Israel Pastors Trip Blogs

I can’t believe that our trip of a lifetime is coming to a close! It has been a very fast paced trip, very full days but lots of supernatural energy thanks to all of your prayer support! We are so grateful . We have felt God’s favor every step of the trip . Everyone has been healthy and we have been able to move around Israel very quickly with not many crowds at all. Today we had the greatest crowd to wait for at the Church of the Holy Sepluchre, but not bad.
We lifted our voices to worship in the beautiful St. Anne’s Cathedral, named for Mary’s mother. We sang Aleluia , and had it videoed by a stranger, who asked if we were a chorale group! She will send it to us!
Israel has been a life changing experience for both of us and we will never be the same since being here! We hope to be back bringing many of you with us!! Must get to another delicious Mediterranean dinner. They know the meaning of delectable food!
See you all very soon…. Pray for our flight!

Today is our last day and probably will be one of the most emotionally draining as we visit the place where Jesus was scourged . . . walk the Via Dolorosa . . . and finally share communion with our new friends in the garden tomb, the site of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

I first came here when I was 17 years old and barely remember anything. It will be different this time! I’m not saying one is too young to come at that age . . . I just had different reasons and was distracted. I won’t take time to go into that. But this time the sites, sounds, smells, tears, and memories will last for a life time. This is the first time here with my wife, but not the last.

It would be hard to come here and not have God do something in your life . . . if you open your heart to Him. I pray that the changes He has been making in my life will be lasting change. I’m a fallible, very fallible, human being . . . but God is working and changing me. And just as when I was 18 I believed He used my first trip here to birth some things in my life, so will He birth new things this time, too.

It’s going to be hard saying good bye to our new friends and should we not see one another again on this earth, we will join together once more, with our Lord, and not just where He walked on earth one time, but forever in our new eternal home.

Come quickly Lord Jesus, come quickly!

well, its hard to believe that this is our last day.  coming to israel is like coming home and im already a bit homesick but can hardly wait to come back.  the last couple of days since my last post have been spent in jeruslam.  the first 3 days of our trip were concentrated on a lot of ot sites.  the last 3 have been concentrated on new testament sites.  

we have covered alot of jerusalem.  my mind and heart are full.  sitting int he garden of gethsemane was quite moving as i thot about this place where jesus wept over the city as he looked.  i thot about does my heart weep for the things God weeps for?  sometimes it does, others it doesnt but i need to be broken more for the things of GOd.  yesterday, i was sitting in the most likely cave where the son of God was born.  thats hard to imagine that you could stand in that manger area.  

the old city is like no other.  your heart and spirit are just drawn here.  people live inside it and pay quite a bit to do so.  we have walked tunnels dug in the cananite ere as well as water tunnels that hezekiah has built.  

i walked the same temple steps yesterday as jesus did.  the original steps.  unreal.  walking the same steps as jesus wouldve to the temple to worship.  its amazing to me how much people sacrificed just to get to jerusalem to worship.  they would walk and recite the song of steps in ps. 121 as they walked up them.  it was a time of preparation.  how does my heart prepare for worship each week.  i have been reminded again that althouh america has becomd civilized we have lost some of the best out of civilization from the past that would do our spiritual pilgrimages some good.  

we thank you for your prayers.  our bodies have adjusted well this whole time and were getting ready to board a plane tonight for home.  we miss home but feel like weve been home.  as i sit on the balcony of my hotel, i look over a city that all the world will want and that someday the antichrist will set up his home in.  its hard to belive that all roads point to jerusalem.  this has been a great history lesson to me.  its put many disconnected things into place.  

i can hardly wait to teach about israel.  but since weve run hard for 7 stragiht days, i have lots of refflectin to do.  

we end our last day having communion in the garden tomb.  it will be a moving day.  some days have been physcially exhausting some days emotionally.  we will walk jesus final path today, im sure were up for another emotional day.  thanks for your prayers.  we cant wait to see and share with you.

