Palestinian kids to “kill the Jews,” not when they fire rockets into Israeli cities, not when they send pregnant women to blow up Israeli hospitals. Carter only sees his own country and Israel as deserving of condemnation. Carter has also announced the formation of a new “moderate” Southern Baptist group that wants, among other things, to move evangelical Christians away from their support of Israel. We will oppose and expose him every step of the way.

Fund Fatah?

Carter’s love affair with Hamas is moronic, but what can one say about the rush by the Bush Administration and Prime Minister Olmert of Israel to “bet the farm” on the better dressed thugs in Fatah, led by Holocaust denier Mahmoud Abbas? Fatah has the same goal as Hamas – the military and/or demographic destruction of Israel. It just prefers it be done through negotiations for now. Under Fatah’s leadership, Palestinian poverty has grown and lawlessness has increased, in spite of the 60,000 uniformed gunmen it employs. Thousands of those gunmen cut and ran in Gaza last week in the face of the more militant Hamas fighters. Yet the Bush Administration, the European Union and the Israeli prime minister apparently agree that supporting this Palestinian mafia is the way to peace. They are now going to pour millions more of your tax money into Fatah’s coffers, where it will predictably disappear. How long will we allow delusions to slap around reality?

Other news:

Israel has the World’s first Virtual tourist guide
The data from the Tourism Authority’s website can be downloaded onto audio devices or burned onto discs. The project will enable tourists to get information on the many sites of interest in the city before they actually visit them.
Comment: What a great idea. Great to get a taste of Israel before you get here. But, there is nothing better than having a believing guide in person to show you the land.

Will and I are planning on going to the Galilee Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There are a couple of sites I want to see and I want to get to Kiryat Shemona. We have been given tickets to the first ever baseball game in Israel on Sunday. I am a big baseball fan, so this should be fun.

A early Shabbat Shalom.

I will blog on Monday.

The heat wave is on. The weathermen are predicting temperatures in the 90’s for Jerusalem this weekend. I noticed last night that it was not as cool when I was heading back to the hotel from Emek.

I had a chance to visit with Aviel Schneider with Israel Today. I think his magazine is a good source for what is going on in Israel. We talked about wars and rumors of wars. He is always interesting to visit with.

Yesterday morning on my way to downtown (Ben Yehuda), I got on the bus as usual. Yesterday afternoon, when I was returning from downtown, I noticed that there was security on each bus and at each stop. It was enough for me to notice. This morning in the paper, the Shin Bet foiled a bombing of a Modi’in synagogue. I was not afraid because I know how good the security is in Israel. It was just a little unusual. Normally, there is not that much security on the bus line. It is still one of the best ways to get around Jerusalem.

The news seems to have settled down at bit about Gaza. What was it someone once said about the newspaper being used in the bird cage?

I had the opportunity to attend a media forum at the American Colony Hotel last night. I had not been to that hotel in almost nine years. It was one of the places Zola showed me the first time I was in Israel. It is a beautiful old hotel. Zola would say that people think the American Colony Hotel is the real Israel. It has mysterious people hanging around (mostly Arabs) and dark places where intrigues take place. It does look like it belongs in a Hollywood movie. It brought back lots of memories for me.

We were there to hear the “new” Liberal Democracy in Palestinian Society. Natan Sharansky made a few opening remarks. He is the author of “The Case for Democracy” and head of the Institute for Strategic Studies at the Shalom Center and former Israeli minister and MK. Mr. Shransky opposed the Oslo Agreement of 1993. You’ve got to admit that 14 years is a long time for the Arabs to get their act together.

He left after making his opening remarks. I wish he had stayed. He would have been as angry as I was. The main theme from the Palestinian speakers was “it is not our fault; Israel is the occupier; we did not know that Hamas was a terrorist organization; Arafat was a democrat; we need more time.”

Let me be clear and name the men involved with this group: Walid Salem, Hanna Siniora, Muhammed Dajani. It is the same old story, only with a different group involved. They are part of a new “movement” and hope someday to have a political party. In the meantime, they are thinking that maybe a “benevolent dictator” would be good for them. They also are putting forth the belief that Islam and democracy can live together. After all, Islam believes in moderation.

It was all I could do to sit there until the Q and A started, and then I got up and left. I was glad to hear the forum because sometimes I think I have blinders on when it comes to the other side. Nope! These people mean the Jewish state nothing but harm.

