Seven of the nine members travelling to Israel/West Bank are on their way to the the airport.  They will leave Chicago, fly to New York and then board a direct flight to Tel Aviv.  As you watch Fox news and CNN, you may wonder “why”? they are going.
First, they are not going to Gaza.  They will be […]

Wow, am I behind on our Ukraine report!
Our days in Ukraine began with some wonderful times with Alex, Nadia and Dianna in Irpene, our  Ukrainian “kids”.  Keith was able to help Alex in a “fix list” and we had a really special day in Kiev.  Dianna is growing so fast and it was fun to […]

Along with our ‘yearly’ trip to Ukraine in October, we are currently planning a return trip to the West Bank. We will be based in Bethlehem at Bethlehem Bible College. While there we will be doing construction on the Student Center.  From this ‘base’ we will be going out on ‘alternative’ tours - you will […]

In no way do I claim or pretend to be a Biblical scholar, a historian or a political activist. I am writing this as an ordinary person, admittedly ignorant of much of what has gone on in the “Holy Land” save the things I have heard in sermons or statements made by Evangelical Christians. I […]

Our last bit of luggage has finally arrived. The luggage was delivered at all different times of the day and night, but everyone received theirs. We had packed three boxes which have also arrived. One of them came via India, Nashville and Atlanta! It even came on a different airline! […]

We left Jerusalem at 2:30 a.m. and went by van to the airport. It took us not quite an hour to get there. We began experiencing Israel’s security even before we got off the van. Once inside the airport we were questioned, our bags then put through an x-ray machine and then […]

This morning we went to the Mount of Olives. What a beautiful view of the city of Jerusalem. One could almost hear Jesus’ words, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem… I would have gathered you as a mother hen….” Pastor again read us scripture there and in the Garden of Gethsemane. The olive trees are over 2,000 years […]

Yesterday we traveled by van for two hours to the Sea of Galilee. It was a beautiful trip through the Israel countryside. Our first stop was in the “wilderness.” Pastor David has preached several times about the “wilderness” times in our lives as well as Jesus’ time in the wilderness. It really bought it to […]

I must admit that I was happy when Pastor David asked me to be the team ‘reporter,’ but I found myself yesterday having second thoughts. Trying to understand what the conflict is about becomes almost overwhelming.
Yesterday we visited a refugee camp. We sat in a Women’s Center and talked to the Director. The doors were […]

We stayed our first night in The Jerusalem Hotel. It is a really interesting building made of stone and furnished with beautiful wood furniture from Egypt. It is not as quiet as BBC in Bethlehem, but some say it helps to have the ceiling fan on, as long as you don’t mind feeling like you […]