We are headed back to the states tomorrow morning by flying out of Tel Aviv. We have done pretty well here seeing things and rubbing shoulders with believing and unbelieving Jews. The Lord has blessed us with unity among ourselves while here. Yesterday after a serious Bible study among ourselves we literally bumped into a man raised in a pretty strict Judaistic home and he seemed to be somewhat dramatically affected by our witness for Christ. After that we visited the Garden Tomb. It's very different standing there and looking at the slab of stone they are pretty sure Christ laid while in death. We walked just a little further and saw Golgotha. It's a bit disheartening there is a bus station right below it but it is what it is. On the way back from there Adam who is with us showed us a little Christian book store and it's the one where Art Katz came to know the Lord. Adam knew Art. Art's story was that a voice spoke to him and told him to stay there. They prayed and talked with Art and if I remember correctly he stayed at the store and got up the next morning and said I don't understand it all but I want it. New paragraph needed here? I don't know but here is one. Today we talked with that orthodox Jew (see above) a bit more. He has our number and may call us again. Pray for him if you would. We went back to the Wailing Wall and right near it is a room that presents a 3D presentation of what the last temple looked like. I know it sounds commercial but it was near awesome. You put on goggles and ear phones and can spin in your chair and all four walls are like a large movie screen. I don't know how they do it but they do. It is modern technology in the midst of antiquity but it was a amazingly cool thing. We then took a tour of tunnels deep under Jerusalem where much of ancient Jerusalem really lies. David and Solomon built up much of the ground outside of and leading to the walls. Arches and ramp ways and the like. When the Muslims conquered the area they eventually covered it up and built the Muslim quarters on top of it. We were way deep and the tour lady told us at one point we weren't so very far underneath from where the Muslim Dome of the Rock edifice is. That gold dome on its top consists of 13 million dollars worth of gold when they built it but so what! So we came on back up and just walked the vibrant busy streets for a while and came back to our room. Wr will be outta here tomorrow. I'm very glad I have had this opportunity to be here. If the Jews love this land it's all right by me. They have been called Zionists and all type of things. Zionists they may be to some degree but it has affected me to hear some of their stories about their mothers and fathers being caught up on the Holocaust. Then some have gone on to share how they feel the Lord led them to come here and some of the stories ate amazing and ring true. I didn't feel a need to argue with them on this point. We were staying with a group of Adam's believing friends in the desert who are hospitable and share their home. A young Christian visitor was there one day and there was one believing man there and during the course of conversation the visitor confronted this man over who is really a Jew. In his eagerness to witness he was too quick to pounce and though he spoke truth about being a real Jew circumcised in heart it didn't work because the truth he spoke was not spoken in love. I see now there is a difference between speaking from your intellect or burning desire to witness to Jews versus speaking to them from a broken heart.Anyway, thanks for letting me share with you good folks. I hope I haven't been annoying. There is so much I haven't even been able to share because we have been on the phone. Our pastor with us has on his phone this deal that counts the steps he takes each day, Today we walked over 9,000 steps or over four and a half miles. One day we walked over six miles just trying to see things. It was all worth it.God bless Jerusalem and the Jewish people. May we pray more fervently than ever that the veil be lifted.
_________________David Winter
Thanks brother,Have a safe trip home!
_________________William
Snow in America in Minnesota looks pretty good!