The breakfast crowd was serenaded again this morning by the piano player. Just a lovely way to start the day.

I took a bus man’s holiday this morning and rode the Number 99 double decker bus that tours Jerusalem. You can buy a 2-hour tour for about $10 or an all-day tour for about $15. I took the two hour tour. I would recommend it to everyone.

After boarding the bus at the King David Hotel stop, I was given an ear bud that plugged into a system with 8 recorded languages on it to choose from. The tour started and the recording began explaining what we were seeing. When the recording was not on, Israeli music played. I was on the top deck with a nice breeze, watching Jerusalem go by from one end to the other. It was fun.

I am making a cobbler today.

Psalms 27:3 — “If an army encamps around me, my heart will not fear; if war breaks out against me, even then I will keep trusting.”

The news all around me is just bleak—until I remember that God is in control. Is it me or does everyone have a solutions to the problems in Gaza? Even the Saudis are getting involved. Aren’t they the real problem? It looks like Israel’s enemies are surrounding her.

Caroline Glick’s article in today’s Jerusalem Post is right on: “Grounded in Fantasy”

Iran and its client state Syria have a strategic vision for the Middle East. They wish to take over Lebanon. They wish to destroy Israel. They wish to defeat the US in Iraq. They wish to drive the US and NATO from Afghanistan. They wish to dominate the region by driving the rest of the Arab world to its jihad-supporting knees. Then they wish to apply their vision to the rest of the world.

Today, Syria and Iran are ardently advancing their strategic vision for the world through a deliberate strategy of victory by a thousand cuts. Last week’s Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip; Sunday’s reopening of the Lebanese front against Israel with the Syrian-ordered rocket attacks on Kiryat Shemona; the now five-week old Syrian ordered low-intensity warfare against Lebanon’s pro-Western Siniora government; last week’s attack on the al-Askariya mosque in Samarra; the recent intensification of terrorism in Afghanistan and Iran’s move to further destabilize the country by violently deporting 100,000 Afghan refugees back to the war-torn country — all of these are moves to advance this clear Iranian-Syrian strategy.

And all these moves have taken place against the backdrop of Syria’s refashioning of its military in the image of Hizbullah on steroids and Iran’s relentless, unopposed progress in its nuclear weapons program.

For their part, both the US and Israel also have a strategic vision. Unfortunately, it is grounded in fantasy.

…

Both views [Olmert’s and Bush’s] ignore the obvious: Gaza has been transformed into an Iranian-sponsored base for global jihad because Egypt has allowed it to be so transformed. Assisted by its Syrian-sponsored Palestinian allies, Hizbullah has rebuilt its arsenals and reasserted its control in southern Lebanon because UN forces in southern Lebanon have done nothing to prevent it from doing so.

No country on earth will volunteer to fight Hamas and its jihadist allies in Gaza. No government on earth will voluntarily deploy its forces to counter Hizbullah and Iran in south Lebanon. This is why — until they fled — European monitors at the Rafah terminal were a joke. This is why Spanish troops in UNIFIL devote their time in Lebanon to teaching villagers Spanish.

I also liked Jack Kinsella’s article in the June 18th, Omega Letter.

Right now the U.N. has its hands full trying to figure out how to blame Israel for the Muslim on Muslim violence in the Gaza Strip. Especially since Israel is being so uncooperative by staying out of the way while the two Islamic factions kill each other in the competition to see who hates Israel the most and is therefore the most qualified to lead the Palestinians in their quest for peace with the Jewish state.

For me the most disturbing news is that the U.S. has resumed financial and political ties with the P.A. What part of “terrorist organization” do we not get?

Now I remember why I do not watch or read the news more often. Come quickly, Lord.

On to some more pleasant things.

I found out more about the man who plays the piano at breakfast. He works for the hotel and just loves playing. I did get a chance to tell him “today rabah” to thank him very much for the music. He plays with so much feeling.

Will and I had dinner at Focaccia (yes, again) last night with my friend Terry. She is a “Zola Graduate.” She started coming to Israel with us on the 2002 summer tour. Then, she and her husband, Steve, came back again and again with us until they have finally graduated from the tour. She is volunteering at the food bank with Bridges for Peace and just loves it.

