Update From Israel

Update from Israel:

I am in Israel right now at the tail end of a tour that included 70 people from all over the United States.  We are safe and enjoying the final days of our itinerary.  We are in close communication with our tour guides, bus drivers and security personnel.  All Christian pilgrim sites are open for visitors as well as the airport and seaports for cruise ships.  There are currently thousands of tourists in Israel who are here just as we are and thousands will be arriving in the next few days.   None of our tours go near Gaza or its surrounding areas.  The fact is, our touring schedule has not been effected and we have not felt fear or concern for our safety.  Truthfully, we would not even know what was happening near Gaza if we didn’t turn on the news and watch just as you are.  Even though this is a small country, the situation is so isolated (away from the Christian pilgrim sites and only in Gaza and surrounding Gaza) that we have not felt any concern.

With all that said, I can tell you that our hearts hurt for the country of Israel.  For the innocent people who continue to live in fear in the surrounding areas around Gaza.  We support Israel and her right to defend herself.  We believe that sadly Israel has no choice but to fight for the safety of her citizens.  I’m confident that this conflict will not last long and soon life will resume normally for those in the target regions. 

In a few days I will leave Israel and fly home, I know my departure like always will feel bittersweet.  A part of me will always be here; supporting Israel, my friends and this Holy Land.  I’m already looking forward to the next opportunity to come back and be here…in the very place on earth that God chose for His home. 

Shalom,

Kim

Celebrating His Resurrection!

On our final day and our final stop in Israel, we visited the Garden Tomb and Golgotha. What a beautiful way to end our journey here. We relaxed and took our time learning about the tomb, we sat and prayed; we stepped into the tomb and witnessed with our own eyes its emptiness. We gathered and remembered - and CELEBRATED His resurrection with taking in the elements of communion with the empty tomb within our sites. 

Tonight we returned to our hotel and packed our bags and gathered together for a special farewell dinner.  We CHEERED for our guides who now feel like part of our own family and for those amazing bus drivers who navigated through the maze of the narrow streets.  We swapped emails, snail mail and phone numbers - We ate like kings and queens and then we hugged and said our goodbyes.  Then with a heavy heart we boarded our bus for the final leg of our journey to the airport.  It's a bittersweet departure.  We looked forward to coming home and seeing our families, anxious to share with them all that we experienced here - yet it felt like we were leaving our home too... and we were.  Because Israel IS OUR HOME.

 Shalom Israel! 

Too. Tired. To. Blog.

So here's some pictures instead.... :)

Check out all these smiles on the groups arrival to the hotel on their first day in the Holy Land.  They were so tired...but sooooo happy!!!

 

LeSEA Broadcasting producer, Chuck Huffman talks to Pastor Mark and his son Wesley about the plans for the day.

Great to see this beautiful woman again so soon! Johnnie Mae!

Here's my new friend, Susanne McAlister from Full Circle (which airs on WHMB in Indianapolis) - today we talked about rainbows and it touched my heart...

 

Valerie Lowe...entering the Church of the Nativity...watch your head!

 

Using your Ipad to take pictures in Bethlehem - very high tech in such an ancient place!

Does anyone know what they are looking at???

 

Getting ready to get baptized...

 

If you decide not to get baptized you might end up like Karen, wearing everyone's eye glasses around your neck and taking everyone's picture! And look how happy she is to be doing so....!  Simply watching the baptisms in the Jordan River can be an emotional experience.

 

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit...

Amen and Amen!

"Me" of little faith.

“Me” of little faith.

What?  Rain?  Thunderstorms possible?  It’s NEVER rained in Tiberias on my watch!  The boat ride is first thing in the morning?  All I could think of is how terribly disappointed everyone will be if they can’t ride a boat on the Sea of Galilee.  The same water that Jesus walked on.  The boat ride is one of my favorite all time things to experience here.  The one place that someone can’t build a church over to commemorate the site of Jesus’ miracles on these waters…and it was in jeopardy this morning.  It hasn’t rained here, really rained, in about 6 months and God chose today?  I know Israel needs the rain desperately…but still….God, really? I didn’t sleep well, knowing our morning’s plans could be cancelled.  In the morning I brought my umbrella down to meet the group and had a knot in my stomach.  Outside, the rain came down…

I sat with the guides at breakfast and watched the outside weather from inside the cozy the dining room.  I asked them, “What’s the plan, what are we going to do?”  The answer was, “We are going to get on the boat and pray.”  I resigned to this plan, not knowing what else to do at this point.  We were going for it.  By the time I finished my strawberry lemonade I looked outside again.  How could the rain had stopped?  The forecast was gloom and had shown no hope for a dry day!  But ahhhhh…. God was with us!  We walked to the dock…boarded the boat and sang, prayed and worshipped on the Sea of Galilee without one drop of rain on us!  Another day, another miracle!  I was the last one off the boat and I shook my head in awe and then offered Him my thanks and praises.  Why did I worry?  Why did I fret about something that God has complete control in (like He does everything else!)  Yes, me of little faith.  A lesson learned already and it wasn’t even 9am yet!

Thank you Lord for clearing the skies for our boat ride…for our St. Pete’s fish lunch and for the entire afternoon of glorious sunshine and blue skies!  We are all having a great time here and today was only day 2 of our journey.  A journey that has us meeting with God in so many ways. 

I heard someone say today that when they read their Bible just a few days ago that they read it in “black and white”.  Now…they are reading it in color!  Our Bibles are alive now!

Tomorrow is another day with a chance of rain and I will still bring my umbrella, but I will not fret.  God’s got this! 

Shabbat Shalom everyone!

Kim

More soon / and pictures too!

Miracles aleady!

Everyone has arrived safe and sound in Israel!  Today was a long day - coming straight off the plane to the awaiting bus to take everyone to the very first stop the way to Tiberias.  We stopped in Caesarea, Megiddo and Mt. Carmel.  When everyone walked off that bus this afternoon at the hotel they were tired!  I don't blame them, but hey, we never said this was a leisure vacation!  We want you to see as much as you can in the time you have here!  When everyone arrived Pete Sumrall told the group about the miracle that has already happened to our group... The El Al Airlines flight that they were on from Newark was the last flight to depart before the airport started canceling almost 800 flights due to the weather!  They almost didn't make it here due to the weather - but God made it possible!  I KNOW that amazing things are going to happen this week, I can just feel it!  Stay tuned to more updates and pictures coming soon!  Right now...I think we all just need to sleep and get ready for another wonderful day in the Holy Land!
Goodnight!