And not as Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Messiah..But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. - 2Corinthians 3:13-16
Before Truth Church Calvary joined us for the third consecutive year with their amazing Mission team, we experimented for the first time by hosting an “Educational Study Tour”, led by Pastor Sam Park of Truth Church Calvary. The sixteen person team were with us for twelve days as we traveled from the Golan Heights to the Red Sea at Eilat, overlooking Egypt and Jordan. We concentrated on the key historical and biblical locations, with quality, in depth teaching at each location. It was a great time of fellowship and exploring the “Beautiful Land”. Bess and I actually got to visit several places that we never had an opportunity to see, even after living here over twenty years!
As of this writing, the Mission Team is packing up, and getting ready to return home to Denver. Once again, the Lord continues to encourage us, as he shows us we just have to be faithful, make ourselves available:
“and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear”…I Peter 3:15
The openness and the willingness to dialogue was available at almost every encounter. We only had one situation, which prompted me to use the verse above from 2Corinthians. A young, ultra orthodox gentleman insisted we were destroying his country and that we would “burn in hell” for our belief in…”you know who” (he wouldn’t even say his name). He did have a total meltdown as he went from just angry to total rage. The Lord has a way of turning the bad to good, as that day at the Central Bus Station sharing with IDF soldiers was probably the best day we’ve ever had!
Many solid conversations with exchange of emails, new facebook friends, and even an invite to Shabbat dinner for the whole team…not wanting to be too burdensome, half the team traveled to Holon, near Tel Aviv, for a Friday night meal where many prophetic scriptures were shared along with powerful testimonies of God’s goodness. Life long relationships were forged.
Also at the Bus Station, Rita noticed a man wearing a red “Make America Great” baseball hat. We asked him to join us for lunch, thinking for sure he was an American Christian tourist. The only part we got right was that he was American, but thirty years ago he traveled to Israel, met and married his wife, converted to Judaism, changed his name to Israel, and has been living in Israel ever since.
The conversation continued to spiral downhill as he discovered my story was the total opposite of his. Pray for Israel has he has to ponder all the information we shared with him.
We also served at the Joseph Project, sorting clothes for “children at risk”, picked pomegranates at Leket, for distribution to the needy, picked up trash along the beach at the Sea of Galilee, and cleaned up the cemetery and biblical murals that line the walls of the Alliance Church.
All got to experience Israel during the Feast of Succot, Tabernacles, a very special time of year.
We have three more mission teams coming before the end of the year. Please pray for continued divine appointments, safety for all, and the energy required, both spiritual and physical.
We already have five teams scheduled for 2020, so if you are thinking about coming next year and serving with us, or have any questions, you can email us at:
If you are interested in supporting our work in Israel, your tax deductible donation is facilitated by:
House Of Compassion International
House Of Compassion is a registered 501(C) (3) Non-Profit, Organization #84-4256898
You can DONATE HERE
Blessings From Jerusalem
Larry & Bess