I keep telling people that Israel will change your life. She is seeing what a difference we can make in people’s lives. Their food bank turns over 50 tons of food a month to people all over Israel who are in need. We are all dreaming on how to live here permanently. Some day…

It is another beautiful morning in Jerusalem. The temperature at night is in the 60’s and the high during the day is the upper 70’s with a breeze. It just could not be better. Last year when I was here, the city was having a heat wave. The highs were in the 90’s. Quite a difference.

In the dining room of my hotel is an upright piano. The past few mornings, an older gentleman has played music for the breakfast crowd. He has played Mozart, and such songs as: Misty, Blue Moon, Raindrops, even Ave Maria. I think he is a guest of the hotel. Each morning, I think I will thank him, and then he is gone. Maybe tomorrow.

Sunday, Will and I went to the Museum of the Underground Prisoners during the British mandate in Jerusalem. Very interesting. It was a Russian compound built in the 19th century and was also used as as women’s hospice. At the end of WW I, it was the central jail used by the British. The number of Jews that were criminals was very small, with the majority of Jews being political and detainees awaiting trial. They were detained for defending their homes, liberty, and the revival of a Jewish National home in Palestine (Israel). Again, the Arabs were in the British pockets with the dire results going to the Jews. I think it is a must see for everyone visiting Jerusalem.

We walked to an archaeological site close to Bridges for Peace. A new building was going up when 1st century B.C and A.D. walls were found. Look for more on that in the “Dispatch from Jerusalem” newsletter from Bridges for Peace.

More walking. This time to downtown (Ben Yehuda street) for pizza and some errands. It is Sunday and the first day of the week in Israel. Lots of people are out and about.

More walking. Now to the old city. I am looking for some gifts—you know how I like to bless Israel—but I do not find what I am looking for.

More walking. I am running out of legs, but we reach Will’s and rest.

The news is all about Fatah and Hamas. What to do, what to do? Adam Haskel in the Jerusalem Post has this comment:

It took Hamas, 6 days to conquer Gaza. The editor in chief asked me what do you think Israel should do now. This is my response.

First, as someone once suggested, we should disengage from Gaza. Close the crossings, turn off the electricity. No more fuel for the Strip, either. Let them bring it in from Egypt or learn to rely on donkeys. I don’t recall the United Kingdom supplying Germany with electricity during the Battle of Britian. We’ll have to continue providing water, for now. We don’t want people dying of thirst. But, they won’t die of hunger. Egypt and the international community will see to that.

Yes, the IDF needs to conduct operations elsewhere in the Strip, on a larger scale and on a regular basis, indefinitely. It is a small part of of the price of Oslo, and bringing in thousands of terrorists from Tunisia and elsewhere and continuing to make concession after concession even though the PLO/Palestinian Authority has never kept any part of any agreement with any counter party. Not with Jordan, not with Lebanon, and not with Israel.

Which brings us to the most important thing that we must do: Stop Retreating! The Fatah terrorists are actually more dangerous, because they have learned to lie—not very convincingly, I admit—about their genocidal intentions for Israel.

Finally, no one should be under the illusion that Israel’s international standing has improved in any permanent way as a result of the 2005’s disengagement, or the 1993 Oslo Accord, 1995 Oslo II, the 1994 Cairo Agreement, the 1997 Hebron Agreement, or any other of the memoranda and protocols signed wht the PLO over the years. No amount of transient good will on the part of our enemies in Europe is worth the blood of one Israeli civilian or the bones of one IDF soldier.

Note: Some 70% of Gaza’s electricity and 40% of it water comes from Israel.

I don’t think I could have said it better.

Other News stories from the Jerusalem Post that I find interesting:

A Russian banker and politician plan to launch a global Jewish television network. Vladimir Sloutsker, says he believes a network is necessary to combat challenges facing the Jewish community.

For the end time folks: Israel to Give Jerusalem Church to Russians. Israel has agreed, in principle, to transfer the Church of St. Sergius and the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem to the Russian government, according to the interfax news agency.

On the medical front: An Israeli-developed miniature robot that increases the precision of implant placement in spinal fusion has been demonstrated here for the first time at the Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem. Developed by Mazor Surgical Technologies and named SpineAssist, it decreases the chance of hitting vital organs, and significantly increases the accuracy of implant placement.

