Sunday November 9,2008 Trip to Israel

Today we departed Palmetto International airport and flew to Jerusalem. During the flight, we reviewed our adventures from last week. We remembered that the favorite food of the Israeli peolple is the Filafel. They enjoy the same things that we enjoy over here in the United States. The children go to school just like us. We also talked about Moses and his visits with the Pharoah. Finally after 10 plagues, Pharoah finally told the Israelites to go. God hardened his heart again and the Egyptians chased the Israelites all the way to the Red Sea. God showed his greatness by parting the Red sea and allowing the Israelites to cross on dry land. Then, he crushed the Egyptians by having the water return to its normal position.

We landed in Jerusalem and proceeded to meet up with our tour guide . We stopped at a local craft corner and created art for our loved ones. Our next stop was Masada. Masada was an Israelite stronghold. Some Israelis escaped from the enemies and sought refuge on this mountain. There was only one way up. The enemy could be easily defeated. The enemies although built another ramp on the other side. Over time the fortress was overrun. A great battle was fought and although The israelites lost they were heroes. At Masada, we ran across Snapper Mugg, an Irish jounrnalist, getting into more trouble. He and his cameraman , Scooter were planning on breaking into the fortress at night and locate the rare spotted leopard. They didn't care about how many rules that they were breaking. Our group immediately told him that he was wrong and that rules were meant to be obeyed. He was acting very weird and then he left. I pray that he starts listening to God before he does something stupid.
After Masada, we stopped at a local cafe for some snacks. The group talked about John 14:15 If I love the Lord, I will do what he commands. We all reflected on times when we haven't always obeyed. We talked about the consequences when we don't obey. Before going back home, we formed buddy groups and said our prayer requests. The buddy groups will pray for each other during the week.
I will obey because I love the Lord is our focus statement. If we say this ewverytime we are told to do something, we will never have a problem. We will do what is asked because we love the Lord.