Tuesday, July 20, 3:37pm
Thankful to be home in Decatur, Alabama
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Tuesday, July 20
Tuesday, July 20
We arrived safely to NY Kennedy before 5am Eastern Time. Now waiting for 11am flight to Atlanta and then on to Huntsville. Good flight. The Lord blessed us with some rest. We watched a good, funny movie.
We are looking forward to being home today.
God is good - All the time!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Monday, July 19
Today was our last day in Israel. We leave at 12:30am, just after midnight tonight. Checkout time was 11am but they graciously gave us until 1pm. We had our wonderful buffet breakfast late and then packed up to leave. Scotty got golf on his mind so we decided to do golf on the way to Tel Aviv. I actually had been trying to get him to go for a few days since the only two courses in Israel are located between Haifa and Tel Aviv. He waited until today to consider it since it would be on our way to the airport and we would have time to kill after we checked out of our hotel. We checked out around 11:30 and planned to take a taxi to the train station to go to Netanya and then a taxi to the golf course at Ga’ash. This would have been cheaper but the taxi driver wanted to take us all the way to Ga’ash from the hotel so he came down some and Scotty took the offer. The train ride would have been much more relaxing. He was on the phone most of the way with his boss/dispatcher ? and arguing (using his hands as he spoke even though he was just on the phone. I think his family called and he was much calmer and slower talking with them, at least most of the time. Ga’ash is a Kibbutz which is a farming community but they have one of the two golf courses in Israel. It is a small 9-hole course. As it turned out the only 18-hole course which is in Caesarea was closed on Mondays. We hated that because it would have been the choice place to play---maybe someday. Scotty had so much fun, he played another nine. I drove the cart for him. It was a nice breezy day near the Mediterranean Sea. They let us shower there to get ready for our trip home so that was really nice. We met some nice people there. One of the assistant pro’s was Chris from Washington State who married an Israeli. One nice guy from Italy, not sure why he was there and some Israelis. We also talked with a man from Chicago who said he came in on Sabbatical 30 years ago and decided to stay.
We got a taxi then to the train station in Hertzliya which is another town nearby. Ga’ash is between Natanya and Hertzliya and you can see both cities from the golf course. We bought our ticket for the airport and they said “Your train leaves in 4 minutes” and it takes a while to get your platform so we rushed and got to our train. We had been told that the train takes you straight to the airport but no one told us that you have to change trains. Scotty happen to ask a guy sitting across from us if he spoke English and he did somewhat and he told us we needed to get off at the next stop and change trains to go to the airport. We are so thankful for his help or else we would have gone too far and probably had to buy another ticket. Another young man really helped us as we got off the train to help us find out where we needed to be to find the right platform for the airport. He is coming to America next month, to Arizona.
We arrived at the airport 6 hrs before our flight but we wanted to get down here before dark and now we have our luggage so it is just not feasible to try to do anything else. They have a nice waiting here with several eating choices and shopping. We can’t check in until 3 hrs before our flight so we are blessed that they have this nice area where you can wait with your luggage, many airports do not.
I’m sure I have left off some things like every time you go in a train station or a mall they are security checks and they check any bags you have. It is a different world here but we always feel very safe. Actually all this security is great!
There is a mix of people here. There are Jewish Israelis, there are Arab Israelis, There are Orthodox Jews, Messianic Jews, there are Arab Christians, there are Arab Muslims, there are Palestinian Arabs, there are Russian Orthodox and other denominations as well. Palestinians are not Israeli citizens. The Palestinian areas (West Bank) are fenced off from the Israeli areas and usually there are checkpoints between each. It is like 2 countries within 1 country. The people co-exist well from what we have seen and want to live in peace.
It’s a beautiful country and the biblical sites are a joy to visit. We are blessed to have had the privilege to come many times. We will be bringing a group February 21 and we would love for you to join us. When we come with a group we have a bus, driver and guide waiting for us at the airport and they stay with us for the entire trip. We never have to worry about transportation or food. Our breakfasts and dinners are provided in the hotels and we usually stop for lunch on the tour at a very reasonable place or you can just bring a snack for lunch. Pray about coming with us.
If all goes as scheduled we should arrive in Huntsville around 2:30 Tuesday. We go from Tel Aviv to NY Kennedy to Atlanta to Huntsville.