That’s what they claimed – “Come to Israel and you’ll never be the same!” Facing the last day of this journey, I’d say they’re good to their word. The experiences I’ve had in the Holy Land will forever mark my life and my walk with the Savior I love and who, most importantly, loved me enough to die in my place. The beauty of this land is unserpassed, as I’ve already mentioned in early reports. The hospitality of the Jewish people, the food upon food upon food, the favor of the Lord obviously resting upon this place and the new adventures (think tunnels, narrow mountain passes, caves, rivers, seas and historical discoveries all around) available each new day have all been marvelous. However, the BEST has been the LORD Himself Who meets you here with gentle whispers, encouragement and conviction as you seek Him. Rich and memorable moments: being baptized in the Jordan, the underground jail where He was held awaiting trial, the Garden where He surrendered His will to the Father’s and the temple steps where He assended as the God-man so that I could assend into the Father’s presence! Tonight I fellowshiped with 19 other couples along with our Israeli guide and our Israeli Arab bus driver around a giant table, feasting and laughing and all I could think about was heaven and getting to do that over and over again all because He came for me and opened the way. He is the Way. Tired of reading yet? Just get ready because I won’t be able to stop talking about all of this for years! You’ll just have to come here for yourself and find out that when you come to Israel, you’ll never be the same!

Tomorrow will bring this amazing journey to a close, but the experiences shared here will last a lifetime. Top 4 moments today: 1- the cave tombs where Jesus was scourged and held until trial 2- going through Zion Gate into the old City of David 3- visiting the Western Wall, formerly known as the Wailing Wall and 4- the southern wall and entrance where I stepped literally on the stones where Jesus walked as He entered the Temple. In addition, we were privileged to cross the Palestinian border and visit Bethlehem and witness the manger where Christ was laid. On top of all of these mind-blowing experiences has been the sweet fellowship enjoyed by our group as we’ve prayed, cried, shared and laughed together.

The pace is fast . . . the food is excellent . . . the group is fun . . . the devotionals are insightful . . . the sites are mind-boggling  . . . the experience is life changing.

Every Christ follower should come to this place . . . the land of the Bible . . . the land of Jesus . . . every Pastor should come . . . it will change the way you look at the God’s Word . . . it will broaden your perspective for teaching . . . and it will give you a deeper hunger for the Bible and a fresh desire to study it again

Today (Saturday) we traveled the longest distance in our tour.  We started out in Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee (690 feet below sea level) – traveled south for 130 miles, parallel to the Jordan River, to the Dead Sea (1385 feet below sea level).  Took a cable car to the top of Masada (30 feet above sea level).  Back down to the Dead Sea, then we drove northwest – up to Jerusalem (2577 feet above sea level)… a difference of almost 4000 feet in 20 minutes.

During the course of the day we visited Bet Shean.  The city was once part of the Decapolis and was destroyed by an earthquake in 749 AD.  The city is Israel’s largest excavation and is totally amazing.

Then we drove to Qumran – the ancient home of the Essenes and the place where the Dead Sea scrolls where discovered.

From there we were treated to lunch the the Crown Plaza Hotel on the Dead Sea and many of us floated in the Dead Sea.

Next stop Masada – the ancient Herodian fortress overlooking the Dead Sea. This is the location of the final stand of the Jewish zealots in the rebellion of 70 AD (when the Temple was destroyed).  This site is an archetectural marvel and a site of great significance and patriotism to the Israeli people.

Then on to kibbutz En Gedi.  A kibbutz is typically a farming community where people share all things in common. En Gedi is the biblical oasis where David hid from Saul.  Today, they have a botanical garden that is amazing,  Everything grows faster, bigger, and sweeter than almost anywhere else in the world.

After En Gedi we made our way to Jerusalem as night was falling.   We checked into the David Citadel Hotel and enjoyed a wonderful dinner and good night’s rest.

Hello dear ones,

We hit the ground running again today with our guide, Tsion (C-on). It was fun just now to lay on the bed with my feet up while Donn read all of your notes to us for today. How wonderful that you share your thoughts with us. Thanks for your love and support. The breakfasts here are something else. It is all laid out in buffet fashion, with fruit, freshed squeezed juices, eggs, omlets, quiches, breads, salad items, huge sliced honey combs dripping with honey–and hundreds of other items including dried apricots, berries, and dates. It is a lavish display of the goodness of God in this land of milk and honey

It was amazing to be in Jerusalem today. It was teaming with people, especially because they are coming off of sabbat yesterday. We went to the market place in the city. Vendors line the pathways with every type of food imaginable. Huge fresh fish, spices, and nuts. Fruit– and more fruit. It helps me to see what it may have been like during Passover—people, people, people. On the main drive of the city there are people on bikes, carts, little cars continually beeping their horns. I don’t think it helps to be beeping the horns, because every car is still in gridlock. But the folks beep anyway. There is much road construction going on, which needs to happen to support the great numbers of people coming back to the country. Widening the roads include moving each original stone by hand–numbering it–and returning it to it’s spot.

