Home from Israel

Jerry [my hubby] and Steve [my son] returned last Saturday afternoon [Dec. 10th] from their eight day trip to Israel, and four day stay in New York City - the city they departed from and returned to. On their flight back to MI Steve struck up a conversation with a man at the airport who was also flying back to MI.  Steve is very social, and never meets a stranger.  As they talked, Steve told the man he looked familiar. Turns out it was Tom Monaghan, owner of Domino's Pizza and Domino Farms, and former owner of the Detroit Tiger Baseball Team.  You just never know who you might run in to at the airport! ;-)

They enjoyed mild temperatures [60-ish] in Israel, but were welcomed back to snowy, cold weather in Michigan. The picture below is Jerry snow-blowing our driveway and sidewalk early Monday morning.

They had a wonderful time in Israel, with many experiences to share.  Both took lots of pictures but I'll only share a few [since some of you have asked].  Below is a statue of St. Peter.

~ Steve ~

~ Jerry by a harp symbolizing David, and a statue of him. ~

Jerry and Steve by a preserved fishing boat dating back to the time of Christ. 

~ Church near where Christ's Last Supper with His disciples took place.  ~

Nothing tea related came home with Jerry.  Instead he brought me a high-end bottle of an all natural moisturizing cream made with olive oil.  Their group toured the laboratories of Olea Essence [www.oleaessence] in the region of the Sea of Galilee.

~ Jerry by the shore of the Sea of Galilee ~

Jerry had the privilege of being baptized by Steve in the Jordan river where Christ was baptized by John the Baptist.  Steve bottled some water from the Jordan river and had it shipped home so he can pour some of it into the water when he baptizes believers here at home.

Their team of 15 was small and intimate.  Three of the team members coordinated a Middle Eastern Cuisine Dinner on Monday [Dec. 12th] at a local Lutheran church in support of Poblo International Ministries.  Jerry and I attended the dinner.  He said the food was typical of what they ate during their stay in Israel.  I don't know the names of all the food I ate, but at the 1:00 o'clock position was Tabouli [a salad primarily made of finely chopped parsley seasoned with olive oil and lemon juice]; Egg Plant; a rolled ground Chicken Kabob; two kinds of rice and vegetables - the brown colored rice had shredded beef in it, and the yellow was Saffron Rice; Pita Bread with Hummus; and the dark brown ball in the center was a Falafel - a fritter made with ground chick peas.   It was all quite good.

We take our religious freedom for granted here in America, but Christians die for their faith in other countries.  Two young women gave testimonies of their faith in Jesus Christ at the dinner, and how they had to flee their homeland [Syria] to come to America for refuge because family members wanted to kill them for abandoning the Muslim religion. 

It was a very enlightening evening.  Please remember to pray for Middle Eastern Christians who are persecuted for their belief in Jesus Christ.