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Wherever we went we had divine appointments. Opportunities to share the love of the Messiah, opportunities to share our testimonies, opportunities to pray with many people…there was no down time. It was truly amazing.

Personally, Bess and I really needed to experience and see first hand, the work of the Lord. He has lifted our spirits, encouraged us to continue to keep doing what we are doing, rebuke discouragement, and continue to trust and follow his leading.

Here in Israel, we are in the midst of the “Days Of Awe”. The ten days starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur are commonly known as the Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim) or the Days of Repentance. This is a time for serious introspection, a time to consider the sins of the previous year and repent before Yom Kippur, the Day Of Atonement.

The Team’s last full day on the ground was a picture of the entire week. We had a scheduled day of service which was unexpectedly canceled the night before. It was the perfect opportunity to unveil two untested outreaches.

We were off to the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem, where there is a constant flow of soldiers all day, and where the Lord showed me to go.

Armed with a slip of paper, (wasn’t prepared yet with a nice card) with some key messianic prophesies in Hebrew, we prayed for the right “victims” and offered to buy their lunch. The rest is history. Tremendous conversations and promises to read the verses from the Tenach, the Old Testament. They were extremely appreciative for the “free lunch”…WOW!

The most amazing encounter was by Rita, the Team Leader, who approached a young man who was not a soldier, but a Yeshiva student, an Orthodox Jew. He had already purchased his lunch, but spoke with all of us about the scriptures with a promise to read the verses from the prophets. Yeshiva students typically only study the Torah, the first five books. He asked for prayer for his studies and upcoming exams.

We got back to our home in the afternoon, and prior to their final Shabbat meal, we ventured out to the athletic field of the nearby school in our village. We were shooting some hoops, throwing around the football, and before we knew it, we had about twenty kids who wanted to learn how to play football. We have learned from our twenty years in Israel, that trying to teach young Israeli kids American football is a bit of a challenge.

It’s best described in Genesis 1:2…”without form,void, and confusion”.

Nevertheless, we loved it, the kids loved it, and I told them I wanted to teach all the kids in their school how to play…they were very excited.

The team also served in the Galilee, cleaning a beach off the shores of Sea Of Galilee, worked at the Alliance Church Cemetary, picked beets with Leket, worked in the forest of Ein Kerem, the home of John The Baptist (he wasn’t a Baptist), and sorted clothes and food for The Sea of Love Congreation in Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv.

During our outreach with Leket, I had to chance to meet our new contact person, Ilanit, who’s cousin is a believer…we spoke about ½ hour about the Lord…please pray for her and Mara, who we have been working with for about one year.