Thank you for your prayers. We are very blessed and look forward to being back at Westmeade on August 1.
“I thank my God every time I remember you”. Philippians 1:3
Today was our last day in Israel. We leave at 12:30am, just after midnight tonight. Checkout time was 11am but they graciously gave us until 1pm. We had our wonderful buffet breakfast late and then packed up to leave. Scotty got golf on his mind so we decided to do golf on the way to Tel Aviv. I actually had been trying to get him to go for a few days since the only two courses in Israel are located between Haifa and Tel Aviv. He waited until today to consider it since it would be on our way to the airport and we would have time to kill after we checked out of our hotel. We checked out around 11:30 and planned to take a taxi to the train station to go to Netanya and then a taxi to the golf course at Ga’ash. This would have been cheaper but the taxi driver wanted to take us all the way to Ga’ash from the hotel so he came down some and Scotty took the offer. The train ride would have been much more relaxing. He was on the phone most of the way with his boss/dispatcher ? and arguing (using his hands as he spoke even though he was just on the phone. I think his family called and he was much calmer and slower talking with them, at least most of the time. Ga’ash is a Kibbutz which is a farming community but they have one of the two golf courses in Israel. It is a small 9-hole course. As it turned out the only 18-hole course which is in Caesarea was closed on Mondays. We hated that because it would have been the choice place to play---maybe someday. Scotty had so much fun, he played another nine. I drove the cart for him. It was a nice breezy day near the Mediterranean Sea. They let us shower there to get ready for our trip home so that was really nice. We met some nice people there. One of the assistant pro’s was Chris from Washington State who married an Israeli. One nice guy from Italy, not sure why he was there and some Israelis. We also talked with a man from Chicago who said he came in on Sabbatical 30 years ago and decided to stay.
We got a taxi then to the train station in Hertzliya which is another town nearby. Ga’ash is between Natanya and Hertzliya and you can see both cities from the golf course. We bought our ticket for the airport and they said “Your train leaves in 4 minutes” and it takes a while to get your platform so we rushed and got to our train. We had been told that the train takes you straight to the airport but no one told us that you have to change trains. Scotty happen to ask a guy sitting across from us if he spoke English and he did somewhat and he told us we needed to get off at the next stop and change trains to go to the airport. We are so thankful for his help or else we would have gone too far and probably had to buy another ticket. Another young man really helped us as we got off the train to help us find out where we needed to be to find the right platform for the airport. He is coming to America next month, to Arizona.
We arrived at the airport 6 hrs before our flight but we wanted to get down here before dark and now we have our luggage so it is just not feasible to try to do anything else. They have a nice waiting here with several eating choices and shopping. We can’t check in until 3 hrs before our flight so we are blessed that they have this nice area where you can wait with your luggage, many airports do not.
I’m sure I have left off some things like every time you go in a train station or a mall they are security checks and they check any bags you have. It is a different world here but we always feel very safe. Actually all this security is great!
There is a mix of people here. There are Jewish Israelis, there are Arab Israelis, There are Orthodox Jews, Messianic Jews, there are Arab Christians, there are Arab Muslims, there are Palestinian Arabs, there are Russian Orthodox and other denominations as well. Palestinians are not Israeli citizens. The Palestinian areas (West Bank) are fenced off from the Israeli areas and usually there are checkpoints between each. It is like 2 countries within 1 country. The people co-exist well from what we have seen and want to live in peace.
It’s a beautiful country and the biblical sites are a joy to visit. We are blessed to have had the privilege to come many times. We will be bringing a group February 21 and we would love for you to join us. When we come with a group we have a bus, driver and guide waiting for us at the airport and they stay with us for the entire trip. We never have to worry about transportation or food. Our breakfasts and dinners are provided in the hotels and we usually stop for lunch on the tour at a very reasonable place or you can just bring a snack for lunch. Pray about coming with us.
If all goes as scheduled we should arrive in Huntsville around 2:30 Tuesday. We go from Tel Aviv to NY Kennedy to Atlanta to Huntsville.
Thank you for your prayers. We are very blessed and look forward to being back at Westmeade on August 1.
