Golan Heights - Mon., 4/7/08

I can't believe I forgot to tell about our trip to the top of the Golan Heights. If you're familiar with Joel Rosenberg's novels and his non-fiction book "Epicenter," of course we're going to do some group teaching time at the Golan Heights. I won't try to even summarize all that he said because if you've read "Epicenter" then you've heard most of it already and if you haven't, then, I highly recommend it. I have a copy I'm willing to loan out. Or, we videotaped his teaching and you guys can watch it later. We came home from this teaching time, I got on the internet, and the first news story I read was about Lebanon evacuating southern areas for fear that Israel is preparing for war with all of the drills going on this week. I don't say that to scare any of our loved ones but just to let you know how real those kind of stories are to the people who live here. They take on a whole new meaning when you have just come from the area being talked about in the article. Psalm 122:6 tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Gen. 12:1-3 tells us God will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel. That is the purpose of the Joshua Fund and, even if you don't work with the Joshua Fund, it should be one of the desires of your hearts as a follower of Jesus Christ. Here's a picture of the teaching time, the crowd, and then a view of Syria and Lebanon in the background.

We were sitting at a memorial called the Valley of Tears. It is a site dedicated to the Israeli 7th Brigade that fought there during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. The battle that was fought was the 3rd largest tank battle in history. That's why you see the tank in the picture of Syria & Lebanon in the background.

If you noticed the camera and boom mike, we have a news crew that has been following us around for the last few days. The most popular news show in the country, which airs at their highest rated time, is doing a piece on the Joshua Fund. It will be aired in Israel either this Friday or the Friday after we leave. There are some security issues as there are some people in this world who don't like Joel or the ministry God has led him too. Please pray that the news report will be positive and not have a negative slant to it as news reporters often like to do.