West Bank Adventures!

Among the adventures of this amazing time in Israel, I think getting lost and finding ourselves in the West Bank is coming close to the top of our list! We had no idea setting out from Jerusalem to Migdal, that our GPS would lead us up through the West Bank through the beautiful lush Jordan Valley.  As we were driving, we began seeing things like a Bedouin shepherd herding sheep across the road.  As we were following our "Waze" app directions, we began to wonder if perhaps Waze was taking us the wrong way, but we kept going.  The drive was beautiful.  The views crossing the Jordan Valley were the most beautiful sights I have ever seen.

This was a shepherd we drove past while in the West Bank near the Jordan Valley.

As we kept driving, we had a left turn coming up, and then a quick right.  Wait, a military gated compound?  I don't think this is the WAY!  But, as we know... His ways are higher than our "Waze" (pun intended).  We found ourselves asking four IDF soldiers if they could help us to find where we were going.  They were uncertain themselves, but after spending several minutes looking at phones and consulting each other, they helped us get back on the road that we navigated away from.  Before we left them, we had several moments to ask them a question in Hebrew.  

Kevin is really learning some Hebrew, so the conversation went like this:

"Efshar - leesh-ole -oatchem - shea-eelah?" (Can I ask you a question)?

"Ha-eem - Yuh-chole - lee-ee-yoat, shea - Yeshua - Hoo - hamshiach -shell - ahm - Israel Vay Kole haw olahm?"
(*Can it be that Yeshua is the Messiah of the people of Israel and the whole world?)

The response: One of the female IDF soldiers looked at us with a curious face, and responded, "Maybe..."  Wow!  This was better than we expected!  This is a very unusual answer here in Israel.  We left all four IDF soldiers with a copy of Isaiah 53 in Hebrew to end our time with them.  Amazing.  Could it be that this whole "wrong turn" was actually a right turn?  

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." ~Romans 1:16

One of the highlights of this trip was a connection made at the worship night in Poriya Illit.  Out of this meeting, Adoption Airfare was connected with an organization called the Aliyah Return Center.  This organization is instrumental in bringing the Jewish people back into the land, making Aliyah.  We will be serving this organization with their travel needs.  What an honor and a privilege for us.  The Lord has given us such a love for the people of Israel, and we are so honored to be a part of His plan in bringing the Jewish people back into the land from all across the world.

The bomb shelters in Israel remind me of the constant state of sobriety in this nation at all times.  I feel safer in Israel than in the USA in certain ways with their sobriety and preparedness for emergencies that can occur.

The Aliyah Return Center needs lots of hands to help beautify their buildings and structures.  We had an opportunity to pray for the provision of these projects.

Flags at the Aliyah Return Center representing the nations of the world who support the Jewish people, and also the nations in the world where Jews are leaving to make Aliyah.

Faith on the hill outside the Aliyah Return Center, overlooking the Jordan valley.  Beautiful!

This is brother Russ and Faith after praying at the flag site.

Bomb Shelters are very common in Israel.  They open up into a downstairs level made of solid concrete with chairs and other things for people to congregate when sirens sound.  They are not used much, but thankfully they are in most areas of Israel just in case.  Israel is always living in a constant state of sobriety.  

Next we headed up for lunch with a dear sister who lives in the Golan Heights. We had a precious time together with her and she hosted us for an incredible lunch at her table. We enjoyed things like Chickpeas, cabbage salad, fresh beet juice, olives, and tahinia. Over lunch, we met with a sister who is doing some work in the Sderot region of Israel, bordering Gaza. It was great hearing about this ministry and the work they are doing there.

This is the Golan Heights view of the Sea of Galilee, and it is AMAZING!

Sister Karen's beautiful table

Sister Karen at her gate in her beautiful home in the Golan Heights.

Kevin and Tony Palacio, a dear brother we haven't seen
in almost 10 years!

This is Alison Devaty.  We worked through an issue
with her son's lap infant ticket, so I was so happy
to meet them in person!

After our meeting with Karen, we headed to Migdal again to meet up with the team from Blessed Hope, our dear friends from California who share our heart for the gospel.  Such a precious group of believers.  We love them so much!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers for us on this trip.  We have had some surreal moments and we trust that much of this a direct result of the prayers of the people of God on our behalf.  We can't thank you enough!  Please keep your prayers coming!  We have just one more week in Israel and we want the Lord to get the most Glory possible on this trip.  

Shalom from Israel, and Lehitra'ot!

~Tabitha :)