“I thank my God every time I remember you”. Philippians 1:3
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Sunday, July 18
Continued
Rosh Hanikra is where the British built a tunnel through this rock for rail route between Haifa, Beirut and Tripoli. It took only one year with 10,000 workers. Its a lovely place and I will try to upload pics if I get internet access tonight at the airport.
We got back to train atation and walked over to mall to gt money changed. Since we had a nice lunch by the Sea today we just had some dinner at McDonalds in the mall. It costs about the same as our nice lunch. We took a bus back to our hotel some Advil and then to bed.
Shalom
Rosh Hanikra is where the British built a tunnel through this rock for rail route between Haifa, Beirut and Tripoli. It took only one year with 10,000 workers. Its a lovely place and I will try to upload pics if I get internet access tonight at the airport.
We got back to train atation and walked over to mall to gt money changed. Since we had a nice lunch by the Sea today we just had some dinner at McDonalds in the mall. It costs about the same as our nice lunch. We took a bus back to our hotel some Advil and then to bed.
Shalom
Sunday, July 18
Sunday, July 18
We are praying for the family of Bobby Boger whose funeral is today. Also prayed for Westmeade today and for Donnell and just heard that he got sick and Larry preached today. We also heard that it was a great sermon and music. News travels fast over these ocean waves!
Sunday here is like Monday there. It seemed like Monday since we went to church yesterday. Scotty wore me out today walking the city of Haifa. We came back to our room and rested a little while and then out again. We took the bus to the train station then took the train to Nahariyya, then a taxi to Rosh Kanikra which is the northernmost point in Israel that borders Lebanon. We were right at border crossing but you cant take pics of the crossing for security reasons. Rosh Kanikra is a unique place where the water has formed grottos in solid rock cliffs. They have made a walkway where you can go in and see these amazing water caves. From inside the waves are thunderous. The water is beautiful emerald and perfectly clear. Beautiful! The only problem we had was no taxi to return. Thanks to God a kind man called for one to come for us and we are now safe in our room. My phone battery has died so I will finish this tomorrow. Its 10:35 and i am exhausted. Scotty has walked me many miles today. It has been a great day!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Saturday, July 17
Saturday, July 17
This is Shabbat (Sabbath) so our breakfast was somewhat different. It was good but they do not cook on Shabbot so no omelets or waffles. Everything has to be prepared the day before, and before Shabbot begins at 6pm on Friday. They have a white melon that is so sweet and delicious, a honeydew I suppose.
People were walking on the beach walkway when we went to bed and when we got up. Many are out swimming now. They keep going out further than the limit and the lifeguard keeps calling them back in or going out in the Seadoo to get them. We could feel the undertow even in waist deep water yesterday. This reminds me of Hebrews 12 where it talks about Gods discipline of us because of His love for us. He disciplines us when we get out of His will because of His great love. That reminds me of the song "How Deep The Father's Love For Us". I love that song. I posted the youtube link to it on the blog earlier. We sang it last week at Christs Church in Jerusalem and its been in my head all week. Beautiful words.
We went to a Messianic congregation church today with the Bridgers. The gave us receivers and headphones where we could hear the English translation. Scotty and I were tied together sharing 1 receiver with 1 earpiece each. The worship service was 2 hrs. Wonderful music but no songs we knew. They had screens with an english version of the Hebrew words so we could sing along. Some gave the English translation for us to read as well. Beautiful words of praise to Yeshua which is wonderful to hear in this country. The church was packed with Jews, Arabs, Russians, Finnish and a few of us Americans - well us and the Bridgers and another missionary family. Good time of worship to our God who is so worthy. The pastor is an Arab Israeli and he brought a wonderful mess age.
We enjoyed some beach and pool time this afternoon, about an hr and a half is all Scotty could stand.
The Bridgers picked us up at 5:30 to go to Caesarea by the Sea for dinner. We had a wonderful meal at the Port Cafe. The boys enjoyed playing in a grassy area near some of the ruins of Caesarea. They live in an apartment on the 12th floor. Actually there is very little grass here in this country. Those are precious boys with lots of energy ( ages 6, 4, 2 and Moriah just turned 1. Im enjoying getting to know them better. Pray for this family as they serve the Lord here.
The Lord provided a spectacular sunset for us to enjoy before the 20 minute drive back to Haifa!
Friday, July 16, 2010
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