Strength For The Task

Good morning from home in southern Iowa. Our delegation from Israel arrived back in the states late Thursday. I'm going to borrow a line from Jan by saying our experience was unbelievable, even sometimes unexplainable. We met new friends from both our group and from Israel. We were briefed on the current state of Israel and their neighbors. We were protected and kept safe from rocket and missile fire. We saw Bible stories come to life. And we experienced the life of Jesus 2000 years ago as well as felt the presence of God today.

I won't use a chronological timeline this morning. Last Friday evening we had a Sabbath meal with two young Jewish families who live, work, and raise their children in Jerusalem. Last Sunday evening we went to a church service in the Muslim side of Palestine where Arab Christians are looked down on and pay dearly for their faith in Christ. The area we visited below is where the Philistines lived in Bible times. We saw valleys where King Saul and his son Jonathon fought battles. Below is the valley where Delilah lived and where Samson would go visit and where he lost his long hair, his strength, and eventually his life. 

The evening before we headed home we were given a farewell dinner hosted by Simon and Hannah. They are a Jewish family who have homes in both Jerusalem and Miami. They have vineyards and a winery in Judeah, the area that is occupied by both Israel and Palestinian folks. We walked up a spring fed canyon with waterfalls. This was the place David hid from Saul and we observed many caves he and his men probably hid in. Below is the valley where Jesse told David to go and check on his brothers who were at war with the Philistines. He saw Goliath. He told King Saul he would fight him saying his strength for the task would be from the Lord. The rest is history. We are walking in the brook David crossed and we are looking for 5 smooth stones.

The black lines on this map are the pilgrimage we took on our visit. The northern area is sometimes called the Golan Heights. Bordering this area is Lebanon and Syria. Jesus took his disciples up to the northern pagan city of Caesarea Philippi where he asked them, "Who do people say that I am?" To the south is the Dead Sea which is 1200 feet below sea level. We visited the Masada, a place where King Herod built himself a palace on top of a mountain. We went swimming in the Dead Sea which is 35% salt. Where we visited to the west is called the West Bank and is occupied by both Israel and Palestine. Finally toward the bottom left is the Gaza Strip along the Mediterranean Sea. It is a small self governing area mostly occupied by the State of Palestine and is where the rockets came from toward the end of our visit. 

Around 450 rockets and missiles were fired into Israel on the morning after Israel killed a Gaza militant leader. The red flags show the targets which is generally where people live. Our last day's visit had a change of plans as most roads were closed to where we were going along the Mediterranean Sea. We stayed in Jerusalem our last day. Ofer was our tour guide and lives in Tel Aviv. His kids and family went to a bomb shelter. Schools and work was cancelled in the areas of the shelling. 

Israel has a defense called the Iron Dome. It intercepts missiles in the air and destroys them before they hit their destination. The missiles fired at Tel Aviv where we were to leave for home from were intercepted. It's an interesting feeling, even a rush, when you see and feel a formation of F15 Israeli fighter jets fly over as we did 3 or 4 times and you know it's not for a sporting event. It's not even practice. It's real life and Israel has to have strength for the task today or they would cease to exist in a very short time.

I want to share two more sites with you before we leave Israel. This is the hill of Golgotha meaning the place of the skull. Before a weather event in 2005 the face of the hill resembled a skull. It's a dirty place with an Arab bus parking lot below. In Bible times folks would use this hill for capital punishment throwing them off this cliff and then stoning them at the bottom if they didn't die. When we think of Calvary we think of "On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross". Most folks think and I'm inclined to agree this is where Jesus was crucified. It was located along a road and the Romans usually did their executions in a public place.

Of course the tomb and the resurrection place is not known for sure however this place seems close. After digging it up the rocks showed the right time period. It was definitely a tomb. And mostly importantly they found it empty which is unusual. We had communion here. Previously we had visited the Upper Room where Jesus had their Last Supper.

Jan took this picture of the stone. It sits in a trough and is made for rolling. The Bible says an angel came and rolled the stone away and sat on it. Can you imagine?

It's good to be home. I did catch the crud (a bad cold) the last day in Israel as most did, and with a 12 hour overnight flight, and an 8 hour time difference, I'm still adjusting. The crew here at home did an amazing job and accomplished much while we were gone inspite of many obstacles including weather. 

Speaking of farming and obstacles I want to thank our Pastor Jonathan who posted a story on FB about a heartbreaking story of a farm family in our church denomination. He shared about how folks need to not give up and share struggles with others and communicate. That's the strength for the task. Thanks Pastor. An excellent observation.

Brother Doug brought our father into the ER this past week for dehydration and an infection. He's back home doing much better. While Doug was in helping Dad his son Ben called who was combining and said their combine was on fire.

Something started under the cab. As you can see it is a total loss. The fire department from Barnes City answered the 911 call.

Doug and his boys were able to get a borrowed combine and were working yesterday with the burnt combine in the background to finish harvest. Farmers need a special strength for the task. Thanks for the pictures Karl.

Mark found this gem of a picture in his phone and shared it with us this past week. It's a picture of my brother Dan who passed away at 54 years old in 2013. He was a special needs brother and special indeed. When he loved something or someone he would touch them with his face. He is holding Mark and Stacy's young son, Anton. We have folks from this little blog family that have lost loved ones this past week. We just want you all to know like my brother is showing, we love you. We're praying for you. No matter what your coming week looks like your strength for your tasks are leaning on God and giving and receiving help from others.