Letters to the editor in the Jerusalem Post:

Sir, the ironies in Gaza know no end. First, Palestinian Arabs elect a Hamas dictatorship that targets Israel and destroys their lives. Then, when Gaza turns to Hades-on-Earth, where do they try to escape to? Not Egypt: that’s just for letting guns and rockets through. They try to escape through the Erez crossing, INTO ISRAEL. That’s where they go when they seek freedom, medical care, civil rights, education, a livelihood, freedom of speech and everything else their own leaders refuse them. —John Lalor, Dubin Ireland.

On the BBC
Sir, I wonder if the BBC would be gracious enough to accept the gift of a prayer mat, on which they could keep their knees and noses clean while they grovel apologetically for having “mistakenly” called Jerusalem the capital of Israel. —Fay Sendzul, Hod Hasharon

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem

Shabbat Shalom,

Today is Will’s birthday. I am so blessed to have a wonderful son. When he moved to Israel almost 4 years ago, Zola and I watched as God opened door after door in his life. He is doing broadcasting and reporting at Bridges for Peace, reporting for Zola Levitt Presents, written a book, “Disengagement through the Lens,” published an article in the Jerusalem Post and is working on another book. God is so good.

We had dinner at Focaccia with some of Will’s friends last night, one of my favorite restaurants. We laughed and remembered good times. The music track this time was Latin guitar. One of the songs playing was “God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen.” I think I was the only one in the restaurant who knew what it was. What a great and subtle witness. Life is good.

As I was getting ready for Shabbat, one of my errands was to the grocery store. More adventures… I wanted to get Will a steak to fix for his birthday. At the meat counter, I pointed to the steak I wanted and the butcher just shook his head no. He then pointed at another cut of beef and proceeded to take it out of the case and cut it. I had no idea what I was getting until the end when he said “entrecotte” (it is a good cut of beef). Only in Israel will the butcher tell you that you have selected the wrong piece of meat.

I did find, to my delight, pie crusts in the freezer section. I just laughed to myself as I put them in my basket. Will has asked for a pecan pie for his birthday. It is in the oven as I write this blog entry.

Someone asked me if PM Olmert is serious about giving away the Golan. He just cannot mean it. Anyone can see that it is strategic to Israel’s security. Please pray. Remember that Olmert is an unbeliever and will do anything to save his job as Prime Minister. He is a politician, after all. Right now, he is just saying it. Until, something more concrete happens, I am praying that he is only talking big.

I walked to Will’s this morning and it was about 70 degrees with a slight breeze. Just so nice outside for a June 16th day.

The most disturbing news for me was the BBC apologizing to the Arabs for saying that Jerusalem was the capital of Israel. This was on the front page of the Jerusalem Post on Friday! When will we learn?

As always, pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

This is a sad time for me. The group has gone back to the States. We have become mespacha (family) and I miss them. I especially miss the children that we had on the tour. They were such a delight and it was so rewarding to see them fall in love with Israel!

We have been touring Jerusalem this last week—seeing places we read about in our Bibles: The Western Wall, the upper room, the southern steps, and the Dead Sea area. The pilgrims are constantly surprised at how peaceful Israel is.

Do I think there will be a war this summer? This is what I tell everyone who asks: “I do not know; I am not a prophet. God is in control. I know we win and that is good enough for me.”

One of the highlights of the summer tour is the dig. We went to the caves at Maresha, outside of Jerusalem and dug in one of the 5000 man-made caves. They date back to the 2nd century B.C. and the Jews of that time built their businesses underground where it is cool in the summer and warm in the winter. They figured out that if they cut thru the 6 inches or so of limestone, that there was a chalk-like rock below that they could chisel out and use. They would take the limestone and build their homes on top of the caves.

When the enemy was closing in on them, they destroyed their homes by throwing trash and the remains of their homes in the caves. So, what we are digging in is their trash. Not to worry—if someone looked at your trash they could figure out a lot about you. Ian Stern was our archaeologist—quite an honor for us. He is one of the premier archaeologists in Israel and is a friend of ours. You have probably seen him on the program.

So, we go in these caves and take the dirt and put it in buckets, hoping that we find something while we are putting the dirt in the buckets. Then we haul the buckets of dirt up and sift for hidden treasures. My little group consisted of Michael (10 years old) and Johnny (19). We found a bread seal pottery shard in our sifting! Quite a find and Ian was really excited.

The spiritual highlight of the tour is the visit to the Garden tomb. Everyone sees for themselves that “He is not here, He is risen.” We take communion there, with Zvi giving the blessings in Hebrew and sing “Because He Lives.” Nothing else needs to be said.

