Screaming Babies and a Tree Grows in Tel Aviv

We arrived in Tel Aviv save and somewhat sound. Mostly exhausted. Screaming babies should not be allowed on airplanes. They should be sent to first class where they can have nice cushy seats and they can feel nice and homey. Or, better, yet, build some kind of a contraption to tow behind the jet that's made just for families with children. Just one screaming baby can ruin an otherwise perfectly good flight. Nonetheless, we are in this city of two parts, Jaffe and Tel Aviv. We saw the original port where the ships entered so many years ago and the home of Simon the Tanner, the friend of Peter (Acts 9). It's an early morning for us tomorrow so we're going to bed. BTW, Terry had an eventful walk tonight. He was enjoying the ocean view as he would, of course, and walked face first into a tree. So now he has a big owie on his nose. Let's hope that's the worst of his accidents.

Screaming Babes and a Tree Grows in Tel Aviv

We arrived in Tel Aviv safe and somewhat sound. Mostly exhausted. Screaming babies shouldn't be allowed on airplanes. They should be sent to first class where they can have nice cushy chairs to make them very nice and homey. Or, better yet, build some kind of a unit to tow behind the plane for families with young children. Just one screaming baby can ruin an otherwise perfectly good flight. Nonetheless, we are here in this city of two parts Jaffe and Tel Aviv. We saw the original port where the ships used to enter all those years ago and the home of Simon the Tanner (Acts 9). It's an early morning for us so we're going to bed. BTW, Terry had an eventful walk tonight. He was enjoying the ocean view as he would, of course, and walked face first into a tree. So, he has an owie on his nose now. Let's hope that's the worst of his accidents.

We have arrived!!!

Well thanks for praying and caring. We all arrived safely after a long day flying and waiting. Our flight was delayed by a few minutes because of a late arriving plane from Dallas, TX.
We stopped to see the ancient port of Yafo which was the bibical port of Joppa. This is where Jonah sailed the wrong way when trying to avoid God's Call to send him to Ninevah.

We also rad from Acts 9 when we stood overlooking the harbor with a sign that says, "House of simon the Tanner" This was the historic place where Peter was dragged protestingly into a church for the gentiles as well as the jews. It was a great moment to see Tel Aviv, and we are happy, but bone tired. God Bless.

Praise the Lord!

They have arrived and all are well. We patiently wait to read and see what they will share with us. All long day and night of travel is now behind them and their renewed energy is focused to what they really are there for. May God continue to protect them and that they continue to be healthy for the rest of the trip. I talked to my family and they sound good. Todd was gracious enough to share his internet so they could call me. Bless him! I asked Savannah if she'd eaten anything there and she has managed to find some items that are suitable to her limited taste buds. Thankfully, she won't waste away while she's there. They went to Joppa today and they will rest up for a busy day tomorrow. They have a great guide but hopefully the weather will be good during this trip.

It's official-half of my little family is boarding a plane to go international! I spoke with them - my last verbal communication until they return - and they haven't lost any of their enthusiasm yet. I can't imagine what it will be like to wake up that first morning in Israel...will it be amazement...awe...wonderment? To see the things that Jesus would have seen, to walk the places He would have walked, to smell and hear the echoes of what the people left behind in the walls and to touch the things similar of His time. I have such envy that Gage and I couldn't go but I also am so wonderfully thankful that Savannah had this opportunity to experience as well as share it with Dan. Thank you to everyone for praying for this group, as it is our only way of staying close to them. Pray that each one of them will soak up every moment and not miss any opportunity to touch lives while they are there.

Well here we are getting ready to start the adventure. We all came to Portland last night and stayed in a motel so we could get long term parking and a free shuttle ride to the airport. We got up at 2:45 so we could catch the shuttle at 3:45. The check in was fast and the excitement was tangible as we checked in. Now we are sitting in the waiting area and talking about all we want to see and do. Most of the people have faced challenges in the last week as they were preparing for the journey, but each of us have "won through". Thank you to all of you who prayed.

Todd and Letsy are waiting in San Diego for their flight since they will be meeting us in Chicago. They made it to San Diego by driving through rough roads bulldozed through the river bottoms with a culvert over the actual water flow. There were some washouts and single lane sections, but no real problems. Praise the Lord.