Day 1 in a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands...

Red and I just returned two days ago from a trip to Israel with the Pine Cove Forge - it was amazing!  Red first travelled to Israel five years ago with a group called Chosen People Ministries.  As soon as he returned he talked about wanting to take me there to see it and when we learned about the Pine Cove trip last year, we jumped on the opportunity.  The trip held a lot of new things for Red even though he had been there before.  For me, everything was new, and being in Israel exceeded my expectations.  If you've been thinking about going to Israel - go!! It is worth the investment.  Oh, and you should brush up on your Bible and read The Source before you go, trust me.

During the trip, someone from the group blogged each day about what we did, feel free to check out their posts here: http://gtitours.org/online-tour-journal/israel-the-forge-140308/

 

Day 1 - Mitzpe Ramon

Our tour started in the desert, in the wilderness, just as the Israelites were led out of Egypt into the desert.  Now we were there only for a few hours (not even close to 40 years), but even in that short time we were able to appreciate things about Israel's time in the desert that we could not have appreciated without having been there.  The desert was beautiful, but what was more impressive was the teaching that we received and the time to marvel at how God used the desert to display his provision for his people.  "And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD you God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in you heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.  And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your father know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.  Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years.  Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the LORD your God disciplines you.  So you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him.  For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land..." Deut. 8:2-7

Our first view of the Makhtesh and of Israel

Our first pic together in ISRAEL :)

Beautiful desert...think rocky more than sandy

Indiana Jones in the desert :)...
The hat made Red easy to find the entire trip,
as though he is not already easy to find!

So blessed to learn alongside these people - so encouraging!



Seeing the desert in March allowed us to see a glimpse of the blooming of the desert.
"The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing."
Isaiah 35:1

 

The question I walked away from this site with was: Do I trust God when I don't see his provision?  This day, being in the desert, made me think of how God has richly provided for me throughout my life, and especially in my current season of living on Sakhalin.  I was reminded that I need to trust in God, not in myself, and need to follow Him instead of trying to find/force my own way.  Just like the Israelites, I am often tempted to grumble and in the process of grumbling I miss seeing the blessings of where God has me.

 

 

Oh, by the way, did you know that there are three kinds of deserts in Israel? I did not.  I guess Hebrew is like Russian in a way, both languages are often much more descriptive with their words than English is...in Hebrew there are different words for desert and in Russian, different words for snow :).

1. Midvar - most common desert, the kind of desert you can survive in - shepherds tend sheep there
2. T'sah - slightly more harsh than Midvar, but survivable if you have a well and have community - we were at the edge of T'sah in the Mahktesh
3. Yeshimon - this wilderness is not survivable, literally, a land without water BUT, the Bible speaks of God as the living water who sustains his people even here...

 

Day 1 - Masada

Masada is a fortress up on a plateau overlooking the Dead Sea.  Masada was the final spot of resistance for the Jewish Revolt from 70-73AD.  It took a Roman army of 10,000 almost four years to conquer this stronghold of around 1000.  They built a siege ramp that you can still see today.

 

First glimpses of the Dead Sea

Red and Craig/"Dutch"
He was our camp director the year Red and I met
at Pine Cove Woods back in 2006. 

The view from Masada

We are in IN ISRAEL! :)

 

Day 1 - Dead Sea

Floating in the Dead Sea (which is actually a lake, by the way) was the craziest feeling.  It is impossible not to float...even Red can float!  (If you have ever been in a pool with him then you understand just how incredible this is.)  The even crazier thing though is that the water is poison - literally - if you drink it, even just one cup of it, it will kill you.

 

Floating in the Dead Sea