Will and I left the group at the view of Bethlehem and headed for my B&B in Baka. We also had another pilgrim with us, Liz. Liz is staying on to help with Bridges for Peace as a volunteer. We get to the B&B and head to my room when I notice a smell coming from the room across the hall from me. Seems they are redoing the carpet in that room. I go back downstairs and tell the guy (he is new and I do not know him) about the smell. He says it will be gone when I get back from dinner.

So, Will, Liz and I head for dinner and sushi. We finish, take Liz to her apartment, and then Will and I head for Baka. When we get there, my friend Ohed (he is usually there in the mornings) greets me with “go get your son; we have had a fire.” Yep, the room across from me had indeed had a fire. So, up the stairs we trudged through the water on the carpet. My bag was on the bed with no damage. Thank you Lord! Really, my main concern was for my makeup. Clothes, I can get anywhere, but makeup is a many-year process to assemble!

I called Susan at Immanuel Tours and had another hotel room within 5 minutes. They are just the best land agents. If you are coming to Israel, I encourage you to use them as your land agent.

It is Friday morning. I have walked to Will’s from my new hotel. It is now about a 15 minute walk rather than the 6 minute walk I had at my B&B. But, it is OK. I get to enjoy more of the cool morning. I am finishing my Levitt Letter article and getting ready for Shabbat.

We are in Jerusalem and the group has gone to the Dead Sea, Qumran, and Masada today. I have stayed back at the kibbutz to work on the book about women that Jeff and I are writing. I had hoped to be able to update the blog during the tour and it has turned out that this is the day.

My flight to Israel was one of the best yet. I did get some rest on the plane and met the group at the kibbutz. We started our tour at Caesarea Maritime on the Mediterranean Sea. I love starting the tour there and reading about Cornelius in Acts 10 and 11—the first gentile that God prepares and Peter also being prepared. I think about Peter meeting Yeshua for the first time and falling at His feet and Yeshua telling Peter that he would be a fisher of men. Who was Peter’s first man fish? None other than the first gentile to believe in Yeshua, thereby paving the way for all gentiles. Teaching in the theater, looking at the sea, and being the first day of the tour is just so amazing. We are in Israel and it is starting to sink in to everyone that they are really here in Israel!

We checked into our kibbutz at Nof Ginosar for a much welcomed rest and continued with the tour the following day. Jet lag is hitting us all. The next morning at breakfast the talk is always of how much sleep everyone has gotten. Jeff, Tony and I all see who gets the most sleep. It’s a secret. Actually, none of us sleep long. Our body clocks are still in the states.

The summer tour goes to a first century village at Kfar Kedem to experience how life would have been back then. Manachem is our leader for the tour. The first thing we do is get in our first century “clothing,” consisting of a loose fitting robe with a rope belt and head dresses or turbans. We look so cute. I am hoping no pictures surface on the internet. We are taught how wheat was planted and harvested. Manachem even shows us how to grind the wheat and then cook the unleavened bread on a hot iron, huge skillet, over a full raging fire. Fun and good to eat. See, I can cook! We are then treated to a ride on a donkey. The kids on the tour are having so much fun. Really, everyone is just so excited to be part of the experience.

Back to the kibbutz for dinner and a concert by Daniel Carmel. He is just wonderful. I first heard him on the boat on the Galilee. He translated several songs from English to Hebrew. Not until you have heard Amazing Grace in Hebrew do you understand how beautiful the song really is. Then it is off to bed and to get ready for Friday.

The boat ride on the Sea of Galilee is always a highlight. We see Korazin, Capernaum and end the day with baptizing in the Jordan River. I watch as the pilgrims come out of the water. They are so energized in the Holy Spirit. I am especially touched by the children being baptized. We spend Shabbat at the kibbutz with a Shabbat dinner. We say the blessing over the bread and wine and look at the Sea of Galilee while we are eating. Life is good.

Saturday finds us at Tel Dan and hiking. We see the city gate from the 10th century B.C., the gate that Joshua would have come through on his way to Jericho. We visit Caesara Philippi and I get my ice cream, or glida in Hebrew. It is a strawberry and cream that is just so good I am wondering if I even want lunch. But, we head to lunch at at Druze village. The best Falafel in all of Israel. It is the standard by which I judge all others. Never in my life did I think I would be an expert in Falafel, but, there is a difference in how they are prepared. Preparation seems to be the theme this tour. I am stuffed.