We were able to spend time in the Garden of Gethsemane today. For some reason we were able to take our team in there; then we noticed that the guard had locked the gate, and didn’t let anyone else in. What a peaceful place in the middle of the madness of the city. It was Donn’s turn to speak today. He spoke of the stuggle of Jesus there, and how when he died to his will in that place, he was able to move forward to die on the cross. Gethsemane means, “oil press”. We saw other days how the oil is made from the olives. . another story. He shared a bit about Donn Wesley’s path; it was quite an emotional time as we pondered once again the times in our lives that we are called to surrender to God’s will for our lives. Mark was very sensitive to God’s work in our hearts during this time, and gave us more time to just be. Another couple had lost their daughter as well. One just never knows as we look at people what their story may be. Somehow today, our group took a step closer to the Lord and to each other.

We saw so much today on the Mount of Olives, including the wall around the city. We saw t he “Gate Beautiful” where Jesus will enter when he comes back. The Arabs have a huge cemetary outside of the gate, because they know that no Jew would desecrate themselves by walking through a cemetary. They are sure this will hold Jesus back–ha!!!

We also went to the Holocaust Museum this afternoon. I was apprehensive about this part of our journey. I’ve seen enough to know that I didn’t want to take in more for my memory bank. I remember when Shindler’s List came out. Of course, we own that movie because Donn would want to see it. It was downstairs. .. one day I was walking down the basement steps, and Donn Wesley was just coming out of the downstairs TV room. His face was ashen–white as could be. He then told me that he had just watched the Shindler movie. Tho I would never tell him not to, I would have chosen to protect him from such evil. It made a memory for me. Back to the museum. It has just been recently redone. It is incredibly beautiful, walking us through the events that could lead to such a bizarre time of history. Especially touching was the children’s area. Inside are 1.5 million candles burning. All day, everyday, the names of the children are read, along with their age and country. It takes 340 days to go through the list once. Today there were hundreds of young Israeli soldiers walking through the museum. After high school every girl and boy are required to be in the army for two years. I couldn’t help but admire them and surely this part of their training shapes the character of who they are.

I hope I haven’t kept you too long. I could never have even dreamed of what this trip to Israel would show us. To say that the history here is rich does not begin to describe it all. God is so very big. We “git” to share in his-story for a little while. Again I am reminded that He is “I AM”, and I am not.

Heard church was wonderful today. We are so blessed to have Alan on board. Hopefully Tara is in now too, and was able to share this weekend with her family, and our church family. God must love us very much to allow Alan to serve with us at C.M.

Time for sleep. Love to you all,
Barb

Our day started on the Mt of Olives with a view of the city. Being in Jerusalem is like being in a time machine. There are literally layers of history. You have to be thinking about Abraham and David and Solomon and the exile and Jesus and the crusades etc. all at once.So much to see and think about. Also you have to be sorting all the time. What is true? What is lengend? What might be true?
We made three stops on the Mt. From the top we laid out the city and all the valleys around the Temple Mount, then we walked down the hill about half way and paused where Jesus wept over the city on Palm Sunday, finally we went to a possible spot of the Garden of Gethsemane. It was a specail time to think of what Jesus did to get ready for the coming sacriface. I can tell you that I wept where He wept, it was a deep time with God.

We did many other great things today, but the most important for me this afternoon was Yad Vashem, the National Memorial of the Holocast. It is so well done, and a reminder we all need. Our guide was a young man and you could tell how deeply he felt about what he was sharing. My favorite quote came from Pastor Andre’ Trocome, whose whole village worked together to save Jews from the Nazi’s ; when ask why he risk his life for the Jews He said:”I don’t know what a Jew is I only know what a human being are and God called us to save human beings.” We all need to remember that each human life is valuable to God. All young people here are required to serve in the armed forces. Many of them were going through the museum and would understand why they must keep their nation free.
It was a great day, as our guide says running where Jesus walked. I can’t begin to tell you how deeply I’m affected being here.
Thank-you church and friends for caring, and praying.

We love each of you.

Pastor Donn