Finally, in the afternoon we are in the Golan Heights. It is my favorite place in all of israel. There is just something so majestic about the mountains. As a city girl, even I am surprised at how much I love the Golan. The road down the Golan to our kibbutz is so much fun. It winds around the mountains. You can look over the side and see forever. Whew! Quite a ride! We are laughing and thanking our driver, David, for being so good!

We leave the kibbutz in the Galilee and are on our way “up” to Jerusalem.

More to follow…

Count Down.

Israel, my spiritual home, my eternal home.  I can hardly wait.  It is about this time before the tour that I start saying to myself, this time next week I will be in Israel and I say that everyday until the plane lands at Ben Gurion.  I am packing, and finishing those last minute errands before I leave next Tuesday. We suggest only one suitcase for the tour, but I take two.  One is for my son, Will, and the other is mine for the tour.  Will’s suitcase looks like a small grocery store.  I have packed mac and cheese, Fig Newtons, Karo syrup (for the pecan pie), clothes, towels, DVD’s and other goodies.  I tell anyone that asks me what they can take to Will, that I have a grocery list.   Isn’t it something what we do for our children?

We have about 60 pilgrims on the Discovery Tour this time, including some teenagers.  The June tour is for educators, parents and children. We “dig for a day” and we even visit a first century village. It is really a fun time.  I want everyone to see Israel.  I think what a difference it has made in my life. Just saying the word Israel gets me so excited.

The group leaves on the 15th and I will stay until July 5th.  I will be doing the blog on a daily basis after the 15th and I will try and update it some while on the tour.

Please pray for myself, Jeff, Tony, David (our bus driver), Zvi (head guide) and for the pilgrims whose eyes are opened and hearts will hear the word of God, and that they will fall in love with Israel.

For those who would like to pray for us daily:   Travel mercies on the 5th, Galilee area from the 6th through the 9th.  We will be in Jerusalem from the 10th until the end of the tour on the 15th.  Please pray for travel mercies for those on the way back to the states on the 15th.

I have some new sites to see in Israel that I plan on visiting and I hope to get up to Sderot with Will for some first hand reporting.  I have got to see what is going on for myself.

Stay tuned.

I had every intention of “blogging” after the group left Israel on the 18th. However, Ken Berg, our producer had us working almost non-stop. Jeff and I are getting ready for some new programs and we like to interview and film in Israel. We think it makes a better program. I want you all to see what I see: Home! Israel!

I don’t want to spoil any surprises of the programs, but let’s just say, it is the second time Jeff has cooked. You will have to wait for the Fall program on women for the full story. We also did some “spa” things, but that too has to wait for the programs. We had a great time making these programs on women.

I was blessed to interview Becky Brimmer of Bridges for Peace and Sharon Sanders of Christian Friends of Israel. These are two of my favorite organizations in Israel. These are real women of faith and I was so inspired to have talked with them. God is so good to me. I think you will enjoy getting to know them also.

OK, more cooking stories. I fixed Passover dinner at Will’s for the production crew and a couple of friends. Because of filming, I had to shop the day before Passover—think Christmas eve at the mall. That will give you an idea how busy the grocery store was. It is what I call the “big store.” It is large and has everything. Not your corner store.

It always takes me a long time because I have to decipher what the Hebrew is on each product, if it is not in English. I was at my meltdown limit and was crusing one of the asiles, when I heard my name spoken. “Sandra? Sandra?” Who, I thought, would know me in this Israeli grocery store? Turns out, this precious lady had been on one of our Holy Land Experience trips and was in Israel for Passover. I was bowled over. Hardly anyone in the store speaks English, almost everything is written in Hebrew, and here is a lady that knows me. Wow! Kinda made my day.

Come Passover day, I am thinking I will take it easy. The filming is finished and I will head to Will’s about noon to start cooking. I am just getting ready to walk out the door to breakfast, when the phone rings and it is Elia, the Israeli producer, asking if I would do an interview with a Holocaust survivor. How could I say no? I can hardly talk about it. His name is Abba. He was such a sweet man. Please keep him in your prayers.

I finally get back about 2pm. I had brought Texas pecans and Will is asking if I can make the pecan pie. So, I have the “pie crust lady” guy this time. I brought my own pie crust mix. I made the pecan pie. We also had deviled eggs, salad, chicken, lamb and ground beef patties, melon, and pasta. This is the start of the melon season and is tradtion to serve it.

Josh, who you will see as Samson, is a meat eater, so we made the patties special for him. I did notice that almost everyone took some of the beef. It is about this time on the trip that I have had just about enough of chicken and salad, so beef is a good thing: It’s what’s for dinner.

Because I kept thinking I would get to the store and because I kept filming, I did not get to the store until really late and I just could not carry anything else in my new green tote, so I did not get potatoes. We had pasta with lots of garlic instead. Worked just fine. The table was set and we had a lovely Passover. The reminder of being with friends in Israel and the passing over to our salvation was a wonderful evening.

It dawned on me that I was leaving at 1am on Passover. Some day I will think when I make my reservations. I try and go to Israel for a month at a time and I think I am pushing the envelope by staying that long. So, I am a good girl and try to time it to the day on the nose. Will walks me back to the B&B and I am picked up and off I go to the airport.

Now, I am thinking no one will be at the airport, and I am right. I think that no one will be on my flight to Zurich, but I am wrong—the plane is packed. Think Thanksgiving day travel and you get the picture. Everyone shows up for the 5am flight at about 4am. I am the only one who gets to the airport 3 hours ahead. I do follow instructions well.

I sleep most of the way to Zurich and board American Airlines for Dallas. Great flight! It really is my favorite way to get to Israel. It occurs to me as we land in Dallas, that I am not in Israel and my heart aches.

I have had a wonderful trip. I have made new friends from the tour, seen old friends, blessed the economy of Israel and know that God willing, I will return “home” in June.

Stay tuned…

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem

Shalom from a sunny Jerusalem!  It is cooler, and the clouds are expected to come in and out today.  It has rained the last 3 days, so I am grateful for a little reprieve from the weather.
 
Will and I had an interview scheduled with Cindy and Gary Bayer, on Friday afternoon.  We got all set up and the camera’s battery was down.  We had a wonderful visit anyway.  We usually laugh at our adventures in Israel.  Really good to be with them.
 
I had a very quiet Shabbat.   Just rested and read.  We ate at Foccia last night.  As we were eating, the background music was Ray Charles, in English.  One of those moments that took me back to the 60’s.  Great food and interesting memories.  Only in Israel.
 
I was walking down the street this morning, window shopping and waiting for the computer place to open up, when someone asked me for directions.  I was so impressed that anyone would think that I would know where I am.  It turned out that he was looking for the Hillel Cafe and I knew right where it was.  It is the little things in life.
 
I am really looking forward to the group getting in tomorrow.  We will start in the Galilee area for the first part of the tour and end in Jerusalem.  It is the same start as Yeshua’s ministry.  It is interesting to see where He grew up and the places of His ministry, and then finish in Jerusalem—really is a visual for everyone.   The Galilee will be beautiful this time of the year. 
 
Headlines from the Jerusalem Post

Abbas offers Israel peace of freedom, Haniyeh back all forms of resistance.
Hamas and Fatah (Abu Mazen) are now officially one party of unity.  HOWEVER, the new program does not explicitly meet the three conditions set by the Quartet for dealing with the government 1. renouncing violence, 2. recognizing Israel, and 3. abiding by previous agreements. 
Comment:  Please keep this in prayer.  Really a trojan horse.  Remember that Islam says it is OK to lie to non-Muslims.  We are looking at a really big lie.  It looks like peace, but it is not.
 
The United Nations Human Rights Council is looking to appoint John Dugard as a permanent investigator on Israel’s actions in the territories, which he has in the past compared to apartheid, Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Yitzhak Levanon, told the Jerusalem Post on Thursday. 
Comment:  Please keep this in prayer.  Dugard is not good for the UN or for Israel. Remember that since its inception, the 47-member body—which includes Cuba, Saudi Arabia, and China, has continued to single out the Jewish state.  It has issued eight anti-Israel resolutions, and none against any other nation. 
 
The only fun news is that Leo DiCaprio and his girlfriend, Bar Rafaeli have been a diversion from the other news of wars and politics and rainy weather.  The Israelis are just ga ga over these two. Kinda fun to watch.  I missed them at the Western Wall by about an hour.

Please pray for the tour and for travel mercies.  Berg Productions comes on the 22nd and we will do some filming.  Please keep them in your prayers also.
 
The blog will be on shabbat until March 28.  Thank you for reading it.